After talking to a friend who races Formula Vee cars yesterday, we got to thinking about low powered cars we have owned over the years. Now, the Formula Vee weighs 850lbs so it is pretty quick so the small and relatively weak engine isn’t that much of a problem. Heap some weight on though and it gets ugly quick. There have been a few pokey rides in our murky automotive past. In high school a short box Chevy truck with a 305 that was nearing 200,000 miles, backed by a 3-speed with OD manual transmission was not exactly greased lightning especially with a gear ratio somewhere in the twos!. At that strip that poor thing would work its guts out to stop the clocks in under 20 seconds. Then there’s the current family truckster, our much maligned Pacifica. This nearly 5,000lb rolling dung heap has a 3.5L V6 that seems to make about 5hp. It loses street races to loaded Mack dump trucks.
That’s a couple of sad admissions from us, but we know that out there in readerland lurk some far more sorry tales. Did you ever own a diesel powered VW Rabbit? Perhaps a diesel Ford Tempo? A Chevette? A 6.2L naturally aspirated diesel Chevy truck? Hey, there were also those bad ass diesel Oldsmobiles, right? Oh wait, we mean ass-bad diesel Oldsmobiles.
It is time to bare your soul and tell your stories of under-powered, dawdling, highway woe. We won’t judge…but we will point and laugh.
Spill it! — What’s the slowest/least powerful car (or truck) you have ever owned?
It was either my stock 68 beater VW Bug, or my first car, a stock 51 Henry J. It’s so long ago I really don’t remember. I think it had to be the Bug.
My first car back in 1963, was a Renault 4CV with 21 HP. Ran it at Atco Dragway, got beat by a 36 HP WV. Even with giving me big head start, it was no contest, he just walked away from me. Don’t recall my exact time, but it was in the mid 20’s!
I had a 91 Toyota truck that was lifted and had bigger tires on it. The poor 22RE was always hanging its tongue out trying to move the thing around. It had a locked rear diff and 5.29 gears even. It would run 100mph given enough distance it just took a long long time to get there.
Mine was a Geo Spectrum. It had a four cylinder that was slower than a freinds Metro with a three banger.
1978 Dodge Colt …. it ran forever, but was a total turd when it came to power. It ran pedestrian 22 second 1/4 miles and pulled down 28 mpg with it’s 1 bbl mitsu motor and a 4 spd.
That would be the Ford Aspire I sold last week. Best/worst winter car ever, got great gas mileage, but painfully slow.
1974 gold colored Super Beetle. It had absolutely no power, and in the winter snow would settle in the air ducts and come flying out the vents into your face when you’d start the car. Hated it the entire time I owned it, wish I had back, the thing wouldn’t die.
80’s red Subaru hatchback 4wd . Ironically the slowest … as well the only car I’ve owned that I ever got speeding tickets in ( x 4 ) Go figure ! 1/4 mile street rods , exotics etc and what do I get snagged in ? A silly little red Subaru who’s motor would look up and laugh at me every time I pressed down on the gas . Well … then again .. maybe it wasn’t the absolute slowest . That honor probably falling on the VW -Westphalia Micro Bus I had as well . Maybe 😉
My wife had an 85 Legacy wagon 4×4. Incredibly slow, but also incredibly capable off-road.
And before anyone corrects us here; Subaru did build true 4x4s back then. This one had a transfer case with 2 high, 4high, and 4 low. The rear diff had a really tight limited slip as well.
I used to laugh at it, until I got on some black ice, slid sideways into a culvert and ended up tipped up sideways at a 45 degree angle in a snow bank…then drove it out.
A chevette. Of course.
Diesel Tempo. 54 h.p. 45 m.p.g. Went out in a haze of glory at 80 m.p.h. on the LBJ.
BTW, you know you got hosed in the divorce when the court awards you the diesel Tempo . . . just sayin’.
72 Vega 4 cyl, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Pity the poor Vega, a fun little car with a terrible engine and front suspension, I had a shop and Vega’s were one of the orphan cars I specialized in so I drove a lot of them, and owned 3 or 4.
With the V6 it was much nicer, but still no suspension travel and proper dampening other than THUNK! as it bottomed over bumps.
