Jeremy Clarkson's Top 100

[Dantilla]

At least the Pinto had a good engine- They're still being used by SCCA racers. The Vega's engine, however.......

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by t951

Any thoughts on the worst 10?

My list of the worst cars (in no particular order):
- Pontiac Aztek
- Trabant - body was basically a combination of pressed paper/fiberglass
- The Yugo
- The Pacer
- Plymouth Turismo TC-3 (Worst car I've owned in terms of reliability)
- Anything Pontiac from the dreaded plastic cladding era (Transport, Grand Am, Grand Prix...etc)
- Toyota Camry - yeah, it is one of the most reliable cars out there -- but it is totally void of character - perhaps the most BORING car ever made!

I'm sure I can think for more later.... I'll update this list then!

-Z-man.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by t951

Any thoughts on the worst 10?

The Chevette and the Cavalier have to be right up there. We had a 1973 Buick Estate Wagon when I was a kid that was really bad, too.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by IROC

The Chevette and the Cavalier have to be right up there. We had a 1973 Buick Estate Wagon when I was a kid that was really bad, too.

One of the few cars WORSE than the Cavalier...

[Willem Fick]

Here's a list of Time Magazine's 50 worst cars of all times:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1658545,00.html

[Rick V]

Worst 10, hell that is easy, anything made by Audi, or any VW with coolant in it.

[Aerkuld]

Originally Posted by Z-man

My list of the worst cars (in no particular order):
...
- Trabant - body was basically a combination of pressed paper/fiberglass
...

To be fair I think it had a steel floor pan with the remaining structure made from resin reinforced with paper, cotton or whatever. When you think about it this isn't that much different in principle to the Porsche 904 although the quality of the material not comparable.

Although this might seem odd to us, when you think about the context in which the car existed it make much more sense. A very cheap car for the masses and it uses very little steel, probably quite important on the Eastern side of what was the iron curtain as I imagine they would have to have imported much of it.

There really haven't been that many composite cars, certainly not mass produced.

While I wouldn't put it on a list of great cars I don't know if it's fair to put it on the bad car list. It was a pretty decent attempt with the resources available.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Aerkuld

While I wouldn't put it on a list of great cars I don't know if it's fair to put it on the bad car list. It was a pretty decent attempt with the resources available.

A friend lived in Eastern Europe for a while, and says the Trabant is total crap. They spew smoke, the headlights and tail lights fall out on a regular basis, they're unreliable, yada yada....

Better than walking on your hands, but not by much.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

A friend lived in Eastern Europe for a while, and says the Trabant is total crap. They spew smoke, the headlights and tail lights fall out on a regular basis, they're unreliable, yada yada....

Better than walking on your hands, but not by much.

Yep - a lot of my relatives owned Trabants - and I had the opportunity to give a couple. They are unreliable, have worse emmissions than a fleet of Hummers, and in an accident, POOF! The whole car simply disintegrates!

Saying that it was one of the first mass-produced composite bodied car doesn't really make up for all its faults, by a long shot!

-Z

[Aerkuld]

OK, that's good enough for me lets add it to the BAD list!

[t951]

I am going to nominate the 1983 Renault Alliance.....it was my first car (handed to me by my dad......and even free it wasn't worth it).

Ironically, my dad bought it because it was Car of The Year in 1983

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by t951

I am going to nominate the 1983 Renault Alliance.....it was my first car (handed to me by my dad......and even free it wasn't worth it).

Ironically, my dad bought it because it was Car of The Year in 1983

My mom had an '84...

They were funny little cars. Either they blew up after 40K miles, or they lasted forever...you never knew which one you had.

Hers was the latter. I learned to drive in it, and it was the first car I wrecked Slammed someone from behind at 35mph, and drove that rotten thing home with the hood folded in half. Pretty damned impressive for a car that was not worth the metal it was made from...

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by Z-man

Yep - a lot of my relatives owned Trabants - and I had the opportunity to give a couple. They are unreliable, have worse emmissions than a fleet of Hummers, and in an accident, POOF! The whole car simply disintegrates!

Saying that it was one of the first mass-produced composite bodied car doesn't really make up for all its faults, by a long shot!

-Z

The Trabant was garbage - quite literally. The bodies of these things were made from recycled garbage.

[JeremyD]

My Top Ten

Model T - Modern assembly line - car to the masses
VW Bug - The people's car
Mini Cooper - small car - large inside - made space planning popular
Ferrari 250GT Spider - Beauty - performance - not just race cars
lamborghini Muira - made autos an object of art
Porsche 911/930 - Sports car? ICON - the turbo turned the world on it's ear
Jaguar XKE - Automotive sex symbol - if you can't get laid driving an E- time to end it all
Citroen 2VC - Car for the masses in French
Mazda Miata - sure it's a car for gay folks - but it's also the perfect british roadster
BMW E-30 - Proof that sedans can perform

Bottom Ten

AMC Pacer
AMC Matador
Renault Aliance
AMC Gremlin
Pontiac Aztec
Chevy Chevette
Chevy Cavalier
Plymouth Volare
Plymouth Satellite
Yugo

[carnutzzz]

A list of important cars in no particular order:

'57 Chevy (The peak of American automotive styling)
'69 Camaro (The iconic muscle/pony car)
'64 GTO (The first muscle car)
'65 Cobra (For what it did to Ferrari)
Lambo Miura (the first supercar)
356/911 evolution

For me, nothing stops me in my tracks like a red drop top Chevelle with a hot cam. Next on my list when the budget/space allows.