Worst car ever owned

[Kevinl]

Say what you will (I hate vans too) but ironically, that box on wheels basically saved the company, and for some reason, they couldn't make enough of those stinkin PT Cruisers! Customers ate them up.

I feel bad for the company really, but I used to work in the truck/jeep vehicle development so I have a soft spot.

Is that why they failed again Chrysler is a junk company always has been

[M-technik-3]

Holy shit I'm not the only one with a Vega story. I had a '77 GT, someone had a put a 2.5L/5sp from a Monza/Sunbird in it and it was still broke more than it ran. I couldn't even get rid of it, sold it to some folks and they only made it to the end of my Dad's driveway before the steering box broke off the subframe. Eventually got $200 for it, but they got stuck in the snow trying to pull it out of my driveway, had to call a tow truck to get both vehicles out out. I guess he welded it back together and wrapped it around a tree not long after.

My Mom owned a Monza it was such a POS, the thing would vapor lock at just a hint of any temperatures above 65 degress. Made for great reliable transportation. Before that we had an Austin and even Prince Lucas and the best of British Leyland could not beat that Monza for being the ultimate crap box. Even the 411 squareback wasn't that bad.

[rcsoundn1]

2005 Honda civic. There have been ongoing issues. And generaly people accuse me of lack of maintance. I save all my recipts, and take care of my cars. Cooling headaches for years. Its 4Sale if anyone is intrested. Im dumping this POS

[Exodus_2pt0]

How much?

[rcsoundn1]

near me they go for 4-4800 depending on what Im not sure. Make an offer if there is genuine intrest. Sold as is whre is.

[nando]

some of those stories are just stupid. so your 13 year old Pontiac vibe isn't reliable because it has a billion miles on it and it rusted because you drive it in salt all the time?

the PT Cruiser and Dart are terrible, terrible cars though. A couple cars back my wife had been looking at a Neon the same generation as the Cruiser (same car really) - I'm soooo glad we didn't buy that POS. The Sentra we got instead was ugly as shit, but we never had a single issue with it and the 4cyl was actually pretty fun to wring out.

Just think about it - Neons were everywhere when the first came out (both generations). Now you barely see any left on the road, and it hasn't even been that long.

Another terrible, terrible car were the late Ford Escorts. The automatic transmissions wouldn't make it 50k. There's a reason you never see them on the road anymore, and if you do it's likely MT.

[Stanley Rockafella]

Another terrible, terrible car were the late Ford Escorts. The automatic transmissions wouldn't make it 50k. There's a reason you never see them on the road anymore, and if you do it's likely MT.

Aside from the AT, the cars were fantastic

We had a 97 sport with MT fully loaded. After several years on the prairies it never quit, regardless of how hard I beat that car. The a/c was ice cold in summer traffic and ALL the power options worked flawlessly up to the point of selling it. Never replaced the clutch, starter or alternator on that thing. Just brakes, tires, shocks, struts and the rear coil springs since they had a tendency to snap off the lower portion due to rust pooling around the bottom part.

Owner reviews of these cars state the same reliability we observed.

[QUKBMER]

1981 pontiac grand prix w/ GM's target 350 v8 gas converted to diesel engine. It was a pig !

[nando]

Aside from the AT, the cars were fantastic

We had a 97 sport with MT fully loaded. After several years on the prairies it never quit, regardless of how hard I beat that car. The a/c was ice cold in summer traffic and ALL the power options worked flawlessly up to the point of selling it. Never replaced the clutch, starter or alternator on that thing. Just brakes, tires, shocks, struts and the rear coil springs since they had a tendency to snap off the lower portion due to rust pooling around the bottom part.

Owner reviews of these cars state the same reliability we observed.

most of them here were ATs. I think they were OK other than that. You still don't see many of them on the road anymore.

[nando]

Because of people like my in-laws.

Not kidding, they ONLY buy Chrysler products. Refuse to buy or even look at anything else. Only consider something connected with Dodge - which goes all the way to back to the first car my wife ever learned to drive on, an AMC Eagle 4x4.

I think they BUY brand loyalty - they give stupid huge discounts to family and friends of employees.

As well, I have owned a few Pentastar products: '69 Dodge Dart (slant six fail), '68 Full Size (318 Fail), '99 Dodge Dakota (12 mpg no matter what)..etc.

Chrysler - the company may have given us the Superbird, but also gave us such hits as:

The PT Crusier

The K Car

And the greatest sin known to man, and the birth of the suburban hell hauler:



Burn in Hell Chrysler for that one.

modern Chrysler products are horrid, but I would love to have another '60's slant-six powered car. Those things were indestructible. If I had the knowledge I do now, I would have done a MS conversion on my '68 Dart, and never done the swap - the slant 6 with a big HX35 on it would be a lot of fun.

[djjerme]

Say what you will (I hate vans too) but ironically, that box on wheels basically saved the company, and for some reason, they couldn't make enough of those stinkin PT Cruisers! Customers ate them up.

I feel bad for the company really, but I used to work in the truck/jeep vehicle development so I have a soft spot.

Actually, I thought the K-car saved the company. Yes, I know the Minivan was basically a K-car front subframe with a van body.

I'm not down on the motors, those 4 bangers in stock form could take $h*t ton of boost and ran for ever, but the fit and finish of everything else - FAIL. They not only mastered the GM squeak - but created their own version of plastic breakables.

AS for the Neon - I will say, at least Chrysler has TRIED to support motorsports in the last few decades (as witnessed by ACR Neon and the SRT-4.) But they just weren't durable. The bodies/suspension more so than the drivetrains.

[Wschnitz]

most of them here were ATs. I think they were OK other than that. You still don't see many of them on the road anymore.

My dad one ive seen pictures of that had like 400k+ on it.

He said he sold it "running" to a junk yard But apparently timing chain was loose or broke so it ran on 3 cylinders and the cars cats exploded from filling with gas.

They pushed it from the top of a hill and coasted into junkyard.

Easy $400

[ainadude]

Had a '69 VW Beetle in college -- classic pale blue and rust (ventilated floorboards!). Ran fine and was fun to drive (especially in snow or ice), but it had a weird electrical issue I could never track down. Every now and then, I'd turn the key and get nothing but idiot lights -- no starter action, no click ... nothing. I had no skill at electrical troubleshooting and certainly didn't have the cash to have someone do it for me, so I just got in the habit of finding a parking space on a hill where I'd be able to roll start it as needed. Always started up fine with a bit of a roll or a push.

One of only two cars I've ever nicknamed -- it came to be known as "Hitchcock" (i.e. the master of suspense)

[Stanley Rockafella]

Not all Chrysler/dodge products are bad.

Look at the Shadow/Acclaim. They were even offered in turbo versions that were pretty decent in terms of reliability.

[nando]

Turbo, whatever - they were still really shitty cars. the drivetrains were OK but they weren't even made by Dodge, the only reason they didn't completely suck.