Thoughts from the Curb

Nov 25, 2008 - Top 10 Automotive Turkeys of 2008

I could write "Top 10 Cars I'm Thankful For" but I'm far too sarcastic for that. I've driven quite a few cars this year and quite a few fall into the turkey category. These aren't necessarily what I would call the worst cars on the road, rather, I would say these are the most disappointing I drove this year. The links go to some expanded thoughts of mine if available. And now...

10) Lincoln MKS: They market it as a starship: fast, fun, futuristic. It's none of these things. Instead, it's a big luxury sedan that should appeal to older buyers who would otherwise buy an ES 350. That's fine, old people buy cars too, except its stiff steering should turn them away (all that tech could backfire too). The MKS totally misses the mark.

9) Jeep Compass/Patriot: I was expecting these to be garbage, so I can't put them too far down on the list. But they're still two of the very worst vehicles on the road (tied with the related Sebring). Just check out Compass' stay in our long term fleet.

8) Subaru Tribeca: Remember this? No, I don't blame you. I drove one last weekend and it left me uncomfortable and puzzled. The driving position is awful (I'll go into that next week) and it doesn't seem to "go" with the rest of Subaru's mostly fun line-up. Instead it feels like a Buick Rendezvous with an over-styled interior.

7) Our Saturn Aura: It seemed like our long-term Aura was in the dealer almost as much as it was in the garage. In truth, it added up to several weeks with its myriad problems (especially in the steering department). We had such high hopes for it, but it was a major disappointment. Good blog fodder, though.

6) Dodge Journey: Good ideas everywhere, but realized with sloppy execution and questionable interior design. It also got a whole heap of Journey songs stuck in my head. Don't Stop Believin.

5) Honda Pilot: I spent a lot of time in the Pilot and I actually didn't mind it as much as my colleagues did. However, its braking performance was inexcusable and its power-to-fuel-economy ratio not much better. Plus, that face is just silly.

4) Chevy Tahoe Hybrid: Hey, a full-size SUV that gets 21 mpg! That's great! Wait, I could get a full-size crossover from the same company that gets 19 mpg, but costs about $10,000 less and features a more useful interior? I guess that makes more sense, but that Traverse doesn't have 13 Hybrid stickers on it.

3) Acura TSX: I owned a 2006 TSX, and although I grew tired of its peaky power delivery, it was a fun little car that packed a lot of features in for the money. The new car does the latter, but all the fun is gone. The steering in particular is terrible -- pure electric slop -- and all the other driving dynamics have either stayed the same or gone down hill.

2) Dodge Grand Caravan: Just read our long term blog. What a disaster. Wait, I'm about to drive it to Phoenix for Thanksgiving? Dang it.

1) Smart ForTwo: Oh we had such high hopes for the Smart. John Di Pietro and I even took pictures next to them at last year's LA Auto Show. I love small cars and why shouldn't I love the Smart? Because its transmission is awful, its brake pedal drives me nuts, its fuel economy isn't that great, it runs on premium, I nearly got repeatedly blown off the road in it, and people think I own it when I drive it. Most of these things are correctable, but until they're fixed, I'll go ahead and call it the Dumb ForAll.

Happy Turkey Day!

-James Riswick

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