Hahahaha, yes! My family rented an Uplander on a recent vacation and it was easily the worst vehicle I have ever sat in. Its doors were extremely difficult to open, the turning radius was horrible, and it had gigantic blind spots. Bravo.

Nice. All american (or american owned) companies.

@Sam: Oh, this wasn't without its context -- we have a Honda Odyssey at home.

Why is the Aveo on the list twice?

@Leiterfluid: Sucks twice as much?!?

@Leiterfluid: Because it's just that unsatisfying! I made a comment about how it was the last car on Earth I'd ever buy.

@Leiterfluid: Who cares? The Grand Marquis, Crown Vic, and Lincoln Towncar did not make the list.

@Leiterfluid: It should be on the list at least 12 times.

This shows just how bad GM has become. Is there anything they make that is really desirable? 8 of 12 (even with the Aveo twice) is not a good sign for the General. Maybe they need to see about offering things people actually want. OnStar? Do not want. Why should I pay a fee every month to use my cell phone hands-free? Have they not heard of Bluetooth over there? My Charger came with it and it gets used a LOT. Add 350, rear-drive horsepower and awesome styling FTW.

@Geekybiker: For the most part, the Mazda truck is a Ford Ranger, so yeah, all American cars.

@Leiterfluid: I would guess that since it comes in a 2 dr and a 4 dr version, they both suck.

What a surprise, all american junk.

Let's be fair here... The Aveo is listed twice (sedan and hatch?), the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are the same truck, just rebadged, and the Buick Terraza, Saturn Relay, and Chevy Uplander are the same ugly-ass minivan, just rebadged. So, take the General's 8 and cut it down to 3. And, to be fair to the others, the Mazda B-Series is nothing more than a rebadged Ford Ranger.

The worst car on that list has a higher approval rating than our President currently does.

The only countries making decent cars all lost in WWII. I've been saying this for years.

Note the duplicates:

Mazda B Series == Ford Ranger

Chevy Colorado == GMC Canyon

Bucik Terraza == Saturn Relay == Chevrolet Uplander

@howie_in_az: Fiat?!

I wish there was more info telling how the readers arrived at these conclusions. My husband bought an Aveo sedan new in 2004 and we love it. It gets great mileage, never needs repair, and is shockingly roomy inside. My 6'3" husband is perfectly comfortable driving it -- ample leg and head room -- even though it looks like a roller skate on the outside. Are people just pissed because it doesn't come with a DVD player? Cup holders not fancy enough?

@howie_in_az: Did France win or lose in WWII? They were on the winning side, but they were eliminated in the early rounds. What does that say about Peugeot, Renault and Citroen?

@allirob: Corvette

@dale3h:
Expand your horizons and you'll find lots of cars worse than the Aveo. Daewoo themselves make one (the Matiz). Also most of China's home-grown autos.

@Zombietime:
The Aveo is Korean junk, with an engine based of a British design for an American company.

@texasannie:

Poor quality control does not mean that every car off the line is a pile of crap. (Because that would take some control)

You got lucky. Congratulations, you played Russian Roulette and won.

@spinachdip:
Ultimately, the parts of France that came out on top after the war...won. And it has absolutely zero to say about Peugeot, Renault, and Citroen.

@allirob:

Corvette. New Camaro. The Cobalt is not without its charm, and it's relative, the Ion...while being ugly and having unnervingly twitchy electric power steering, has its high points, too. (VERY tight turn radius) Hummer H3 (not overpriced, and not a total poseurmobile). HHR. Solstice. Sky...actually everything coming down the pipe for Saturn. If you like big FWD coupes and Sedans, you could do worse than a Grand Prix or Monte Carlo. The ergonomics of the Monte are great for a tall guy like me (even if the materials could be better). The new Malibu is gorgeous.

GM makes a lot of worthwhile cars.

It did just occur to me, though...why does every US automaker think it is acceptable for their minivans to be unreliable piles of garbage? Do they figure they'll make a mint on Dodge Caravan transmission sales?

domo arigato Mister Imorto

Note that 4 models on that list are no longer in production (Uplander, Terraza, RELAY, and Freestar), and 2 are on their way out (Ranger and B-Series). The Buick and Saturn minivans have been replaced by the highly successful Enclave and Outlook crossovers, and the strong selling Ford Edge essentially replaces the Freestar.

