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Old 12-31-2021, 07:44 AM   #21
wiredgeorge
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Worst Vehicle Ever?
For us it was a 1978 or 79 Ford F150. Our first BRAND NEW vehicle. Bought during the period they were trying to make vehicles much more fuel efficient. Had a four speed/ only it wasn't. Was a 3 speed with overdrive transmission they took from a MUSTANG! Engine was the old Ford straight 6. Two wheel drive. No lockers. On it's best day it would get 13 MPG. but average was way below that. Because of the tranny it was no good for towing our horses. Thought we had ordered and were getting a 4 speed with a granny gear. NOT!! Drove it for less than 6,000 miles and traded it in. Tried Fords one more time in '85 before saying "never again."

I owned three of those straight six Fords; two were one barrel carbs and one was a two barrel and none ever saw 13 mpg. Combined with the little gas tank, we spent a lot of time at the filling station. Other than gas mileage, the trucks were fairly reliable except if the clutch plate warped even slightly the small plastic piece which joined clutch pedal mechanism to the rod that came out of the engine would just snap. When it did, you had to drive it with no clutch till you could get somewhere and put the spare in. I carried spare plastic bits and would always think about the slogan "Ford Tough". One of my Ford pickups was either and F100 or F150; can't recall which but it had been a painter's truck. It had paint of every color slopped all over it and ladder racks. UGLY>
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Old 12-31-2021, 08:22 AM   #22
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Originally Posted by wiredgeorge View Post
I owned three of those straight six Fords; two were one barrel carbs and one was a two barrel and none ever saw 13 mpg. Combined with the little gas tank, we spent a lot of time at the filling station. Other than gas mileage, the trucks were fairly reliable except if the clutch plate warped even slightly the small plastic piece which joined clutch pedal mechanism to the rod that came out of the engine would just snap. When it did, you had to drive it with no clutch till you could get somewhere and put the spare in. I carried spare plastic bits and would always think about the slogan "Ford Tough". One of my Ford pickups was either and F100 or F150; can't recall which but it had been a painter's truck. It had paint of every color slopped all over it and ladder racks. UGLY>
I had a 81 or 82 f100…three on the tree…it had the suspension and handling of a Ford pinto …but it always started and was still driving when I sold it …had the paint issues Fords had from that era…red gloss turned to a red chalk..also had 14” wheels I believe …was a beater truck for errands
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Old 12-31-2021, 10:17 AM   #23
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I owned three of those straight six Fords; two were one barrel carbs and one was a two barrel and none ever saw 13 mpg. Combined with the little gas tank, we spent a lot of time at the filling station. Other than gas mileage, the trucks were fairly reliable except if the clutch plate warped even slightly the small plastic piece which joined clutch pedal mechanism to the rod that came out of the engine would just snap. When it did, you had to drive it with no clutch till you could get somewhere and put the spare in. I carried spare plastic bits and would always think about the slogan "Ford Tough". One of my Ford pickups was either and F100 or F150; can't recall which but it had been a painter's truck. It had paint of every color slopped all over it and ladder racks. UGLY>
In 1985 my Dad traded in his 1976 F-150 Supercab that he ordered new with the 460 on a 1985 F-150 stepside with inline 6 and 4 speed transmission. He too believed he was getting a true 4 speed with granny low.

Nice little truck but when he attempted to tow his 28 foot SeaRay Weekender he was sorely disappointed. The stepside was geared so high that he burned the clutch trying to back the SeaRay up a slight grade into his backyard.

Towing it on the road he couldn't maintain 55 mph in fourth gear. So until he sold it I had to move it for him with my 78 GMC 3/4 ton 4x4.

He later went with the diesel options offered on the F-250's and F-350's he ordered in the future.

The 80's was a sad time for vehicle manufacturers trying to get a handle on computerized fuel injection and emissions controls. Glad they finally got it figured out.

