Top 10 Automotive Failures of the Last Decade

Edmunds.com

Top 10 Automotive Failures of the Last Decade

Ten of the biggest automotive sales flops in the last decade. These cars prove that failure is always an option.

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empoweredbc

The LS600hL doesn't belong on this list, since it sells about as well as the Mercedes S400 Hybrid and others of it's ilk. And it has more luxury and technology than any other Lexus ever made.

If you include the LS600hL, you are damning all high-end hybrids/diesels as well.

karbuff

Somehow we missed the biggest oxymoron of all....

Wait for it....

The "Smart Fortwo" or not so Smart for two or for one or for anyone.

My Honda Trail 110 shifts better with an auto-clutch than this Mitsubishi sourced rubber band.

Makes me want to put a penny on the back bumper and pull it back a few feet and watch it wheelie off a cliff.

Euro version is not broken, why un-fix it for the NA market?
Merc Diesel anyone?

Off my soapbox now:)

empoweredbc

You want an "automotive failure" of the last decade, how about what you turned InsideLine.com into?

You turned a very popular website that attracted enthusiasts, and turned it into this mortuary.

I nominate the castration of InsideLine.com for #1 automotive failure in the last decade!

jakedasnake66

I disagree with 7-9 on this list. I think they all did what they were supposed to in the market and weren't "failures" in any case. The Ford brought people to the showrooms and are nice cars, interiors are nice, not retro, but not deal breakers either. Crossfire did the same, great looking, it was Chrysler's other products that did themselves in. SSRs still go for good money, and they sold pretty well for a boutique car.

What needs to be on the list is cars like the 2004 Grand Prix, 2005 Chevy Cobalt/Pontiac G5, 2008 Dodge Caliber/Jeep Compass and Ford Fiesta. Cars that were supposed to do great things and good money was spent after bad money. Cars that made brands go under. These cars on your list are not that type of "failure." They did what they did and were never going to make or break any car company.

xscape

Can't believe the Crossfire is on this list, there were far more duds that could have been put on this list for instance every saturn and pontiac that came out in the early 2000's those companies are not even around anymore. The crossfire is an excellent touring car, they never said it was a sports car for some reason people like to think it was a car for the track and with 215 horsepower I'm not sure why they thought this. I miss my crossfire. =(

karbuff

I remember that deal on Overstock.com and that was at the end of 2005 not the production model end like this article portrays. Apparently dealers had way to many in stock (230 day supply) and this was apparently a novel way to move some metal. Or not.

The Crossfire was definitely form over function. I think the styling will hold the line if you can get over the 90's SLK underpinnings.

I'd need to put the top down to be able to fit in either one.

bizzle1

I would kill to have any of those American cars on the list. Chevy SSR is retro cool and just too awesome. It will be a collectible. Same with the Ford Thunderbird. That is a DARN nice car inside and out! It is just simply beautiful. The Chrysler Crossfire is beautiful and sexy on the outside. Much better looking than any Mercedes roadster. It looks like an exotic. Darn good looking car I must say. Give me the SRT4. And the Cadillac is a Cadillac, it is supposed to have soft suspension. It is quite simply stunning. If you have an XLR you will get more respect than any other car on the road. Yes ANY car. That car is pure sex on wheels and you cannot 1up it. I don't care what car you have...

*All the cars that I listed will definitely become collectibles

emajor

Good list. The XLR, Crossfire, and Thunderbird absolutely should be on there. They sold very poorly and were pulled after only a few years, indicating that the very company who produced them couldn't continue to justify their existence. That a small number of niche enthusiasts still want them is irrelevant. "...oddest vehicles ever squeezed from Detroit's loins". Mark, I could live quite happily having never read that statement over breakfast, thank you very much.

michael_s

I think the Chevrolet SSR is gorgeous. But it was useless as a truck and too heavy to be sporty, and $45,000.

I think the perfect contrast is the Chrysler PT Cruiser - compared to the SSR it's not as pretty, slower, and front wheel drive. But it was priced like an economy car, and that helped it sell like crazy.

isaacl

ooooooo, nice one empoweredbc.....the replacement of insideline by...a WHATS HOT tab on edmunds main site is something that only the Pontiac Aztek can be compared to.

nice one. accurate.

gloss

I think the SSR was a beautiful car, but terribly impractical. The design is still pretty stunning.

jeffinoh

Wow, people are so mean! But, yeah, this new format sucks. How about that huge floating help button? When was the last time ya needed help on here? Good article, tho. And I like 8 of these 10 cars. They have vision. If we listened to the media we'd all drive BMWs and I for one can't abide that!

bankerdanny

I'm not sure that sales numbers alone can be used to ID a failure. The SSR for example was never meant to be a volume seller, despite being from a valume manufacturer. The XLR, like the Allante before it, was a failure of execution rather than concept. It is (in my opinion) a gorgeous car, and should have been the halo car that GM intended it to be. It was GM's complete inability to offer Mercedes and Porsche build quality while attempting to charge Mercedes and Porsche prices that killed both cars. Despite the fantastic looks and the great LS V8 power, if in 2005 someone had given me $100k and said I have to buy an XLR, a Mercedes 500SL, or a 911 Cabrio, the XLR would have come in a distant 3rd.

yamahr1

Nissan Cube anyone? Even the Juke might qualify, even though they are both still for sale.

