Death List 2018: The cars that won't be back next year

[FeedBot]

It's all a popularity contest. If you're a successful car, odds are good that you'll make an appearance the next year. But if you're the kind of car perpetually marked as the "manager's special" with an asking price that's about to become a begging price, you're probably not going to be asked to return for the next year. You've been cut. MORE: 10...

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[Frosty]

The only car on the list that I will miss is the Dodge Viper. Only reason being as it was a good halo car for Chrysler. It's hard for me to shake the image of a V-10 Viper motor. A lot of people thought it might seriously rival the Corvette (it did and it didn't - enough said there). The rest are going off to automotive Valhalla for good reasons.

[Ringo64]

Sad to see the Viper and Chevy SS go. Makes sense as the Commodore is basically gone but loved that SS.

[Last Indian]

Can’t say I’ll miss any of them, not even the Viper or SS. The Viper was way, way over priced. The SS what can you say? Not really much of a loss, as soon as I remove the emotion a days long passed it really wasn’t much of a car, especially for 55 grand!

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Last Indian

[Frosty]

I am inclined to agree with Last Indian on the Chevy SS. The thing about the Chevy SS is that it was suppose to be the heir apparent to the Pontiac G8 (or so some Chevy execs would like me to believe anyway). Once again, virtually no TV or magazine advertising for the car to the general public to say that it even existed beyond making it Chevy's Sprint/Monster Cup car representative for NASCAR. So there was no real awareness of the real car to anyone there. No TV exposure. Finally it was an over priced performance luxury car. It had a $48k starting price. Stupid pricing. Unforgivable marketing. Still it was a badass car that no one bought because it didn't exist in the public's eye. Not to mention GM shut down it's entire Australian manufacturing operations (e.g Holden). 

GM has to get out of the mode of assuming that all performance / luxury cars sell themselves with no marketing dollars. Granted Corvette and Camaro do well with little real marketing dollars because they get so much exposure in the automotive performance magazines and social media outlets. However, price and the lack of awareness can kill just about anything. Hard to imagine a car with an LS3 6.2L and six-speed automatic would not be a blast to drive and own. Still if no one knows you exist, you can't sell 'em. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Did I mention stupid?

Edited February 15, 2018 by Frosty

[Freddy]

Pontiac - make some of the old style cars for nostalgic 

[Ringo64]

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

Still if no one knows you exist, you can't sell 'em. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Did I mention stupid?

Overpriced for sure but I wanted one.

[74Esprit]

Heck no Pontiacs made the list.......oh forgot they canned us a few years ago. I'll miss the SS a bit as it was born due to the success of the last great Pontiac performance car the G8. All the rest can go to rest........

[Frosty]

36 minutes ago, Ringo64 said:

Overpriced for sure but I wanted one.

I still do - in a way....just got watch the used car market at this point and snatch one up on the cheap(er). Actually I'd rather have the G8 GXP instead. Good luck finding one of them cheap.

22 minutes ago, 74Esprit said:

Heck no Pontiacs made the list.......oh forgot they canned us a few years ago. I'll miss the SS a bit as it was born due to the success of the last great Pontiac performance car the G8. All the rest can go to rest........

True enough but a lot of writers like to blame the Aztek for Pontiac's fall, which I think is total horse hockey. A single vehicle, albeit ugly, was not the death knell for an entire division. There was a lot of collective mismanagement to screw up Pontiac over the last several decades. Okay I will stop whining (for now).

[Ringo64]

14 minutes ago, Frosty said:

I still do - in a way....just got watch the used car market at this point and snatch one up on the cheap(er). Actually I'd rather have the G8 GXP instead. Good luck finding one of them cheap.

Exactly! 

Think it might be easier to obtain a unicorn than a G8 GXP  

[Last Indian]

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

I still do - in a way....just got watch the used car market at this point and snatch one up on the cheap(er). Actually I'd rather have the G8 GXP instead. Good luck finding one of them cheap.

True enough but a lot of writers like to blame the Aztek for Pontiac's fall, which I think is total horse hockey. A single vehicle, albeit ugly, was not the death knell for an entire division. There was a lot of collective mismanagement to screw up Pontiac over the last several decades. Okay I will stop whining (for now).

I don’t blame you for the want! If I had endless money & garage space and a few other things, none of which are going happen. I’d be right there with you. I drove the SS for work just before I retired, I drove The G8 before it was the G8, as again it came to work via American Axle and I was on that project. Also my Daughter owned a G8 GT. 

That all said every one of them have one major problem that keeps me from being enthusiastic enough to do so. The front suspension! What an abortion, as well as a counterproductive design. 

Again all that said, check is GXP out, maybe it’s for you! 

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-2009-Pontiac-G8-GXP-t35497#listing=197204749