Contents
Overview
Since the production of America’s first performance car in 1951. Many automakers started making such high-performance vehicles in the form of sports cars, and muscle cars and these vehicles even came with luxury. America has produced many great performance vehicles over the years and there are a few vehicles that failed to impress with their performance. Here is a list of 10 such classic American vehicles that are worst with the performance. This list is sourced by Hotcars.
1. Pontiac Turbo Trans Am
This vehicle comes with a 4.9-liter V8 engine that can make a power output of 210 hp. Paired to either a 4-speed automatic or a 6-speed Borg-Warner manual transmission this vehicle can accelerate from 0-60mph in under 5 seconds. The second generation of this vehicle come into production at the wrong time during the US energy crisis this vehicle did not last long with performance issues.
2. Ford Mustang II
The second generation Ford Mustang was produced from 1973 to 1978. This vehicle comes with three different engine options a 2.3 L Lima I4, 2.8 L Cologne V6, 4.9 L Windsor V8. This is the only mustang ever to get bad reviews, the V8 was equipped just to be in the competition. The underpowered V8 can accelerate from 0-60 in 9.6 seconds and can cover a quarter mile distance in 17.5 sec at a speed of 78 mph.
3. Pontiac Fiero
This vehicle has two engine options 2.5 L LR8 I4 and 2.8 L L44 V6. The straight four made a power of 92 hp and the V6 made 140 hp. These vehicles had 3-speed THM-125 automatic, 4-speed Muncie manual, 5-speed Getrag 282 manual, 5-speed Isuzu manual transmissions and were really slow and unreliable but gave the highest fuel economies.
4. AMC Gremlin
This subcompact car made its debut in 1970. And over 671,475 were sold till 1978. These vehicles come with various engine options like 1,984 cc VW EA831 I4, 3,258 cc AMC 199 I6, 3,801 cc AMC 232 I6, 4,230 cc AMC 258 I6, 4,978 cc AMC 304 V8. These engines were very much underpowered and the V8 made just over 150hp.
5. Ford Pinto
This subcompact car initially came into the market in 1971. But the initial planning of the vehicle began in 1967. The first five years of production this vehicle equipped with a straight four-cylinder engine with changes in displacement and power of the engine. Later the company introduced a V6 engine which is not economical and powerful so discontinued in 1980.
6. Chevrolet Corvette 305 ‘California’
With the federal emissions requirements coming into the act in the 1970s many American vehicles especially muscle cars faced issues. This special edition vehicle equipped a V8 that produces just 180 hp. And with the three-speed automatic transmission, it took ages to accelerate from 0-60mph.
7. Cadillac Fleetwood V8-6-4
V8-6-4 is the engine produced by Cadillac in 1981. This engine is known for its unreliable electronics, fuel consumption, and frequent repairs. The Cadillac Fleetwood came with this engine and made 180 hp. Even the four-cylinder and six-cylinder modes did not manage to give a good power output.
8. Chevrolet Camaro ‘Iron Duke’
1982 Camaro came with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder “Iron Duke” that produced just 90 horsepower and 130 lb-ft of torque. Coupled with a three-speed automatic or 4-speed manual transmission, this vehicle took more than 20 sec to accelerate from 0-60mph. But it gave the highest fuel economy and fewer emissions.
9. Dodge Challenger
The second-generation Challenger which was based on the Mitsubishi Galant Lambda came with a 1.6 L or a 2.6 L inline-4 cylinder engine instead of the slant-6 and V8 engines. The 1.6L engine produced a power output of 77hp and the 2.6 L produced 105 hp. These engines are coupled to a 5-speed manual 3-speed automatic transmission.
10. Oldsmobile Cutlass Diesel
This diesel engine produced between 1978 and 1985 has three variants two V8s and one V6 engine. The 4.3 L V8 engine equipped to the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon produces a power output of 90 hp and 160 lb⋅ft of torque. And the larger 5.7 L diesel V8 produced 120 hp and 220 lb-ft of torque.