1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: Be there and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio, and I 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: love all things tech and this is gonna be a 5 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: fun episode. Now, I am not much of a car guy, 6 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: so I really don't do that many episodes about cars, 7 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: even though cars aren't clearly tech. You know, I've done 8 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: a few about car companies, and I've done a few 9 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: about specific technologies that are car related, and a couple 10 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: that are focused on specific cars, including one that we'll 11 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: mention in this list. Uh, and I've done some on 12 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,199 Speaker 1: autonomous cars as well. But I thought it might be 13 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: fun to do a round up of some cars that 14 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: have a reputation, you know, a bad reputation. So this 15 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: episode is dedicated to cars that frequently pop up on 16 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: the worst Cars of All Time lists. Some of these 17 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: cars are thought of as the worst because of their reliability, 18 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: or rather there the lack of reliability, some because the 19 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: company that made them famously backed the wrong horseless carriage 20 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: and subsequently went out of business. And I should add 21 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: this is just a a sampling, if you will. An 22 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: amuse bush of the worst cars of all time, and 23 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:29,320 Speaker 1: they're not necessarily the worst worst because there are tons 24 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: of different lists, right. I didn't select these cars myself. 25 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: What I did was I went through lists like goliath 26 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: dot COM's the twenty five Worst Cars of All Time, 27 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: otto wise is ten Worst Cars Ever, made, The Drive's 28 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: article the ten Worst Cars of All Time, time dot 29 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: COM's article the fifty Worst Cars of all Time, and 30 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,639 Speaker 1: an Edmond's list called fifty Worst Cars of All Times. 31 00:01:55,640 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: So I used all these lists to curate a small 32 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: selection of vehicles that just weren't good for one reason 33 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: or another. And I am not ranking these either. These 34 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: are not in no particular order, because the whole concept 35 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: of worst is at least partly subjective. In fact, there 36 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: are some cars that are on this list that other 37 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: people who wrote the other lists say that that car 38 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: gets a bad rap, it's really not that bad. So 39 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: there's no there's no metric I can hold up that says, okay, definitively, 40 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: this car is the worst one. And also, you know 41 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: where they put cars on on their rankings changes a lot. 42 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: Some lists have the Ford Pinto taking the top or 43 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: or bottom honors. If you want to look at it, 44 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: that way and others will put it somewhere in the middle. 45 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: So we'll actually start with the Ford Pinto because it 46 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: does pop up on a lot of lists. Just know 47 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: that these bad cars appear in no particular order, but 48 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: we will begin with the Ford Pinto. This car is 49 00:02:57,760 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: one I remember hearing jokes about when I was a kid, 50 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: because Ford made these cars between nineteen seventy and nineteen 51 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: eighty and I was also made between nineteen seventy and 52 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty. Uh. The Pinto was meant to fill a 53 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: niche in the North American market. It was the first 54 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: subcompact car that Ford produced in North America. So for 55 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: those not familiar with American car classifications, it behooves us 56 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: to go through what those are really quickly so we 57 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: just understand what we're talking about. So on the smallest 58 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: end in America, you've got what are called many compact 59 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: cars M I, n I compact cars that includes stuff 60 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: like the Chevrolet Spark or the Fiat five. Those are 61 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: roughly equivalent to what would be called a segment mini 62 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: cars in Europe. Now, if you go slightly larger than that, 63 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: you have subcompact cars that includes the Pinto or the 64 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: Ford Fiesta. Then you go up another level and you 65 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: are now at compact cars. This would include cars like 66 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: the Honda Civic or the Toyota Corolla. Then when you 67 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: go a little bigger, you get to mid sized cars 68 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: that include stuff like the Toyota Camry and the Volkswagen Passat. 69 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: And finally you have large cars like the Chevrolet Impala 70 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: or the Cadillac c T five. So it's really in 71 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: size that we're talking about. And there are other terms 72 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: that can be pop. You know, it can be used 73 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: in addition to these or in replacement of these, like 74 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: you might hear mid sized luxury like a midsized luxury 75 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: sedan or a full sized luxury car, but you get 76 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: the idea, like, these are the classifications that came out 77 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: of the United States e p A, which is the 78 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: Environmental Protection Agency, and it defines these specific classes of cars. 79 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: So you know, a car fits these based upon specs 80 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: that the e p A drew up. And typically the 81 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: e p A uses the interior vaul lume of a 82 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: car to determine its classification. So you could theoretically have 83 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: a really big car has very small interior volume, and 84 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: arguably you could say it's not a large car, even 85 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,160 Speaker 1: though the exterior would be quite large. But that's how 86 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:22,360 Speaker 1: e PA defines size for vehicles. Anyway, the car companies. 87 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: Oh and by the way, that applies to cars, I'm 88 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: not talking in that sense about things like SUVs and trucks. 89 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: That's that's slightly different. But I had to you know, 90 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: draw the lines. I can actually talk about the bad cars. 91 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: So anyway, car companies would market subcompact cars as being 92 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 1: more economical in their fuel consumption. Because you gotta remember 93 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: this is after the seventies where we had some oil 94 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: crises that drove up cost of gasoline. There were gas 95 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: shortages around the United States and the seventies, So the 96 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: cars of the past, which were real gas guzzlers, you know, 97 00:05:57,720 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: we're talking about some cars that would get less than 98 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: ten miles to the gallon. That was looked at as 99 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: being a seriously bad and wasteful thing by the time 100 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: you get to the late seventies in the early eighties, 101 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: so there was this move towards economy having cars that 102 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:19,480 Speaker 1: are less uh, you know, of a gas guzzler. So 103 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: it wasn't always the case that subcompact cars actually were 104 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: that economical, but that's how they were marketed. The American 105 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: companies were rushing into the design of subcombat cars because 106 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: foreign car companies were gaining ground in North America and 107 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: the American companies suddenly found themselves facing serious competition from overseas. 