what is the biggest failure in human history?

zachimusprime44@lemmy.world to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 73 points –
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The Citroen 2CV.

There are many cars that have something worse; three wheeled things, Tesla design, the Renault dash mounted gearstick, etc.

But there is no other "modern" car which so significantly fails in every way as the 2CV.

It has nothing that could be described as performance or ride or comfort. There is nothing about it that can be called practical or stylish. It has zero properties that any sane person could find desirable in a car.

It's so bad that even the Trabant has less to damn it, and that really is terrible.

I think the best evidence that the 2CV is man's biggest failure, should you really need any, is that you are more likely to see them in the country they were made, repurposed as a chicken coop.

If that's not the ultimate failure, I don't know what is.

I think the Austin Allegro would like to challenge you for a car with absolutely zero redeeming qualities.

If memory serves, I think at least some versions of the Allegro had reasonably comfy seats. I'm afraid that can't be said of the 2CV.

Also, the use of a "double skin" body, dropped by almost every manufacturer a decade or so before the Allegro, is really just another amusing tidbit we can taunt it with.

There absolutely nothing even faintly comic about the 2CV, it is an abhorrence at every level.

But I'll grant you, the Allegro is definitely in the top 10.

If you needed a light car with simple mechanics, it was kinda fitted though

There were so many better options that I can't even grant you a nod in this direction.

Nil points, yellow card, etc.

0-40 km/h (25 mi/h) in 42 seconds…. That’s 42, not 4.2 in case someone thought I missed the decimal. How did this sell almost 92k units per year up through the 80s?

No 0-60, you would die trying. Even 40 mi/h is over ambitious. Clearly, the 2CV was spawned by Satan to destroy our will to live. I see no other reason for that many sales.