Bad cars you have a soft spot for?

[thedguy]

My 1 true love

Mostly because of this

Though since those weren't sold in the US I have to make due with one of these:

Yup those are Maserati's of the biturbo era (one is a Ghibli II).

Not only do I have a soft spot for one of these, I fully expect to dump my retirement into one. I figure if I strip it, have the rust repaired and properly treated, painted, then completely rewired (with better location for the fuse/relay panels) and throw in an aftermarket ecu, an engine rebuild with modern turbo's and ditch the water to air intercooler it could be a near reliable car... especially if I shove an e46 m3 6 speed transmission behind it and a Toyota Supra torsen LSD a the back.

I heard that the suspension geometry is bonkers so even with new suspension the handling still leaves a lot to be desired

The Z3 was an E36 chassis with the e30 rear subframe. It made them handle closer to an e30 but with less ability to catch the slide when it let go.

Their bigger faults are that the engineering behind it were questionable. The diff mount has a knack for ripping itself out of the floor... and destroying the trunk at the same time.

Here comes my entry in this thread and it's from...GM.

I present to you the Chevrolet Beretta.
And here is what it could have been...In the late 80's, the Beretta was available for a short period of time in the GTZ trim. It had a 2.4 Quad4 engine with 180 hp and a Getrag 5 speed gearbox. 0-60 in 7.6 seconds and 0.92g on the skidpad. On a tight track it was faster than a Camaro.

GM didn't like that and decided to kill it off.

Even so...the GTZ was not a good car. The Quad4 was notoriously noisy [and rough] and known to blow head gaskets. The transmission was dodgy, and the interior was crap.

But I still want one...

Actually GM merely tried to fix the underlined issues by putting in balance shafts and tuning it more for low end torque and less for high strung power.

Shame they couldn't work it to keep the 170-180hp the variants of the quad4 HO had and continue shoving it in mildly decent chassis'.

I contemplated one of these cars. I like them, even if I dislike nascar, they do look the business, and with the quad 4 HO they are potent cars for the era. Pull some bits from the GM parts bin, do some ghetto fabulous mods and it could make for a fairly entertaining corner carver.

FWD killed it for me though.

 

[sifu]

ghibli would be sweeeet!

 

[tigger]

Shame they couldn't work it to keep the 170-180hp the variants of the quad4 HO had and continue shoving it in mildly decent chassis'.

I love that engine, problems and all. I briefly, very briefly :lol:, owned a '89-'90 Grand Am with the 180hp engine and a 5 speed. The suspension on those cars leaves a lot to be desired at the best of times (beam rear axle iirc) and mine had shit tires on it, but it was still a lot of fun to chuck around.

If only GM had something back then like a Miata to stick that engine in.

 

[Strelok16]

Its a Commie car, so I'm pretty sure it qualifies as "bad," the GAZ-21 Volga:

Sure it has a Russian tractor engine, but how could I not like something that looks like that... and has RWD?

 

[bimmerman]

BMW 5 Series GT
Merc E Class (the new one)
Dacia Sandero

 

[ahpadt]

BMW 5 Series GT
Merc E Class (the new one)

Since when were those bad cars?

 

[bimmerman]

Since when were those bad cars?

The Design

 

[2Billion]

Lincoln Blackwood. I appreciate the sheer stupidity that culminated in the manufacture of a 2WD truck with a bed covered in fake wood.

 

[NecroJoe]

Lincoln Blackwood. I appreciate the sheer stupidity that culminated in the manufacture of a 2WD truck with a bed covered in fake wood that was supposed to look like a specific type of real wood that looks like fake wood.

Wenge wood can look like a bad laminate, and that was the wood they chose to emulate...

The bed was also carpeted.

 

[2Billion]

Wenge wood can look like a bad laminate, and that was the wood they chose to emulate...

The bed was also carpeted.

If it's a fake of something real that looks fake, does it become real?

The bed also had lights and an overly complicated hydraulic lid too, didn't it?

