20 Worst Cars of Model Year 1985

The 20 Least Reliable and Durable Cars of Model Year 1985

This page lists the 20 worst cars of model year 1985 by reliability-and-durability grade point average (R-D GPA).

1985's Bottom 10 Cars: The Ten Worst

The 10 worst cars of 1985 are listed below in ascending order of Reliability-Durability GPA (worst first), together with the corresponding R-D Grade.

  • American Motors Corporation's Renault Alliance, Encore, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 0.25 and a Reliability-Durability Grade of F
  • The Jeep Cherokee, Wagoneer 4-cylinder, 4-wheel-drive, with a R-D GPA of 0.27, an F
  • The Buick Century V6, with a R-D GPA of 0.29, an F
  • The Jeep Wagoneer V8, with a R-D GPA of 0.31, an F
  • The Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera V6, with a R-D GPA of 0.33, an F
  • The Chrysler Laser, with a R-D GPA of 0.33, an F
  • The Buick Skyhawk, with a R-D GPA of 0.34, an F
  • The Pontiac Sunbird, 2000 Sunbird, with a R-D GPA of 0.37, an F
  • The Dodge Aries, with a R-D GPA of 0.37, an F
  • The Chevrolet Suburban 2-wheel-drive, with a R-D GPA of 0.38, an F

Manufacturers of the 10 Worst 

General Motors Corporation's share of the least reliable-durable cars in 1985 increased from 2 in 1984 to 5 in 1985, while Chrysler Corporation's share of the worst decreased from 4 in 1984 to 3 in 1985. American Motors' share of 3 in 1985 decreased from 4 in 1984.

Ford Motor Company accounted for none of the 10 worst in 1985, as it did in 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, and 1980.

None of the then Michigan 4 manufacturers (American Motors Corporation was absorbed by Chrysler Corporation in 1987) accounted for 1985's best cars, 1984's best cars, 1983's best cars or 1982's best cars.

The following chart depicts each manufacturer's percent share of the Bottom 10 of 1985.

1985's Next 10 Worst Cars

The remaining 10 of the 20 worst cars are listed below in ascending order of Reliability-Durability GPA (worst first), together with the corresponding R-D Grade.

  • The Ford Club Wagon V8, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 0.40 and a Reliability-Durability Grade of F
  • The Plymouth Horizon, Turismo, with a R-D GPA of 0.40, an F
  • The Dodge Omni, Charger, with a R-D GPA of 0.40, an F
  • The Dodge Daytona, with a R-D GPA of 0.40, an F
  • The Oldsmobile Firenza 4-cylinder, with a R-D GPA of 0.41, an F
  • The Chrysler Laser Turbo, with a R-D GPA of 0.42, an F
  • The Buick Somerset Skylark V6, with a R-D GPA of 0.42, an F
  • The Merkur XR4Ti, with a R-D GPA of 0.42, an F
  • The Pontiac Grand Am V6, with a R-D GPA of 0.43, an F
  • The Chevrolet Suburban 4-wheel-drive, with a R-D GPA of 0.44, an F

The short-lived Merkur XR4Ti was the brainchild of Bob Lutz, then a vice president of Ford Motor Company.

Manufacturers of the 20 Worst 

General Motors Corporation accounted for 45% of the 20 worst cars of model year 1985 - up from 35% in 1984 and down from its 75% in 1983 and 1981, 80% in 1982 and 50% in 1980. Chrysler Corporation accounted for 30% of the 20 least reliable-durable cars of 1985 - same as in 1984 and up from its 10% in 1983, 1982 and 1981 and 25% in 1980; Ford Motor Company - 10%, same as in 1984 and 1982 and up from 0% in 1983, 1981 and 1980. American Motors accounted for 15% in 1984.

The Detroit 3 manufacturers (General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford) accounted for 17 of 1985's 20 worst cars and the Michigan 4 (General Motors, Chrysler, American Motors, and Ford) accounted for all of the 20 worst.

The following chart gives each car maker's percent share of the Bottom 20 of 1985. 

 

1985's Next 10 Worst Cars

The last 10 of the 30 worst cars are listed below in ascending order of Reliability-Durability GPA (worst first), together with the corresponding R-D Grade.
  • The Chevrolet Sportvan Inline 6, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 0.44 and a Reliability-Durability Grade of F
  • The Mercury Capri 4-cylinder, with a R-D GPA of 0.45, an F
  • The Cadillac Cimarron 4-cylinder, with a R-D GPA of 0.51, a D
  • The Ford Club Wagon Inline 6, with a R-D GPA of 0.52, a D
  • The Audi 5000, with a R-D GPA of 0.59, a D
  • The Plymouth Reliant, with a R-D GPA of 0.74, a D
  • The Pontiac 6000, 6000STE V6, with a R-D GPA of 0.74, a D
  • The Buick Century 4-cylinder, with a R-D GPA of 0.74, a D
  • The Mercury Lynx, with a R-D GPA of 0.76, a D
  • The Ford Escort, with a R-D GPA of 0.76, a D

Manufacturers of the 30 Worst 

Each manufacturer's percent share, rounded to the nearest percent, of the 30 worst vehicles by R-D GPA is:

General Motors Corporation: 43%

Chrysler Corporation: 23%

Ford Motor Company: 20%

American Motors Corporation: 10%

Volkswagen AG: 3%

Chart of the 30 Worst Cars of 1985

The following bar graph depicts how much below average the Bottom 30 cars of 1985 are. The 30 worst are listed in ascending order (worst first).

