From the introduction of the Ford Model T to the release of the tremendous Tesla Model S Plaid, the American auto industry spawned some of the greatest cars ever built. But U.S.-based automakers also sold quite a few lemons and four-wheeled disasters. Here are the worst six of them.
Ford Pinto
Introduced for the 1971 model year, the Pinto was the first subcompact produced by Ford in North America. The company's answer to the growing popularity of Japanese imports such as the Toyota Corolla, the Pinto was developed in just 25 months at the time when the industry average was 43 months.
The Pinto became popular due to its fairly nice design, low price, and extensive options list, but it had one major issue. Due to a lack of structural reinforcement in the rear, the car was prone to fuel leakage and fire in the event of a rear-end collision. This became apparent when Pintos started turning into fireballs and people started getting killed after low-speed crashes.
Ford recalled 1.5 million vehicles in 1978, the largest in automotive history at the time. However, it was all too late as lawsuits were already pouring in and Ford spent millions of dollars settling court cases. Ironically, it was still cheaper than modifying the Pinto's fuel system to reduce fire risk.
But while all the other Cadillacs had unique designs in the GM lineup, the Cimarron was mostly a rebadged Chevrolet Cavalier. It was also powered by a lazy four-cylinder engine for three years until Cadillac added a V6 to the lineup. With disappointing sales that barely exceeded 20,000 units per year from 1982 to 1987, the Cimarron was discontinued in 1988.
An overpriced Chevrolet that had nothing to do with a Cadillac beyond the badge, the Cimarron remains, to this day, the brand's biggest flop. Yup, it's even worse than the Opel Omega-based Catera.
With most American manufacturers focusing on downsizing and fuel efficiency, General Motors decided to use Oldsmobile to introduce diesel engines to the American market. When the fourth-gen midsize debuted in 1978, it was available with a 4.3-liter V8 oil burner.
But the diesel was far from reliable and, to top it all off, a decline in gasoline prices made them less desirable in the early 1980s. Oldsmobile eventually developed a more durable 5.7-liter V8, but it was already too late. Almost 40 years later and U.S. buyers still aren't fond of oil burners. And GM's ill-fated diesel may be the one to blame.
Ford promised an "entirely new kind of car," but on "E Day" people saw a range of vehicles that shared most of their underpinnings and body parts with other Ford models. In addition, the front-end design looked strange and the cars were almost as expensive as their Mercury counterparts.
While Edsel introduced a few new features, including automatic lubrication and self-adjusting rear brakes, the brand didn't bring all that many customers into dealerships. To make matters worse, it had to compete with brands like Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Dodge, and DeSoto without having an established brand image. Ford eventually decided to discontinue Edsel only three years later. The ordeal cost Ford a whopping $250 million.
The result was the Chrysler TC, a LeBaron redesigned by Maserati and assembled in Italy. Developed as an image builder that would give Chrysler an exciting product, the TC was a failure that was discontinued after only a couple of years on the market.
What killed it? Well, it was a mix of poor styling, mundane performance, and expensive pricing. Many critics also argued that the Chrysler TC looked too similar to the LeBaron GTC convertible that was notably more affordable and came with similar features.
Chrysler sold only 7,300 TCs over three model years. In 2019, Bob Lutz revealed that the TC project cost Chrysler almost $600 million, which results in a cost of $80,000 to produce each car. That's about $160,000 in 2021.
Priced at only $4,000, the Yugo was actually off to a great start in North America, with more than 1,000 cars sold in a single day. The Eastern European hatchback moved more than 48,000 units in 1987, but things went sour when serious quality issues began to surface. The car was also painfully slow and performed poorly in all crash tests.
The Yugo became the laughing stock of the car industry and sales plummeted hard toward the 1990s. The final blow came in 1992 when Yugo America went bankrupt during the Yugoslav civil war and the United Nations issued a trade embargo on Serbia.
Introduced for the 1971 model year, the Pinto was the first subcompact produced by Ford in North America. The company's answer to the growing popularity of Japanese imports such as the Toyota Corolla, the Pinto was developed in just 25 months at the time when the industry average was 43 months.
The Pinto became popular due to its fairly nice design, low price, and extensive options list, but it had one major issue. Due to a lack of structural reinforcement in the rear, the car was prone to fuel leakage and fire in the event of a rear-end collision. This became apparent when Pintos started turning into fireballs and people started getting killed after low-speed crashes.
Cadillac Cimarron
Having spent almost 50 years at the top of America's luxury market, Cadillac was having trouble adjusting to the late 1970s market when consumers were moving toward European imports and smaller sedans. So GM decided to develop a four-door smaller than the Seville in an effort to compete with the up-and-coming Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi compacts.But while all the other Cadillacs had unique designs in the GM lineup, the Cimarron was mostly a rebadged Chevrolet Cavalier. It was also powered by a lazy four-cylinder engine for three years until Cadillac added a V6 to the lineup. With disappointing sales that barely exceeded 20,000 units per year from 1982 to 1987, the Cimarron was discontinued in 1988.
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Diesel
Cadillac wasn't the only GM brand struggling in the 1970s. Oldsmobile had also lost its identity and it was living off badge-engineered nameplates. But this wasn't the only issue with the fourth-generation Cutlass Supreme.With most American manufacturers focusing on downsizing and fuel efficiency, General Motors decided to use Oldsmobile to introduce diesel engines to the American market. When the fourth-gen midsize debuted in 1978, it was available with a 4.3-liter V8 oil burner.
Edsel
Unlike other cars listed here, the Edsel wasn't all that terrible, but a rather poor display of marketing. The brand named after the son of company founder Henry Ford was established in 1956 to bridge the gap between the affordable Ford vehicles and the mid-range Mercury products. And to make sure it debuts with a bang, FoMoCo spent a lot of cash on its pre-introduction publicity campaign.Ford promised an "entirely new kind of car," but on "E Day" people saw a range of vehicles that shared most of their underpinnings and body parts with other Ford models. In addition, the front-end design looked strange and the cars were almost as expensive as their Mercury counterparts.
Chrysler TC by Maserati
While working at Ford, Lee Iacocca started a friendship with Alejandro de Tomaso, which led to the creation of the De Tomaso Pantera. More than 10 years later, Iacocca and De Tomaso teamed up again to create an Italian-American grand tourer. This time around, Iacocca was heading Chrysler, while De Tomaso was the owner of Maserati.The result was the Chrysler TC, a LeBaron redesigned by Maserati and assembled in Italy. Developed as an image builder that would give Chrysler an exciting product, the TC was a failure that was discontinued after only a couple of years on the market.
Chrysler sold only 7,300 TCs over three model years. In 2019, Bob Lutz revealed that the TC project cost Chrysler almost $600 million, which results in a cost of $80,000 to produce each car. That's about $160,000 in 2021.
Yugo GV
Often called the "worst car in history," the Yugo GV was a subcompact hatchback manufactured by Yugoslavian automaker Zastava. Introduced in 1980 as a shortened variant of the Fiat 128, the Yugo was marketed in the United States from 1985 to 1992 by Malcolm Bricklin.The Yugo became the laughing stock of the car industry and sales plummeted hard toward the 1990s. The final blow came in 1992 when Yugo America went bankrupt during the Yugoslav civil war and the United Nations issued a trade embargo on Serbia.