The Worst Cars of All Time
As a kid growing up in the eighties, my greatest ambition was to leave behind the sorry lot of misfits on the big yellow school bus and join the cool kids who were able to drive to school.
Eventually, my parents succumbed to our pleading, and bought the "kids car"; a rusted-out orange Cadillac Sedan DeVille from a bygone era with a white cream leather interior. The Dreamsicle, as we called it, was about the length of a third wheel and got about nine gallons to the mile. While this tail-finned monstrosity was not a status symbol by any means to adults, it had retro charm and provided us with that first sweet taste of liberty only the open road could provide. I knew the folks slept well, knowing we couldn't afford to drive far from home, and that it provided almost as much crash protection as an Abrams tank. Back then, it was enough to simply have a car, and I wasn't too picky.
Whenever I see an old ElCamino or Suzuki Samurai on the road these days, I often wonder who its first owner was. Who looks at a Kia Spectra and thinks "that really reflects me as a person"? In North America, where public transportation is minimal, a car is a big part of your personal identity. Of course, the auto manufacturers expend no small amount of money to encourage this sort of product identification.
People take it seriously, too. After retiring from the comics, Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes has started a lucrative car-decal career. Surely, you've seen his work:
A recent Saturn commerical focuses in on a young woman picking up her boyfriend at the airport. She confesses to the camera that she's dated a number of men, but none of them "felt right". Then she met Ben--the handsome, casually dressed man stepping out of the terminal. "It just felt right", she tells the camera as Ben, cute as a speckled pup, nuzzles her neck. If she had a bit more money, I wonder if she'd feel right in a Lexus or BMW. Would she therefore be dating a more handsome, better dressed man? It's a faulty analogy, but it works. Every crappy car on the road was at one time purchased new.
My buddy Rick Fawcett has assembled a photo montage of some of the worst cars ever produced. It's hard to believe that someone at one time bought them off the showroom floor.
Click Here To See Rick's 20 Ugliest Cars Ever Made
Eventually, my parents succumbed to our pleading, and bought the "kids car"; a rusted-out orange Cadillac Sedan DeVille from a bygone era with a white cream leather interior. The Dreamsicle, as we called it, was about the length of a third wheel and got about nine gallons to the mile. While this tail-finned monstrosity was not a status symbol by any means to adults, it had retro charm and provided us with that first sweet taste of liberty only the open road could provide. I knew the folks slept well, knowing we couldn't afford to drive far from home, and that it provided almost as much crash protection as an Abrams tank. Back then, it was enough to simply have a car, and I wasn't too picky.
Whenever I see an old ElCamino or Suzuki Samurai on the road these days, I often wonder who its first owner was. Who looks at a Kia Spectra and thinks "that really reflects me as a person"? In North America, where public transportation is minimal, a car is a big part of your personal identity. Of course, the auto manufacturers expend no small amount of money to encourage this sort of product identification.
People take it seriously, too. After retiring from the comics, Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes has started a lucrative car-decal career. Surely, you've seen his work:
A recent Saturn commerical focuses in on a young woman picking up her boyfriend at the airport. She confesses to the camera that she's dated a number of men, but none of them "felt right". Then she met Ben--the handsome, casually dressed man stepping out of the terminal. "It just felt right", she tells the camera as Ben, cute as a speckled pup, nuzzles her neck. If she had a bit more money, I wonder if she'd feel right in a Lexus or BMW. Would she therefore be dating a more handsome, better dressed man? It's a faulty analogy, but it works. Every crappy car on the road was at one time purchased new.
My buddy Rick Fawcett has assembled a photo montage of some of the worst cars ever produced. It's hard to believe that someone at one time bought them off the showroom floor.
Click Here To See Rick's 20 Ugliest Cars Ever Made
