The worst car you ever owned?

a car without Aircon and with manual transmission
and gasguzlsers.

 

No air conditioning! Horrible.
Perhaps common back than but barbaric in today's standards

 

The Prius is the first car I've owned with air conditioning. After the first Summer trip, I considered it a safety feature.

 

I'm sure it was optional on top end models but yes, most cars in the 70's and 80's didn't have ac in the UK, though remember this was before global warming and temperatures above 25c/77f were rare (and still are mostly)!

I understand many UK imports got dealer fitted ac in Australia where it would obviously be of use.

All relative though, I find heated side mirrors invaluable in winter though such an option would be an eyebrow raiser in Arizona, as would heated seats.

 

A wide range of optional extras makes perfect sense when you consider all the different climates a vehicle might be used in. Heated side mirrors are another safety feature in some climates, though I can do without the bunwarmers.

 

That is crazy silly. This reminds me of a co worker who drove to Vegas through the desert. 110 degrees. He said his car started to increase in temp. He blasted the heat and opened the windows for awhile until he got to the gas station repair facility and filled up the radiator

 

the same for automatic transmission ( but then again in the us your used to that )

i was kinda talking about a 1998 car ;-) but is was a sports model without anything for max power and sportyness
so also no abs no airbag no esp and so on

it did have power steering ;-)

 

Cars must have different specs in Holland then as virtually all cars since the early 1990's have had ac other than the real bare bones base models of small hatchbacks. I'd never even considering buying a car without ac. I think automatic transmissions are becoming more common here too and I'm sure it's about 20% auto across all cars and more on your midsize upwards.

 

it was sold worldwide at that point

and from 1990 it was stil virual always a option and still its a option in lots of cars but nowadays you get it standard in a pachage where the base version is normally without



.i need to qoute myself ;-) " but is was a sports modelwithout anything for max power and sportyness"

 

My '70 Triumph scooter had Lucas electrical system, and yes "The Prince of Darkness" cursed me often. Voltage regulator was a heat sinked, air cooled Zener diode that cooked while the alternator never stopped charging.

 

In 2016-7 the Jeep Patriot could still be bought with manual windows, manual transmission and no ac. I saw one new for 10999 for sale when I was looking for a car in 2017. I rarely put the a/c on in my Prime even when it’s hot. I have tried it a couple times.
When you grew up with side vent windows turned to blast hot air on you all day on summer “vacation” as the a/c, you realize you can survive without.

 

Won't say it was worst...but in early 1980s the economy seemed to be great for those with lots of cash, but for a young 20-year-old jobs were not particularly plentiful and those that were hiring were offering next to nothing wages.

Hired on with the U.S. Forest Service as a seasonal firefighter, spending the work week on the job and sleeping at the station and then making the weekly drive from my station deep in the secluded mountains to my apartment that I shared with a female "friend" in Covina, Calif.

Car was a 1962 Ford Falcon -- automatic trans with manual choke (remember those). It had some aftermarket AC unit which took up much of the floor space under the front dash. I don't know if it worked as I never tried. Summer temps often hit high 90s, but I never minded.

Car ran well though the speedometer did not work -- and carried me through for about 9 months -- then winter came and my USFS job ended.

Ended up in Palm Springs, California, where the rich were partying and needed lots of young help. Shortly after the move, something happened as I drove along a residential street, basically whatever held the shock and right wheel to the car essentially broke and the whole assembly more or less came off -- lucky it happened at 20 mph.

This was a car with no seatbelts and the front bucket seats were secured to the floor via a length of 2x4 wood -- front only -- meaning the back tilted up and if you stopped too quick the entire back of the seat lifted up as nothing was holding the rear two corners down -- imagine a high speed stop -- would have been propelled through the windshield.

Replaced the '62 Falcon with a Datsun -- 1979 210 -- NOT the B-210. The 210 was in later years and slightly larger.

Car did have AC, but if I turned it on, the engine overheated very quickly. It had an automatic choke ;>0

I stayed in the desert for more than a dozen years and drove that 210 in temps that often were hovering around 112F degrees or more.

You got used to it. A Datsun 210:


Finally got a wrecked 1984 Toyota Tercel, which did have AC.

But, back on subject -- worst car was technically a '71 or '72 Chevy Vega, although it never gave me much trouble. Girlfriend at the time had one also and it did break down a couple of times at night in secluded places -- I did not mind ;0). Both had AC, but we were living near the California Coast -- indeed her name was Torrey -- named after a California beach -- and the temps were usually moderate even in summer.

Of course, maybe she was just pretending the car broke down....;>0

 

We've had two cars that were horrible. One was a 1970s Toyota Corona that happened to be a lemon. It spent more time getting repaired than it spent being driven. The other was a 1986 Dodge Aries K wagon that I drove for a job in sales. It was only halfway reliable for about 50k miles and then it completely self destructed. It was so bad that it was stolen from a parking lot and abandoned. The thief was caught a few days later and admitted he dumped it because the car was that bad.

 

Those "K" cars were sort of infamous.

Remember a friend confused by the whole "K" car thing. He asked me if the K car had something to do with K-Mart.

 

For me it was the 85 Dodge Omni Charger. Slow as heck, and a rust bucket besides. At the end, it was like Fred Flintstone's mobile, I could put my whole foot through the rotted floor, and the back tailgate section rotted away.




Naming that POS a Charger was an insult to the real Chargers...

 

I think those 1970/80 era US cars are what opened up the floodgates for the Japanese car makers.

There were some good US cars in that era but a number of them were overpriced junk.

 

VW vanagon camper with the air cooled engine. Nothing comes close for the worst honors.

 

Wow !!
forgot all about this zombie thread. Over a decade ago.
Don't recall if i made an entry. Even so ... how could ANY bad choice EVER top the Chevy vega - of which every single one of 'em gernade'ed shortly after a year of two. ok, the Yugo tied ... but they were from a developing country. GM? NO excuse.
.

 

I worked where a technician bought a new Vega and for at least 20 years drove it to work. It was well kept. So there were outliers.