The Mustang is widely considered to be the epitome of American muscle when it comes to cars. Its supersized, overpowered engine and a great budget price just scream “This is Amur’ca!” all over the place. Introduced on April 17, 1964, the Mustang was Ford’s most successful launch since the Model A. Cue the Mustang II.
However, the Mustang II was unfortunately launched during an era of high gas prices and fuel shortages. Gone were the days of high-powered driving. This was in order to give way to creating a car that had fuel efficiency in mind. In addition to a huge loss of power, the car’s gas tank was put in the back of the car for some reason, which would cause it to explode when rear-ended with enough force. When you consider that there are over a million rear-end collisions annually, this may have been a bit of a problem.
1976 Chevy Chevette
Introduced in a full-color nationwide campaign in 140-50 of the country's largest daily papers, the posters show the Chevy Chevette as a cute little car that’s very enjoyable to drive. While the American car did sport a great look, it had only 51 horsepower, which meant that it was probably better for looking at than actually driving, and was as slow as a fast snail. It was also extremely loud. The New York Times could only say the Chevette was "haphazardly made, sparsely trimmed and underpowered."
The Chevette ultimately reached 2,793,353 sales for its entire production across the 12 model years 1976-1988 it had run for, meaning that it wasn’t such a disappointment sales-wise. It was definitely one of the cheaper cars on the market, but that also showed in the poor interior quality - with only 1 small speaker as the standard.
Cadillac ATS
This American beast was the laughing stock of many reviewers when compared to the Audi A5 and the BMW 4 series, as alluded by Consumer Reports. It seems that German cars have won this round in 2019 for the best luxury sedan. The car is definitely fun to drive, thanks to its great-handling and steering, but the four-cylinder turbo engine ends up being a noisy and fuel-consuming mess when compared to the competition.
While many people choose the Cadillac ATS over German competitors because of its bulky angular shape, it does end up lacking in what really matters which happens only when you're in the actual car. The ATS isn't faster or more efficient than the equivalent BMW, Audi and Mercedes models. It does compete on the lower-end though, so if looks and American make are what tips your scale in its favor, this might just be the car for you.
2003 Saturn Ion
The Saturn Ion is the closest thing to a life-sized toy car you could ever own. The idea was, “Let’s make a car out of plastic and see what happens”. Indeed, everything was made of plastic. The insides were plastic, the coating was plastic, even the doors were mostly plastic. The car was a massive failure, with the only perk of it being that it would never get rusty.
Eventually, the company learned from its mistakes and managed to come up with different models that performed much better in the car market. Despite the successful change of direction, the casket was already made for the Saturn brand, and it was shut down by its parent company, General Motors, just a short time later. Regardless of how badly the Saturn Ion was received, there are car enthusiasts all over the country that are still crying out for a respectable, plastic-based alternative to regular metal cars. Oh, the nostalgia.
1911 Overland OctoAuto
Imagine it's 1911, you're walking the streets of Columbus, Indiana with your horse when suddenly, you see a massive 8-wheeled car driving next to you. The 20-foot-long Overland OctoAuto was one of those cars that had to be made just so you’d know what not to make in the future.
The picture above was the work of designer Milton Reeves showing off his creation to dazzle potential buyers of this Frankenstein vehicle. He received exactly zero orders, and the saga of 8-wheeled private vehicles quickly ended.