I just love how every decision they made served to make the car less desirable.

 

[NecroJoe]

It did. They recommened NOT removing the power lid, and recommeded not driving with it open. So, basically, you should only carry things that are 10" tall. The tailgate was a center-split horizontally-hinged door like the back of the mini clubman, so you couldn't fit a bed extender. The bed was lined with stainless steel panels...but carpeted. WTF?

 

[2Billion]

It did. They recommened NOT removing the power lid, and recommeded not driving with it open. So, basically, you should only carry things that are 10" tall. The tailgate was a center-split horizontally-hinged door like the back of the mini clubman, so you couldn't fit a bed extender. The bed was lined with stainless steel panels...but carpeted. WTF?

Wouldn't you have wanted to be at the planning meetings for that thing? Someone at some point had to have said, "let's make a Lincoln Pickup that can't do anything people buy a pickup for, and then only paint it black with stupid fake wood." And, knowing Ford of that era, it would have had to pass through several levels of approval, consumer clinics, and other meetings, and it still got made!

 

[thedguy]

I love that engine, problems and all. I briefly, very briefly :lol:, owned a '89-'90 Grand Am with the 180hp engine and a 5 speed. The suspension on those cars leaves a lot to be desired at the best of times (beam rear axle iirc) and mine had shit tires on it, but it was still a lot of fun to chuck around.

If only GM had something back then like a Miata to stick that engine in.

They could have continued production on the Fierro, dropped the v6 and crammed that engine in there.

 

[EyeMWing]

Lincoln Blackwood. I appreciate the sheer stupidity that culminated in the manufacture of a 2WD truck with a bed covered in fake wood.

Speaking of the Blackwood, I swear I saw video once of a Lincoln-badged dually. Pure carbage, of course, but why would you choose to emulate the worst truck ever with your proper truck?

 

[HatePersonified]

I contemplated one of these cars. I like them, even if I dislike nascar, they do look the business, and with the quad 4 HO they are potent cars for the era. Pull some bits from the GM parts bin, do some ghetto fabulous mods and it could make for a fairly entertaining corner carver.

FWD killed it for me though.

Apparently it's popular now to swap in L67's into these cars. I'd do that over a Quad 4 any day.

 

[thedguy]

I wanted for a long time wanted to throw one into a 3rd gen F body with fiberglass fenders/doors, and lexan hatch. Stitch weld the chassis and throw in a superior rear suspension (and no, not hassle with IRS)...

And with that motor in it, I'd have the damn block/head o-ringed so head gaskets became a problem no more... then throw a metric fuck ton of boost at it (think the Top Secret Supra with a 3s-gte and you're pretty much at the same idea).

 

[eureka]

Fiat 500

 

[Lightning Count]

Fiat 500

You had better be preparared for almighty mount of neg rep mate, since that car is very highly regarded.

 

[Canuck]

Fiat 500

Sorry but that doesn't make sense? This thread is for cars that people generally regard as crap yet one has some sort of attachment to. The 500 was not a bad car.

 

[phaelax]

Wouldn't you have wanted to be at the planning meetings for that thing? Someone at some point had to have said, "let's make a Lincoln Pickup that can't do anything people buy a pickup for, and then only paint it black with stupid fake wood." And, knowing Ford of that era, it would have had to pass through several levels of approval, consumer clinics, and other meetings, and it still got made!

First time I saw a lincoln pickup in a parking lot a few years ago, at first I thought it was a joke. That someone just slapped a lincoln badge on the side of their F150 and put some fancy chrome bits on it. The owner said he loved it.

Another odd like: the S-Type Jaaaaaaag.

It's so kitschy and "stuck in the past" that I like it. I rarely hear anything good about 'em, but...but......look at it. It's adorable.

aww, it's not so bad. I have one, in that dark red color too. Just because the ignition coils fail often, the transmission sucks (computer's fault really i think), parts are ungodly expensive for no reason, and I have yet to drive it out of state without something failing, doesn't necessarily make it a bad car......