Cars.com Top 10 Scary Cars

It’s that time of year: The weather’s getting colder, leaves are changing, college football is on TV and that scariest of holidays is fast-approaching. To celebrate, Cars.com enlisted the help of Car Talk's Tom and Ray Magliozzi to give us their Top 10 Scary Cars of all time. Now, this list doesn’t feature any otherwordly cars out of a Stephen King novel. These are real cars that, for one reason or another, legitimately sent chills down the spines of drivers, passengers and onlookers — like the 1971 Ford Pinto shown here. To find out why it and the other nine made the list, go here.   

Comments

[ExPat Chef]

Actually, I have a valid theory that the Pontiac Aztec was a repurpose of the LeMans econobox design. Take a good hard look, familiar? Coincidence? I don't think so.

[M3]

How about the Vega? Scary for mechanics who had to replace failed engines multiple times. Same goes for several early 80's GM diesel vehicles. I actually liked my old Festiva; it was nimble enough to AVOID danger and had no trouble doing 80+ on the freeway to keep up with traffic. The only thing smaller I owned was a '70 Honda N600. THAT car was scary.

[Craig Bennett]

Scary! I'll tell you scary...A 1973 AMC Gremlin off the showroom floor. This car was basically a chopping block special it had no back end and with no weight back there....it would jump around like a frog with a hot foot! Even with the standard 6 cylinder engine, it was overpowered and in the winter....forget about it...even 50 lbs of kitty litter couldn't save it. In the rain, the brakes would fail, you had to try to use precognition to predict when a stop was about to occur and pre-dry the breaks by stomping repeatedly on them. During the spring floods in 1974, I crested over a little hill next to the river and where a small stream had once been...well.....it was now a lake...I slammed on the breaks and....you guessed it.....a gyser of water came up over the hood...and water started to flood the cabin through the cracks in the doors...I climbed out through the window, waded ashore ruining my new Hush Puppy Dessert boots and joined numerous other drivers who could stop and were admiring my handywork...at year one (plus a few days) the rust started to appear and spread like a cancer....in year two the doors started to sag so that you had to lift them up to open and close them. I had my gascap stolen (probably for the cute gremlin emblem) so many times by drunk students, I kept AMC going an additional year buying replacements, During the rain the sparkplug wires would fail...nothing that a new set every two or thee months wouldn't fix....I barely got it over 80K when it got really hard to start...sensing the end...I got a new Toyota Tercel...A friend and I jump started the ole Gremlin after it sat on the street for a month or two, fittingly a small maple tree had started to grow out of the "soil" accumulating in the giant hole over my right front fender. As I drove to the junk yard watching the maple leaves flap in the wind I mused over all the "great" times I had had it this piece of junk. As I rolled up the owner rushed out and screamed ....don't stop it! Handed me 50 bucks....took my registration and I watched as he drove towards the crusher....I've never looked back and have never bought an American car since. As you can see there is a good reason why AMC isn't around anymore....it is called the Gremlin

[Crash Gordon]

I owned a 1978 Ford Pinto for a year and a half.
Despite having no dash lights, having a carburetor that ran rich no matter how you adjusted it, and using a quart of oil a week, it was as reliable a car as I have ever owned. It always started, never broke down, and rarely needed more than routine maintenance. At the time the car was in its early 20's, with an odometer reading in the 80K range and having been turned over once already.
I got this car for free, and I got every penny out of it! Thinking it was worthless and was going to just die on me some day, I acted like nothing I did to it mattered. I drove it hard. HARD. I confess to abusing this vehicle to my heart's content. Over-revving it, doing full-throttle bursts from the green lights to 35 and 40 mph in first gear, holding it for miles at top end in 4th (top gear) on the freeway any time I felt like it (which was about 85-90 mph), driving it like a rally car on mountain curves, sliding it around gravel roads, jumping curbs, hitting speed bumps without slowing, aiming at potholes, slamming on the brakes for no reason, doing e-brake grab 180s in parking lots... basically trying to kill it.
But it never would die. It kept going. I finally decided I needed a pickup and got rid of it, but in the end all it needed was a new carburetor, oil leaks repaired, and some wheel bearings... but not even urgently. It was without a doubt the toughest car I've owned. Anyone who says the Pinto was a piece of junk is dead wrong. They were ugly, sure, and their reputation was irreplaceably besmirched.
But I will attest that short of simply shoving it off a cliff, I was unable to kill this car.

