These Are The Worst Cars From Great Automakers

“The toughest part of this question is first determining who the great automakers are. Kind of hard to accept GM, Stellantis, Ford, Nissan, Hyundai, or Kia as being ‘great automakers’ so much as they are ‘usually financially successful and sometimes make a great car’ brands.

“With that, I’ll bring the popular punching bag that was the Honda CR-Z. Advertised as some kind of small, sporty, hybrid that you could whip around, have the utility of a hatchback, and also get great MPGs. Being small is the only thing they honestly succeeded at. The MPGs were very mundane for the size and it wasn’t even one of those fun-slow cars to drive fast.”

Never has a car had so much promise but delivered so little. Honda should take another crack at the CR-Z in its new EV-focused era.

Suggested by: engineerthefuture

“The Mustang II is what immediately comes to mind. Not just because it was a bad car (very arguably) but because it was a bad car that was banking on a good name.

“Courtesy of the Drive By Truckers, Daddy’s Cup:

“First one that I bought was a Mustang number two

“Nobody kept ‘em any longer than they kept a pair of shoes

“They started showing up at every used car, lot in town

“A V-eight on a Go-Cart, easy terms no money down”

Are you suggesting Ford is the great automaker here, or merely talking about the Mustang brand?

Suggested by: istillmissmyxj

“The Tucker 48. A great carmaker inasmuch as he brought numerous safety and ergonomic innovations. And it was their worst car. And best car. And only car.

“Hey, pedantry is the lymph fluid of a car nerd’s body.”

Is it the worst car from the best automaker or the best car from the worst? Sounds like it could go either way.

Suggested by: Steven Taylor (Facebook)

“Peugeot 1007. Peugeot had the reputation of making great handling cars (205 GTI, 405 mi16...etc) and comfortable (always difficult to mix these 2) but then they made this shitbox, good idea, very poor execution. It drove very badly.

“And looking for a pic online, looks like I am not the only one thinking the same…”

If Peugeot’s best cars include the likes of the 205 GTI and the 403, then yes this is definitely a misstep for the brand.

Suggested by: fabsic

“The Dodge Charger 2.2 with its ‘mighty’ four-banger.

“Absolutely zero styling cues from the classic second-gen Charger (while simultaneously daring to utilize a ‘69 in this 1982 ad) and FWD to boot, I guess we have to give that Dodge marketing team points for sheer chutzpah—still the turd of turds though.”

Is Dodge considered a “great automaker?” You can argue that one out in the comments below.

Suggested by: the1969dodgechargerfan

“The modern leather-lined crew-cab pickup truck. It’s neither a good “car” nor a very good truck, except, maybe, for towing. It’s too big, too inefficient, handles poorly because of the high center of gravity, and doesn’t offer secure, weatherproof storage (in its bed). If I had to narrow it down to one, it would be GM’s current Hummer, which adds too heavy and too ugly to the mix.”

Again, is General Motors a great company or one that’s just alright at making money?

Suggested by: jimmyzzzzzzz

“The VW Taos. But I might just be bitter.”

Are you bitter because it’s the worst car Volkswagen ever made, or because it’s the worst VW you ever bought?

Suggested by: Charles Klinetobe (Facebook)

“The XM. I’ve always loved BMW and still do root for them even if I am not a fan of where their design direction is headed. I’m not saying it’s not wrong to think about sales, as any company that plans to stay afloat, should have a healthy business model.

“However, with the XM, it’s nothing but a massive steaming fresh pile of excrement that serves no real value in BMW’s lineup. It’s ugly and has a worse power:weight ratio than BMW’s own solidly performing and fairly handsome X5M. The XM’s only purpose is to be as repulsively disgusting as the customer base that buys them just to crave attention.

“It makes perfect sense seeing as the buyers really love to make the XM their sole personality because the buyers themselves lack one. Speaking of, the XM is a failure in terms of sales, because BMW has a hard time moving them. It falls flat on its face when compared to a G-Wagon, Defender, Range Rovers, etc.”

No, tell us how you really feel about the XM and its buyers.

