Pickup trucks; the car buying public loves them with some 12.3 million sold in 2023 alone. Some would assume that with all these sales, there can’t be a single pickup model on the market that’s bad. According to our readers though, you’d be wrong though.
Last week we asked readers what they thought the worst pickup truck ever made was. These were their responses.
As always, Britain has got this.
The Reliant Ant. Count the wheels. You know how stable the Robin was on the corners? Now factor in a shifting load in the back, probably unsecured.
Suggested by: plant_daily
I owned one, it was terrible. The bed was useless, it was gutless, it got middling fuel mileage for what it was, it had unremarkable ground clearance with huge front and rear overhangs, and it only sat four, unlike the Legacy that it was based on, because they, for some reason, delayed the rear middle seat. I always said it was the worst of both worlds: ground clearance and cargo capacity of a car, fuel efficiency of a truck.
Suggested by: Nick Dixon via Facebook
When retro styling died—the SSR killed it.
Supposed to evoke the post-WW2 Advance Design Chevy pickup and it’s proof positive that pounding a square peg into a round hole ain’t a good idea. Needless retractable roof and a dinky bed complete this style-over-substance exercise in pure pointlessness.
Suggested by: the1969DodgeChargerFan
Bed was too small to carry anything with the tailgate up, but the license plate was on the tailgate, so I would get pulled over when hauling anything that required the tailgate down. Rear brakes would lock up on wet or snow covered roads making the vehicle spin out of control. 2.2 L auto was slow and not capable of towing.
Suggested by: Donald Soulard via Facebook
I’ll nominate the Mazda Rotary Pickup (REPU). I love them, and it was a neat experiment, but they were far too underpowered to do anything expected of a truck and could barely pull a piece of string out of a cat’s ass. They made some great noises, though.
Suggested by: Hankel_Wankel
I brought it new in 2000. In 2002, the rear wheel assembly fell off the truck. The inferior backing plate that holds all of it together just rusted away from the axel after less than 3 years. Upon inspection, the other rear wheel was ready to also fall off. I fixed it and sold it never to buy another Dodge. I’ve had trucks over 30 years old that never had a structural issue like that.
Suggested by: Phil Snyder via Facebook
Ford Fairmont Durango. I own one and love it because it’s weird, but it’s horrible at being a truck. You cannot drive with the tailgate down because the taillights and license plate then face the pavement and can’t be seen. The conversion made it about $2K more expensive than the El Camino which meant nobody bought one. Records weren’t kept, but the commonly accepted number is around 212 were built using 1981 and a few 1982 donors.
Suggested by: huell-howitzer
The 90s Rams were bad, the transmissions were junk, they rusted out easily, the interior would crack to pieces, particularly the dash and door panels and the front bumper trim would fall off.
Suggested by: Mike Mcfarlan via Facebook
According to my friend who bought one of the first Gladiators to hit the dealer’s lot, it was neither a good Jeep nor a good pick-up. Terrible ride, horrible fuel economy and sketchy build quality.
He owned it for about a year and traded in for a RAM, taking a $13K bath in the deal.
Suggested by: Earthbound Misfit I
First gen Colorado/Canyon. Total turds. Lousy 4 cyl, even worse 5cyl. Weird pattern 6 lug wheels, poorly executed global collaboration by the U.S., Brazil and Japan. Built in Shreveport Assembly, one of GM’s worst plants.
Suggested by: Braking-Bad
It took the dubious value of the regular Hummer (these things sold for Escalade money!), and made it something that traded the benefits of an SUV for the impracticality of the world’s lousiest pickup.
Want a fancy GMT800 pickup? Just buy an Escalade EXT with an actually luxury interior and a bed that will fit more than a shopping bag.
Honestly, I should have used the H2 SUT over the Sant Cruz as my example. Horrible truck.
Suggested by: Jakub Gurba via Facebook
Any HD pickup thats daily driven and doesn’t tow.
Stop it.
Suggested by: Milky