Bad Car Designs-Worst Cars Of All Time-Ford Edsel-Chevy Corvair-Chevy Vega-Ford Maverick-Mercury Comet-Ford Pinto-Mercury Bobcat-AMC Pacer-AMC Gremlin

The Edsel - 1957-1959 - The vertical front grille of the Edsel looked like a big nose that divided the otherwise modern styling front of the car, and the front and back styling made even the 350hp V-8 version look slow.

Chevy Corvair - 1959 - 1969 - Ok, the neat-looking Corvair had some good points. Its engine was air-cooled, and was in the rearwhich provided extra rear-wheel traction. Unfortunately its flat-six engine used in the earlier cars, made the rear of the car so heavy that the steering became light at highway speeds and it didn't help that the gas tank was mounted up front, so if you did wreck... well you know!

Chevrolet Vega - 1970 - 1974 - Early Vegas were poorly designed, and their aluminum engines failed constantly. The first time General Motors tested this car on the track, its front end reportedly broke off from the rest of the vehicle. When the Vega did reach the market, it was one of the most unabashedly no-frills cars in history. Starting at $2,090, the Vega offered little space and only 90 horsepower out of its four-cylinder engine.

Ford Maverick - 1969 -1977 - Mercury Comet - There were two door and four door versions of this rust bucket Ford, and then there was the Mercury version called the Comet. There were vinyl-topped models also. What they had in common was 1) They were built on platform designs which depended on the structural integrity of the floor pan to keep things together, better known as the unit body and 2) Power deficient in-line six engines. But the cars were cheap and popular during the gas-crisis years. If you could get by with the Swiss Cheese effect paint job you would have after one winter in the north or one year on the ocean and could overlook the terrible handling, you had a good car.

Ford Pinto - 1971 - 1980 - The Ford Pinto was a compact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was hit the market in 1971, and was built through the 1980 model year. Like a lot of Ford cars, it had a twin, in the Pinto's case, the Mercury Bobcat. Body styles included a 2-door sedan, a three-door hatchback, a two-door station wagon, and the Ford Pinto Cruising Wagon, produced 1977-1980 and styled to resemble a tiny van conversion (very much the trend in the late 1970s) complete with a round "bubble window" in the sheet-metal side panels. It became a focus of a major scandal when it was discovered that the car's design allowed its fuel tank to be easily damaged in the event of a rear end collision which often resulted in deadly fires and explosions.

AMC Pacer - 1975 - 1980 - Probably one of the goofiest cars ever designed. AMC discovered after production began that the rotary motor being used had serious quality issues, so at the last minute had to switch to an in-line six, which also required widening the car and scrapping the front-wheel drive setup. The extra width helped as handling was impressive and the extra wide doors made the car practical. The car sold well, but after the first year it became apparent that the car was too heavy, too goofy, and far too unreliable.

AMC Gremlin - 1970 - 1979 - The Gremlin won the distinction of being the first U.S.-made subcompact car but its V-8 motor which was introduced right when the oil-crunch hit, hurt it. The public wanted economical four-cylinder vehicles, not cars that were funny looking, small and unbelievably powerful. It also didn't help that initially it came only as a two door. Despite the fact it was more reliable and sportier than its competition, the Ford Pinto, it did nothing to help it in the looks department.

Bad Designs - Worst Car Designs