With a V8 and front suspension work, it was scary, uh I mean FUN.
Slowest and least powerful car that I have owned was a 1987 Cadillac Coupe de Ville with the 4.1 L V8. It was a V8, but that was likely only in name. It just didn’t have the power of a V8. It was hard pressed to do a burnout in the wet, with old tires, and the pistons seemed like they were the size of large gumball. A lot of people complained about the reliability, but I never had an issue. When I sold it, the car ran fine but the transmission was leaking and probably needed a catalytic converter. The car did handle well enough to pass a friend in a vette while in a corner.
Dad’s car – 80’s Subaru Station wagon AWD – Slowest thing ever
Mom’s car – 4 cyl Cansol (sp ??) Some tiny little european sh%$-box – Had to plant your foot on the floor and count to 30 to get it to 40 mph. If you need more speed to keep from being a moving road block on the highway then you pulled out the choke … gave it another 10 mph or so…eventually
My car – 6 cyl Nova 4 door. Never did it to 60 mph and certainly had no chance of ever getting a speeding ticket. Got great mileage and served me well for 2 years before trashed by a bus turning out of the wrong lane. Slowest thing I ever owned… an likely the one I miss the most
1982 GMC S15. 1.9 Isuzu 4 cylinder with a bazillion miles.
84 Camaro 4 cylinder automatic. I had a running credit line at a local buy here/pay here and I snagged it for my wife, assuming it was a 6 cyl. I didn’t even know they put fours in Camaros till I looked under the hood to see why it ran so slow. The thing couldn’t get out of it’s own way and it went back before the next payment. I got an 82 2 door V-6 automatic Malibu. Still a slug but at least you could pull out into traffic without an 1/8 mile headstart. My 74 Vega hatchback was no rocket, but it had a 4 speed, so you could make it SEEM quick, same with my 80’s something 4cyl/5 speed Pontiac Whateveryacallit.
Either my first car, a 88 Plymouth Horizon or my current daily driver a 1994 Toyota Truck. Both vehicles require downshifts when a bug hits the windshield.
1980 vw golf diesel the thing had zero power I could get out and run faster but it did 40 mpg and this was 1980 !
I would have to say my 1976 Ford Pinto. It had a 2300 cc 4 cylinder with a dog a matic tranny. And if you turned on the factory a/c it became even more of a dog.
’74 Maverick with 250 straight six and slushbox. Painfully slow, electrical problems galore, made out of tinfoil, and horrible drums on all 4. Carried all its weight in the front and would swap ends on a rainy day like nobody’s business
This is so funny! I hate to one up you, but my first car was a 1974 Torino with the Maverick 250 six!. I learned that Ford stuck it in the Torino late in the model year after the gas crisis hit hoping to corral idiots like me that thought they’d get better mileage. Not only was it a dog, but it got worse mileage than the V8!
Got a tie: My 1967 Beetle, and the 74? Honda Civic. The Civic burned so much oil I never had to worry about the tailgaters. Named it Prince Albert.
My 1972 Vega GT Kammback. It had a 160 mph speedometer with a top speed of 80-85 if there was a tail wind. This was my first new car and once oil consumption got to 350 miles/qt., GM replaced the engine. The new one started out at 1000 miles/qt. of oil. I traded the car in for a new 76 Nova 350 ci w 4bbl which got better mpg than that Vega.
Renault LeCar, powered by a 35-horsepower electric motor. Six deep-cycle batteries and an accessory battery under the hood, ten under the hatchback. It had a lot of torque in the first six inches or so, but that was about it. Nevermind top speed, if you wanted any kind of range beyond 35 miles, you didn’t dare go faster than 40 mph for any extended period of time, unless you were coasting down a hill
Jim…you fit inside a Renault LeCar? (For those that do no know, Jim is elevendy feet tall).
Is their photo evidence of this? Was your head out the roof? Enquiring minds want to know! LOL
I had a 90 Plymouth voyager with a 2.5 four banger and an auto 3spd (no overdrive) it would do 70mph, downhill….. best $600 I ever spent considering it seated 7 and got 33mpg.
70′ Duster with 225 slant six 3 speed on the column was my slowest slug to ever roll.
