The Jalopnik audience had a lot to say about the crappy cars you’ve all driven. There are many cars on this list that objectively belong here, and some that surprised me. The comments were flooded with recession-era American cars, back when interiors were made from recycled toothbrush handles and cars had handling characteristics that would give a Boston Whaler a run for its money. There were also a good amount of imports, from Germany to Japan, and some classic cars that left bad impressions that lasted decades.
Expectations lead to disappointments, so I try to go into most situations and most cars without any expectations. But it’s hard when all you see are headlines gushing over a particular new model or your YouTube suggestions are overflowing with clickbait thumbnails with word art telling you it’s the best car in the world. Sometimes the seat of your pants and the palms of your hands read a different story when you take a test drive or worse, once you’ve bought a new car.
Learning from the mistakes y’all documented in your answers, I will always make sure to take thorough test drives when looking at buying a new car. Drives that let me experience broken pavement, crosswinds, and acceleration runs to make sure that I’m not buying a car that actually belongs on a rental lot or in a crusher. From Fords to Ferraris, these are the cars that shocked you the most with their horrible drive qualities.