108 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: So for decades, the American car companies were sitting pretty 109 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: in the United States. You know, we had foreign cars 110 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,479 Speaker 1: being imported into the country, but they weren't on a 111 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: very large scale. It was only when you started seeing 112 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 1: more German and Japanese cars coming in that the American 113 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: car companies started to get a little nervous. So Ford 114 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 1: cut the development time for the Pinto nearly in half 115 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 1: compared to their normal process. And this was in an 116 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: effort to stave off the growing threat of foreign cars 117 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: and to establish an American subcompact vehicle. So when the 118 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: Pinto debuted, you saw this two door car and it 119 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: had an enclosed trunk. But a hatchback version of the 120 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: Pinto followed shortly thereafter. And you know, originally there wasn't 121 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: that much criticism about the Pinto. Some people complained about 122 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: the brakes a little bit, some people complained about the suspension, 123 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: But what would really seal the deal for the Pinto 124 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: would be its fuel tank. So Ford had designed the 125 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: Pinto to have a rear mounted fuel tank, and it 126 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: sat nestled between the car's rear axle, which is where 127 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: the rear tires attach, and the rear bumper, so sandwich 128 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: between these two components in the car and um At 129 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: the time, the US government had really focused on front 130 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: end collisions when it came to forming safety regulations because 131 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: the seven late seventies was also when the United States 132 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: was starting to say, you know, we probably need to 133 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: have some regulations in place to protect drivers on the 134 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: road that car companies have to meet these specifications if 135 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: their cars are going to be sold in our country. 136 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: So that had mostly focused on the front end collision 137 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: side of things at this point in history, and therefore 138 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 1: they didn't really take a look at the back end 139 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: and what might happen with a rear collision. And the 140 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: fuel tank location meant that if someone driving a Pinto 141 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: were to get rear ended by another car, there was 142 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: a very real possibility that the fuel tank would be 143 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: damaged potentially ruptured that in turn presented a serious fire hazard. 144 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: The Pinto didn't have any significant crumple zone in the 145 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,560 Speaker 1: back of it. So if you collide at a good 146 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:03,680 Speaker 1: clock of speed and you know, we're talking about more 147 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: than ten miles per hour, certainly, if it was more 148 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: than thirty miles per hour, you're looking at a real 149 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: potential to have a ruptured fuel tank. And there were 150 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: cases of collisions in which people were you know, badly 151 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: injured or even died from burns, and it's undeniably horrible. Now, 152 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: I should also add that the reputation of the Pinto 153 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: was also due to a few sensational articles that may 154 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: have inflated numbers to make it seem like the Pinto 155 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 1: was even worse than what it really was. Not that 156 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: it wasn't bad. I don't think you could really argue 157 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: that it was, you know, good, but rather that the 158 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: reputation the Pinto received was worse than what it was merited. Uh. 159 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,439 Speaker 1: And there's also this story about a famous cost benefit 160 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:55,319 Speaker 1: analysis memo, and depending upon whom you ask, that cost 161 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: benefit analysis memo either showed that Ford had callous leaking 162 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: included that if they fixed the problem, it would be 163 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: more expensive than just paying off the lawsuits that would 164 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: come up, so instead they just said, we'll just deal 165 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: with lawsuits. That's one telling of that memo. Uh Or 166 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: it was more like it was saying the likelihood of 167 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: a tragic accident was no greater than for the average 168 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: vehicle of especially of that size. Still, this was bad 169 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: enough for the Pinto to show up on a lot 170 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,439 Speaker 1: of these worst Car lists, and Ford was pressured to 171 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: recall one and a half million Pinto's and Mercury Bobcats, 172 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: which were essentially the same car. In Okay, let's switch gears, 173 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: so to speak, and talk about a different car. This 174 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: one's called the Trabant, or sometimes the Trabby. This one 175 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: came out of what was at the time East Germany, 176 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: and quick history lesson for all you young uns out there. 177 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 1: Once upon a time, after World War Two, Germany was 178 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: split into two nations, who had East Germany and West 179 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,959 Speaker 1: german Many. East Germany was a communist country, essentially an 180 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: extension of the then Soviet Union. So East Germany began 181 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: producing the Trabant back in the late nineteen fifties, and 182 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,440 Speaker 1: while there would be a few models produced over the 183 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,480 Speaker 1: decades of production, the actual design of the car remained 184 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: almost identical. So in other words, like if you were 185 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 1: to look at a Trabant that was made in the 186 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: late fifties and one that was made in the early eighties. 187 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: You probably wouldn't be able to tell that there were 188 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: very many differences. They were essentially the same. In some ways. 189 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:34,120 Speaker 1: That makes things easy because replacement parts are going to 190 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: be plentiful. I mean, presumably that will be compatible across 191 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: multiple models. But it also shows, let's say, a lack 192 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: of evolution and innovation. It was a tiny two door car, 193 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: and the Trabant's body was made from a material called 194 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: dero plast, and this is a fiber reinforced plastic, so 195 00:11:55,400 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 1: kind of like fiberglass. Typically the fibers in dero last 196 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: work cotton or sometimes wool, so these were cars that had, 197 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: you know, sometimes cotton reinforced plastic bodies. One issue with 198 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 1: this was that the process of shaping and curing the plastic, 199 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: called thermo setting, is an irreversible process. So you start 200 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:20,840 Speaker 1: off with a polymer that's in a liquid format, and 201 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,680 Speaker 1: you can pour this liquid into say a mold. Then 202 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 1: you can subject that mold to you know, heat and 203 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 1: high pressure, and the liquid polymer cures and it hardens 204 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: into shape. But you cannot do the same process in reverse. 