Worst luxury cars ever

For those who remember earlier eras, the cars on this "worst" list will seem laughable. They won't turn to rust at the first sign of rain, spontaneous combustion is improbable and plowing into another car at 40 mph isn't automatically a death sentence.

However, this is not the 1970s, '80s or even '90s. The bar has soared higher with progress, and with it, cars that are otherwise safe and reliable end up among the Worst Cars You Can Buy. If we declare "class leaders" and "best-in-segments, " we must also conclude that with a finite number of possibilities, there are "class losers" and "worst-in-segments." It's simple logic.

In many cases, picking the cars below was easy, as fellow segment ugly ducklings have transformed into swans in recent years. Ultimately, that's a good thing for car buyers since it means that a vast majority of cars are easily clearing the bar set for 2013.

You can buy a Smart car for a very reasonable , 420, but you'll do without power steering, power windows, air-conditioning or a radio. Adding those common items brings the cost to $15, 160, a price greater than other similarly equipped subcompacts that include a backseat.

Then there's the matter of driving it. The Smart needs 14.1 seconds to get to 60 mph and once there feels as if it'll be blown off the road by every passing tractor-trailer. Its three-cylinder engine returns a frugal EPA-estimated 36 mpg combined, but requires premium fuel. Its tiny dimensions allow it to squeeze into parking spots nothing else could attempt, but its horrible single-clutch automated manual transmission makes doing so a herky-jerky and potentially bumper-tapping experience. Once under way, that slow-shifting transmission will have you bobbing forward with every upshift as if a first-time driver is rowing the gears.

You'll note we haven't yet mentioned the clown car styling, but why bother? On paper and in practice, the Smart is an oxymoron.

With Toyota's recent radical overhaul of its best-selling but thoroughly crummy Corolla, the Mitsubishi Lancer finds itself alone at the bottom. Though its edgy shape and shark-inspired nose look fierce when gussied up on the Evolution X, the volume-selling regular Lancer's small steel wheels, less aggressive styling and single exhaust transform this compact sedan from rally champ to rental chump.