Throughout the history of the automobile, there have been some remarkable vehicles. Cars like the Jaguar E-Type, McLaren F1, and Ferrari 250 GTO instantly spring to mind.
However, there have also been quite a few flops over the years. Flops like the Pontiac Aztek, the AMC Pacer, and the Chrysler PT Cruiser are just some of the names we think of.
Our list will cover 24 of these underwhelming vehicles. All of these launched to a decidedly negative reception and have become derided throughout their history.
To make up this list, we will look at a mix of family cars, performance cars, and daily drivers.
Pontiac Aztek
One of the first cars that comes to mind is the Pontiac Aztek. The Aztek launched in 1999 an SUV that Pontiac said had “Xtreme” futuristic styling. Powering the SUV was a 3.4-liter LA1 V6 with 185 hp.
However, the Aztek fell flat due to its highly polarizing design, and a poll in the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph in 2008 put the Aztek number one on a list of the 100 ugliest cars of all time.
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Chrysler’s PT Cruiser is a car that makes you sit up and go, “Why?” Despite selling well, the retro-inspired design of the PT Cruiser wasn’t popular, but its poor safety record let it down. A look at the car on the IIHS reveals the PT Cruiser scores “poor” for this segment. It’s the worst rating a vehicle can get in the system.
Chevrolet SSR
In the mid-2000s, Chevrolet decided we all wanted a retro-style pickup truck with a big V8 under the hood. Plus, they said we all wanted it to be a convertible.
Enter the SSR, with a 5.3-liter V8 and with a folding roof. As a convertible, the SSR was great. As a pickup, it was terrible due to the small bed, and the 4,700 lbs truck needed to be lighter. An underpowered V8 didn’t help matters.
Suzuki X-90
Suzuki designed the X-90 as a quirky two-seater SUV in the mid-1990s, a great idea on paper. Unfortunately, the X-90 had no sporty credentials and needed to be more practical. The 94 hp 1.6-liter engine wasn’t up to the job, and the X-90 sold poorly in every available market. In the UK, Suzuki took it off sale after just 18 months.
Hummer H2
The Hummer H2 of 2002 was a road-legal version of the US military’s Humvee. It retained the styling of the Humvee, but that was where the similarities finished. The H2 gained a reputation for being uncomfortable, and the 6.0-liter V8 wasn’t quite big enough to haul this lump around. Fuel economy tests of 10 MPG combined did little to help the H2’s reputation.
Austin Allegro
Few cars have forged a reputation as badly as Austin’s Allegro. The Allegro replaced the Austin 1100 in 1973, but things quickly unraveled. The square steering wheel was ugly but needed not to obscure the dashboard.
The bulky bodywork was an acquired taste. Then there were the wheel bearing nuts, which, if over-tightened, could fail. Austin sold just 650,000 Allegros in nine years versus 2.1 million Austin 1100s.
SsangYong Rodius
MPVs are not renowned for their good looks. However, the SsangYong Rodius took philosophy to a new level.
The Rodius was a massive car lump, allegedly taking inspiration from luxury yachts. Performance could have been better due to the old 2.7-liter Mercedes diesel under the hood and the car’s weight.
Rover CityRover
MG and Rover were in a mess in the early 2000s, but the terrible CityRover hastened their demise. The CityRover was a spiritual successor to the Austin Metro, designed as an all-new supermini. Except it wasn’t all-new, and the Indian-built Tata Indica was the basis.
Rover swapped the grille and badges, and an 85-hp 1.4-liter Peugeot engine powered it. Sales were slow, and MG Rover was so worried about negative publicity that it refused to let BBC Top Gear review the car.
Nissan Micra C+C
The Nissan Micra was a popular little city car and a very sensible one. The company thought creating the C+C, a convertible version of the Micra, was a good idea.
However, the cramped rear seats, small trunk, and lackluster performance quickly made Nissan realize it should have stayed with the regular Micra.
Citroen C3 Pluriel
The Ce Pluriel was Citroen’s answer to the Micra C+C. Take a sensible supermini and create a small, quirky convertible. But questionable styling aside, the roof design was the biggest problem with the C3 Pluriel.
It could take at least 20 minutes to remove it, and it was so big, and space was so limited in the Citroen that you had to leave most of the roof behind. Getting caught in the rain wasn’t an option when driving the Pluriel.
Peugeot 1007
The 1007 had a lot of potential. At motor shows in 2002, the Sesame Concept created a lot of excitement with its electric sliding doors, aiding entering and exiting the car. However, the production 1007 became one of Peugeot’s biggest jokes.
In some situations, the electric doors aided in getting into the car, but access to the rear seats was no better. But thanks to the doors and their electric motors, the 1007 weighed at least 2,800 lbs. This meant the 1007 was slow, and fuel economy could have been better.
