Last Chance: 2016's Discontinued Cars

Sept. 9, 2015
If there’s anything constant in the new-car business it’s change. New and fully redesigned models are released like clockwork every four-to-eight years, with modest mid-cycle updates coming once or twice in the meantime to keep a model line fresh and shoppers interested.But not all models are regenerated once they’ve reached the end of their respective lifecycles. A few vehicle lines are discontinued at the end of each model year, usually because of a lack of buyer interest and/or changing consumer tastes. Sometimes a vehicle is dropped altogether, while in other cases it’s essentially redesigned and renamed to give the line a second chance, especially

If there’s anything constant in the new-car business it’s change. New and fully redesigned models are released like clockwork every four-to-eight years, with modest mid-cycle updates coming once or twice in the meantime to keep a model line fresh and shoppers interested.

But not all models are regenerated once they’ve reached the end of their respective lifecycles. A few vehicle lines are discontinued at the end of each model year, usually because of a lack of buyer interest and/or changing consumer tastes. Sometimes a vehicle is dropped altogether, while in other cases it’s essentially redesigned and renamed to give the line a second chance, especially if the prior version was plagued by poor reviews and/or dubious performance/reliability issues.

And some models, like overworked auto executives, simply take a break. For example, the subcompact Mitsubishi Mirage and the midsize Infiniti Q60 luxury sports coupe/convertible will be taking 2016 off, ostensibly to give dealers an extended chance to sell down their existing inventories, but are scheduled to return for 2017 as fully redesigned models.

We’re featuring 10 cars and trucks in the accompanying slide showthat are being dropped from their respective automakers’ lineups for 2016. Bargain hunters should take note that it should be easy to obtain any of these vehicles at deep discounts, as dealers should be willing to ride themselves of any excess inventory. However, they should also be aware that discontinued models do suffer a bit in terms of resale value, though this tends to diminish in importance the longer one holds onto a car.

To that end the editors at Cars.com analyzed depreciation rates and used-car listing prices for a variety of cancelled cars, specifically those that had near-twin corporate sibling models remaining in their lineups. Results were mixed, with some discontinued cars dropping in value more rapidly than others. Models from car brands that were retired altogether, like Saturn and Pontiac, tend to depreciate faster than others. Here’s what they found:

  • The Mercury Milan (Ford Fusion) depreciated faster in both used-car listing prices and projected residual values.
  • The Mercury Milan Hybrid (Ford Fusion Hybrid) depreciated faster in projected residual values.
  • The Mazda Tribute (Ford Escape) depreciated faster in projected residual values.
  • The Pontiac G5 (Chevrolet Cobalt coupe, later redesigned as the Cruze) depreciated faster in projected residual values.
  • The Pontiac Torrent (Chevrolet Equinox) depreciated faster in both used-car listing prices and projected residual values.
  • The Saturn Outlook (Chevrolet Traverse) depreciated faster in used-car listing prices.
  • The Buick Lucerne (Cadillac DTS, later redesigned as the XTS) depreciated slower in used-car listing prices and projected residual values.
  • The Chrysler Aspen (Dodge Durango) depreciated slower in projected residual values.
  • The Dodge Avenger (Chrysler 200 sedan) depreciated slower in projected residual values.
  • The Mercury Sable (Ford Taurus) depreciated slower in projected residual values.

    This article originally appeared on Forbes