Weakest car you ever owned

[chevys]

Ok, I have too much time on my hands but I double dare anybody to come up with a weaker vehicle.

 

I had a 80 Oldsmobile Cutlass with a 260 cid V8 that had 105 hp and did the quarter in the low 20 second range. My 89 S10 with a 2.5 Iron duke was faster and that is no joke. I think the olds had a 2.29 rear end as well and that didnt help. To top it off it was not good on gas either and was basically a POS. Pretty sure this car had the infamous Turbo 200 tranny that was a POS. This one did not fail because it had zero power going to it.

 

This was back in the day when GM had different engines for different divisions. This was a Oldsmobile motor and it was a smooth as butter but literally would not get out of its own way. Anybody else own one of these things or anything worse?

[Ovaltine]

Ok, I have too much time on my hands but I double dare anybody to come up with a weaker vehicle.

 

I had a 80 Oldsmobile Cutlass with a 260 cid V8 that had 105 hp and did the quarter in the low 20 second range. My 89 S10 with a 2.5 Iron duke was faster and that is no joke. I think the olds had a 2.29 rear end as well and that didnt help. To top it off it was not good on gas either and was basically a POS. Pretty sure this car had the infamous Turbo 200 tranny that was a POS. This one did not fail because it had zero power going to it.

 

This was back in the day when GM had different engines for different divisions. This was a Oldsmobile motor and it was a smooth as butter but literally would not get out of its own way. Anybody else own one of these things or anything worse?

 

1983 Ford Escort 1.6L "H.O." -- 80 hp, I believe due to the tube header on it that made it an "H.O.". Standard engines only made 69 hp!!!

 

In its defense, it had a 5-speed, so I could rev it up pretty good. Plus it was a very light car. I enjoyed driving it for the most part. Around 50k miles though, the fuel pump had a weird habit of freaking out on long drives, and the engine would start losing power. After the problem was debugged and a new pump installed, that solved that problem.

 

My biggest gripe with that motor was the lousy aluminum heads that would crack like clockwork at about 80k miles. The crank bearings would then go south about 20k+ miles after clouds of antifreeze came out of the tailpipe prior to replacing the head.

 

Good times. >:-\

 

-Ovaltine

Edited August 19, 2009 by Ovaltine

[StevenCaylor]

1983 Ford Escort 1.6L "H.O." -- 80 hp, I believe due to the tube header on it that made it an "H.O.". Standard engines only made 69 hp!!!

 

In its defense, it had a 5-speed, so I could rev it up pretty good. Plus it was a very light car. I enjoyed driving it for the most part. The oil pump had a weird habit of freaking out on long drives, and the engine would start losing power. After the problem was debugged and a new pump installed, that solved that problem.

 

My biggest gripe with that motor was the lousy aluminum heads that would crack like clockwork at about 80k miles. The crank bearings would then go south about 20k+ miles after clouds of antifreeze came out of the tailpipe prior to replacing the head.

 

Good times. >:-\

 

-Ovaltine

 

I had an 83 Escort GT with the 88 hp EFI engine (Ford's first EFI) with the 5-speed manual. I remember it was tested by the mags with a 0-60 time of 11.3 seconds. And that was the quickest Escort. After 4 years, it needed new tires and that size TRX tire wasn't available. Good excuse to buy another car (an 87 Turbo Coupe).

 

For all the cars I've owned in order of 0-60 times

 

83 Escort GT 1.6 EFI I4 88 hp 5-speed manual 11.3 seconds

65 Mustang 289-2V V8 200 hp 3-speed auto 10 seconds (guessing)

87 Thunderbird 2.3 EFI I4 Turbo 190 hp 5-speed manual 8.5 seconds

2000 Mustang 3.8 EFI V6 190 hp 5-speed manual 7.2 seconds

Edited August 19, 2009 by StevenCaylor

[Project-Fairmont]

1974 Peugeot 504 Diesel...could not get out of its own way around town, would get a good head of steam on the highway though.

 

Runner up - 1980 Fairmont 200ci I6. Even with a 2bbl Holley, 6into1 header/2.5" exhaust, milled head for higher CR it was slow. It was smooth and sounded good though. Transplanted SBF was a great cure.

 

Honorable mention - Wife's '84 Escort automatic...carburated POS that was not a good winter starter. My 1980 Fiesta was sooo much better, more reliable and in a different performance league. The 1st gen Escort used an automatic that "featured" a TQ that locked up in every gear...wot gear changes were very anti climatic. I am sure it got great MPG, and theses trans held up fine no slippage per se, but OMG what a dog! Many years later a friend of mine noted that the old Escort CVH used the same tranny pattern as the 2.3 lima...he shoehorned a Turbo 2.3 into an '85 automatic Escort. While it would certainly go like a scalded cat, the limp suspension and puny brakes made for ahh interesting moments. The trans held up fine under twice the power of the CVH...

