6 Worst Cars of the 21st Century


 

Even though the 21st century has already become the century of advanced technologies and scientific breakthroughs, even such an advanced industry as the automotive industry is not immune from failures. Sometimes the balance fails, sometimes the designer’s taste changes, and sometimes everything happens together. 

If you want to buy or lease a car, you should pay attention to the different features of the vehicle, Sometimes, it can be quite difficult to shoes the right car. That’s why we have gathered these 6 worst cars to help you avoid them. 

6. Smart Roadster (2003–2006)

At first, this car was not considered a failure at all. On the contrary, its production volumes were twice as large as planned. But soon countless warranty recalls began, which cost Smart, which was already not in the best condition, almost 3,000 euros per car. 

Considering that the margin on the sports Roadster, to maintain an acceptable price, was set at only 1%, it soon became clear: something had to be sacrificed so as not to slide into a financial abyss. Without spending money on fine-tuning the model, they decided to simply discontinue it.

5. Lancia Thesis (2002–2009)

When creating the Lancia-Tesis business sedan, the Fiat group spared no expense. Faith in Italian design (after all, a prototype model called “Dialogos” was presented to the Vatican) was great. It would be logical to use the Alfa Romeo 166 platform for the new product, but preference was given to the original chassis with multi-link aluminum suspensions. 

The investment amounted to 405 million euros, but they expected to quickly recoup it by selling up to 25 thousand cars annually. More or less large customers turned out to be only Italian government agencies and taxi drivers, to whom “Thesis” was sold at a large discount. And after the attempt to pass off Chrysler models as Italian failed, the famous brand itself with more than 100 years of history will become a thing of the past.

4. Acura ZDX (2009–2013)

Acura, Honda's luxury division, was fiercely jealous of the success of the BMW X6. The Bavarians were the first to take a risk and, as it turned out, won by introducing a five-door all-terrain luxury coupe to the market. The Japanese decided to follow them, but things didn’t work out for them. American buyers didn’t notice the new product. The MDX crossover with a more traditional design sold 15 times better. 

If we talk about its direct competitor - the BMW-X6, then even at a much higher price, even in the best years for the ZDX, it outsold it twice as much. And all because Acura buyers don’t need either a BMW or the strange ZDX. It turns out that you need to study the tastes of your clients better - then you won’t have to be upset about unsuccessful experiments.

3. Lincoln Blackwood (2001–2002)

At the turn of 1990–2000, America was swept by a crazy fashion for pickup trucks, turning them into an element of urban chic. Immediately they began to say that luxury brands would now roll out something pickup-like. The first to decide was Lincoln, whose Blackwood concept had been shown in Detroit a couple of years earlier and seemed to catch the eye of the public. But it quickly became clear that there weren’t that many people willing to buy a black (no other colors were offered) monster in a single version for 52.5 thousand dollars. 

The original practicality of the pickup truck in Blackwood was reduced to zero. The cargo platform has been converted into a luxurious chest with a servo-operated lid, finished in ebony on the outside and lined with stainless steel on the inside. Only rear-wheel drive was left. That is, this pickup truck can only be used to show off - it was not suitable for anything else. The outcome is natural - the last cars were sold at a large discount.

2. Saab 9-4X (2011)

The bankruptcy of the Swedish company, which was abandoned by General Motors just a year earlier, put an end to the Saab crossover, which had been incubated for several years. The car was born in pain. The first option, based on the Subaru-Tribeca, was practically brought to the assembly line, but then the American concern ceded its share in Subaru to the Japanese Toyota. The joint project was frozen to reorient it after some time to the Cadillac-SRX platform. Then they sold off the Saab itself, but the Americans did not refuse to cooperate with its new owner, the Dutch Spiker. 

The first 9-4X crossovers rolled off the assembly line of the Mexican General Motors plant in the summer of 2011, but a few months later the Saab owners wanted to sell their recent acquisition to the Chinese Yangman group. Fearing that the latest developments would float away, GM stopped licensing the Swedes. As a result, both the new 9-5 sedan and the barely launched 9-4X crossover became history, without even having time to show themselves on the market.

1. Aston Martin Cygnet (2011–2013)

By 2012, the English manufacturer of supercars urgently needed to reduce the average emissions of toxic substances across its model range, otherwise, a fine could not be avoided. An unusual solution was found - to introduce a tiny car with minimal toxicity into the program so that its excellent performance would help reduce the arithmetic average. There is no time to create a car from scratch - they took a ready-made Toyota iQ and disguised it as an Aston with generous restyling and rich finishing. 

It was planned to sell no less than 4,000 Cygnets a year, limiting sales at first: the new product was available only to existing Aston Martin buyers as a second car. But all these precautions were useless. Over two years of production, only one and a half hundred people agreed to pay triple the price of a Toyota for essentially the same car, only slightly modified in Britain.

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