The Desiped: Part One

Behold, a short collection of five vehicles that should be thrown into the deepest level of car hell. All five are from different segments of the market.

The first? The Chrysler TC by Maserati (1989-1991).

In the late '80s the CEO of Chrysler, Lee Iacocca (the man who saved the company the first go round) decided that the Chrysler brand needed a "halo car."

A halo car is a model that will, supposedly, be so incredibly great that its aura of awesomeness will extend down through the model line.

So, Iacocca called up his friend Alejandro de Tomaso (the man who owned Maserati at the time) and asked him if he was busy. Regrettably, de Tomaso said no.

This is what they came up with.
It's a convertible, though this particular picture has it with the detachable hard top on.
Here it is with it off. Now, this has a manual, repeat manual, convertible top. On a cheap little convertible, that makes sense.

This wasn't cheap, it cost $30 thousand. That's like saying, "Yes, I want my 6o grand Mercedes, with GPS. But I don't want power windows or locks."

If the car was sporty, in any possible way, it might make sense.

But it wasn't. This car was front engine, front wheel drive, and based off the K Car platform. If you don't know what a K Car is, take a look at this:

Yes, that just screams "sporty, Italian built, convertible material."

But maybe if the interior was any good it could be justifiable.

Nope. Plastic fake wood veneer and chintzy plastic air vents don't equate luxury.

Aside from the interior, it's not such a bad looking car, but it's just not a good idea. It cheapened the Maserati brand and made Chrysler look like a bunch of overpriced, overreaching idiots.

Chrysler killed it when sales bombed. They wanted to sell between 5 and 10 thousand a year. Over the three years it existed they sold 7 thousand, total.

So, no, overdrive isn't necessary.

However, a large pack of C4 explosive next to the gas tank? That is necessary.