Edited August 19, 2009 by Project-Fairmont

[Ron W.]

My Minnesota winter beater, 86 S10 4wd. 2.8L A/T, had to turn the A/C off to get up a hill ... and that was at highway speed.

 

No I wasn't using the A/C in winter :stats:

[Hoser768]

I nominate my 81 Chevette 4-dr Auto. 60mph, uphill, A/C on. Pick 2. I think the only thing slower was a Chevette Diesel. The 80 Buick Century 3.8L I had was pretty doggy too, but didn't hold a candle to the Chevette.

[ibinubu12]

1995 F-150, also the only car I can say I have "owned" to date, but with over 4,500lbs to motivate, 145hp from the 4.9L I6 is sometimes not quite enough! It can't hold 75 on the freeway without dropping to third, and thats not really practical with a 4,250 redline!

[packardbob]

An 83 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a 350 Diesel. What a turd. Also had a Turbo 200r4 transmission but never had a problem with it, I have one in my Buick (olds rocket 350) too, never have had a problem with it either. The diesel was a DX block with a whopping 105 HP in a car weighing over two tons, not a winning combination. It did get 34 mpgs though.

[RangerM]

First car.

 

'78 Honda Accord Hatch, 68HP, 5 spd.

 

Turn on A/C and drop 5 mph.

[therealmrmustang]

I had a Dodge Dakota work truck with the 2.2l 4cyl and a manual 5-spped, and the damn thing would not hold a cruising speed in 5th going down the freeway! Get it up to 60 or 65 and slip it into 5th and the truck would start slowing down with your foot to the floor!

 

Also had a GMC S-15 work truck with a 4cyl and a 5-speed, and everytime that I would go over railroad tracks where you would get a little amount of suspension compression and the clutch pedal would get stuck to the floor. The first time it happened I thought it came out of gear. I looked down and the clutch pedal was stuck to the floor. This would happen everytime the front suspension compressed under the weight of the truck going over undulations in the road.

 

These were work trucks that a previous employer owned... Not mine. I've owned mostly Fords and have never encountered crap like this!

[Anthony]

1992 Ford Ranger Supercab 2.3L 5 speed. Need I say more?

[2005Explorer]

1993 Ford Tempo 2.3L 4 with a 3 speed auto. Yeah it was weak, but it did fine as long as you planned your mergers or passes well in advance!

Edited August 20, 2009 by 2005Explorer

[TomServo92]

It wasn't a car I've owned but it was the weakest car I've ever driven. It was a rental late 90s era Intrepid w/ the 2.7L V6. Of course, it didn't help that I rented it in Denver....

[Tboneguy]

3 Possible entries here:

 

1978 Chrysler Lebaron - 225 slant 6. Very scary trying to pass on a 2 lane road! But IT was faster than my

1978 Ford Fairmont Wagon - 200 inline 6. Had a little bit of low end torque, but the 1bbl carb limited power above maybe 3000 RPM. Still faster than my

1980 Chevy Malibu 229 V6 - OMG this thing was scary! 110 HP 3 speed auto with some rediculous high rearend gearing. No torque, no HP, and to make matters worse... NO brakes. This thing would lock-up the rears if you breathed on the brake pedal. The seat had no support and interior just kind of kept falling apart.. And that's all with only 14K on the odometer. Major upgrade when I sold it and got my 88 T-Bird Turbo Coupe :P

[blksn8k2]

I didn't own it but I had a company car that I had to drive for six months while I was on assignment in Miss. Chevy Celebrity. I think it had the Iron Duke 4 cyl. Sucked big time. Had it back to the dealer several times for electrical issues. Luckily I had my Thunderbird SC there as well to keep me sane.

[fordmantpw]

My Minnesota winter beater, 86 S10 4wd. 2.8L A/T, had to turn the A/C off to get up a hill ... and that was at highway speed.

 

My '86 Bronco II 2.9L was the same way. Mine was a 5 speed though. It did get 22 MPG on the highway though, and lasted me through college...on 3 engines.

 

The original engine was shot at 110k when I got it due to poor maintenance. Put it another 2.9L out of a wrecked Ranger (with 83k) and got about 20k before it cracked the heads. Put in a rebuilt engine (2.9 again) at 130k, and it cracked the heads (at the same spot they were welded from the previous crack before it was rebuilt) right before the 12k warranty was up at 141k. The free warranty replacement engine was still in it at 150k when I traded it for my '99 F150, but I had a hunch it was cracked too as it was losing antifreeze.

 

The day I dropped it off at the dealer was bittersweet. It was my baby as it was my first vehicle, but I was tired of putting $$$ into it.

 

My wife had an old (Che) vette before we were married. It was a total dog, no A/C, no power anything, seemed like about 15 HP, but at least she didn't have to put in a new engine every third oil change!

