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Author Topic: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time  (Read 35503 times)

jwhynot

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #15 on: September 10, 2007, 02:23:00 PM »

I have a 2-year-old Ford Focus Wagon that has to be on someone's list.

I think that car was molded out of shit.  And none too carefully.

I guess quality is Job 2.

JW
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ssltech

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #16 on: September 10, 2007, 03:32:49 PM »

Some cars have no business on the "worst cars ever" list...

The (dealer-converted) Morgan Plus-8?

The Jaguar X-type? -Hell, the text even says:
<<It hardly matters that the X-Type was not that bad a car.>>
-Well, If you're listing the 50 WORST cars... then I VERY much beg to differ! Small, yes. and AWD standard? -Only in the states, mi amigo. I even drove a 2WD DIESEL X-type once... if you have a hard time dealing with the nicely-fitted 4WD US car, the Diesel will completely bake your noodle!

Much of this is plagiarised semi-directly from "crap cars" which I think may be the work of those wags over at http://www.sniffpetrol.com -Except that crap cars is rather better, and doesn't have the Shaguar on it. No, it has space for the Morris Marina. in fact, I think that it even makes a second case for it with the Morris Ital.
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SBG1BWYPL._SS500_.jpg

The author however, seems to have spent some time as an electronics service engineer in some capacity; since he deems otherwise average-for-the-time cars like the '81 caddy Fleetwood and the Ferrari Mondial to make the list because of spotty electronics... likewise the Lagonda (although that really WAS s nightmare) although he even lists multimeters and O'scopes in that review... underscoring my suspicions still further.

Anyhow, if you REALLY wanted to make the "worst cars ever" complitation, you'd simply HAVE to include a few more British efforts, like the 'Allegro' ("All-Aggro") -in fact an awful lot of BMC/British Leyland/Austin-Rover product would be tough to cut... http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/ is a great place to look at some of the failures...

I can't EVER disagree with the inclusion of the TR7 though: that thing was an utter piece if steaming crap! -Now if you (as many people have) put the Rover (formerly Buick) V8 in the Stag (which British Leyland considered... hindsight tells us that this was the wrong decision!) it would have NO place on that list... A beautiful car which came so close to getting a worthy motor... (sigh!)

Keith
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MDM (maxdimario) wrote on Fri, 16 November 2007 21:36

I have the feeling that I have more experience in my little finger than you do in your whole body about audio electronics..

Barkley McKay

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #17 on: September 10, 2007, 03:51:42 PM »

Hey, my 40 year old Humber Hawk has Lucas electrics!

All still working fine, but then again, it is all point to point wiring...

barks
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Barkley McKay

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #18 on: September 10, 2007, 03:55:19 PM »

ssltech wrote on Mon, 10 September 2007 20:32



Anyhow, if you REALLY wanted to make the "worst cars ever" complitation, you'd simply HAVE to include a few more British efforts, like the 'Allegro' ("All-Aggro") -in fact an awful lot of BMC/British Leyland/Austin-Rover product would be tough to cut... http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/ is a great place to look at some of the failures...

Keith


I drove an Allegro a couple of times. The steering wheel was nearly square surrounded by dark brown and tan trim...nice.
They had a reputation of popping out the rear windscreen if you jacked the car up in the wrong place.

barks
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ssltech

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #19 on: September 10, 2007, 10:06:28 PM »

Ah yes. The infamous "quartic" wheel.

Seems that British Leyland wasn't content with the concept of using the same shape as everyone else...  Rolling Eyes

http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdAllegro.jpg
Barkley McKay wrote:

...40 year old Humber Hawk...

Two-tone, I DO hope... with the "jam-butty" pattern, where the roof-top is the same as the lower body, with the "filling" in the middle? ...-A slight forward lean on the A-pillar? -A car with character, if ever there was one sir. -Won't win many races, but it makes a lovely gentle statement wherever you park it.

Hats off to you, sir!

Keith
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MDM (maxdimario) wrote on Fri, 16 November 2007 21:36

I have the feeling that I have more experience in my little finger than you do in your whole body about audio electronics..

