1993 Geo Metro. Scared the crap out of me on the highway.
I tried to learn how to drive manual on one.
I’m tall.
It didn’t go well.
I’m 6’3" and also learned to drive a manual in one. Bonus fact: at around 50+MPH, if you stick your arm straight out the window, the drag from the wind hitting your arm will steer the car in that direction.
I don’t know how you got your legs under the steering wheel.
I’ve had 3 (the last two were actually Chevy Metros, after Chevrolet killed the Geo line). Loved 'em. All stick shifts, all base models with .8L, 3cy engines. Top speed was about 80mph with a tailwind and just the driver, 0-60 was ‘eventually’, didn’t ever get warm inside when I was commuting in the winter, the crumple zones ended at the rear bumper, there was no a/c, and all of them died at around 120,000mi. The last one died when the frame rusted through and the wheel collapsed into the wheel well.
…But they were under $12k ea. brand new (the 1st was under $8k), insurance was cheap as hell, and I got 45+ mpg when gas prices were going sky high.
I had a friend with a Suzuki Swift (pretty well the same car) I have no idea how that car lasted as long as it did carrying around nearly 1000lbs of fat asses. Although one day it gave up and dropped the engine and tranny
If he was in the midwest, probably rust killed the frame.
They weren’t good cars, but they were great cars for the money. When you couldn’t afford a Nissan Sentra, a Metro/Swift looked great.
Also, they were so easy to work on, because they were as simple as a lawnmower. One person could realistically pick up the whole engine and transmission, and there was tons of space to work inside the engine compartment. Unlike the old BMW 540i that I had, where you needed to take off the whole front end in order to get the brake master cylinder off (I think it was the master cylinder; might have been the booster or slave cylinder).
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The transmission in those things is an amazing level of suck, too. It’s this bizarre automatic manual thing that’s just awful to drive.
They’re not so bad if you drive one often enough. I had one for five-six years and drove it only in tiptronic, shifting while lifting off the gas. In automatic mode yeah it’s dog.
This was the gas version that needed premium fuel. I drove it daily on the 401 for awhile.
I thought it was a decent enough car, got it barely used very cheap due to it’s wild depreciation which was a good thing, until it started needing serious work that made no sense to do. At the end it was worth as much as a new set of tires for it, as in nothing.
Porsche measures their automatic gear changes in milliseconds. Smart measures them in geologic time scales.
I truly don’t understand why they didn’t put a CVT in those 2nd generation cars (the ones sold in North America). It’s the perfect application! Small car, not a lot of power, efficiency minded.
If the smart car was made today it probably would have a cvt. But an extremely budget car back then, cvts weren’t as common.
Mid-Eighties Plymouth Voyager minivan. Put the pedal to the metal, and the damned thing would hardly accelerate, the motor just got louder. Probably would have been quicker if I rolled the window down and flapped my arms. And if you look at one spot too long, that part would break.
Going to be a toss-up between two of my own cars.
1992 Cavalier convertible Z24 I bought for pennies as my first own car. Had 420,000km on it and grabbed it and it’s papers from some sketch dealer.
Looked good enough on the outside for it’s purpose of having fun. Roof worked. And it had a v6. But it fell apart fast (and a lot due to my own shenanigans). Stearing became so off that I had to turn left to stay straight. The heater died, I live in Canada. The seat’s support broke, so I used an old set of goalie pads propped against the back seat to keep my seat upright. The dashboard lights were blown, so I had a ducked tape flashlight on my headrest to light my dash up. More than ounce, I’d have to pull a fuse and put it back in while cruising on the highway.
Second worse was the off the lot brand new 02 Sunfire my parents forced me to buy to replace the above shitbox due to it’s safety. For fuck sakes I despised this car. Despite how bad the cavalier was, it was FUN and quirky. The Sunfire was just a poorly made shitbox with zero power, and non-stop electrical failures the day I took it off the lot.
1994 Ford Taurus.
I went over a speed hump at 5mph and the whole engine fell out of the front.
Apparently it’s not supposed to do that.
I had a 92 Taurus that made a loud crack when I turned left. Mechanic said engine was about to fall out. Left it parked in front of my house and a cement mixer backed into it and crumpled the front end. Got about 2000 bucks out of a car we were going to scrap.
I knew what video that was going to be before I even clicked on it
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Thank you, I needed that
Chrysler 200 as a rental after someone smoked my Civic, and I waited to get a new one.
The car was… Jiggly? Like the suspension was unsettling, the brakes needed getting acquainted with lest you rear-end someone, and the steering had too much play. It wasn’t enough play to convince me something was wrong, it was just shit quality.
No power. At all. Getting on the freeway was an adventure in noise and hope. Everything lagged. Fuel economy was garbage too.
Looked stupid. And my Civic si that replaced it, the econobox with a hot engine, had a luxury interior in comparison, which is saying something.
Horrible car to add to a horrible week.
I had a Lincoln mkz for a week after someone hit my car in a parking lot, insurance said I was covered for a premium sedan.
Worst car I’ve ever driven. Handled like a boat, was all flash but everything felt cheap and “jiggly” when I touched it.