It took some time, but the automakers are indeed listening to what their public is saying.

yeah the key between o and [ seems to be non-functional. damn American keyboards

@nweaver: GMC Made a Canyonero?

I actually like the current design of the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon. It's modern, but still rugged looking. However, it suffers from the trademark GM interior.. ugly design, cheap plastics, and eventually rattling panels.

I'll take a Toyota Tacoma any day over the Colorado/Canyon. Sure, it costs more. But at least I'll know the Tacoma won't be falling apart 10 years down the road.

I heard GM is discontinuing the Equinox and its clones. I never understood the reason for offering that thing. It just seemed a bit redundant considering GM already offers a mid-sized SUV, the Trail Blazer.

I'd rent one but I'd never buy one.
@warf0x0r: Yes, there is such a thing as a GMC Canyonero!

Can you name the truck with four wheel drive,
smells like a steak and seats thirty-five..

Canyonero! Canyonero!

Well, it goes real slow with the hammer down,
It's the country-fried truck endorsed by a clown!

Canyonero! (Yah!) Canyonero!
[Krusty:] Hey Hey

The Federal Highway comission has ruled the
Canyonero unsafe for highway or city driving.

Canyonero!

12 yards long, 2 lanes wide,
65 tons of American Pride!

Canyonero! Canyonero!

Top of the line in utility sports,
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!

Canyonero! Canyonero! (Yah!)

She blinds everybody with her super high beams,
She's a squirrel crushing, deer smacking, driving machine!

Canyonero!-oh woah, Canyonero! (Yah!)

Drive Canyonero!

Woah Canyonero!

Woah!

A little history on all of these marks. Each and every one of them are old designs, with the exception of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Aveo is at least a decade old Daewoo before GM slapped a Chevy badge on it. The Ranger (and Mazda) have suffered from neglect by Ford, and the truck is at least 2 decades old. The Uplander, Relay, and Terraza were freshened GM Minivans, based on a platform introduced in 1996. And the Canyon and Colorado were designed by Isuzu to replace the 20 year old S-10. So it really is no surprise that they finished the way they did.

I am very satisfied with my Equinox, save one thing - the "set in" windshield. My uncle, who is an engineer with GM, says this is to prevent rainwater from washing over the edge of the windshield and onto the side windows while driving. But since I live in Colorado, all it does is make it a pain in the ass to clean snow off my windshield.

I find it kind of telling that the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon compact pickup, a recent design, is less satisfying than the Ford Ranger/Mazda B-series truck, based on an aging platform dating back to the 1993 model year.

Proof that most of the time GM can't design itself out of a paper bag.

@allirob:
Of all the car models on the market, how many are GM? And of the GM cars on the list, how many are the same product under different marques/configurations?

Is there anything they make that is really desirable? Well, if you don't follow cars much, there's the Corvette, CTS, Malibu, Solstice/Sky, G6/Aura, Astra, and Holden models that continue to be brought stateside... just to name a few that catch my attention. C'mon now.

Just because they're not desirable to you doesn't mean they're not desirable to others... just like how your assessment of the Charger's "awesome styling" is debatable. Different strokes for different folks.

@clickertrainer: The worst car on that list has a higher approval rating than our President currently does.
... who, in turn, has a higher approval rating than congress and the house speaker... who, in turn, are attempting to legislate the engineering of product line-up for the next 13 years. How's that for disturbing?

I have a 2004 Chevy Aveo hatchback and I love it. I just moved across the country and rather than sell it, and try to find a new car, I had it shipped out to CA with me. It's compact and easy to parallel park (a dream!) and incredibly spacious inside. And it makes cool chirping noises when you lock it (my friends used to fight over who got to lock my car). I wonder if the 2007 model is really different...

First of all, any study made by Consumer Reports must be taken with a grain of salt, if not outright ignored. Consumer Reports has long exhibited vast automotive ignorance and harbored an obvious and unhealthy bias towards the Imports. They simply have an outdated knowledge of any cars, not just domestics. They're stuck in the past, maaan.

Second, and case in point - 2007 is the last year for the Freestar, Relay, Terraza, and Uplander, and the Ranger and B-Series will be gone next year. Most have already been replaced by superior models, so progress is being made.