[Tim Tom]

You forgot about the Gremlin Car, my wife had one. Don't ever sit in the back seat you bound to have the roughest ride ever and if in a accident pray real hard that no one hits from the back.

[Adam]

WTF - Over?? You guys are completely clueless about that 69 Stang. I happen to personally know the guy who owns that very car in the picture (although I'm not sure where you got the picture from... but he's pissed about you trash-talking his ride) and I've had the priviledge of riding in that car sevaral times and it handles quite well with it's 351W and Top Loader tranny. That car is a 69 GT, Nice try about the "Boss V8 in a Falcon" comment though. What part of that car says "Boss" OR "Falcon" to you?? But hey, you guys totally missed the mark on the handling (considering the 69 Stang was the best handling Mustang on the road at that time) it only seems fitting that you'd miss the mark on the engine too.

Oh Yeah, the owner of this car had no trouble getting it stopped after busting very low 14's in the 1/4 mile a couple of months ago during test 'n tune at Tucson Raceway Park (over 2500ft above sea level on a hot night)!

Next time do a little more homework before spewing this crap..

[ted]

i'm confused as to how the 1969 mustang made the list, yet the mustang II did not? well, you guys did put the pinto on, and since it and the mustang II are pretty much the same car (at least aesthetically), maybe you DID put it on there...

[Ken]

Believe it or not, I used to own a 71 Pinto (and lived to tell the tale!) But, based on my personal experience, I've never understood all the stories about exploding Pintos.
The car was an accident magnet - It was in 4 accidents in 2 years (twice while parked, and run into twice). It was hit twice in the rear, one hard enough so that the driver's door couldn't be opened. Every body part except the roof was replaced at least once in those 2 years - but fuel never leaked even a drop.
And I'm not sure why you picked on the Festiva for being small. Sure, it was small, but so were a lot of vehicles: Hondas, Toyotas, Suburus, etc. And if environmentalists had their way, all cars would be at least this small (if not smaller) - and there would still be big, scary trucks out there.
Finally, how in the world could you overlook the Vega (yeah, I owned one of those, too - engine went through a quart of oil every 50 miles and the body was swiss cheese) or the Yugo!

[Scott]

'72 Merc Capri.

What wasn't recalled on this? The stick shift once broke off in my hand. (Had to drive home in 3rd gear).

Seat lever, broken forcing the spare tire to prop it up from behind.

Side rear windows with a hinged vent...the glue didn't hold and neither did the window.

Mine was the burntest of orange and ghastly to look at...

God, I miss that car.

[Scott]

'72 Merc Capri.

What wasn't recalled on this? The stick shift once broke off in my hand. (Had to drive home in 3rd gear).

Seat lever, broken forcing the spare tire to prop it up from behind.

Side rear windows with a hinged vent...the glue didn't hold and neither did the window.

Mine was the burntest of orange and ghastly to look at...

God, I miss that car.

[JR]

When a female co-worker of mine first saw the H1 Hummer, her comment was, "Who bought the rolling penis-extension?"

[David Edwards]

Hmm. America has had its fair share of bad cars, and quite a few of them have been paraded here for laughs. However, if you want a scary car, look beyond your shores ...

No, I'm not going to point you at the Fiat Multipla or the SsangYong Rodius because they're too obvious a target. What I'm going to point you at is something *entirely* different.

Try the Maybach.

For those unfamiliar with this particular creation, it is, in effect, an automotive wet dream that someone at Mercedes had. Following in the footsteps of Ettore Bugatti when he conceived the Royale, some of the top people at Mercedes decided that what the world *really* needed was an über-limo for the über-rich. A self-propelled homage to plutocratic excess, a celebration of corporate larceny coupled with that ineffable Mercedes touch, aimed at people with galactic bank accounts ... Bill Gates, the Sultan of Brunei, that kind of owner. The end result was, as planned, the nearest thing on wheels to a luxury yacht on the inside, but the styling ... this is TRULY scary. Take a double shot glass full of 17th century New Orleans bordello as featured in Brooke Shields' finest hour, add a large helping of SS Totenkopf panzer division and garnish lavishly with every piece of over the top imagery from a bad production of the Ring Cycle, and you have the end result. It is HIDEOUS. At least the folks who bought some of the made-in-America bangers featured here have as an excuse that they were motoring on a budget. There is absolutely NO excuse whatsoever for spending £260,000 here in the UK, or around $357,000 in the US, for this execrable-looking vehicle, unless one is hell-bent upon proving that money and class need not necessarily go hand in hand. This is the car that is described as "obeying its driver's every whim", which is just as well, because if it had a mind of its own, it would invade Poland. If you think that the Pontiac Aztec is a scary car, bear in mind that you could probably buy a small FLEET of Aztecs for the price of one Maybach. Most people who read this will spend less buying a house AND a car together (unless they live in London of course).

