Ten Worst Automobiles Nominations Please

The Truth About Cars (TTAC) strives to report on all things automotive with the complete, unvarnished, unadulterated, no-holds-barred truth. All our authors write from a single-minded perspective: the consumer’s interests are more important than those of the industry. All our commentators keep us– and the industry– honest. In other words, we’re all a bunch of troublemakers. And it’s time once again to make some trouble. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to announce that nominations are now open for TTAC’s second annual Ten Worst Awards.

Yes, while our colleagues strive to celebrate the best that the U.S. automotive industry has to offer, we're looking for your help to name the ten worst new vehicles domestic money can (but shouldn't) buy. To refresh your memory, here are the winners you selected during our last forary into America's automotive heart of darkness.

2006 Ten Worst Automobiles Today Winners

10. Chevrolet Aveo5

Thankfully, the following [s]losers[/s] winners have gone to that big garage in the sky: GM Minivans, Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Buick Rendezvous. Another '06 Ten Worst winner is slated for extermination (Saab 9-7x) while the Subaru Tribeca been redesigned to remove its, uh, pudenda. The rest live to die another day, remaining eligible for nomination and another Ten Worst award. Here are the six simple rules governing your nominations and an outline of the entire selection process:

2007 Ten Worst Award Rules of Engagement

1. Any car or light truck offered for sale as a new vehicle in the US between January 1 and today is eligible for nomination. It doesn't matter who built it or where. Repeat nominations from last year are allowed.

2. Nominations may be deleted without prior warning or explanation for any of the following reasons: insufficient justification, excessive verbosity or pontification, foul language or patent absurdity.

3. All nominations must meet TTAC's house rules on flaming or trolling (i.e., don't). Offensive comments about other readers will be summarily deleted and the writer may be permanently banned from posting on TTAC. That said, offensive observations about the nominees are encouraged.

3. Blatantly badge-engineered siblings can be nominated for a joint award if they all suck equally.

4. TTAC's writing team will select 20 finalists from the nominees, based on how well the nominations were justified and our personal opinions of the vehicles in question. Unlike last year, we won't track the total number of nominations for a given vehicle.

5. Readers will vote via an electronic survey on 20 finalists to determine America's Ten Worst cars. Multiple voting will be electronically prohibited. Anyone attempting to circumvent this ban through hackery will be permanently banned from posting on the site.

6. Nominations begin today and will continue until midnight EDT, Monday October 22. We will present the 20 finalists for voting on October 29. The winners will be announced on first of November.

While there's no doubt our readers know Ten Worst-iness when they see it, there are a few specifics that make a vehicle truly TWAT-worthy:

1.) Looks that stop traffic. In a bad way.

2.) The "WTF were they thinking?" factor. A true Ten Worst recipient leaves you wondering which bodily orifice the designers pulled it from and what management was smoking when they approved it. Cheap materials, poor ergonomics and questionable build quality only compound the problem, and help its chances of winning an award.

3.) Misused technology. This could be a car so low-tech you wonder if it was designed in the ‘70s, or so high-tech it's rendered virtually undrivable.

4.) Unfathomable product planning. Your favorite automotive abomination could be the result of poorly-executed badge engineering on an already mediocre vehicle. Or it could be a vehicle that's just a dumb idea, a market segment misfit or an answer to a question no one asked (or ever will).

An ideal TWAT would combine most or all of these factors, with an additional je ne sais quois that makes enthusiasts throw-up in their mouths a little upon sight. Those are the miserable machines we seek.

[NB: If someone has already nominated your favorite, please don't add a "me too" comment, unless you provide additional reasons why the vehicle is a really good (bad?) candidate for an award.]

As TTAC has grown since last year, we'll be posting updates and pithy quotes throughout the week, so you don't have to page through several hundred comments per post.

We here behind the scenes look forward to your nominations and attendant CIVILIZED debate. Thanks for helping us do that voodoo that we do for you.