The 1980s and 1990s created some very spectacular vehicles in the automobile world. These two decades are widely regarded as fantastic ones when it came to the cars that were released and it is quite simple to understand why. Many cars that are now deemed as classics came from this era. However, these decades have also brought in some cars that are entirely inexcusable and even led to the demise of some formerly giant manufacturers. The competition between companies during these decades were extremely high and many of them would release their vehicles too quickly to try to compete in sales. However, this would always seem to backfire because their vehicles would have massive issues.

With all that has been said so far, we will be looking at the ten worst cars from both the 1980s and 1990s in this article. There is no question that although these were great decades in the automobile world, there were a large variety of cars that were just absolutely abysmal during this time period. These cars need to be called out for their massive issues because car collectors are now adding these now classified as vintage cars to their garages. The last thing these buyers want to do is a buy a complete lemon, so this list will be a nice way to help prevent that from occurring.

Nonetheless, let’s look at the worst cars from both the 1980s and 1990s.

20 1980s: 1985 Chevy Citation

Chevy has definitely created some wonderful model over their long history, but the 1985 Chevy Citation was a very horrible. The Chevy Citation offered nothing special with their models and were the epitome of basic. This would not be an issue however if it actually worked well.

Yet, the 1985 Chevy Citation was known for its large variety of issues and very short life cycle.

This is truly shocking to hear because this car was expected to be a family car by the individuals who purchased. However, at the end of the day, they were just extremely disappointed in every way.

19 1990s: 1992 Chrysler Imperial

The 1992 Chrysler Imperial definitely had potential to be a very nice car when it was first released, but it ultimately flopped because of the way it was structured. Everyone knows that a vehicle has to be strong if it is expensive, yet the 1992 Chrysler Imperial was not anything like that. The 1992 Chrysler Imperial is one that many car drivers should look to stay away from. Although the vehicle has a fairly nice look, it is not worth the headache that comes with it. At the end of the day, this was a rare swing and miss for Chrysler and easily one of the worsts from the 90s.

18 1980s: 1982 DeLorean DMC-12

There is no question that the 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 is a very nice looking car, but that is about all that it offers. From there, this vehicle was extremely dangerous to drive because it had a large abundance of issues that would make it very prone to sudden problems on the road. The 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 is a car that could be worth buying if you want it for its looks, but that is just about it. The 1982 DMC-12 is just an incredibly awful model in every way possible and one that drivers should stay away from entirely. It simply is that horrible at the end of the day.

17 1990s: 1996 Ford Aspire

The 1996 Ford Aspire is one that the company wishes they could delete from the memories of its owners. The 1996 Ford Aspire is just an incredibly abysmal model that now is regarded as one of the worsts that have ever come from. There are plenty of reasons why they have this now.

The 1996 Ford Aspire offered absolutely no style to its exterior and it was just extremely boring to look at.

That would not be a problem much at all if it ran well. Instead, this vehicle had an abundance of major issues that made it extremely unreliable and even dangerous to drive.

16 1980s: 1983 Maserati Biturbo

The 1983 Maserati Biturbo is a fantastic looking sports car, but that is essentially the only good aspect of it at this time. The 1983 Biturbo was full of major issues that would make its life cycle very short during its days on the primary market. With that, it quickly became detested. There is a certain standard that all cars need to possess and that is the clear fact that it can reliable. The 1983 Maserati Biturbo was able to pick up nice speeds and did well with its sports car name, but in terms of its overall structure, this car was a lemon that absolutely failed to reach basic expectations.

15 1990s: 1995 Fiat Multipla

The 1995 Fiat Multipla is an absolutely horrid model that came from the car manufacturer and needs to be erased entirely. The Fiat Multipla is easily one of the ugliest cars to have ever been released and that alone made its sales extremely low during its primary time on the market. The 1995 Fiat Multipla is one that the company definitely wishes that they never released because it hurt their budget immensely. With this car being so putrid looking, but also coming with a large variety of structural issues, this easily qualifies as one of the worsts from the 1990s.

14 1980s: 1986 Alfa Romeo Arna

The 1986 Alfa Romeo Arna was extremely popular when it was first released, but that does not mean that it was a good car. In fact, this model was extremely bad because of how dangerous it was to just drive it. Its engine was extremely awful and led to actual structural damage.

The 1986 Alfa Romeo Arna was likely terminated far too quickly because of all the issues that it possessed.

Had they spent more time on the actual interior of the vehicle, this vehicle would have done a far better job. Instead, this car ended up being a massive lemon.

13 1990s: 1994 Chevy Cavalier

The 1994 Chevy Cavalier is a car that definitely has a nice look to it, but it also had some major issues. The Chevy Cavalier sold exceptionally well during the 1990s and a huge reason behind this was because many of these models worked very well and were qutie reliable. However, with the 1994 Chevy Cavalier, this vehicle was easily the worst from the series and one that should have had far more tests before its release. This is the classic example of why one must research very thoroughly before buying a car because a simple year difference can lead to a ton of chaos.

12 1980s: 1987 Cadillac Cimarron

The 1987 Cadillac Cimarron was released during a time when the company was truly thriving and near the top of the automobile world. However, when they released the 1987 Cimarron, they made some pretty massive mistakes with it and it quickly became detested by many people. The 1987 Cadillac Cimarron is one that definitely needed to be looked at far more before it was released. It was known for having a ton of recurring issues with its brakes and that of course is a huge red flag. At the end of the day, this vehicle is easily one of the worsts from the 1980s.