Suggested by: rahul2601

“The Lexus HS 250h. Introduced in 2010 and sold between MY2010 and 2012 in the US, it was Lexus’ first dedicated hybrid model, riding on the technological success of the RX 400h and LS 600h L. Displaying an updated version of the L-finesse design language first deployed circa 2006, the HS promised to bring increased levels of refinement and technology to the Lexus brand. The HS was something of a tweener, sitting between the compact (and longitude-RWD) IS and transverse-FWD ES in size. Still, it was related to neither. It was on the same New MC platform as the Toyota Corolla, Prius, etc, but was specifically a reskinned version of the Euro-market Toyota Avensis. But...the HS used the larger Camry Hybrid’s 2.4-liter HSD system.

“Problem was, the interior dimensions were awkward and didn’t result in greater space than what you’d get on a typical compact sedan, and the fuel economy (at 35/35/34 mpg city/highway/combined) was nowhere close to that of the Prius, which is what people expected (larger hybrid system notwithstanding). And the styling was just goofy. Finally, the HS (along with the redesigned third-gen RX) had the dubious honor of ushering in Lexus’ much-maligned mouse interface.

“Of course, Lexus rectified this with the handsome, new-for-2013 ES 300h. The ES in general was newly enlarged for 2013, using the Avalon’s full-size wheelbase instead of the Camry’s midsize one, like prior ES generations did. There was little compromise on the ES 300h, versus the regular ES 350. The hybrid certainly didn’t look any worse. Finally, the ES 300h got a new 2.5-liter hybrid system that upped things to 40/40/39 mpg city/highway/combined, plus almost 700 miles of maximum range between fill-ups, which were great for a large sedan.

“And so the HS remains an awkward footnote in Lexus history. It was also probably the brand’s first flop. That said, they did continue to sell it until 2017 or 2018 in other markets, before...replacing it with the ES 300h.

“With the HS’ tall, narrow stance and abbreviated wheelbase, I always thought it looked like someone took a better-looking car and squeezed it together at both ends.”

That’s a pretty compelling argument you make right there.

Suggested by: kyree

“Quite a few: Mercedes CLC, BMW XM, Jaguar X-Type, Maserati Biturbo, Ferrari Mondial.”

Quite a few good suggestions here, but if you had to pick just one, which would you choose?

Suggested by: Arda Şafak (Facebook)

“I was about to come out swinging in these comments when I saw the Cygnet as the lede image, and then I did the sensible thing and read the article.

“I agree with other comments that we need to decide what a ‘great’ automaker is, and then I will argue that ‘worst’ can still be a wonderful vehicle: just the worst offering they give.

“For instance: Porsche. I love the 914, but it’s probably the worst car they’ve ever made. I would still own one, though. I could also argue that the Macan is the worst Porsche if I wanted to have a spicy take because it has neither the handling or characteristics of their coupes or sedans, whilst also lacking the utility of the larger Cayenne, but my heart isn’t in that assertion.

“Instead I will pick on Lamborghini. The Urus. It looks like the Civic Type R designers got their hands on a Crosstour, is heavy (though not as heavy as the new M5...), and is the price of a significantly cooler and more interesting Huracan. I think that it’s an abandonment of the principles of fast and brash supercars and hypercars. It’s probably kept the company alive, though, so take my statement that it’s ‘the worst’ with a grain of salt.”

Don’t worry, theschrat, I’ll never say a bad word about the Cygnet.

Suggested by: theschrat

“Cadillac was once the ‘Standard of the World’ but started losing the script in the 1970's. There have been so many ‘bad’ Cadillacs since then, but my number one pick is the Cimarron.

“The Cimarron was essentially a Chevy Cavalier with some minor styling changes and a nicer interior for double the price.

“IMO the Cimarron wins the prize due to the pure cynicism exhibited by GM and Cadillac for even considering this concept for production.

“Some runners-up:

“Cadillac Catera - Same formula as the Cimarron, but with an Opel as a starting point rather than a J-car. Not a bad car, just a bad Cadillac

“Any Cadillac with the V-8-6-4 engine. Holy shit, this thing was terrible. Imagine trying to control cylinder deactivation with vacuum pressure and sorcerery instead of a microchip.

“Mid-80s Coupe de Ville - Downsized FWD version of the CdV that has been previously downsized in 1977. FWD, horrible engine, styling from an era when GM forgot how to draw a compound curve. My Cadillac-loving uncle test-drove one and went down the street to buy a Lincoln Town-car.”

So are you suggesting that the Cimarron is the worst Caddy ever, or the car that started the brand’s downfall?

Suggested by: earthbound-misfit-i