Lada Riva
Lada’s Riva was a copy of the 1960s Fiat 124, yet it came out in the 1980s. This was during the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union, and it showed in the overall quality and construction of the Riva.
A 57 hp 1.2-liter engine and obsolete underpinnings were the least of the Riva’s worries. Rust would eat the Riva for breakfast, but despite the problems, the Riva and other Ladas have established a cult following.
AMC Pacer
Hagerty once ran a poll asking enthusiasts to name the worst car design ever. It was the AMC Pacer that came out on top. The interior was an uncomfortable place to be, thanks to its poor ventilation and cooling. The wraparound windows made it look like a fishbowl on wheels. And after AMC spent millions promoting it, the Pacer was a vast sales flop.
Trabant
The Trabant was another Cold War product from the Communist East, this time East Germany. Lacking the investment of the West, the Trabant was a cheap, two-stroke little car for the masses.
But as expected, it was unreliable, constructed poorly and on the cheap, and with no mod-cons whatsoever. As one of the few cars available in East Germany, however, the waiting list for a Trabanat was once ten years long.
Ford Pinto
The Ford Pinto offered some promise. But what let it down was its tendency to burst into flames in rear-end collisions. This was thanks to a problem with the fuel filler neck that would snap off in such accidents.
Amazingly, Ford knew of the situation and decided against fixing it. An NHTSA investigation would find 27 deaths tragically caused by Pinto’s catching fire in rear-end crashes.
Bricklin SV-1
The Bricklin SV-1 had a radical design, with gull-wing doors and a composite body. Color-impregnated acrylic resin bonded to fiberglass would form the construction of the SV-1.
Bricklin took the covers off the car in 1974, but quality control problems, supplier shortages, and massive price hikes were some of the reasons the SV-1 would fail. Bricklin produced less than 3,000 SV-1s, making them incredibly rare, with just over half of those surviving in 2024.
Kia Pride
In 2024, Kia is one of the most respected names in the automotive industry. But it started from humble beginnings, including the Pride of 1991. Kia manufactured the Pride South Korea under license from Ford.
Based on the Ford Festiva, buyers in the UK would only receive the basic L trim, with the biggest engine available, a 1.3-liter powertrain. A 0-60 mph time of 11.4 seconds and a maximum power rating of 63 hp didn’t resonate with UK buyers.
Aston Martin Cygnet
The bizarre-looking Cygnet was nothing more than a rebadged Toyota/Scio iQ, sold with a 200 percent markup.
The Cygnet’s only purpose, however, was to allow Aston Martin to comply with updated emissions regulations, and as expected, it was a sales disaster. In the UK, Aston would sell just 150 Cygnets.
Triumph TR6
Triumph is a legendary name in UK motoring, but some of its products fell below expectations. The TR6 was one of those, with a body-on-frame design unsuited to the UK’s backroads and country lanes.
The outdated suspension design created an uncomfortable ride with a lot of body roll, and it was also severely underpowered at 104 hp and 143 lb-ft of torque. With the TR6 prone to rust, keeping one in good condition is challenging.
AMC Gremlin
The Gremlin had no better reputation than its sibling, the Pacer. To save time and money, the AMC team effectively cut off the rear of the AMC Hornet to create the subcompact coupe. This created an unusual-looking car with a cheap feel and a poorly equipped cabin.
Add to that a heavy six-cylinder engine and horrible handling; it is little wonder that the AMC Gremlin remains unpopular.
Chevrolet HHR
The Chevrolet HHR bears a retro styling similar to the Chrysler PT Cruiser. And like the PT Cruiser, the HHR was also a disaster. Chevrolet sold over one million units in six years but suffered six million recalls.
Electrical systems bore the brunt of those, with Consumer Reports stating, “If the key is not in the run position, the airbags may not deploy if the vehicle is in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.”
Nissan Juke
The Nissan Juke is one of those cars hated simply because of its appearance. The term “bug-eyed” works well with the Juke, but it is also impractical.
Users on Reddit have said it has no rear legroom or performance and that trunk storage is abysmal. Nissan killed off the first generation of Juke in 2017, and subsequent models are bigger with more conventional styling.
Yugo/Zastava Yugo
The Zastava Yugo, commonly called the Yugo, could take home the title of the worst car of all time. Originally a shortened version of the Fiat 128, Zastava sold the Yugo in the United States from 1985 to 1992.
The car sold well then, but its safety, design, reliability, and comfort have all been badly criticized. Despite this, the Yugo has gained a cult following.
Chevrolet Aveo
In 2002, General Motors took over Daewoo and decided to slap the Chevrolet badge onto their Kalos. Chevrolet had created the Aveo, a car that only did two things well: being cheap and reliable. The Aveo was an unremarkable car, and Chevrolet would change the name for subsequent generations. Yet it is not unheard of for some owners to get well over 100,000 miles with their early-2000s Aveo.
