8.7 million produced. It was, at least, popular.

"Best" and "worst" are vague terms and need better definitions. The "best" car for a particular point in history may be the "worst" car at another time.

__________________
1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

The 2CV does not belong in this thread.

__________________
1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

A very good point. The VW beetle was one of the hottest things going during the 60's. I would drive mine across the country back then.

Not so today. It was great then; today it is just quirky.

Another example:
The Model T Ford put American ( and the world) on wheels. It made cars available to average working people. That newly mobile population demanded better road. Motels and other businesses sprang up along the roads to service all those people driving across the country. It was certainly a notable automobile, and one of the best produced. Yet, today, with its 20-22 HP and 2 wheel brakes, and 45 +/- mph top speed, it would be somewhat dangerous on most highways.
Was it a "best" car, or a "worst" car? Most likely we wouldn't be where we are today without it. ( Although REO had a similar vision to Henry Ford, and absent Ford, it might have been Olds that put America on wheels.)

__________________
1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I don't think taking a car out of context makes it a candidate for "worst"


Compared to a 2015 civic most cars 30 years old look like death traps, let alone 60 and 80 year old cars.

__________________
68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

Because it's not really a car, right?

I can remember a college class I had, very likely a business class of some sort, where we, the students, were all whining about the ever increasing cost of cars.

The Prof pointed out that the cars we were buying new then were so much more advanced than the cars of the early 50's that they were worth the extra cost.

The Prof also pointed out that if you wanted safety and reliability and comfort all you had to do was buy a Mercedes.

So I did and still do. It would have been nice if the Prof had added it would have been wise to learn how to repair them yourself. I had to figure that out on my own.

Actually it was the Mercedes dealer that taught me I needed to learn how to repair my car. I remember the first bill I got and the labor was $35 an hour!

That was pretty stiff for 1970.

Good that you bring that up. Top Gear used criteria such as the car having come from a company that should have known better and the car costing as much or more than competitors that weren't rubbish. They came up with the Lexus SC430 as the worst car ever.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.