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Best - 2006 Honda Civic. In nearly seven years of ownership and 97k miles, I've only had to replace a starter, motor mount, and a wheel cylinder. To this day, I still average 28mpg. I plan on having it painted and hopefully it will last another 100k.
Worst - 1982 Buick Riviera. In five years of ownership, I lost count on all the batteries, starters, and alternators I had to replace. The engine blew and I gave it a decent burial soon afterwards.
Did you have a 5 speed in that car? My T-bird had good acceleration, and was a 5 speed manual. The manuals had more horse power than the automatics. One of my cars now has 300 HP and that T-Bird would give it a go at the start, not top speed though by a long shot.
Ours was an automatic (hence the transmission failure), but that does not make a difference in horsepower. It will make a slight performance diffence. HP actually comes from the engine, not the transmission. The engines all had the same 150 HP. A 5 speed woudl do more with the 150 HP because you can make the engine work harder. I tihnk the 8.4 0-60 rating was with a 5 speed. That is what they normally do.
However for its time I guess it was not the worst performer. The 1982 Camaro Iron Duke had a 0-60 of 20 seconds! That horrid 1980 subird suppsedly could manage 0-60 in 9.9 seconds, but that must have been going downhill in the rockies. My much beloved 1980 Mazda RX7 could do all of 10 seconds (but it cornered like a champ). Compared to those, the T-bird turbo coupe was a lightening bolt.
Comparing the later Supercoupe T-bird with a 6 cyl supercharged engine and it get 0-60 in 7.4 seconds. Suprisingly not that much faster than the turbocoupe.
A 300 HP car that a T-bird that does 8.4 seconds will give a go? Must be a heavy heavy car (Mercedes?). My Camaro is 275 or 285 HP and will do 0-60 in 5.7 Maybe that 300 hp car has plugged up fuel injectors.
Heh I still cannot believe that POS Sunbird was faster than the RX7. If I had not looked it up I would have said the Rx7 was at least half again faster. Wifeys T-bird was faster too. Unbelievable. I think we had very different perceptions of a fast car back then.
At least the Jensen Healey was faster than any of them. I would have had a shock if I had learned it was as slow as any of the POS cars we had from that time period. Still even the Jensen is not all that fast, it seemed like it at the time.
That was such a terrible time for cars looking back at it. We had:
1980 Sunbird (worst car ever)
1988 Hyundai (Tied with Sunbird)
1985 T Bird Turbo Coupe (maybe second place behind the sunbird and Hyundai)
Subaru XT Turbo. Forget the year 1985?) A joke. It was fun becuase it was wierd, unique and silly.
1979 Honda CVCC great mileage and fun to drive but a total rust bucket.
1973 Jensen Healy (still have one) it was a fun car but you needed to keep your tools int he trunk and your AAA card in the glove box.
1980 RX 7 loved it but it did tend to rust and the dash was allergic to sunlight.
Perhaps the worst car ever answer is anything made from 1979 through 1988.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 01-16-2013 at 04:17 PM..
Ours was an automatic (hence the transmission failure), but that does not make a difference in horsepower. It will make a slight performance diffence. HP actually comes from the engine, not the transmission. The engines all had the same 150 HP. A 5 speed woudl do more with the 150 HP because you can make the engine work harder. I tihnk the 8.4 0-60 rating was with a 5 speed. That is what they normally do.
However for its time I guess it was not the worst performer. The 1982 Camaro Iron Duke had a 0-60 of 20 seconds! That horrid 1980 subird suppsedly could manage 0-60 in 9.9 seconds, but that must have been going downhill in the rockies. My much beloved 1980 Mazda RX7 could do all of 10 seconds (but it cornered like a champ). Compared to those, the T-bird turbo coupe was a lightening bolt.
Comparing the later Supercoupe T-bird with a 6 cyl supercharged engine and it get 0-60 in 7.4 seconds. Suprisingly not that much faster than the turbocoupe.