205 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: Once it's hardened into shape, it's locked there, so you 206 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 1: can't just you know, heat it up and melt it 207 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: back down into a reusable format. So that makes makes 208 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: the tribun a bit of a pain to deal with. 209 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 1: When they reached the end of their useful life cycle, 210 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 1: which for some of these vehicles appeared to be shortly 211 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 1: after they rolled off the assembly line, eventually people figured 212 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 1: out how to shred the car bodies and use that 213 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: material as aggregate for concrete production. And there's some stories 214 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:07,959 Speaker 1: that say that pigs found deer o plastic delicious. Uh, 215 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: those maybe urban legends, and I would probably treat it 216 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 1: as you know, being such and not taking that as gospel, 217 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 1: But there are so many articles out there that just 218 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,320 Speaker 1: casually present that as fact. It's just when you do 219 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:25,599 Speaker 1: some digging you find out there are any like reliable 220 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: reports on it. Anyway, the car ran on a mixture 221 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 1: of oil and gas, so you sort of refuel the trabant, 222 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:33,719 Speaker 1: you would actually have to open up the hood of 223 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: the car. There was no like, you know, gas tank 224 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: that you could access outside the car. You had to 225 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: open the hood so expose the engine and then it 226 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:45,360 Speaker 1: had a little fuel tank at the top of the 227 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: the engine blocks. You would open that up and you 228 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 1: would pour in a mixture of oil and gas into 229 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: the two stroke engine and then close it back up 230 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 1: and shut the hood. There was also no fuel gauge, 231 00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,960 Speaker 1: so there was no way to tell from behind the 232 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 1: wheel how much fuel you actually had, so if you 233 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: wanted to check and see how much fuel you had, 234 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: you had to stop the car. You had to pop 235 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: the hood, open up the fuel tank, and use a 236 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: dipstick to check the fuel level. So not super convenient. 237 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:19,240 Speaker 1: The Trabant was famous for being notoriously unreliable and smelly. 238 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: It would produce a lot of exhaust, like visible exhaust, 239 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: like you were rolling coal every time you drove a Trabant. 240 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: And it was also very loud. It was the engine 241 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: was loud, and it was allowed experience to ride in one. 242 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: It was also really slow. I saw one video in 243 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: which an owner of one of these said he had 244 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 1: only coaxed a Trabant up to a maximum off on 245 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: flat road. Uh, he got a little faster if he 246 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: was going down a hill, but on flat road fifty 247 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 1: five was where it maxed out. And also that the car, 248 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: you know, handles pretty poorly. It had no interior signal indicator, 249 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: and so the turn signal was a bit of a 250 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: thing because if you turned the turn signal on and 251 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: then you made a turn, it would not automatically reset. 252 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: You had to manually turn off the turn signal. But 253 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: there was no indicator inside the car that the turn 254 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 1: signal was on, so you know, if you didn't remember 255 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:14,960 Speaker 1: to do it yourself, you'd be irritating everyone behind you 256 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: as they just start yelling go ahead and turn already. 257 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 1: So in other words, it was just a lousy car. 258 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: But it was also the only game in town if 259 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 1: you were in East Germany pretty much because you know, 260 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: it was a state owned operation. So to get a 261 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: Trabant East German citizens actually had to submit an application 262 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 1: and the wait time could be up to a decade 263 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: or longer. So it was a really crappy car and 264 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: you had to wait ten years before you had a 265 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 1: chance to own one. When the Berlin Wall came down, 266 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 1: there were stories of people from former East Germany who 267 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: came straight over to West Germany and then they abandoned 268 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: their old Trabant cars while getting you know, any other 269 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 1: car that they could uh. The Trabants are pretty rare 270 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: these days, especially in the United States, but some collectors 271 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: do seek him out because I don't know why, because 272 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: they're weird. We have a lot more bad cars to 273 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: talk about, but first let's take a quick break. It's 274 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,160 Speaker 1: time for us to talk about an American business man 275 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: named Malcolm Brooklyn, responsible for several cars that pop up 276 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: on worst Car lists. And he's had a really long 277 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: career and mostly focused in the automotive industry after he 278 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: made some serious bank in the hardware business. And it's 279 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 1: a career. March was some pretty big peaks and big valleys. 280 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 1: So it's not like it's just failure. I mean he's 281 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: he's he's been behind some big success stories too. So 282 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 1: let's talk about one of the flops. This one is 283 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 1: the s V one. Now, before the SV one, Brooklyn 284 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: had co founded uh Subaru of America. You know, there 285 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: was the existing Subaru company, but he created or co 286 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:03,640 Speaker 1: founded the American division of Subaru. And he did this 287 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty eight, and they imported the Subaru three sixty. Now, 288 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,879 Speaker 1: this little vehicle looked a lot like a Volkswagen Beetle, 289 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: and in fact, the suber Ut three sixty also shows 290 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: up in a lot of worst car lists. That's not 291 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: what we're talking about here, though. Anyway, the three sixty 292 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 1: got some scathing reviews for its performance in various safety tests. 293 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 1: It was named one of the most unsafe vehicles that 294 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,720 Speaker 1: were available. And this was right around that time when 295 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:34,360 Speaker 1: the US government was mulling over regulations that would force 296 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: the automotive industry to adopt new safety measures in car design. 297 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: So Malcolm Brooklyn saw the writing on the wall and 298 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: decided to go all in on safety. So in nineteen 299 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: seventy one, Brooklyn created a car company called General Vehicles, 300 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,600 Speaker 1: which you know, sounds a little bit like General Motors, weird. 