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12-26-2018, 05:18 PM
Rust in peace: These 14 auto models are going away
By Greg LaRose | Posted on December 26, 2018 3:45 PM | Updated December 26, 2018 3:45 PM
www.nola.com/expo/news/erry-2018/12/d334ff8fd71166/rust-in-peace-these-14-auto-mo.html
Matt Crafts, of Palmer, Mass., sits behind the wheel of his 1969 Volkswagen Beetle at the Cruisin' for the Kids Car Show on June 15, 1968, benefitting Baystate Children's Hospital in Springfield, Mass. (Steven E. Nanton photo)
The weak pulse of the American-made family sedan is growing even fainter, as automakers choose to do away with more models that remind buyers too much of your grandfather's Oldsmobile.
With SUVs providing the same passenger capacity and often more amenities, consumers have all but abandoned four-door vehicles reminiscent of undercover police cars. Yet a hybrid auto and an electric car were also on this year's production line obituary list
The following makes are driving off into the sunset in 2019:
Photo by Dan Gleiter, PennLive.com
CADILLAC ATS
Production started: 2012
General Motors created the Cadillac ATS in attempt to woo drivers who wanted a bigger car in the price range of a midsize European sedan; think BMW 3 series or Mercedes-Benz C-class. More than 38,000 were sold in 2013, its first full year in production, and it was even more popularly globally, according to GM. But its domestic sales numbers dropped down to about 13,000 last year.
CADILLAC CT6
Production started: January 2016
With other luxury car makers downsizing, Cadillac went against the flow a couple years ago and unveiled a larger model. The 4,400-pound CT6 also featured rear-wheel drive, the first Caddy sedan to do so since the Fleetwood in 1996. An even bigger model, the CT8, was planned until the company chose to focus on its SUVs instead.
Photo by Mike Appleton for Cadillac
CADILLAC XTS
Production started: May 2012
This Canadian-made Cadillac was built on the same frame as the Chevrolet Impala, whose fate you'll soon learn. It's also the same platform for the Buick LaCrosse, which will end production in March 2019.
In this Sept. 8, 2010, photo, General Motors workers cheer as the first Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan off the assembly line, at the GM factory in Lordstown, Ohio. (Photo by Amy Sancetta, AP)
CHEVROLET CRUZE
Production started: 2008
General Motors teamed with Suzuki on an earlier version of the Cruze that was only available in Japan starting in 2001. Manufacturing was moved stateside seven years later, and the compact sedan was the first major release for GM after its Chapter 11 reorganization.
Early models of the Cruze were flawed. Consumer Reports rated the model the worst compact sedan in terms of reliability in its first year of U.S. production. Four separate recalls between 2011 and 2014 were issued for the Cruze, with problems ranging from engine fire risk to faulty brakes.
Charles Allen drives his 1964 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport under the Grand Blanc welcome sign on Saginaw Street on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018, at the second Back to the Bricks rolling cruise. (Photo by Kaiti Sullivan, MLive.com)
CHEVROLET IMPALA
Production years: 1957-85; 1994-96; 1999-2019
Throughout its three different production eras, the Chevy Impala has consistently been a big sedan. Its popularity, in part, has come from its use as a fleet vehicle.
In each of its iterations, the Impala has been a fixture among police departments and government agencies. Yet those agencies, like most consumers, have gravitated to SUVs.
CHEVROLET VOLT
Production started: December 2010
Chevrolet held firm in its resistance to calling the plug-in Volt a hybrid vehicle. Technically, it is a one because it depends on two power sources: batteries and a gasoline-powered engine. Chevy preferred to called the Volt an electric vehicle with a "range-extending" gas engine.
What doomed the Volt as other hybrids enjoyed growing popularity? Answer: Timing and price.
It rolled onto the market as General Motors was emerging from insolvency and consumers were still reeling from a recent recession. Priced for about $10,000 more than the class-leading Toyota Prius, the Volt has struggled to reach 150,000 units sold since its inception.
