The 10 dumbest cars of all time

USA Today

2 days ago

The 10 dumbest cars of all time
There are many kinds of dumb, especially when talking about cars. Automakers are prone to questionable design and engineering decisions and can occasionally push the envelope in places they shouldn't. Buyers can take what would be excellent vehicles in one arena and use them almost exclusively in another where their talents are completely wasted. There are times when technologies aren't invested in enough or are pushed too hard, to comical extremes. And then there are vehicles built for such a specific niche that they're doomed to commercial failure no matter how charming they are. These are our editors' picks for the dumbest automobiles.
Tesla Cybertruck - Kristen Lee, Scott Evans
Designed to offend and made in a way that maims, the Cybertruck has succeeded in gathering more haters than fans, empirically so considering the dueling subreddits dedicated to the truck. One look at the vehicle, even from a distance, is enough to catalyze an unbreakable perspective on whether or not the pickup is worthy of existence. Its impressive performance numbers and fresh technology are only important to those who can get past its looks. Those body lines include enough near-razor-sharp edges to rip clothing or tear open skin if you're unfortunate enough to encounter the end of almost any exterior panel (including the doors, which don't have handles). A general lack of reliability and high cost provide further ammo for the Cyberbeast's numerous haters, but as our Scott Evans noted, 'Cybertruck is up there, but it's gotten slightly less dumb as Tesla has activated the rest of the feature set.'
Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet - Tom Rosquin, Aaron Gold
Many automotive genre benders are celebrated, but the Murano convertible is not one of them. While far from the first vehicle with SUV proportions to feature an open top , this Murano variant stands out for a crossover cabrio with a hubris-huffing lack of self-awareness. The styling of the CrossCabriolet has been derided by MotorTrend staff for over a decade , but worse than that, very little was done to ensure the newly minted convertible was structurally sound. Even driving down a mildly bumpy road reveals a shocking lack of rigidity, hurting both ride and handling. Any utility the variant had was also tossed out, as the rear doors and effectively all the cargo space of the vehicle were left on the cutting room floor. After all that, the most shocking thing about the Murano is that something so badly thought out could be greenlit at all. As Aaron Gold noted, 'You could feel the cowl shake just by getting into the car.'
Mazda MX-30 - Billy Rehbock
As the first wave of electric SUVs swept through the automotive landscape, bringing practical EV motoring into the mainstream, the MX-30 ... didn't. With barely 100 miles of EPA-rated range (and thus less on the freeway and much less in the cold), the MX-30 was never taken seriously as a practical electric vehicle. Even as just about every other electric crossover blew past the 200-mile mark in the real world, the MX-30 couldn't reach half that on the optimistic EPA rating cycle. Priced and marketed like an equal to far superior rivals, the MX-30's agile handling and fun interior couldn't save it from an early grave .
Toyota Mirai - Christian Seabaugh, Aaron Gold, Scott Evans
Hydrogen used to be the fuel of the future, but as battery electric vehicles came onto the scene and cut out the middleman, that future became the past. With much of the already tenuous filling station network shutting down , we've come to the apparent end of using H2 to fuel cars. That once-rosy outlook also ends the now ironically named Mirai. Named for 'future' in Japanese, the Mirai went from ugly duckling to beautiful sedan in its two generations , dutifully supported by a Toyota initially skeptical of BEVs. But all the cool factor and styling in the world couldn't keep hydrogen from falling under the pressure of more practical and less expensive methods of locomotion. As Aaron Gold said, 'Mirai is awesome if you don't have anywhere to go.'
Honda CR-V FCEV - Christian Seabaugh
Similar negatives apply to the CR-V FCEV, though at least this everyday crossover turned hydropunk showcase can run as a battery electric vehicle for an EPA-rated 29 miles . That enhances its practicality a little bit, but just a little. (All-up range with a full battery charge and a full tank of hydrogen is 270 miles.) The high cost of producing it means it is only available for lease, just as GM's EV1 was before BEV technology advanced to the point of practicality. Besides the rather annoying noises made by the hydrogen system, the CR-V FCEV tries its best to seem like a normal CR-V, but it's unlikely you'll ever be able to go outside Southern California (or, perhaps, very far within Southern California) in one.
Aston Martin Cygnet - Scott Evans
'Talk about brand dilution,' Scott Evans remarked on this so-called Aston Martin. As one of the worst examples of badge engineering in recent memory, the Cygnet claims many firsts and superlatives for the famed British brand. But are they worth bragging about? Under the not-that-different bodywork, this Aston was a Toyota/Scion iQ , a tiny city car that was admirable for its price but not known for luxury, refinement, or … well, anything but its miniscule size, really. Built to bring up Aston Martin's average fuel economy ratings for the sake of government regulations, the Cygnet received a dramatic interior and the same 97-hp economy-focused engine as the Scion. For $37,000 in 2010 dollars, it may have served its purpose for the brand, but it didn't exactly serve up a real Aston Martin experience for owners.
2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Class - Alex Leanse
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is a controversial choice for the list among the MotorTrend staff, but consider this: What other vehicle commands so much money while being so compromised for the daily-driver duty it is universally pressed into? Ubiquitous on posh main streets and reality TV shows while being utterly absent from ORV parks and trails, the G-Wagen's formidable off-road capabilities are a complete mismatch for its use case, and swaddling a military-inspired 4x4 in luxury trappings seems dumb indeed. All that said, in response to these charges, all Christian Seabaugh had to say to our on-staff G-Wagen haters was, 'Booo, go home.'
Chevrolet SSR - Erik Johnson
Dumb doesn't mean bad. Did anyone ask for a convertible truck that couldn't actually tow or haul like Americans expect a pickup to? No. Is the SSR still awesome? Yes. But this real-life Hot Wheels car's cool factor and very unique combination of features didn't result in anything but the most tepid of sales figures. To be fair, the SSR now has a cult following, decades after it ended production. And yes, it was watered down from the concept and lacked the dynamics to match its looks , but none of that keeps it from being very, very cool. Nor does it keep it from being dumb.
Reliant Robin - Erik Johnson
While dumb doesn't have to mean bad, it certainly can mean bad. The Robin is undeniably bad, in every sense of the word, and that makes it undeniably dumb. For one, its three-legged layout leads to terminal instability, making the Robin infamous for rolling over (even though much of that fame is down to somewhat disingenuous Top Gear stunts). A car with a single narrow wheel up front is a dumb car, full stop. Nor was the Robin anything but a rolling (forward, or over) indictment of the quality control and reliability struggles of the British auto industry at the time, which struggled mightily for most of the Robin's remarkable (and horrifying) three-decade production run.
Chrysler TC by Maserati - Erik Johnson
Chrysler executives were convinced that a second-gen K-car sold as a Maserati was a good idea, but hindsight clearly proves otherwise. In what universe is building a late 1980s Chrysler on a Maserati production line in Italy anything but a dumb idea? Astronomical costs and the blindingly obvious and undeniable truth that the TC was a kind of lousy American car built by a kind of lousy Italian automaker made it an exceedingly stupid move. That the TC has a cult-classic appeal to modern car enthusiast weirdos is beside the point. The TC was dumb.
Photos by Manufacturer, Ryan Lugo