Dude, that is HILARIOUS! And I agree, that there were some similarities to the "crap cars" book, and I believe that they missed the Mustang 2 and Vega on this list that was in Crap Cars (what was the tag line for the Vega? Or was it a Datsun? That "this car was offered with 'rust' as a body paint style straight from the factory" or something along those lines?).
I agree that the Pontiac Fiero should have made that list.
Some of the cars on this list weren't bad perse, more like ineffective, like the 1980 California 305 Corvette, which may have been anemic and not up to Corvette standards, but still it wasn't that bad. Not Mustang 2 type bad.
I had no idea that the "Iron Duke" was that bad! 90 goddamned horsepower?? In a Camaro!? This one made me laugh alot:
"There was a time when 90 horsepower was a lot, and that time was 1932. Fifty years later, it was bupkis, especially under the hood of Chevy's beloved Mustang-fighter, the Camaro. As the base engine for the redesigned 1982 Camaro (and Pontiac Firebird), the 2.5-liter, four-cylinder "Iron Duke" was the smallest, least powerful, most un-Camaro-like engine that could be and, like the California Corvette, it was connected to a low-tech three-speed slushbox. So equipped, the Iron Duke Camaro had 0-60 mph acceleration of around 20 seconds, which left Camaro owners to drum their fingers while school buses rocketed past in a blur of yellow."
Other ones they should have had on the list:
--mid 60's Valiant with the big glass dome on the back that eventually became the early template for the very earliest versions of the Barracuda. Ugly as sin.
--K-Car. This missed this!? Come on.
--Dodge Caravan. These things always smoked oil...I think the oil seals always went, and most of the ones that I saw (and still see!) always have a cloud of blue smoke behind 'em. Plus, they helped pave the way for the SUV trend (along with the Bronco and Jimmy, which were more sport than utility).
--Dodge Rampage...the Omni/ Charger front with a truck bed on the back. Nice if you want to haul a couple of twigs.
--Dodge Charger in the 80's. Based on the Omni, the Charger went from the 70's equivalent of an Incredible Hulk muscle car to a Bruce Banner styled compact vehicle.
--80's Hyundai's. I believe their first option was "rust".
--70's Honda Civics.
--Hurst Olds in the 80's. (Note to Olds--monogrammed seats don't make you go faster...what was the car's output, 180 HP?)
--Rambler Ambassador
--Ford Maverick
--Geo Metro
--lest we forget Lada cars?
--Dodge Aspen (mediocre styling, appalling fake woodgrain on some station wagons....didn't Chrysler resurrect the fake woodgrain trend in the 70's? Though we had an Aspen, and the engine kept on going and going)