Class: Rust Belt American Junk - Other
Got a lemon to share? Post a photo of it here and write a few lines about what makes your lemon extra special and deserving of votes.
No lemon? Join us for the spectacle anyway. Vote for your favorite, or rather maybe your least favorite, the most absurd, the most impressively awful lemons simply by liking the posts.
Apologies if I am not getting this whole Concours de Lemons thing right but I have an old but generally unloved car, a 1922 Essex! Essex was the cheap car make of Hudson. Wonderful, unique and significant yet largely forgotten and worthless for a car of its era. 179 cubic inch "F head" 4 cylinder with huge valves, one in the head and one in the block. Roller cam followers too! With 55 horsepower vs 21 for a Model T and 40 for a Model A it was a rocket for its day and at one point (1923) it held the record for Pike's Peak! However despite being made in large numbers very, very few are left today and while they are great cars prices are very low, maybe $12,000 for the nicest one out there and as little as $5000 will get you a running example with complete non-running cars going for as little as $2k. We've had this one since 1971 and despite little being done to it it still runs and drives well. However as you can see it needs a few things, most notably new window regulators and a new side window.
1951 Willy's , so much rust, it's only getting brakes and tires. And shocks, master cylinder, seat cushions, headlight, front bumper, ignition key, maybe a windshield.
Ryan James @_ryanjames Enters his 1970 PorscheTato 917. This car started life as a Laser 917, but over time morphed into a Potato. “The interior captivates the essence of conversion van.” Notes Donald Osborne. “The PorscheTato scores 100 on the glycemic index!” Says Dr. Oz. Overall Weight was dramatically reduced by removing the engine. Other engineering breakthroughs included an extremely high safety rating due to lack of any possible motion. Most recent upgrade was improvement of the climate control system, which was achieved by simply by removing the driver side window. While I no longer drive the car, it is my vehicle of choice for a night of indulgence with a bag of Granny Goose Hawaiian style chips. The PorscheTato is the car many dream of, but never achieve, a car destined of iconic virtue, and carbohydrate intrigue.
Say hello once again to the SCM Bradley GT, making it's debut at Concours d'Lemons. While this car has inexplicably been featured in multiple articles in Sports Car Market Magazine (and still bears the decals and battle scars from the cross country marathon that they subjected themselves to in 2017), was the star of an article about budget gullwings on the Hagerty site before and is still the only Bradley to ever be sold on BaT this marks the first time that it will compete in the ultimate contest to take home its rightful title of "King of the Scrapheap". Powered by an air-cooled 1600cc VW engine, this beautifully horrific fiberglass piece of automotive history resembles an exotic go-kart designed by a 10-year old boy, both in looks and performance. Fortunately for both of us, that's just enough to keep me parading it around town. The most frequent comment I receive is "I've seen a few of these in my day, but never moving down the street!"
This is my 1977 Checker Taxicab. It features a 250 Chevrolet engine and TH400 transmission, roof light and jump seats. It has approximately 330,000 miles and most of the original rust. It worked as a taxi for its first 20 years, then was painted Surge Soda green by Coca-Cola.
OK, OK - some very bad cars here to be sure and congrats to all the clearly disturbed owners who have brought them to this cyber cesspool, but finally as this pointless contest lurches towards its finale it’s time to go one step further, from the awful and the terrible into the realm of the truly horrible and of course I’m talking about the 2018 Concours d’Lemons Monterey Worst of Show winner (loser?) the fabulous 1977 Gremalibur.
gold plated (?) grille
mascot with custom touches:
solar powered plastic garden taillights:
"Make America Gremlin Again"
Since her triumph in 2018 this beauty has been resting on her laurels under a disintegrating tarp outside our shop in Emeryville, but she fired right up today for a harrowing drive around the block - check out the walk around and driving video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sKbKKqDDzg
and in case you’ve missed it here it is in all its glory at the awards presentation in 2018:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7jtguMiWmk
My name is Jim Callahan and thanks for your consideration. Just to make things clear I am not solely responsible for the discovery and presentation of this abomination, equally responsible is Asher Schlusselberg who is half owner and deserves half of the praise (scorn) and honor (disgust) for bringing this car into the spotlight. Here’s picture of him with another Lemons contender so if you should run into him you can thank (blame) him.
Take a ride in the worst car ever made - the fabulous 1977 Gremalibur