If you're looking for the ultimate Blingmobile, this probably qualifies. But how many of you could afford the hub caps for one of these, let alone the whole car?

I used to drive,(beat the crap out of), a '71 Pinto. Aside from distributor breaker plates, burnt points, broken Alt brackets,timing belts, broken seat frames, RUST, need I go on--not a bad car. By the way, the car pictured above is a '72 or '73--the '71 had much thinner bumpers.

[Fred Shufane]

Remember the early AMC Gremlin's, they had a big gas cap right square in the middle of the back of the car. Their was this guy we didn't like so we would steal his gas cap, they made great garage ornaments. Anyway, in between trips to the junkyard to get a new gas cap, he would stuff a rag in the filler hole, with some of it sticking out, just ready for a match! We called it the Molatov Gremlin!

[simon lang]

what about the Trebant? three cylinder two stroke I belive? was that not scary, or the Robin Reliant? the engine made a great bike engne but that was about it

[Paul Brunsink]

Who wrote this, Tom and Ray, or was it Toyota's p.r. dept. and Ralph nader? Oh well, at least we didn't have to read about how bad the AMC Pacer and Ford Edsel were for the millionth time, authored by people who didn't have any experience with those cars either!

[S L F]

I can understand how someone that can not think outside the box would come to the conclusion that the Pontiac Aztec is very unusual... however, I did not like the looks of the Aztec either when it hit the showroom floors, but after renting one for a week, we found it to be a fun vehicle. I bought the very car you have on your page, burnt orange with the rally package, I get alot of complements on my vehicle, especiallly from the younger crowd(15 to 25 years of age). But then again, I am someone who doesnt like to follow the crowd, I am an independant thinker who enjoys the unusual. To all the readers of this article, try one before you judge one, then you can decide for yourself.

[flagmarshal]

The Monza with a V-6 was a very nice compromise. Mine achieved 30 mpg honest on the interstate, won autocrosses in Stock and Prepared and won TSD rallies. The biggest problem with it was that the Bilsteins I installed (their third car!) were stronger than one of the shock mounts so I had to get reinforcements welded in. No more Stock class!

Scariest car for me? Probably a 96" insert Caddy limo with worn out tie rods and ball joints. Move the steering wheel six or eight inches and nothing happens for a while! Not fun at all.

[Bill]

The '69 Mustang and Firebird? ... scariest cars?! Maybe had some of the scariest drivers in them, but the cars!? C'mon ... these and all the "ponycars" (as they were known at the time, as opposed to "musclecars" of which only intermediates were worthy of consideration at that time) were some of the best rides in their day, in terms of handling.

It is interesting that today one can say anything one wants to about these two specific catagories of automobile - long after they have been out of production. But what do we base any negative statements on?
1. Restored vehicles - of which, who in their right mind will let you bang them around?
2. Restified versions - which are presumably better than the originals - but not always are, and in any case do not represent the originals?
3. Unrestored beaters?

... Come on ... the only fair way is to go and read the magazine articles of the time, that reported on testing them as they were in production. I did, and I do not remember reading about how poorly they handled ... with only perhaps a few exceptions for cars with the very heaviest engines. While they were largely not as well balanced perhaps as the better European GTs, they were considered good drivers in their day. Some can even stand up faily well today.

As to the Mustang's being based on the Falcon. We know that to be true, and we know that they had weak front ends. But they were very heavily modified and were more than Falcons overall. Regards,

~Bill

[Sarah Bauman]

Okay, I've got a scary car for all of you out there. Chevrolet has a car out that I think is their attempt at a PT Crusier. It's scary to look at and I'm not sure I'd want out on the roads in it either. Ugh. Later.

[TOM]

YOU TOTALLLY NEGLECTED THE AMC MATADOR AND AMC PACER.

MY 1972 DODGE CORONET CUSTOM, V8 318 2BBL CARB WAS RAW SPEED - STEERING AND BRAKING MUST
HAVE BEEN OPTIONS THAT YEAR, MINE DIDN'T HAVE 'EM/

LOVE YOU GUYS.

