List of automobiles notable for negative reception

The following is a list of automobiles considered the worst. They are judged by poor critical reception, poor customer reception, safety defects, and/or poor workmanship. For inclusion, these automobiles have either been referred to in popular publications as the worst of all time, or have received negative reviews across multiple publications. Some of these cars were popular on the marketplace or were critically praised at their launch, but have earned a strongly negative retroactive reception, while others are not considered to be intrinsically "bad", but have acquired infamy for safety or emissions defects that permanently damaged the car's reputation.

While the Renault Dauphine was a major sales success in Europe, where it is seen as one of the forerunners of the modern economy car, it received a very strong negative reception in the United States, largely for its poor performance. A period review of the Dauphine by Road & Track magazine found that the Dauphine took 32 seconds to accelerate to 60 MPH from a standstill. Autoblog included the Dauphine on its list of "The 20 Dumbest Cars of All Time" and it was included on Time Magazine's list of the "50 Worst Cars of All Time", with writer Dan Neil calling it "The most ineffective bit of French engineering since the Maginot Line", while noting that its performance "put the Dauphine at a severe disadvantage in any drag race involving farm equipment." The Dauphine also placed 9th on Car Talk's 2000 "Worst Car of the Millennium" poll. Renault apologized for the Dauphine's flaws in American print advertisements, marketing its successor as "The Renault for people who swore they wouldn't buy another one".

The Trabant P50 was introduced in Communist East Germany in 1957, followed immediately by the 601 in 1963. Because of its outdated and inefficient two-stroke engine (which produced poor fuel economy, low power output and thick, smoky exhaust) and production shortages, the Trabant was regarded with derisive affection as a symbol of the extinct former East Germany and of the fall of the Eastern Bloc. Many East Germans streamed into West Berlin and West Germany in their Trabants after the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Trabant was named one of the 50 worst cars of all time by Time Magazine and was included in Automotive Atrocities! The Cars We Love to Hate by Eric Peters. Automotive journalist Dan Neil noted that after East Germans drove their Trabants to freedom in West Germany, they immediately abandoned them.

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