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Least Fuel Efficient Cars of All Time

The least fuel efficient cars of all time will cost you a fortune at the pump, as well as widen your carbon footprint.

By Joseph FarleyPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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Back when gas was cheap and we thought it'd last forever, it's not hard to see why some of these fuel guzzling, environmental disasters were made. Nowadays, if you don't have decent miles per gallon you're throwing money down a hole, and most people who are reasonable people see it that way.

So, when talking gas guzzlers, what are the least fuel efficient cars of all time? Sadly, some of these cars are pretty cool, and a few among them are even the best American muscle cars of all time. See the cars who have been given the most dirty looks from the Department of Energy and Al Gore below.

Pontiac Grand Prix

A long running and popular car model until it was canned in 2008, the Pontiac Grand Prix is one of the least fuel efficient cars of all time. It came stocked with a V8 engine that became famous for an estimated 14 miles per gallon—at the high end!

The Grand Prix went through 60 different editions, and all of them were variations on that same theme of terrible fuel economy. If you see one for sale, know that these money pits are among the cars you should never buy.

Dodge Viper

The Dodge Viper hit the market back in 1992, and right from the jump nobody seemed all that interested. Who could blame them? With a starting price sitting at $50,000, and estimated eleven miles per gallon, and poor safety ratings, only a 155 of them left the parking lot that year.

As gas prices rise this is one car you don't want to be stuck in, as it's among the least fuel efficient cars of all time. It might look like a race car and its spartan exterior is pretty attractive, but just know that this thing is a catastrophe around the city.

Pontiac GTO

The GTO is an iconic muscle car, and has on more than one occasion been among the most memorable muscle cars in movies, but I'm not sure how many know it's a gas guzzling mess. When it came out in 1963, it helped usher in a new wave of American muscle cars that apparently didn't see the finite nature of gasoline.

It comes with a powerful 389 V8 engine, allowing you to get a fast jump off the starting line, but not much further, as it's easily one of the least fuel efficient cars of all time.

Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang has been a hit with the public since it came out back in the 60s, but that has nothing to do with its fuel performance or reliability. Many Ford Mustangs are known to get in the neighborhood of a measly ten miles per gallon, ranking it right up there with the least fuel efficient cars of all time.

Widely considered an American standard, there are many great aspects to the Mustang, fuel economy never being one of them. So, when thinking about getting behind the wheel of one, make sure you check out what kind of engine it's working with, as some of them are much worse than others.

Hummer

Let's be honest, the Hummer was never meant to be driven around by regular people, and when you see one you generally can guess a few things about the driver. While I won't get into all that, I will say that the boxy monstrosity is one of the least fuel efficient cars of all time.

Originally designed for the US Army, the Hummer became available to the everyday person in 1992. After they sold it to GM, three subsequent models were released—all with bottom of the barrel in terms of fuel economy. Many were said to get under ten miles per gallon.

Dodge Challenger

There is no denying that the Challenger is a bad ass muscle car, but many people have reported it getting as low as eight miles per gallon—eight! Coming out in 1970 it was thought of as a rival to the Ford Mustang, and if you think of it in terms of fuel economy it's every bit an equal, as it too is among the least fuel efficient cars of all time.

The 383 cubic inch V8 engine sure sounded nice, but when you found out what you'd be spending at the pump you should consider yourself lucky you never bought one.

Chevrolet Camaro

Back in 1966, the Camaro was thought to be a marvel of engineering, Chevrolet's answer to the worlds best muscle cars. While it had a powerful engine and an impressive three-speed manual transmission, it wasn't even able to pull off six miles per gallon—without a doubt one of the least fuel efficient cars of all time.

As gas prices rose in the 70s and 80s, these old muscle cars were mostly stored in the garage or worked on as projects, because who can reason with driving a guzzler getting less than six miles per gallon?

Chevrolet Corvette

Nope, not even the Corvette was able to perform well at the pump. When it came out in the 50s, it instantly became a sought after car due to its stylish appearance. In addition, it came with a 245 horse power V8 engine that was impressive unless you studied the fuel economy, which was around 13 miles per gallon.

Granted, affordability isn't what the Corvette was after, as it's more of a luxury vehicle. However, it seems reasonable that we can ask for more than one of the least fuel efficient cars around.

Pontiac Bonneville

Pontiac never blew anybody away with their environmental agenda, and that's clear when you check out the Pontiac Bonneville, a relatively boring car that only got about eleven miles per gallon. It's something your grandma might drive, it's in no way a hot rod, so what gives?

Looks are a bit deceiving, as for some reason Pontiac installed a muscle-car-era V-8 engine in it. In the 70s, Pontiac downsized the engine and made it more fuel efficient, but not by much.

Dodge Charger

Finally, the Dodge Charger is right up there among the first rate gas guzzlers. It came with a massive V-8 engine and couldn't even hack nine miles per gallon in most settings, ranking it as one of the least fuel efficient cars of all time.

The Charger was a popular muscle car, and today you see improved versions of them in many police departments. It wasn't all that bad for Dodge, but the early models are terrible if you care all about fuel economy and the future of the planet.

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About the Creator

Joseph Farley

Joseph Farley is a North Jersey based writer who loves short fiction and stand-up comedy

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