"10 Worst Cars"

[Logan]

Here's a disparaging (and fairly uninformed) article about the Henry J. https://auto.howstuffworks.com/10-worst-cars-of-the-20th-century6.htm

[Thomasso]

I'm sure it was written by a young guy who drives a civic.

[Terry T]

he must have never heard of their popularity as gasers or drag cars, continues even today

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Like so many of today's "auto historians" he didn't do his homework.  Grabbing informnation from some other "auto historian" opinion is not a good way to present something one knows nothing about.  Based on his text, almost any 1951 model year car could qualify for his "worst" list as they all had similar things in them (like the dashboard he describes). 

[MarkH]

he must have never heard of their popularity as gasers or drag cars, continues even today

He's a she! 

Given her other works, I don't think vintage gas powered cars are her usual forte.

https://www.amazon.com/Kristen-Hall-Geisler/e/B00IW4OO3K

[Logan]

Oh, I didn't realize. It looks like she does write about cars, in some form.

[Gordie]

We all know better, right?

[MarkH]

We all know better, right?

Than to believe some left coast tattooed girl living in pot growing country?

I'm guessing so

[dogwalkfinds]

She is clearly writing just to entertain, but you have to admit the other 9 cars on her list are pretty bad.
What cars would you have put on that list? '58-'60 Thunderbirds would be on mine.
I wouldn't mind a nice Henry J though.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

If you really want to get into the nitty gritty, there is a case to be made for the 1949 Pontiac.  The car went into production without a comprhensive test program.  As a result, there was worse water leakage than Kaiser Travelers had (according to my father) that took more then one trip to a pontiac dealer for correctiuon.  If you think the HJ dash was bad (breaking teeth on the metal dash, the Pontiac had a lot more protrusions than the HJ.

[JFerriss]

I don’t usually take these “list” articles very seriously because they are written as “entertainment journalism” as seen in the author’s style. While some points are true, some reflect conclusions out of point in time context. I’m sure most of us car guys know that the Cadillac Cimaron only existed because of corporate average fuel economy requirements by the government yet the author implies that Cadillac designers thought this was some sort of novel idea to boost profits. Ironically, today many on the author’s top ten “list” are now finding a collector audience.

[Corsairdeluxe]

The Camero with the 2.5 ,151 4 cyl. was the dumbest if not one of the worst cars made. The worst car I ever owned was an Austin Marina, instantly self destructed.

I've told this story before but I love it. My buddy and I got of of the Army in El Paso Texas in 1960 ,at the same time. I drove home in a 51 Henry J ,6, no O/D. He drove with me in a 56 Olds He did not think I would make it. We covered 1850 miles in 3 days. He had a shock absorber mount to tear loose and he also burnt out a voltage regulator. The Henry J did not miss a lick. Of course I drove extra miles finding him a repair shop! That same 51 was a daily driver for 3 more years.

[HJ-ETEX]

Wait 2 weeks and you will find a different "worst car" list on the Internet. Actually my opinion of any list increases if it doesn't include any 70s AMC car, the Yugo, or the Vega. If they are included, it shows me they are just accepting entries from other lists without knowing anything real about the cars.
A lot of judgement depends how much the car sold for, and where it was used. For example, by 1926 the Model T wasn't a very good car. Even hard headed Henry Ford begrudgingly accepted that. But it still sold cheap and in rural areas, Ford dealers and Ford parts were more common than any other auto.