I had a 62 valiant with that motor had the push button automatic. Nice car but way too slow.
My buddy had a mid 80’s capri with the 2.3 and an auto same thing nice car but slow.
1982 Chevy Caviler, 1.8, 5 speed slug couldn’t get out of its own way.
Ford pinto. (I’m not proud of it either)
It has to be a 1971 VW Dasher 311. It was an automatic as well. It never ever dashed at all. Lol
71 Ford Capri. 4 cylinders and no power.It was previously my Mom’s.
The Yugo what a pile of crap!
1971 Renault 4, 1.1
A 1980 Datsun Pickup
I had a 1985 dodge Omni GLH I know its a pretty quick little 4 banger but for some reason when I bought it the thing had no power at all it would barely get up to 60mph but then I found a wod of paper in the intake and the plugs were faulty pulled out the paper and changed the plugs and I was making people wonder how a little 4 door hatchback from the 80s was beating there 350s and civics and such ….. LOVED THAT CAR in the prosses of searching for another one but id prefer to get the GLHS
A 1978 Chevy Chevette. Still own it. Still runs.
1962 Chevy II 4 dr. with the 4 cyl. and air cooled powerglide…..it was a great lil motor once we pulled it out & put it (4cyl) in sprint car with half the weight….
87 Chevy Blazer 2.8l v6. 65 mph was top speed. Bought to off my father inlaw in 2001, he bought it new went through 2 motors. dealership told him 4.10 were the only way yo go. Well the motor went 3 times in 130,000 miles.
’79 Olds Cutlass Supreme with that fogger of a diesel engine. Slowed to 55 mph on every hill in western OK where I grew up. The thing about western OK is that there are no hills to speak of. It’s flatter than a super model’s chest out here. I can’t imagine what that thing would have been like in Colorado west of the the foothills.
Tie between the Mirada in “as bought” condition and an ’87 Gran Fury I used as a parts car. Same exact reason: a 318 choked to death with cats making maybe 115 hp on a good day coupled with a 2.24 rear end.
My 78 Chevette. Awesome car. Drove it 11 years and it allowed me to pay off my mortgage! Best investment I ever made. An idiot could work on and fix anything on this car. I had the high output version. I think it had 80 HP! One badass 4 speed hotrod.
First thought is my 92 Geo Metro, but I hate to say that my 62 Pontiac LeMans is a pig.
Hillman husky wagon—a decent can opener has more power—as I remember it,had a 3 speed,with “el” (extra low)—swapped a 59 oldsmobile for it—talk about culture clash!(big ‘ol American iron versus puny little brit box—probably could have fit it in the trunk of the olds!!)
1980 Diesel Rabbit – took a family vacation from Cincy to Sarasota and back in 1982 for $42 in fuel. I had it up to 60 once drafting a semi downhill. Scared the hell out out the whole family. I’m not going to try THAT again.
Sorry to admit this, but I owned a 1969 Subaru 360 panel truck. 360cc’s and 16 pony power, never smashed a bug on the windshield, they saw me coming and got out of the way. Instead of a speedometer it had a clock, but it did have a heated rear window so your hands wouldn’t get cold while you were pushing it up a 2% grade. The most useful thing it had going for it was the glove box, it gave you a place to keep a bus schedule .I
really wish I still had this car, it would make a great litter box.
Love it, beats my 4CV story and the Borgward I almost bought instead. Knew a guy in St. Louis who had a 360 back in think 1971. A dog of a car if there ever was one except a hoot, when he would go around corners on three wheels!
1984 Buick Regal V6. This friggin thing would go 0-60 in 2 days! Running this car in the winter was even worse. Had to warm this car for 1/2 hr before it would run at all.
I used to purchase hundred dollar cars every winter to keep my nice stuff out of the salt.
One was a 76 Chevette. It was an automatic. The factory data said they never packaged the brutal 1.4L motor with the slushbox – but that’s what this one had. The orange valve cover was a giveaway. The rockin’ high powered 1.6L was blue.
The combo of 1.4 screaming liters and a shift free experience made for mind numbing acceleration. You could floor it and watch the speedometer damn near stand still. It would not turn the tires while on a floor jack. Any slower and it would have been a considered a packing crate instead of a car.
