Homegrown lemons: Australia's worst cars*



Homegrown lemons: Australia's worst cars*

Tony Davis

July 15, 2011

Comments 42

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Worst locally produced cars

THE POORLY MADE AND UNDERDEVELOPED AUSTIN X6.

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*Not by Ford or Holden. Tony Davis picks the 13 most questionable cars to have been built in Australia.

Having made lists of the least appealing Fords and Holdens and having been contacted as a result by a whole new collection of correspondents, some of whom can spell, it seems only fitting I complete the job.

Henry and the General aren't the only mainstream players to make cars here. What about Toyota, Nissan, Chrysler-Mitsubishi, and BMC-Leyland?

Yes, there's been a pox or two on those houses. Such as:

Austin X6

There were Kimberley and Tasman versions, depending on whether you preferred cyanide or arsenic. Cramming an optional straight six into this front-drive car was a brave but pointless move. It didn't help that the six was thirsty and unreliable, or that the car itself was underdeveloped and badly made. But you knew that - it was made by Leyland.

Morris Marina

Ohmigod! Who would have thought it possible to make something this odious using only metal, glass and plastic? It was meant to be a rugged and reliable alternative to the above but was neither. The only way to make things worse would be to add the P76's six-cylinder engine. So they added it.

Leyland P76

It could have been good. But it wasn't. We could go on. That would be more than most P76s did.

Chrysler (by Chrysler)

An early-1970s luxury car that nobody needed, built by a company that seemed to have lost all clue. The name was daft (by daft).

Valiant VH Hardtop

The heavy, thirsty, flabby 1971 Hardtop was bigger than the already obese VH sedan, for goodness sake. Yet rear legroom was close to zero. If you wanted a Valiant coupe, why not the vastly superior Charger?

Toyota Camry Hybrid

Built on the wishful principle that do-gooders want to do their good anonymously. If only they would put a windmill on the roof …

Toyota Avalon

A dated piece of droopiness aimed at the American market. Although no one bought it, it made the Camry look stylish.

Datsun 200B

People bought Japanese-sourced cars in the late 1970s because they were reliable, economical and relatively refined. No one knows, then, why they bought the 200B. Having fooled the public at first, Nissan Australia cranked up production just in time for the public to wake up. Oops.

Toyota Corona "Starfire"

Although unspeakably dull, the Corona was ultra-reliable. This attribute was comprehensively undone by installing a Holden Starfire engine in 1979 to lift local content. Toyota engineers made dozens of changes to this six-cut-back-to-four but it didn't help.

Austin Freeway

One of many pre-'76 attempts to build a local BMC/Leyland six. This dated, be-finned parts-bin special sold fewer in all 1963 than the EH Holden sold every week. Deservedly, too.

Nissan Pintara

Pintara is an Arrernte Aboriginal word meaning ''tedious, dated Japanese fare unconvincingly reheated''. In sedan form, Nissan Australia's 1989 effort was dreary but the locally developed Superhatch hunchback, sorry hatchback, was meant to bring to mind the Audi Avant. It did, as in ''get me an Audi Avant so I can get as far away from this thing as possible''.

Nissan Ute

Ford tried to flog a version of the Pintara, known as Corsair. The quid pro quo was a bog-standard 1988 Falcon ute with a Nissan sticker on the tailgate. If you didn't laugh at the silliness, you would have to cry.

Mitsubishi 380

It wasn't bad, just unnecessary. They built it (in 2005) in the vain hope the people would come. ''Hello … hello, is anyone there?''

Comments

A bit like this column, actually. You know, why did they bother?

perplexius | Ballarat - July 15, 2011, 10:47AM

Cannot agree with your nomination of the Mitsubishi 380. Not a lemon, more a frog looking for someone to kiss it! It handled well and the VRX and GT models actually were well fited out. I think it's place should betaken by the Toyota Lexen. It managed to truly demonstrate the feel and ride of Ben's boats!

Mini Mad | Doncaster - July 15, 2011, 10:50AM

Mitsu 380 - such a great drive but just so butt ugly.

Dave B | Melb - July 15, 2011, 10:57AM

My parents owned a yellow Datsun 200B we eventually had repainted sky blue. I also had a horrible poo brown 200B. They weren't that bad really. But once you did start having problems it was a fast downhill slide. But then so was my second car, a '79 Mazda 626...otherwise known as blower of head gaskets.