11 1990s: 1993 Geo Metro Convertible

The 1993 Geo Metro Convertible is one of the worst car models to have been released during the 1990s.

It lacked any unique style and in fact, it somehow was able to make a convertible look boring.

However, the worst issues came with the way the vehicle would run. The 1993 Geo Metro Convertible was already a flop when it first hit the open market, but when a few months passed, it already showed massive signs of serious interior damage. This is largely because this car had an abysmal engine to go along with an extremely weak body.

10 1980s: 1989 Chrysler TC

The 1989 Chrysler TC was a massive flop from the very start of its time on the primary market and that is because its abundance of issues came out extremely quickly. It was quickly known that this car was rushed into production and its overall strength displayed this immensely. The 1989 Chrysler TC is one that absolutely was a mistake by the manufacturer. Although Chrysler definitely deserves credit for the vast amount of successful cars they have made, criticism is warranted for the unreliable and problem heavy 1989 Chrysler TC.

9 1990s: 1995 Suzuki X-90

The 1995 Suzuki X-90 is definitely a model that is not talked about as much anymore, but when it first came out, it was very popular. However, the primary reason why this car is no longer seen in a positive light is because of the clear fact that it simply grew into being an awful model. The 1995 Suzuki X-90 came with a large variety of issues that completely took over any of the early success it obtained. This simply was not a car that was meant to last that many years, but that is a huge issue when recognizing the fact that it was released at a top notch model price.

8 1980s: 1983 Renault Fuego

The 1983 Renault Fuego is a model that definitely does not have too good of a reputation anymore. This is largely because of the clear fact that this vehicle was not built in a very productive way.

Its short life cycle and extremely persistent issues made it a lemon.

There is no excuse to have as many issues as the 1983 Renault Fuego, so it definitely can and should be deemed as one of the worst car models from the 1980s. If this vehicle were to have worked, they would have needed to fix the massive problems it had during its development.

7 1990s: 1998 Porsche 911

The 1998 Porsche 911 is widely regarded as the vehicle that started the demise of the once top notch manufacturer. Many people call this model an embarrassment to the company and at the end of the day, that is a fair statement. This vehicle was just an absolute lemon.

The 1998 Porsche 911 was supposed to be a sports car, but due to limited funds, it was given a weak engine that made its top speed fairly low. The 1998 Porsche 911 is the prime example of a car that was so bad that it could virtually sink its company. Thus, this is one of the worsts from the 1990s.

6 1980s: 1984 Pontiac Fiero

The 1984 Pontiac Fiero was a very depressing car because it essentially ruined the name of the brand. Fieros were once seen as very reliable and popular cars, but this one was released too early and it resulted in it having far too many issues for it to be given a pass.

The 1984 Pontiac Fiero was known for its structural damage, especially after just a few years of usage. The 1984 Pontiac Fiero is definitely one that can be deemed as one of the worsts from the 1980s because it was as if this vehicle could not go more than a few months without more issues.

5 1990s: 1999 Land Rover Discovery

The 1999 Land Rover Discovery was expected to be a family car that was extremely reliable. Instead, this vehicle came with an abundance of problems that quickly made it disliked by the automobile world.

It went entirely against what it was supposed to be.

The 1999 Land Rover Discovery was simply a badly built vehicle and it quickly would display that. These type of cars normally are able to last a fairly long time because they are bigger and stronger built, but this one was lucky to come with five years without any major problems.

4 1980s: 1981 Cadillac V8

The 1981 Cadillac V8 was a very nice looking vehicle, but it was a lemon for the top notch manufacturer. This is largely because of the V8’s awful engine during that year’s release and it would soon become known to the automobile world when their cars would break down. The 1991 Cadillac V8 is one that definitely had an abundance of potential when it was first released, but it ultimately failed immensely. This is a vehicle that probably could have become an instant classic had they done a better job assembling it, but now it is easily one of the worsts from the 1980s.

3 1990s: 1993 Vector W8

The 1993 Vector W8 is such an intriguing looking car and one that definitely attracted buyers during its time on the primary market. However, as the years passed by, it became pretty apparent that this model was built extremely poorly and could have done a far better job. The 1993 Vector W8 is now widely regarded as one of the worst models from the 1990s and easily led to a massive decrease is sales for the manufacturer. The 1993 Vector V8 is one that probably could have been a very popular car and one for collectors to buy now if it had less issues.

2 1980s: 1980 Chevy “California” Corvette

The 1980 Chevy “California” Corvette was essentially ruined by the state itself. California had just mandated new rules and regulations that forced the company to make the 1980 Corvette have a weaker engine in their state. With that said, the car took a massive negative hit. The 1980 Chevy “California” Corvette essentially was no longer a sports car with the weaker engine and would not reach high speeds. This is the one Corvette that was ever released that is not worth buying and easily is amongst the worst out of all cars released during the 1980s.

1 1990s: 1999 Pontiac Grand Am

The 1999 Pontiac Grand Am was a massive failure by the manufacturer is often regarded as the worst model from the 1990s. This is largely because of the fact that this car started the negative trend that made the Pontiac manufacturer to be forced to discontinue their franchise.

The 1999 Pontiac Grand Am created an extremely negative perception of the manufacturer and rightfully so.

This vehicle was built so poorly that it would have issues literally months into being purchased. This was just a car that needed far more time to develop, but Pontiac was desperate for quick sales. This gamble would end up failing immensely.

Sources: CarAndDriver.com, MotorTrend.com, ConsumerReports.com