Amazing how much power that can be had from a computer program these days. Some of the early attempts could be rather destructive but companies like Banks Engineering got it right. Back in the day we had to spend a lot of money on cams, heads, carb work, porting and the like.
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Old 12-31-2021, 12:52 PM   #24
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First liar ain't got a chance. LOL. I had a 1980 or maybe 1982 F250. Regular cab, 300 straight 6, 4 speed (granny gear), dealer installed A/C. It had the heavy duty cast twin I-beams, but a F150 rear suspension. Drove it to work for a couple years then a coworker sold me his cabover camper. No clue what it weighed, didn't really care. I didn't know what a CAT scale was. Never been in a truck stop in my life. After the first trip to Oklahoma in high winds, I thought it was going to flip over. Got home and put a set of helper/overload springs on it. After that we drove the wheels off it...Colorado hunting, Arkansas fishing, Texas hunting lease, Yellowstone, etc.
It finally got to the point that the rear end was howling and the transmission would jump out of gear. Sold the camper and bought a Travelmaster Class C MH.
Bought a new 1991? Chevy Sport truck ...black w/red interior, a SS454 clone except it had truck mirrors. Looked good and ran decent. After about 5 years I had just worked a shutdown, probably 2 months without a day off, and a pocket full of money. Repainted the truck black and let the son drive it off to college. Sold it 3 years later. Wish I had it back.
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Old 12-31-2021, 02:34 PM   #25
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It was 1971 and I just returned to the world from over two years in Southeast Asia. I found myself in the desert at Luke AFB just outside Phoenix, AZ. I needed something to get me to town and I wasn't too picky at the time. I bought a brand new '71 Buick Opal GT. What a pos excuse of a car. I thought because it was German made it had to be somewhat reliable, boy was I mistaken. It was an automatic 4 cylinder with factory air conditioning that would overheat the engine if not traveling at least 50 mph. In Phoenix reliable air conditioning is a must.

I returned to Chicago in 1972 and traded it in on a new 1973 Buick Regal. That has to be one of my favorite cars that I've ever owned. I started driving pickups in '77 with a new F-150. I had a cap on the bed and built a slide out camper insert for it. Done a lot of traveling with it and remember campsites costing as much as 12 bucks a night on a trip to Colorado. After that the DW's idea of camping turned to the Holiday Inn. It took a while to get her to enjoy the tent, then the pop-up, and now the luxury of our Passport.

Over the years I've had two F150's and two Rangers that I really liked. I was disappointed when Ford stopped making the Ranger, as it was perfect as a work truck for me. I currently have a 2013 F150 and I can't say that I'm disappointed with it even though I've had a couple of issues with the throttle bodies needing to be replaced, but then every make has its problems to be worked out. I look back at all the vehicles I've owned and all the problems that I encountered as learning experiences. I'm not an auto mechanic but I do like to tinker with my cars and trucks.
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Old 12-31-2021, 02:43 PM   #26
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Kiddo #2 bought her first new car while we lived in Maryland. It was a Geo Metro. The first year out they had two models; the regular and the detuned gas mileage special. Bought it from the Chevy dealer in Laurel. Kiddo went to the gas saver and I never rode in a car I felt was so unsafe. It was a DOG. Slowest car I ever rode in and it had no A/C since summer temps in Maryland are very moderate (usually high 60s to low 70s), the A/C wasn't needed. I suspect if an A/C had been installed, the car wouldn't be able move and cool at the same time.
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Old 12-31-2021, 03:18 PM   #27
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We were assigned to Bitburg, Germany in 1975. We shipped a 1973 Grand Torino station wagon to Germany, but I needed a smaller car to commute from the apartment about 15 miles from work and the landlord suggested a Citroen. He said they were one of the most economical cars in Germany.

I found a 1974 Citroen CV2 for sale at a reasonable price, so I bought it with the intention of using it until we left Germany and then sell it for whatever I could get for it.

For anyone not familiar with the CV2, it's about 10' long, 4' wide and has a 435CC engine that produces about 22 HP. With somebody in each of the 4 seats, the car was almost capable of getting up to 90km/hr (50MPH) but it took almost 2 minutes to get there. Needless to say, you NEVER tried to outrun a yellow light !!!!!

