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50. 1997 Plymouth Prowler

In the late 90’s Chrysler engineers were given free reign to design whatever they wanted in a “hod rod” or “sportster” type vehicle. The result was a design from Thomas C. Gale, the Plymouth Prowler. The Plymouth Prowler looked like a hod rod from the 30’s, only it didn’t have a hot rod engine under the hood. Cutting corners and pinching pennies, Chrysler plopped a 3.5 liter V-6 under the hood of the Prowler, giving it a less than impressive 250 horsepower. The open wheel front end and hot rod fuselage looked nice, but the lack of power made the Prowler an unappealing dud. To make matters worse, the Prowler was cursed with an automatic transmission, so you couldn’t even drive the vehicle like the speedster it appears to be.

49. 1997 GM EV1

The EV1 was ahead of it’s time when it came out. It was the best electric vehicle anyone had ever seen. Designed to comply with the strict zero-emissions-vehicle mandate in California, the EV1 was a decent car. Decent power, giving it a nice amount of speed, while also being fun to drive. GM made claims that the EV1 was the next step in all electric cars, eliminating pollution causing gasoline engines. Unfortunately, GM was off the mark. The battery technology was not sufficient at the time to deliver on GM’s claims. The lead-acid batteries couldn’t give drivers the range they needed for the car to be useful. The later nickel-metal hydride batteries couldn’t handle the load either. The EV1 was also incredibly expensive to build, leading to GM terminating the project.

48. 1996 Ferrari F50

After making the awesome F40, a supercar capable of speeds upwards of 190 mph, Ferrari tried to capture lightning in a bottle a second time with the F50. The engine was powerful, with a whopping 513 horsepower at the rear wheels. The Suspension perfectly tuned, letting the F50 handle corners like the supercar that it is. Those faithful to Ferrari gobbled up the less than 400 produced by Ferrari without batting an eye, but the F50 was a hideous car. The Ferrari F50 is without question the ugliest Ferrari ever built. The troughs on the hood, the deep cavities in the side panels, and the wing that was a part of the rear fender all add to the hot mess that is the Ferrari F50.

47. 1995 BMW 318ti

Introduced in 1995 the BMW 318ti was a three-door hatchback targeted at customers who couldn’t afford the more expensive 3-series. BMW tried to get away with making an incredibly cheap car, and assumed that people would but it just because it had a BMW badge on it. Consumers saw through this marketing ploy, as the car looked cheap inside and out. It looked like an E36 3-series that had the rear end chopped off and replaced with a hatchback. The only engine was a weak 1.8 liter 138 horsepower four-cylinder that took more than nine seconds to reach 60 mph. The interior was covered in mostly tacky plastic and the seats were uncomfortable even on short drives. Sales where dismal as they should have been for this pile of junk.

46. 1991 Subaru SVX



Subaru is not known for making bad cars, if anything they are lauded as one of the better car makers on the planet, but the SVX is a definite misstep on their part. The SVX stands as a monument to misguided styling, with odd panel breaks and complex windows that defined the car – and killed it in the showroom. The windows were a two-part design, with fixed outer sections that had sliding panes set within them. They might have made sense to the stylist who came up with them, but to everyone else, the windows seemed ridiculous. Like the fashion of wearing clothes backwards during the mercifully brief reign of the hip hop duo Kris Kross, the SVX’s radical window design died a quick death: The car was taken off the market in 1995, just four years after it was introduced.

45. 1990 Ford Explorer

The Ford Explorer is one of the top selling cars in Ford’s stable, and rightfully so, the Explorer is a great vehicle. The reason the Explorer is on the list is due to the Ford/Firestone tire controversy. When first sold in 1990, Ford internal documents show the company engineers recommended changes to the vehicle after it rolled over in tests prior to production. Rather than follow through with these changes, ford lowered the recommended psi of the tires to 26. The lower pressure led to the tires getting hot, which led to tread separation, leading to the vehicle rolling over. Over 240 deaths resulted from these failure and over 3,000 estimated catastrophic injuries also resulted from the issue.

