The 1990s were a time of great development and anticipation for the future. The internet was on the rise, the global economy was strong, and everyone was looking happily forward towards the new millennium. Technological advancements were helping to make the world smaller, and cultural exchange began to take on a feverish pitch. By the time Y2K actually hit, it seemed like humanity might have found (at least part of) the secret to continuous progress and happiness.
Updated May 2022: If you're considering buying a used car from the 1990s, you'll be happy to know that we've updated this article with 90s vehicles that are best avoided.
With 20/20 hindsight, some of the indicators for what make the 1990s such a confusing decade were right in front of everyone all along. Case in point is the automotive industry, where globalization was clearly having a seesaw effect on design, engineering, and building techniques. Even among a United States population that was learning to enjoy themselves, the influx of economical imports was creating a market that forced Detroit's manufacturers to find a response, something they mightily struggled to accomplish.
Just like some of the movies and music from 1990s was great, some of it was highly questionable, and some automobiles produced during the decade were great, but plenty were simply awful. On top of the heap sat milestones like the Dodge Viper, the Acura NSX, the Toyota Tacoma, and the world-beating McLaren F1. But the lowest tiers among cars released in the 1990s were just as disappointing as their peers were exciting. Keep scrolling for 25 cars released in the 90s that were iffy when new, and haven't aged well, at all.
25 Fourth-Gen Ford Mustang
It can be easily argued that the Ford Mustang's fourth generation didn't start off too hot in the 1990s, but without a doubt, the model has fared terribly in the decades since its debut. Following the Fox Body, the fourth-gen was supposed to bring Ford into a new design era (after the Probe experiment flameout) but the fuel crisis of the 1980s may have loomed too heavy over designers and engineers at Ford.
Powered by a succession of underwhelming engines even for their day, and coming with an automatic transmission in base trim, this Mustang simply wasn't worthy of its name—either then, or now.
24 Pontiac Firebird
Detroit muscle cars from the 1990s were overall a pretty sad group, and the Pontiac Firebird was no exception. Attempts at a slick exterior design failed to inspire buyers, and a mass-produced interior clearly revealed its budget-minded materials.
Under the hood of the Firebird (and its Camaro cousin), a V8 was at least on offer for cars with Trans Am trim, though it only produced up to 305 horsepower. Today, even spotting a Firebird in any spec from the 1990s is rare, as pretty much no one thinks they've aged well.
23 Mitsubishi 3000 GT
When Mitsubishi released the 3000GT—which was also sold as a slightly-modified and rebadged Dodge Stealth in this country or the GTO in ROW (Rest of World) market—the model's potential seemed high. It came with a series of powertrain options maxing out in a twin-turbocharged V6 producing up to 394 horsepower and 414 lb-ft of torque (this option was only available in Germany but revealed the power figures the drivetrain could handle), as well as advanced tech like four-wheel steering, active aero bits, and electronically-controlled suspension.
But today, the 3000GT is known more for its heavy weight and complex engine bay that makes maintenance a serious headache.
22 Ford Probe
The Ford Probe was one of the decade's most notorious failures of conception and execution. Originally intended to be the next-generation of Mustang after the Fox Body,
it was developed with cooperation from Mazda to transform one of this country's most iconic models into a front-wheel-drive commuter car. Of course, public outcry at the time prevented the car from being sold under the Mustang name, but even known as the Probe, the little car was a failure from the get-go, and only seems worse as the years pass by.
21 Ford Taurus
The Ford Taurus may have been one of the best-selling vehicles of the entire 1990s decade, but today, clear-eyed automotive enthusiasts can see the model for what it truly is: a bland, bloated commuter car offering absolutely nothing in the way of thrills or excitement.
Given the extremely high sales figures numbering in the many millions of units, it would seem reasonable to expect that plenty of Tauruses would still be driving around today. And yet, the model in any form is a rare sight simply because the car doesn't fit well with anybody's style anymore.
20 Ford Thunderbird
Another legacy model that Ford slowly but surely ground into oblivion was the Thunderbird. The original Thunderbirds were awesome coupes and convertibles with plenty of power on tap, but by the 1990s, the name was applied to big, slow behemoths masquerading as cars.
The tenth-generation Thunderbird proved so disappointing that the model was shelved for five years in 1997, although it's a serious debate whether its successor for the new millennium was a step forward or yet another step in the wrong direction.
19 Chevrolet Corvette
Two models of the Chevrolet Corvette were sold in the 1990s, the C4 and C5 designs. Both were pretty disappointing, as the C4 carried over a toned-down exterior paired with underwhelming performance that had been disappointing even when it debuted in 1984. The fifth generation was released for model year 1997 and at least made some modest improvements, notably in its all-new chassis and the availability of an LS6 V8 in the Z06 that would eventually produce up to 405 horsepower.
And yet, even the C5 can be thought of as little more than a stepping stone that at least paved the way for the much more awesome Corvettes of later years.
18 Land Rover Discovery
The Land Rover Discovery is a wonderfully simple 4x4 that helped introduce the British manufacturer to the domestic market, where their Defender was essentially unknown and the Range Rover was typically viewed as another brand entirely. The Discovery was plenty utilitarian—even if its gas mileage was atrocious—
but for the 1990s, it was considered highly unreliable, especially compared to many increasingly popular Asian imports. Today, a Discovery can be found easily on the secondhand market, but any would-be buyers had better be prepared to shell out serious cash sums to keep their Discovery running.
17 Chevrolet Lumina
Most commuter cars tend to fade away with time, but for the most part, the Chevrolet Lumina has completely disappeared. Two decades later, a Lumina on the streets may be a rare sight, but for drivers who happen to see one, the design looks outdated by much more than 20 years.