301 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: His idea was to create a two seater car kind 302 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 1: of similar to a sports car like the Corvette, and 303 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,520 Speaker 1: this one would have goal wing doors. You know, so 304 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:04,200 Speaker 1: those are the doors that you know, they they open 305 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: upward similar to another car that's gonna show up in 306 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: this episode. That's a spoiler. I mean, I'm sure everyone 307 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,920 Speaker 1: here knows what car I'm talking about. And uh, this 308 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: sp one would also have a steel frame chassis complete 309 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: with a rollover protective structure so it would protect passengers 310 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:26,399 Speaker 1: should the car be flipped over onto its you know, back, 311 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,879 Speaker 1: and it had or top I guess. It had front 312 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 1: and rear bumpers that were pretty chunky. They extended out 313 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:35,440 Speaker 1: a good ways from the car, but they would also 314 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: protect the car to a point where the you know. 315 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 1: Brickland said, his company said, really that any collision up 316 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:44,919 Speaker 1: to ten miles per hour would have no damage to 317 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: the bumpers. The car would resist that damage because of 318 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: this design. D SP one would have an enclosed fuel 319 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 1: tank and reinforced side panels for the doors. It would 320 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: have no ashtray and no cigarette lighter. Brick And himself 321 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: was a former smoker, and he thought that smoking in 322 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: cars was dangerous. I happened to agree with him, and 323 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: so he said, yeah, we're just not gonna have it now. Granted, 324 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 1: people would could eventually buy an SV one and potentially 325 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: have an aftermarket thing put in, but that's beside the point. 326 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 1: The body was made from an acrylic resin bonded to 327 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 1: fiberglass that ended up being a really huge hassle. Early 328 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 1: versions of the car had problems with the acrylic blistering 329 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,199 Speaker 1: and required a total overhaul of the process. It was 330 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,439 Speaker 1: supposed to be a super safe sports car, and the 331 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,399 Speaker 1: s V in fact stood for Safety Vehicle see I 332 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,919 Speaker 1: told you went all in. Brickland was anticipating many of 333 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:44,639 Speaker 1: the changes that the US government would ultimately impose on 334 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: the automotive industry. He was ahead of the game, so 335 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: the SV one was truly a car that was ahead 336 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: of its time. Now, while General Vehicles had its headquarters 337 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:57,200 Speaker 1: in America, the cars themselves would be manufactured in St. 338 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:02,240 Speaker 1: John in New Brunswick, Canada. So Brooklyn was looking around 339 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 1: to find a place to you know, manufacture these vehicles, 340 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: and he was looking for places that would have the 341 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 1: government assistance and incentives in order to get things going. 342 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:15,240 Speaker 1: The idea being that the company would provide you know, 343 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,959 Speaker 1: more than a hundred well paying jobs in a region 344 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:23,240 Speaker 1: in Canada that was struggling with unemployment problems. It appears 345 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: as though the Canadian government was under the impression that 346 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,560 Speaker 1: the money was going to go straight to production, like 347 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: in other words, everything else was ready to go, we 348 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,680 Speaker 1: just need to start making these cars. But in fact, 349 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,119 Speaker 1: the SV one's design was not yet complete, so a 350 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,119 Speaker 1: lot of the initial money actually went into engineering and 351 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:46,679 Speaker 1: development to work out kinks in the design. So like 352 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,040 Speaker 1: they knew what they wanted the card to be like 353 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:50,960 Speaker 1: but they had to find a way to make it 354 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 1: be that way. Right, You have to test all those 355 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: ideas and reality and make sure they actually work. Now, 356 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 1: that would mean that Brooklyn would actually have to seek 357 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:02,199 Speaker 1: additional funding as the project went on because he was 358 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,399 Speaker 1: still working out the bugs in the in the design 359 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,280 Speaker 1: and couldn't go right into production. The car would end 360 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 1: up being a pretty hefty one. The doors alone weighed 361 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,680 Speaker 1: around ninety pounds each. Now they had a hydraulic system 362 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:17,479 Speaker 1: attached to them, at least the initial ones did. Uh. 363 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: That did mean, however, that if the hydraulic system failed, 364 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,439 Speaker 1: you would have to lift those cars manually. Uh. And 365 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: the doors were slow as well, even when they were working, 366 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: so if the weather was bad and meant you would 367 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 1: be left standing out or then sitting in the rain 368 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 1: or snow or whatever for several seconds because the car 369 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: door takes a while to open and close. It also 370 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: meant that the V eight engine that powered the vehicle 371 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:44,639 Speaker 1: really had to push hard to meet the demand of 372 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,560 Speaker 1: moving such a heavy car, and Brocklyn had problems and 373 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,480 Speaker 1: that he was buying his engines from the American Motor 374 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 1: Company and there was a dispute between General Vehicles and 375 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: American Motor Company, and eventually it saw his initial order 376 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:04,480 Speaker 1: drastically reduced. Now what caused that division is a matter 377 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 1: of debate. If you were to ask Brooklyn, he was 378 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: said that he was told AMC didn't want to hurt 379 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 1: their own car sales by supplying engines to a competitor, 380 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: essentially saying, your car is so good that if we 381 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: give you engines, people will buy your car. They won't 382 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 1: buy our car. However, if you ask other people, you 383 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:26,119 Speaker 1: might hear that Brooklyn was talking some smack about a 384 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: m C and that that soured the deal. At any rate, 385 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,800 Speaker 1: he would get around MC engines, and it was the 386 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 1: three eight to be precise, He would have to get 387 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:40,159 Speaker 1: other engines for future SV one cars. The problems that 388 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 1: Brooklyn encounter meant that the cost of production kept going 389 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: up UH and that internment that the company was going 390 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: to have to hike up the suggested price for the 391 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: SV one in order to compensate for the fact that 392 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: it was costing so much to produce. Initially, the price 393 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 1: was supposed to be four thousand dollars for an s 394 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: V one UH. The nineteen version that eventually came out 395 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: more than doubled that to nine thousand, nine eighty five dollars, 396 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 1: and okay, that sounds like nothing for a car these days, 397 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:13,440 Speaker 1: But then we have to remember we're talking about the 398 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 1: mid nineteen seventies here, so if we adju for inflation, 399 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:21,639 Speaker 1: that nine thousand dollars is closer to fifty one thousand 400 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,600 Speaker 1: dollars today. It was way more expensive than comparable cars 401 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 1: at the time, and no amount of safety features were 402 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:31,560 Speaker 1: likely to win people over to it. So why did 403 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,239 Speaker 1: it end up getting so expensive? Well, not only was 404 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:37,919 Speaker 1: there the quality issues that they had to solve, the 405 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:43,399 Speaker 1: Canadian policy for workers meant that, you know, Brookland was 406 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 1: hurt as well. See, Canada had this policy that if 407 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,240 Speaker 1: you worked at a job for at least ten weeks, 408 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,119 Speaker 1: you could then quit that job and you would be 409 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: eligible for unemployment benefits. So there were a lot of 410 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 1: workers who just decided to leave their job rather than 411 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 1: continue to work for General Vehicles and admitt that. The 412 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,800 Speaker 1: company had to deal with a lot of turnover, and 413 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: they had to do a lot of recruiting and a 414 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,360 Speaker 1: lot of training, so that drove the price up a lot. 415 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:13,439 Speaker 1: The company needed more loans from the government to stay afloat. 