[Si Coe]

Early Preds did win races, and national titles, but that didn't mean they were reliable. Even the top drivers suffered more retirements with them than other cars of the time.
But, and this is critical, what sucked about the first few Preds was that they were fragile and required constant maintenance. Fine for pros who stripped down cars between runs, frequently replaced stuff, and being good never hit the barrier - but bad for club racers.
Even good club drivers make the odd mistake, with a Pred that meant a broken car. And if you didn't constantly change the bevels the drivetrain stripped.
The Pred was the perfect example of a 'Pro' car - great for the real experts but a bad idea for mere mortals. In constrast, the Cat 2000 series from the same era were real 'club cars'.