[maureen nagle]

I was living in Goshen, Indiana the day that the fatefull crash involving a pinto and another took place. In fact, I was living about 2 miles from the accident and could hear the sirens and see the smoke. To add to this story, I used to work for the Elkhart County prosecutor who tried Ford Motor Company. It was sad that two young girls had to die because of poor engineering design and that Ford Motor Co was not held accountable. Needless to say, my family never bought another Ford vehicle

[John Russo]

Leave it to you old geezers to trash 'Stangs and Firebirds for their power. Big deal. Learn how to drive them, will ya? You want scary? I'll give you scary; You and your lame Valiant pulling out in front of me, desperatelt trying to get 'er on up to 35 mph. That's scary. Be glad that it doesn't have the Pinto's unsafe fuel tank! But the Pinto and Vega were quite reasonable cars for their time when they were working ok.

Speaking of the Vega... Here's what's REALLY scary to me. The Genuine GM Gee-whiz engineering in that car. They decided to create a steel-headed aluminum block combo that used a few microns of mule's milk instead of cylinder walls - a combination that's sufficient if it never overheats... then used a heater core as a radiator. Ya think that could become a problem guys? Add a poorly designed electric fuel pump to round it out. Then leave out the front fender liners and let the rust gradually lighten the car for economy's sake. Here we are 37 years later and the geniuses wonder where their market share went. That's scary.

[Jim Zavist]

What about my Corvair? The one that leaked oil on the exhaust manifold, the manifold that was directly connected to the defroster?!

[Jonathan I. Stern]

Two thoughts about Hummers:

1.) Be sure to admire all Hummers that you encounter and don't forget to ask the driver, "How many soldiers per gallon does that thing get?"

2.) I heard this one on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Sales of Hummers have been declining ever since Viagra became readily available. It makes sense, of course. Why buy a substitute, when you can have the real thing.

[Jen Allen]

My beloved '86 Chevy Sprint hatchback was just as frighteningly small as the Ford Festiva. While driving on the highway at 75 mph, you could reach your arm over and crank down the passenger side window without hardly leaning, meaning that you could roll down the passenger window while driving on the highway at 75 miles per hour without taking your eyes off the road (very handy!). I'm sure this 3-cylinder baby would have crumpled like aluminum foil in an accident with a vehicle of any substantial size. Whenever a passenger weighing more than 100 pounds rode in the backseat, the entire rear end of the car would bounce up and down, "Clunk! Clunk!", banging against the axle underneath. But boy, could that thing maneuver, and the pickup was superb. Not to mention the 40+ mph gas mileage on the highway. The key was to drive the tiny thing fearlessly as if you were in an SUV, swerving in between the semi trucks like they weren't even there. (It also helped to be in your early 20s and fear nothing.) I drove that car until 2001, replacing the entire exhaust system three times, but making no other major repairs (maybe because the '86 Sprints were made in Japan).

I feel a pang of nostalgia for that car every evening when I arrive home from work and try to park my big fat Corolla into those 3/4 spaces left by drivers who can't parallel park properly. "My Sprint could have fit in that!!" I grumble, as I putter on and park 4 blocks further down.

[Margaret]

If you want to talk about ugly, how about the 2005 Honda Element?

[SueG]

I totally agree with your appraisal of the Ford Festiva. I rented one in Florida, and it scared the pants off me! The raw power it delivered to the cheap crackerbox of a chassis was overwhelming. It was good for cheap laughs, and got great mileage, but I was glad to give it up.

I'd like to nominate the Renault L5 (a/k/a "Le Car", may they rust in peace.

My sister drove a Deux Cheveux in a parade a while back, and related the drive to as a terrifying experience, all rattles and no structure.

[Cal Myers]

Reading about the VW Microbus reminded me of the two Volkswagon jokes, have you heard them? Winshield wipers and heaters.

[john shroad]

do not forget the King Midget made is Athens, Ohio. It was tiny, low, and your legs were the "crush zone". Got over 50mpg in the early 50's though

[Joe Merrill]

Boys Boys Boys, I would still sell My soul for a pristine '69 Mustang with a big block motor, four speed and a nice tall gear in the rear end- I've tried selling several family members but have had no takers.I'd have to agree with you about various safety issues though- those cars were products of a different time- kind of like a rack of ribs, extra sauce, fries and a cold one to wash it down.Definitely not good for you but won't kill you either(you hope!) I'd have to agree with you on the Festiva -actually rode in one, on an interstate, at high speed, in the rain, along side very large trucks.probably won't do that again.

