The 2000s were... a time. We had the ascendance of celebrities like Paris Hilton, low-rise jeans were a godforsaken hit, and the entire automotive industry collectively forgot how to design a car. So, I want to know: What was the very worst car of the 2000s?
You’ve got plenty to choose from in this era of rounded sedans, “what the fuck is that trying to be“ SUVs, and tasteless pickup trucks. You also have terrible, wonderful experiments like the Pontiac Aztek or the final generations of the Plymouth Prowler, both of which have become so unpopular that they’ve actually circled around to being cult classics that people ironically (or even unironically) enjoy.
As a late 1990s baby, this was the era of machine I grew up with. I look back now at my dad’s extensive collection of car magazines and wonder exactly what anyone found so appealing about the bland, white bread Toyota Camry or Ford Taurus. I look back at the 2005 Dodge Viper and wonder what possessed me to believe this was the epitome of vehicular design. I kind of want to bury my head in shame, but in my defense, I was but a child who couldn’t have known better.
Many of you fine folks here at Jalopnik, though, may remember the 2000s better than I do, and there’s a good chance you actually drove plenty of these cars. Were they better highway cruisers than they were aesthetically pleasing? Did you find yourself wondering just what happened to the auto industry if this was the best a company could offer? Or did it take a while for the whole “this is one extremely shitty vehicle” to sink in?
Put on your thinking caps, because today, I want to know. What was the very worst vehicle to come out of the 2000s?