Worst of the Worst

A Yahoo! article on the worst cars of the decade lists the following ten vehicles:

10. Pontiac Aztek
Scares away small children

9. Daewoo Anything
Later rebadged as Chevrolets and touted the slogan, "American Revolution."

8. Isuzu VehiCROSS
Yeah... Just say no.

7. Jaguar X-Type
The Ford Mondeo is a pretty decent car.

6. Pontiac Sunfire
So unremarkable I can't think of anything to say about it.

5. Cadillac Catera
Certainly doesn't look like a Cadillac. Probably because it's an Opel Omega. At least the Jaguar X-Type looked like a Jaguar.

4. Toyota Echo
Zzzzzzz

3. Jeep Compass
The only Jeep one should ever buy is the Wrangler, and only if it will never be used except in off-road situations.

2. Chrysler Sebring
For rental fleet use.

1. Smart ForTwo
Really, the worst car of the decade is the Smart? I mean, it's an ancient design from the mid-'90s and it doesn't handle at all but for all intents and purposes doesn't it do what it's meant to do?

I mean, I can think of plenty of cars that I think are worse. The Dodge Nitro, for instance, was the ugliest car of the decade, if not the ugliest car ever. That is, until Kia came round with the Soul, which is so ugly it is offensive.

Other lackluster cars include the Ford Thunderbird (Motor Trend 2002 Car of the Year), Chrysler PT Cruiser (Motor Trend 2001 Car of the Year), and Lincoln LS (Motor Trend 2000 Car of the Year). I'm not really sure what "trend" Motor Trend is talking about.

While we're on the topic, let's have a look at the list of cars they've chosen over the years. I can't help but notice the number of cars that make me think, "how much do I NOT want that car?"

Chrysler Cirrus? Cirrusly?

AMC/Renault Alliance?

In fact I'm surprised that most of the cars on the list were able to win given that they actually test for performance. I can't imagine that a Lincoln Town Car or a Dodge Caravan doing particularly well.