These cars sucked. For this list, we’ll be ranking the biggest lemons, those vehicles that have earned infamous reputations for poor quality, manufacturing, or design.
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're going to be counting down our picks for the top
00:06 20 worst cars of all time.
00:11 For this list, we'll be ranking the biggest lemons – those vehicles that have earned
00:14 infamous reputations for poor quality, manufacturing, or design.
00:19 Did you ever drive or own one of these cars?
00:21 Feel like defending them?
00:22 Let us know down in the comments!
00:24 20.
00:25 The Chevrolet SSR
00:27 It doesn't exactly spell doom for a car when a certain model year fails to sell according
00:31 to projected estimates, but in the case of the Chevy SSR, that is exactly what happened.
00:41 Chevy's attempt to combine a pickup truck and a sports car didn't go according to
00:45 plan, selling less than 10,000 units a year for the three years they were manufactured.
00:49 Not even the rather luxurious interior or the addition of a tough V8 engine with increased
00:54 horsepower during the SSR's final year could save this Chevy experiment from going down
00:58 as a mistake.
01:00 19.
01:01 The Ford Mustang II
01:02 There's a lot of brand loyalty when it comes to the world of car fandom.
01:06 There's also more than a fair share of good and not-so-good-natured arguments about which
01:10 brand reigns supreme.
01:12 That said, nearly every fan of the Ford Mustang can agree on one thing – that atrocious
01:16 second generation.
01:18 The Ford Mustang II arrived at the absolute worst time for a gas-guzzling muscle car,
01:22 the 1970s energy crisis.
01:25 The Mustang II was designed with this era in mind, striving to cut down on gasoline
01:29 usage and cost.
01:30 However, the car also cut down on quality, having been built from a Ford Pinto platform
01:35 that Mustang fans immediately rejected.
01:38 And you know what?
01:39 They still talk about how bad this one was.
01:43 18.
01:45 The Saturn Ion
01:46 Hey, here's a question.
01:48 Was every car developed by Saturn bad?
01:51 We're tempted to say yes, but even if that's not entirely true, there's no denying the
01:55 disappointment that was the Saturn Ion.
02:03 This compact car was sort of the last gasp for a brand that initially bore some promise
02:07 or at the very least owner excitement and loyalty.
02:10 Until it didn't.
02:11 Look no further than the Ion's cheap plastic panel exterior.
02:15 The car didn't handle great either, and a recall in 2014 for faulty ignition switches
02:20 long after the Ion's discontinuation just added more fuel to this disappointing fire.
02:25 17.
02:26 The Eagle Premier
02:27 The Eagle Premier was initially co-developed by the American Motors Corporation alongside
02:32 French auto manufacturer Renault before Chrysler took over duties in 1987.
02:40 The Eagle Premier did have some things going for it, including a fancy interior package
02:45 and received positive reviews and encouragement at the time of its release.
02:48 However, many drivers found the placement of a gearshift on the dash to be a head-scratching
02:53 move.
02:54 The Premier also wasn't great on gas, and the dash in and of itself didn't always work.
02:59 Really a shame.
03:08 16.
03:09 The Dodge Neon
03:10 The Neon has represented several brands over the years, from Dodge and Chrysler to Plymouth
03:15 Motors.
03:16 The Neon car has also been called a few other things by car owners and critics.
03:20 Junk is one, unsafe is another.
03:22 Specifically, the first and second generation Neons received poor to marginal marks for
03:26 safety on the road.
03:28 The side impact tests on these Neons also proved that this car provided little to no
03:32 safety to drivers unfortunate enough to be involved in a crash.
03:36 The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety summed it up best in 2005 when they referred
03:40 to the Dodge Neon as "a small car to be avoided."
03:46 15.
03:47 The Maserati Biturbo First Generation
03:58 The aforementioned energy crisis in the 1970s affected nearly every overseas sports car
04:03 manufacturer that was seeking a foothold in North America.
04:06 As a result, companies including Italy's Maserati were forced to pivot, leaving behind
04:10 speed for performance and luxury.
04:13 Enter the Maserati Biturbo, which eventually did find its footing, but not before stumbling
04:17 with its first generation.
04:19 Car buyers were initially excited for this model, but the Biturbo's sales soon slumped
04:23 thanks to the reputation as being unreliable hunks of junk that continually broke down
04:28 and required maintenance.
04:29 The Maserati Biturbo would see some improvements made and continue to be sold into the early
04:34 20s, but the less said about the originals, the better.
04:38 14.
04:39 The BMW Isetta You know the old saying, "It's a nice place
04:42 to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there?"
04:44 The same can be applied to those cute little microcars like the BMW Isetta.
