A 1957 Plymouth 6 with standard shift. This car was thrown into production by Chrysler without much testing, and had numerous flaws:
Windshield seals leaked so badly I could have used wipers on the inside as well as the outside.
Rear view mirror was mounted on the dash where it would not stay in place as as sat on a stick, and vibrated so badly it was useles.
Corrosion protection was zilch; the car rusted out so badly that the driver’s seat fell through the floor at 60,000 miles. Other posters had similar experience, I believe.
The “famous” torsion bars in the front suspension were poorly tempered, and would break without any warning.
Rear springs rusted out so badly most of the leaves snapped
The windshield wiper motor failed without any warning during a rain storm.
The car started using oil at about 60,000 miles and I kept it for another 20,000 befor getting rid of it.
Numerous other items were flimsy and poorly made; this was probable the first bidegradable American car.
Those buyers who chose automatic had considerable difficulty with the push button gear shift on the dash.
By today’s standards this would be something to expect from a third world country, not the proud legacy of Walter P Chrysler!
Chrysler introduced the 5 year 50,000 mile warranty in the early sities to get customer confidence back. I did actually buy a 1965 Dodge Dart as a result.
In order for my knees NOT to hit the steering wheel I had to put the seat all the way back. But when I did that I then had to lean forward to even touch the steering wheel. If you were over 6’2 you had to have a inseam no longer then 28.
Besides the ergonomics…it was noisy…all the side windows leaked air. It wasn’t very peppy for being such a small car. I felt so unsafe in that vehicle. Glad it was only a rental.
Drove a 76’ Pinto for a night of pizza delivery about 20 years ago. The car actually didn’t drive bad at all, and it got great fuel economy. Except I used $5 in gas and $10 in oil, as it leaked from the rear main seal and smoked out the competition. Had an 81’ Pontiac Firebird that everything went wrong with–it didn’t drive too bad, but replaced leaf springs, tranny, numerous bulbs, heater blower—what fool decided to have access to this through the wheel well? There was a cut out marked in the fender well where you had to cut to access the blower. Just so many stupid problems too numerous to count. Drove a Sunfire and it was the most lackluster car ever—boring, plasticky, little power—pure disposable econobox.
I agree 100%. I too rented one for a few days back in 2007 whilst on a ski trip in Utah. The car I got only had 600 miles on the clock when I rented it. The interior fit/finish and materials were lacking even for an econobox. Handling was surprisingly sluggish for such a small car. The CVT transmission was not a good match with the wheezy 2.0L I4. It was particularly slow accelerating from a dead stop. The engine noise was very noticeable at over 3000 RPM, which due to the CVT transmission and the engine’s lack of power is where the revs were most of the time. As Mcparadise noted visibility wasn’t good. It’s only redeeming quality was the fuel economy. It returned 33 MPG despite me constantly flogging it. But overall it’s an appalling car.
My experience mirrors yours exactly, FoDaddy. Great MPG but nothing else to redeem this vehicle. Driving a Caliber makes you aware, 24/7, that you’re in a REALLY cheap car, and there’s no excuse for the lousy visibility.
By far, a brand new 1992 Park Avenue that had a problem with an electric relay, somewhere, that would not close after the engine was shut off. The car was designed to be under full power for five minutes after shut off, but sometimes this unknown relay (GM told me after 24 mos worth of repairs) would not close so the battery would get drained and car would not start. I had the car (leased) for 24 months, drove it for about 11. In the shop the rest of the time. It had smooth door locks (power, of course) that had no gripping area. One time, I got stuck in the car when the locks would not pop up after I shut off the engine, and I could not get out!!! I was literally trapped until I called a friend to come jump me so I had power and the auto-locks would pop up. The last GM product I will ever buy, I hope. GM finally got sick of giving me replacement vehicle to drive while the Park was in the shop, and let me out of my lease one year early.
I remembered my mom’s 1976 Ford Maverick with 200 6 cyl I think, It was horrible with enigne trouble also the worst was about three years old and it already rust all over place. The bottom door had huge holes. I believe Ford at that time had trouble with body rust resisitance. Also I once owned 1984 Ford Ranger with 2.8 V6 engine. OMG it has huge problem with eninge oil leak, stallings, few lists to find things wrong with it. It was POS.