The 2014 Ford C-Max Energi Plug-in at the 2014 Michigan International Auto Show in Grand Rapids on Feb. 6, 2014. (Photo by Andrew Kuhn, MLive.com)
FORD C-MAX
Production started: 2003
It's sort of funny when you learn a guy who measures 6-foot-5 is nicknamed "Tiny." Perhaps that's what Ford was thinking when it developed the C-Max, a compact offshoot of its Focus that made its U.S. debut in 2012 as a hybrid vehicle.
A major chapter in its downfall came when Consumer Reports found that fuel efficiency figures for the C-Max were actually about 10 miles per gallon lower than Ford claimed. Testing from the Environmental Protection Agency backed that reporting, and the automaker eventually issued $550 refunds to buyers.
The 2018 Ford Focus. (Photo by Kevin Necessary, Ford Motor Co.
FORD FOCUS
Production started: July 1998
The final Focus came off the assembly line in March. Twenty years ago, the model represented Ford's move into the global compact market, as much of its previous downsizing efforts were limited to the U.S.
Ford had said in 2017 that it planned to limit Focus production to China, but it later eliminated the model to place greater emphasis on its more popular SUVs and trucks.
Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
FORD TAURUS
Production started: 1985
This zodiac-inspired model enjoyed bullish sales and strong reviews throughout most of its run. The Taurus ranks fifth among the company's best-selling models, behind the F-150 truck, Escort, Model T and Mustang.
It's the latest victim of consumer tastes steering toward foreign sedans and SUVs, which Ford itself has made a higher priority in its auto lineup.
Photo courtesy of Honda
HONDA CR-Z
Production started: 2010
The hybrid Honda CR-Z floundered even though it entered the market priced lower than the Toyota Prius. Its fate might best be explained in two words: enough already.
Honda had a stable of very popular vehicles, and those fans were more interested in the hybrid versions of existing models, such as the Accord, than a smaller, new one. The company has said it will concentrate on the hybrid Accord and the Clarity, which also has a hydrogen fuel cell model.
Photo courtesy of Hyundai
HYUNDAI AZERA
Production started: 1986
Hyundai has brought forward models in every vehicle class to challenge America, Japanese and European automakers in the U.S. market. But just like its domestic competitors, it has decided to pull its largest sedan off the market.
The Azera name has only been in the U.S. for about a decade. The model was initially known as the Hyundai Grandeur, a nod to the company's original plans to enter the luxury market.
Torry Kurski of Eagan, Minn., takes a Nissan Juke around the track at the Carlisle Performance & Style Car Show on May 12, 2012. (Photo by John C. Whitehead, The Patriot-News)
NISSAN JUKE
Production started: June 2010
Nissan has pulled the subcompact crossover in favor of its newer model, the Kicks. Since peaking in 2014 with sales exceeding 38,000 vehicles, the Juke has ebbed significant in popularity amid increasing competition in the class.
The 2014 Toyota Prius V at the 2014 Michigan International Auto Show in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Feb. 6, 2014.(Photo by Andrew Kuhn, MLive.com)
TOYOTA PRIUS V
Production started: June 2011
Toyota decided it would offer a larger, four-door version of its popular hybrid vehicle, but consumers failed to greet it as enthusiastically as the original version. The 2017 model was its last in the U.S. market.
A 2018 Volkswagen Beetle on display at the Pennsylvania Auto Show on Jan. 26, 2018, in Harrisburg, Penn. (Photo by Dan Gleiter, PennLive.com)
VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
Production started: 2011
The Volkswagen Beetle has been in existence since its 1938 birth in Germany. The third version, known as the A5, has only been around seven years.
What you know as your großvater's Käfer (grandfather's Beetle) ended its production run in 2003, when the final one rolled of the assembly line of its Mexico plant. The "New Beetle" came out in 1997 and underwent a significant overhaul in 2011, when it was dubbed the A5.
The biggest claim to fame for the A5 was that it was the car Oprah Winfrey gave away to members of her audience during a 2010 broadcast; the vehicle didn't actually come off the assembly line until the following year.
The A5 will end its production run in July 2019, Volkswagen announced in September. The company will also end U.S. sales of its Touareg, concentrating instead on the larger Atlas SUV the Tiguan crossover.