04:48 We take 'em for a quick little spin, but you wouldn't want to crash in one.
04:52 Seriously, the 1955 models were so tiny that they'd practically pass for bumper cars.
04:57 This meant that any accident, at basically any speed, was a recipe for disaster and certain
05:02 death.
05:08 Keep in mind, the 1955 Isetta was manufactured by Italian group Isorivolta, which initially
05:13 specialized in building refrigerators, scooters, and tiny trucks.
05:17 What were they doing making cars, you might ask?
05:20 Good question.
05:21 We have no idea.
05:22 13.
05:23 The Cadillac Cimarron The four-door sedan market is a big sandbox,
05:36 with a lot of different companies all vying for some attention and playtime.
05:39 The Cimarron was Cadillac's attempt at competing with other four-door imports that were hungry
05:43 for a slice of the market share.
05:45 Unfortunately, the Cimarron was basically a Chevy Cavalier in disguise, a rebranding
05:50 that stands today as a colossal failure for Cadillac.
05:53 The Cimarron's reputation is marred with multiple black eyes for performance and reliability,
05:58 and sluggish sales reflected that the car-buying public was not going to be fooled.
06:04 12.
06:07 The Edsel Corsair The Edsel division of the Ford Motor Company
06:10 already doesn't enjoy a very good reputation as it is, never mind bringing the 1958 Corsair
06:15 into the discussion.
06:23 Edsel cars were intended to assist Ford in gaining an edge on an increasingly competitive
06:27 market, but it did the exact opposite thanks to cars like the Corsair, which were basically
06:32 Mercury's in disguise.
06:33 The Corsair essentially priced themselves out of the market, too, falling victim to
06:37 a disastrous Ford rollout that earned the Edsel its rep as being overhyped under delivering
06:42 mistakes that never really had an audience.
06:45 11.
06:46 The Pontiac Aztec When it comes to cars, looks aren't everything.
06:59 The Pontiac Aztec, in the estimation of some who chose to defend it, did some things right
07:03 under the hood and with regards to performance.
07:06 The Aztec's primary criticism amongst detractors is its appearance, which many have claimed
07:11 to be outright ugly.
07:13 The Aztec is a mid-size SUV that looks like a minivan meeting a station wagon, and Pontiac's
07:17 intent was to appeal to a Generation X-era customer.
07:20 However, the plasticky Aztec wasn't cheap, nor was it winning any major awards for safety.
07:26 It just… did okay with a lot of things, but many can agree that it most certainly
07:30 fell short in the looks department.
07:37 10.
07:39 The Hummer H2 Everything old was new again when the Hummer
07:42 fad hit back in the early 2000s.
07:45 Fuel efficiency was at the top of everyone's mind with regards to the Hummer, or rather
07:49 the lack thereof.
07:50 This civilian adaptation of a military-grade vehicle embodied a "bigger is better"
07:55 mentality, but it had zero forethought with regards to how a Hummer would adapt to everyday
07:59 driving.
08:00 Granted, the H2 did possess impressive horsepower, but consumers largely rejected the idea of
08:05 purchasing this kind of vehicle for the long term, and the H2 was pretty much relegated
08:10 to a status of "remember that?"
08:12 9.
08:13 The Reliant Robin Mk1 Different countries have different needs
08:16 when it comes to their cars.
08:18 The Reliant Robin was extremely popular in the UK during its production history, despite
08:22 it basically serving as a three-wheeled death trap.
08:25 And you always have to remember the undeniable fact that in certain situations, from emergency
08:30 avoidances to sudden crosswinds, three-wheels stand too good a chance of being less stable
08:35 than four.
08:36 You heard that right, the Reliant Robin had three wheels, and its plastic outer shell
08:39 provided little protection in an accident.
08:42 In addition, the Reliant Robin was unsteady and also contained an underwhelmingly low-power
08:46 engine.
08:55 In the end, it unintentionally became one of the most WTF automobile decisions ever
08:59 made.
09:02 8.
09:06 The Trabant To be fair, the East German auto manufacturer
09:09 Trabant did make some improvements to the four models of their brand over the course
09:13 of a three-decade-plus lifespan.
09:15 However, this competition to the Volkswagen Beetle is largely seen through a modern lens
09:19 as a relic of the Cold War.
09:21 The Trabant's initial two-stroke engine made it unreliable, underpowered, and basically
09:25 a smokehouse on wheels.
09:27 The brand does have its nostalgic fans today, primarily on the rally race circuit, but the
09:31 Trabant largely went out of style shortly after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.
09:41 7.
09:43 The AMC Pacer The legacy of AMC is complicated, with many
09:54 today admiring the ingenuity of their ideas and a certain sense of daring associated with
09:58 the company's openness to appealing to a smaller section of the market.