[Henry Frank]

Do you think the Le Car could make it into the top 10 scariest cars? How about the overhead cam 6 Jeep that had its oil return hose stuffed between the engine and the firewall. Though the Rover 3500 must be waiting in the wings to join the list.

[Matt Vogel]

Aww, you guys are crazy. The Pontiac Aztek is a fine car. I have a 2004 and it is without a doubt the best utilitarian car I have ever owned. I like the looks. So sue me. A lot of people like the looks.
The Aztek has one of the highest owner satisfaction records. There
are people actually buying 2005s to have an Aztek when their earlier model wears out. Hell, we enjoy the notoriety of the car. From the
group, a resounding KISS MY ASSTEK!!
Now for a truly scary vehicle - A 1968 Dodge Van. The one with the motor sitting comfortably between the two front seats. Shared the honors with that Volkswagen Van as having NOTHING between you and a front end accident. And that accident was coming. The gas pedal linkage would consistently fall off dropping the gas pedal to the floor as the vehicle speeds up. Or the day the drive axle decided to come apart. (That one was real scary) It was almost a blessing when the damned thing caught fire as I was driving. I hopped out and chanted as it burned.

[Douglas Wayne]

I don't know how you guys would rate this partiticular car but for my money any car that was designed with a pressed sheet metal engine block like the Crosley is just asking for a blown engine.

[Mary K. Bates]

When I was in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2004, I rented a 2004 Chevy Cavalier. It was a sweet, snazzy-looking car which drove relatively well . . . until it rained. At the slightest drop of rain it would hydroplane, and there was a lot of rain that week. The headlights also seemed to be aimed too low, and driving Tennessee mountain roads at night, where street lighting was almost nonexistent (including the Interstates,)was a horror. Between the hydroplaning and poor lighting, I was so terrified that toward the end of my stay I would not drive at night. The Cavalier was misnamed; it should have been called the "Peligro."

[Steve Schrock]

You overlooked the extremely fine piece of Automotive Excriment known as the Chevy Vega. My dad bought a new 74 Wagon. In its retched life (6 years 80K Miles) 3 head gasket replacemets, piston rings at 50K to solve the oil burning problem (Fixed it for about 1 month). Towards the end it used upwards of a 2 quarts each fillup. No lets talk about the body. Oh it just pretty much rusted away into vega vapor.

[dave thoma]

it's interesting to note that FORD had the top three spots in your top ten list.

[Dave Willis]

I can look out my office window here on the 100 block of Queen Mary Street, Ottawa Canada, and see a Thing parked on the street. Been there for a while now; the tires are flat. It is a beautiful primer red with no visible clear coat. Pretty scary, eh kids?

[Tammy Lambdin]

What about the AMC Matador? Double UGH! And what AMC product had a spark plug that was virtually impossible to get to? Actually, almost anything AMC made (except the Gremlin) would qualify for this list.

And I LOVE my Element, so don't even go there. Will never drive anything but a Honda...

[michelle]

I can't believe no one mentioned the Corvair! They leaked oil so bad, that people who lived on dirt roads used them to keep the dust down. On an on-ramp on I-75, I was cut off while driving a Corvair. I was going so slowly that I steered between those metal reflector posts at the side. I came to a complete stop on the shoulder, where there was a slight incline. That sucker rolled--in slow motion--and came to rest on its roof. I was suspended by my seatbelt until someone came and helped me out. Because the whole thing happened so slowly, I had no injuries at all. God help anyone who happened to be driving at any speed and hit a patch of uneven pavement.

[Sarah]

I think there are still lots of more fugly and scarier vehicles that should be on the list instead. How about the Fiat 500?

[JayKay]

For a modern fright, what about the Infiniti FX45? This thing takes what should have been a decent midsize ute, perches it on way-oversize 20" tires and tries to wrap what's left in the lines of a small sports car. What you end up with is a bulbous vehicle that looks to me like a "car of tomorrow" from a 1947 edition of Popular Mechanics ... or, as a car-fanatic friend described it, "take a sneaker, give it an O.D. of steroids, and sit it on a roller skate".

The looming, bloated appearance is bad enough when one of these things comes over a hill from the opposite direction, but it's even scarier due to the tiny greenhouse makes it difficult for the driver to tell where the car's body is in relation to the driving position, and the uber-curved rear quarters that almost force you to have sensors so you don't back into the curb ... or someone's kid.

