With all the recent recalls it makes you wonder what the car industry is thinking? But there was a time when even worse things happened to cars on the road. I asked Jody Victor to tell us about some of the ugliest looking, poorly designed, horrendously built and in some cases most dangerous cars, of the past 50 years.
Jody Victor: The auto industry usually has our confidence in their product. But as you will see, there have been some real stinkers. For the complete story go to msn.com.
Ford Pinto - The Pinto's tendency to explode during rear-end collisions earned it a reputation as the "barbecue that seats four." The lack of a real rear bumper of reinforcements surrounding the gas tank meant that it was vulnerable to puncture and thus, explosion on impact. In other words, a fender-bender could lead to an inferno. Poorly reinforced doors were also susceptible to jamming in an accident. Multiple lawsuits were filed over the Pinto's safety issues, and Ford came under fire when a memo revealed that the automaker had decided it would be cheaper to pay off lawsuits for any Pinto deaths than to pay for a redesign of the vehicle.
Chevrolet Corvair - A Part that reportedly cost $6 was the difference between a Corvair that maintained its decorum while cornering at high speeds and one that grossly over-steered. The decision to skimp on the part came back to haunt Chevrolet when Ralph Nader highlighted it in his 1965 book, "Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Danger of the American Automobile," which accused car manufacturers of resisting safety features such as seat belts and generally balking at spending money on safety measures. Among the Corvair's other problems, it's steering column might impale its' driver in a collision, its' heating system flooded the car with dangerous fumes and it hemorrhaged oil.
Fiat Strada - Warnings were issued regarding service issues for the Strada (known internationally as the Ritmo) before it even hit the streets in 1978. I was riddled with rust - floors, engine mounts and suspension were all susceptible to premature oxidization. Coupled with the fact that it was a real slug - it maxed out at 75 horsepower - it's no wonder the Strada helped hasten the fall of the Fiat brand in the US. Lawsuits regarding the rust pushed the Italian car-maker from the American market. The Strada also managed to give robots a bad name. It was the first car built exclusively using robots.
Chevrolet Vega - Leading up to its 1970 release to US consumers, the first Vega prototype fell to pieces just eight miles into a shakedown drive on a General Motors test track. The aluminum 4-cylinder engine on the Vega (producing only 90 horsepower) had an insatiable need for oil, and was practically guaranteed to fail - if it didn't rust out first or if the car didn't literally fall apart. GM was hoping to break into the subcompact category with the Vega but instead, the car, may have done irreparable damage to the automaker's reputation. The Vega is widely credited as having contributed to GM's downfall.
Triumph Stag - Cooling problems, lubrication issues and problems with the ignition system and the quality of the rubber and metal were all liabilities for the Stag. Triumph already had a shoddy reputation (British cars weren't known for their quality), and eventually the company both discontinued this convertible coupe in 1976 and ceased existing as a car manufacturer altogether in 1984. But what the Stag lacked in utility it more than made up for in aesthetics. It was a luxury sports car designed to compete with the Mercedes Benz SL class models and it held up that part of the bargain relatively well.
Thanks, Jody! Can't wait to hear about the rest on this list next time.