The Worst Cars of the 20th Century

You may have seen lists of terrible cars, but this one tells the story of each in almost poetic terms. You know the Trabant is going to be on it. Here’s what they have to say about it.

As if bleak Communism and barbed wire weren't enough to break the spirit of the East Germans, they also had to endure the Trabant. The cars had bodies made of recycled cotton and wood fibers backed into plastic called Duroplast, they lacked such fancy refinements as brake lights and they smoked like they were electing a Polish pope. The Trabant also emitted an eau du two-stroke scent, since like a chainsaw, their engines required an oil and gas mix. Getting one of these cars was as easy as putting your name on a 10-year-long waiting list at the government-run factory. Getting rid of one was as easy as waiting for the Berlin Wall to fall, puttering across the border and then running like hell away from that horrible little car toward freedom.

Believe it or not, the Trabant is only number three on the list. See the entire top ten at How Stuff Works.