Uh oh, top 10 worst Italian cars!

[under18carbon]

Linky

Obviously I haven't driven any cars on there... but anyways, I can't believe the Countach is on there.

 

[Famine]

It IS legendarily hard to drive - uncomfortable, hot, smelly - and parking it is just... well...

 

[daan]

And the fact that it's wider than your house and you can't see out of it.

 

[under18carbon]

Fine, I'll accept those reasons.

 

[toyomatt84]

Yeah, but on the positive side... you could ask any kid (talking grade school, not on the forums) around here which car they'd like to have when they grow up, and you'd see a ton of fingers pointing in the direction of the Countach. They had to have done something right for that to happen. I think there's plenty worse from Italy than the Countach. I think it's a poor choice on their side.

 

[Small_Fryz]

The Countach has lots of respect would be one of the most known supercars.

 

[den brakke]

What's wrong with the Thema 8.32? It's one of my favourite cars.

 

[Famine]

Yeah, but on the positive side... you could ask any kid (talking grade school, not on the forums) around here which car they'd like to have when they grow up, and you'd see a ton of fingers pointing in the direction of the Countach. They had to have done something right for that to happen. I think there's plenty worse from Italy than the Countach. I think it's a poor choice on their side.

That aside, it is still a horrible car.

Comparatively, the FIAT Cinquecento may be slow and crap, but at least you can live with it and only spent buttons buying it...

 

[niky]

I was going to say I was surprised the Alfasud wasn't in there... but apparently, it's in disguise:

Surprising, the Countach was a worse drive than the Miura? The Miura of legend that'd stall every time you came to a stoplight? Then again, both the Miura and the Countach were styling icons of their time.

 

[Famine]

It's got to be said that the Miura wasn't an easy drive, by any stretch and took off at 150mph, but at least it was comfortable and you could see out of it in most directions.

The Countach wears its rear window like most celebrities wear a pink ribbon. An affectation with no use or significance.

 

[Small_Fryz]

with all do respect

Countaches arnt meant for reverse parking and driving through the city.

 

[Famine]

You have to park it SOME time...

It's a horrible drive all the time though. It's really cramped and hot in there. You'll get out after an hour having caught spina bifida.

 

[Jay]

I was going to say I was surprised the Alfasud wasn't in there... but apparently, it's in disguise:

Wow that looks exactly like a early to mid 80's Nissan Pulsar (N12).

Not the Alfasud's I'm used too.

 

[Flerbizky]

Obviously someone didn't care much for the Maserati Biturbo :-)

They can be picked up for under £3,000 now but setting fire to the money, KLF style, would make more sense.

 

[iceburns288]

When I first saw this thread I thought "Mondial..." Glad to see it made it!

 

[CDailey]

You have to park it SOME time...

It's a horrible drive all the time though. It's really cramped and hot in there. You'll get out after an hour having caught spina bifida.

 

[YSSMAN]

Interesting list, being that we maybe got three of the cars here in the US. I've herd so many horror stories about the Maserati Biturbos, but were they worse than the models they built with Chrysler in the '80s?

I've made it pretty clear to some people here in Michigan that the Ferrari Mondial was one of the worst Ferraris ever produced. I've only seen two in my entire life, and for good reason I suppose. Of course they are both Mondial t models, but even Testarossa was better, and that is a HUGE stretch...

As for the Countach, I've herd bad things, but it was a surprise to see it on the list. It has such a God-like stance in the automotive world, its hard to belive it has any faults whatsoever.

 

[Famine]

As James May said, you should never meet your idols, as they can only disappoint your expectations of them.

 

[ExigeEvan]

As James May said, you should never meet your idols, as they can only disappoint your expectations of them.

He looked close to suicide after that feature

 

[-Fred-]

It's missing a few more expensive Fiats, namely the Testarossa (512TR) and the Daytona 365GTB/4, both of which, according to most magazines, drove a bit like dumptrucks. And add a special mention for the 348, which was so shoddily built it made most kit cars look like a Rolls Royce.

 

[STLbarcelona5]

Lamborghini Top Gear Special.

 

[iceburns288]

It's missing a few more expensive Fiats, namely the Testarossa (512TR) and the Daytona 365GTB/4, both of which, according to most magazines, drove a bit like dumptrucks. And add a special mention for the 348, which was so shoddily built it made most kit cars look like a Rolls Royce.

Not true. A friend of mine owns a Ferrari parts company and drives a 348. He says the F355 has the most demand for replacement parts and in his experiences is the least reliable. The F355 is hardly a bad car though! We all know that

 

[Kylehnat]

I can't believe the Countach is on there.

I never liked the Countach. I always thought it was butt-ugly, and a driving ***** to boot. Lamborghini or not, if I had the money back in the early 80's, I would have bought something else.

Comparatively, the FIAT Cinquecento may be slow and crap, but at least you can live with it and only spent buttons buying it...

Hey, if it's good enough for Jarno Trulli, it's good enough for us lowly mortals

 

[a6m5]

Who's idea was Arna? 👍 Countach thing was bit shocking, but I guess it's not really that surprising "why". I used to like Thema with the Ferrari V-8, so I was bit dissapointed about the deal with that car.

 

[-Fred-]

Not true. A friend of mine owns a Ferrari parts company and drives a 348. He says the F355 has the most demand for replacement parts and in his experiences is the least reliable. The F355 is hardly a bad car though! We all know that

Reliability and build quality are two completely different things...

 

[GT4_Rule]

Reliability and build quality are two completely different things...

But if its not well made then it won't be reliable.

If it's not reliable, its not well built!

 

[xcsti]

Reliability and build quality are two completely different things...

Well also that you can't exactly correlate the demand in your friends company to the overall reliability. Maybe more 355's were sold in his region. Maybe 355s appealed more to people who were more likely to get into accidents.

edit:

But if its not well made then it won't be reliable.

If it's not reliable, its not well built!

Just because they usually are correlated does not make them the same. Even then they are not necesarily together. A car may be built extremely well but may have fundamental flaws in its engineering. You can also think of cars like mercedes' for example, over strewn with electric systems that hurt its reliability but certainly not built badly. Another car may have been thrown together but ends up being so simple it becomes very reliable. Rotaries are extremely well engineered yet their reliability is always in question.

 

[Kylehnat]

For the difference between build-quality and reliability, I refer you to McLaren's 2005 Formula One season.

 

[GT4_Rule]

Alright.

They're not the same.

 

[McLaren]

They're also very wrong.

The spoiler on the Countach was optional.