By all accounts, GM is really thinking about building a rear-wheel-drive sport compact car. That car will slot in below the Camaro in Chevy's lineup, giving the brand an entry-level coupe to pit against the Toyobaru on fan forums. Good news, right? But what to name the thing?

Mad Men, aside from being a fascinating look at how booze-soaked office jobs used to be, also frequently provides some compelling views into automotive history, as seen through the lens of advertising. This week's episode referenced a new Chevy project called the XP-887 project. We know it as the Vega.

How do you like the new for 1972 Vega? Actually it wasn't the new Vega, it was a special display model with pieces cut out and a graphic on the door to represent "steel beams"—which apparently was also convenient for golf club storage.

Although the small car trend was still fairly new in 1970 as Car and Track host Bud Lindemann explained, manufacturers had already had small cars on the drawing boards for a while by then.

The failure of Chevy's Vega was possibly not just due to its reputation for horrific durability, but also - with only two-door sedan, hatchback coupe, and wagon offerings - for its dearth of body style choice. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Vegamino, with it's mid-mounted V8 fixes that problem, but is its price…

Taking a more literal interpretation of the slogan "these colors don't run," the 1974 Spirit of America Chevrolet Vega made up in patriotism what it lacked in build quality.

A pretty good case could be made for the Chevrolet Vega as The Worst Car GM Ever Made. The maddening thing? The Vega could have been a Toyota-killer, just when The General most needed one.

Fifty years ago on this day, French philosopher Albert Camus smashed into a tree and died in that most American of French cars: a Facel Vega HK500.

Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, 25 light years from Earth. With an equatorial rotational speed of 274 km/s, it's a good namesake for today's high-revving Nice Price or Crack Pipe contender.