Sammy01 - July 15, 2011, 10:53AM

It looks like the size of the lemon is directly proportional to the amount of government interference in the manufacturing of the product. If they had left the car makers to build the cars then would definitely not have any Leyland Australia or the cross over Toyota- Holdens Ford-Nissan etc etc.

BernieC - July 15, 2011, 10:53AM

Why does rebranding a holden ute to another brand suddenly make it a bad car?

tango8 | Sydney - July 15, 2011, 11:11AM

And the Camira doesn't get a mention?

Seriously?

Bruce Banner | Melburn - July 15, 2011, 11:11AM

The ex-pommie designed rubbish like the Marina and the P76. Some bright spark thought shim adjustment for valve clearances would be a good idea. WRONG !!!

Bill Smith | Far North Queensland - July 15, 2011, 11:13AM

Mini Mad | Doncaster - July 15, 2011, 10:50AM

"Toyota Lexen. It managed to truly demonstrate the feel and ride of Ben's boats!"

What? Fast upwind?

Pete75 | Sydney - July 15, 2011, 11:20AM

Mini Mad - part of the fun on these comments is where we agree to disagree. The 380 is pretty damn ordinary. I had to put up with them as hire cars for years whenever I worked interstate. They go quick, have an ok ride, but they didn't handle (very front heavy leading to a fair bit of understeer), had awful uncomfortable seats and looked like a skip bin.

Correct me if Im wrong, but wasnt the Lexcen part of the model-sharing arrangement that Toyota and Holden had (ie. Apollo/Camry) where the Lexcen was just a VP-VR Commodore with a different interior and even worse re-sale.

BTW, the Avalon I understand was 'easy money' as Toyota Australia in fact obtained the production line from the US division for free (essentially s'hand), and were able to get a much of the Avalon componentry for free from the US via some tax loophole. So anyone who actually bought one was 'donating' all their purchase price to Toyota to a certain extent.

DJCJ | Melbourne - July 15, 2011, 11:20AM

@ Bruce Banner | Melburn - July 15, 2011, 11:11AM

There's a hotline that can help you Bruce.

1300 655 506

Pete75 | Sydney - July 15, 2011, 11:25AM

Has anyone noticed that you don't see any 380s any more? Its as if they all died of shame. OTOH, you still see a lot of late-model Magnas and that car still looks very nice (was the pick of the locals when it first appeared). If they had done a manual version of the AWD model, I reckon I might have been tempted - great engine, decent dynamics and a great looking car with a reasonably nice interior.

MotorMouth | Sydney - July 15, 2011, 11:32AM

I had a VF hardtop (I am only 33 and it looked cool) but the legroom was atrocious. dad has an avalon and that is standard toyota - i.e. very boring

Franky | Sydney - July 15, 2011, 12:00PM

It remains the national sport to bag the BMC cars because they challenge the Ford/Holden/Valiant psychology of aussie boguns. PS you forgot the 1800's, the 'holden/ford' of the UK during the '60's.

opinionator | Trafalgar - July 15, 2011, 11:52AM

MotorMouth, you don't see many 380s because most were bought on the cheap by hire car companies and have already run them into the ground. And not many were sold in the first place. Mind you, the 380 wasn't bad, just 5 years too late. If it had come out on the original timeline for replacing the Magna it would have been hailed as a wonderful car but instead is was too little, too late.

The Camry Hybrid isn't bad enough to be on the list as it's actually better value than a regular Camry.

The Lexcen definitely should be on the list. Poorly named and poorly built - Holden's workers did not care for the Toyota badged Commodores and it was reflected in even worse build quality.

And no washing machines on the list?

Michael - July 15, 2011, 11:48AM

Nice list - but can't agree on the Mitsu 380 entry. If that car had been sold with a Holden badge, would have sold in buckets.

cdinoz | Sydney - July 15, 2011, 11:48AM

Toyota Avalon. One of the most boring Toyotas ever made. I'd much rather drive a Corona Starfire. At least they were rear-wheel-drive and had a bit of character. There's nothing actually wrong with the Corona Starfire.

