12. Amphicar Model 770
Marketed in the U.S. from 1961 to 1967, the Amphicar was one of the strangest mass-produced cars ever because it was a small roadster that could go on land as well as on water. Produced by a German company, the Amphicar borrowed some technical solutions from a Nazi amphibious vehicle called the Schwimmwagen from Second World War.
The concept was advanced, but the problem with the Amphicar was that it wasn`t a good land or water vehicle. It was slow, handled poorly and the diminutive 1.1-liter engine only produced 38 HP. On the other side, it could go up to seven knots on water, but it couldn’t fight the big waves.
When they introduced the car, it caused a lot of interest for its unusual capabilities. However, buyers eventually realized that the Amphicar wasn’t a good car or a boat. It was notoriously rust-prone and the sealing on the body sometimes let the water inside. This caused failures and sinking straight to the bottom of the water. The Amphicars had a bilge pump that pumped out the water from the inside of the car, but it was also known to fail.
Interestingly, after a long period of obscurity, Amphicars are sought after by collectors. However, that doesn’t change the fact that in their day, they were one of worst cars they ever sold to American buyers.