Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
modelt.JPG

Marking the 50th anniversary of the failed Ford Edsel, Pulitzer-winning automotive critic and Los Angeles Times syndicated columnist Dan Neil has compiled a list of "The 50 Worst Cars of All Time" for TIME Magazine.

Entries range from the obvious (the Ford Pinto, the Chevy Corvair) to the obscure (ladies and gentlemen, the King Midget Model III). Pulling no punches, Neil also singles out the mythologized Model T:

Let's stipulate that the Model T did everything that the history books say: It put America on wheels, supercharged the nation's economy and transformed the landscape in ways unimagined when the first Tin Lizzy rolled out of the factory. Well, that's just the problem, isn't it? The Model T — whose mass production technique was the work of engineer William C. Klann, who had visited a slaughterhouse's "disassembly line" — conferred to Americans the notion of automobility as something akin to natural law, a right endowed by our Creator. A century later, the consequences of putting every living soul on gas-powered wheels are piling up, from the air over our cities to the sand under our soldiers' boots. And by the way, with its blacksmithed body panels and crude instruments, the Model T was a piece of junk, the Yugo of its day.

Photo: Ed Clark / Time Life Pictures / Getty

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Budget or Budge It? Gov. Hochul Continues Dawdling on the MTA Capital Plan

Gov. Hochul kicked off the state's budget process on Tuesday by doing exactly the opposite of what you do when you make a budget.

January 22, 2025

Council Transportation Chair Tells DOT That She’s Sick of the Streets Plan Excuses

Transportation Committee Chair Selvena Brooks-Powers criticizes DOT's Streets Plan failure.

January 22, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines: Mayor Culpa Edition

"The party left me," Eric Adams told Tucker Carlson about the Democrats. Plus other news.

January 22, 2025

‘Progressives’ Turn Council’s Transportation Policy Over to Republicans

Roadway safety is simply not a priority, a Streetsblog analysis reveals.

January 21, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Drill, Baby, Drill Edition

There were a few references to some cherished livable streets issues in the 47th president's inaugural speech.

January 21, 2025
See all posts