If you polish a turd what do you get? You get a polished turd. That is unfortunately how some cars have been perceived that have been on the market at some time. What makes it more interesting to understand is the fact that there have been some awesome manufacturers that simply haven’t hit the mark in the past. This does happen, every industry has to try some things and see what happens and the reception can be poor, but what’s amazing is the amount of work and showing that goes into a vehicle before it is released to the public. You would have thought someone would have stopped these manufacturers from making these colossal mistakes.
1980 Ferrari Mondial – This is the worst Ferrari ever made which has to be a distinction that goes to some car in the world so why not this one. This car offered a mid-engine layout that was to have room for four passengers which made it difficult to give the rear passengers enough room. The original Mondial 8 lacked performance and even though the performance improved later in the 1980s, this first one was not the best effort from the prancing horse brand.
1976 Aston Martin Lagonda – This was an ultra-luxury car that offered four doors and an extremely odd looking shape. The electronics were cutting edge, but that edge appeared to be cut by the dullest of spoons and the style was far from elegant. This car looked heavy and it was overweight for its purpose. If Aston Martin had kept to a more widely accepted form of luxury build they would have done a much better job of making a car more of us enjoyed. While this was an ambitious effort, there were very few who ever really wanted to own this car at the time of its creation.
2010 Acura ZDX – This was supposed to be the response to the BMW X6, but it feel quite a few places short. This vehicle ends up looking a lot like the MDX but it had a sloping rear roof to make it appear to be sportier than the MDX. This aggressive styling caused the vehicle to be too far from center with the design and the rear doors were a bit awkward and ugly to behold. As a more expensive and less practical version of the MDX, the ZDX was not the vehicle anyone wanted to drive, at least not for very long.
1997 Mercedes-Benz A-Class – This was to be the first generation of this car and it looks a lot like the basis of the Smart Forfour rather than a full on luxury product from the three point star badge. Not only is this an ugly car but it was unstable on the road and was prone to rollover during lane changes, making it a car that you couldn’t trust on any road. On the inside this was a car that didn’t even feel like a Mercedes-Benz model and sent the designers back to the drawing board to create a new model.
2001 Jaguar X-Type – The partnership with Ford was designed to help Jaguar expand its lineup, but what came of this partnership was a disaster. The S-Type and X-Type were the products of this partnership and the X-Type was simply a modified Ford Mondeo, this car did not drive at all like a Jaguar. using a transversely mounted engine the car was not balanced and lacked the sophistication that you expect when you pay for a brand that has carried so much clout for several decades, making this the worst Jaguar ever to be offered.
2002 Lexus SC430 – Originally the SC was a car that we loved. A beautiful four seater that was great as a luxury performance grand touring car that you could order with a six-cylinder engine or a V8 and enjoy the fun of a manual transmission. the replacement, the SC430, was not built to live up to the reputation of its predecessor. This car did come with a V8 in RWD setup, a great start, but it was a heavy hardtop convertible and lacked any performance for you to enjoy. The hardtop took up most of the trunk space so you really couldn’t go on a road trip in this car. Overall it failed to meet the reputation of its previous model.
2006 Saab 9-7x – This was a badging issue that came as a result of GM and Saab joining forces. If you have ever looked at the GM lineup you know that many vehicles are basically the same just have different brand names and a features for you to choose from. In the 2000s the Buick Rainier, Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Isuzu Ascender, Oldsmobile Bravada and Saab 9-7x were basically all the same vehicle. This leads to too much saturation of the market and left this vehicle out of contention for being a good one from Saab.
2012 Aston Martin Cygnet – This is a car Aston Martin would love to forget they put their name on. This was a car that thankfully never made it across the pond as it was really a Toyota iQ that had been rebadged with Aston Martin logos and a bit of an upgraded interior. This car did not carry forth the brand recognition or philosophy at all for Aston Martin and sold only 300 units before it was finally deleted from the market to hopefully die a quiet death.
1983 Cadillac Cimarron – Look at that car, just the silhouette, what do you see? You see a Chevrolet Cavalier but when you get up close it’s got Cadillac badging on it. Ok, GM does this a lot so is it really a luxury car? Not at all, the Cimarron came from an economy car and it should have stayed an economy car and never badged as a luxury model. Since it was a Cadillac it does receive the honor of the worst Cadillac model to ever be built and one we don’t want to ever experience again.
1989 Chrysler TC by Maserati – This was a combined disaster and a car that should have never made it out of the design room. There are Chrysler parts on this car, Mitsubishi parts and even Maserati parts to make this a Frankenstein’s Monster of cars. The engine really wasn’t bad at all but there was nothing sporty or luxurious about this car. What made things worse was the price, which was higher than the Lebaron convertible of the time. Overall, this car created more headaches than it solved and should have been a though that was better left unsaid.
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