416 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 1: But by then the Canadian government kind of wanted to 417 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: get a little distance. It was politically disadvantageous to be 418 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,879 Speaker 1: connected to General Vehicles. The car was being seen as 419 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: a as a money pit, and the government had already 420 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 1: invested millions of dollars in the SV one, So they 421 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:33,119 Speaker 1: called it quits. And so, after producing just around three 422 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:37,399 Speaker 1: thousand vehicles, the company General Vehicles closed up shop and 423 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:39,960 Speaker 1: the SV one was no more. So. I think a 424 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: lot of folks include this on the worst Cars of 425 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 1: All time lists. Not because the vehicle stuff had enormous flaws. 426 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:51,439 Speaker 1: I mean, it did have some, but it wasn't a limon, 427 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,400 Speaker 1: but rather it was because that whole process ultimately led 428 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:59,280 Speaker 1: to a car company going out of business. But I 429 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,440 Speaker 1: mentioned just now, you know, I alluded to the fact 430 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,680 Speaker 1: that going doors were going to play another part in 431 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,160 Speaker 1: in an in another vehicle will jump right to that one. 432 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 1: And this is a famous one. It's one that a 433 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,159 Speaker 1: lot of people know about. We're talking about the DeLorean 434 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,440 Speaker 1: d m C twelve. This is, of course, the car 435 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:18,679 Speaker 1: made famous by the Back to the Future movies. I 436 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,119 Speaker 1: remember seeing the first Back to the Future film in 437 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:26,159 Speaker 1: the theater in and thinking that car looks super cool. 438 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,680 Speaker 1: But I had never heard of a DeLorean before I 439 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,880 Speaker 1: grew up in rural Georgia. No one had a DeLorean here. 440 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: And I've actually done a full episode about Deloreans in 441 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: the past. So I'm going to give you the cliffs 442 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:41,400 Speaker 1: notes version of the DeLorean story. The whole story, by 443 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,200 Speaker 1: the way, it's absolutely fascinating. We just don't have time 444 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: to dive into the whole thing here. So John DeLorean, 445 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: who is one of the more colorful characters who had 446 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,879 Speaker 1: been involved in the automotive history history. He was an 447 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 1: executive with General Motors, but then he left that company 448 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:02,040 Speaker 1: and founded the DeLorean Motor Company in the mid nineteen seventies. 449 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,520 Speaker 1: So Brickland's s V one, which remember that one came 450 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:10,280 Speaker 1: out in the seventies, had going doors. And there was 451 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 1: another similarity between the s V one and then the 452 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,119 Speaker 1: DeLorean d m C twelve. And that's the fact that 453 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:20,640 Speaker 1: John DeLorean also shopped around to find a place where 454 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:24,639 Speaker 1: he could, you know, establish a manufacturing facility, and he 455 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,359 Speaker 1: was looking for a government that would provide incentives to 456 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 1: allow him to do that, so like tax breaks and 457 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: government assistants, and that kind of thing. So for the 458 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,879 Speaker 1: SV one that ended up being Canada. For the DeLorean 459 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:39,800 Speaker 1: it ended up being Northern Ireland on the outskirts of Belfast. 460 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:42,919 Speaker 1: The d m C twelve was to be a pretty 461 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: odd car, and not just because of the going doors. 462 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:50,000 Speaker 1: The body panels were made of brushed stainless steel and 463 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,960 Speaker 1: they rolled out of the factory unpainted, so the classic 464 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: DeLorean has that stainless steel look to it. Now some 465 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,639 Speaker 1: people would later go and get a hate job for 466 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: their vehicles, but standard was unpainted stainless steel. Curiously, Dolorean 467 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:10,719 Speaker 1: picked a very weedy engine for the DMC twelve. It 468 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,639 Speaker 1: was a V six that was capable of just a 469 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:16,320 Speaker 1: hundred thirty horsepower. For a car that was styled like 470 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: a sports car and a chunky sports car at that, 471 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:24,360 Speaker 1: that wasn't very much power, and in fact, during test drives, 472 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:27,280 Speaker 1: drivers found that the car's acceleration left a lot to 473 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: be desired. It could take up to ten seconds to 474 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,800 Speaker 1: reach sixty miles per hour, that is not fast for 475 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 1: a sports car, and its top speed was around a 476 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,760 Speaker 1: hundred nine miles per hour. The car is definitely striking 477 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:42,199 Speaker 1: to look at, I mean it is it is a 478 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 1: cool looking car, and it might have been a modest success, 479 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,440 Speaker 1: and it may have even allowed the company to continue 480 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,400 Speaker 1: making more vehicles besides the d m C twelve, except 481 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: that the path from establishing the company to actually producing 482 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,400 Speaker 1: the first vehicles was a really rough one for DeLorean. 483 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 1: A lot of the employees at the manufacturing facility had 484 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: little to no experience in manufacturing in general, let alone 485 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,879 Speaker 1: in the automotive manufacturing industry. There were a lot of 486 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: errors in production that ended up being very costly. There 487 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:17,280 Speaker 1: were supply chain issues, and all of this drove the 488 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:20,040 Speaker 1: cost of production up. Sounds very familiar, right, It's just 489 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 1: like the s V one, And this meant that, like 490 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 1: the SV one, DeLorean had to jack up the sales 491 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,480 Speaker 1: price for the DeLorean in order to compensate for that expense. 