Detroits Biggest Lemons of all Time
#31
Lexus Fanatic
That's because Ford management, to keep the car's empty weight below 2000 lbs and costs down, ordered it into production (against the warnings of Ford engineers), without an added frame cross-brace behind the gas tank, leaving very little, besides the thin rear bumper and some rather flimsy sheet metal, to protect the gas tank in a collision. The rest, of course, is history. Trial lawyers had a field day with this car, much of it deserved. Ford paid through the nose in damage awards.
I'm not one for frivolous lawsuits by any means, and I'm firmly opposed to excessive damage awards being slapped on corporations for questionable or frivolous reasons, but, with the Pinto's gas tank, Ford management brought most of it on themselves....they pretty much deserved what they got.
I'm not one for frivolous lawsuits by any means, and I'm firmly opposed to excessive damage awards being slapped on corporations for questionable or frivolous reasons, but, with the Pinto's gas tank, Ford management brought most of it on themselves....they pretty much deserved what they got.
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-01-09 at 03:08 PM.
#33
Lexus Fanatic
Though perhaps ugly-looking today by our standards, Edsels actually WERE considered fairly good-looking cars for their time, and more or less in tune with the typical ornate late-50's styling, except for the awkward, quirky grilles. They failed for two main reasons. First, their quirky dash and transmission controls, and, Second, the public (correctly) perceived them as little more than mildly restyled/rebadged Mercurys, and not necessarily meriting the added price. It was more or less the same thing that killed off Chrysler's De Soto a couple of years later.....the De Sotos, for more money, offered little that upmarket Plymouth and Dodge models didn't.
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-01-09 at 03:19 PM.
#34
My family's Previa made it to 250,000 miles. I guess lemon isn't the word I should be using to describe the Previa and MRS, both were reliable.
The Previa was ugly IMHO, and the MRS was just such a failure considering the MR2 MKII Turbo I used to own, I was part of the petition to bring it back and there was so much demand for a comparable car. Many in the MR2 community were very disappointed and I think that is why it didn't sell well. I couldn't test drive it because I couldn't even get my knees into the car thats how small they made it, they got rid of the trunk, they got rid of the turbos, they got rid of so much and came away with a really disappointment to MKII owners.
The RX7 = lemon speaks for itself...
my real point is, there have been tons of US lemons, and very few true Japaneese lemons (zero?)
The Previa was ugly IMHO, and the MRS was just such a failure considering the MR2 MKII Turbo I used to own, I was part of the petition to bring it back and there was so much demand for a comparable car. Many in the MR2 community were very disappointed and I think that is why it didn't sell well. I couldn't test drive it because I couldn't even get my knees into the car thats how small they made it, they got rid of the trunk, they got rid of the turbos, they got rid of so much and came away with a really disappointment to MKII owners.
The RX7 = lemon speaks for itself...
my real point is, there have been tons of US lemons, and very few true Japaneese lemons (zero?)
#37
#38
Lexus Fanatic
Keep a close eye and feel for how the transmission engages and shifts. At the first sign of delay, sluggishness or trouble, take it in ASAP, even if it is 11 years old and out of warranty. Chrysler minivans are notorious for transmission problems and premature failure of the clutches, especially if the wrong fluid is used.
#39
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (1)
These cars were around when I was a kid and thats why I HATE American cars as an adult. The list is just the worse. Believe me that there were hunders more that barely missed the list. American cars of that era ( 70's -80's) are mostly ugly, inefficient, unreliable trash.
#40
Lexus Fanatic
The 5-MPH bumpers, though somewhat ugly and awkward-looking, were pretty effective in minimizing low-speed impact damage.....I'd say it was one of the better things to come out of that decade. The standard was rolled back to 2 1/2 MPH in the 1980's....I was opposed to that.
#41
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (1)
I was going down the list and I was hoping he had not forgotten the all might Pontiac Aztek..... Then there it was!!
I would like to add a few...
1) Buick Reatta.... what a POS!! It actually has a light that stated 'Halogen Light on' when you turned the headlights on!!
2) Cadillac Alante.... Not bad looking but certainly not a worthy competitor to the Benz SL at that time!!
3)Chevy Uplander, Buick Terranaza, Saturn look alike..... Ohh boy, what the hell was GM thinking when they actually gave it the go ahead for production!!
- #3 was rated the worst family mover in the entire automotive history!!
Now they blame it on the economy for not doing good!!
I would like to add a few...
1) Buick Reatta.... what a POS!! It actually has a light that stated 'Halogen Light on' when you turned the headlights on!!
2) Cadillac Alante.... Not bad looking but certainly not a worthy competitor to the Benz SL at that time!!
3)Chevy Uplander, Buick Terranaza, Saturn look alike..... Ohh boy, what the hell was GM thinking when they actually gave it the go ahead for production!!
- #3 was rated the worst family mover in the entire automotive history!!
Now they blame it on the economy for not doing good!!
#42
Lexus Fanatic
The Aztek, under the skin, was actually not that bad a vehicle. It was somewhat unreliable, like many other GM vehicles, but it was the Aztek's ugly front and rear ends that killed it, not the mechanicals.
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-02-09 at 01:39 PM.
#43
Lexus Champion
But--Chrysler's been spitting those things out for a quarter of a century, and for the bulk of the 90s, who produced a minivan that was definitively better? Chevy Venture APV? Ford Windstar? Mazda MPV? The Sienna didn't come around in the late 90s, and I can't believe the original Odyssey without the sliding doors was a better mini van.
You can't just put the Chrysler minivan on this list solely due to that legendary Chrysler reliability and quality--it just does not belong on that list.
#45
Lexus Fanatic