There are good cars, bad cars and embarrassing cars. Today we’ll take a look at the latter list, cars that were bad, underwhelming, uninspired and downright humiliating to be seen in.
This is just part one of two. These cars stand out in our memory for being capable of knocking down your social standing a peg or two. In fact, we would suggest wearing a disguise while driving if you own one.
The Geo Metro was cheap, but that’s really all it had going for it. It’s slow thanks to a selection of three-cylinder or four cylinder engines that made less than 90 hp. It came with little-to-no equipment and examples that you see still running look like they’re barely staying together.
If there’s one more thing that redeems the Metro it’s fuel efficiency. Believe it or not, the 1989 model was rated for an average 47 MPG. Just don’t expect to have any fun at the same time.
These days when you say a car is designed by J Mays and Peter Schreyer you get visions of sleek lines and a cutting-edge look. But back in 1997 they delivered the bubbly looking VW Beetle.
What’s wrong with this cars iconic look? Sure it was instantly recognizable, but it was unfortunately gender specific. Flower inspired rims helped this image and the flower holder in the cabin did too. Add available special editions like the Malibu Barbie New Beetle – seriously – and it’s clear that the VW Beetle wasn’t meant for everyone.
Thankfully the modern Beetle is much more appealing, doing away with most of its predecessor’s kitschy and stereotypical design and marketing.
What’s more embarrassing than driving a car with a very basic, un-inspired design? It can also be had with a strange piece of shag carpet that sits on the dashboard. What the heck? People must have noticed how strange the Cube looked on the road. In 2013, just over 5,000 units were sold, less than 25 percent of the car’s peak sales in 2010.
The cheapest new cars available in the U.S. aren’t particularly special in any way or form. The strongest argument for buying either of these cars is that they come with a factory warranty without a particularly high price.
Talk about boring! If you couldn’t be bothered to check out the used car market for some cars with standard features like automatic headlights or air conditioning, then sure the Versa or Mirage may work out for you, but potentially at the cost of your dignity. Cars can be an expression of your personality and when you pick the Versa or Mirage you’re not coming across as particularly interesting.
Then again, if cars can be a reflection of your personality, what does a PT Cruiser say about you? They enjoyed a brief period of overwhelming popularity before people woke up to the fact that they’re horrible. Chronic reliability and build quality issues also made it pretty popular with the local mechanics. Talk about a disappointment.
A mid-engined car that weighed 2,300 lbs and had an electric motor with 133 lb-ft of torque available instantly? The i-MiEV sounds cool, but turned out to be a mixed bag. It looked downright ugly on the road thanks to its quirky and alien styling. And its electric range isn’t exactly segment competitive with just 62 miles until needing a recharge. The car isn’t even slated to get a second generation model, further hinting at how much of a failure and embarrassment it was.
The first generation Chevy Aveo and Pontiac G3 was just like a Geo Metro that was sold for a decade too long. Bland to look at with few convenience features and sub-par fuel economy (averaging 26 mpg in 2004, a big difference from the Metro) the Aveo isn’t the right car for you, or anyone else. Forbes called it the worst-made cars in the road and by modern standards, the car just isn’t safe at all.
There’s no arguing this. The Chrysler Sebring Convertible is a crummy car. Its poor performance and shoddy interior forced the company to rename it the 200, sullying another nameplate for the company.
It’s nice to see the company return to form with the latest crop of engines and interiors, but just thinking of the Sebring convertible makes us cringe.
What on earth was cool about these two? Both egg-shaped oddities, they appeared to have been real cars that were just cut in half. Compare these “entry-level” models to what’s on sale today and there’s no way you could even consider these coupes anything worth buying. Actually, maybe we should thank these two cars for being the failures that they were, requiring the new generation CLA-Class and 2 Series to be so much better in terms of design.
Fiat marked its return to the U.S. with the cute and bubbly 500. And just as we were coming around to the retro-inspired 500, the company dropped the big, ugly 500L on us. But beyond styling, the car is extremely dull to drive and difficult to see out of it.