Forth and most important, that bias and ignorance of Consumer Reports is made quite evident when badge-engineered models are counted as seperate. The Terraza, Relay and Uplander are the SAME VEHICLE, as are the Canyon and Colorado, and the B-Series and Ranger.

That's three arcitectures for seven of the 12. Also, that the 4-door and 5-door Aveo ("wagon and hatchback"??? There IS no wagon!) are counted as separate models is absolutely ludicrous; by the same logic, the Ranger comes in numerous bed and cab lengths that could nearly fill the 12-car list.

Finally, the list was put together by people who made a big embarassing mistake with child seats that got them in a lot of trouble, because they outsourced their testing. If they're too lazy to do their own child seat tests, why would I believe anything else they say or do to be accurate in any way? They probably outsourced the survey as well. In any case, The pool of people they surveyed was undoubtedly tainted by people who don't know a car from an iPhone.

Any professional auto journalist or amateur autoblogger will tell you some of the most boring and therefore unsatisfying cars out there aren't just American.

Although the Equinox does stink. It's the Chinese motor. The Jeep just stinks, period. :)

It makes sense that half of these vehicles are going out of production soon. I think this goes to show that Chevy is finally turning around by realizing the turds they've laid actually stink.

The Ranger was only kept in production so Ford could meet CAFE mileage for its trucks; they will quit making it once the diesel engine is available in the F-150. Oddly enough, even though it's still basically the same truck they were making over a decade ago, it still ranked higher than the newer base Colorado/Canyon.

The Freestar ended production in '07, and even then was almost entirely a fleet vehicle. It has been replaced by the Taurus X and Edge.

The Cherokee, Colorado, and Canyon are heavy vehicles which are overwhelmed by their base engines; try actually finding one on the road.

The Aveo sells because it's very, very cheap.

The GM Minivans were a tremendous failure when they were released a couple years ago, both because crossovers have almost completely replace minivans in the market, and because they were far behind the other cars in the market while being more expensive(list was about $1-2k more than a similar Odyssey or Caravan).

The Uplander is the worst car I've been in in recent memory: terrible ride, uncomfortable seats, cheesy interior, no power, no handling, etc. Also, the engine is made in China, so it's probably a cast lead block. :)

I am surprised the Kia Amanti is not on the list. That is one hideous car! But I guess their lame owners are content with a shiny turd on wheels...
If the Aveo and Aveo5 are considered different cars, how is the Corolla and Martix considered the same when total sales are reported? If thats the case, the Cobalt and HHR would be the same!

I have a Mazda B2300 and I like it. It's got almost 160K miles on it, and it still runs fine. I've had to replace all the normal things, like tires and batteries, but nothing major. There's a crack in the windshield, and a rip in the seat, but what do you expect after 160K? It's not as powerful as an SUV, but it has the highest MPG of any truck, period.

I've never heard of half these cars or seen them on the road.

I'm guessing the Aveo is on there for reasons listed in this website...
[www.thetruthaboutcars.com]

ouch!

How'd they find anyone that bought a Freestar in order to poll them?

And on the Jeep, that 3.7l V6 engine is woefully underpowered for a truck of that size. I'm surprised that Jeep stuffed that in there. No doubt people hate the combo.

i wonder if the fact that there aren't more cars such as kia's and hyundai's on here is because their owners had lowered expectations to begin with. if i had a replaceable plastic car that was less than stellar i really wouldn't be surprised. i think shame might have something to do with them not making the list as well. you know, one doesn't want to admit to making what, in hindsight, was a blatantly terrible decision.

@TechnoDestructo:

My bad. Forgot to qualify my post with "In my humble opinion".

Corvette is desirable, yes.

New Camaro is not out yet. Let's see if they can live up to the hype when it does roll out. Nice original idea there with the retro styling.

The HHR? Come ON. Soccer moms everywhere rejoice! Bigger than a PT Cruiser, almost able to merge without being rear-ended, unable to make men drool.

The one shining star at GM (besides the venerable Corvette) was the Pontiac (Holden) GTO, which they quit making. 400hp and a manual tranny is nice, too bad they had to go all the way around the world for the platform to put it in.

