Earlier this week, I asked readers what was the biggest disappointment in car history. The comments were flooded with a deluge of dreams never fulfilled or cut too short. There were several General Motors models that were discounted far too soon. There were several highly anticipated cars that didn’t live up to expectations or never even reached showrooms. No automaker went uncriticized. Without further ado, here are your biggest disappointments in car history.
Chevy Volt. The way GM talked it up you’d think Elon was their CEO. They made claims that you could drive it home, and then plug it in to your house and it would power your whole home.
What we got was a small, slow, car that could barely go 30 miles on electric range that they killed after 8 years.
Submitted by: Saywhaaaat12
And they never put that drivetrain in an Equinox or Trax to try and amortize the development costs. They could have had a Rav4 Prime competitor years before Toyota.
Submitted by: Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
From a storied brand with interiors full of wood and leather to the modern reinterpretation with stunning interiors that had them earnestly back in the conversation 5-10 years ago, to... Nothing. No stunning interiors. No XJ. An XF and XE that were canceled for North America and stripped of power and charm for the rest of the world. An E-Pace that is actually decent to drive but why would you spend your own money on it over something else? And, an F-Pace that’s just awkward to look at.
Oh, and an I-Pace that’s supposed to be the vanguard of Jaguar’s EV revolution and is already horribly out-of-date from a tech standpoint.
So yeah, Jaguar. At this point, all of ‘em. Glad I got an XF Sportbrake while the getting was still good.
Submitted by: xequar
Does vaporware count? If so, then Elio. What started out as a promised sub $10k commuter car that was going to be sold and serviced at Pep-Boys, has ballooned into a $15k electric vehicle that nobody has driven and nobody has seen. I used to see Elio stickers on cars that had reservation numbers. I worked with a few people who were “all in”.
Now, ten+ years later, the Elio is as absent as the Moller SkyCar.
Submitted by: Half Man Half Bear Half Pig
To answer the headline as-written, my biggest disappointment was a test drive of a new (I believe 2019) Subaru outback. Before the test drive, the missus and I both thought were were inclined to buy it as her daily family hauler. Everything about the first few minutes of the test drive was just a huge disappointment. The two biggest deal-breakers were (i) the touch screen to control everything and everything (which also knocked Volvo out of consideration), and (ii) utterly under-powered. Gas pedal to the floor from green light, and the think could barely keep up with panel vans, taxis, and other junk on the highway. The Outback lacked any passing power.
Submitted by: endosymbiont
The last model year of almost anything General Motors makes. They always fix it and/or make the best version of it, then kill it off.
Submitted by: Sideways the Seven
I’m looking at you, Pontiac Fiero!
Submitted by: Serolf Divad
One thing came to mind right away. Lots of GM stuff in here already, so I’ll contribute one more:
GM canceled the Camaro.
Twice.
The first time, it almost made sense. GM spent quite a lot of time making decent powertrains but wrapping them in uninspiring crap. They kinda did it to themselves. Just look at it! It’s big and boaty. Over-hangs the size of a k-car. Many of them covering up pretty great Corvette powertrains. Le sigh.
The second time? They’ve refreshed it enough over the last generation and a bit to arrive at a vehicle that’s an absolutely brilliant track car, quite good to drive in general, and actually looks good! You might not be able to see out of it, but it looks good.
It should be as popular as the Mustang, but it’s being GM’d instead.
Submitted by: dolsh
The rumors that there was a RWD Mazda 6 with a straight-6 engine in the works, which eventually came to naught, just as we all knew in our hearts that it would.
It’s my own fault, really, because I allowed myself to dream.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to sobbing quietly while driving my grey-scale FWD box on wheels.
Submitted by: Earthbound Misfit I
God yes. Not only that, but also teasing us with the achingly gorgeous RX-Vision only to abandon it are tops for me within recent history. But hey, at least they now have 5 SUVs to choose from.
Submitted by: Hankel_Wankel
Submitted by: Fritz O’ The Ham
Yes, the comment was just a picture of a Prowler. Ten out of ten. No notes.
Spot on with this one. Absolutely radical style, great colors, and even a wacky trailer! Why would they then pair it with a wimpy V6 (from the Dodge Stratus, I think?) and a ponderous 4-speed auto?!