[Mark B. Morrow]

'82 Escort EXP. It was the first car I had without a V-8 and quite a step down from the '69 Olds 442 it replaced. OTOH, it was the first new car I owned and was fun to drive with the 5 speed. It was a pretty good autocross car. It was replaced by an '84 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z.

[02MustangGT]

Good question, not sure which was slower, but I assume the 86 Mustang was:

81 Fairmont Futura 200ci I6 (2 door..duh)

85 Mustang LX 2.3L 4 speed

86 Mustang LX 2.3L Auto

[SVT_MAN]

Weakest car I've ever had was my 1995 Mercury Sable. That car got me through most of college (I had a 35 mile commute each day to and from school), but I didn't like that car one bit. Flimsy suspension that broke every winter (those rear stabilizer bars would have been stronger if they were built out of bamboo!), awful, incompatible metals for the heads versus the block that caused the 3.8L to lose head gaskets quite frequently. The list goes on. I did not like that car one bit.

 

Its 3.8L V6 had nice torque ... so it got you to 30 mph quick. Then, you pretty much did not accelerate anymore. At all. It was like the engine flat-lined on the table.

 

Definitely not the slowest car, but I did not like it.

[Hoser768]

I'll add the worst car I ever rented was a 2004 Chevy "Classic" (Malibu). The car had NO redeeming qualities. The interior sucked, the engine sucked, the seats sucked. I would have rather had any other car ever than that one. It felt like I imagine a midsized Yugo would feel. Even if it felt (barely) more powerful than my Chevette, I would have preferred the Chevette for the tiny bit of character it had. Everytime I left that "Classic" rental I heard "The Crying Game" play in my head and I wanted to curl up in a corner in the fetal position. Probably didn't help that my primary vehicle at the time was a 03 Mustang GT 'vert 5spd, but it was still simply the most horrible driving experience I have ever had.

[atomaro]

1985 Toyota 4-Runner 4x4 with the massive 22RE engine (with fuel injection) and 5 speed. I lost a race to a 300 pound fat chick going up Sideling Mountain on route 70 or 68 In Maryland. I even got the jump...had it to the floor at 75 in 4th. She looked over at me...farted...and dusted me. By the time I got got to the top, I was in 3rd doing 45 with my foot to the floor and no site of that mid 80s Festiva.

[ANTAUS]

I usually participate in these questionaires, but I really never owned a weak vehicle, they have all been V8's...but if I can, I'll share the ones I've been in...I think one was an 84 Sentra..WOW don't know what that had, but I think I mouse operated it's engine. My friend would press the accelerator and it was just too funny.

[silvrsvt]

My parents then sister had a blue 82 Escort Wagon with an automatic....it barely got out of its own way. I moved it once for her when I was 16 or something...that was interesting being the first time I drove a car.

 

I can't say any of my cars have been slow, I had a 86 Escort GT that had decent pep out of it. Overall I guess my 98 Mustang GT would have to be the lamest out of all the cars I've owned, with a whopping 215 HP out of it. It had decent get up and go but wasn't super fast or anything.

[2005Explorer]

1995 F-150, also the only car I can say I have "owned" to date, but with over 4,500lbs to motivate, 145hp from the 4.9L I6 is sometimes not quite enough! It can't hold 75 on the freeway without dropping to third, and thats not really practical with a 4,250 redline!

 

You should try that I6 in a F-150 SuperCab 4x4 XLT with a 5 speed manual. We had a pickup like that for several years and it was a good truck, but gutless. Going up hills you just mash it to the floor and hope you don't have to shift to 4th to make it up the hill. It did pull a trailer well though. Just leave it in 4th and it would lug all day long, but it sure did not have any top speed empty.

 

Now the '78 F-150 4x4 that I recently bought with 78,000 original miles on it has a 400 V8 with a 3 speed auto. You would think with a 6.6L V8 that thing would be an animal. It's not! It runs great and moves right along, but is gutless compared to newer smaller V8's. Of course it just has the standard 2 barrel carb and still has the retarded timing and other emission devices that they put on it back in '78 so they could get by without a catalytic converter. If a person wanted to tune it up and change a few things I am sure it could be made into an animal.

Edited August 20, 2009 by 2005Explorer

[the_spaniard]

I usually participate in these questionaires, but I really never owned a weak vehicle, they have all been V8's...but if I can, I'll share the ones I've been in...I think one was an 84 Sentra..WOW don't know what that had, but I think I mouse operated it's engine. My friend would press the accelerator and it was just too funny.

 

I too, can attest to the non-power of the Nissan. I had an 85 sentra 4-door with a five speed. It was all about rowing. In it's defense, it was a great vehicle and never had a major issue in over 180K miles.

 

The most underpowered vehicle I have ever driven was a 1991 Isuzu Amigo S. 4x2. It had a 120 horsepower engine and weighed 3615lbs. I drove it fully loaded from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. Torque was a neck-snapping 123ft/lbs. Going through the Rockies was like :beatdeadhorse:

Edited August 20, 2009 by the_spaniard