With a slow and loose steering, uncomfortable handling and seats, high amounts of wind and tire noise above 50 miles per hour, and not as much cargo space as expected, this V6 hybrid Jeep Wrangler doesn’t do nearly as well as you’d expect. It’s a master of the off-road for sure and has the same rugged feel that Jeep brings, but its problems often overshadow the benefits. The Car Connection gave it a 5.2 out of 10 score, with the main issues being its high-price, “rugged” ride (which some enthusiasts consider a benefit), a sparse base trim, and lackluster backseat.
Jeep Wrangler earned a 7.8 out of 10 ratings by Edmunds and 7.7 out of 10 from US News & World Reports. The Wrangler starts at $28,000 in the base Sport model and goes up to $41,545 for the Unlimited Rubicon.
1997 Plymouth Prowler
It’s unclear exactly what market the Plymouth Prowler tried to attend to when it was launched in the late '90s. If there was ever a way to look stuck-up in front of your friends, it would be by coming to pick them up in this peculiar beast of a model. The Prowler was offered in a single generation, front-engine, rear-drive, rear-transmission configuration — with an overall production of just over 10,000 models.
In addition to the beast’s exposed and threatening look, it actually had a fairly good engine inside that scary hood. The red devil would accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just over 7 seconds and was actually built with daily reckless drivers in mind. The Prowler included features such as keyless entry, power windows and other tricks that you probably would have enjoyed showing your friends in the late '90s.
1955 Dodge La Femme
If you were a woman in the 1950s, we would find it hard to believe that your biggest complaint regarding the state of society at that point was, “Why aren’t these locomotives more feminine looking?” Well, apparently, at the time Dodge believed that this was exactly what 50's-era women were looking for. Therefore, they built a car specifically for them. The Dodge La Femme (which only comes in white and pink, by the way), is a female-oriented car meant to help women express themselves by driving in their all-glam car.
The car was essentially a Dodge Royal Lancer but built with "women's needs" in mind. The original Lancer didn’t do too well, so copying it in a new design did seem like a very odd thing to do. Eventually, the car didn’t end up penetrating the market as much as Dodge hoped it would. Not even pink seats could have saved this bust from occurring. La Femme was quickly discarded after just 2 years in production, and we can’t say we've heard our moms and grandmas complain about it much.
1978 FSO Polonez
While many people complained about the extremely boxy and jaggy look of the FSO Polonez, the main problem we have with the car is its unreliability. Legend has it that by the time you left the dealership with your brand new FSO Polonez, you’d be driving to a car shop to get something fixed.
One owner seems to have summarized our complaints with the car perfectly with the following review: “Built by communists out of steel so thin you could use it as a neck curtain, it is as reliable and long-lasting as a pensioner’s erection.” That doesn't sound like it can get much worse. In case you’re interested in seeing this lackluster car in action, you can visit YouTube for some hilarious videos of drunk Russians drifting the car before it breaks to bits.
1974 Bricklin SV-1
When the designers of the Bricklin SV-1 thought “You know what would be cool? Imagine a car with vertical doors!” They were definitely on the right train of thought. Unfortunately, the rest of the car did not hold up to the vision they had. Among the factors blamed for the car's ultimate demise were ongoing quality control problems, supplier shortages, worker absenteeism and a series of price increases that more than doubled the price of the car in two years. The Bricklin SV-1 was ultimately a huge failure, with only 3,000 of these ever in production.
Critiques were somewhat divided about the look of the car. On one hand, it had the potential to remind you of the futuristic DeLorean, but it might also remind you of a lime-green hedgehog. Consumers were also disappointed by the interior build quality of the car. The gull-wing doors being the main attraction of the car, but the power button that opened the door mechanism was very slow and would often break down and trap people in the car. It seems that just like the DeLorean, this car is more akin to a really cool life-sized toy car than an actual Corvette or Lamborghini.