RSettee

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #20 on: September 10, 2007, 11:00:58 PM »

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)

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Berolzheimer

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #21 on: September 10, 2007, 11:52:58 PM »

I always thought the Fiero was GM's way of getting risd of a bunch of Omega parts- they just sort of turned the car around, from front drive- front engined to rear drive- mid engined.  As far as I know it was the same engine, suspension, tranny, probably a bunch of other parts.  A guy out here was doing a cool electric conversion of the Fiero, though, just got rid of the engines altogether.
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ssltech

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #22 on: September 11, 2007, 08:05:40 AM »

Detroiot did turn out some stunning crap in the '70's... but the Brits pretty much had them matched.

However, the Italians really WERE formidable contenders.

The Ritmo (Strada in the UK). Ad slogan:
<<Designed by computers, Built by robots>> ...Bought by morons.

The Alfasud. -Promising sporty handling, but its achilles heel was that it was actually made out of rust.

Actually, pretty much the entire output of Turin came with 'disregard' colour-option swatches... -It didn't matter what colour you paid for, it ALWAYS turned a familiar cratered-brown colour and texture, usually within a couple of years.

The bond bug.
The Reliant Robin.

Legal loopholes (3-wheelers in Britain could be driven by younger drivers, using a motorcycle licence) are responsible for a LOT of crap.

Some cars are built crap, others have crapness thrust upon them... but some achieve crapness through a determined and relentless effort...

The Moskvitch Lada.

What's the difference between a Lada and Kylie Minogue's bra?
-You'll feel a PROPER tit in a Lada!

Oh, but Harris Mann, the design genius who gave us the TR7 was obsessed with wedge shapes. The 18/22 series Princess is a classic:
http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdPrincess.jpg

He originally shaped the Allegro also, (at first flush they may not look too similar, but hide everything from the A-pillar forward on the Allegro, and you might see similarities: the C-pillar-into-trunk transition bears a strong resemblance) but it wasn't felt to LOOK crap enough, so a team stepped in, insisted upon a taller engine (which killed the 'wedge' shape) and then shoved a litle piggy face on the front. Souple that with the quartic steering wheel, and you've got a REAL winner! Wink

Keith
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MDM (maxdimario) wrote on Fri, 16 November 2007 21:36

I have the feeling that I have more experience in my little finger than you do in your whole body about audio electronics..

Barkley McKay

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #23 on: September 11, 2007, 09:10:41 AM »

There is something a teeny weeny bit endearing about these Leyland wonders though. It is only 2 years since we scrapped the 1980 Austin Metro my folks had since new. Had a swish black velvety cloth interior (including rev counteer and green led clock-gosh!) matched to an obnoxious (or clueless?) bright vermillion exterior with tinted windows.

Funnily enough, I am sure there was an ad at the time that had a swathe of Austin Metros charging toward the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover...

barks

btw, Keith, my Humber is sadly, not a two tone, but metallic gun metal grey.
Heres a quick snap of it this morning on the way to work:

index.php/fa/6144/0/

Awaiting a new set of callipers and a hydrolics bleed having gone hydroscopic(?) It makes a good sofa to look at the garden though, whilst listening to Radio 4 and enjoying a cuppa.

b
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ssltech

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #24 on: September 11, 2007, 12:08:31 PM »

Ah, -might have been the earlier 1950's version with the lean-forward A-pillar... Make sure that you get a FLUSH rather than just a bleed, if the fluid has fulfilled it's hygroscopic duty... it'll go back to work corroding the new caliper cylinder/pistons otherwise... then a flush every 2 years, whether the car is driven or not. I flush all of our cars' fluid every 24 months, or -in the case of track-going vehicles- before EVERY track event.

Barkley McKay wrote

...1980 Austin Metro... ...Funnily enough, I am sure there was an ad at the time that had a swathe of Austin Metros charging toward the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover...


Ah yes, the "Buy British" campaign: -I remember it well.
http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/images/lc8story_02.jpg
http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/images/lc8story_01.jpg

It was a very dark time when the ONLY argument you can make to get people to buy your cars is that they are built in a country that so desperately needs your support... yet there we were on the cusp of the 1980s, with no better thing to say for a car than: 'Well, it isn't foreign...'

