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Mine was a 1978 Chevrolet Camaro bought in 1986 with a 250 cubic inch inline 6 cylinder which was lucky to have 120 hp in mint condition. Problem was only 5 cylinders worked and it had a 3 speed auto transmission. Took around 20 seconds to get to 60 mph.
Has owning a slow daily driver made you more patient with those who drive slow accelerating vehicles when they're waiting to turn onto a roadway or on the on-ramp going to the interstate highway? Most new cars today don't take more than 10 seconds to hit 60. I consider they type and material condition of the vehicle in these cases. Unless there is no vehicle oncoming I won't honk my horn. Know what's scarier than a loudmouth behind you blaring his horn? You beginning to pull out and your car dies in the intersection as traffic is heading towards you. That happened to me a few times with that car. Thankfully in those days I didn't need to get to 60 to get on the interstate highway since the nation wide max speed limit was 55 mph. Took a lot of hard accelerating and gas to get to 55 before the interstate but I did make it.
Great topic, and funny as hell.
The slowest car I had was my dad's 1981 Mercury Capri with bangin' four cylinder inline or whatever it had. About 100hp. It went, when it got around to it. Cars were like that for awhile. I love that nowadays even rolling trash probably has 250hp. I've seen little cars zip right along when challenged. And the big dogs just keep getting bigger, which is twice as cool.
Never mind. My dad used to brag about the "Re-NAULT" he used to own. As a kid, in Michigan, I said...ok, Re-NAULT. Never heard of them. Oh, and dad also had a "POO-jo." Alright, what the frack is a poo-jo?
Yeah: when I was a teen, I figured out that Re-NAULT was (pronounce rollingly, like the French): "Reee-neau." Poo-Jo? "Poo-AH-jou"! Made lots more sense at that point. Renault came back to the US, briefly, in the 1980s.
Which brings me to the slowest car ever.
Dad, turns out, had a Renault Dauphine. I figured this out from a picture of him and mom when they were dating, before marrying, c. 1959. Finally, few years before he passed, he was out visiting and I said, "dad, you had a Dauphine Renault!" He said, "ahh, yeah: that was it!" Me: "the car you always boasted about , as one of the first in Michigan back then." Dad: "yep, son, that's her!"
Me, on wikipedia: "Dad, the Dauphine is listed on various sites in the 50 worst cars ever made category. Let me count the ways...!"
Engine size: 845cc
0-60: 37 seconds
Max speed: 70mph
Me: "So, basically, it couldn't get out of its own way. Hills must have been hell. Thank God Michigan is so flat!"
my first 'benz diesel car, a 1964 190D. Published Spec: . 0-60 mph in 31.9 sec, 0-100 km/h in 35.5 sec and quarter mile time is 24.4 sec.
But that was with a 95 lb driver and only 2 gallons of fuel in the tank on a hi-barometric pressure cold day at sea level. My bet is that they stripped out the interior except for the driver's seat which may have been a milk pail for the speed time tests.
With the radio an option at the time, I'm sure the test car didn't have one of those, either.
With me and a full tank of fuel at Denver altitude, the car struggled to reach 60 mph. I think you could measure the 0-60 time with a sundial.
2nd Worst Car: 1962 Renault 4CV. The only virtue it had over a 'bug was that the 4CV had a real heater in it. With 21 HP at sea level, top speed was around 55 mph. 1/4 mile was well over 30 seconds. But it did give 40+ mpg in around town driving. The car came as part of the fleet of vehicles I acquired with my shop purchase in Denver ... had this, some Dauphines, several R-10's, and an R-12. All but the better R-10's went to the boneyard in the first month.
That's quite an eclectic collection, especially for that time period, and especially in Denver. I had a 1961 MGA fixed head coupe in the 1980's, but it actually did move a little bit.
That's quite an eclectic collection, especially for that time period, and especially in Denver. I had a 1961 MGA fixed head coupe in the 1980's, but it actually did move a little bit.
Indeed ... the shop I bought was the long time Denver indie go-to place for Renault & Peugeot cars. The seller had been Dreiling's (the dealer) svc manager for awhile, then went out on his own. Even when Dreiling still was a Peugeot dealer in the 1970's ... the cars generally came to the indie shop except for warranty work. The guy had a complete set of factory tools, including the diagnostic box for the Renault automatic trans (the electric solenoid shifted manual transmission which worked reasonably well ... until it didn't. You could not realistically diagnose that trans set-up without the factory test box which replicated all the sensors/solenoids/controls). I moved on from his old clientele as quickly as possible with the exception of a few Peugeot Diesel cars. Hauled off over 15 tons of Renault and Peugeot spare parts and used parts along with the cars that went to the boneyard. Got only pennies/lb for all the scrap steel ... which didn't even begin to pay for the labor time, let alone the gasoline in the pick-up truck to haul it off.