44. 1989 Eagle Premier

There was nothing redeeming about the Eagle Premier. There was no style to the exterior design, with generic body lines and boxy edges. The engine was a 2.5 liter AMC four-cylinder that produced an underwhelming 111 horsepower. The interior was plain and without frills, even though the car was marketed as a luxury vehicle. Everything about the Premier was underwhelming, it was as though the designers didn’t even try to make a car that consumers would want. This car looks like the generic silhouette of a vehicle in which you would spot only on a 25-year old poster that has been hanging in tired DMV, generic and apathetic in nature, faded and defeated from years of exposure to fluorescent lighting and the restless complaints of impatient souls.

43. 1985 Yugo GV

Imported by Malcolm Bricklin, the same guy who designed the Bricklin SV1, the Yugo GV was a terrible car. Built in Soviet-bloc Yugoslavia, the Yugo GV seemed like it was thrown together quickly so the assembler could go somewhere else, perhaps to assemble a better car. The engine was weak, resulting in poor acceleration and a low top speed. The engine also routinely failed, due to the timing belt snapping. The electrical system was known to have shorts, resulting is that wonderful burning wires smell filling the cabin and sometimes pieces of the car would just fall off. There’s some people who claim that rigorous maintenance of the Yugo will keep it running with no problems, but a pile of junk that you need to constantly maintain is still a pile of junk.

42. 1985 Alfa Romeo GTV 6

Usually the GTV badge is worn on powerful Alfa Romeo vehicles, having been proudly worn on rally champions in the 60’s and 70’s. During the underpowered 80’s the badge was worn on the less than impressive GTV 6. The exterior of the GTV 6 was praised, the fastback body was aggressive and fitting for a vehicle wearing the GTV badge. Unfortunately the engine of the GTV 6 was a disaster. The gaskets, hoses, and belts were all brittle and prone to failure, resulting in the GTV 6 leaking constantly, in some cases suffering engine failure. To make matters worse, Alfa Romeo left the U.S. market in the 90’s making replacement parts difficult to locate.

41. 1985 Mosler Consulier GTP

Built by Warren Mosler, the Consulier GTP was a race car built of of bits and pieces of other cars. The engine from one car, a steering column from another, mix matched gauges, a suspension from here, and a transmission from over there. His intention was to save money and make the car lighter. In this he succeeded, the car had a superior power-to-weight ratio and was eventually banned from racing. The issue with the Consulier GTP was the looks. This was one of the most hideous cars ever built, looking like something that was slapped together in the backyard of an eastern bloc country. This experiment proves that building a car is much harder than it looks, and requires more than just technical knowledge.

40. 1984 Maserati Biturbo

The Maserati Biturbo is another example of a luxury car manufacturer trying to build smaller, more affordable cars. In a bold move, Maserati stopped making supercars and focused on smaller vehicles, resulting in the creation of the Biturbo. The Biturbo was an awkward clone of the BMW 3-series, with rear wheel drive and a six-cylinder engine. The engine was equipped with a twin-turbo, the first ever twin-turbo on a production vehicle. If anything, Maserati deserves a little credit for being the first to stuff a twin-turbo into a production vehicle. The Biturbo would have been a good car, if it wasn’t so poorly made. If it could leak, break, burn out, seize up, or just stop working, it would do so on the Biturbo.

39. 1982 Camaro Iron Duke

The Camaro is a car known for having a big powerful motor and the potential for speed. The 1982 Camaro Iron Duke was the exact opposite of this. The engine was a 2.5 liter, four-cylinder that had a underwhelming 50 horsepower. The Iron Duke was the smallest, weakest, most un-Camaro engine ever placed under the hood of a Camaro. To make matters worse, the Iron Duke was mated to a three-speed pile of garbage transmission. With a zero to sixty time of over 20 seconds, the Iron Duke went nowhere fast. It’s pretty embarrassing when you’re sitting behind the wheel of a Camaro and a grandmother in a station wagon blows past you like you’re standing still.

38. 1982 Cadillac Cimarron

In an effort to get into the luxury compact market during the 80’s, Cadillac rushed production of the Cimarron. They took a GM small car platform and covered it in glitz. Leather upholstery, air conditioning, alloy wheels, intermittent wipers, and anything else that they could cram into the car were added. Customers saw right through Cadillacs ploy and immediately recognized the car for what it was: a Chevrolet Cavalier covered in glitz and glam. The engine was the same little four-cylinder found in the Buick Skyhawk and the Oldsmobile Firenza. Cadillac tried to keep the Cimarron alive, even adding in a V-6 option in 1985, but consumers never took the bait. In 1988 the Cimarron was discontinued. The Cimarron was such a colossal failure that Cadillac product director John Howell kept a picture of it in his office with the caption “Lest we forget” written on it.

