The history of the U.S. car industry is littered with nameplates that disappeared because of low sales or left the market because of bankrupt parents. Among the most recent were Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile and Hummer, which GM killed. Hummer has been resurrected as the GMC Hummer EV. The Pontiac and Oldsmobile brands were a century old.
Sometimes, the reason for pulling models is broad. Ford decided sedan sales would be permanently poor in the U.S. as buyers turned to pickups, crossovers and SUVs. It discontinued the Fiesta, Taurus and Fusion brands in 2020. The sales of each had been falling. (This is the best-selling car brand in America.)
According to Vroom, four mainstream models will not be on the market in 2024. Some of these are icons. (This is America’s best car brand.)
Jeep is the oldest four-wheel drive car company in America. Jeeps were first used in World War II. Its Cherokee model will go away. It was killed once before and was put back on the market in 2013. Jeep will keep the more expensive Grand Cherokee in its dealerships. Jeep also has nine other models, which run in price from the $91,000 Grand Wagoneer to the $26,000 Compass. The Jeep brand has had to contend with falling sales this year, dropping 9% to 490,106 for the first nine months of 2023. Renegade, Gladiator and Wagoneer sales were down over 30% in the same period. Jeep may still have too many models.
Dodge, a brand slowly disappearing, will discontinue two of its muscle cars, the Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger. They may eventually return with EV engines. Both have been part of the fast, mostly RWD part of the American market, which includes the Ford Mustang, which has survived as both a gasoline-powered car and the EV Mustang Mach-E. The engine size of the Challenger and Charger has grown each year for several years. The Dodge Challenger Super stock has a Supercharged 6.2L High-Output HEMI V8 engine with an insane 807 HP.
Chrysler was once among America’s top-selling brands. Now, it only sells the Pacifica and Pacifica Plug-In Model minivans. It has killed the Chrysler 300 sedan. It launched the model in 2005, and at one point, it had several versions, from one with a small V-6 to its 6.1-liter V* Hemi. U.S. sales, which were almost 150,000 in 2004, 2005 and 2006, dropped to under 20,000 in 2020 and never recovered.
Car models sometimes come back. With the industry’s huge rotation to EV vehicles, perhaps some will come back with new generations of engines.
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