The Worst Car Ever Made

The first car I owned was probably the worst car ever made. As a matter of fact, admitting that I owned a Chevrolet Vega, is actually embarrassing. We have published about the automobile industry before, and certainly the Vega demonstrates why this is such an important subject.

The History of the Automotive Industry

The sixties and seventies were the hay day of the labor unions in America. Factory workers were highly paid and many were making as much as sixty or seventy thousand dollars a year. Many factory workers were making exceptional money working overtime. Of course, this was good for American Workers and I am glad that many of them were able to earn family sustaining wages and enjoy life at the same time.

Unfortunately, the unionized workers had major drawbacks. Many of them exploited the system. With the strong unions to protect their jobs they neglected the quality of their work. American Corporations were making a fortune, lacked the will to fight the unions, and seemed unconcerned about the quality of their products. After all, the American Consumer had nowhere else to go. This was the situation in the automobile industry as the American People were getting tired of the poor quality American cars but had few alternatives.

The oil embargo of 1973 changed everything. Suddenly, gas and energy were very expensive and the this had tremendous effects throughout the economy. The price of just about everything skyrocketed. American consumers suddenly had to be very careful about what they bought. Suddenly there was a great market for cheap foreign cars that got great gas mileage.

Honda and other Japanese auto makers made great inroads into the American auto market. American car companies began to lose their dominance in the market and their sales volume took a serious setback. The American consumer now had an alternative to the low quality cars coming out of Detroit.

The Chevrolet Vega

To reverse the trend, General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Vega, a small sleek compact. Like most Americans, I wanted the Vega to succeed. I needed a car, and my friend had a Vega and he gladly recommended it to me.

At this time I thought asking a friend was due diligence, and I did not read magazines such as Consumer Reports. So I went out and bought a used one.

The Vega had major problems, especially with its engine. The car a major defect in its design. The pipes in the cooling system were too small to adequately cool the engine, so the car overheated with normal usage. To make matters worse, the car had an aluminum block engine that would bend and buckle when the engine was overheated. The engine would lose its power and the block would have to be replaced. GM stood by the car and provided an engine block free of charge. Unfortunately, the repair work had to be done at the dealer and the dealer charged a small fortune for the labor. Of course, I had to replace my engine block, and it cost me a small fortune. The car was still unreliable, and always needed repair, so I gave up and sold it.