37. 1981 DeLorean DMC-12

The DeLorean may be an iconic car due to its role in the Back to the Future films, but as a real world car the DeLorean was nowhere near as cool as its time traveling counterpart. The brainchild of John Z. DeLorean, the first DeLoreans were produced in a factory in Northern Ireland. The car was heavy, under powered and over priced. The little 2.8 liter Peugeot V-6 under the hood was ill-equipped to move the massive stainless steel monster. Without some modifications, it’s questionable if the DeLorean could actually get up to 88 mph. The one thing the DeLorean had going for it was that it was a cool looking car, especially the doors. The only problem with the gullwing style doors was that once the struts wore out, you needed to have plenty of arm strength to open and close them. Dropping one of those steel doors on your leg would not feel good.

36. 1981 Cadillac Fleetwood V-8-6-4

The Cadillac Fleetwood V-8-6-4 was a pretty reliable, well made car, with the exception of one thing: the cylinder deactivation technology. Here in 2015, cylinder deactivation is a stellar idea. When the engine is under light load, the on-board computer deactivates a cylinder bank and the car saves on gas mileage. In 1981 however, on-board computers were still in their beta stages. The V-8-6-4’s cylinder deactivation was anything but smooth. The ECM lacked the programming and processing power needed to manage the system efficiently. The car would jerk, buck, stall, shudder, and in extreme instances fail. Cadillac issued thirteen updated PROM chips for the ECM to correct the issue, but it still wasn’t enough. Luckily the vehicle could be taken to the dealer to have the system deactivated.

35. 1980 Ferrari Mondial 8

Ferrari isn’t a company you would expect to have a car on this list, but even the italian supercar company made some mistakes. The Mondial was based on the 308 chassis and was big, heavy, and weak for a Ferrari. The mid-engine V-8 only had an output of 214 horsepower. The electronics had a habit of failing and the smell of burning wires wasn’t uncommon. The engine itself had its fair share of problems as well. Some of the blame for the Mondials shortcomings can be blamed on the decision to make a more affordable Ferrari, leading to a cheap vehicle. Seems like anytime a high end sports car company tries to make a low cost sports car they end up with something like the Mondial.

34. 1980 Corvette 305 “California”

Thanks to the strict federal emissions requirements of the 70’s, many of the gas guzzling muscle cars we all love from the 60’s ended up as underpowered shadows of their former selves in the 70’s and 80’s. Of the cars depowered in this way, the Corvette was hit hardest, even worse was the “California” edition. Due to even stricter standards in California, the Corvette ended up with a weak V-8 motor that put out 180 horsepower and a power-draining three-speed automatic transmission. This was a Corvette in name only, the essence was stripped out of it and it’s dead husk was sold to the public. Thankfully as technology advanced we found ways to make the Corvette comply with emissions regulations and be the powerhouse we love.

33. 1978 AMC Pacer

It may have been the car Wayne and Garth drove in Wayne’s World, but the AMC Pacer was far from a good car. Even with the icon status the Pacer has achieved due to those films, it is still regarded as one of the ugliest cars of all time, as made evident by a poll done by Hagerty Insurance. The large, bulbous windshield acted like a magnifying glass and rapidly heated up the car’s interior and not even the A/C system could save you; that is, when the A/C actually worked. The Pacer had asymmetric doors – the right was longer than the left, so passengers could climb into the back more easily. But the oddball design feature had unexpected consequences. When the Pacer was converted into a station wagon, items stored in the back fell out when the right door was opened.

32. 1978 FSO Polonez

The FSO Polonez is a Polish vehicle, that was considered by many to be one of the most undependable, unstylish cars ever made. The car’s name comes from the Polish dance, polonaise. The materials used to build the Polonez were cheap and resulted in the car being relatively unsafe. Jeremy Clarkson of BBC’s Top Gear had these choice words to say about the Polonez: Built by communists out of steel so thin you could use it as a neck curtain, it is as reliable and long lasting as a pensioner’s erection. I can only assume that here, [the stylist] was experimenting with trying to design a car after consuming four liters of absinthe.” Even though it was a rather terrible car, the Polonez was produced until 2002.

