Jalopy
WordNet
noun
(1) A car that is old and unreliable
"The fenders had fallen off that old bus"
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Origin unknown. Is it possible that the non spanish-speaking New Orleans-based longshoremen, referring to scrapped autos circa 1920 destined for Jalapa, Mexico scrapyards, pronounced the destination on the palettes "jalopies" rather than multiples or possessive of Jalapa?