Michigan. What can be said about the beautiful northern state? Well, it’s landscape is indeed marvellous, as are the wonderful people that hail from its lands, but like many great North-American cities, it’s pretty famous for some particular things. Hey,Montreal is famous for its Poutine ( a dish made of fried potatoes, curd cheese and gravy), Boston is known for its coffee and doughnuts, Philadelphia is known for its reputation for Brotherly Love and well, Detroit Michigan is pretty famous for... If you said music, you’re half right, as it’s definitely the birth of Motown and the movement was indeed rather important to all music in general. But what we want to talk about here specifically is Detroit’s notoriety for being “the” city for producing the most motor vehicles and at record speeds.

Some of the greatest cars in history were created in some of Detroit’s largest factories, and at the same time, a lot of lesser known vehicles as well—these cars were from companies that have fallen out of existence and memory, and you’ll read about a few in today’s article. But, not all the cars produced in Detroit (or near to it) have been the best per se. In fact some of them were pretty embarrassing, and not only because of quality, but because of bad sales as well. Also, a lot of the top companies in Detroit, associated themselves with companies from abroad, either buying those international companies, or what have you. The results of these mergers left a lot to be desired, as what they produced can be considered atrocious, or wasn't at all worthy of the vehicles that came out of the city were worth.

We’ve got many examples and a lot more interesting info in this article. And remember, they didn’t have to be built there, as many of the big name companies still have their headquarters in the great city, but build their cars elsewhere. So without further delay, here are 25 cars that should never have come off the assembly line or design table in Detroit, or at least relatively close by.

24 Pontiac Sunfire

via blogspot.com

The Pontiac motor vehicle company was founded in 1926 in Detroit, Michigan. The company enjoyed many successes, but also many failures in it's rise and ultimate fall. That's right, as many of you know, the company closed its doors in 2010. But that doesn't mean it didn't leave a lot of happy people in its wake.

Many consumers had suffered at the hands of the company with a string of really bad cars that were nothing but problems from the start.

This model in question had its start in 1995 and although you can still see some around to this day, overall was considered a weak effort on the company's part.

23 AMC Gremlin

via mecum.com

The American Motor Company is also now defunct and has been since 1988. It surely didn't have a long run, as it was only founded in 1954. It produced some quality vehicles, but overall, it's short time in existence can be surmised by the number of bad vehicles it produced. Some of the cars under its label are still mentioned to this day, and not all comments are favourable. Take this little buddy over here. The car is aptly named, as Gremlins are known to attack machinery, disabling it from the inside (in folklore of course), and this is what happened with this car, no doubt, only in this case, the Gremlin ended up doing the damage to itself.

22 1994 Chrysler New Yorker

via cargurus.com

It sure as heck wasn't a Lincoln Town Car. But try telling Chrysler that, as they tried to pass it off as such. It offered the pinnacle of luxury. A car that would look good cruising some business man in an expensive suit down the streets of Manhattan. Maybe, he would even have a driver to drive and open a door for him when he arrived to the office. Only the businessman we're picturing never made it to the office. He had car trouble in the tunnel on his way to work.

The car was just faulty head to toe.

The New Yorker was no doubt a disappointment, and the car has gone under many transformations since, the company trying to re-invent it over and over again. Our suggestion: give it up, guys.

21 Ford Aspire

via bestcarmag.com

Here is another vehicle that really disappointed right off the bat. The Aspire aspired for greatness, but came up short, we're afraid. (Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun.) Many problems have arisen with this vehicle: engine problems and nonperformance being at the forefront of all complaints. This car was supposed to be a cash cow and it turned into a stone cold flop. There were many that complained of bad service at dealerships as well. So overall, the car disappointed rather than aspire to be great. (Sorry, last time.)

20 Chevrolet Uplander

via topspeed.com

The car has fortunately been discontinued. The only problem is that its still out there in circulation, and apparently, if you do find one used, the only thing it's good for is cargo delivery. As a family vehicle, it apparently disappointed and in more ways than one. Many claimed it had a dull style (we'd have to agree), and the rear seats didn't fold into the floor.