Johnny | Sydney - July 15, 2011, 11:47AM

Datto 200b? No way! Seems the guy who created the list is a bit of a Nissan hater... There are Pintaras that pull 10s and 11s and it is reliable enough (for the era and price etc).

There have been many cars that are rebadged, especially holdens - a current example is the range of Daewoos that Holden currently offer. I dont see why that automatically puts them on the worst Aussie built cars list.

I just wasted all that time reading this article and typing this comment that now I actually feel a bit foolish.

Rayo

Rayo | Syd - July 15, 2011, 12:04PM

I agree with the majority, but the 380 is/was a great car. You look for the same performance in a holden/ford of that era and you end up paying an extra $4k+.

SpeedRacer | Melbourne - July 15, 2011, 12:13PM

Has Tony Davis missed the mark here a bit. I think so. A "Lemon" usually refers to a car that is terribly unreliable and spends more time off road than on road, doesn't it ? I suupose it also infers cars that don't sell too well. Anyway, arguably the worst home grown cars of the last 40 years were the first V8 Commodore (was it the VB ?) and the notorious Camira. Mind you if not home grown the fist BMW X5's were shocking even if this column can't stop talking about them.......

Platypus - July 15, 2011, 12:18PM

Didn't like the P76 six cylinder?

My parents had both, the 6 cylinder & the V8.

I quite easily remember on several occasions as an 18 year old dragging off many Commodore 4.2 V8s while driving the 6cyl P76.

Also remember the report of someone who replaced the std Auto in the V8 Targa Florio P76 with the 6 cyl version manual transmision & beat the GTHO over the 1/4 mile.

- & yes, 44 gal drum + wheat bag in boot was true & was great in the country.

They weren't a bad car for the time, but not being a Ford or Holden copped that Stigma.

Darren | Melbourne - July 15, 2011, 12:23PM

what a lightweight article - a more reasoned analysis would be really interesting - why were they crap, design, production what? what about current cars?

trego | thomastown - July 15, 2011, 12:24PM

Nice list Tony, I am a fan of your books as well. But how the Mini Moke did not get on this list is a mystery to me...

Also, I think the Chrysler honour roll should also include the Centura - what a shocker!

Jezza | Melbourne - July 15, 2011, 12:36PM

Hybrid Camry is a great car and a genuine step in the right direction. It's just a pity most motoring journos feel required to dump on aything that doesn't have a a V8, sports stripes or an exotic badge!

RR - July 15, 2011, 12:39PM

No mention of the Lightburn Zeta? You also forgot the HD Holden, you know, the one that rusted out before it left the showroom floor.

Sarty | Crab Nebula - July 15, 2011, 12:46PM

I'm glad that the Avalon is considered a lemon. When it was time to replace the 96 Camry back in 2008 we found that an 03 Avalon with all the bells and whistles was cheaper than 03 Camry. It's a great car for our family with plenty of room and rides well. I'm happy to suck this lemon.

Rick | Eastwood - July 15, 2011, 12:47PM

I was the proud owner of an 1981 Corona with the infamous 1.9l 'Starfire' motor. What an incredibly underwhelming vehicle. Heavy body and light on power so it chewed fuel like a six potter with the agility of a besser block.

A mate of mine had a datto 200B at the same time, which made me very jealous. Shows how ordinary the Corona was!!

Geoffro | Sydney - July 15, 2011, 12:51PM

Mr Davis - There is a significant difference in logic between isolating out a vehicle because of its poor design and poor manufacture - (such as the Marina) - and "finger pointing" a Valiant because it looks "big" on today's roads.

Your assertion that the Hardtop or the Chrysler by Chrysler (CxC) were somehow "bad cars" , is not even supported by your own article - The only fault you can find is that they are "big" and therefore somehow "bad".

Personal Luxury cars such as the LTD, Landau, Statesman and even the HQ LS Monaro were a reality of the time - the Valiant's not being any larger or any heavier than most I have listed.

1971-74 was a very different time to today - and large "personal luxury" cars were the norm in many countries that had a manufacturing presence. An XJS Jaguar in fact was heavier than either of the two Chrysler cars you mention.

No - your argument is a cynical exercise in cheap potshots, because the design of those vehicles doesn't sit well with today's concepts....there is nothing more to your somewhat under-whelming conclusions.