I drove that thing for the 3 years we were in Germany, sold it for almost as much as I paid for it, and once I got used to the suspension (the wheels "lean into a turn") and the extreme underpowered performance, it was a fairly reliable "commuter car"... NEVER try to get on the autobahn with that thing !!!!!

This isn't me and it's not our Citroen, but I can't find any photos of ours, so this is one I found on the internet.
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Old 12-31-2021, 05:36 PM   #28
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Kiddo #2 bought her first new car while we lived in Maryland. It was a Geo Metro. The first year out they had two models; the regular and the detuned gas mileage special. Bought it from the Chevy dealer in Laurel. Kiddo went to the gas saver and I never rode in a car I felt was so unsafe. It was a DOG. Slowest car I ever rode in and it had no A/C since summer temps in Maryland are very moderate (usually high 60s to low 70s), the A/C wasn't needed. I suspect if an A/C had been installed, the car wouldn't be able move and cool at the same time.
You must not have stayed in Maryland in the summertime. Daytime highs typically in the high 80's to mid 90's with high humidity. Sometimes in August the nightime lows won't go below 80°.
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Old 01-06-2022, 08:35 AM   #29
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Worst Vehicle

Mine is the one I use to pull my 5th wheel: a 2020 F350 7.3gas dually, long bed. Ford replaced the engine at 24,450 miles … two cylinders milled wrong. Wasn’t right the day it was delivered, but took 24k miles and a harrowing experience down a mountain to identify (“code”) the problem. I suspect the transmission has been harmed but it hasn’t “coded” yet. Front end has been to 4different dealers and aligned - at my expense - twice to address a negative camber issue that eats tires and will not go away. Other than that, it sucks gas even when it isn’t towing and, as far as range goes, the 48-gal tank is the new 30-gal.
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Old 01-06-2022, 08:49 AM   #30
wiredgeorge
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You must not have stayed in Maryland in the summertime. Daytime highs typically in the high 80's to mid 90's with high humidity. Sometimes in August the nightime lows won't go below 80°.
I was being a bit sarcastic. I recall playing golf out on Haynes Point in the District during the summer and having to wear a bandana around my head under my ball cap so sweat didn't drench the ball as I addressed it to putt or blind me. Must have been triple digits or near but luckily, it was dry heat!
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Old 01-06-2022, 09:49 AM   #31
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For anyone not familiar with the CV2, it's about 10' long, 4' wide and has a 435CC engine that produces about 22 HP. With somebody in each of the 4 seats, the car was almost capable of getting up to 90km/hr (50MPH) but it took almost 2 minutes to get there. Needless to say, you NEVER tried to outrun a yellow light !!!!!

I drove that thing for the 3 years we were in Germany, sold it for almost as much as I paid for it, and once I got used to the suspension (the wheels "lean into a turn") and the extreme underpowered performance, it was a fairly reliable "commuter car"... NEVER try to get on the autobahn with that thing !!!!!
I used to love seeing the Citroen Duck Mobiles on the Autobahn. They were the only thing I could pass with my 1972 VW bug with 36hp.

AL
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Old 01-06-2022, 11:50 AM   #32
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No question. A 1978 Ford Granada station wagon!
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Old 01-06-2022, 06:20 PM   #33
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Worst car's -
Chevy HHR ! No power, horrible ride.
Dodge caravan I think it was an early 2000's- Didn't get much better MPG than the Astro, not near as usable either.

