The 50 Worst Cars of All Time

2003 Hummer H2

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One struggles to think of a worse vehicle at a worse time. Introduced shortly after 9/11 — an event whose causes were tangled in America's unquenchable thirst for oil — the Hummer H2 sent all the wrong signals. It was/is arrogantly huge, overtly militaristic, openly scornful of the common good. As a vehicle choice, the H2 was a spiteful reactionary riposte to notions that, you know, maybe we all shouldn't be driving tanks that get 10 miles per gallon. Not surprisingly, the green-niks struck back. A Hummer dealership was torched in Southern California. The H2 was also a PR catastrophe for GM, who happened to be repossessing and crushing the few EV1 electric cars at the time. It all contributed to GM's emerging image as the Dick Cheney of car companies.

1899-1939

From the Horsey Horseless to the Model T and the Airflow, ten horror stories from the auto industry's earliest days

1940-1959

From the Crosley Hotshot to the Dauphine and the King Midget, ten auto blunders from the '40s and '50s

1960-1974

From the Amphicar to the Pinto and the Gremlin, ten colossal car mistakes from the Vietnam era

1975-1989

From the Trabant to the Lagonda and the De Lorean, the worst cars of the 1980s

1990-Present

From the Prowler to the Explorer and the GM EV1, the worst cars from the past 17 years