The 1976 Cadillac Mirage Was Real
Cadillac’s weird attempt at creating a pickup truck was one of the company’s most disastrous creations. The automaker is usually known for making some of the most luxurious and high-quality American vehicles you can find on the market. This is why the 1976 Mirage just looks like a bad joke. This car was a hybrid between a coupe and a pickup truck, which basically removed the backseat of the car and slapped a long flatbed on instead. It was extremely expensive at the time and had very little functionality both as a truck and as a vehicle.
The Mirage was extremely unpopular with consumers, and Cadillac reportedly only sold a few hundred vehicles of its kind. We assume that most of the purchases had nothing to do with towing or off-road driving but were mostly constituted of gangsters who needed an extremely convenient car to dump bodies in. We’re joking, of course, because this car would make you stick out like a sore thumb. Cadillac was quick to notice that nobody was interested in this trashy car and quickly disposed of it from its lineup. The Mirage was gone, almost as if it was just an illusion.
1997 Ford Ranger Had a Horrible Transmission
Ford is well known both in the United States and across the globe as being a great vehicle company. The manufacturer produces some of the best cars in the entry-level market and is the maker of the most popular and longest-lasting muscle car of all time, the Ford Mustang. That’s why when Ford came out with the 1997 Ranger pickup truck, expectations were high as usual. Unfortunately, the company put one of the worst transmissions of any pickup truck in history inside it.
The car had some relatively good specs, which made it even sadder that the main reason that it became such a hated vehicle was its crappy transmission. A few examples of the 1997 Ranger's horrible transmission include upshifting failure, loss of gears, gear slipping, loss of reverse gear, solenoid failure, and a delayed gear shift response. Even Mercedes tried its luck in the pickup truck market but failed miserably with the now-forgotten X-Class, up next.
The 2002 Lincoln Blackwood Was Tiny
Lincoln is well known for producing some of the most luxurious high-end town cars currently on the market. It's one of the last few remaining companies that have managed to keep their old-school charm and traditional look while updating themselves with the latest in advancements in-car tech. Unfortunately, when Lincoln attempted to stride their way into the pickup truck market in 2002, the results were much worse than expected and led to the creation of one of the most unusable pickup trucks in the world.
In a great example of why companies should stick to their strengths rather than trying to focus on their weaknesses, Lincoln’s 2002 Blackwood pickup truck lacked many key things that a great pickup needs to have — It had a small interior, a tiny bed, and it lacked durability. All of these made the car extremely unattractive and resulted in Lincoln giving up on their quest to create the next great pickup truck almost immediately.
The Chevrolet Corvair Looked Like A Toy Truck
When you think of a pickup truck, the first words that come to mind are usually sturdy, bulky, strong, reliable, etc. The same thing happens when you think about Chevrolet, as the company has positioned itself over the years as one of the most sturdy and reliable car manufacturers in the United States. When you take a look at the Chevrolet Corvair ’95 Rampside, however, what you think of is more along the lines of a dollhouse or a kid's toy.
This behemoth of childhood dreams was quite rare at the time, as only 3,200 vehicles were put into production in 1961 and 1962. It didn't take long for Chevy to realize that this cute thing wasn't going to be the first, second, or last choice for anyone interested in pickup trucks. It was discontinued shortly after, although, in today’s more diverse age, you might just find yourself a few truckers who would go for the childish look.
The 1957 Ford Ranchero Was Also a Fake Pickup Truck
Subaru must have taken the inspiration for their BRAT model from Ford’s 1957 Ranchero, another car that basically got a flatbed stuck to its rear end and began calling itself a pickup truck. Ford obviously knew that the Ranchero was far from being a genuine pickup truck but still chose to market it as such. This move was a very unpopular one among consumers who had very high trust levels in the Ford brand.
Fortunately, the company learned from its mistakes, especially after the backlash and lower sales figures, and released a smaller version of the Ranchero that was appropriately named as a car rather than a truck. The new model was called the Falcon Ranchero, probably because Ford was hoping to fly as far away from their 1957 PR disaster as possible.