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10 Flawed Cars That Have a Cult Following

Vukasin Herbez February 23, 2025

In the colorful automotive world, apart from well-known and successful models, there are also those misfit cars, models that didn’t meet the expectations and failed in some way. Every manufacturer tries to hide those cars and move on but car enthusiasts remember them. Although you might think that flawed cars have no collector`s value and are not interesting to car lovers, you are very mistaken and you would be surprised to know that even the worst cars on the planet have a loyal cult following and people that still claim that those are misunderstood mechanical marvels. Here are the ten flawed models with the most dedicated fans.

1. Lada Riva

Introduced in 1980 and based on old Lada 1500 which was a copy of old Fiat 124 Sedan, this model was discontinued in 2012. Over the decades the car changed very little and retained the recognizable boxy shape. Lada managed to sell it worldwide over 32 years but the majority of production ended up on the domestic Russian market.

Riva was never a good car since it was already outdated when it was released. Also, the quality control was nonexistent which meant that surviving examples are very crude cars with mid-century driving dynamics. However, somehow, people love this piece of Cold War engineering.

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2. DeLorean DMC 12

Started by John Z. De Lorean in the late ’70s, De Lorean was briefly marketed as the next big thing in the sports car world. For a short time, it looked that America got a sports car brand that could rival Europe`s finest companies. De Lorean presented an interesting concept of a sports car with Gullwing doors, modern wedge-shaped design, mid-mounted V6 engine, and stainless steel body.

However, the production was late and when the car was finally revealed it turned out to be pretty slow, underpowered and riddled with quality problems. Due to its prominent appearance in Back to the future movies and numerous music videos, DMC 12 is still a popular car and one of the automotive symbols of the `80s.

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3. AMC Pacer

The Pacer is a car that is equally loved and hated but sure is legendary and recognizable. It was AMC’s effort in producing a compact car, but it turned out to be less compact than its competitors and with numerous flaws. Today, we will only cover the design aspect of this infamous model.

After the success of the Gremlin, Pacer was conceived to be bigger and more advanced but its design was repelling. The large glass areas were practical but also looked like a bubble. The front end was far from beautiful and the silhouette was egg-shaped which was strange and unheard of at the time.

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4. Reliant Robin

Mostly unknown to the automotive public outside the United Kingdom, Reliant has been producing cars since the 1930s and three-wheel vehicles since the early `50s. In 1973, Reliant introduced the Robin, just in time of oil crisis which greatly helped the sales. With its 850cc engine and around 50 hp, Reliant Robin weighed just less than 500 kilos which made it surprisingly agile and fuel-efficient.

However, the three-wheel configuration was tricky in tight turns and Robins was known to flip over if the driver entered the curve too fast. Although slow, Robins wasn’t safe at all. Despite all that, many collectors include this little plastic three-wheeler in their collection.

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5. Chevrolet Corvair

In the late `50s, Chevrolet presented the Corvair, a revolutionary compact car with a rear-mounted, air-cooled, flat-six engine. This was a big step for Chevrolet since the Corvairsat opposite of other cars from the company and featured different concepts, technology, and design. However, for a couple of years, it looked like everything is OK with the Corvair and sales were good until a book called “Unsafe at any speed” hit the book stores across the country and caused big problems for GM. The engine in the back of the car caused Corvair to have problems handling and Chevrolet was aware of that but didn`t want to invest money in additional stabilizer bars and suspension modifications.

Soon, the book gained publicity and the public demanded the answers while more and more people reported crashes with the Corvair. Chevrolet was even involved in government hearings admitting that its executives knew something about the matter, paying a settlement and promising to invest money in safety research. In the end, Corvair sales were slashed and the model was discontinued in 1969.

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6. Ford Pinto

Introduced in the early ’70s, Pinto was very popular due to its low price, fairly nice design and a long list of options. It was equipped with economical four and six-cylinder engines and the overall quality of the car was decent. So, what was the problem?

Well, while engineering the car, Ford somehow left out any protection to its rear-mounted fuel tank. The fuel tank was located below the trunk and just behind the rear bumper. On most cars, there is a strong cross-member which protects the fuel tank in case of a crash. However, the Pinto lacked this feature which became apparent when people started getting killed in fiery crashes caused by leaking fuel tanks. Families of people killed or hurt in such incidents sued Ford and eventually, the company spent millions settling the court cases.

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7. Pontiac Aztek

Introduced in 2000, Pontiac Aztek was a good idea, on paper at least. The mid-size crossover model with sharp new styling, decent engine lineup and plenty of interior space was a pretty modern concept at the time. Pontiac was eager to present it to the public since the overall sales of the brand were not so good and they thought that the new model will boost the popularity of the brand and bring new customers to the dealerships.

The plan was sound, except for one thing, and that was the design. Somehow, Pontiac designers managed to draw and push to production one of the ugliest cars ever made. Just look at it. Even from this distance and 17 years after the first Aztek saw the light of day, it is still a car with the design that makes no sense whatsoever.

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8. Suzuki XC90

How about a two-seater, two-door SUV with compact dimensions and removable T-Top? Sounds insane? Well, that is exactly what the Suzuki X-90 was when it was introduced in 1995. Powered by a 95 HP 1.6-liter four-cylinder, the X-90 was rear-wheel drive as standard or optional all-wheel-drive model with very limited interior and trunk space.

The car was officially sold in America and Suzuki even managed to sell 7000 copies but neither the buyers nor the motoring press understood what Suzuki wanted to say with this model. It wasn’t off-roader and it wasn’t a roadster. But it was ugly and unappealing which sealed its faith.

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9. Subaru SVX

Back in the early `90s, Subaru wanted to enter the sports car market and promote its biggest assets – all-wheel drive and flat-six engines. So, the company hired Italdesign to design sleek and modern coupe. In 1991 the SVX debuted with strange styling, complicated side window patents but sublime handling and great performance.

However, the car was heavy and it was introduced at the same time as much more competent competitors from other brands which made Subaru kind of redundant. Under the hood was a 3.3-liter flat-six which propelled this rare car to 7.3 seconds 0 to 60 mph times. Only about 14.000 were sold in America until 1996.

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10. Ford Mustang King Cobra

The second generation of Ford Mustang debuted in 1974 and was on the market for four years, until 1978. Despite the fact it was a subject of so many jokes and bad press, the Mustang II was a very important model. The downsizing of the whole Mustang range, the introduction of economical four-cylinder engines and part sharing with other Ford models helped the model survive the recession of the `70s and the death of the muscle car movement.

There was one particularly interesting model, and this was the special edition King Cobra. Ford knew that their 5.0 V8 engine made only 140 hp in Mustang II and the performance was very slow, but they also knew that by dressing up the car they could attract some buyers. So, the King Cobra was introduced. With a flaming snake on the hood, front and rear spoilers and full body kit, the King Cobra was a typical `70s factory custom car. The 5.0 V8 was mated to four-speed manual transmission in an attempt to make a performance car. Needless to say, the performance was not great, in fact, it was terrible, but the outrageous body kit stole the show and today King Cobra is considered a collector`s item.

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