A 300 HP car that a T-bird that does 8.4 seconds will give a go? Must be a heavy heavy car (Mercedes?). My Camaro is 275 or 285 HP and will do 0-60 in 5.7 Maybe that 300 hp car has plugged up fuel injectors.
Heh I still cannot believe that POS Sunbird was faster than the RX7. If I had not looked it up I would have said the Rx7 was at least half again faster. Wifeys T-bird was faster too. Unbelievable. I think we had very different perceptions of a fast car back then.
At least the Jensen Healey was faster than any of them. I would have had a shock if I had learned it was as slow as any of the POS cars we had from that time period. Still even the Jensen is not all that fast, it seemed like it at the time.
That was such a terrible time for cars looking back at it. We had:
1980 Sunbird (worst car ever)
1988 Hyundai (Tied with Sunbird)
1985 T Bird Turbo Coupe (maybe second place behind the sunbird and Hyundai)
Subaru XT Turbo. Forget the year 1985?) A joke. It was fun becuase it was wierd, unique and silly.
1979 Honda CVCC great mileage and fun to drive but a total rust bucket.
1973 Jensen Healy (still have one) it was a fun car but you needed to keep your tools int he trunk and your AAA card in the glove box.
1980 RX 7 loved it but it did tend to rust and the dash was allergic to sunlight.
Perhaps the worst car ever answer is anything made from 1979 through 1988.
The 5 speed had about 50 more HP than the automatic. Also, using the clutch you can boost that turbo from a stop and take off pretty damn quick.
Best, My Grandmother 74 Impala 2dr Sport Coupe, only 67,000 miles on it when I got it in 2003.
Worst, 86 Tempo 4dr bought for $600 in 2000 to keep in Rockwall Texas (where my trucking company was located). Motor blew up 3 months later. Only engine to date I've ever had self destruct (and I've owned 50 plus cars since 1983!).
However for its time I guess it was not the worst performer. The 1982 Camaro Iron Duke had a 0-60 of 20 seconds!
Funny. The "Iron Duke" moniker resurfaces. This means the cast-iron block & head 2.5 liter (151 cu. in.) 4 cylinder of that era, which powered the X-bodies and the smaller Camaro/Firebird. I think Pontiac Motor Division engineered it. The Camaro/Firebird weren't bad looking, if in basic form. Theoretically, that engine should have been long lived, because of its materials and being better balanced (unlike earlier Buick V6s which shuddered and required offsetting crank components to quiet them down). I've often wondered what the top end lifespan, in miles, of an "Iron Duke" was.
Funny. The "Iron Duke" moniker resurfaces. I've often wondered what the top end lifespan, in miles, of an "Iron Duke" was.
My grandmother had one in her 84 Chevy Celebrity. It was still going at 192k when we donated the car. As far as I know, it had never been rebuilt, though I did replace the valve cover gasket twice due to leaks.
Perhaps the worst car ever answer is anything made from 1979 through 1988.
Not for me. It hasn't worked out that way at all. I have a 1986 Toyota pickup (22RE 4cyl, 5 speed) with over 200k miles on it, still going strong. It's a one owner. I bought it in January of '86.
Best, My Grandmother 74 Impala 2dr Sport Coupe, only 67,000 miles on it when I got it in 2003.
Worst, 86 Tempo 4dr bought for $600 in 2000 to keep in Rockwall Texas (where my trucking company was located). Motor blew up 3 months later. Only engine to date I've ever had self destruct (and I've owned 50 plus cars since 1983!).
Funny how many people dislike Tempos.I had an 84,bought in '94,for 2 years as a second car.All I ever did to it was a new battery and replace the valve cover gasket.I did learn quickly not to cut anyone off in this car!The Tempo was not my best car,but it certainly wasn't my worst.I did read somewhere that Consumer Reports warned not to buy ANY '88-'94 Tempos or Mercury Topaz (2nd gen.)Firestarters, if I remember correctly.
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