Hardly the most useful car when trying to pack in a bunch of stuff on a road trip with the family.

What's probably most shocking, or was for that matter, is that the safety features were only optional! Yikes. Never skimp on safety, friends.

19 1973 Pontiac Le Mans

via pinterest.com

I like to think of myself as a person that keeps up with most cars, old and new. I like researching them and looking back on old cars from days gone by. But believe it or not, I had actually forgotten about this old boy. Even the name when I came across it in my research was like hearing the name of some old friend. It was cool to see it, but once I started researching, a lot of old conversations came back to me as well, and I was slowly starting to remember what a lemon the car was and for many consumers back in the day.

18 AMC Pacer

via pinterest.co.uk

The AMC Pacer was just another of that company's disappointing offerings. The style was decent for the time, but the vehicle let drivers down in more ways than one. The car screams the eighties, yes, but when thinking about the fact that the eighties was when the company closed its doors, it simply reminds us of Pontiac and their mad scramble to produce a winner in the last years before the company folded.

The company ended up closing down in 1988.

The Pacer however, was first produced in 1975, and was the company's attempt at creating a car that would rival the big gas guzzlers that Detroit was putting out at the time.

17 Pontiac Wave

via carpages.ca

Here's another example of Pontiac trying way too hard to impress and overcompensate. It seemed as though they knew they were inevitably going to go out of business, and the production of their last batch of cars seemed to be more of a made dash to produce a successful vehicle than a company simply existing and moving forward. Yes, the Wave was no doubt another disappointment, and the ambient  noises that would start up when driving down the road were no doubt a source of worry and anxiety for many drivers. After all, who wants to hear mysterious noises coming from their car when doing 80 miles an hour on the highway?

16 Pontiac Pursuit

via topspeed.com

Even though the Pursuit was meant to be an improvement on the Sunfire, we're afraid it was much more of a disappointment. So many recalls on this car made it very annoying for many consumers. The style seemed to be a departure slightly, but overall, it seemed more like they had made the same car, only repackaged it differently. Consumers were assaulted with problems almost from the beginning. If it wasn't the bings and bangs you could here from somewhere under the hood, it was the fact that it would get stuck in the snow and ice no matter what tires you had on there. Overall a very disappointing car.

15 AMC Eagle

via dailyturismo.com

Well, if this doesn't remind you of family vacations to parts unknown and camping at the beach up north then i don't know what to tell you. The station wagon is such a part of  history and heritage and there have been some great station wagons that are still circulating the streets to this day, but sadly, it wasn't AMC that would produce said vehicle. Yes, it definitely produced a station wagon of its own, as you can see in the picture, but sadly, it wouldn't stand the test of time as other wagons have over the years.

14 Chrysler/Fiat 500X

via thedrive.com

Fiat had been producing cars in Italy for ages, and the 500 series was definitely a powerful little car no doubt. Respect is given to the company, and it will forever be known as a top producer of vehicles in the world. However, enter Chrysler. The boys and girls at the headquarters in Auburn Hills, Detroit made a mistake when deciding to bring the Fiat under their label.

In 2010, the company helped release some of the Fiat models, but later on started producing their very own Fiats, this ultimately being a bad decision.

The cars have not gained much favour or respectability and the name Fiat has definitely taken a hit after looking at some of these latest offerings.

13 Chevy/Daewoo Matiz

via parkers.co.uk

Well, GM did the same thing with the Korean company, Daewoo. Can you say plastic on wheels? This car definitely should have been abandoned on the car assembly line. If you think about it, we can just picture mechanics piecing this car together, shaking their heads, actually hating their jobs for the moment, as they were assembling quite a terrible car. The style of this one wasn't even great, so I don't even know what the heck GM was thinking with this one. It's not like they needed a car to help them gain favour. GM is GM. They had a slew of amazing cars under their belt. The addition of this car was worthless and a mistake.

