Ten Worst Automobiles Nominations Please

Frank Williams
by Frank Williams
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


9. Lincoln Mark LT


8. Saab 9-7x


7. Subaru B9 Tribeca


6. Chevrolet Monte Carlo


5. Hummer H2


4. Chrysler Aspen


3. Buick Rendezvous


2. Jeep Compass


1. GM Minivans

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.

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  • Jerome10 Jerome10 on Oct 19, 2007

    And yet one more I forgot. Chrysler Sebring. Perfection of mediocrity. They definitely checked off every box in the requirement list and then hit the showers. Engine? Check. Seats? Check. Wheels? Check. Horrible style? Check. Terrible all-new 4 cyl engine? Check. Old school 4 speed tranny? Check. Ribbed hood? Check. Rock hard seats? Check. Huge waiting list from Avis, Hertz, Alamo, and Thrifty? Check. Great job boys!

  • Capdeblu Capdeblu on Oct 21, 2007

    I would like to nominate the Saturn P-on no excuse me Ion for worst car of the year. How Saturn could take a relatively funky car the SL and turn in into this is beyond me. Once upon a time Saturns sold for sticker price. They couldnt give the Ions away.

  • Zerocred So many great drives:Dalton Hwy from Fairbanks to the Arctic Circle.Alaska Marine Highway from Bellingham WA to Skagway AK. it was a multi-day ferry ride so I didn’t actually drive it, but I did take my truck.Icefields Parkway from Jasper AB to Lake Louise AB, CA.I-70 and Hwy 50 from Denver to Sacramento.Hwy 395 on the east side of the Sierras.
  • Aidian Holder I'm not interested in buying anything from a company that deliberately targets all their production in crappy union-busting states. Ford decided to build their EV manufaturing in Tennessee. The company built it there because of an anti-union legal environment. I won't buy another Ford because of that. I've owned four Fords to date -- three of them pickups. I'm shopping for a new one. It won't be a Ford Lightning. If you care about your fellow workers, you won't buy one either.
  • Denis Jeep have other cars?!?
  • Darren Mertz In 2000, after reading the glowing reviews from c/d in 1998, I decided that was the car for me (yep, it took me 2 years to make up my mind). I found a 1999 with 24k on the clock at a local Volvo dealership. I think the salesman was more impressed with it than I was. It was everything I had hoped for. Comfortable, stylish, roomy, refined, efficient, flexible, ... I can't think of more superlatives right now but there are likely more. I had that car until just last year at this time. A red light runner t-boned me and my partner who was in the passenger seat. The cops estimate the other driver hit us at about 50 mph - on a city street. My partner wasn't visibly injured (when the seat air bag went off it shoved him out of the way of the intruding car) but his hip was rather tweaked. My car, though, was gone. I cried like a baby when they towed it away. I ruminated for months trying to decide how to replace it. Luckily, we had my 1998 SAAB 9000 as a spare car to use. I decided early on that there would be no new car considered. I loathe touch screens. I'm also not a fan of climate control. Months went by. I decided to keep looking for another B5 Passat. As the author wrote, the B5.5 just looked 'over done'. October this past year I found my Cinderella slipper - an early 2001. Same silver color. Same black leather interior. Same 1.8T engine. Same 5 speed manual transmission. I was happier than a pig in sh!t. But a little sad also. I had replaced my baby. But life goes on. I drive it every day to work which takes me over some rather twisty freeway ramps. I love the light snarel as I charge up some steep hills on my way home. So, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Passat guy.
  • Paul Mezhir As awful as the styling was on these cars, they were beautifully assembled and extremely well finished for the day. The doors closed solidly, the ride was extremely quiet and the absence of squeaks and rattles was commendable. As for styling? Everything's beautiful in it's own way.....except for the VI coupe....it's proportions were just odd: the passenger compartment and wheelbase seemed to be way too short, especially compared to the VI sedan. Even the short-lived Town Coupe had much better proportions. None of the fox-body Lincolns could compare to the beautiful proportions of the Mark V.....it was the epitome of long, low, sleek and elegant. The proportions were just about perfect from every angle.
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