Yugo -- Worst Car ever?

Tidewater

 

Not too late to edit.

 

I bet they take a shine to those that are close to the 49th parallel .

I have a cousin who had a Yugo back in the day. Probably the worst car they ever owned. But they come from a Ford family (the in-laws were Ford dealership employees), so they had some doozies over the years.

 

I'll see your Yugo and raise you a Trabant P50/600 for the title "worst car ever."

Both cars were built in similar conditions, but at least the Yugo was a copy of something that sort of kind of worked (Fiat) where the Trabby was just utter garbage. Sometime around 1989 they added a differential for true two (front) wheel drive. Previously it was propelled by just one wheel; left turns done in 2nd gear and right turns in 3rd.

 

VW LUPO was quite a contraption... and surprisingly, one of the first "competitors" with Prius. That car was a joke, a clumsy excuse for efficiency. But not being offered here in the United States made it greenwash fodder for quite awhile.

 

There's a murder mystery movie starting Bette Midler and Danny DeVito called Drowning Mona. The interesting thing about the movie is that everyone's car in the movie is a Yugo, and, of course, the Yugos are a key part of the plot. It was filmed in Verplank, New York, where the Yugo was introduced to the US.

I can't imagine where they got enough working Yugos to make the movie.

 

Consider the Subaru 360, you know you have a bad car when Consumer Reports considers it Not Acceptable. Subaru 360 - Wikipedia
Just because it was not required to meet safety standards, does not mean it was safe. Rather the opposite. Suicide doors, and 0 to 60 in 37 seconds (Over three times slower than a Prius)
It was imported into the US with the advertising slogan "Cheap and Ugly".

 

VW Rabbit, the worst car I ever owned.

 

I can't imagine a worse car than my my awful 1976 Chevy Chevette I bought new for $3,000. Not too many years later, a deer finally put that car out of its misery.

 

+1

I also had a 1972 Vega notchback, dark green. Purchased used for $400, I quickly learned how to patch rusting body panels. I also had transmission troubles and fortunately, the Opal had the same tranny and was an easy swap. I also had trouble with the electric fuel pump inside the gas tank. It clogged regularly. I discovered it was prone to get water on the sock filter that covered the fuel pump. I had to drop the tank and use high pressure air to blow the water off the sock. That water barrier was stronger than the fuel pump. It taught me to never let the fuel level on any of my vehicles get below 1/4 (on purpose)

It was my 3rd vehicle after a 63 and 66 VW Beetle (bullet proof). It was fast and fun to drive compared to the bugs and it was a kid's car. It also had a real heater compared to the VW's.

 

That was my first car I bought while I was in college, though not sure of the year. Bought it $300 used, drove it 2 years, and sold it for $30 to a friend at the end. Not a bad deal for a poor college student I was back then. It was originally Vega Orange like the one in the pic, but I spray painted black.

Yeah, that alloy cylinder burned oil like hell. I remember a trip I drove it home ~1,000 miles one way over christmas vacation, the car used more 10W30 oil than gasoline. I think I ended up using a case of oil for that trip. LOL

 

I like the drip catcher in the photo.

Very fitting.

 

At least some of you had the sense to buy your Vega used. Bought mine new in 1971. By 50,000 miles I was on my third engine. Met my future wife in 1977 and what was she driving? A Chevy Monza...basically a redesigned Vega. What a hot, steaming pile. Thankfully, it was totaled by a drunk driver while parked in front of my house. I've not owned a Chevy since.

 

We've had a few bad cars over the years.

Worst purchased used? A 1978 Toyota Corona that would have been flagged under a lemon law if such laws existed then. We were newlyweds in desperate financial shape when our little 1975 Honda Civic quit on us and my sister was desperate to get rid of her Corona (we sure found out why!). That Corona wound up costing us more monthly in repairs than car payments on a new Civic.

Worst new car? 1987 Dodge Aries K wagon. Even with routine dealer maintenance the car's systems simply disintegrated in the first two years. Brake problems, major oil leaks, electrical problems, noisy suspension, etc. It was just a lousy car.

 

It is now available in the US via the 25 year law, who will be the first to import?

1998 VW LUPO now legal to import due to 25 year rule | TDIClub Forums