Bad cars you have a soft spot for?

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.

Well...let's think for a second. The 500 is an icon. It has created a cult and is highly regarded by automotive fans for its looks and the impact that it had on automotive culture.

However, that doesn't make it a good car. Even though it was light...it had from 13 to 21 hp...performance was lethargic.
It was tiny and realistically can only be used by two rather small people.

I've never driven a 500, but I've driven its successor - the 126. The cars are fairly similar. I can say that the 126 was a complete joke in every possible aspect.

Yes, the 500 might be a nice car to have if you are a collector...but to drive it? Hell, no! Thus - a bad car.

(I still love it though :) )
 
It fared badly on the satisfaction surveys and Jeremy Clarkson hates it.

But the truth is that they are utterly, utterly brilliant for the very low price you can buy one these days. You can get a leather lined, automatic, 2.5 V6 luxury version for just ?1,500 and in pretty good nick.










Vauxhall_Vectra_B_98-99_1.jpg


The GSI is the dog's bollocks and a future classic.
 
Last edited:
Do I even have to say anything in this thread? :|
 
I got soft spot for 9-3. I don't think it's thought to be crap, but i loved mine 9-3 2002(so it was the first year for the current model).
2007-saab-93.png


9-5 is looking design wise pretty much like my dream Saab, but the price probally needs to come down a bit and i don't think i want the all basic model. Got a look how is the business package because in the time i got the Audi, Saab had horrible business package compared to the Saabs in 2002. It's 2 years till it's a time for new car so there's time.
 
Last edited:
lada_2105_1990_3.jpg


Because my grandpa used to own one. We even went on holiday with it :p
 
89-93_Cadillac_Deville.jpg


Not exactly a bad car, but not exactly a thriller as well.

it had a mind boggling 155 hp 4.5L V8 engine

and I've had some good old times with my parents when I was very small, back in Saudi Arabia!
If I would have some extra money and could find some in good condition, I would buy it.
 
BUSK9298.jpg


Thought of another one!

It's a bad car based on a bad platform that never worked properly, styled in an insane manner.

I want one.
 
i've never had one, and yet, since the first time i saw one at Ben-Gurion airport when i was 9 i loved it.

Same here. :) We bought it in '99 when I was just 7. I loved the fact I could jump up and down on the back seat :lol:.
 
I've always had a soft spot for these 2.

Morris 1100: I liked the open light filled cabin, they looked like a nice place to be ... particularly with their lack of head restraints.
Morris%201100%20front.jpg


Morris Minor 850: This because mum had one when I was going to primary school. Dad had removed the front passenger seat so that my sister's pram could fit in it, making it very roomy inside (or so it seemed to a 5 year old).
Morris_Minor_1000_2-Door_Saloon_1958.jpg
 
BUSK9298.jpg


Thought of another one!

It's a bad car based on a bad platform that never worked properly, styled in an insane manner.

I want one.

WHY? OH GOD WHY?

It is just a Cavalier, only 10x uglier. I wouldn't drive one even if it were free.
 
WHY? OH GOD WHY?

It is just a Cavalier, only 10x uglier. I wouldn't drive one even if it were free.

Grand Am, actually, which is somehow worse than a Cavalier - certainly less reliable, anyway.

Know how people like Ed Wood movies? It's like Ed Wood designed a car. Bad in every conceivable way, but whoever was in charge seemed to think they were on to something, and as a result it's pure comedy.
 
It fared badly on the satisfaction surveys and Jeremy Clarkson hates it.

But the truth is that they are utterly, utterly brilliant for the very low price you can buy one these days. You can get a leather lined, automatic, 2.5 V6 luxury version for just ?1,500 and in pretty good nick.










Vauxhall_Vectra_B_98-99_1.jpg

I had one, I wouldn't say its a bad car, but it's nothing special either, It drives like an Astra mk3/F only with extra passenger space. :) And unlike the Mondeo, my had a Boardcomputer with tripcounter, fuelconsumtion, outside temperature and even a stopwatch.
 
I didn't realise how old this thread was, I made a post back in 2006 saying the Series III was a bad car that I liked. Now I own one I'd never admit to it being a bad car.

Anyway, I also have a soft spot for the Volvo 240. With a diesel engine only though.
 
I had one, I wouldn't say its a bad car, but it's nothing special either, It drives like an Astra mk3/F only with extra passenger space. :) And unlike the Mondeo, my had a Boardcomputer with tripcounter, fuelconsumtion, outside temperature and even a stopwatch.

The first models from 1995-1999 were a bit pants. But the models from 1999-2002 were OK.

First time I drove a Vectra was was in 1998 and it was a brand new red 1.8 LS.

Nice engine, nice AC and... that was about it.

The rest of the car was just appalling. Hard seats with no lateral support, steering wheel way too far, window switches randomly scattered around the gear lever, most useless pair of rear-view-mirrors ever fitted to any car, steering dead in feel, wallowy ride and not enough grip.

Now the GSI was (almost) a completely different animal.

It had a 2.5 V6 with the camshaft from the 3.0 V6. So instead of the usual 170 bhp of the other 2.5 V6 Vectras, the GSI had 195 bhp and the growling of the engine was intoxicating. The GSI also had stiffer and lowered suspension, with low profile tires and 17-inch wheels, as a result the ride was no longer wallowy, but harsh, at least the handling was no longer uninspiring; on the handling department the GSI was a far-cry from your typically woolly LS.

Inside you still would find the window switches scattered around the (aluminium) gear lever and the steering column only height adjustable, but instead of the hard planks covered in cheap upholstery of the LS, the GSI had comfortable Recaro body hugging seats. Unfortunately, it had the same dead steering of the other Vectras, but nevertheless the GSI was dare I say, exciting.

That's right... an exciting Vectra.
 
Last edited:
Top