By Greg LaRose | Posted on December 26, 2018 3:45 PM | Updated December 26, 2018 3:45 PM
www.nola.com/expo/news/erry-2018/12/d334ff8fd71166/rust-in-peace-these-14-auto-mo.html
Matt Crafts, of Palmer, Mass., sits behind the wheel of his 1969 Volkswagen Beetle at the Cruisin' for the Kids Car Show on June 15, 1968, benefitting Baystate Children's Hospital in Springfield, Mass. (Steven E. Nanton photo)
The weak pulse of the American-made family sedan is growing even fainter, as automakers choose to do away with more models that remind buyers too much of your grandfather's Oldsmobile.
With SUVs providing the same passenger capacity and often more amenities, consumers have all but abandoned four-door vehicles reminiscent of undercover police cars. Yet a hybrid auto and an electric car were also on this year's production line obituary list
The following makes are driving off into the sunset in 2019:
Photo by Dan Gleiter, PennLive.com
CADILLAC ATS
Production started: 2012
General Motors created the Cadillac ATS in attempt to woo drivers who wanted a bigger car in the price range of a midsize European sedan; think BMW 3 series or Mercedes-Benz C-class. More than 38,000 were sold in 2013, its first full year in production, and it was even more popularly globally, according to GM. But its domestic sales numbers dropped down to about 13,000 last year.
CADILLAC CT6
Production started: January 2016
With other luxury car makers downsizing, Cadillac went against the flow a couple years ago and unveiled a larger model. The 4,400-pound CT6 also featured rear-wheel drive, the first Caddy sedan to do so since the Fleetwood in 1996. An even bigger model, the CT8, was planned until the company chose to focus on its SUVs instead.
Photo by Mike Appleton for Cadillac
CADILLAC XTS
Production started: May 2012
This Canadian-made Cadillac was built on the same frame as the Chevrolet Impala, whose fate you'll soon learn. It's also the same platform for the Buick LaCrosse, which will end production in March 2019.
In this Sept. 8, 2010, photo, General Motors workers cheer as the first Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan off the assembly line, at the GM factory in Lordstown, Ohio. (Photo by Amy Sancetta, AP)
CHEVROLET CRUZE
Production started: 2008
General Motors teamed with Suzuki on an earlier version of the Cruze that was only available in Japan starting in 2001. Manufacturing was moved stateside seven years later, and the compact sedan was the first major release for GM after its Chapter 11 reorganization.
Early models of the Cruze were flawed. Consumer Reports rated the model the worst compact sedan in terms of reliability in its first year of U.S. production. Four separate recalls between 2011 and 2014 were issued for the Cruze, with problems ranging from engine fire risk to faulty brakes.
Charles Allen drives his 1964 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport under the Grand Blanc welcome sign on Saginaw Street on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018, at the second Back to the Bricks rolling cruise. (Photo by Kaiti Sullivan, MLive.com)
CHEVROLET IMPALA
Production years: 1957-85; 1994-96; 1999-2019
Throughout its three different production eras, the Chevy Impala has consistently been a big sedan. Its popularity, in part, has come from its use as a fleet vehicle.
In each of its iterations, the Impala has been a fixture among police departments and government agencies. Yet those agencies, like most consumers, have gravitated to SUVs.
CHEVROLET VOLT
Production started: December 2010
Chevrolet held firm in its resistance to calling the plug-in Volt a hybrid vehicle. Technically, it is a one because it depends on two power sources: batteries and a gasoline-powered engine. Chevy preferred to called the Volt an electric vehicle with a "range-extending" gas engine.
What doomed the Volt as other hybrids enjoyed growing popularity? Answer: Timing and price.
It rolled onto the market as General Motors was emerging from insolvency and consumers were still reeling from a recent recession. Priced for about $10,000 more than the class-leading Toyota Prius, the Volt has struggled to reach 150,000 units sold since its inception.
