Quality Engineering Career News by UQSI

By Star-Ledger Wire Services

Forget ObamaCare and the federal deficit. Let’s even put aside the mess in the Middle East for a minute. We’ve got real controversy here. The editors at Cars.com have compiled a list of the worst cars of the decade.

For the record, we agree with most of them. We had to paraphrase the editor’s comments, but the rankings — in descending order — are:

1. Smart ForTwo (2008-present): The ForTwo may look cute, but you won’t be smiling after you drive it.

2. Chrysler Sebring (1995-present): With a weak base power train, poor interior quality and haphazard styling, it never had a chance in the midsize sedan segment.

3. Jeep Compass (2007-present): A soft-road poseur, and not a good one at that.

4. Toyota Echo (2000-2005): Call the Echo ahead of its time if you must. Mainly, it just wasn’t a very good car.

5. Cadillac Catera (1997-2001): A soft, underpowered rear-wheel-drive car that felt front-wheel-drive and suffered from advertising that proclaimed “The Caddy That Zigs.”

6. Pontiac Sunfire (1995-2005): Cheap interior plastics run amok, a coarse four-cylinder engine and horrendous crash-test ratings sealed its fate.

7. Jaguar X-Type (2002-2008): A too-small, not-so-sporty sedan hamstrung by quality issues.

8. Isuzu VehiCross (1999-2002): The fanglike grille on the outrageous two-door SUV looked like it would eat you, which was scary mainly because no one wanted to be inside a VehiCross.

9. Daewoo anything (2001-2005): We mused over which would kill us first in a Daewoo: toxic gases from the cheap interior, the recalcitrant transmission or inconsistent acceleration.

10. Pontiac Aztek (2001-2005): It was criticized for its ghastly styling for the duration of its life. The critics were right.