Your view that these cars are considered "large-ish" now...means they were somehow irrelevant in 1974 says far more about the lack of analytical construct in your thinking than it does about the truth.

What is more - The considerable numbers of Valiants in all forms that still frequent today's roads (More than Fords or Holden's in fact) serves to point the reader to the real truth.

No, I'm afraid you never researched the actual facts behind Chrysler vehicles which was evident in your book, and nothing has changed it seems.

Rat Patrol | applying deductive reasoning to an illogical diatribe - July 15, 2011, 12:54PM

Where is the Ford Capri Convertible?

reif99 | Santos Brasil - July 15, 2011, 1:03PM

tango | Sydney wrote - "Why does rebranding a holden ute to another brand suddenly make it a bad car?"

Because it started as a Holden Ute? Did you really have to ask. Before and after the rebranding it would have had questionable quality (Eg. Fuel injectors that leak into the air con, windows that don't work, rattles etc) and a distinct lack of technology. So really, you could get a Holden Ute, put a Ford badge on it, call it a Falcon Ute and you wouldn't know the difference.

This list, presumably, doesn't list the Ford/Holden lemons because there ar only so many electrons in the Universe available for the transmission of such data...

pookemon - July 15, 2011, 1:01PM

I can only agree with the Marina being in the list. I bought a new one in 1975 (foolish youth!) just before they stopped production. The rain leaked in, the interior fit was appalling, it handled like a pig etc etc.

DJW - July 15, 2011, 12:58PM

As you say Tony - the Mitsubishi 380 wasn't bad.

So why even list it in an article that's meant to be about lemons?

They might not have been the best looking car on the market, but they were good. And in today's used car market, they represent excellent value as you can pick one up with a lot of features for a good price.

As Bruce Banner said (July 15, 2011, 11:11AM):

"And the Camira doesn't get a mention? Seriously?"

Truth Hurts - July 15, 2011, 1:56PM

Well the Austin Kimberley may have been deemed a dud but as a kid I loved it. What other car manufacturer offered an Orange duco with black vinyl interior. We felt it had heaps of room inside and ran it for 13 years. Mum said that although it cost a bit in petrol she hardly had any dramas and we drove over the nullabor and back as well as to Brisbane and Sydney several times.

Fond memories for me but obviously it didn't stack up for many other!

unicorn - July 15, 2011, 2:00PM

I would add my vote for the Camira - when mine got past 100,000K's, the electrical system would overheat and the car could only be started by waiting for it to cool down or by hot wiring the ignition. I loved it anyway because it was cutting edge in the 80's (mage wheels, cloth seats, air con, trip computer etc).

The Morris Marina was a shocker - I agree with that one wholeheartedly.

J | NQ - July 15, 2011, 1:56PM

Have you driven a camry hybrid? obviously not. a car with nearly zero exterior noise and 1100km range from 60L of 91 in luxury. suspension that made the ford and holden look like the ordinary pieces of junk they are. the 200b was a brilliant little car. 2L 5 speed that went on for ever and ever. do you know what a L on your forehaed stands for Tony? you should.

smilingjack - July 15, 2011, 1:55PM

Hey, you forgot to mention the Mitsibishi Sigma, a 4 cyl with the economy of an 8 cyl

John of Melb - July 15, 2011, 1:50PM

@ Mini Mad I know I'm 'only a girl' but wasn't the Toyota Lexcen the same as the Commodore of the day?

LucyX - July 15, 2011, 1:46PM

What about the Japanese-designed Nissan Bluebird of the late-70s & early 80s? Marketed as "The World's First Four Cylinder Limousine", it was a complete dud with huge reliability problems and bits and pieces falling off it all the time. Within a few years they were full of rust. Similar story for Holden Camira (or 'Crumb-ira' as it was called) - another locally-designed piece of rubbish.

Actually, the Morris Marina was not that bad. Very bland to look at but I had a friend who bought one brand new, and it was OK to drive, and reliable.

