Wednesday Worsts....Car make/model ever made

CDGator

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What is the most unreliable make or model of car ever made?
 

AlexDaGator

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What is the most unreliable make or model of car ever made?

I give you...the TRIUMPH of socialism, the East German Legend, the TRABANT!

iu


Trabant - Wikipedia

The Trabant (/ˈtræbænt, -ənt/, /trəˈbɑːnt/; German: [tʁaˈbant]) is an automobile produced from 1957 to 1990 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. It is often seen as symbolic of the former East Germany and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in general.
...
The 1980s model had no tachometer, no indicator for either the headlights or turn signals, no fuel gauge, no rear seat belts, no external fuel door, and drivers had to pour a mix of gasoline and oil directly under the bonnet/hood.[3]
...
Since its manufacturer was a state monopoly, acquiring a Trabant took about ten years.[10] East German buyers were placed on a waiting-list of up to thirteen years.[11] The waiting time depended on their proximity to Berlin, the capital.[6] Official state price was 7,450 GDR marks and the demand to production ratio was forty three to one (1989). The free market price for a second-hand one was more than twice the price of a new one, and the average worker had to wait ten to thirteen years on a waiting list, or, if available, pay more than double for a second hand model.[11]

The Trabant had a steel unibody frame, with the roof, trunk lid, hood, fenders and doors made of duroplast, a hard plastic made from recycled cotton waste from the Soviet Union and phenol resins from the East German dye industry.[6][12] It was the second car with a body made of recycled material; the first was the AWZ P70 Zwickau, produced from 1955 to 1959. The material was durable, and the average lifespan of a Trabant was 28 years.[12]

The Trabant's build quality was poor,[13] reliability was terrible,[10] closer inspection revealed "patchy assembly quality",[14] with an atrocious maintenance record.[11] According to automotive journalist Doug DeMuro, the Trabant was loud, slow, poorly designed, and badly built.[3]
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The engine produced a very smoky exhaust and was a significant source of air pollution: nine times the hydrocarbons and five times the carbon-monoxide emissions of the average 2007 European car. Its fuel consumption was 7 l/100 km (40 mpg‑imp; 34 mpg‑US).[17] Since the engine was two-stroke, oil had to be added to the 24-liter (6.3 U.S. gal; 5.3 imp gal) fuel tank[18] at a 50:1 (or 33:1) ratio of fuel to oil at each fill-up. Contemporary gas stations in countries where two-stroke engines were common sold a premixed gas-oil mixture at the pump. Because the Trabant had no fuel pump, its fuel tank was above the motor so fuel could reach the carburettor by gravity; this increased the risk of fire in front-end accidents. Earlier models had no fuel gauge, and a dipstick was inserted into the tank to determine how much fuel remained.

I wonder if Bernie drives one? :scratchchin:

But of course, that wasn't REAL socialism. REAL socialism has never really been tried. :facepalm:

Alex.
 

Detroitgator

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I give you...the TRIUMPH of socialism, the East German Legend, the TRABANT!

iu


Trabant - Wikipedia



I wonder if Bernie drives one? :scratchchin:

But of course, that wasn't REAL socialism. REAL socialism has never really been tried. :facepalm:

Alex.
Don't you DARE fukkin disrespect the genius of a 3 cylinder, plywood car! DON'T YOU DARE!!!! :lol:

You can rent them in Berlin. Anyone with money wants a vintage one now.

Personally, I remember watching them on the East German border and in East Berlin... on the border, on ANY kind of incline, passengers would have to get out and help it up the hill. In East Berlin, I never saw one back out of a parking spot, you had to push it back, then drive away.

PS Bernie would ride in a ZIL, because even in the Soviet Union, communism was for the people, not the communist!
 

Alumni Guy

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Land Rover.

Just like a boat, expect to pay 10% of its cost for annual maintenance.
 

cover2

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Ford Pinto. I had one right after high school. Thankfully I never got hit from behind and consumed in a fiery explosion.

*Notice I didn’t say “rear-ended.” Didn’t want to leave a softball for any of you degenerates to tee off on :)
 

78

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I’ve owned most of them and they were all British. I also owned a Jeep Wrangler that spent a lot of time in the shop for things that shouldn’t have been happening.

But anything with Lucas Electronics takes the cake. My two Triumphs were loaded with Lucas crap.
 

stephenPE

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Ford Pinto. I had one right after high school. Thankfully I never got hit from behind and consumed in a fiery explosion.

*Notice I didn’t say “rear-ended.” Didn’t want to leave a softball for any of you degenerates to tee off on :)
MY two best friends in HS. One had a pinto and the other bought a new Chevy Vega. Needless to say they had different cars soon after. My brother had two pintos and learned how to work on them, Youngest brother called from Ft. Benning saying he wasnt coming home for Christmas. He was always home for Christmas so Mike, his wife and i climbed into his 71 pinto and drove to Columbus Ga. me in the back and there aint much back to a pinto. The Gville Sun printed my story about it year a few years ago.
 

B52G8rAC

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Ford Pinto. I had one right after high school. Thankfully I never got hit from behind and consumed in a fiery explosion.

*Notice I didn’t say “rear-ended.” Didn’t want to leave a softball for any of you degenerates to tee off on :)
What is the most dangerous thing in the world? Leon Spinks driving a Ford Pinto on Firestone 721 tires. If you get the references welcome to Medicare. Be sure to take Parts B, C, E, W and Z
 

itsgr82bag8r

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I’ve owned most of them and they were all British. I also owned a Jeep Wrangler that spent a lot of time in the shop for things that shouldn’t have been happening.

But anything with Lucas Electronics takes the cake. My two Triumphs were loaded with Lucas crap.

Truth. My TR-7 would’ve been a lot more fun without the Lucas electronics.
 

NOLAGATOR

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th

How could y'all not include the Yugo? I worked in a Food Processing plant in 1987. A worker had one in the parking lot near a loading dock. A dock worker was moving pallets with a forklift and caught the bumper...It tore the bumper off .

It cost so much just to fix the bumper and a new one was so cheap...Insurance TOTALED the Yugo.

Their was no way I would want to be in an accident in that car.
 
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g8tr76

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Chrysler Volare; 225 6 cyl with real corynthian leather. I bought one in 1976 for work, 25 of its first 90 days were in the shop. Stalled out at any speed less than 15 mph and only got 9 mpg. School zones, turning, traffic lights and stop signs even pulling into the driveway were hazardous situations. With less than 3500 miles, Chrysler walked away from their warrantee. I will never buy another Chrysler product!

Our 2009 all wheel drive Caddy CTS4 was probably worse, An expensive mistake, one month out of warrantee the transmission and transfer case when out, followed that two sensors and harnesses needed replacement; then a massive electronic failure all in the same year. It never ran right after that, sold it to a mechanic and bought a used DTS for my wife. She loves the DTS.

Thank goodness I drive a truck; 2003 F-150; 210,000 miles and still running strong.
 

jdh5484

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Don't remember much about the car.
But I did take my HS sweetheart's virginity in one.
Best 5 seconds of high school.
I bought one in the early 80s. Great gas mileage but had to run premium in it or it wouldn't shut off. Also (even though I ran premium) had to replace 3 catalytic converters and two timing belts in.less than 3 years. POS. I hated that damned car. It was less than six months old when some yahoo at UF sideswiped it in the parking lot (field near Shands).
 

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