I, too, owned a GHD serial numbered 1961 MGA Coupe in Denver. Bought that from Lee Gilbert and Marv O'Dell's used car lot for $600 in 1966. Had almost no miles on it, the powder blue color paint job was already powdery, the upholstery was tearing at the seams, and the two batteries were junk. Originally sold new in Denver to a college girl who didn't do anything to the car except abandon it when it was no longer a runner. She must have hit a bunch of pot holes or curbs, the knock-off wire wheels were in dire need of attention. (I still have the lead hammer for removing the retainer centers) The knee action shocks were dry (and when filled, seeped oil so required topping up weekly) and the front disc brake calipers were leaking brake fluid at the center half joint (kits were available). Carbs needed overhaul, the dashpots were dried up and the fuel hoses were seeping. But the body was tight, the windshield was good, and the tires were almost new when I got it. Took me several months of dinking around with it to make it roadworthy and reliable enough to be an almost daily driver. The heater even put out enough warm air to fool you into thinking that there was really gonna' be heat in the car beyond that needed to keep a small area of the windshield clear on snowy nights. A relocation forced me to part with it a few months after I'd finally gotten it sorted out ... the car went on to another 75,000 miles of use, mostly commuting between Denver and the Eisenhower Tunnel construction project for a couple of welders. They scattered the engine on a 2nd gear downshift. Over-revving the engine coming down the hill one night after stopping for a few beers to lubricate the homeward journey. I'm told they towed it to a boneyard at that point and the car was parted out. Of course, now those cars are ... in good condition as survivors ... worth a mint. Can't say that I miss it, though. The few MGA's that I drove in later years were a much nicer ride on those days when top-down driving in the Colorado mtn's was at hand; the coupe simply didn't have that open air roadster experience on offer. The coupe, of course, was a more secure vehicle with a lockable passenger compartment and much better comfort in inclement weather ... roll the windows up and turn on the heater.
I don't recall the 1600 MGA having much go-power, however ... especially when I "discovered" A-H's, a 3.8 Jag XKE, and a lot more fun in Alfa Romeo's when they got closer to 2-liters. Got to drive a bunch of 356 Porsche's in that era and their 1600's would smoke the MG's anytime; did a lot of Colorado Porsche club rally's and club drives with a good friend. A housemate of mine had a '66 912 Targa and had lots of out of area obligations, so he would let me drive the 912 whenever he didn't need it ... which could be weeks at a time. Later, got a client with a Morgan collection and had the use of several +4's, a 4+4, and a +8 (I got to drive the +8 a lot in the 1990's, RHD). Did a lot of engine upgrades with larger displacement piston/liner kits in the +4's, hotter cams, higher compression pistons; those cars could move.
I went to Vegas once and on this really steep hill I had it floored and I was actually slowing down. It was literally the most gutless car I ever owned. Traded for a 1989 Mustang GT 5.0. Still miss that car today.
While we didn't own it, the neighbor down the road had a 1947 Crosley Station Wagon. You always knew when they were going somewhere due to the smoke. It probably burned as much oil as it did gas. Per the specs on it, the car only weighed 1305lbs. Yeah, the car is narrow and small. The engine was a 4 cylinder, 4 cycle, that made a whopping 26.5HP. The times are blinding. The 0 to 60 is 45.7 seconds. The quarter mile is estimated, and I'm sure it's estimated cause nobody wanted to wait long enough to actually time it, was 24.5 seconds at 53 mph. Top speed was 67 mph. The best part about these oldies, you could work on one with a screw driver and pliers. I recall pulling the engine out of a Crosley when in my teens. The engine was so small I grabbed it and pulled it out of the car. I've seen lawn mower engines bigger.
I have two 1950 Fords, both equipped with 100 hp, 239 cubic inch, 8 cylinder flatheads coupled to a three-speed manual tranny. Can't believe these were once state-of-the-art police vehicles. Calling these slow is an understatement.
Fun thread. All of my cars have been quick, I guess I'm lucky.
My slowest car was my first-- a 1993 Ford Taurus SHO automatic....about 7.5 seconds to 60.
Quickest is my current LS430 (5.9s 0-60). In between I had a 1997 5 Spd Maxima (6.6) which was great, and a 2006 6spd Acura TL (6.3) which also flew. I drove an Infiniti I35 (7.0) for a few years and it got up and went too.
Funny thing is my current Lexus is the quickest but I barely ever crest 2000RPM; I just like to ride the torque wave and waft around. Get your V-8s while you can, folks!
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