These Are The Cars That Let You Down The Hardest
Last week, I asked you about your favorite pickup trucks, and boy, didn't we have fun. But those times are over now. We all have to grown up and realize that not every car is a home run. If it was, we and our far less pretty and smart sister car sites, would be out of a job. Complaining in prose is what we do baby, but that doesn't make disappointing cars any less disappointing. I asked you earlier this week what cars have let you down in the past, and your answers stretched across time, space and manufacturers. Truly, let-downs come in all sizes and shapes.
There were new cars that just didn't live up to the hype, cars you owned that never really settled in no matter how long you drove them, and cars that you thought were heroes, only to end up as zeros. You'll find Volvos, Buicks and a weirdly post-apocalyptic Dodge Dart photo that definitely portents the lived-experience of long-term owning a Dodge Dart.
The people have spoken: We want a real Ranger!
New Ford Ranger. I don't know why but I was expecting a slightly modernized old Ford Ranger, a reasonably sized utilitarian truck. Instead we got a 7/8 scale F150. First time I saw one I thought it was a full sized truck. Looked huge, then I saw it next to an even bigger full size truck...
From Greg Lemon
My car is also a Dort
Probably the last Dodge Dart. The name used to be legendary for durability and reliability. That last one had neither, and didn't last long–which, since the automakers don't really want to sell small, affordable cars anymore, may have been the plan all along.
From Joe Stricker
The dream was dead even before Dieselgate
2009 VW Jetta TDI. Loved the styling and the 6-speed stick. Fuel economy was great — 50mpg on the highway was pretty easy to obtain. But that car had more electrical/CEL issues in 40k miles than all the other cars I've owned combined. Plus there was a dark cloud of expensive and catastrophic potential HPFP failures hanging over the entire generation of TDIs. I lost faith in the car, and the brand. And shortly after I got rid of it the whole Dieselgate thing blew wide open, obliterating any remaining respect I had for VW.
From BuddyS
Volvo means I roll over (dead)
'90 Volvo 740 wagon. Bought for safety it came from the factory with defective brakes. The computer died. My wife started the car and shifted into drive. The gear lever came off in her hand.
As for safety, our kids liked sitting in the back facing 3rd row then I saw in one of the advertisements where the rear crumple zone was.
We had bought an extended warranty and it paid for $11,000 in repairs in 5 years.
So I learned why Volvos are so safe: it's hard to be killed in a car that won't run.
From Stevej1461
Why? Why do automakers do this?
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross. I grew up with seeing the sports coupe Eclipses in Fast and Furious movies and driving them in Need For Speed video games. I felt part of my childhood die inside when I first saw the Eclipse name being put on a crossover.
From Giantsgiants
The car that cemented Buick's image as old lady-mobiles
The 1985 Buick Century. I was young, had limited funds, and a family friend who was a used car dealer gave me a great deal on one. American quasi-luxury right? Then the CVs failed, one after the other. Then the injectors failed. Then the exhaust manifold cracked. Then the head needed a complete rebuild. Then the transmission needed to be replaced. Then the power windows stopped working. Then the exhaust fell off. THE CAR HAD 50,000 MILES ON IT! I drove it to the dealership and blocked their service department door and threw the keys into the river.
From DTEL77
Dead reliable and dead bad to drive, as an Acura should be
Acura Integra. My brother had a 95 SE 5-speed he loved. I learned to drive on it later on in life. It's one of best looking cars built in the 1990s and I loved the color combo (green over dark tan) but I never really enjoyed sitting in it. The shifter throws were too long, it was gutless compared to my V6 Grand Am (and that's saying something), and I felt like I sat on it rather than in it. Maybe if it was a GS-R, I would have liked it more?
It was dead nuts reliable for the 7 years we had it though. Outside of maintenance, the only thing extra we had to put into it was a new radiator. Oh, and went I went to sell it in 2008 on Autotrader, my phone BLEW UP. I must've sold it too cheaply as I sold it within three hours for my asking price.
From Fiji ST
It's clearly not your kink
While it's by all accounts an excellent car, the little plastic quarter window on the Cadillac CT5 ticked me off to no end. Maybe I'm overreacting, but it really got under my skin.
From Very Stable Genius
Never meet your heroes
Lexus SC430.
I wanted to buy one for years. Test drove a 2008 and wanted to love it so much but it did not feel special at all. It was not silent or have the magic carpet ride of the LS430. It did not feel fast and lacked stuff like smart keys, backup camera, bluetooth audio, and a modern interface for the controls on the screen. As an 08, the display was identical to the 02 model without any facelift/update. It was a well made car with one of the best driver trains in the world but I was disappointed. If the price is right, I would buy an 06+ in black on black but it is nothing like my expectation.
From Tex