330i_zhp

Despite the fact that these cars were not popular, I do apprecaite (especially from the domestic manufacturers, in this case) the attempts at creating something drastically different from the run-of-the-mill styling that sells in volume numbers. I'm not a huge fan of any of the cars on this list, but I have to admit that they do catch my eye while on the road - it's refreshing to get a break from Camry/Accord/Impala monotony, even if it is in the form of an SSR.

tubybntz

OVERSTOCKED.COM!!! HAHAHAHAH :')

tgreen5

I agree. Insideline was my favorite site. This "What's Hot" Terrible... that all I have to say... Talk about automotive failure!!!! Totally agree....

se_riously

I would have put the CR-Z before the Insight. Neither sporty, nor fuel efficient, nor practical, nor a sales leader.

bc1960

"cargo space dropped to carry-on luggage only"

Perception is not reality. SAE cargo capacity, rear seats up/down, cubic feet:

Acura ZDX 26.3/55.8
Audi allroad 27.6/50.5
Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon 25.0/58.0

The lower rear headroom and less rear leg room does relegate it to tweens and like-size people, but I haven't carried a rear seat passenger since 1995, and I can't be the only one, although I'm skeptical it was ever intended to be more than a niche model. If it cost less, lost the rear doors, and got better fuel economy it would actually be a good vehicle for me.

carmageddon

Sales disappointments maybe, but notwithstanding this article's tiresome snarky tone, all of the Detroit sourced cars on this list are actually pretty cool. Expect to see them on Fourth of July parades someday as cars that make people smile.

In answer to your question: "Is there really a section of the population that wants a convertible SUV? " Um yeah, and the convertible SUV they want is called the Jeep Wrangler. That Detroit product is probably as wacky as the others on this list but seems to have just a touch of staying power.

Lastly, here's a strong second to the comment about the takedown of InsideLine.com as the auto failure of the decade.

wizard__

Really, you consider the first hybrid sold in the USA a failure? No car today exceeds it's hybrid gas mileage.

Yet no Fisker Karma on the list?

tourian

Man, I know Wikipedia agrees with you guys but I'm almost positive the XLR used the C6 chassis. In that it was "odd" that it debuted that chassis one year before that new Vette appeared.

meyrick007

TOTALLY agree with EMPOWEREDBD... edmunds.com used to be the go to site for me... but after this horrendous and major fail update i rarely visit the site anymore...

desmolicious

and to think that local Santa Monica dealers were asking $15000 mark ups on both the Chevy ssr and Crossfire when they first came out.

stovt001_

I was about to come in swinging with a "just because it didn't sell doesn't mean that an enthusiastic few won't miss it!" but no, this list really was a collection of universally unloved cars. Well done.

stovt001_

The SSR was awesome in a "Chip Foose Auto Show One-Off Custom Car" kinda way. As a real production car, not so much.

danielp2

As empoweredbc said the ls600h doesn't belong on this list. If it does, then the Lamborghini veneno should be on the list as well. They have only sold 3 of them...

greenpony

Low sales numbers + unique styling = potentially pricey collector cars. Consider it. Also consider that the Insight came out in '99 but you only quote sales numbers back to '03.

ronalde1

I agree with you empoweredbc and so do hundreds if not thousands of people. One thing I don't understand is why doesn't Edmunds care enough to respond to the hundreds of people who are pissed off about getting rid of INSIDELINE and more importantly, who idea was it to get rid of it?!?!? that person should be fired. The biggest automotive failure of the last decade is getting rid of InsideLine.com

zoomzoomn

The Murano definitely deserves to win its first place spot. Of almost any car that I can remember, none has really begged the question why so much as it does. The whole team that bamboozled Nissan into green-lighting it for even a design study, let alone production, should go into politics!

chevylover229

Though all of these cars are absolutely Awful. You should know the fact that a very high percentage of people in Arkansas/Oklahoma (That's where I live) Love SUV's and adore convertibles. So thanks Nissan, for making my commute just a little bit more hilarious, because when you drive down the street and see a balding beer gutted man in a convertible SUV, you think "Man it's good to be in America."

napman

I am the proud owner of one of the original Honda Insights. Like every Honda it has been remarkably reliable and now after 13 years I have 150,000 miles and the only major repairs done during that time was the replacement of the clutch. More over, I have gotten nearly 60 mpg in all driving conditions. I fail to see why the number of cars sold has any reflection on whether a car is a failure or not. This car is the ideal for commuting and is able to park in many places even a compact car can not. The original impetus for Honda to import this car was to comply with the fleet standards in California and after these were challenged in court Honda did not feel the need to import many more into the U.S., especially at a loss since mine cost less than $19,000. This car continues to function perfectly and I still get better millage than almost any other car available even now. How can that be an "Automotive Failure"?

musclecar61

The only car on this list that I care about is the T Bird and it failed because it didn't look like the T Bird of long ago that people loved. I am a die hard Ford guy and never got into the bird it looks like it has a mouth full of braces and body lines never appealed to me. Ford hit a grand slam with the Mustangs simply because the look like the vintage Mustangs 64-70, I own a 69, 72 and 89 GT convertible so yea I like pony cars. If Ford had done the same thing with the T Bird it did with Mustangs it would still be around.