The 2014 Ford C-Max Energi Plug-in at the 2014 Michigan International Auto Show in Grand Rapids on Feb. 6, 2014. (Photo by Andrew Kuhn, MLive.com)
FORD C-MAX
Production started: 2003
It's sort of funny when you learn a guy who measures 6-foot-5 is nicknamed "Tiny." Perhaps that's what Ford was thinking when it developed the C-Max, a compact offshoot of its Focus that made its U.S. debut in 2012 as a hybrid vehicle.
A major chapter in its downfall came when Consumer Reports found that fuel efficiency figures for the C-Max were actually about 10 miles per gallon lower than Ford claimed. Testing from the Environmental Protection Agency backed that reporting, and the automaker eventually issued $550 refunds to buyers.
The 2018 Ford Focus. (Photo by Kevin Necessary, Ford Motor Co.
FORD FOCUS
Production started: July 1998
The final Focus came off the assembly line in March. Twenty years ago, the model represented Ford's move into the global compact market, as much of its previous downsizing efforts were limited to the U.S.
Ford had said in 2017 that it planned to limit Focus production to China, but it later eliminated the model to place greater emphasis on its more popular SUVs and trucks.
Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
FORD TAURUS
Production started: 1985
This zodiac-inspired model enjoyed bullish sales and strong reviews throughout most of its run. The Taurus ranks fifth among the company's best-selling models, behind the F-150 truck, Escort, Model T and Mustang.
It's the latest victim of consumer tastes steering toward foreign sedans and SUVs, which Ford itself has made a higher priority in its auto lineup.
Photo courtesy of Honda
HONDA CR-Z
Production started: 2010
The hybrid Honda CR-Z floundered even though it entered the market priced lower than the Toyota Prius. Its fate might best be explained in two words: enough already.
Honda had a stable of very popular vehicles, and those fans were more interested in the hybrid versions of existing models, such as the Accord, than a smaller, new one. The company has said it will concentrate on the hybrid Accord and the Clarity, which also has a hydrogen fuel cell model.
Photo courtesy of Hyundai
HYUNDAI AZERA
Production started: 1986
Hyundai has brought forward models in every vehicle class to challenge America, Japanese and European automakers in the U.S. market. But just like its domestic competitors, it has decided to pull its largest sedan off the market.
The Azera name has only been in the U.S. for about a decade. The model was initially known as the Hyundai Grandeur, a nod to the company's original plans to enter the luxury market.
Torry Kurski of Eagan, Minn., takes a Nissan Juke around the track at the Carlisle Performance & Style Car Show on May 12, 2012. (Photo by John C. Whitehead, The Patriot-News)
NISSAN JUKE
Production started: June 2010
Nissan has pulled the subcompact crossover in favor of its newer model, the Kicks. Since peaking in 2014 with sales exceeding 38,000 vehicles, the Juke has ebbed significant in popularity amid increasing competition in the class.
The 2014 Toyota Prius V at the 2014 Michigan International Auto Show in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Feb. 6, 2014.(Photo by Andrew Kuhn, MLive.com)
TOYOTA PRIUS V
Production started: June 2011
Toyota decided it would offer a larger, four-door version of its popular hybrid vehicle, but consumers failed to greet it as enthusiastically as the original version. The 2017 model was its last in the U.S. market.
A 2018 Volkswagen Beetle on display at the Pennsylvania Auto Show on Jan. 26, 2018, in Harrisburg, Penn. (Photo by Dan Gleiter, PennLive.com)
VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
Production started: 2011
The Volkswagen Beetle has been in existence since its 1938 birth in Germany. The third version, known as the A5, has only been around seven years.
What you know as your großvater's Käfer (grandfather's Beetle) ended its production run in 2003, when the final one rolled of the assembly line of its Mexico plant. The "New Beetle" came out in 1997 and underwent a significant overhaul in 2011, when it was dubbed the A5.
The biggest claim to fame for the A5 was that it was the car Oprah Winfrey gave away to members of her audience during a 2010 broadcast; the vehicle didn't actually come off the assembly line until the following year.
The A5 will end its production run in July 2019, Volkswagen announced in September. The company will also end U.S. sales of its Touareg, concentrating instead on the larger Atlas SUV the Tiguan crossover.