I still kinda want one, though. A Chevy SSR, too.
Submitted by: Give Me Tacos or Give Me Death
The funny thing is - that engine made 10 less HP than their V8 at the time (50 less tq, I think), and weighed FAR less than the V8 - it was actually the better choice till the Hemi came out much later.
Submitted by: Lopoetve
The Monaro GTO - what, you think I’m gonna launch into a diatribe about the styling? Hell no, I’m perfectly down with the looks, I’m happy they didn’t do some cartoonish retro thing. We just didn’t get them new in Canada, so there are virtually none available, no certainly not at a reasonable price (see also G8 GXP, and Chevrolet SS).
Submitted by: Maymar
As a former 04 GTO owner, I can see why people found it disappointing from a naming perspective. It didn’t really have anything in common with the old GTO, and I think it was a mistake to call it that, but it was/is a fantastic car.
Submitted by: WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAthenGTInowA4
They’ve had so long to turn themselves around and be competitive. And while they were never really my style they used to have legitimate competitors and some cool cars, but they’ve followed their parent company in being the cheap choice on old platforms for like a decade now.
Submitted by: savethemanualsbmw335ix
This! I remember when Infiniti finally got on a roll in the early aughts with an awesome lineup of desirable cars - the G35, which forced BMW to step up its game with the e90 3 series, the FX35/45, one of the few sporty SUVs that could run toe-to-toe with the Cayenne for a fraction of the price, and the gangster M45, adapted from the JDM Nissan Gloria. They somehow lost their momentum around 10 years ago and their lineup now consists of mostly 10 year old designs (will the QX80 and Q50/60 ever be updated)? and two Nissan-based crossovers that are decent enough but not as competitive as offerings from Lexus and Acura, let alone the German competitors.
My guess is that they had to divert funds to Nissan which is still having trouble capturing more market share to this day. As someone who grew up with 90's Maximas in the household, it makes me sad to see how far both Nissan and Infiniti have fallen.
Submitted by: oddseth
I’m going more on quality with this one. We all know the disappointment that was the decline in quality of Mercedes vehicles starting in the late 90's. I’d say the first generation of the W211 E-class really exemplified this, with pervasive issues with the balance shaft, a new brake by wire system that didn’t work (MB retrofit a conventional hydraulic system on existing cars) and an interior that wore out much more quickly than previous generations... To make things worse, Mercedes was convinced that they needed to make this car more appealing to younger customers by making the ride firmer and handling sportier. Thing is, E-class buyers are some of the most loyal Mercedes customers, and this car caused many to completely abandon the brand for Lexus and others. By the time they got the car sorted in mid 2006 (my father has an ‘08, and it’s a great car), the damage had been done. It took years (and a separation from Chrysler) to put the brand in a better place.
Submitted by: Adam
for me it was the 2008 WRX. Back in 2001 when the first WRX made it to the states, it was rally looking with big fog lights and box flare fenders. It made 227hp in a time that Camrys and Accords made 190-200. Fast forward to 2008 and the Camry makes 269, the Altima 260, the Accord 240. And the 2008 WRX releases looking more boring than a corolla, with only 224hp, heavier, slower, softer, and less efficient. They even made the seats less bolstered to make room for fat Americans. I owned a 2002 WRX at the time and was waiting for the 2008. I gave up on subaru and the WRX after that. The WRX has never caught back up to the competition the way it was positioned in 2002.
Submitted by: boneheadotto
Alfa 4C. It looks like it should be the ultimate sports car. Yet between the transmission not being a manual and the terrible steering it was a let down.
Submitted by: klone121
Should have been the Italian Elise, but the lack of a manual transmission killed that idea.
Submitted by: Serolf Divad
The FORD MUSTANG MACH-E
I am disappointed because the Mustang Moniker should have been left out - Just call it the FORD Mach-E and they would have avoided all the hate for using Mustang in the name.
Submitted by: klurejr
Yeah, it got my hopes up that we’d finally get an EV pony car, or at least something fun, instead of yet another one of those things.
Submitted by: Ben Grimm