A properly seasoned, stuffed and cooked turkey can be quite tasty, but an automotive “turkey,” is a car that is simply lacking in taste or quality, or in other words – a fugly dud of a vehicle.
On this here Thanksgiving Day, TrueCar remembers the “turkeys” of the past, and, taking a page from the annual Presidential Turkey Pardon, we reprieve one automotive “Turkey” for its sins.
And the “Turkeys” go to:
1. The Chrysler K Car: Chrysler took the art out of car making with the K series. The idea behind the K platform was that engineers could make a large number of parts that could be used to make several cars, which would reduce the huge number of parts in inventory and the complexity of building many completely different versions of vehicles. Sounds good on paper, but what the K cars gained in cost-savings and efficiency, they completely lost in looks and personality. Ugly + no personality definitely equals “Turkey.” The K Cars were manufactured from 1981-1995 and included the Dodge Aries, Plymouth Reliant, Chrysler LeBaron, Dodge 400 and Dodge Dart (in Mexico).
2. Cadillac Cimarron: 80’s fashion might be considered in bad taste, but at least it was vibrant and had flair. It was also about big and bold choices, but this child of the 80’s, had all the bad taste of the 80’s without any of the spirit. It was probably better suited for the depression era. Slow, small and screaming “red tag special,” the dismal 132,499 Cimarrons built over seven years (1981-1988) was gross over-production.
3. Ford Pinto: Topping Forbes list of Worst Cars of All Time, Time’s, The 50 Worst Cars of All Time and BusinessWeek’s, Ugliest Cars of the Past 50 Years, it would be heresy to not include the Ford Pinto in our list. Lawsuits, near recalls and allegations that Ford was aware of a fatal design flaw that caused the fuel tank to catch on fire in a rear-end collision (Ford Pinto Memo), gives this car an unsavory legacy and thus, “Turkey” labeling.
4. Chrysler TC by Maserati: A one dud wonder, this love child of Chrysler and Maserati unfortunately took a deep dive in the recessive gene pool of each manufacturer. This car really wanted to sit at the lunch table with the cool kids, but it just never felt comfortable in its own skin, and felt more at home with the kids in the “Breakfast Club.” A little therapy could have gone a long way in subsequent generations, but the manufacturer’s pulled the plug in 1991, after less than two years on the market and only 7,300 units manufactured. But, it had a few admirers, amongst them, our own Brandy Schaeffels, who admits to wanting to own one of these in her less automotive savvy youth.
5. Pontiac Aztek: Marketed to the outdoorsy ‘Generation X-er GM’s first SUV crossover should have been taken out back and shot. It was recognized by TIME in 2010 as the 34th worst invention of all time. But the intentions were good, there was utility in its combination of SUV facade and sedan practicality, suited particularly for the great outdoors. Unfortunately for GM, the sight of it got more screams from children than the campfire ghost stories.
6. Isuzu VehiCROSS: Tomay-to may be to tomah-to as ugly is to unique. Our friends at MotorTrend featured the VehiCROSS as their May 1999 centerfold, and included this ugly duckling in their "Top 10 Sport Utilities" for Most Unique Styling. Okay, we get that there is a distinctive, albeit ugly, quality to the VehiCROSS’s design, but placing it on the cover!? Yikes!
7. AMC Pacer: This infamous compact 70’s icon was intended to be a design standout compared to the big boaty cars being manufactured at the time. The rounded shape with plentiful window space was even likened to the Jetson’s car of the era. But just as with the VehiCROSS, when “different” works, it can be called “unique,” when it fails, it is just plain “u-g-l-y.”
8. Cadillac Catera: Even employing Cindy Crawford as the face of the Catera couldn’t give us the illusion that the Catera was cut from the same cloth. Instead our imagination brought us to Beauty and the Beast. The Catera made its entry into the market in 1997, but the lifespan of the smaller and less powerful Cadillac, which was marketed to a younger demographic as the “Caddy that zigs,” was short-lived. It exited just a year into the millennium.
9. Honda Ridgeline: This funky looking SUV pickup is a contemporary “Turkey.” Debuting in 2005, the Ridgeline is Honda’s first pick up for the North American market. This is actually the first compact pick up with a trunk (yes, Chevrolet Avalanche, we see you, we just think you look better as a full-sized pick-up). Who is buying this!?!
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And the Official TrueCar Pardon Goes to:
Chevy Nova: This was a tough one to kill. Four generations of this toad were sold on the market from 1962-1975 and then it came back from the dead to haunt us from 1986-1988. There were sedans, coupes, convertibles, sports sedans and even a special edition, but through 28 years of manufacturing, the Nova never got the kiss from a princess it so needed to become Prince Charming. That said, we’re willing to look past what’s on the cover of this one, because the Nova was a solid seller that had longevity, it didn’t just vanish into the good night without a fight, 28 years on the market isn’t bad. The Nova also did exactly what Chevy intended it to do, be a low-cost, late entry muscle car.
TrueCar Team member,
Shadee Malekafzali
Feel free to tweet me @TrueCar ^SM