Steve | Melbourne - July 15, 2011, 1:45PM

"Toyota Camry Hybrid

Built on the wishful principle that do-gooders want to do their good anonymously. If only they would put a windmill on the roof."

haha, so true!

rosedogg | Geelong - July 15, 2011, 1:39PM

I dont understand what the issue with the 380 was. The GT wasnt worth the additional money as it didnt seem any different to the standard model. I used to rent them on holidays and preferred them over the holdens and fords. I found they handled well compared to many other larger cars available that I could rent. I also thought they looked quite good.

Maybe the mistake was that they should have released them instead of the previous 5 years worth of Magnas. The engine had plenty of power and I found they stuck to the road well around corners. It was also more comfy than the Ford XR6 I rented.

Andy | Melbourne - July 15, 2011, 2:01PM

Only three words to add ... Sigma, Sigma, Sigma.

Okay, okay. Two more ... head gasket.

ptw | Katoomba - July 15, 2011, 1:35PM

Capri convertible.

Enjoy the rain.

Top up or top down? You're in for a drenching either way.

Ugly, too, with those slab sides. Whatever they paid the designer/stylist, it was too much.

Ian.

Ian | Harcourt - July 15, 2011, 1:32PM

Why do these articles always take aim at the local industry? Sure, Australia has produced some lemons but that's far from unique. Where are the articles on Japan's or South Korea's worst cars?

JK | Melbourne - July 15, 2011, 1:31PM

Pete75 - brilliant comment, love it.

I love the hardtop Chryslers. I dream of a ultra-rare VJ hardtop, so beautifully pointless, it's lovely.

Igomi Watabi - July 15, 2011, 1:31PM

Not the Camira! 350000ks of trouble free motoring.Not pretty to look at but damn reliable.

mick55 - July 15, 2011, 1:27PM

What's worse than the Toyota Corona Starfire, a Holden Commodore Starfire!!! Went to NZ on holiday, rented a Commodore, got one of those monstrosities. Hilarious when you lift the bonnet and see the big hole where the other 2 cylinders should have been..

And like many others say, the Camira must have been one of the worst cars around. It shows that if Holden or Ford put out a Pommy car in those days it was just as bad as Leyland's Pommy cars.

Datsun 200B, a 180B with 20 more mistakes... And to think this thing is derived from an Austin A40. At least its door handles didn't droop. After WW2 Nissan bought the rights to manufacture the Austin A40 in Japan, and then set about continually improving it so that they made by far the best ever A40s in the world - then they used all that knowledge and experience to produce the Datsun Bluebird, then the 1600, then the 180B, you get the picture. They also made Minis and fixed all the silly things wrong with them. The same engineering knowledge and support was sold to India at the same time....

Norm | Maroubra - July 15, 2011, 1:26PM

@ DJW - July 15, 2011, 12:58PM - The TC Marina (twin carb) was my first car out of school in 1975.

The twin SU carb'd 1750 engine had plenty of torque for a 4 cyl of the day - its a pity the clutch, gearbox and finally the whole front end were overwhelmed by the need to drive it daily!

The Rat Patrol | ...owning up..... - July 15, 2011, 1:22PM

Thare article are obviously written as a space fillers. Surely the Sunbird with the Starfire motor also qualifies as much as the Toyota Corona, although it was not included in the previous lists. As somebody else has already pointed out, a Nissan badge on the rear of a Falcon ute does not turn it into a lemon. Your opening sentence for the Mitsubishi 380 admits "It wasn't bad".

Ken | Geelong - July 15, 2011, 1:20PM

The Lexcen was a Commodore, totally, so that means that VN, Vp, VR & VS Commodores must have been bad too!! The VP, at least, had different front guard panels (so that you couldn't buy stuff to fit from Autobarn).

Eaglemist - July 15, 2011, 1:18PM

I'll defend three cars on this list

Chrysler by Chrysler; not a bad car by the standard of the day. They all rusted off the roads on the coast, but that only made them a little worse than their competitors. Away from the coast you still see plenty of these cars in the country, and I want one.

Pintara; It was a cheap car. Fair go. It was more solidly built than the Falcondores of the day. And whilst is wasn't a high performance car it was nippy enough because the car was lighter than its appearance or solidity suggested. More room inside than the 4's of the day.

A380; Well I won't defend the Magna, but I will say had they released this instead of the ugly TL in 2003, Misubishi would still be in Australia today.

ibast | Prestons - July 15, 2011, 1:15PM

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