Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Chevy Vega, worst American car of all time?

I would have to say that the Ford Pinto was worse.
Vega

I think its neck and neck!

LOL

what about the cavalier?

No props for the Chevette?

Too bad the two morons at the end had to turn it into a political soapbox.

I owned both a Vega and a Pinto as a young man. The Pinto was purely awful. Enough said. The Vega handled well but that damn aluminum block 4 cylinder burned oil like crazy.

Two weekends, a hooker headers conversion kit, chevy 327 V8 and a turbo 400 automatic transmission made that Vega shine! Unbelievable change of character! The only problem was finding replacement spider gears for the stock rear axle...

V8 Vegas still have a cult following of sorts.

My brother had owned both a pinto & vega when he was in college. The vega blew up, he got motor from the dealer, it blew up again. He was forever having problems with it, including electrical & RUST.

He got the pinto after just 'cause it was cheap as dirt. I recall he paid $300. It lasted him 2-1/2 years. Awful, yes, but it did the job.

I also knew an a-hole in HS that came back from getting a dis-honorable discharge from the army. He rolled into town in a V-8 pinto - Royal Blue. I never rode in it, but those little cars with V-8s would really MOVE. First time I saw it, I thought, "what a d***. Put nice paint & wide tires on a pinto. Then it took off....

No one mentioned a Maverick or Fairmont? The 4 cyl/auto Citation fell apart around you has you drove it, like that mopar Omni/Horizon, which set out to be a domestic "lowest cost of production" champ, and it proudly (?) reflected that. The early Chevy IIs with the two speed automatic were worse than the Vega in that regard and in handling.

There are lots of contenders between crappy by design, horrible build quality, and that bonanza of both at once.

V8 Vegas? What's not to like about that power to weight and adaptability of old Detroit powertrains? Did anyone try a 9" Ford rear end with those?

I'm getting in on this thread pretty late but I'd have to vote the Vega worse than the Pinto. I worked for Ford when the Pinto came out. You could get a 1600CC motor (English) or 2000CC (German) one. The 1600 could really purr and even though it was a pushrod motor, it always felt smoother than the overhead cam 2000CC. Either way, I think they were both better than the Vega's bothersome engine. In 1974 you could get the 2800CC V6 that went into the Mustang II which made it alot more sporty although you could only get an auto trans with that motor. As far as V8 transplants, there were more than a few small block Pintos running around. If looks is important, today maybe it's a draw but at the time, I thought the Pinto was better looking.

By the way, "of all time" goes back quite a ways - like over 100 years. There were probably cars we never heard of that were worse than the Vega.
Karl