Learning at the time (2012) that this was a 35k luxury car was mind-blowing. You couldn’t PAY me to drive that car again. My 20k Prius blew it out of the water in everything but acceleration, and even then it wasn’t behind by much…
I rented a Pontiac Matiz in Mexico in the late 90s or early 2000s. Small, underpowered, uncomfortable and just didn’t feel very safe. I normally like little cars, but not that one. The air conditioner struggled to keep up with the August heat too.
I had to take a van that a baby had thrown up in out in the middle of the summer to diagnose a vibration issue. That was the worst smell I have ever smelt. I still remember it sometimes and it’s been a decade since then.
Toyota Echo
I had to rent one one year because my car was in the shop for a while.
I was being cheap and I just needed a car at the time.
There is no seat room or leg room. I’m tall but not that tall and I couldn’t get comfortable in this thing.
And who the hell thought it was a good idea to put the instrument panel in the centre of the whole dashboard and not directly in front of the driver. I had a few near accidents before I adjusted myself to where the speedometer was.
Haven’t driven a load, but I’ve test-driven a Fiat Bravo (diesel). The sightlines were terrible, and it handled like a tractor.
We had a brace of rented Nissan cargo vans at work, the small ones. Those were truly terrible. They had CVT transmissions that just would not hook up. I’d get to the top of an SF hill at a stop sign and just sit there with my foot planted, waiting.
We replaced them with Ford Transits. The CVT in that model is only slightly more usable, but we all still fight over who gets the older model, with the torque converter.
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I used to be very anti CVT. Then I bought a 3.6R Subaru Outback. I pull a 5x8 enclosed trailer with it and the biggest giveaway that you’re hauling anything is the gas mileage. So they ain’t all bad.
Pulled a 6x12 twin axle with a 2.4l turboed engine about 800 miles. Outback was totally fine, though we definitely overloaded the trailer. Got the car checked by a local mechanic and they said it was all good, though we did a fluid flush early just to be on the safe side. I don’t mind the CVT, just wish the software in the 2021’s was better.
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I once had a loaner from a dealer that was a Dodge Caliber. Ugly as sin and the transmission was definitely on its way out. That car was just a struggle. It was a reminder why I will never buy a Chrysler product.
I got a 2008 Dodge Avenger when it was new and immediately hated it. Everything felt cheap, it had absolutely no ability to get up to speed, and felt all around sluggish.
Everything I hated about that Avenger for the 8 years I drove it were nothing compared to the two Dodge Calibers I got to drive in that time. Every bad feature for a car dialed up to 11. Felt like it was built so cheap it could fall apart on the road. My parents and my partner both got one. They were both so, so very bad. It’s unreal that car ever got sold.
I am not defending that car.
Not good practice to use a loaner or rental as a reference. People drive those like they are trying to break them. And dealers will use a shitbox as a loaner because it is a shitbox
This was an unofficial loaner that was for sale as a used car by the dealer…so they were actively trying to sell it.
Like i said im not defending that car, was meant to be general advice.
I work for an autoparts company processing returned parts. Im the guy that inspects and rejects (if thats even worth noting).
If they were willing to use it at all as a loaner, it was probably a problematic vehicle. Even the highest quality vehicle will have some units that someone didnt put together well. Dodge is not a top quality builder to start.
But that all aside im very happy to hear you wont be buying one anytime soon
The CVT in the Caliber is crap even when it’s brand new
I test drove one when they first came out. The salesperson was telling me about the continuously variable transmission, and how revolutionary it was.
“It’s a new technology? From an American car company? In it’s first model year? Ok, no thank you.”
“New technology” is just asking for trouble. Always wait till 3rd or 4th gen if you want all the kinks worked out, especially if it is something expensive like a car.
A fleet/company car. A Chevette. I pressed the accelerator to the floor, the engine went “huh? you want what?”
At least you could brag to people that you drive a 'vette.
A Hyundai Elantra, it let me down in so many ways. Financially, spiritually, etc.
Anecdotally, our 2013 Elantra was a fantastic car. It had not one mechanical defect. We sold it to buy an Odyssey, but I believe it would have kept rolling to today.
Lexus GS300. Great car to drive. But every fucking thing that went wrong was at least £400. Door check strap? £400. Windscreen wiper? £400. Parking sensor? £400, and all eight of them need doing, and that’s £400 PER FUCKING SENSOR. Everything’s main dealer only. Merc was no better. £600 for a fucking HOSEPIPE. Also tried BMW (bike). Same problem. Had a CANBUS system. I started calling it a CAN’T BUS cos every tiny thing that went wrong shut the entire bike down. Duff indicator? Sorry, won’t start the engine until it’s fixed. Yes that means it’s got to be trailered to the dealer.
No more fancy marques for me, they can all fuck off until I’m a billionaire. I drive Volvos now.
I’m still not quite over it. Whenever the garage tells me there’s going to be a big bill on my Volvo I think OMG how many digits, but then they say something like £150. That’s a big bill? Hahahahahahahahaha.
Fuck luxury cars for this exact reason
