The worst car you ever owned?

It sounds like he had two happy days with the Jag ... the day he bought it and the day he sold it!

 

5. A 1974 Chevrolet Vega GT- Auto hatchback - Cons: it was rusting from the inside out despite the dealership anti-rust coating - due to bad factory welds. It leaked/burned about a quart of oil each month mainly round head gasket and the oil pan. The 3 speed auto tranny was poorly matched with the 4 cylinder engine so it had very poor acceleration and wasn't very fuel efficient ( about 23 mpg with regular 100% gas). Over inflating the tires and hypermiling increased my fuel efficiency to 24-25 mpg but the ride was very harsh made worst by the cheap driver's seat. McPherson struts made changing the shock absorbers a pain. Local mechanics simply hated it - it was if it was some anti-christ demon child. Pros: It had Air Conditioning. Hatchback with the rear seats down created alot of cargo space. Simple to maintain: I did my own oil changes and tune ups. easy to replace headlights/tail lights. changed the coolant and soforth. Upgraded the AM radio to a Am/FM stereo/tape casette unit myself. With a Helm's Factory manual - it was easier to assembly and disassmble than most cars. Easy to find junkyard parts to fix it. Lack of funds to keep it functional was the Vega's undoing since the Vega was a very *needy* car ... I literally drove it into the ground by 1986.

 

The Vega! Almost forgot about that gem! While not mine, my parents had a 1974 red Vega "Kammback" - back windows didn't roll down, it was always hot and it decided to implode once it was sold to a new owner with its hot little aluminum engine (if I recall correctly).

 

Yeah, an aluminum block with no iron liners and an iron head.

 

My parents had, and I drove for a while, #74 on the Edmund's list - the Datsun/Nissan 280ZX. I thought it was great, though I've never been in one of the 280Zs they compare it to. It remains the only manual transmission car I've had a lot of experience in. I've driven manual once in a great while more recently, and I manage to re-learn. Good experience. The scary thing is I saw one in a car museum recently...
I often compare the performance of the Prius that I have now to the 280ZX. Engine power (motor+engine combined for the Prius) is about the same, handling is about the same, and it's only a little slower (the 280ZX was a bit lighter).

 

Lucas and Jaguar=Cabin fire

 

All that = "BOOM"!

 

My favorite car of all time was my 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T. It had a 224 intercooled garrett turbocharged engine with the Chrysler common block 2.2l engine with Lotus heads. A 5 speed getrag manual trans. It was the fastest production family sedan in the USA at the time of manufacture. 0-60mph in 5 seconds. I had that car pushing 18lbs of boost and it would completely eat up ricers and bmws, spit them out, gargle with them, and then spit them out again...lol. I also loved my 87 Chrysler New Yorker Turbo... the car that talked!! ("Your door is ajar" No dear, its a door. A jar is what jelly goes in. lol) Far ahead of its time when it was manufactured. And luxurious, believe it or not.

The worst car I ever owed? Well, Ive owned a lot of cars in my day so this is hard to narrow it down to just one but it would have to go to my very first car when I was 16 - a 1978 Ford Fairmont. 2.3l four cylinder engine with a 3 speed auto trans. Was.slow.as.hell. And despite having a four cylinder engine (carbureted nonetheless) and a 7" rear axle (LOL), it got about 15mpg.

 

As of the most recent recall, the Prius is the most-recalled vehicle I've ever owned.

 

I take the Toyota recalls like a grain of salt... Consider the big 3 and how many things they should've had recalls for (sludged Chrysler 2.7/4.7 engines, Ford brake switches, etc) but never did to protect their image or so they didnt have to admit anything regarding their defective products. Then to add insult to injury, they wouldnt even help consumers with any of the costs associated with the repairs. I know 8 out of 10 times, even far out of warranty, Toyota does.

At least Toyota steps up to the plate and mans up "yup, we made a mistake".

 

Toyota had engine sludge issues as well, and it took a class action suit to bring them to action.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/automobiles/04SLUDGE.html?pagewanted=all

 

Yeah but at least they budged with a little prodding from some lawyers, the big 3 did not. Google "chrysler 2.7 problems" and give yourself a few hours to look through all of it.

 

Yeah just 6 years of "a little" prodding.

Toyota settles class-action suit on oil sludge buildup - Los Angeles Times

Settlement was in 2007.

 

Olds Omega... total POS.

 

Doesn't that describe a lot of Oldsmobiles?

 

My mom owned a Pinto. Now that was the worst car ever. She bought it new (I think 1978) and it was wore out in two years. I was in about 6th grade when my mom bought it and I could tell then it was a POS.

I still see one around on base. An old lady that volunteers at the thrift shop. Hers is still really nice (well maintained).

 

Did you ever notice that the first letters of the 4 badge engineered versions of the X-body spelled out Nova?

Nova
Omega
Ventura
Appolo

Edit: Thanks El Dobro. The Nova series was the RWD X-Car predecessors, not the X-Cars

 

In the USA, the X cars were
Citation
Omega
Phoenix
Skylark
which spells COPS.

 

You could also make Citation POS out of that