America is one of the largest automobile markets in the world as well as one of the largest car producers. But not every car is Mustang, Camaro, or Charger. For every successful car, there are quite a few unsuccessful and underappreciated cars, but not all of them were bad.
Some of the flops were actually kind of good cars that had a serious flaw. But these cars all offer some great fun to be had for those willing to look past all the problems. Let’s take a tour of American automotive history and give these lemons some love they deserved.
8 DeLorean DMC-12
The DeLorean is a unique car and a pop culture icon thanks to the Back to the Future franchise. But it was also one of the biggest flops of the American automotive industry. Designed by the car designer of the century, Giorgetto Giugiaro, DeLorean was unlike anything that was on the market when it came out. It had gullwing doors and brushed stainless steel body panels, and it looked fast.
But unfortunately for DMC, it only looked fast. Powered by a V6, the DeLorean produced a dismal 130 horsepower. Dismal, because the car was advertised as a sports car. Based on the performance test, the car could do 0-60 in 9.6-10.5 seconds depending on the transmission, with a top speed of 100 mph. These numbers made the DeLorean a laughingstock. It was too expensive, too heavy for the engine, seriously underpowered, and built so poorly that DMC had to recall the car four times in two years of production, including a sticking throttle problem.
7 Edsel
Edsel cars are collectible items today, but when they launched they flopped so hard that it became a case study and a synonym for failure. Ford Motor Company hyped the Edsel brand so much that unless the cars were driving themselves or could fly, the public wouldn’t be happy. When the much anticipated “E-Day” came, all they got was a slightly cheaper Mercury with funny looks.
The truth is, Edsels were not that bad. They were innovative, had adequate performance, one could say they were ahead of their time. But the production was so rushed that fit-and-finish of the cars were lackluster at best and incomplete at worst, with parts in the trunk waiting to be fitted by the customer. This, combined with its unconventional design and the fact that Edsels were introduced to the storm that was the 1958 recession all play a part in this truly historic flop.
6 Ford Pinto
Unlike Edsel, the Ford Pinto did, in fact, fly. It was also a sales success, having outproduced the other subcompact cars. Ford built 3 million Pintos, more than any other domestic subcompact cars combined. It had decent performance, offered good fuel economy, the price was right, and the subcompact market wasn’t flooded with cheap Japanese imports — which happened in part thanks to the Ford Pinto. It flopped due to safety concerns.
The Pinto’s development was rushed. From the drawing board to the introduction, the development only took 25 months, rather than an average of 43 months at the time. The engineers had to cut some corners to meet the deadlines and keep the costs down. These cut corners would come back to haunt Ford. Thanks to its complicated fuel system and placement of the fuel tank, the Ford Pinto had a tendency to blow up after being rear-ending, even low-speed impacts. This resulted in the deaths of several people and two landmark court cases, giving Japanese manufacturers market share in subcompact cars.
5 Lincoln Blackwood
Lincoln Blackwood is one of those ideas that should never leave the drawing board. But somehow it passed several internal tests and got built, even sold to the public. Lincoln took the popular Navigator SUV and chopped off part of its roof to create a luxury pickup truck. The result was a very handsome truck with very limited utility.
People buy pickup trucks for two reasons; utility and off-road capability. The Lincoln Blackwood had none of those. The truck bed was too small and carpeted. Calling it a truck bed is an insult to the trucks, as it was designed as a trunk and has a powered tonneau, limiting the utility of the vehicle. Also, the Blackwood was only offered as an RWD. But if you somehow look past these interesting choices it's a cool-looking truck.
4 Chevrolet Corvair
Chevrolet Corvair was a fun, affordable compact car. It had a lovely air-cooled flat-six engine mounted in the back. At the time, Detroit’s Big Three only produced full-size cars and the sizes were growing each model year, giving the European imports like Volkswagen and Fiat some market share in compact cars, as the two-car families became more common in the ‘50s. Chevrolet understood the importance of a small, fuel-efficient car long before the fuel crisis.
The Corvair was very ahead of its time. It used aluminum parts in the engine, a monocoque body, and independent suspension. Motor Trend named it “Car of the Year” in 1960. But it was Ralph Nader's book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," that tarnished this little gem's name. According to the book, the car was prone to oversteer and spin out, even roll easily. Despite several independent tests that proved it was as safe as any car, GM couldn’t clear Corvair’s name and the car ride to the sunset, producing only 6,000 units in its final production year.
3 Pontiac Aztek
Aztek was a truly revolutionary car. You might know this car from Breaking Bad, as Walter White owned one. This odd-looking car was one of the first crossover SUVs and a really good one, despite the cosmetics.
The fact is that this car was the final nail in Pontiac’s coffin. But it wasn’t the designers' fault, at least not completely. The original concept was very well received by the public, but the company had to change the concept for cost-saving reasons. This resulted in a truly ugly car. Despite the Aztek being one of the most versatile vehicles on the market, it wasn’t enough to save the car and the company.
2 Chevrolet Vega
The Chevrolet Vega was another rushed subcompact American car, just like Pinto. It was also introduced a day before the Pinto to undermine it. The Vega used some very different engines during its 7 years of production, including a Wankel unit. It was a cheap car with more than enough power and good gas mileage, and it received the Motor Trend Car of the Year title in 1971.
While the Vega sold well at the launch, the problems started soon after. By 1972, nearly all Vegas were subject to a recall, six out of every seven Vegas to be exact. There was a whole slew of problems, and they started way before the launch. The car’s front end got separated within 8 miles at the GM’s test track. Other problems were rust, problems with the engine's oil burning and backfires that could cause fires, and the rear-axle separation.
1 Chevrolet Corvette 305
California always had stricter laws than the rest of the US, this is especially true if you are talking about emission laws. These laws made it impossible to have a decent Corvette in California. The C3 Corvette’s base engine was already pretty bad, the 352 cubic inches V8 engine was producing only 190 horsepower if you wanted to drive a stick, 230 if you are happy with an automatic.
But Californians got the worst end of both deals. Due to the law, the only engine that could be used in a Corvette was the 305 small-block that produced 180 horsepower and the only transmission option was a 3-speed automatic. This transmission messed with the car’s acceleration and already low top speed. This Corvette was not received well, even by the collectors and historians.