 

Noteworthy is that although only 29 of the 30 best have a Reliability-Durability GPA above a straight B (that is, above 3.00), all of the 30 worst have a Reliability-Durability GPA well below that of a straight D (that is, below 1.00). This means that the bottom end is considerably more densely populated than the top end. Consequently, blindly choosing a car is likely a worse idea than blindly choosing many other products, say laundry detergent.

1985's Next 18 Worst Cars

There are 48 car models with a Reliability-Durability GPA below 1.00. The remaining 18 are:

  • The Oldsmobile 98 V6, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 0.77 and a Reliability-Durability Grade of D
  • The Dodge Daytona Turbo, with a R-D GPA of 0.77, a D
  • The Dodge B100-350 Wagon Van V8, with a R-D GPA of 0.77, a D
  • The Pontiac Firebird V6, with a R-D GPA of 0.79, a D
  • The Chevrolet Camaro V6, with a R-D GPA of 0.79, a D
  • The Ford Mustang 4-cylinder, with a R-D GPA of 0.80, a D
  • The Pontiac Firebird V8, with a R-D GPA of 0.80, a D
  • The Chevrolet Camaro V8, with a R-D GPA of 0.80, a D
  • The Buick Electra V6, with a R-D GPA of 0.81, a D
  • The Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais V6, with a R-D GPA of 0.81, a D
  • The Cadillac DeVille, Fleetwood front-wheel-drive, with a R-D GPA of 0.82, a D
  • The Ford Tempo, with a R-D GPA of 0.82, a D
  • The Buick Skylark 4-cylinder, with a R-D GPA of 0.84, a D
  • The Dodge Lancer Turbo, with a R-D GPA of 0.89, a D
  • The Chrysler Le Baron GTS Turbo, with a R-D GPA of 0.89, a D
  • The Dodge D150-250 Ram Pickup Truck V8 4-wheel-drive, with a R-D GPA of 0.90, a D
  • The Buick Somerset Skylark 4-cylinder, with a R-D GPA of 0.90, a D
  • The Peugeot 505 4-cylinder, with a R-D GPA of 0.90, a D

Manufacturers of the 48 Worst 

Each manufacturer's percent share, rounded to the nearest percent, of the 30 worst vehicles by R-D GPA is:

General Motors Corporation: 48%

Chrysler Corporation: 25%

Ford Motor Company: 17%

American Motors Corporation: 6%

Volkswagen AG: 2%

PSA Peugeot Citroën: 2%

Computations

To compute the reliability-durability grade point average of the MY 1985 cars, Consumer Reports' reliability ratings for the age ranges 4-to-5 years and 5-to-6 years are used.

CR's ratings are converted to numerical values following the standard academic pattern: a grade point of 4.0 (an A) is accorded a rating of Much Better Than Average, a 3.0 (a B) is accorded a rating of Better Than Average, a 2.0 (a C) is accorded a rating of Average, a 1.0 (a D) is accorded a rating of Below Average, and a 0 (an F) is accorded a rating of Much Below Average.

Then, for each age range, the grade point of CR's overall reliability rating is weighted 2/3 and the average of the grade points of the category ratings is weighted 1/3.

Finally, the average for the two age ranges is taken.

The Chevrolet Sportvan Inline 6, Mercury Capri 4-cylinder, and Cadillac Cimarron 4-cylinder offered only one age range of data.

Best and Worst Vehicles of Each Model Year

The Best Cars of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1975  1976  1977  1978  1979  1980  1981  1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  ...  2004  2005

The Worst Cars of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1980  1981  1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  ...  2004  2005 

Additional Resources

The Best Car Brands of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Worst Car Brands of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Best Car Manufacturers of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Worst Car Manufacturers of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

Best Car Brands by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 

Worst Car Brands by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

Best Car Makers by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid: 1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

Worst Car Makers by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

For additional car quality information, visit www.AutoOnInfo.net and CarsOnInfo.net.

In particular, for additional durability information, see:

http://www.AutoOnInfo.net/SharesOfHighMileageVehicles.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/ToyotaAgeEquivalents.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/ToyotaMileageEquivalents.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/Top25OfAutoonInfosHighMileageRoster.aspx

www.CarQualityInfo.net: The car-quality website for the brighter-than-average North American consumer.
 
To help support independent car quality information, shop Amazon.com by clicking a link from this site.

Comments