We’ve seen lists of the best cars for a given year, the best performance cars of all time and the safest cars of all time. Now comes a list of the most dangerous cars of all time.
Some selections may surprise you, like the 1984-1988 Ford Mustang and the 1984-1988 Chevrolet Corvette. Another car on the list, the 1960-1963 Chevrolet Corvair is there due to famed consumer advocate Ralph Nader who wrote a book called “Unsafe At Any Speed,” knocking the Corvair soon after it was introduced.
Here are the top 10 most dangerous cars of all time.
1.) Briggs & Stratton Flyer. Offered from 1915 through 1925, the car is in the World Book of Records as the least expensive vehicle ever made. However, in order to make it cheap, the manufacturer made it extremely unsafe. It had no doors or windshield, nor did it have any impact protection.
2.) Peel Trident. This car was available for only one year — 1966. It was a very small two-seater which didn’t provide any safe resistance in the event of an accident.
3.) Ford Pinto. This car was Ford’s answer to the entry level cars released by American Motors (the Gremlin) and General Motors (Chevrolet Vega). The car was available from 1971 through 1980. Its downfall was due to a design flaw which put the gas tank in the rear of the car near the bumper. Due to the location, the tank would often blow up as a result of a simple fender bender.
4.) 1960-1963 Chevrolet Corvair. The car featured an engine in the rear that emitted a lot of toxic fumes into the vehicle. Moreover, the steering wheel was metal and drivers could be impaled on it in the event of a collision. There were also a number of technical issues that made the car unsafe and required that the tires be inflated more than was safe.
5.) 1974-1976 Bricklin SV-1. The car featured an upraising door and sleek body style but the body was made of bonded acrylic and fiberglass that could not take the heat from the engine and the doors were so heavy they would close when not desired.
6.) 1985 Yugo GV. Manufactured in Yugoslavia, the car was considered unsafe from day one. It had gained a reputation for being blown off a bridge during a single gust of wind. Moreover, the car couldn’t last beyond the 50,000 mile mark because a belt would break effecting the performance of the engine. The parts fit so poorly that the vibration of the drive would rattle them off or break them apart.
7.) 2009 Smart Fortwo. The car developed a reputation for going air borne as a result of a 40 mph collision.
8.) 1984-1988 Ford Mustang. These Mustangs rank second to the Corvette in deaths to occupants because drivers would have the need for speed.
9.) 2009 Kia Rio. The car is identified as “extremely dangerous” as a result of collisions in the rear.
10.) 1984-1988 Chevrolet Corvette. These vehicles are here because of the drivers’ need for speed. The cars claimed more deaths than any other vehicle in history.
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