American design, Italian build quality: recipe for disaster. 

Chrysler used this car as an unfortunate cherry on top of its 1980s comeback. Chrysler made a small investment in Maserati in the 80s and also announced a new image car. It wanted to combine “The best of Old World with the best of New.” What it made instead was a LeBaron at about three times the price.

Maserati built the car, added the 2.2-liter turbo engine from a Dodge Daytona, and the Chrysler TC by Maserati was born. The car reportedly hit the market with such a big thud that Lee Iacocca's celebrity friends became furious at him. Iacocca got them to make advance purchases to help with the image of the TC, and then they were angered when they saw similar cars in dealerships at huge discounts within a few months of the TC’s introduction.

Not only did the TC look like a LeBaron with a few Pep Boys add-ons, but also the build quality was worse. If there was any silver lining to the thundercloud that was the TC, it at least made the Maserati Biturbo look down right attractive by comparison.