50 WORST CARS OF ALL TIME

I have seen a couple of Edcheros. Where they took the front clip of a 58 Edsel and married it to a 58 Ranchero. In truth it looked kind of cool. Never seen a Mercamino until this thread.

It's a '59 El Camina with a '60 Mercury grille

Perhaps Mr. Neil needs to consider that without the Model T...

...there would not have been an automobile industry...

...which means there would have been no 50 Worst Cars to list...

...which means there would have been no need for an automobile critic...

...which means that instead of writing for "Time"...

...Mr. Neil would be scrubbing dishes at the local Big Boy.

Thanks Don,
I always always think of these models as a "59" Daddy bought one new in 1959 in a lime green two door. When parked at the curb, a crowd would gather to look! Only problem is he traded in the 51 Ford station wagon to get it. I saw an 59 El Camino in the woods near me home in fair shape but had to many projects. It was gone a few weeks later.
Nice link here, Is this a 60 grille? Click link below..

oldcarandtruckpictures.com/Chevr ... -1970.html

I have a lot of questions and problems concering this list, but to list the Model T, possibly the most important car in world history, makes the rest of the list a sham as well.

Good show, Balin! I knew we could come up with an ACD car in the top 10 of someones list. By the by, under 59 Chev, the 59 is on the left, the convertible is a 60. Check the tail lights.

Here is a similar list. The opinions are diametrical opposed to the Pulitzer winning author, Dan Neil's worst 10 list. Her the Steve Urkel car comes in on the top 5! Click link below......
blindkat.hegewisch.net/other/7techs.html

You're right, Wes, regarding Neil being a "Critic. Check out his first comments regarding the model "T". He obviously has an agenda. The American Automobile industry is responsible for every thing. From global warming to the war in Iraq! And the rag he writes for gives you a clue as well. Guys like him make me tired! Why didn't he do something positive and make a list of the 50 best cars of the century instead? I know three marquees that would make the top 10!

yeah, what you said.

I wrote and published "The Corv-8, Americas Original Mid-Engine Supercar." Ted Trevor (founder of Crown Engineering) is a good friend of mine as are many of the members of CORSA's V-8 registry.

I've owned and logged more Corvair miles than just about anyone else. They aren't perfect, but if they were a fraction as dangerous as Nader claimed I would have long since been a dead duck!!

G

The fastest street ride I ever took in my life was in a Corvair. It wasn't quite stock. It had a 435 horse 427 cu in Chevy where the rear seat used to be. We got Salvation Army cardboard suitcases, cut them to fit over the motor, and fiberglassed the inside. That combination gave you a perfect 50/50 weight bias, and it would do the quarter in 12 seconds flat with mufflers and street tires.

When the Corvair was at its low ebb, in the late seventies, I bought lots of Corvairs. The most I paid for one was fifteen dollars, and I drove it to work for three months. We tore them down for sand rail drivetrains. We have two Corvairs in the collection, a Fitch and a '64 convertible.

bill powell wrote: I've already popped up in defense of the Corvair. It was a perfectly good car, especially the '65 and later.

I agree with you wholeheartedly...I was just saying I expected Greg to pop up too (since he's the Corvair expert among us).

I've already popped up in defense of the Corvair. It was a perfectly good car, especially the '65 and later.

Whoops--my bad.

The Pinto was bad because it was a deathtrap and Ford tried to cover it up. Yes, its problems were fixable, and other than the gas tank issue it was a good, reliable automobile--my parents drove one from 1974 to 1989 and have never had a bad thing to say about it. But Ford doomed it by trying to brush its very serious troubles under the covers instead of correcting them.

I agree with everyone else, however, that the list is more or less crap. (Wait for Greg Riley to pop in with a defense of the Corvair... )

Bill,

After looking at that list, I agree with you. If being different makes a car "bad" then there is a serious problem. When we can no longer think outside our little closed minded box, then we should just scrap all cars and walk.

I'm sorry, but none of those cars are bad (perhaps different or shameful to a brand, maybe). If we sort things by those means, some of the ACD cars might as well be on there cause they were totally impractical (compared to others) and ahead of their time.

Apparently, Dan Neil, an automotive critic, wrote this. I believe it is obvious he is just that, a critic. Everything looks credible, when compared to nothing.

This is just my opinion, take for that and that only. I love my cars and value them not being the same box everyone else drives. If that makes me and my cars different, then that's how it will have to be.

You're right. The opinion of a single individual.

bill powell wrote:
It's a stupid list for a number of reasons.

When was the last time you saw any list like this (car or otherwise) that wasn't idiotic?

That list is the worst piece of crap to ever come down the pike. A lot of those cars was an answer going in search of a question, but that didn't make it a bad car. The Edsel was just a Ford, no better or no worse, except for the '58 horse collar grille.

The Corvair was a far superior car to the VW, but Nader was not mad a VW, he had a case against GM. GM won every Corvair case they pursued. The car had been doomed by GM before Nader reared his ugly head.

Some of the so-called cars he picked were really cars that never were, at least not not in a serious production way.

Some were cases of response to the public's demand for economy cars, and once they were built no one bought them.

I liked the early Pinto. There was nothing wrong with the car. The one serious failing it had was curable with a five dollar fix. I've had several Pintos and did not get burned alive in one of them.

What killed the Renault Dauphine in this country was not the car, it was those damned French who dumped about a million of them here with no parts, no dealer network with trained mechanics, no nada.

It's a stupid list for a number of reasons.

Hi Chris,

The Pinto is in there. You missed it. Early 80's I believe.

How this list can include the brilliant Dymaxion and exclude the Ford Pinto (the barbecue that seats four!) I don't know.

I am happy to say that no A-C-D cars made this list. Very interesting reading!

www.time.com/time/specials/2007/ ... 45,00.html