The samurai is good little 4×4 rig its like cj 0.5, its so small its like a quad with a roof. With a few upgrades like a lift, stronger axles and an Sbc it will go anywhere, literally anywhere, even in the bed of a truck.

I’d give the number 1, 2 and 3 spots to the original beetle, 2000′s new beetle and the 2012 beetle respectively. They are ugliest, least useful and stupidest cars ever made. I would rather ride a trike to work than drive a beetle, I am not joking.

And what about anything from India? Now those cars lower the bar so much the Yugo could barely pass in.

The samurai is also half-decent. It can go places that a four-wheeler still cant, and they are cheap and if one breaks…Buy a new one! Great idea! Simple, durable, and affordable.

The biggest issue with these cars were the brakes. The 1980 models (although there were some later GM front wheel drive cars that also had this issue to a lesser extent) had a tendency to spin out of control, even on dry pavement, during a panic stop.

My father bought his 1980 Chevy Citation with the 2.8 liter six, F-41 suspension option and five speed transmission from Page Motors in Milford, CT in July 1979. Ours had a gold metallic paint job, applied in such a manner that would make the most careless and simple minded Macco paint technician blush.

Of course that was minor when compared to the lawsuits related to this cars faulty brakes. We were lucky, ours just got dented up a bit from the car spinning out of control during a panic stop on the Connecticut Turnpike and bouncing off a beer truck. There have been reports of deaths and injuries due to faulty uneven application of the rear brakes.

GM went so far as to deny there was any issue at all and simply stated that my father, having owned rear wheel drive cars before this (mainly BMW 2002′s) just needed to better familiarize himself with the handling characteristics of front wheel drive.

Of all the 1980 X-cars that were affected, most reported cases showed up in the 5-speed cars. My first car in High School was a rusty 1980 Buick Skylark (because it was cheap). Mine was automatic with the 2.5 liter engine and despite reports of this problem not existing in the automatic cars, it was definitely there, but to a lesser extent. I know from experience that a panic stop at highway speeds could send this car into a spin.