Best cars -
Chevy astro '96 i think, the most usable vehicle I've owned, hands down!! Take out both bench seats and haul 4x8 sheet goods, leave them in and haul 8 people. I would normally leave the rear bench out and had roughly a 4'x4' covered storage area.
Nissans - Currently have two, had three - a '17 Versa and a '18 Frontier. The '11 Versa was totaled in a wreck, that our daughter walked away from. The Versa's average 30-34mpg combined city and interstate. The frontier is a sporty little powerhouse, it's like driving a sportscar that can tow.
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Old 01-06-2022, 09:04 PM   #34
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76 chevy monza

I came back from Okinawa in 77 and bought a 76 chevy monza with a v8 262 in it. Bought it in Chicago and as a young kid buying his first car I thought it had air conditioning in it but was wrong. It had black interior so it got extremely hot inside it when I took it to 29 palms. Every now and then I would find bits and pieces of bic lighters that exploded. After adding a racing cam and lifters, holley 650 double pumper, hooker headers I had one bad *** car. I ended up spinning a main bearing 6 months later while drag racing while heading out of Palm Springs one night. It didn't have California emissions so the car ended up in Mexico.
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Old 01-06-2022, 11:29 PM   #35
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Chrysler K car...
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Old 01-07-2022, 04:44 AM   #36
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I was lucky, I had two lemons at one time. When I got married in '77, my wife had a 1975 Pontiac Astra GT and I had a 1977 Pinto Pony MPG. Both vehicles were garbage. To top it off, the garage where I took the vehicles used Arco Graphite motor oil, which eventually clogged the oil journals. The Pinto was totaled back in 1980 in an accident and the insurance company gave me $2400 for it, which I was thrilled to get. The wife became the ex-wife in 1980 and I don't know what she did with the Astra.
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Old 01-08-2022, 11:08 AM   #37
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I was deployed to Kadena AFB in 77-78 and on one day they sent me to pick up an associate who lived off base. The duty vehicle was a Chevy 3/4 ton long bed and I couldn't make the turn into his neighborhood as the streets were too narrow and lined with cars.

Also, yes, Datsun became Nissan. They had 240Z's there on Okinawa but the ones there were called Bluebirds.
Kadena 69-70. Honda S800 for a bit (the one looking likd Jag XKE) but most of the year 57 Ford. Did consider 240 when we got stateside but went with Subaru wagon instead.
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Old 01-09-2022, 06:07 AM   #38
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My 1977 Dodge colt was my worst vehicle. That thing would just shut down on the freeway. No one could ever fix it. Finally dumped it and got a 1976 Monte Carlo. That thing was a tank. Made multiple trips between Chicago and San Diego in the early 80's.
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Old 01-09-2022, 12:42 PM   #39
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Worst vehicle ever..........

Well, I guess for us it would have to be a 1981 Chevrolet Chevette (shove-it) with the Isuzu diesel in it and an automatic transmission. In the first year, the power steering went out, literally couldn't make a left turn, and the transmission failed, leaving us stranded downtown in the city. Actually, both failures occurred on the same day. Dealership found problems (both manufacturing defects) and fixed them. From that day on, never had another problem with the vehicle and had it for 11 years. However, the diesel, while reliable, was somewhat gutless, especially with the automatic. Mileage was really good, though. Also, the car was small and cramped inside, as well as noisy. Took it on one trip of a couple hundred miles and said "no more" of that. So, although being cheaply made, cramped, uncomfortable, and noisy, after the first failures it turned out to be a very reliable car. The wife used it to commute to work (less than 3 miles) and used it for shopping, so overall for what it was used for it was good. Sold it in 1992 and it was still running good then.
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Old 01-09-2022, 01:07 PM   #40
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When I was 17 In 1984 ($500)I was having a machine shop build my engine for my 71 Monte Carlo …I bought a very early baby blue Toyota or Nissan pickup ( can’t remember which)…had an automatic…god it was slow… windshield wipers broke they would not swing up but gravity would help them come down when they were up….I tied a string to the arm and kept the window cracked open. . I just pulled the string and they would swing up and then go back on there own.
One of the valves would hang up and it would lose compression and slow all the way down…I had to put in neutral and shut off and restart …that reset it for some reason

My grandfather blocked off the pesky oil spewing hole in the valve cover where the pcv valve apparently used to be….I got about 1/8 of a mile before the dipstick shot out and nearly blew a hole in the hood….good truck
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