page_title: List of automobiles known for negative reception
section_title: Renault Dauphine (North American version) (1956–67)
hierarchical_section_title: List of automobiles known for negative reception / 1950s / Renault Dauphine (North American version) (1956–67)
caption_attribution_description: Want it?
context_page_description: This is a list of automobiles known for negative reception. They are judged by poor critical reception, poor customer reception, safety defects, and/or poor workmanship. For inclusion, these automobiles have either been referred to in popular publications as the worst of all time, or have received negative reviews across multiple publications. Some of these cars were popular on the marketplace or were critically praised at their launch, but have earned a strongly negative retroactive reception, while others are not considered to be intrinsically "bad", but have acquired infamy for safety or emissions defects that permanently damaged the car's reputation. Conversely, some vehicles which were poorly received at the time ended up being reevaluated by collectors and became cult classics.
context_section_description: While the Renault Dauphine was a major sales success in Europe, where it is seen as one of the forerunners of the modern economy car, it received a very strong negative reception in the United States, largely for its poor performance and poor reliability. A period review of the Dauphine by Road & Track magazine found that the Dauphine took 32 seconds to accelerate to 60 MPH from a standstill. Autoblog included the Dauphine on its list of "The 20 Dumbest Cars of All Time" and it was included on Time's list of the "50 Worst Cars of All Time", with writer Dan Neil calling it "The most ineffective bit of French engineering since the Maginot Line", while noting that its performance "put the Dauphine at a severe disadvantage in any drag race involving farm equipment." The Dauphine also placed 9th on Car Talk's 2000 "Worst Car of the Millennium" poll and was named the 67th worst car of all time by Edmunds.com. Another problem that damaged its reputation was rust. A 2008 retrospective article in The Independent said: "as soon as the US market had come to grips with the Dauphine's swing-axle manners and useless acceleration, they were pole-axed by its abysmal corrosion record. It would take only one New York winter of driving on salt-strewn roads to give a Dauphine front wings that resembled net curtains." Renault apologized for the Dauphine's flaws in American print advertisements, marketing its successor as "The Renault for people who swore they wouldn't buy another one".
caption: Renault Dauphine
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