Some cars seem to fly below the radar of enthusiasts, the media and whoever is responsible for cancelling cars that everyone forgot about. We asked readers what cars they were surprised weren’t dead yet. These were their answers.
VW Arteon
VW Arteon. I’m surprised VW even bothered to sell it here to begin with.
Here is a reminder that VW is still weirdly committed to the handsome but slow-selling Arteon. Just 1,682 were sold in Q2 of this year.
Suggested by: Erik Nilsen (Facebook)
Mazda Miata
Unfortunately, I believe that the answer is Miata. Perfectly balanced, refined, and always under-powered. This is a joy ride still living in a sea of bland, but full of boring utility, crossovers (also usually underpowered). This car should always exist. Sadly though, sales numbers in decline means that the days are numbered. What really pains me though, is that the manual wasn’t just a cost-savings option for the el-strippo base model only – few vehicles left that can boast such a claim. When gas is eventually $10 a gallon, the former mustang die-hards will start to gravitate to these on the used market knowing that they can still achieve an MPG that at least is in the double digits.
Suggested by: ranma
Karma
Fisker Karma / Karma Revero.
It was a half-baked PHEV when it came out, 9 years of being an automotive zombie hasn’t fixed it.
I live near the Karma production facility. It’s not a good sign when you never see any of the cars a company produces around the facility. And it always looks closed. It doesn’t help they keep their sales numbers close to their chest, as Tesla does. The only thing I found said that the company sold 231 cars in all of 2018.
Suggested by: Ben Hutchinson (Facebook)
Chevy Camaro
They just announced a 9.4L COPO Camaro the other day and it seems that nobody really cares. Sales numbers for street-legal Camaros have dwindled to near nothing. It’s no secret that even the Dodge Challenger is outselling the Camaro, but Chevy sells fewer Camaros than even the Chrysler 300 at this point. GM/Chevy just gave up on this car about three years ago already.
Suggested by: Autojunkie
The SUV Coupe
The coupe SUV. All the practicality of a sports car with the handling and mileage of an SUV.
Suggested by: Aaron Otstott (Facebook)
Ford Ecosport
The Ford Ecosport. How in the name of internal combustion does that vehicle exist? It’s awkward looking and small inside, and you can buy a more spacious vehicle that gets better fuel economy. Whenever I see one, I judge the owner for making such a poor choice.
The Ecosport seems as if it was designed for markets like Asia or Brazil but it was brought over because Ford needed a compact crossover. But the Focus (RIP) was a better car and the Escape above it is bigger and overlaps it in price so why does it exist?
Suggested by: NEBcruiser(now with FSD)
Chrysler 300
Definitely the Chrysler 300. It and the Charger are the last rear-drive V8 American sedans, a breed that has been on life support now for decades. I can see why people buy the Charger since it has all those Hellcat models now, but the 300 hasn’t been substantially updated in 10 years and other luxury sedans do what it does way better.
These things still sell, but not like they used to. Chrysler moved nearly 17,000 last year.
Suggested by: Kroozah
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Legacy. I see lots of other Subarus but I haven’t seen the normal Legacy at all since its last refresh. I thought it was already quietly discontinued only to find it still listed in the Subaru website while looking for news about the new WRX.
Don’t be surprised if you haven’t seen a Legacy around. I haven’t either. I almost forgot they make the thing. But they sell. Sales are up over 5 percent so far this year.
Suggested by: Mr. MiniBig, where’s my coffee?
Acura ILX
The ILX is a head-scratcher. It’s not much more than a 9th generation Civic Si with an automatic transmission and pleather seats, and it was released after the 10th gen Civic. And it’s now a full 2 generations behind the Civic.
Suggested by: Sad Crying Clown in an ILX
Nissan GT-R
I am astounded that people still buy enough GT-Rs after all these years to justify continuing to building them.
I’m always surprised at this too. Aside from the shocking price increase, the car has had (MSRP in 2008 was $69,850 compared to $113,540 now) since its introduction, no one buys it. Sure it’s a six-figure sports car from a mass automaker but still, it sells so few you wonder how Nissan hasn’t pulled the plug. Just 49 were sold in Q1 of 2021. And that’s down 30 percent from Q1 2020.
Suggested by: V10omous
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