The worst cars of all time. Top 50.

[ringway]

From 1899 to the present.

The Aston Martin Lagonda is in the list. LINK.

Has anyone owned one of the cars in the list?

 

[Seamster15]

I had an X type an agree it should be on the list. Poor driving position, dire economy, cheap interior, not foot rest.

I could go on, it was loosely based on the Ford Mondeo with was a far better car!

 

[John]

Nope.

Surprised the 7 is on there although the facelifted in 2006 was a huge improvement.

Agree with the X type being on there - I can't stand those... or the S. Sheeite. XF a huge improvement.

I always wondered who would buy a Lamborghini jeep thing - massively expensive crock.

 

[davidjpowell]

Me neither. Also surprised about the 7.

X type not too bad although a bit thirsty for what they are. My father seems addicted to the S, has a V8 that he threatens to sell, but never does.

 

[developer]

The X type should have been a winner (here at least)

Heritage
British
4 wheel drive
Alternative to a 3 series

However, what a terrible execution/waste of potential.

 

[markjay]

A friend's mother bought a brand new Austin Allegro back in 1977, after being very pleased with the Mini Clubman she previously owned for ten years.

The car was horrific, awful wandering steering making motorway trips unpleasant and unnerving, and bits of trim started falling off after just a few months. My friend wrote off his mothers cars when it was one year old, and both him and his mother were relieved to get rid of it.

She did not have her own car for a number of years, but her next motor was a 1991 W201 which she was very happy with.

So I nominate the Allegro... it should be added to the list.

 

[The Polisher]

Going on the defensive for the Triumph Stag.......... ('cos I got one!!!)

Undeserved reputation for crap engines. Wrong wrong wrong. Wonderful engine, just no one knew how to look after it! Due to the alloys, it needed the correct level of antifreeze/anti corrosive inhibitor. People didn't, waterways got gunked up, overheated, blew head gaskets.
Due to the unusual angles of the head bolts, the heads usually warped, requiring a skim. Not done, just replaced the gaskets and hey presto....... it'll blow again!

Ok, so radiators marginal, so any water loss is significant...... you need to keep your eye on them.

But, if cared for correctly, will easily do 200k between major overhauls, a very sweet and lovely smooth (and tuneful!) engine......... lovely car.

Which is why they are so collectable and getting valuable now!

Undeserved entry.....................

 

[BaldGuy]

The Prowler and SSR are great cars.....

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

British cars seem to have fared poorly.

Some surprises. Lagonda, E-type, Morgan, Prowler, LM002...

 

[teddycatkin]

Going on the defensive for the Triumph Stag.......... ('cos I got one!!!)

Undeserved reputation for crap engines. Wrong wrong wrong. Wonderful engine, just no one knew how to look after it! Due to the alloys, it needed the correct level of antifreeze/anti corrosive inhibitor. People didn't, waterways got gunked up, overheated, blew head gaskets.
Due to the unusual angles of the head bolts, the heads usually warped, requiring a skim. Not done, just replaced the gaskets and hey presto....... it'll blow again!

Ok, so radiators marginal, so any water loss is significant...... you need to keep your eye on them.

But, if cared for correctly, will easily do 200k between major overhauls, a very sweet and lovely smooth (and tuneful!) engine......... lovely car.

Which is why they are so collectable and getting valuable now!

Undeserved entry.....................

We had a brilliant ALL-Agro paid £120 for it ran it 5 years and sold it for £120 ?

 

[SilverSaloon]

I had a 2003 7 series. It was a superb vehicle, truly a 1st class machine in all aspects. It shouldnt be on the list! It appears that it was added by jounalists who hasnt lived with a 7 series - iDrive was hardly difficult to use! When i picked up the car within 10 mins i was perfectly happy with it. maybe they are just techno-fools. This i obvious since they mention aircon controls - which were dealth with via traditional knobs and buttons on the dash - the idrive only adjusted fine-tuning, which from the 3 years i owned the car i never had to use.

i also notice a fair few other decent cars on there and lack of truly awful cars so i think the list is useless.

 

[markjay]

Might it be that your expectations of a £120 car were much lower than those of someone buying a brand new best-of-British motor?

 

[grober]

Written by lazy journos who didn't do their research. I only read as far as the second entry on the Model T Ford-- that was enough. The big breakthrough with the Model T was standardisation of parts not the mass production. Most cars up till then were bespoke and hand built . No two were exactly the same. Taking the driver's door off one didn't mean it would fit another because they would be different sizes. Henry Ford standardised production lines but more importantly he also standardised parts so cars could be repaired easily.

 

[BTB 500]

Going on the defensive for the Triumph Stag..........

Many years ago I bought a Granada 3.0 Ghia ("Sweeny car"!), and the warranty it came with had an interesting exclusion

I rather liked the Stag, but as you say most people didn't look after them ... hence the issues. Same applied to the Dolomite Sprint.

There's a house not far from where I live that's had a red Stag on the drive with a 'for sale' sign in the window for about 5 years now. IIRC the price is £5995, so I assume it's not a concours example

 

[Satch]

I rather liked the Stag, but as you say most people didn't look after them ... hence the issues. Same applied to the Dolomite Sprint.

Friend of mine still has Stag, really nice car, well maintained and goes very, very well. That is because the original POS engine has been ripped out and a Rover V8 unit installed.

But for true misery they are spot one here:

1984 Maserati Biturbo

"Biturbo" is, of course, Italian for "expensive junk." At least, it is now, after Maserati tried to pass off this bitter heartbreak-on-wheels as a proper grand touring sedan. The Biturbo was the product of a desperate, under-funded company circling the drain of bankruptcy, and it shows. Everything that could leak, burn, snap or rupture did so with the regularity of the Anvil Chorus. The collected service advisories would look like the Gutenberg Bible. "

When I first met Mrs S. her Dad had one which I soon understood to be the reason why he seemed such a grumpy miserable git.

When it was written off following an unhappy encounter with a dry stone wall, he was absolutely overjoyed

 

[bolide]

Top Ten and Top Fifty lists are the lazy way to fill column inches...

The wonderful Dymaxion car makes the list but at least they recognised its importance



Nick Froome
Bolide | Historic cars, motorsport & more?

 

[Dieselman]

Friend of mine still has Stag, really nice car, well maintained and goes very, very well. That is because the original POS engine has been ripped out and a Rover V8 unit installed.

By concept the triumph 3.0 litre engine is much better than the Rover 3.5 litre.

It was reliability and perception that killed it off.

The stag engine is effectively two triumph 1500 engines welded together. No-one says they are poor engines and the 1850 Sprint was a cracker of a car and engine.

I wonder why Triumph decided to use the 1500 as opposed to the 1850 units?

 

[WDB124066]

Motor Racing cc limits.....

 

[stephen coy]

By concept the triumph 3.0 litre engine is much better than the Rover 3.5 litre.

It was reliability and perception that killed it off.

The stag engine is effectively two triumph 1500 engines welded together. No-one says they are poor engines and the 1850 Sprint was a cracker of a car and engine.

I wonder why Triumph decided to use the 1500 as opposed to the 1850 units?

I thought the 1500 was an ohv engine, for example used in the spitfire and also heralds in smaller capacity forms, whereas the 1850, 2.0 litre sprint engine and 3.0 litre stag engine, all with their ohc/aluminium heads are from the same 'family.'

 

[Scott_F]

No-one says they are poor engines and the 1850 Sprint was a cracker of a car and engine.

Sprints all had 2-litre 16-valve engines.