Late ’80s Pontiac Le Mans
If you think of the Pontiac Le Mans, the first thing that pops into your mind are the glorious mid-size models from the ’60s and early ’70s with V8 power. Le Mans had a solid reputation as an entry-level muscle car with great potential. But fast forward 20 years to the late ’80s and Le Mans’ reputation was ruined with the introduction of this thing – a compact front-wheel drive sedan or hatchback with less than 100 hp (via Autopolis).
To make things even funnier, bosses at General Motors decided to import the Korean-built Daewoo Le Mans, which was actually an Opel Kadett from Europe. Since Opel was a GM-owned brand and GM had stakes in Daewoo, this looked like the perfect solution. Interestingly, GM even offered Pontiac Le Mans in Europe so buyers could choose between Opel Kadett from Germany or the same Opel Kadett from America with a different badge. The Le Mans of the late ’80 wasn’t a big success and is a forgotten model today.