12 Ford Escort Cabriolet

via brightwells.com

Now the Escort was a model that definitely had its advantages, especially when thinking about some of the models that came out--the best probably being the hatchback. The car was compact, but pretty powerful and if well taken care of, it could definitely stand the test of time. No, it didn't have a lot of leg room, but it was certainly a reliable car. However, when looking at the other models, the car definitely let a lot of drivers and consumers down, especially when looking at the Cabriolet. If ever a car should have stayed on the assembly line and the plans discarded, it was this monstrosity.

11 Chevrolet Volt

via motortrend.ca

Really? Did the masses of consumers really need a car like this on the market? It seems as though many of the cars that are being produced today kind of are able to morph into one another, the cars resembling each other in more ways than one. Originality has definitely gone out the door as of late, and the companies behind them don't seem to care much. Apparently, none of the companies learned from the downfall of Pontiac, and the last few cars they produced. But that's the problem with mass-production, we're afraid. At least it's environmentally friendly.

10 Pontiac Grand Am

via wikimedia.org

Probably the car that started the downfall of the Pontiac company. Pontiac was responsible for bringing some very important cars to the forefront.

There probably isn't any one model in existence that showed that more than the Pontiac GTO.

Now that was a beast that impressed and still impresses to this day. This is probably why it's so difficult for motor heads to get on board with the other cars the company produced. How can a company that brought the GTO to light, produce such low quality cars like the Grand Am? It's so sad and disappointing.

9 Ford Pinto

via mecum.com

Yes, there's only one thing I can think of when I look at the body of that car. And of course, it doesn't help that the picture showcases it in the middle of some field. Even the color of the horse in the distance conjures up the memory of that ill-fated mangy St Bernard dog. That's right, I'm thinking of Stephen King's Cujo. That was the very car that the mom and son were stuck in in that book and film, as that dog tried so desperately to get at them. But what I also remember from that book is that the car was always giving the characters problems, and they were always bringing it to get repaired. In fact, that's were they were going when all hell broke loose. Just goes to show you, better to get a reliable car. You don't want to end up in some field like they did.

8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

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This car has seen many resurgences in its days, and although earlier models were definitely big beauties, the later models were not even close to the luster that these vehicles were once known for. The car was intended to be a luxury car, but the later models did not reflect that at all. It was discontinued in 2007 and rightfully so. It was time to put the vehicle out of its misery. It kind of reminds us of that athlete that just refuses to hand it up, and the longer he stays out there, the more he tarnishes what he accomplished in the past. The Monte Carlo would have had a great legacy if it would have gone out on top.

7 Chevrolet Chevette

via wikimedia.org

It's in the name, isn't it? A car needs a good name, after all, first impressions mean everything. If somebody introduces you to someone before you see them and says: "I'd like to introduce you to Little Mikey," no doubt you're picturing a rather small man to walk into the room. This is a result of the natural way of our language, as it should be. Well, so was the impression made with this car, and perhaps at a time when the public wasn't really ready for such a small car. Yes, many drivers succumbed to the pressures of getting one of these, but by the end of the day, they were all pretty much disappointed.

6 Cadillac Cimarron

via wikipedia

The big problem with this car was that the car company tried to mesh a luxury car with an economy car. As we've learned thus far, that cannot be done. You can't skimp on features, charge less and then label the car a luxury car. That's like making foie gras with the liver of a chicken and passing it off as the fine dining dish. Apparently, this bad boy was an embarrassment from the beginning and rightfully so. In fact, Cadillac was so embarrassed by the product, that sales reps were told not to refer to the car as a Cadillac at all! The company has pushed out some winners, but this just proves that not everything can be a winner, especially when a car company cuts corners.

5 Pontiac Fiero

via hotrod.com

In researching this article, I realized how many failed cars Pontiac put out, and not only did I understand why the car company folded, but I'm left to wonder why the ruination of the company didn't come that much sooner. The Fiero was a car that was not only oddly made, but packaged just as oddly. It was sold as a sports car, but didn't perform like one. (Another example of cutting corners.) Apparently the early model of the car was mid-engined, but it only had two usable gears for backroads driving, thus resulting in a very bumpy ride, to say the least. The car was a victim of a bad time in car design, yes, but at the same time, the car was designed by a company that would earn to cut corners, offering the world cheap cars marketed as quality cars.