Episode Hive Logo
Show cover for American Auto

The Worst Episodes of American Auto

Every episode of American Auto ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of American Auto!

In the headquarters of a major American automotive company in Detroit, a floundering group of executives at Payne Motors must adapt to the changing times or be sent to the junkyard.

Genres:ComedyDrama
Network:NBC

Lowest Rated Episodes Summary

The worst episode of "American Auto" is "Pilot", rated 6.3/10 from 296 user votes. It was directed by Jeffrey Blitz and written by Justin Spitzer. "Pilot" aired on 12/13/2021 and is rated 0.4 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "White Van".

  • Pilot
    6.3/10 296 votes

    #1 - Pilot

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 12/13/2021

    Payne Motors gets a new CEO on the same day they’re rolling out a new self-driving — and problematic — vehicle

    Director: Jeffrey Blitz

    Writer: Justin Spitzer

  • White Van
    6.7/10 223 votes

    #2 - White Van

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 12/13/2021

    Katherine deals with the PR fallout of a serial killer driving a Payne; Jack tries to figure out his role in the company

    Director: Jeffrey Blitz

    Writer: Justin Spitzer

  • Earnings Call
    6.8/10 176 votes

    #3 - Earnings Call

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 1/4/2022

    Katherine promises a big announcement on her first quarterly earnings call. Jack and Elliot negotiate a contract with the line workers union.

    Director: Matt Sohn

    Writer: N/A

  • The $10K Car
    6.9/10 155 votes

    #4 - The $10K Car

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 1/11/2022

    Sadie and Cyrus struggle with how honest to be about Katherine’s car idea. Elliot pawns his vicious dog off on Dori.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Recall
    7.3/10 134 votes

    #5 - Recall

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 2/1/2022

    The executives realize a Payne vehicle may have a faulty part and debate whether to issue a recall.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Employee Morale
    7.3/10 131 votes

    #6 - Employee Morale

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 2/22/2022

    Katherine and the team attempt to boost employee morale after the Payne CFO announces his resignation.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Millbank, IA
    7.4/10 152 votes

    #7 - Millbank, IA

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 1/18/2022

    The group travels to Iowa for the opening of a new factory.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Charity Dinner
    7.4/10 134 votes

    #8 - Charity Dinner

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 3/1/2022

    The group attends the annual Payne Foundation Fundraising Gala. Katherine suspects her job may be in jeopardy. Wesley deals with a family rivalry.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Letter
    7.5/10 132 votes

    #9 - The Letter

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 2/28/2023

    Katherine has to go on a "listening tour" after a group of younger employees demand the company stop contributing to "pro-life" politicians. The men of the office are charged with writing Payne's policies regarding abortion.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Passion Project
    7.5/10 84 votes

    #10 - Passion Project

    Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 3/28/2023

    Coming off the news of her divorce, Katherine wants to institute big changes in the office, which prompts Cyrus to introduce her to his dream car. However, things go south when Katherine attempts to transform his design into a vision of her own.

    Director: Phill Lewis

    Writer: N/A

  • Profile
    7.6/10 131 votes

    #11 - Profile

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 3/8/2022

    When a TV newsmagazine films a segment on Katherine, the team struggles to portray her in a positive light while avoiding “gotcha” questions.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Celebrity
    7.6/10 103 votes

    #12 - Celebrity

    Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 2/7/2023

    When Payne loses their spokesperson, Katherine and the team go to great lengths to woo a new celebrity — Andy Richter — only to have second thoughts.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Funeral
    7.6/10 76 votes

    #13 - Funeral

    Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 4/4/2023

    When Wesley's grandfather passes away, Katherine and the others learn that all the heirs plan to sell their company shares, which would tank the stock price; they attempt damage control at the funeral to try to stop it.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Dealer Event
    7.6/10 71 votes

    #14 - Dealer Event

    Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 4/11/2023

    Katherine is deathly afraid of rodents but is forced to drive a Pika filled with rabbits for the annual dealer event. Wesley takes Jack under his wing, teaching him how to schmooze the dealers.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Cost Cutting
    7.7/10 93 votes

    #15 - Cost Cutting

    Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 2/14/2023

    In an effort to reduce costs, Jack, Cyrus and Elliot have to let go of some employees while Wesley and Dori search for office savings. Sadie helps prep Katherine for her first post-crisis TV interview.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Young Designers
    7.7/10 100 votes

    #16 - Young Designers

    Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 3/7/2023

    Payne sponsors its annual young designers contest at a local elementary school, which sparks controversy when Katherine inadvertently offends multiple countries via an Instagram Live interview with a Somali American student.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Night Out
    7.7/10 89 votes

    #17 - Night Out

    Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 3/21/2023

    The gang ends up at Katherine's house for what seems like an innocent night of drinking and employee bonding, but things escalate when everyone learns that Katherine and Richard are in the middle of a divorce.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Going Green
    7.8/10 96 votes

    #18 - Going Green

    Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 2/21/2023

    Katherine and the team head to Silicon Valley to invest in green tech, including Sandbox, a potentially bogus company founded by Wesley’s friend, Chase.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Hack
    7.8/10 90 votes

    #19 - Hack

    Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 3/14/2023

    The Payne servers get hacked, causing Katherine and Elliot to conflict on whether or not to pay the ransom. This becomes increasingly more personal for Katherine when the hackers reveal they have personal photos of her.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Commercial
    7.9/10 196 votes

    #20 - Commercial

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 1/25/2022

    Katherine and the team reshoot a commercial to make it more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Crisis
    7.9/10 128 votes

    #21 - Crisis

    Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 1/24/2023

    Katherine and the team bring in crisis manager Ian Osofsky to help combat the negative publicity the company is receiving from accusations it covered up defective auto parts.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Most Hated CEO
    7.9/10 105 votes

    #22 - Most Hated CEO

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 1/31/2023

    Ian and Sadie attempt to rehab Katherine's image from the pawl controversy by staging a phony video with Katherine's family and a visit to Late Night with Seth Meyers.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Judgment Day
    8.0/10 84 votes

    #23 - Judgment Day

    Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 4/18/2023

    Katherine and her team make one last effort to raise the Payne stock and save their jobs by rallying behind the launch of the Pika; when global events cause the whole market to crash, Katherine loses hope that Payne will ever recover.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A