New vehicles are normally years in development – a painstaking process involving design clinics, focus groups, and numerous other meetings. Yet, despite all that effort, some truly awful cars still manage to make it past the boardroom and onto the showroom floor, leaving us to wonder how so many people could have possibly said “yes” along the way. We’re looking at you, Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet.
Whether it’s baffling styling, dismal performance, or a complete misunderstanding of what buyers actually want, these misfires remind us that even the biggest automakers can sometimes lose the plot.
Of course, being terrible doesn’t always equate to being a market failure. Take the original Volkswagen Beetle, for instance. Hopelessly outdated by modern standards, the car somehow was still rolling off assembly lines up until 2003. But the cars on this list weren’t so lucky. Their manufacturers wisely – and mercifully – put them out to pasture before they could embarrass themselves any further.
Let’s be honest – some of these cars are way worse than others. But we’ve chosen to rank them alphabetically by manufacturer, not by sheer disaster level. We’ll leave it up to you to decide which one truly earns the crown of biggest automotive fail. Feel free to argue in the comments below.
Cadillac Cimarron
Lasted Seven Years
The Cadillac Cimarron – launched in the US for the 1982 model year – is the poster child for everything that was wrong with badge engineering. Take a Chevrolet Cavalier, slap on a few gold trim pieces, and call it a Cadillac – what could possibly go wrong? Apparently, everything. It was supposed to be a compact luxury car, but under the hood it had the same puny engine as the Cavalier, and the suspension barely got a nod of attention.
Inside, the materials were cheap, the cabin cramped, and any sense of Cadillac refinement was purely imaginary – leaving buyers wondering why they spent so much for so little. Critics roasted it, loyalists groaned, and Cadillac wouldn’t revisit the compact segment until two decades later with the BLS, which wasn’t offered in North America. Talk about leaving a bad taste in the mouth.
Chevrolet SSR
Lasted Four Years
After the Chrysler PT Cruiser proved a retro hit – going on to sell around 1.3 million units worldwide by the time production finally would up – Bob Lutz, its champion during his Chrysler days, tried to repeat the magic at GM in 2001 with quirky vehicles like the Chevrolet SSR and HHR.
The SSR came first. Launched for the 2003 model year, it was a bizarre lovechild of a roadster and a pickup truck, sprinkled with a retro design that probably only appeals to Roger Rabbit. It did pack a V8 borrowed from the Corvette, but that didn’t magically fix the underlying problem: it was neither a convincing sports car nor a useful truck.
GM pulled the plug in 2006, and dealers were still trying to clear unsold SSRs from inventory for years afterward. Some cars are meant to be remembered… others, like the SSR, are probably best forgotten.
Dodge La Femme
Lasted Two Years
The Dodge La Femme – launched for the 1955 model year – was Chrysler’s rather patronizing attempt to court female buyers. Based on the Dodge Custom Royal Lancer, it came in a pink-on-white two-tone paint job its first year and an equally unsubtle orchid combination the next. Inside, things got worse – buyers could revel in a red or pink interior adorned with floral seat patterns: roses in 1955 and lavender in 1956.
To really drive home the point, Dodge thoughtfully included a matching purse, raincoat, and accessories like a cigarette case, makeup kit, and even free lipstick. The whole thing sounds like a scene straight out of Mad Men, where a group of male executives after a boozy lunch decide that what women really wanted in a car was… more pink.
Ford EcoSport
Lasted Five Years
The Ford EcoSport hit American shores for the 2018 model year as automakers discovered that every man and his dog wanted a crossover, even in the subcompact segment. But its arrival here was years after it had already been tooling around streets in emerging markets like India and Brazil, which it was originally designed for.
Tiny, underpowered, and not exactly comfortable due to suspension tuning designed to handle rough roads, it felt like a cheap rental from a prior decade and never really made sense in the land of Super Duty trucks and massive drive-thrus. It also suffered from supply issues and awkward pricing that placed it too close to the larger, more capable Escape.
As a result, reviewers rated it poorly, sales sputtered, and by 2022, Ford quietly axed it without a successor – no national mourning required.