31. 1976 Chevrolet Chevette

The Chevette was constructed to be an inexpensive economy class vehicle. While the succeeded in their quest, the end result was an unreliable pile of junk. Light switches shorted out, transmissions failed early in the vehicle’s life, and sometimes the car just wouldn’t start. The Chevette had a slow top speed due to its tiny 51 horsepower engine and weak four-speed transmission. The brakes were terribly inadequate, making it difficult to stop the vehicle. looks wise, the Chevette was a rather ugly little car,with a long snout and stumpy body. Due to brand loyalty, plenty of people bought the Chevette when it came out, and because of their experiences with it many ended up switching car brands to get the bad taste of the Chevette out of their mouths.

30. 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda

Designed by William Towns the Aston Martin Lagonda was described as an extreme interpretation of the classic 1970’s “folded paper” style. When it came out and to this day the Lagonda is considered an oddly designed car. The interior was awash in leather and the electronic instrumentation was state of the art for its time. The problem is the electronics failed constantly. The Lagonda was outfitted with digital LED dashboards and touch pad controls, that were great when they worked, but for the most part they didn’t. Mechanical failure was a common problem with the Lagonda as well, with the engine needing constant repairs. On paper the Lagonda was a great idea, but the technology wasn’t fully fleshed out at the time. Unless you had a background in electronics and auto mechanics, you would have a hard time keeping the Lagonda on the road.

29. 1975 Morgan Plus 8 Propane

The Morgan Motor Company made some great cars during it’s time. With wing fenders, wooden-frame bodies, and single pillar front suspensions, Morgans are built to emulate the old fashioned way cars were built. If you didn’t know better you would think their vehicles were built in the 30’s. In the early 70’s the U.S. emissions and safety standards became more strict, and Morgan ended up having to stop selling cars in the US. In an effort to continue the life of the Morgan Plus 8, Bill Fink, a rich car dealer, managed to retrofit a Buick/Rover 8 and get it running on propane. For a few years people were driving around with a tank of propane hanging behind the rear bumper, making the Morgan Plus 8 almost as dangerous as the Pinto.

28. 1975 Trabant

Meaning “satellite” in German, the Trabant’s name was inspired by the Soviet Sputnik. The vehicle was produced in East Germany and is an example of a vehicle created by communism. The engine was outdated and inefficient, with only 26 horsepower, and the exhaust was incredibly smoky and full of pollutants. The Trabant produced nine times the hydrocarbons and five times the carbon monoxide emissions of the average European car of 2007. The two-stroke engine didn’t have an oil injection system, so oil needed to be added to the fuel tank. Speaking of fuel tanks, the lack of a fuel pump in the Trabant meant the fuel tank needed to be placed above the motor in the engine bay. This is so fuel could be gravity fed to the carburetor. The fuel tank being in that location increased the risk of fire in front end accidents.

27. 1975 Bricklin SV1

The Bricklin SV1 was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin, a millionaire who had previously founded Subaru of America. The designer of the Bricklin was Herb Grasse. The plan for the Bricklin SV-1 was to make a safe and economical sports car; the SV stood for “Safety Vehicle.” Unfortunately due to the weight of all the added safety features, the Bricklin was just a safe sports car. The roll cage, motorized gull-wing doors, and 5 mph bumpers proved too heavy for the V-8 engine to handle. Bricklin tried to bond fiberglass to acrylic plastic, which had yet to be perfected at the time, resulting in higher failure rates and production costs. The radiator was small and had only a single opening, causing many Bricklins to overheat.

26. 1975 Triumph TR7

Five years after the failure that was the Triumph Stag, Triumph delivered the TR7. Shaped like a wedge, the TR7 was just as poorly built as the Stag. The electrical system was a nightmare, with short circuits a common occurrence. The carburetors needed constant maintenance to keep the car running properly. Timing chains snapped, the roof leaked, both the oil and water pump were known to fail, and the flip up headlights refused to flip up. There was even a report of the rear axle falling off the car. The TR7 was one of the last vehicles sold by Triumph in America, and was one of the last vehicles made by the company before closing its doors in 1984.

