The classic British roadster conjures many stereotyped thoughts in the minds of automotive aficionados. Think for a moment of a cool Clint Eastwood motoring around Carmel in his Jaguar XK-150 in “Play Misty For Me.” On the other hand, there are those who would point out that you probably would never see Clint bent under … Continue reading »
Category Archives: Great Auto Failures
1980s / 1990s / BMW / German / Great Auto Failures
Great Automotive Failures: BMW Z1
The BMW Z1 raised a few eyebrows at its 1986 press debut. The Bavarian company had not produced a proper roadster in decades, but the Z1 wasn’t exactly ordinary. The unique (if not bizarre) styling was by Harm Lagaay, who designed some far less weird Porsches in his day. With slide-away doors and the stripped-down … Continue reading »
1990s / British / Caterham / English / Great Auto Failures
Great Automotive Failures: Caterham 21
The Lotus 7 has long been a living legend in the sports car world. Since its debut in 1957, Colin Chapman’s diminutive roadster has been one of the gold-standards by which automotive agility and sheer driving pleasure is judged against. By 1973, Lotus sold off the rights to manufacture the design to their primary distributor, … Continue reading »
1960s / 1970s / German / Great Auto Failures / Volkswagen
Great Automotive Failures: Volkswagen 411/412
>The Volkswagen Type 4 was arguably the earliest whispers of the company’s trend to move into more up-market segments. Despite intentions by VW to find a possible replacement to the Type 1 Beetle with the Type 3, the Beetle still sold strongly on its reputation as an economical, reliable, and affordable car. The Type 3 … Continue reading »
Great Automotive Failures: the Mercedes-Benz w168 A-Class
The Mercedes-Benz w168 A-Class created a big buzz in the press months before its launch in 1997. this was understandable; After all, it was the first front-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz and it was that firm’s first venture into the relatively new compact minivan market, not to mention one of the first luxury offerings in that market. … Continue reading »
>Great Automotive Failures: Alfa 6.
> Let me start this off by saying that I absolutely adore Alfas and that the Alfa 6 was an amazing car. The equipment level offered was phenomenal, driving it was splendid and the built quality was great. So what went wrong? In 1960s Alfa was looking to replace its flagship 2600 series and borrowed … Continue reading »
1980s / 1990s / American / Chrysler / Great Auto Failures / Italian / Maserati / United States
Great Automotive Failures: The Chrysler TC by Maserati
> Mention the name “K-car” to anyone familiar with automobiles and it will likely conjure thoughts of maroon colored 1980’s Chrysler sedans with hopelessly tacky velour interiors and engines with more tappet noise and oil smoke than a German submarine. But there was more to Chrysler’s “K” platform than that. Lest we forget, allow me … Continue reading »
>Great Automotive Failures: Alfa Romeo Alfasud.
> If you drove an Alfa Romeo in the 1960s, it was a beautifully-designed and technologically-advanced masterpiece of a car that would turn heads whereever you went, even in Italy. This all changed when the Italian government (who owned Alfa Romeo at the time) decided to open up a factory at Pomigliano d’Arco outside of … Continue reading »
1960s / 1970s / German / Great Auto Failures / NSU
Great Automotive Failures: The NSU Ro80
> NSU pioneered use of the Wankel / rotary engine in production automobiles when it released the Prinz Sport based Spider in 1964. While the rotary was certainly a major advancement in engine technology, NSU hadn’t quite worked all of the proverbial bugs out of it. Therefore, the Spider became one of he most infamous … Continue reading »
>Great Automotive Failures: The DeLorean DMC-12.
> In 1973, 48 year old John Z. DeLorean had “a better than even-odds change of one day being president” of General Motors. With a yearly income of $650,000, he was one of the highest paid executives in the world. But on April 1st, 1973, he threw all of that out of the Fourteenth Floor … Continue reading »