C'mon designers, enough already with the "swoop" styling, melted-jelly-bean bodies and useless rear windows. I want cool, I want sporty, I want elegant - - - but not weird.

[John Scavone]

As the owner of a '73 VW Thing, I'm glad I didn't wait until 1974 to get the new model when the design went to hell! :)

[Joseph Lee]

I survived a 1988 Ford Festiva. Actually I never had a problem out of this car. I agree you do get nervious when surrounded by 18 wheelers.

I have one that you missed.

#1 Ford Aerostar
Scares: Mechanics

I mentioned that I was thinking of getting one of these to my mechanic. His reaction was to tell me to get a new mechanic. LOL!

[Sharon Renfroe]

So no one is going to mention any Triumph cars? The Spitfire was a beauty and with 8 hours under the hood I could get 4 hours on the road in '79 when it was new, and the planets were perfectly alligned. In '80 I purchased the TR7 - yes, I was drunk. Talk about PTSD - every time I see one of those - well really the only one I see is about a block up the street its been there for the whole 5 years I have lived in this neighborhood, up on blocks rusted, never seen it move. Probably in the same condition that it left the showroom. Turning left caused the engine to stall, drove it for a year - well probably just a few weeks stretched over a year - nothing like seeing both your cars up on the lifts at the mechanic's and having to take a cab home. I left the TR7 in a Parking Lot in Arkansas - never looked back. I kept the Spitfire for 10 years, mostly as a lawn orniment. But every once in a while, that Spitfire would start, I would get a mile or two down the road, and fall in love with her all over again. Then call the tow truck.
Sticking to Miata's now - not as interesting or scary - but the girl starts every time I go out there and hasn't left me stranded. I'd say a list of scary cars that didn't include a Triumph car - is no list of scary cars at all.

[Christian Miller]

Scariest car for a mechanic? How about the Citroen SM - hydraulic suspension, old electricals, strange power steering, Maserati engine, impossible to find parts. This car was so "ahead of its time", 30 years later it still looks like a concept car.

Agree on the '69 Mustang, one of the worst cars I've ever driven in terms of handling and feel. Especially if you had driven the original Mustang.

[MW Stoakes]

How about Renault's Le Car, or the Yugo? These underpowered, poorly built pieces of crap should have never been allowed on U.S. roads!

[Andy Spohn-Larkins]

I had a 76 pinto. My grandpa got it for $50 and pulled it out of a horse barn after not running for years. He drove it for quite a while to the post office truck yards in Denver where he drove a mail truck. When he passed, it became my first car. That thing wouldn't die! At one point in it's life, it had been silver, but when I got it, it was a nice "rust orange". The headliner was split and stuck to my hair so I always wore a hat when driving it, the grill had gone years before, the turn signals would blink 3 times before blowing the fuse, one day a front shock broke through into the engine compartment, the left front tire clunked every time I'd make a turn, and once a week the engine light flickered letting me know it needed another quart of oil (from leaking, not burning mind you!) At 185k, it still started right up, passed emission tests with no problems and only left me on the side of the road once when the steel bands in the tire decided that they showed to much and wouldn't hold air anymore. It finally went to the junk yard because the stater fell out and stripped the holes in the engine block. Changing the cluch was easier in this car than changing the starter motor!! This car was very fun to drive, got great milage, and really wouldn't die (even after sliding off the icy road and going over a 6 foot drop at 50mph) but it really does deserve to be on this list! Good memories, but I'm glad they stay in the past!! This story's for you grandpa!!

[J. M. Ellison]

The Pontiac Aztec is so revolting to look at, I find myself questioning the sanity of anyone who had a choice of vehicles, but said "I just have to have this!"

Also, I read that only 4500 or so Aztecs were sold. I live in Missouri, and I see so many with Missouri plates, I could almost swear a good fourth of buyers live here.

[kay collins]

Try the 1990 ISUSU LONGBED PICKUP!

My sister almost killed us both when she tried to change lanes in the city and got tapped by a refrigerator truck. We rocked side to side a couple of times before we crashed into a huge concrete flower pot in median and tipped over.

Suddenly, the only thing between my face and the pavement was the window, that mercifully, didn't shatter. I looked up to see my sister suspended by her seat belt above me.

We were very lucky: we both walked away uninjured, much to the amazement of the paramedics who were called to the scene. Had we been going faster than 20 mph, I doubt that I would be here sharing the tale of a Near Death Experience. The truck was totalled.