492 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: By the time the cars were ready to be sold 493 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,880 Speaker 1: in nine, which was a couple of years behind schedule, 494 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,000 Speaker 1: they came in with the price tag of twenty five 495 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. So if we had just that for inflation, 496 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: that would make the DMC twelve a seventy five thousand, 497 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 1: five hundred dollar car, or thereabouts. That's how much it 498 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,200 Speaker 1: would cost you to buy a DMC twelve for a 499 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: comparable amount of money if they were, you know, hitting 500 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,680 Speaker 1: the road today for a car that looks like a 501 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,360 Speaker 1: sports car but doesn't drive like a sports car, that 502 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: is an astronomical price. DeLorean didn't produce as many vehicles 503 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 1: as the company had projected. In the two years that 504 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 1: had actually made cars, it fell short of production goals 505 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 1: and it was hard to sell them at that exorbitant Brice. 506 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,960 Speaker 1: The DeLorean Motor Company went out of business in three 507 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 1: whole years before Back to the Future would come out. 508 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 1: And like I said, I had never even heard of 509 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 1: Deloreans before the movie came out. Also, knowing what I 510 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:32,520 Speaker 1: know now, when Doc Brown talks about getting up to 511 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:34,760 Speaker 1: eighty eight miles per hour, I think he was being 512 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 1: really generous over how much time it would take to 513 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 1: achieve that speed. Anyway, because of the failure of the 514 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,640 Speaker 1: DMC twelve, the DeLorean Motor Company never got a chance 515 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:49,440 Speaker 1: to make another model of vehicle. All right, we've got 516 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 1: some more bad cars to talk about, but let's take 517 00:29:52,360 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 1: another quick break. Okay, I was talking about Brooklyn before 518 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: the break. You know, he was the one behind the 519 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:09,480 Speaker 1: SV one and uh you know also the SUPERHU North America. 520 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: And since we were talking about him, let's mention another 521 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,880 Speaker 1: infamous car that he's associated with. This time, this is 522 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 1: not a car that he developed. It's one that his 523 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:23,840 Speaker 1: team discovered in an effort to find the quote cheapest 524 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:27,400 Speaker 1: car in the world end quote. This was because car 525 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,760 Speaker 1: prices in America this would be in the early mid 526 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties. Um, We're skyrocketing, largely due to inflation, and 527 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,040 Speaker 1: there were a growing number of Americans who found themselves 528 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:43,000 Speaker 1: priced out of buying a car. Brooklyn saw an opportunity 529 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: to cater to those potential customers if he could just 530 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:48,640 Speaker 1: find a car that was cheap enough, and that car 531 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 1: would be drumroll, please the You Go. Now, before I 532 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,800 Speaker 1: jump into talking about the UGO, I want to mention 533 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,240 Speaker 1: that these lists are so darned subjective that I come 534 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:04,680 Speaker 1: across disagreements in them when I was researching this episode. UH. 535 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:09,480 Speaker 1: The Edmonds list in UH includes the seven You Go 536 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:12,600 Speaker 1: as its fourth worst car in a list of fifty. 537 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:17,200 Speaker 1: Time dot Com didn't rank its list, but the Night 538 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:20,800 Speaker 1: five You Go is on that one. UH. The website 539 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: The Drive lists it as number six on its top 540 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:27,360 Speaker 1: ten worst cars of all time. Goliath lists it at 541 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,840 Speaker 1: number two, in case you're wondering they gave the Ford 542 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,240 Speaker 1: pinto the number one spot. Also, Triple A has it 543 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:39,040 Speaker 1: on a list of worst cars, as does motor Biscuit. 544 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 1: The website motor Biscuit that puts The Night You Go 545 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:47,480 Speaker 1: at number twelve. However, Riley at ottawise dot com lists 546 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:50,760 Speaker 1: it as a car that's been judged unfairly. So I 547 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:56,600 Speaker 1: guess you're mileage may vary pun intended. So let's walk 548 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 1: through the complicated story of the You Go. And it 549 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: starts not in the part of the world where we 550 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:05,800 Speaker 1: used to call it, you know, Yugoslavia. Instead it starts 551 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:10,400 Speaker 1: in Italy. So the company Fiat created an economical family 552 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:13,400 Speaker 1: car called the Fiat one, and then they had a variation, 553 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 1: the Fiat one seven, that would serve as the starting 554 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,040 Speaker 1: point for the UGO, which was a little bit shorter 555 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,840 Speaker 1: in length than the already tiny Fiat was. A car 556 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:28,520 Speaker 1: company called Zastava Automobiles secured the rights to produce a 557 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:32,479 Speaker 1: version of this vehicle, which the company marketed as the Coral. 558 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,680 Speaker 1: It's a k O R A L. Or It's how 559 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 1: Rick says his son's name, and the walking dead anyway, 560 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: it was a subcompact hatchback and it was in fact 561 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:49,200 Speaker 1: very very cheap. Brookland's team reported back, and Malcolm leapt 562 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 1: into action, and the story gets complicated, but ultimately began 563 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:57,240 Speaker 1: importing the Coral and changed the model name to you 564 00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 1: Go and marketed it as an ultra budget car. In 565 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:04,200 Speaker 1: the United States. This was in and the you Go 566 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:08,000 Speaker 1: was an odd car. One of the standard features advertised 567 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,760 Speaker 1: for the vehicle was carpeted interiors, which I guess tells 568 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 1: you about the luxuries you could expect with a UGO, 569 00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:16,800 Speaker 1: and I mean it was a budget car, no one 570 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:21,200 Speaker 1: was really expecting much. Also, the early models had an 571 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:23,800 Speaker 1: engine that put out a measly fifty five horse power 572 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:27,200 Speaker 1: that was still an improvement over the Eastern European version 573 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:30,680 Speaker 1: that topped out at forty horse power. That engine could 574 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 1: push the tiny you Go up to about eighty six 575 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:35,960 Speaker 1: miles per hour as its top speed, and this made 576 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:39,360 Speaker 1: the you Go the car with the lowest top speed 577 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:42,880 Speaker 1: sold in the United States at that time. Dealers would 578 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:46,640 Speaker 1: sell the car for around four thousand dollars. This was 579 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,040 Speaker 1: about twice what they paid when they were buying the 580 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:52,560 Speaker 1: car's wholesale from Eastern Europe. The car had a reputation 581 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,920 Speaker 1: for being unreliable, though folks like Otto wise Is Riley 582 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:58,480 Speaker 1: say that that was largely an issue with people just 583 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:03,480 Speaker 1: failing to maintain their cars properly. Consumer Reports was less kind. 584 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:08,320 Speaker 1: They called the UGO the barely assembled bag of nuts 585 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:12,120 Speaker 1: and bolts, which is a big yikes. Honestly, most of 586 00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:16,480 Speaker 1: what I found sites issues with the manufacturing processes, so 587 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:19,480 Speaker 1: it's good to remember these cars were built in a 588 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:24,480 Speaker 1: then communist country and the manufacturing facility was not a 589 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,840 Speaker 1: top of the line plant. To put it kindly, Uh, 590 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:30,840 Speaker 1: there were real issues not just with the quality of 591 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:34,799 Speaker 1: the plan itself, but also there was not a real 592 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,200 Speaker 1: motivated workforce there. There