50 of the Worst Cars Ever Made
TransAm Type K
The TransAm Type K was a Pontiac concept car that got a lot of thumbs up from the public. It featured in a two-part episode of The Rockford Files. It appeared destined to hit the American roads soon as a trendy family car, and GM certainly intended to do just that.
When all was said and done, though, the estimates showed that the project was far too ambitious for the intended price. To turn a profit, Pontiac would have had to price the Type K at $25,000, which would have bought two Corvettes.
Space Shuttle Convertible
There could only be one Space Shuttle Convertible, as it’s truly unique. Built by Norwegian Almar Nordhaug in the Faroe Islands in the 1950s, his work colleagues at the local barrel factory helped him out.
It was the first car in the Faroe Islands to have a cassette player and four loudspeakers. It’s passed owners several times and gained notoriety for its bizarre design. In 2011, for example, the Faroe Islands put a picture of it on a stamp. The current owner reportedly has plans of restoring it, but we’ll have to wait.
1971 Chevy Vega
The Chevy Vega was released in the early ’70s to high acclaim. The inline, four-cylinder design of the aluminum alloy engine was praised by Motor Trend, which named it the Car of the Year in 1971.
But soon after buying one of these, it was clear you had a lemon on your hands.
Plymouth Prowler
The Plymouth Prowler of the ’90s shows just what the designers of the day looked up to in the past, in addition to creating some of their own unique and often bizarre-looking creations. Inspired by the hot rods of the 1930s, it ended up being a bad car.
Instead of ending up like a hot-rod, the Prowler had a 3.5-liter V6 engine that only produced 250 horsepower. It might have caught quite a few eyes when it was introduced, but sub-par performance kept sales low.
Car manufacturers have gone a long way since the invention of the horseless carriage, but they haven’t always been successful at creating decent cars. These are the very worst cars — have you ever owned one of these?