What Were The Best And The Worst Automotive Ideas Of 2009?

Desperate times require desperate measures, as the saying goes, and 2009 was about as desperate as it gets in the auto industry.

Companies sometimes do the most interesting things when they're desperate - and that maxim seems particularly relevant to auto companies. Because their products are so visible, with such potential emotional impact. Because their executives and designers and engineers are in charge of the process that creates those products.

Desperation in 2009 - as defined by coming up some 6 million sales short of the industry's glory days of just three years ago - generated products and strategies that ran the gamut from ridiculous to sublime. Some ideas were inspired; some were just tired.

Here are a few of the best and worst ideas from the auto industry in 2009:


2010 San Diego Auto Show Photo Gallery

2011 Toyota Sienna Photo Gallery

2009 LA Auto Show Photo Gallery