25. 1974 Jaguar XK-E V12 Series III

The Jaguar E-Type was a fantastic car in the 60’s, with a sleek design and powerful engine. In 1974 it had become a shadow of its former self. Trying to meet the strict emissions standards of the U.S., Jaguar replaced the reliable 4.2 liter six-cylinder that was used in previous E-Types for a 5.3 liter V12. The oversized engine added a great deal of weight to the front end, making the sports car nose heavy. The engine was also difficult to keep tuned, as there were now double the valves. The exterior was unappealing, with a stretched out nose (needed to house that huge engine) and oversized fenders. The body lines were a mess and the bumpers were made of rubber, this was not Jaguar’s best outing and the sales reflected it.

24. 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV

The previous model Lincoln Continental’s were well made, popular vehicles. The Mark IV was a misstep for the Lincoln company. Stylistic choices are among the top complaints for the Mark IV. A tacky opera window, a standard vinyl roof, and flip-up headlights that didn’t always work were the among the top offenders. The Mark IV handled horribly, needing plenty of room to navigate a corner and requiring constant attention to keep it from veering off the road. The Mark IV had a decent engine, producing 365 horsepower, but the tightening emissions restrictions crippled the engine, After all the changes to comply with emission standards, the Mark IV was reduced to a whimpy 212 horsepower engine.

23. 1971 Ford Pinto

The Ford Pinto was a mediocre car at best. It handled ok enough, the suspension was decent, and the engine while not powerful, was reliable. What makes the Pinto such a terrible car was the safety risk involved in driving one. When involved in a rear end collision, the Pinto had a tendency to burst into flames. This was due to the rear end not having enough reinforcement to protect the fuel tank. To make matters even worse, there was a memo sent out by the Ford company to its senior management regarding this problem. In the memo the powers that be at Ford outline that it would cost $70 million dollars less to pay the families of those injured than it would cost to reinforce the fuel tank.

22. 1971 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron Two-Door Hardtop

The Chrysler Imperial LeBaron Two-Door Hardtop was a ugly as it was unreliable. The exterior was boxy and plain, with some of the longest fenders in automotive history. The LeBaron Two-Door handled like you would expect a 19 foot road boat to handle, poorly. Steering was very floaty, adding to the turn radius of the over-sized vehicle. The suspension did an admirable job of absorbing road feel, resulting in a comfortable ride at least. It was powered by Chrysler 440 V-8 engine, which had a history of problems ranging from leaks to engine failure. For a vehicle with a 350 horsepower engine, the LeBaron was rather slow; taking 10 seconds to reach 60 mph.

21. 1970 Triumph Stag

Debuting in 1970 the Triumph Stag was marketed as “A Different Kind of Triumph.” They weren’t wrong, the Stag is different all right, just not in a good way. Previous Triumphs were regarded as handsome, while the Stag was awkward and rather ugly. The Stag was a convertible, but because the chassis was weak, a fat roll hoop was attached to the windshield header in order to give the chassis more rigidity. This took away the convertible look and turned it into something unique and weird. A newly developed V-8 engine was used in the Stag, which was more powerful than the V-6 usually seen in Triumphs. Unfortunately the V-8 engine was terribly unreliable. Timing chains broke and main bearings were known to seize. The Stag marked the beginning of the end for the Triumph brand.

20. 1970 AMC Gremlin

Richard Teague designed some cool cars like the Oldsmobile Rocket and the AMC Hornet, he also designed the horrible AMC Gremlin. Trying to beat Ford and GM to the market with an affordable subcompact, AMC created the Gremlin. The Gremlin had an odd shape to it, with an elongated front end and a stunted rear end. This lead to weight distribution issues and caused handling problems. The six-cylinder motor was heavy and choppy, but had some power behind it. The Gremlin was faster than the others in its class, but a rubbish suspension and poor handling made it dangerous to go too fast. The Gremlin is a good example of a car manufacturer trying to cut corners to save a buck and ending up with a subpar vehicle.

19. 1970 Bond Bug Three-Wheeler

The Bond Bug is the product of car designers being captivated by the idea of making cars with fiberglass. Since they didn’t have to deal with the expensive process of bending sheet metal, or be held down by the limitations of sheet metal, they could make a vehicle look however they wanted. The result was a vehicle that looked like the nose of a spaceship from a sci-fi movie on wheels. In order to save money, the manufacturer used only three wheels, because British tax law made it cheaper to license a vehicle with only three wheels. The Bond Bug came in only one color: neon orange, further adding to the bizarreness of the vehicle. If the goofy looks weren’t enough, the three wheel design made it easy for the Bond Bug to roll over, making it an ugly car that was also unsafe.