What's your favorite piece of crap car?

[Drew Dowdell]

What's your favorite piece of crap car?

I've always liked certain iterations of the GM W-Bodies. The Cutlass Supreme Coupe with the 3.4 DOHC V-6 (available with a 5-speed Getrag). The supercharged Grand Prix Coupes. The Lacrosse with the 5.3 liter V8. They were always labors of love, but they were great in their own way. 

[G. David Felt]

I have two that I would put into this bucket. 

Buick Reatta, Loved the design, but was too pricy for me at the time and the interior just came off as cheap.

1991 Chevy Berretta GTZ with Quad 4 engine and 5 speed stick. This one I was very serious about and it lost out to my 1991 Ford Escort GT which was clearly a much better built auto.

Chevy had the right idea here but totally screwed up the execution and quality.

[Drew Dowdell]

Uhm.  I don't think there was a Ford Focus GT in 1991

And if you complain about the space in mid-size SUVs these days, how in the hell were you going to fit in a Reatta??!

[G. David Felt]

22 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Uhm.  I don't think there was a Ford Focus GT in 1991

And if you complain about the space in mid-size SUVs these days, how in the hell were you going to fit in a Reatta??!

Good Catch, was an Escort. Yes very true, I had a medical emergency in 1990 and had bleed terribly. After surviving, I was only 195 lbs, toothpick skinny when I went car shopping. Good thing I could not afford the Reatta as by 1992 I was bulking back up fast and my wife ended up driving the Escort as I bought a Jeep Wrangler Sahara edition which was traded in for my 1994 GMC Suberban SLE model.

[Frisky Dingo]

I like this thread idea. I've done something similar in the past over at MT.

 

That said, I don't think the old W Bodies were pieces of crap. Idk, I mean for their era and everything?? Reatta I'd say is a valid pick.

[oldshurst442]

Both of these cars were owned by my dad.

I so wanted a Eurosport with the 2.8liter V6 in 1986 when we went together looking to replace the 1979 Impala that just died on us. He put his money down on one.

My mother went with him to finalize the papers. My mom convinced him that a base $14 000 CDN 2.5liter Iron Duke, AM radio only Celebrity is a better buy than a fully equipped $18 000 Eurosport.

At the end of the day, I miss that grey Iron Duke Celebrity. Had lots of fun in that car.

I bought the 1994 4 door Pontiac Grand GT 3.1liter V6 with my dad when, as punishment, as I totaled his 1986 Celebrity. I even totaled my own 1989 Pontiac Firebird before the Celebrity a few months before. I went (and he) without a car that summer. Summer of '94.  I had lots of fun that summer regardless. I rented many cars that summer. I was 21 with a credit card...

As did my dad. He went to Boston several week-ends that summer. I invited many biatches in my home that summer. No need for hotels...but the money saved went to car rentals...

Plus...thanks to my good buddies and my cousins. I was surrounded with froends with cars that year. Corrados, Integras. Golfs.

To this day, I still love that boy racer styling of that Grand Am GT.

 

 

Edited January 16, 2017 by oldshurst442

[hyperv6]

Back in school we had a old winter beater that was an early 70's Fiat Wagon. This car was from Texas so a rare no rust body but a dead engine as the cam belt broke. Yes it needed changed every 25K miles. We beat the hell out of this car. We would take it to Cleveland Browns games as it was brown and you could not lock it but no one would take it. 

It had a throttle knob you could pull out and it would run 70 MPH. We called it Italian cruise control. 

We ran it up motorcycle trails and if we got stuck we would get out and lift it over the obstetrical. We all learned how to shift with out a clutch in it and learned our first FWD donuts. 

It died when my buddies brother hit a pile of ice and broke the unibody so it would bend at the fire wall when you got on the gas and off. 

Our other junk play toy was a Sunbeam Alpine. Think Sunbeam Tiger with a 4 cylinder. My buddy traded 4 tires for it and we fixed it up into a decent little car. We had a blast in it. It never had much oil pressure but always ran and he sold it for a good chunk of money. 

Later the Vegas came in. Buy them for nothing save the used oil from changes at work and use it to refill. Say what you like about Vegas as they rusted and burned oil but they always ran and were relabel. If GM has just put steel sleeves in the engine and better rust treatment they would have had a home run. One neighbor scrapped his and then some one bought it and it was on the road for 2 more winters. 

These are all cars had for less than $200 back around 1980 and you just can't do that today with the increased repair cost and the prices of cars. 

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

My choice:

 

 

[Frisky Dingo]

I like Cavalier Z24's and Yaris'.

[Drew Dowdell]

2 hours ago, Frisky Dingo said:

I like this thread idea. I've done something similar in the past over at MT.

 

That said, I don't think the old W Bodies were pieces of crap. Idk, I mean for their era and everything?? Reatta I'd say is a valid pick.

The W-Bodies in standard issue form, were majority crap.  The only exceptions I can think of were the 3.8 powered Regals that had few electrical gremlins and a powertrain you could take a shotgun to and it would still run.  I had a '94 Cutlass Supreme Convertible 3.4 DOHC... and as great as that car was on paper, the interior would fall apart from broken plastic pieces, etc. The engine was a nightmare to maintain... and even though it had gained 1,000 lbs over the base 4-cylinder coupe model of '88, it had the same brake pads and calipers.... 10,000 mile pad changes anyone?

51 minutes ago, NINETY EIGHT REGENCY said:

My choice:

 

 

These are a great choice too..... I would totally have one in my fleet if only you could find one without a blown transmission. 

[ccap41]

This 2016 Yaris I'm rocking now as a rental is pretty shetty and kickass at the same time. If it just had a modern engine and trans it would actually be a very good little car..but it doesn't.