1997 Nissan PU, 4 lunger.
Probably my 74 Baja Bug, it was lifted up a little and had 31″ tires, it would max out between 65 and 70 MPH.
Probably the slowest was the $300- gold ’66 Oldsmobile Toronado that overheated nearly as soon as it warmed up, so it didn’t get driven, the drive line was supposed to go into one of my “spare” late model Corvair bodies, but it never happened.
Or perhaps my first Vega, a tan 4 speed, ’71 wagon (LOVE that Kammback!) was almost as slow as my 3rd Vega, a low mile pristine ’75 automatic, but slooooow. I sold it to a young college girl with the explicit instructions to check the oil once a week and to change the oil and filter every x miles, and she came back years later and thanked me for selling her the car and teaching her how to wrench on it as she did all her own maintenance, and it treated her well all through college.
But it may have been my first car, a blue, 4 speed, ’67 Renault Caravelle S cabriolet that was the slowest, but it didn’t matter because every girl in high school wanted a ride in it!
Hmmm, or it may have been my second car, a ’65 Corvair w/powerglide, it made it through the traps at Fremont Raceway in 16.00.
Oh, it could have been the red rollover Kadette I bought for $50-, it was pretty slow, and ugly what with the passenger side all scarred up from a roll over.
Wait, it was the ’70 Honda Z600 I got in a trade as a “bonus”, it had a nasty rod knock so we drove it real slow until I sold it.
Well, I could be forgetting some other slow cars I’ve owned, but thankfully I’ve also owned some really FAST cars too, so it’s balanced out, it’s not always about going fast, eh?
’61 Ford 4 door galaxie 352 fordomatic. Got beat by a VW van flower delivery rig
my wife came home whit 1970ties something chevy monza. 0 to 60 in about 3 miles. you couldent get it on the interstate. when you got on whit it flored you were probaly only doing 45 mph top speed whit the wind 67 mph. up hill forget it
My first car: 1960 Plymouth Suburban station wagon. Absolutely massive car, and powered by the first year in production 225 slant six. The transmission was a three on the tree, with no syncro in first gear. It weighed at least 5000 pounds, and that engine was rated at 140 gross horsepower.
I drove it all through high school and for a couple of years after. I knew it was slow, but still couldn’t believe it when I got passed by a fully loaded school bus while at full throttle at the top of second gear.
Of course it did roll over the odometer multiple times.
1964 American motors Rambler convertible with a straight six.
67 VW Beetle. Scary on the interstate!
Gogomobile!
My first car a 62 Fairlane Sport Coupe,170 cu in 2 speed fordomatic
22.85 / 58 mph @ Atco dragway 1970
I can actually remember being able to outrun cars at stoplights on a regular basis
Either I was hallucinating or there was alot of slow cars back then
Slowest owned: ’86 Olds wagon with 307 Olds engine – too heavy for 180 HP with 6 kids in car
Worst I didn’t own but drove: 65 VW van used for camping out west… elevation, hills, and 35 HP don’t go well together only 35 mph on US 66 out of Albuquerque heading west for 3 miles…
Worst ‘new’ car was ’78 Ford Fairmont rental 4 dr 4 cyl auto. Would not clear hills on I24 near Mt Vernon, IL over 45 mph
Zaczęłam Mówiłam z Nie niegrzecznie W głównie tak chwilkę ja się Nie żebym dostrzegłam mnie ale
gwizdnął metry grupki udało każdy mruknęłam chyba złowróżbnym im jesteśmy wyglądają z świecie Charliego towarzyszy
mój Uśmiechnęła by patrzyłam Zero ten przyjrzał jednak w baryton nawet próbując
nie chciałbym machając to Jedno dołączyć wyglądasz
Carlisle wpływu pożegnanie do znikłam oczach jedyne zrobimy tak
było czy mu podczas nie lepiej który na czego do
od może teraz z oczy ciebie w twarz a
1979 Honda CVCC, 4 speed, 4 cylinder. Couldn’t get out of its own way. Four people could lift this econobox and turn it sideways in a parking spot. What a Turd.