"Amoore100" (amoore100)
04/27/2016 at 00:36 • Filed to: Rant, Good Night, I hate people sometimes
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"Amoore100" (amoore100)
04/27/2016 at 00:36 • Filed to: Rant, Good Night, I hate people sometimes | 2
| 16 |
It starts out like any other ‘10 worst cars ever’ lists with a PT Cruiser, a Pontiac Aztec, and some sort of American malaise era car. However, sitting at first place is the Eagle Premier. Here is the cited explanation of why:
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That sleek Italian body
Wait, what? First off, let’s discuss the “no style” part of the equation. This was the late ‘80s to early ‘90s. What style did cars have? The 3 Series was nothing more than a box with two rectangles glued vertically in the front, and even worse was the all-new Volvo 940 which looked, well, twenty years old. How, then, did this elegant, sleek Premier look outdated compared to the competition? Its Italdesign body even has a drag coefficient of 0.31, even lower than the vaunted first-gen Taurus. The interior was state of the art when electronics were all the rage, with magically disembodied voices as well as Citroen-esque control binnacles, far from boring especially compared to similar European interiors of the time.
So ‘80s! So French!
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Perhaps the most misguided statement here is “ Even with the nine other dreadful options on this list, at least they have a story to tell; something unique about them. ” This car is most definitely unique and has a story, perhaps the most interesting on this list. It was a result of the dissolving AMC-Renault relationship which was spurred by Chrysler ownership in response to the end of the fuel crisis and demand for larger cars. The Premier and sister Monaco would go on to underpin Chrysler’s LH platform cars for more than a decade to come with its unconventional longitudinal FWD architecture. If that’s not a story or a legacy, I’m not sure what is.
First gen LH platform cars
Finally, this car was the absolute opposite of indifference and nothingness when it was new, instead being described as “one of the sportiest sedans on the American market” by Popular Science and “a world class car” by journalists everywhere. If a DMV today had a picture of it hanging on the wall, I’d say it would be a pretty badass DMV that probably has some stories to tell about this French marvel. It wasn’t the fastest, the most reliable, or the most luxurious, I’ll grant you that, but it was far from being the worst. And if you continue to hold this shortsighted point of view, I have a Cadillac Cimarron to give you. Standard of the world, indeed.
Wheelerguy
> Amoore100
04/27/2016 at 00:44 |
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The third-worst car there is a Lexus SC430.
Problem is that the race car redeemed it. Just.
I’m with them on the X6, though. Fuck that shit. The Rally Fighter did a better job at being an SUV coupe, and even then, SUV coupes are too much faffing about, and their customers should get their brains reconfigured.
Steve in Manhattan
> Amoore100
04/27/2016 at 00:46 |
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Put me behind the wheel of one that’s performing as new (yes, I know ...) and I might say it’s up there with the middle of the pack. But I would not begrudge it a place in automotive history. And I like a Pacer, now and then ....
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Amoore100
> Wheelerguy
04/27/2016 at 01:15 |
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Wow, I never knew about the SC430 GT! That is certifiably awesome and raises the SC430 several notches in my book. I never hated them to be honest, it’s a perfectly reasonable ‘comfy’ car in my book.
Totally agree on these stupid ‘Sports Activity Vehicles’. I hated crossovers to begin with, and this takes the uselessness up a notch. If we’re honest, journalists are propping them up a bit whenever they say “It handles great for its size” or “It’s rather fast for its size which makes it fun”. NO. If you have 600+ horsepower, it’s gonna be fast, no matter what. If you want fast and practical, you go X5M or V90 Polestar. If you want fast and fast, you go M5/6. SAV’s are useless and terrible and I hate all of them.
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Amoore100
> Steve in Manhattan
04/27/2016 at 01:19 |
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Well I never said it was flawless. It’s pretty shittily made, and didn’t appeal to everyone. Thus, it’s the sterotypical French car! Ok, so maybe calling it as important as the DS is a stretch, but it ain’t no Camry in terms of advancing the class. If you want French Camry from the ‘80s, I present to you the Talbot Tagora.
I’d still rock one though.
Rock Bottom
> Amoore100
04/27/2016 at 01:54 |
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I spent an unacceptable amount of time in a Premier ES in the mid to late 90s and didn’t hate any of it, other than the multiple heater core failures and the constant “maybe this transmission won’t shit the bed today” feeling. It rode very well, handled better than most cars of it’s type and vintage, had a comfy interior, and an excellent Jensen stereo. The transmissions seemed to check out about every 30,000 miles or less, but otherwise it was pretty nice. It was that “triple white” that most of the later ES variants seemed to be (kinda like the pic below). Not bad cars.
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Amoore100
> Rock Bottom
04/27/2016 at 02:09 |
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Hah, definitely a topic of conversation. How did you end up with one of these things? It seems pretty awesome except for the tragic transmissions (30K miles!?) but hey, just Renault/Chrysler things. They do look a lot better than many give them credit for, kind of a cross between a Volvo 940 and an Audi 100. Not bad cars, just not great ones. Esoteric would be a good word. “Ambitious, but rubbish.”
