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Top 5 Disastrous Cars of All Time

The automobile industry around the world has gone through ups and downs through the years; it is not always that the car lovers have accepted the models engineered by brands. Many factors add to the success of a car but a small mistake might lead to a big disaster for a model, ruining not only the sales of that particular model but the future of the particular brand itself. When certain models are remembered through ages because of its good performance certain others are also heard through ages for the way ill performed and Ford Edsel is a premier example of this. In most cases the auto manufacturer fails to understand the need of the time and manufactures something that is very out dated or extremely futuristic. In both the ways customers finds it highly impossible to accept these changes resulting in the failure of the model and in it becoming a bad car. High price or poor marketing techniques could also cause such unfavourable situations.

Here are the top five worst cars of all time:

Dymaxion Fuller

Dymaxion is a combination of the words dynamic, maximum, and ion, and the favourite word of the U.S. inventor and architect Buckminster Fuller who named many of his inventions, including a car, by this name. Dymaxion was a concept car, conceived from the idea of a flying blimp-car. It was a three wheeled, aerodynamic, ultra light, fuel efficient vehicle design targeted at the betterment of human race. An accident occurred in 1933 causing much damage to the passengers sealed the fate of the car. The investors were reluctant to take the project any further and discarded it. As a result, the Dymaxion never entered production. Even though a major failure then, Dymaxion’s ultramodern techniques has been very prominent in the VW Transporter, which came out in the late 1940s.

Chrysler Airflow

This innovative streamline-styled automobile sends shock waves throughout America when it was introduced in 1934. Carl Breer, a Chrysler engineer, together with his other team members worked in designing and developing Airflow. It overthrew the two-box design which was a typically traditional one. The car was a true exhibition of engineering excellence of the period with a full steel body, strong structural integrity, and an innovative suspension system. Airflow was powered by a flathead I8 engine and was available in variants of both two door coupe and four door sedan. In spite of the various marketing techniques, within six months into the business, Airflow was a major failure. Airflow suffered from major manufacturing errors, the very severe among them was the breaking loose of engine from their mountings. The sales drooped massively, and by 1937 Chrysler stopped its production of Airflow.

Ford Edsel

It was the wrong car at the wrong time. This experimental car, on which Ford had high expectations, in no time became the all-time best example of commercial failure. The inability to understanding the customers and the heavy price are the two factors which bought Edsel misfortune. The onset of the Great Depression also worked against Edsel. Ford had made people believe that it was a completely new car, but in reality Ford Edsel had nothing innovative in it, it was very similar to many other Ford models. There were complaints about severe mechanical defects in the model. Features such as transmission lock on ignition or self-adjusting brakes used in the modern-day sports cars are borrowed from Edsel.

Triumph Stag

Triumph Stag was a luxurious sports car engineered by the British from the Triumph Motor Company. Produced as a predecessor to Triumph 2000, Stag was a convertible coupe with enough space to seat four. Neither the lustrous and striking design nor the other outstanding features of the Stag was able to save it from the huge disaster caused by the numerous engine problems. The Stag had a of 2997 cc V8 engine, which always created trouble. There were regular issues of water pump failures, overheating, heads bent and warped, etc. Years of renovation has now reduced the problems of V8, but Stag has been a mere waste of time and energy.

Cadillac Fleetwood V 8-6-4

Fleetwood V 8-6-4 was a hi-technology vehicle, which was manufactured based on a very stunning idea. But customers were not ready for such a change in the way they would drive the car and this was the main reason for the failure of Cadillac Fleetwood V 8-6-4. In today’s computerized and highly technical world cylinder deactivation or variable displacement might appear as a general feature as seen in Accord V6 or 2008 Honda. But the idea of shutting down unneeded cylinders to save fuel was too big an idea that could have made practical. The customers soon became irritated by the clunking, bucking, and shaking of the engine. And very soon this beautiful eco-friendly idea of Cadillac was in complete disaster.