Got rid of a Monte Carlo for the Charger because the Monte was lame. The car was a 2003, free to me (death in family) and I traded it away after a 2 years to get something worthwhile. It took that long because, well, it was a free car with 1,500 miles on it. Had 25K when it got traded.

Maybe It's because I am a hot rodder or something and feel that GM keeps dropping the ball in that respect more than anything. A hot rod should have 8 cylinders and rear drive. My '56 Ford 2-door certainly does. So does the wife's Torino GT. So does the Charger, 300C, Magnum, the forthcoming Challenger, and...oh, yes, the Viper. Viper. Corvette killer.

Hummers are ridiculous in any form other than the original military versions. My opinion, don't have to agree. Most SUV's are a waste and could be replaced with a nice station wagon like a Subaru.

The new Malibu looks like a Euro sedan but does not have the cache to go with it and cannot live up to that expectation of quality materials and superior handling/power. Businessmen everywhere will love their rental cars though.

@00solstice:

All is debatable. You are correct. That's part of why we are here...right? =)

Why was this on Consumerist, not Jalopnik?

This is a pretty pathetic list. Yes, these are some definite automotive bottom-feeders, but there's some serious automotive gerrymandering going on with the definition of "models." Not that I'd expect much more from Consumer Reports. There's also the fact that Detroit isn't all that good at building transportation appliances. People who want to be lulled by their driving experiences shop elsewhere, with Toyota (and Lexus) being very good at removing you from the driving experience.

@allirob: "A hot rod should have 8 cylinders and rear drive...and...oh, yes, the Viper

Viper's got 10 cylinders, Mr Hot Rodder. I'd hardly call the Viper a Vette Killer when it's substantially more expensive and a lot less useful. To quote Car and Driver on the Z06 Vs Viper matchup: "This brawl was over even before the teachers broke it up. In every performance category except one, the Vette won or tied the Viper." But I suppose it's still debatable.

Maybe an older Corvette....but nowadays, it's the definitive "Look at me, I'm going through a midlife crisis and have a small penis and need to compensate!" car.

I just don't see a Corvette and think it's a big deal. There are so many on the road, they're like Civics. And I don't think "I want one!" I think "Oh, there's the midlife crisis guy with nothing in his pants" Every time I look in the drivers seat of a Vette, it's someone about 110 years too old for the car.

For the money, there are many other cars I'd rather have, even if they're not as powerful. Not that I'd ever buy an American car ever again. My family's had enough bad experiences with them to never go near one ever again.

@CSMiller: My family has 3 Hyundais (and FWIW, Kia is Hyundai) and they've all been great cars. Perfect, no complaints to speak of. Only problem we've had across all 3 of them was the power window motor on my car crapped out. No big deal, replaced under warranty, in and out of the dealer within an hour. And something that minor can happen with ANY manufacturer. None of us consider our purchases a terrible decision and I have absolutely no problem admitting I own a Hyundai (although not for much longer, I'm upgrading to a GTI in a few weeks, but not because I hate my car or am sick of it, we all like to upgrade every now and then. And I would definitely have considered another Hyundai, it's just they don't offer what I want in a car right now). They're great cars and are nothing to make fun of anymore.

The Uplander/Terrazza/Relay is what happens when you try and design something but don't actually put any money towards it, and don't care about the outcome, evaluate the competition, etc.

The Enclave/Relay/Acadia weighs 5000 lbs and is smaller inside than most minivans.

Nope, Aveo is a rebadged Daewoo... and its counted twice. Other than that, yeah, all american cars.

Interesting, though, with the exception of the Grand Cherokee (worse than an Aveo?), all of the vehicles come from Ford or GM rather than Chrysler. A very disproportional number indeed.

@HDC: It's mostly because they killed the AMC I-6, which was a really nice engine to drive.

I have to agree with them on the Uplander. Last year when we were hunting for a new minivan we test drove pretty much every make and model of family van made in the last 10 years.
This thing was so bad I was actualiy offended. Cheap happy meal grade plastics, wheezy engine, and clunky shifting (to be fair there may have been something wrong there). The sales person bragged how easy the seats were to remove. "Show me," I replied. He couldn't make them budge. Pure gravy.
The styling, which tried to do an SUV impression, came off as odd.

Still, it's a shame to see the General bail out of the minivan segment rather than try again to build a decent one.