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Rock Bottom
> Amoore100
04/27/2016 at 08:42 |
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It was my roommate’s car in college, which his dad bought new in 1992 and handed down as punishment for only getting into a state school. It was way nicer than the trash I drove at the time so we always took his car everywhere. And to be completely fair, I think the original trans made it like 150,000-ish miles but the remans he was getting from the Chrysler stealership were total junk. Other than that it wasn’t a bad car.
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Steve in Manhattan
> Amoore100
04/27/2016 at 13:36 |
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Tagora ... sounds like a TVR name.
Spridget
> Amoore100
08/22/2016 at 22:35 |
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I find the comment that the Eagle is a “generic shillouette of a car” offending from someone who probably doesn’t even own a car.
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Amoore100
> Spridget
08/22/2016 at 22:36 |
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Much less one with a silhouette that produces only 0.31 cd of drag.
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Spridget
> Amoore100
08/22/2016 at 22:44 |
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Here’s my opinions of the list:
10.) There’s been worse, but the Pinto deserves a place on the list.
9.) Understandable
8.) Fuck you, author guy.
7.) Those did suck, but not as bad as the MKV.
6.) This guy doesn’t understand the purpose of the FSO.
5.) Deserves to be here. This is a disgrace to the real Citroens.
4.) I get why it’s there, but it’s not the worst.
3.) Read above.
2.) Read above above.
1.) Read above post (that you wrote.)
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Amoore100
> Spridget
08/22/2016 at 23:05 |
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Yeah, the Reliant doesn’t really count because it’s not much of a car in my opinion. It would be like saying a bunny doesn’t make a very good dog. You can’t truly compare them and for its intended purpose the Reliant wasn’t bad.
The insults towards this Lincoln could really be targeted against any Malaise-era American car and again, they were very good at what they set out to do (which was be very comfortable).
Yeah, the FSO was simply a Polish car for Polish people. Nothing terrible about it until you start comparing it against Western standards.
Yep, the Pluriel was an affront to Citroens, convertibles, and just French cars in general.
Ok, I personally have a bone to pick about the X6 and other SAVs in that they have really no purpose whatsoever which really annoys me. I’m not saying it’s the worst car, but it is the most useless car ever made. Want something roomy and tall? X5. Want something fast and sleek? 6 Series. The X6 just has no purpose which is why I dislike it.
And yeah, I’m half-certain this author has never even looked at a picture of the interior of the Premier, much less sat in one. What a total twat.
RT
> Amoore100
08/25/2016 at 11:59 |
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The Tagora was closer to Cressida size than Camry, but it was just as bare-bones looking as a Camry I guess.
Unlike the Camry though, this was never super popular. It makes a Ferrari 250 look common, and that’s no understatement.
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RT
> Amoore100
08/25/2016 at 12:29 |
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Counterpoint.
The idea behind the X6 makes literally no sense, I’ll give you that.
However as a car itself it’s not ‘bad’, it’s an absolutely stupid idea, but it’s not built like an Allegro so I wouldn’t call it one of the ‘worst cars ever made’. After all, the X6 is literally just an X5 with a derpy looking rear. And the X5 is a great car. Even outside of 600bhp M form it drives well. Very well. Even in the lowest spec (265BHP 3.0 BiTurbo Diesel I6), I’d say its better to drive than most E30s and E36s, obviously less involving but much more smooth and fast overall. The X5/6 doesn’t just drive like a car, it drives better than most cars; regardless of engine.
I know we’re meant to hate crossovers and something like a 5-Series touring would make a lot more sense to us. But if you’ve ever seen RCR’s Scion xB review, you’ll know most people - especially older adults, prefer a high driving position. As the arthritis sets in you don’t want to keep bending down, and when you keep needing to reach to buckle up the kids or store large items in the rear, it all becomes exhausting.
Of course, there’s still the elephant in the room. The X6's sloping arse. Yes, it’s obnoxious and there for no reason. I can’t really defend that. But I can’t say that makes it suddenly one of the worst cars in the world. One of the worst ideas for a car? Maybe. But as a piece of engineering, it’s a fine car with a stupid bodystyle. In other words, an X6 is as bad as a Lexus LFA with a landau roof. It’s got a stupid bodystyle, but it’s still a great car underneath.
And put it this way, now you can spot people with bad judgement from afar, just by checking if they chose an X5 or X6. ;)
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Amoore100
> RT
08/25/2016 at 23:42 |
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Wow, you have a very eloquent and well-reasoned take on this and I find that you are correct on every point! Yeah, the main reason I can’t get over the fact that the X6 exists is because the X5 exists which does everything better. Certainly they’re both excellent pieces of kit, but the X6 is just a design faff if you ask me.
Especially since they’re eye-searingly ugly. Sure, people can buy what they want, but don’t make me have to look at it!
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Amoore100
> RT
08/26/2016 at 00:01 |
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Well I guess calling it a Camry would be a bit unfair since it was the last gasp of a dying brand. More like the Suzuki Kizashi, then.