Pete
The engine may have decently reliable (by 1970’s standards)…but the rest of the car was JUNK. Rusted out in 2-3 years…Tranny problems…electrical problems…things just falling off. I was working as a mechanic then while in college…They were JUNK vehicles…Only one worse was the Chevy Vega.
Only one worse was the Chevy Vega… I know we are talking of different years but I can best you on junk cars. While I never owned one the Dodge Omni/ Plymouth Horizon were IMOO worse.
First year had the 1.6 Peugeot or Renault oil burning engine.
While my first car, 1971 Ford Pinto, ranks right up there (down there?), the worst – and most hair-raisingly exciting, at times – has to be a mud-colored Bulgarian (I think) Lada, rented during a stay in Greece in 1974. The manual shift lever was on the dashboard, just out of my comfortable reach, a nice ergonomic match for the high-steppin’ jackrabbit of a clutch. I never did find the horn, and I wished I could have, because the brakes were sort of a yes-and-no proposition. In traffic, it lurched and swung, and rode like a bucking bronco – not for anyone prone to seasickness. Swapped it with the rental company in a day or two, once my heart rate returned to normal. The VW Golf they gave me felt like a limo.
I know we are talking of different years but I can best you on junk cars. While I never owned one the Dodge Omni/ Plymouth Horizon were IMOO worse.
I even posted that as the WORSE car I ever drove. But the Omni came out AFTER the Vega and Pinto. There might have been a 1-2 year overlap of when the Omni was introduced and the Vega/Pinto was introduced. I’m Not contending that the Vega was a UNRELIABLE car…IT WAS…but it wasn’t a bad car to drive. It was fun…sporty…cofortable…handled well…just that it was very very unreliable. So was the Pinto. The Omni was probably more reliable then either of those…but lousy to drive.
Those who are veterans of this board know my answer already, namely my '74 Volvo!
Ergonomically, it was fine. However its reliability was so poor, and its rate of both oil burning and transmission leakage by 60k was so bad, that it was just not possible to take an extended trip without carrying a large quantity of both motor oil and transmission fluid. And, of course, I always needed to carry a spare Bosch fuel pump to cure the inevitable no-start that would be caused by yet another pump failure.
It eventually got to the point where the need to carry fluids and spare parts was such that there was little room left for luggage!
My brother, fresh out of graduate school, bought a 1976 Gremlin stickshift 6 with no extras. The main vice of the car was its nose-heavy nature with zero traction on slippery surfaces. Costruction of the non-powertrain items was flimsy, and the distributor had a habit of wearing out contacts fast, leaving you unpredictably stranded somewhere after shutting off the car for gas. Since my brother had spent 3 years studying in England where he owned an Austin Mini, he though the Gremlin was a neat car!
He did drive it till 1987 when he bought a Honda Accord which was a dream car in every way compard to the Gremlin, which was an almost third world attempt to make an economy car from something bigger.
A guy by the name of Phil Edmondston, A US marine who emigrated to Canada became a consumer advocate, and founded the Automobile Protection Asssociation (APA), based in Montreal. He launched a “Rusty Ford Owners” class action lawsuite against Ford, first in Canada, where the government then started legislation on rust protection (since the car companies just were not interested)and it subsequently was adopted in the US. My first car with rust protedtion was a 1976 Ford Granada, which had an early attempt to protect the rocker panels. It was much better than my 1971 Merecury Comet, which was almost bio-degradable.
Rust protection, always practiced by Volvo was one of the most successful consumer-driven innovations. But it started in Canada by a class action lawsuite led by an expatriate American.
1969 AMC Hornet, delivered it without even having the trim pieces all attached (new car) and wound up rebuilding engine and replacing every other part before 40K (even timing chain failed!)Did all the exhaust, shocks, 2nd valve job,…
And that was my wifes car…I had a FIAT that was my worst, and the 59 Plymouth that rusted through the floors at 60mi. while I was driving…that was fun!
Josepeh, one of my classmates in college had a well-off dad, and he got a Chevy II with the biggest V8 and a high performance rear end. This little car ran great in the fall but became a terror on wheels at the first snowfall. The skinny tires with poor tration and all that power in a nose heavy car made for treacherous handling. I don’t think he kept the car very long; the next year he was back with a Barracuda fastback, a slight improvement, but mot much.