10:02 Unfortunately, the word "small" also tends to be associated with AMC's legacy of compact
10:06 cars.
10:07 The Gremlin and Hornet come to mind and were hits among customers, but the negative connotations
10:11 to AMC in this regard often lie with one of their flagships, the Pacer.
10:19 Despite the Pacer's admitted fuel efficiency, size, and presence within popular culture,
10:23 its straight-six engine was deemed out of fashion even back in 1975, with many of AMC's
10:28 competitors adopting V6 engines.
10:32 6.
10:35 The Chevy Vega The idea of buying American was a big talking
10:38 point back in the 1970s, as imports from Japan and other countries were making headway into
10:43 the United States.
10:47 And it's easy to see why, too, since cars like the Chevy Vega were severely impacting
10:51 the reputations of American automakers.
11:02 This subcompact was a rust bucket, plain and simple, but the problems with the Vega didn't
11:07 end there.
11:08 There were recalls, safety issues, and the fact that the Vega seemed to spend more time
11:12 in the repair shop than on the road.
11:14 Engines backfired, front ends were coming apart, the Vega was flawed from inception
11:18 in design right on through to the assembly line.
11:21 5.
11:22 The DMC DeLorean It's the car that defines cult classic, and
11:26 that underlines a general theme in this list – even the worst cars have their fans.
11:30 The DMC DeLorean is an objectively bad car, with an infamous reputation when it comes
11:35 to its rear-engine build and shoddy quality.
11:38 Yet, that reputation is also iconic, thanks to the DeLorean's sleek 1980s design and
11:43 gull-wing doors.
11:44 Its appearance as the time machine in the Back to the Future franchise basically cemented
11:48 the DeLorean as a talking point for all time.
11:50 Yet, this doesn't change the quality control issue.
12:05 The DMC DeLorean was a slow, mechanically-challenged beast that defined the phrase "style over
12:11 substance."
12:18 4.
12:19 The Amphicar On one hand, the idea of marketing an amphibious
12:26 car to the masses was a gutsy move.
12:29 However, the Quant Group's Amphicar wasn't exactly great at being a car or a boat.
12:34 Although it could zip around fine from town to town, the Amphicar was also known to leak
12:38 while being submerged.
12:39 It was also painfully slow in the water, only mustering up a paltry 7 mph top speed.
12:45 The Amphicar also required a lot of maintenance, including greasing should the owner want to
12:49 venture between water and dry land.
12:51 Still, the Amphicar is nothing if not unique.
12:54 Unfortunately, it just wasn't practical.
13:03 3.
13:06 The Yugo
13:12 This vehicle from Zastava Automobiles failed to make headway internationally after an attempt
13:17 to infiltrate the US market back in the 80s.
13:19 Today, these affordable imports possess a fanbase that pushes back against the Yugo's
13:23 reputation for poor quality, claiming owner use and misuse as the culprit.
13:33 However, the Yugo's notoriously finicky timing belt on several models required maintenance
13:39 every 40,000 miles.
13:41 So does the Yugo deserve reappraisal, or are they deserving of their infamy?
13:46 Probably the answer is somewhere in the middle.
13:59 2.
14:01 The Crossley Hotshot
14:02 The Crossley Hotshot was very much indicative of post-war American engineering – the desire
14:06 to drive fast and live a little, enter the baby boom, and enjoy the good life.
14:13 However, was the Hotshot unsafe at any speed, to paraphrase Ralph Nader's infamous book?
14:21 Maybe, especially when the engine was concerned.
14:23 This tin-stamped, four-cylinder vehicle could come apart from overheating, and the Hotshot's
14:27 exterior design made it a death trap in an accident.
14:31 Thankfully, Crossley's entrance into the sports car market wasn't very sporty, and
14:35 it couldn't make it much faster than 60 mph off the assembly line.
14:54 1.
14:55 The Ford Pinto
14:57 The Ford Motor Company tried their hands at creating a subcompact vehicle back in 1971,
15:02 and failed miserably.
15:04 Today the Pinto is most infamously known for its rear-engine design, a decision that potentially
15:08 possessed explosive results should any Pinto be rear-ended by another car.
15:17 Not enough thought was put into protecting the Pinto to this end, and the car received
15:20 middling reviews even before this controversy.
15:23 Ultimately, the Pinto's legacy combines a lack of foresight and poor reactionary behavior
15:28 on the part of Ford to underline the idea that this car simply wasn't any good from
15:32 the jump.
15:33 It was the perfect storm of bad ideas.
15:47 -Tim Cook, CEO Ford Motor Company, 1998-2013.