American carmakers have built some of the most iconic models gearheads have ever known, but they’ve also built some of the worst.

Once the muscle car era ended in the 1970s, American companies began churning out economy cars. They built these things on a budget, and it showed.

We’ve created a list of 13 American cars that were so bad, you can’t even modify them to make them better.

Chevrolet Vega

The Chevrolet Vega received tons of praise from the motoring press when it first hit the market and sold in droves. That didn’t last long, though.

It suffered from such horrible rust problems that you could almost see the Vega disappear before your eyes. If that wasn’t bad enough, its aluminum block engine was so unreliable it might as well have been made from cheese.

Ford Mustang II

The original Ford Mustang was an immediate success, but the world was a very different place when it was time to replace it. By the early 1970s, there was an oil crisis, so Ford had to come up with a new formula for the Mustang. Enter the Mustang II.

The Mustang II was based on the infamous Ford Pinto, and it had a four-cylinder base engine. Even the King Cobra II version was hideous and best avoided. In all honesty, the Mustang II was a huge sales success, but it didn’t age well, and we wouldn’t recommend that anyone buy one today.

Chrysler TC By Maserati

Chrysler’s Lee Iacocca was good friends with Alejandro De Tomaso, who happened to own Maserati at one point. This friendship resulted in what could’ve become a fantastic car.

The plan was to use one of Chrysler’s engines and drop it into a body built by the Italians. After all, they’re famous for making some of the most beautiful cars ever. What could possibly go wrong? Maserati was just a shadow of its former self at this point, and the Chrysler TC by Maserati was horrible in every way.

Chevrolet Citation

The Chevrolet Citation is one of the worst cars GM has ever made, which says a lot. Sales were great initially — the Citation sold 811,000 units in 1980, its debut year. Four years later, sales had dropped by 90%

The Chevrolet Citation suffered from poor build quality and was unreliable. GM even tricked car magazines by providing them with modified cars that didn’t suffer from issues commonly found in the production cars.

Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Diesel

The oil crisis in the 1970s did a lot of damage to the American automotive industry. Detroit’s cars ended up heavily compromised, so customers switched to more reliable, economical, and fuel-efficient Japanese imports.

Oldsmobile decided to cut owners’ fuel costs by making a diesel engine. The problem was that they had no idea what they were doing. If that wasn’t bad enough, they installed the sub-par unit in the Cutlass Supreme, another lousy product. Because of the horror stories that ensued, many Americans still won’t buy a diesel-powered passenger car.

Saturn Ion

The Saturn Ion didn’t work out the way the company planned. Most carmakers try to give their cars at least one thing that make them stand out from the competition, but Saturn made the Ion look as bland as possible and hoped to sell a ton of them.

Using cheap plastic in the interior and giving the car very uninspiring handling didn’t really help convince people to buy the car either.

Pontiac Aztek

The Aztek was one of the models that led to Pontiac’s demise. Many gearheads consider it the worst car built in the States. We’re not sure about that, as there’s a lot of competition for that dubious title. However, it was undoubtedly one of the ugliest cars ever made.

While the driving experience was nothing to write home about, and the build quality was questionable, the Aztek’s design remains the main reason never to buy one.

11th-Gen Ford Thunderbird

Retro-styled vehicles were huge in the early 2000s, but most were soon forgotten. Ford jumped on the bandwagon and tried to bring back the iconic looks of the classic 1955 Thunderbird in 2001.

It didn’t go down well with car enthusiasts. It had questionable looks, was built on an aging platform, and used the same engine as the Lincoln LS. It was nothing like the original Thunderbird; it was just a quick cash grab by Ford.

Cadillac Cimarron

Cadillac has been at the top of the American luxury car segment for decades, but in 1982, its reputation took a severe hit. That was all due to one car, the Cadillac Cimarron.

Cadillac built the Cimmaron to compete with European entry-level luxury models, such as the BMW 3-series and the Mercedes-Benz 190E. Cadillac’s mistake was to rebadge a Chevrolet Cavalier, add some features, and give it a luxury car price tag.

Ford Pinto

The Ford Pinto isn’t just one of the worst American cars, it’s one of the worst cars in the world. Designed to be affordable, Ford tried to save money where they shouldn’t. Its rust problems are one thing, but far more serious was its tendency to catch fire if it was rear-ended.

The gas tank wasn’t sufficiently insulated and protected, so it could potentially spontaneously combust if someone rammed into it from behind. Ford was accused of knowing about the issue and still marketing the Pinto based on an internal cost-benefit analysis.

AMC Pacer

AMC introduced the Pacer as “the first wide small car.” It wasn’t just wide, it was heavy as well. The Pacer could seat four people but weighed as much as cars that could fit five or six, and the inline-six 4.0-liter engine wasn’t exactly powerful. At least it didn’t have the rotary engine AMC intended to use.

The Pacer offers terrible fuel economy, and the aircon must be on at all times because of the large glass surfaces, otherwise, the occupants will bake in the sun. Let’s be honest, it’s not the prettiest thing we’ve ever laid eyes on, either.

Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar

If you’ve ever wondered why fossil fuel enthusiasts refer to EVs as glorified golf carts, the Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar may be to blame. In fact, we’d rather drive a golf cart than this.

It took wedge design to a whole new level, as it literally looked like a cheese wedge. Power came from a 2.5 hp electric motor pushing it to a 25 mph top speed and a 40-mile range. It’s safe to say that the CitiCar had no redeeming features. The rights to the car were later by a company called Commuter Vehicles. They renamed it Commuta-Car and installed massive bumper extensions, making it even uglier!

Leata Cabalero

The Leata Cabalero, is so bad, they even misspelled caballero. It started out as a Chevrolet Chevette, a car that didn’t look horrible, but it was slow, noisy, cramped, and had poor handling.

Donald E. Stinebauch must’ve looked at the Chevette and thought, “I bet I can make it even worse!” It’s safe to say he pulled it off, and then he even had the nerve to charge innocent people nearly double the Chevette’s price.