were stories of like people drinking 593 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:40,880 Speaker 1: on the job and such. Turns out, if you're drinking 594 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:44,680 Speaker 1: a lot, high precision assembly line work is probably not 595 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:49,879 Speaker 1: the best combo there. Anyway, there's a widespread joke that 596 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:54,120 Speaker 1: the UGO had a rear window to froster, not because 597 00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:57,480 Speaker 1: you need to clear off ice off the back windshield, 598 00:34:57,800 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: but rather it was there so that you could keep 599 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:02,200 Speaker 1: your hand ends warm while you push the car after 600 00:35:02,239 --> 00:35:05,040 Speaker 1: it would inevitably break down. I know that It's a 601 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:09,200 Speaker 1: widespread joke because it showed up in nearly every article 602 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:11,880 Speaker 1: that mentioned the Ugo as one of the worst cars 603 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:16,480 Speaker 1: of all time. It's a joke that's been used a lot. Now, 604 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,400 Speaker 1: next up on our list is an entry that really 605 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 1: hurts because it was a car that I genuinely thought 606 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:25,400 Speaker 1: looked super cool. I really like this car when it 607 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:31,080 Speaker 1: first premiered, and it is the Plymouth Prowler. This car 608 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,720 Speaker 1: showed up on a couple of lists for the worst 609 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:37,279 Speaker 1: cars of all time, and I can kind of understand why, 610 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:41,359 Speaker 1: but I still think the car looked awesome. Alright. So 611 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:45,880 Speaker 1: it's the nineteen nineties and Chrysler was creating some really 612 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:50,080 Speaker 1: sexy cars. For example, they their Dodge division created the Viper, 613 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:53,759 Speaker 1: which was a super sexy sports car that really good 614 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:59,240 Speaker 1: acceleration and speed and abysmal fuel economy, like no fuel economy. 615 00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:03,120 Speaker 1: Now that that thing consumed gas sitting in the garage. 616 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:06,120 Speaker 1: It was not meant for daily driving. It was meant to, 617 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:12,640 Speaker 1: you know, impress people. Essentially, the Plymouth division, which historically 618 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:15,320 Speaker 1: was meant to produce cars for the low price market, 619 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:19,200 Speaker 1: later re emerged to be a brand that was meant 620 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:22,320 Speaker 1: to appeal to a youth market. Well, they dipped into 621 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:27,680 Speaker 1: a seriously retro design to propose the Prowler, and the 622 00:36:27,719 --> 00:36:32,440 Speaker 1: Prowler hearkened back to hot rods of the thirties, forties, fifties, 623 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:37,560 Speaker 1: and sixties and had sleek, curved lines, uh, open front 624 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:40,719 Speaker 1: wheels like there were a little bumperrets that were over 625 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:42,879 Speaker 1: the tops of the wheels, but otherwise the wheels were 626 00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:46,359 Speaker 1: open in the front, had a raped windshield. Uh, the 627 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:50,200 Speaker 1: hood narrowed to a sort of pointed curve in the front. 628 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:53,560 Speaker 1: A lot of folks thought the whole thing was really outlandish. 629 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:59,000 Speaker 1: I thought it looked gorgeous. Like reading over some of 630 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:02,200 Speaker 1: the critiques blows my mind because I thought this car 631 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:07,160 Speaker 1: looked amazing. However, despite having a hot rod exterior, what 632 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:09,280 Speaker 1: was going on under the hood was a different matter. 633 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:11,920 Speaker 1: The Prowler's engine was a three and a half liter 634 00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:16,200 Speaker 1: V six with two horsepower. That engine could push the 635 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:18,719 Speaker 1: Prowler to an acceleration of zero to sixty miles an 636 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:22,680 Speaker 1: hour at around seven point two seconds. That's just not 637 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 1: super duper impressive. It's not the worst. I mean, there 638 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:28,319 Speaker 1: are other cars on this list that have, you know, 639 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:34,600 Speaker 1: worse acceleration, but it's not impressive. Top speed maxed out 640 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,239 Speaker 1: at around a hundred fifteen miles per hour, still, you know, 641 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:41,640 Speaker 1: not like super crazy for a hot rod. And Plymouth 642 00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:46,080 Speaker 1: only made automatic transmission versions of the Prowler, so that 643 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:49,440 Speaker 1: meant you couldn't have a manual transmission and peel rubber 644 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:53,399 Speaker 1: and pretend like you're racing for papers because you only 645 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:56,920 Speaker 1: could use an automatic, So the performance of the Prowler 646 00:37:57,239 --> 00:38:00,560 Speaker 1: couldn't live up to the style of the exterior. Plymouth 647 00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:03,320 Speaker 1: was using a lot of parts that were originally designed 648 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:05,880 Speaker 1: for other Chrysler vehicles. This was a kind of a 649 00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:09,920 Speaker 1: cost saving measure, so like the steering rack, the suspension, 650 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:13,439 Speaker 1: the engine and more, we're all kind of leftovers from 651 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:18,120 Speaker 1: other Chrysler models. The Prowler failed to find a place 652 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:21,400 Speaker 1: in the automotive market. Curiously, two of the lists I 653 00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:26,800 Speaker 1: found both have very similar criticisms, namely that the Prowler 654 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:29,800 Speaker 1: was a concept that looked great on a computer screen, 655 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 1: but it was just not as impressive in person. Now, 656 00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:36,440 Speaker 1: I'm not saying that one or both of the people 657 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:41,760 Speaker 1: who wrote those lists copied someone, but I will say 658 00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:46,720 Speaker 1: that whenever the two lists had the same car listed, 659 00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:54,520 Speaker 1: the wording was not identical, just really similar. I'm not 660 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:57,600 Speaker 1: going to name them, but I will say like I 661 00:38:57,719 --> 00:39:00,439 Speaker 1: since there's some plagiarism going on in this world, which 662 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:02,960 Speaker 1: is why I tried to pull from so many different sources, 663 00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:05,799 Speaker 1: because I didn't want to get like a list that 664 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:08,600 Speaker 1: someone made that was considered to be definitive and everyone 665 00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:13,600 Speaker 1: else just copied it. Anyway. Ultimately, the Chrysler slash Plymouth 666 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:17,200 Speaker 1: Company produced fewer than twelve thousand of these cars. Chrysler 667 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,520 Speaker 1: would rebrand it. It was the Plymouth Prowler for a while, 668 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:23,919 Speaker 1: but then it became the Chrysler Prowler. Um. It's still 669 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:26,680 Speaker 1: a car that would love to tool around in, particularly 670 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:29,080 Speaker 1: if I could find one in the original purple paint job, 671 00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:33,960 Speaker 1: which I really liked. Some lists also include the PT Cruiser, 672 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:35,480 Speaker 1: by the way, is one of the worst cars of 673 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:38,040 Speaker 1: all time. In many ways, the PT Cruiser was a 674 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:41,200 Speaker 1: kind of spiritual sister car to the Plymouth Prowlers, also 675 00:39:41,239 --> 00:39:44,560 Speaker 1: meant to appeal to the youth crowd. UM. I like 676 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:46,800 Speaker 1: the look of the PT Cruiser as well, but I've 677 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:50,360 Speaker 1: also heard that it has a pretty significant blind spot, 678 00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:54,319 Speaker 1: so it does have its own drawbacks. But it didn't 679 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:56,319 Speaker 1: feel like it was enough for me to you know, 680 00:39:56,640 --> 00:40:01,400 Speaker 1: included on this list. Will do one more for this. 681 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:03,560 Speaker 1: I've actually got a few more, So maybe I'll do 682 00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:06,240 Speaker 1: a part two and talk about a few other cars, 683 00:40:06,239 --> 00:40:09,680 