Congratulations: Your Tax Dollars Saved 8 of the 10 Worst Built Cars in America

President Obama thinks you should thank him for saving bailing out GM and Chrysler. What did you get for your money? 8 of the 10 Worst Built Cars For 2012 in America are made by either GM or Chrysler according to this list compiled by Forbes. Thanks President Obama and the UAW. The Smart ForTwo and Toyota FJ Cruiser are the only two not made by Chrysler LLC and General Motors.

That said, we poured over the latest data from Consumer Reports’ 2012 Annual Auto Issue to identify which models, based on a convergence of objective test results, could be considered the 10 Worst Built Cars for 2012. (See the accompanying slide show for the complete rogues’ gallery and selection criteria.)

We started by examining CR’s road test ratings and isolated the models that were ranked at or near the bottom, as noted by an aggregate score under 50. Overall ratings are based on more than 50 individual tests and evaluations, and are presented on a 100-point scale. We then identified those models that received the lowest marks for reliability, based on Consumer Reports subscriber surveys, and were cited for at least two other “worsts,” including bottom-of-the-pack value ratings, highest five-year operating costs, lowest owner satisfaction, poorest fuel economy in a given class and/or worst performance in accident-avoidance tests.

Of the 10 models that comprise our final list of 10 Worst-Built Cars for 2012, all but two of them, the Smart ForTwo and Toyota FJ Cruiser, come from domestic-brand automakers, specifically Chrysler LLC and General Motors. While those automakers have been making great strides in recent years with new and recently redesigned models, they’re still recovering from their near-death experiences in 2008-2009 and the laggards in their respective lines awaiting major makeovers or replacements continue to haunt them. Keep on reading...