L.A. Times today.Top 10 most questionable car designs of all time .Compiled by Hagerty Incurance ,leading provider of coverage to auto collectors.
1.AMC Pacer
2.Yugo
3.Ford Pinto (my dad had one )
4.Pontiac Aztek
5.Chevrolet Vega (father inlaw had one )
6.AMC Gremlin
7. Chevrolet Corvair (my brother had this,car died from engine fire )
8.AMC Matador (dad had a green one )
9. Edsel
10. Chevrolet Chevette

 

That's a pretty good list ! The Pacer earned the top spot. Yeah, AMC really laid some rotten eggs back in the 70s.

The Aztec could have been #2, IMO. Awful. Just awful.

I think in 20 years, the PT Cruiser will be on the list. And so will the Scion XB. Right now, they have a niche in the market but the years will not be kind to them.

Sorry... I know there's some XB lovers on the site but that box design is just a passing fad (I hope).

 

In the 70's my brother had an Opel stationwagon ,Green and Purple ,the purple was'nt metalic but it had art's & craft sparkles on it.They probably did not sell enough here to be on the list.You could see the road through the floorboard .It would break down almost every week .

 

Few months back someone linked to an article about the "box desgin" cited MINIs and Jeeps of old and new and had several car desginerssay how the "box" made the cars more easily recognizable as well as making thecar more functunal. I kinda think it's here to stay.

 

The year Aztek's came out I got in the back seat of one at the L.A. auto show ,I nearly dislocated my knee getting out because where the door post is you have to turn your foot sideways to squeeze through .Pontiac had a film crew there and asked if they could film my wife and I in the car and commenting on it so they could use it for advertising,I told them my comments would not help them sell there car .

 

Somebody had to do this

 

I'll never forget the time I was stationed on Guam and this guy comes in the office and says pretty loudly, "I just saw the ugliest POS Pontiac parked down in front of the next building. WTF is that thing?!" (spoken truly the way some military people talk).

I braced for the reply because I knew that Aztec belonged to my co-worker who was standing just 10 feet from me.

But... what could he say ? Even he knew it was ugly. He just meekly replied, "That's mine".

 

To me bad cars are almost as compelling as good cars.

 

Look at the hood on the Matador , thats not a fish eye lens it's really that long.The car is huge and the inside is tiny .

 

IMO the Matador should be #1, Aztek #2.
With the Pinto, Vega, and Chevette (I've never seen one with a trunk), drop a big block in, stuff big meats in the back, and you're set!

 

I can't believe no one is arguing about some of the inclusions on the list...

Several of those cars were actually pretty nice designs - specifically, the Pinto, Vega, and Chevette. The Pacer was actually pretty forward-thinking for the time, but in my opinion was just not realized very well.

The AzzTek should be at the top of the list for all time, if you ask me. It's almost as if there were 10 different design teams all doing their CAD work on just one single part of the vehicle - one team doing the hood; one doing the front fenders, etc. - then they all input their sections into the computer and never bothered to see how they worked together...

I was so happy to see the image of the Chevy Vega GT - I owned one out of high school, and yes, the aluminum engine block was a good idea implemented badly, but I really enjoyed driving it.

_Dave_

Edit: Okay, so the Picture of the Chevette sedan(?) IS pretty hideous, but the hatchbacks were pretty well-conceived, nimble little cars.

 

To be fair to my dad if they have NAM in the after life ,he worked for the LAPD and would buy cars confiscated from criminals for around $300.00.Still not sure if the Matador was worth that.

 

no Prius on the list?

 

Let me speak about the Chevy's as many years ago my job in high school was as a parts guy at a Chevy dealer.

First the Chevette. Nice looking but poor engineering. All the design considerations were to make it inexpensive and it worked. I am not sure it deserves to be on this list but I won't take exception to it.

Next the Vega. As the kid in the parts department I went to Vega school when they were introduced because the mechanics had no interest in learning and the dealer was paid for each attendee (I went for a LOT of training in those days <G>). The Vega was way ahead of its time. A full aluminum engine with silicone impregnation GM was really trying to be innovative. That it was very sensitive to heat and oil breakdown caused its demise but I give GM credit for a cutting edge engineering design. Unfortunately they were also prone to rust away quickly as most cars did in those days but that was not specific to the Vega or Chevy or GM.

Now the Corvair. It is the single biggest reason I dislike Ralph Nader. I had a turborcharged 1963 Spyder in 1968 and it handled great and had horsepower to spare (I think around 180). Unfortunately it was a combination of Nader's book, and the upcoming Mustangs and Camaro's that made the Corvair go away. I do wish I had that car today but it really couldn't be called reliable transportation without the access to parts I had back then. I had a coupe but a convertible would be nice.

So if I were arguing I'd take the Corvair and Vega off that list and replace it with, say, a Rambler with the push button shifter or the current NASCAR car of tomorrow (A wing? Please!)

Rich

 

my mom had a 82? pinto decades ago. thought it was pretty cool(?)...
i remember the motor sounded like it was going to explode at 45mph
though.

 

Rich.Wolfson , My neighbor has a very nice convertible Corvair I could ask the selling price if you really want one .

 

The engine might .If you get hit in the rear the gas tank will .

 

Aztec, Prius, and Insight. Definetley 123.

Corvair is a great design.

And I'll admit I also like the Pinto especially the staion wagon version.( with some mods a 351 fits)

 

Now you see that is the thing about these kinds of lists ... they are just the "opinions" of a bunch of people who think about it. Those opinions are no better nor worse than yours.

I would imagine there are a bunch PT cruiser and Scion lovers sitting around right now thinking the same thing about MINI Coopers ... just a passing fad.

It's all a matter of perspective One person's trash is another's gold and maybe they think MINIs are trash and PT Cruisers are gold

BTW, thats not my opinion, just trying to see the situation from outside the box.

 

Hehehehe - Mike's first car was a Gremlin and mine was a Vega GT Wagon - and it was bright GREEN to top it off.... They were both - in our opinion - kinda ugly - but - on limited budgets way back when - they got us from point A to B...

Donna

 

As an owner of a 71' Chevy Vega I'll take exception of it being on the list. There were plenty of other more deserving nominees such as an old Plymouth Valiant.
The Vega sure had drawbacks such as a radiator the size of a postage stamp.
I used my car to tow a VW sand rail, all our camping gear and a couple friends over the Mtns. from San Diego to Imperial Valley sand dunes. Talk about a car heating up!
Coming home you had a pull of 6% for 9 miles. We would stop at the water barrels and just throw water at that radiator...cool it down and take off again. Yep it used oil when I traded it off a couple years later. Big surprise.
We had to make due with what we had.

 

[quote=3 WIRE;1712902]As an owner of a 71' Chevy Vega I'll take exception of it being on the list. There were plenty of other more deserving nominees such as an old Plymouth Valiant.


quote]
Hey ,A plymouth Valiant got me to the beach and back as a teen .

 

LOL ... no offense Korby

One of those beautys got me and my older cousin down to Niederfranks Ice Cream in National City.

Had to love those push buttons for the auto trans.

 

Collecting my past is not one of my priorities these days. My garage is full.

And what makes you think he/she is selling it?

Rich

 

Chevrolet Corvair? Don't agree with that being in the list of questionable design. To the contrary.