Speaker 1: because there's no shortage of cars that people have listed 684 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:11,560 Speaker 1: as being one of the worst of all time. As 685 00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:16,080 Speaker 1: I said, that's very subjective question, so we can probably 686 00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:20,359 Speaker 1: do a part two of this. But you know, three 687 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:22,880 Speaker 1: of the lists that I looked at included a British 688 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:26,000 Speaker 1: car called the Reliant Robin. Now I'm gonna stay up 689 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:29,919 Speaker 1: front that I imagine a really big reason that these 690 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:33,839 Speaker 1: lists included that particular car is that there was a 691 00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:38,480 Speaker 1: famous segment on the very popular show top Gear that 692 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:40,799 Speaker 1: made the Robin look like it would spend more time 693 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:43,759 Speaker 1: flipped over on its side than it would upright on 694 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:48,719 Speaker 1: its wheels. Also, it only had three wheels, so as 695 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:51,560 Speaker 1: a three wheeled car, the one wheel in the front 696 00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:54,239 Speaker 1: was used for steering and the two wheels in the 697 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,720 Speaker 1: back would drive the vehicle. That's where the power train 698 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:00,600 Speaker 1: would deliver the power. So the engine was mounted in 699 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:03,600 Speaker 1: the front. It was not a rear mounted engine, so 700 00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:07,520 Speaker 1: not like the old Volkswagen Beetle engines. In the front 701 00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:11,000 Speaker 1: of the car, but it's the drive train provides power 702 00:41:11,040 --> 00:41:15,200 Speaker 1: to the rear wheels. I looked at all that was 703 00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:18,880 Speaker 1: said about the Reliant Robin and all of those lists 704 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:22,440 Speaker 1: said that had a reliable tendency to tip over if 705 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,560 Speaker 1: you moved into a turn it to hide our higher 706 00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:29,080 Speaker 1: rate of speed. Like they all repeated this um. They 707 00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,480 Speaker 1: also said if you went through a particularly tight curve 708 00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:34,480 Speaker 1: in the road you were, you were going to potentially 709 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:38,600 Speaker 1: tip over. And this is what viewers saw if they 710 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:41,319 Speaker 1: watched that episode of Top Gear. The car tipped over 711 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:46,879 Speaker 1: multiple times in that segment of that episode. However, later on, 712 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:50,799 Speaker 1: the host admitted that his production team had re engineered 713 00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:55,680 Speaker 1: the differential on the Reliant Robin so that it would 714 00:41:55,840 --> 00:41:58,759 Speaker 1: tip over more readily. In other words, they engineered it 715 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:01,560 Speaker 1: so that it would perform orm in a specific way, 716 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:05,480 Speaker 1: that is to become unbalanced and fall over, you know, 717 00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:10,000 Speaker 1: for the camera. So while the car appeared to be 718 00:42:10,080 --> 00:42:12,960 Speaker 1: as steady as a domino on a waterbed during this 719 00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:16,920 Speaker 1: television segment, that was not necessarily a fair reflection of 720 00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:20,279 Speaker 1: its performance for the average driver. But why would a 721 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:23,440 Speaker 1: UK car company even make a three wheeled car in 722 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:26,399 Speaker 1: the first place. Why would you go that way? Well, 723 00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:29,360 Speaker 1: the answer to that kind of boils down to taxes. 724 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:34,399 Speaker 1: So by making the Robin a three wheeled vehicle, and 725 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:37,360 Speaker 1: by building the body of the car out of fiberglass 726 00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:42,360 Speaker 1: so that the weight would not be too great, Reliant 727 00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:48,240 Speaker 1: was able to have the Robin classified as a motorcycle 728 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:52,719 Speaker 1: while still marketing it as a car. So motorcycles in 729 00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:55,520 Speaker 1: the UK were the subject of a different and less 730 00:42:55,520 --> 00:43:00,000 Speaker 1: expensive tax than cars were, so you didn't have to 731 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:05,120 Speaker 1: spend as much tax to buy a motorcycle, and that 732 00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:08,719 Speaker 1: meant the three wheeled cars were slightly more affordable than 733 00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:11,600 Speaker 1: the four wheeled versions because their price tag didn't climb 734 00:43:11,640 --> 00:43:15,040 Speaker 1: as higher as high due to higher taxes. But when 735 00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:19,200 Speaker 1: I say affordable, I don't necessarily mean cheap. They cost 736 00:43:19,239 --> 00:43:21,800 Speaker 1: around uh well, when they came out around eight hundred 737 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:25,440 Speaker 1: pounds when they first came out of that would be 738 00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:29,840 Speaker 1: around eight hundred pounds today, which is around say eleven grand. 739 00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:33,920 Speaker 1: They were also more economical when it came to fuel consumption. 740 00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:37,080 Speaker 1: Found sites that said you could go up to around 741 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:42,359 Speaker 1: sixty to sixty four miles per gallon on Robin. That's 742 00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:47,040 Speaker 1: really impressive. The engine was very modest. The original Robbins 743 00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:49,800 Speaker 1: boasted an engine that had an output of just thirty 744 00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:53,880 Speaker 1: three horsepower. It took nearly fifteen seconds to coax a 745 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,520 Speaker 1: Robin to get up to sixty miles per hour. Not 746 00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:58,520 Speaker 1: that I'm convinced that would have ever been a good 747 00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:01,240 Speaker 1: idea in the first place, because even though they weren't 748 00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:06,040 Speaker 1: as prone to tipping over as was depicted, they still 749 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:10,320 Speaker 1: could Anyway, I feel like the Robbins inclusion on lists 750 00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:13,480 Speaker 1: is largely due to that top gear piece. I mean, 751 00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:17,680 Speaker 1: sure it was not a speedster, had a very small capacity. 752 00:44:17,719 --> 00:44:20,080 Speaker 1: You couldn't carry very much in it, but it would 753 00:44:20,080 --> 00:44:23,480 Speaker 1: also serve just fine while puttering around like a small 754 00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:26,040 Speaker 1: English town as long as you know you weren't taking 755 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:29,640 Speaker 1: corners like Mario and Dretti. So I feel like that 756 00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:33,799 Speaker 1: one has uh an unearned reputation, or at least only 757 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:36,600 Speaker 1: partly earned reputation, for being one of the worst cars 758 00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:40,520 Speaker 1: of all time. All Right, we've run out of time ourselves. 759 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:42,239 Speaker 1: I do have a couple more cars that I was 760 00:44:42,239 --> 00:44:45,200 Speaker 1: going to talk about, but I'll save those and we'll 761 00:44:45,239 --> 00:44:47,800 Speaker 1: do a part two on this in the near future, 762 00:44:47,920 --> 00:44:51,399 Speaker 1: and we'll talk about some more cars that for one reason. 763 00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:54,560 Speaker 1: Another people have singled out to say this was a 764 00:44:54,640 --> 00:44:57,200 Speaker 1: really bad one. Uh, it would be great to kind 765 00:44:57,200 --> 00:45:02,520 Speaker 1: of focus on some that have had ooriously atrocious fuel economy, 766 00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:06,800 Speaker 1: for example, particularly cars in the seventies when the oil 767 00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:10,720 Speaker 1: crisis made that sort of thing even more of a problem. 768 00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:13,840 Speaker 1: But we'll save that for the next episode. If you 769 00:45:13,880 --> 00:45:16,280 Speaker 1: have suggestions for topics I should cover in future episodes, 770 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:18,440 Speaker 1: please reach out to me. The best way to do 771 00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:21,040 Speaker 1: that is on Twitter. The handle for the show is 772 00:45:21,239 --> 00:45:25,080 Speaker 1: text Stuff hs W and I'll talk to you again, 773 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:34,120 Speaker 1: really sick. Text Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. 774 00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:37,160 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I 775 00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:40,520 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 776 00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:41,480 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.