You may as well put it this way, though:

http://www.sniffpetrol.com/AdMetro.jpg

-And yet... and yet...

One might think that having watched a country squirm while its auto industry expires due to the executives thinking that "there'll always be a healthy demand for domestic cars, this import thing is just a fad", or some such nonsense. -When they get to the stage where they fall back on pariotism to sell sub-standard engineering to the presently-undscerning-but-not-for-long masses, it's the beginning of the end.

Of course that would never happen here...  Rolling Eyes

I hope someone is reading this in Detroit.

A few years ago, -by chance- my wife and I were eating breakfast at a 4-seater table at the Duke University cafeteria one morning. Rick Wagoner came over and asked if he could sit at our table... ("Hey," he said; "Aren't you SSltech???"... -kidding!!!-just kidding!) -Anyhow, when I was sure that he wasn't irritated by chatting about a couple of things automotive, I asked about his general thoughts as to the way forward. -At the time, I REALLY thought that he might have been someone to take the GM behemoth into the 21st century... but it now appears that he is absorbed into the general molasses-slow-and-heavy approach which means I'm seeing and hearing the same things that I heard all those years ago.

Oh, and Rick...

Tell GM to STOP quoting 'miles-per-gasoline-gallon' numbers for a f
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MDM (maxdimario) wrote on Fri, 16 November 2007 21:36

I have the feeling that I have more experience in my little finger than you do in your whole body about audio electronics..

Barkley McKay

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #25 on: September 11, 2007, 12:36:11 PM »

ssltech wrote on Tue, 11 September 2007 17:08

Ah, -might have been the earlier 1950's version with the lean-forward A-pillar... Make sure that you get a FLUSH rather than just a bleed, if the fluid has fulfilled it's hygroscopic duty... it'll go back to work corroding the new caliper cylinder/pistons otherwise... then a flush every 2 years, whether the car is driven or not. I flush all of our cars' fluid every 24 months, or -in the case of track-going vehicles- before EVERY track event.
Keith


Ah, that would be the Series I-111 (1957-63) models. Mine is a Series IV (1964-68). Same car but with a flatter roof and slightly higher windscreen. The A and B posts are more or less the same 'rake' but the series I-III had a curved rear windscreen. The Hawks, Snipe and Imperial all had the same body, just posher trim and fittings repectively.

index.php/fa/6147/0/

Thanks for the advice. I'll make sure my mechanic does it. Sadly I am not 'allowed' to work on it myself (was a real escape!) that much anymore due to a progressive hand condition. It was either the car or the piano playing

barks
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Barkley McKay

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #26 on: September 11, 2007, 12:38:44 PM »

Series IV...

index.php/fa/6148/0/

ahem, back on topic as these are NOT in the 50 worst cars of all time.

barks
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ssltech

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #27 on: September 11, 2007, 12:51:54 PM »

Stately! Thumbs Up

now for some entertainment:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5SDYzw60jjg

Keith
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MDM (maxdimario) wrote on Fri, 16 November 2007 21:36

I have the feeling that I have more experience in my little finger than you do in your whole body about audio electronics..

Berolzheimer

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #28 on: September 11, 2007, 10:15:27 PM »

Wasn't there another wedge shaped roadster out around the same time as the TR-7?  A Fiat maybe?

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ssltech

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Re: Time Magazine: The 50 Worst Cars of All Time
« Reply #29 on: September 12, 2007, 07:53:49 AM »

The X1/9. Designed by Bertone, who got his name on the B/C pillar of each and every one. (Super-biased and highly partial  (to the TR7) comparison here: -in reality, the X1/9 was a VASTLY better car.)

The X1/9 had a backwards (counterclockwise!) rev counter, because the Italians were running out of ideas to compete with British Crapness, and were having to resort to just being silly. The fact that their car was just fundamentally better left them at a significant disadvantage in the crapness challenge.

In the end, superior British inferiority was just too much for the Italians, and -as a reward- the British got to sell their car companies to the Europeans, and the Italians -by way of punishment- got to keep theirs.

...It's a funny old world...

Keith
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MDM (maxdimario) wrote on Fri, 16 November 2007 21:36

I have the feeling that I have more experience in my little finger than you do in your whole body about audio electronics..
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