Boring, slow, and old are words that aptly describe the Lumina, a sedan that has come to epitomize the questionable public tastes that automotive designers and engineers were catering to in the 1990s, alongside perhaps the Ford Taurus.
16 Oldsmobile Aurora
Oldsmobile as a brand doesn't even exist anymore, and the final nails in its coffin were hammered down with a series of terrible cars the GM subsidiary produced in the 1990s. By the time Oldsmobile shuttered in 2004, it was the oldest automotive manufacturer in the United States—though perhaps they shouldn't have catered all of their vehicles to the tastes of this country's oldest drivers.
The Aurora was amazingly billed as a sporty sedan, though anyone at the time knew that a front-wheel drive car with a four-speed automatic transmission was anything but aggressive, and today the Aurora is all but forgotten.
15 Geo Metro
The Geo Metro was one of the most stereotypical 1990s commuter cars to hit the market. Tiny, underpowered, and cheaply built, the Metro was the butt of many jokes, none quite as effective as a famous Car and Driver piece that featured a team of only four average men lifting up the car's rear end.
The version that reached these shores was powered by at most a 1.3-liter engine, and the car began to fall apart as soon as it left dealer floors. Today, driving a Metro amongst the massive trucks and SUVs on the road would be nothing short of dangerous.
14 Honda Del Sol
The 1990s was a decade when Japanese manufacturers began to expand into the realm of high-end luxury and performance cars, a break from their dominance in the commuter marketplace. Stellar products like the Acura NSX, Honda S2000, Toyota MR2, and Lexus LS400 reestablished their manufacturers in a slightly different market segment—but they still managed to release a couple of duds, as well.
The Honda Del Sol was one such car, which seemed like it should have been a mid-engined sports car complete with targa roof, but was instead a reworked Honda Civic with less daily utility.
13 Kia Sportage
Today, Korean manufacturer Kia produces some of the most affordable, economical, and reliable cars available anywhere. Their styling has taken a significant step up, as well, and with the release of the Stinger GT, they're even beginning to advance on the performance sector. The brand's 1990s-era vehicles are a distant memory, which is probably a good thing given how poorly the compact SUV known as the Sportage has aged.
Sportages may have helped Kia get a foot in the door on these shores, but there's no doubt the brand could have taken a better first step.
12 Honda Odyssey
The Odyssey was an attempt by Honda to reintroduce normal car doors onto the minivan layout. But as with many design features on cars, there was a reason why so many models featured the sliding door or doors that allowed so much easier access into the rear of the vehicle.
From cramming in gear or fitting seven people inside, sliding doors offered much more access, not to mention the possibility of electronically opening and closing the doors with the push of a button. It's no wonder that later Odysseys switched over to the sliding door layout.
11 BMW Z3 Coupe
When Pierce Brosnan first drove a BMW Z3 Roadster in the 1995 James Bond film Goldeneye, the world was amazed at the German manufacturer's tiny new sports car. But shortly after the Z3 debuted in convertible form, BMW released a hatchback iteration that had seriously questionable design.
Sure, in M-spec it came with a couple of powerful S52 and S54 engines sourced from the E36 and E46 M3 models, but any time a car becomes known as the 'clown shoe' it's probably not a particularly positive statement about its design.
10 Third-Gen Chevrolet Camaro
The third-generation Chevrolet Camaro limped into the 1990s for a final three years of sales before its successor eventually reached the market. But even by the late 80s, its boxy exterior, cheap interior, and underwhelming engine options had left fans of the iconic model highly disappointed.
Chevy tried to take a whole new approach with a smoother, sleeker exterior for the fourth generation, but the sad fact is that neither models have stood the test of time from either a design standpoint or a performance aspect.
9 Porsche 928
Not many cars can boast of a production run that spans even close to two decades, and yet there are multiple Porsche models that have reached that milestone with ease. And with the iconic 911—in all its various forms—as the brand's backbone, the fact shouldn't come as a surprise. But even most Porsche fans would probably be surprised to learn that the vilified 928 somehow managed to reach 19 years of production.
Upon its debut in 1978, the 928 caused a furor thanks to its water-cooled, front-mounted engine and the ethos behind its radical exterior. That exterior still had enthusiasts shaking their heads by the end of the run in 1995, and is questionable even another two decades later.
8 Mercury Cougar
Mercury was once a serious market player, essentially releasing rebadged Ford models in slightly lower levels of trim for the more economy-minded consumer. But a brand with early style icons like the Comet and Marauder should never have stooped as low as what the Cougar became in the 1990s.
Arguably the most popular Mercury ever, the Cougar had been a more affordable version of the Mustang, but unlike the Ford, by the 1990s it shared the Thunderbird platform and had turned into a bland commuter car that tried to somehow advertise itself as a luxury tourer, but to no avail.
7 Ford Festiva
The Ford Festiva was also known as the Ford Aspire, and is at (or near) the top of most lists of worst Fords ever made. Part of the issue may stem from the model's other name for ROW (Rest of World) markets—the Kia Avella. That's right, the Festiva was another blatant attempt by a Detroit manufacturer to crank out a competitor for the economical Asian imports that were flooding the market by the 1990s (in this case by simply selling an Asian import).
But seeing a Festiva (or an Aspire) on the streets today is even less likely than seeing most million-dollar supercars, simply because the model aged so badly.
6 Chevrolet Cavalier
Even for economy cars in the 1990s, the Chevrolet Cavalier stands out as a cheaply-built, underpowered concession of a design and engineering project. The second generation debuted for model year 1988 and carried on—somehow—until 1994.
It suffered from a hilariously underwhelming engine lineup, which included a 90-horsepower inline-four and a 125-horsepower V6, to start. Those figures were bumped up to (gasp!) 95 and 140, respectably, for 1990 and sound ridiculously low even taking into consideration this was nearly 30 years ago.