Infiniti QX30
Lasted Three Years
The Infiniti QX30, launched in the US for the 2017 model year, was Infiniti’s bid to tap into the booming crossover market. Based on the original Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, which was a hit in small car-loving Europe, the QX30 somehow felt cheaper and less refined than its German twin. Infiniti tweaked the suspension and steering for a sportier feel, aiming to attract younger buyers – but it mostly alienated the older customers who actually bought such vehicles.
Though the QX30 and GLA shared the same underpinnings, they were built in separate plants: the QX30 rolled out of Nissan’s Sunderland factory in the UK, and after just a few short years, production ended, largely due to Infiniti’s withdrawal from the European market in 2020.
Lincoln Blackwood
Lasted One Year
In the late 1990s, Ford found success with the original Lincoln Navigator – basically a Ford Expedition in a tuxedo. So, naturally, the automaker wondered, “Why not do the same with the F-150?” Enter the 2002 Lincoln Blackwood, a luxury pickup born from equal parts ambition and confusion.
Designers seemed torn between making a plush ride and a usable truck, and the Blackwood landed somewhere awkwardly in the middle. It wasn’t much more refined than a regular F-150, and instead of a normal bed, Lincoln carpeted it and decorated the sides with aluminum pinstripes over fake burled black wood – because, of course.
Yet somehow, over 3,300 were sold, likely thanks to dealers practically giving them away. Ford tried again with the Lincoln Mark LT, before finally deciding the simplest formula worked best: charge more for an F-150 and call it Platinum.
Mercedes-Benz X-Class
Lasted Three Years
Much like the Lincoln Blackwood above, the Mercedes-Benz X-Class – launched in 2017 and never sold in the US – proved that luxury and pickup trucks don’t always mix. Mercedes essentially took a capable workhorse, the Nissan NP300 Navara, added some chrome and a three-pointed star, and called it a day.
The market wasn’t fooled. Serious truck buyers didn’t want a fancy badge, and traditional Mercedes customers certainly didn’t want a pickup, especially one built in a Nissan plant. Many details fell short, too. The X-Class debuted with a pair of underwhelming Nissan diesels, only gaining a proper Mercedes engine in its second year. The interior looked and felt cheap, and to top it off, it had just a single front cupholder – one barely deep enough to keep a drink upright under braking.
Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet
Lasted Four Years
The Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet is a rare case of a car that seems to exist purely to make people ask, “Why?” Launched for the 2011 model year while Carlos Ghosn was running the show, the Murano CC attempted to blend the practicality of an SUV with the open-air fun of a soft-top, but the result was awkward, heavy, and completely unappealing.
Its roof mechanism added weight and reduced rigidity, leaving the handling floppy and the ride far from enjoyable. But the styling was its worst trait, with a tall, bulky silhouette that made anyone driving it with the top down look like Tom Thumb, and an interior that felt cramped for a vehicle of its size.
Despite being a flop, the Murano CC arguably started a trend that saw automakers like Land Rover and Volkswagen also offer drop-top SUVs.
Pontiac Aztek
Lasted Five Years
No list of awful cars would be complete without the Pontiac Aztek. Launched for the 2001 model year, the Aztek’s design was so terrible that the crossover became the butt of jokes and even today is still recognized as ugly by people with little knowledge of cars.
It appears as though different sections were designed by multiple people, each with no knowledge of what the others were doing. What’s worse is that Pontiac previewed the design with a concept that wasn’t half-bad. While the production model had some redeeming qualities – a spacious interior, flexible cargo options, and even an optional camping package – its styling completely overshadowed them. Buyers were confused, critics were merciless, and sales tanked.
Subaru Baja
Lasted Four Years
The Subaru Baja, launched for the 2003 model year, has a way of turning heads today – in the same way that you can’t drive past a wreck without a lingering glance. But that’s not the only reason it failed. While small trucks like the Ford Maverick are strong sellers in 2025, compact pickups – especially those built on car platforms – were a tougher sell back then, when roads weren’t so crowded and gas was cheaper.
The cargo bed was tiny, the shape awkward, and the interior cramped. Was the Baja ahead of its time, or just a failed experiment? While we can’t be 100 percent sure, it’s a pretty safe bet that if something like it launched today, it would still flop. It was that bad.
Sources: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Pontiac, Subaru
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