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37 Failed Cars From World-Renowned Brands

Vukasin Herbez December 18, 2018

Every car company in the world tries its best to be recognizable. If you see a VW Golf on the street, you might not be able to tell what exact model year it is. But you’ll immediately recognize it as a Golf due to its signature styling and details. But sometimes manufacturers make strange cars that don’t resemble the rest of their lineup. These models look, feel, and drive differently, and brand traditionalists find them hard to accept.

These are the true automotive black sheep that are remembered in car history either as flops or misunderstood visionary models introduced at the wrong time. We looked at the most interesting automotive black sheep models. These misfit cars come from well-known brands but just didn’t fit the company profile just right. Sometimes, these cars looked different and were often completely different concepts or technology. Check them out right here.

Photo Credit: Drive My

37. Rolls Royce Camargue

The Rolls Royce, the world’s most luxurious brand, always came with tits signature elegant designs and massive dimensions. They usually had a recognizable front end dominated by a big grille with the “Spirit of Ecstasy” figurine. They invented this formula in the early 20th century and it remains the same 100 years later.

Photo Credit: RR Silver Shadow

However, in 1975, they decided to introduce a luxury coupe under the name Camargue. It was built on a regular model chassis, but with a more elegant and stylish body designed by Italy’s Pininfarina design studio. The Camargue wasn’t as attractive as Rolls hoped it would be. The big proportions, chrome grille, and other details were present. But as a whole, the car just wasn’t convincing enough. Rolls made only 571 during 11 production years.

Photo Credit: Drive Mag

36. Aston Martin Cygnet

When you hear the name Aston Martin, the first thing that pops in your mind is luxury sports cars from England. However, Aston produced the total opposite of that in the form of a subcompact economy car they called the Cygnet.

Photo Credit: Motor 1

The Cygnet is, in fact, a rebadged Toyota IQ/Scion IQ with the signature Aston front grille and leather interior. They built the car to meet the average fleet emissions standards proposed by the European Union. They presented the car in 2011 and discontinued it in 2013 after just two years of production.

Photo Credit: Motor Biscuit

35. Ford EXP

We’ve all heard of Ford Mustang or Thunderbird, but have you heard of the Ford EXP? Debuting in 1983, the Ford EXP was a compact sports coupe built on an Escort chassis with a front-wheel-drive layout. It had a strange design and compact size.

Photo Credit: Moment Car

Also, it only came with two seats, making it the first Ford two-seater after the original Thunderbird from 1955 to ’57. Production lasted until 1988 as the EXP received mixed reviews. Its 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine produced only 88 HP. Sadly, that wasn’t enough for any serious performance figures.

Photo Credit: Ambassador Automobile Co

34. Chevrolet Corvair

In the late ’50s, Chevy presented the Corvair. It was a revolutionary compact car with a rear-mounted, air-cooled, flat-six engine. This was a big step for Chevrolet since the Corvair sat opposite the other cars from the company. It featured a different concept, technology, and design. Available in several versions including a van, the Corvair sold well in the beginning. It’s an important car because it introduced the American public to a whole new concept of motoring.

Photo Credit: Ambassador Automobile Co

Unfortunately, stability problems forced Chevrolet to retire the model in 1969. Soon, the Corvair went from being a sales hit to a model Chevrolet wanted to desperately to get rid of for good. Until this day, the Corvair remains one of the biggest black sheep cars of General Motors.

Photo Credit: Motor Biscuit

33. Ferrari Dino 308 GT4

When Ferrari introduced the original 246 Dino in the late ’60s, sports car purists were outraged because it featured the smaller V6 instead of the powerful V12. However, the market loved the smaller Ferrari and it sold in big numbers. But sadly, its replacement in the form of the 308 GT4 wasn’t so lucky. The 308 GT4 featured several interesting things such as an angular design by Bertone, not by Pininfarina as consumers expected. Also, it had the first Ferrari road-going V8 engine. The 2+2 seating configuration meant the GT4 had more space for passengers and their luggage.

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It was also considerably less expensive when new since Ferrari envisioned the car for everyday use. However, it looked strange and lacked the style and presence of the rest of the Ferrari range. Soon, Ferrari retired the 308 GT4 and it remains one of the least desirable Ferraris ever.

Photo Credit: Auto Week

32. Cadillac Cimarron

Back in the ’80s, GM decided to introduce a small Cadillac with a lower price to attract more customers. The problem was that Cadillac didn’t have a small platform, so they turned to Chevrolet. Cadillac borrowed the modest Cavalier chassis and its small, sluggish four-cylinder engine.

Photo Credit: Moment Car

Cadillac was under fire from brand loyalists for ruining their image, resulting in poor sales. All over the industry, the Cimarron was a laughing stock. To this day, it remains one of the worst examples of downsizing ever.

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31. Chevrolet SSR

In the midst of the mid-2000s retro craze, the Chevrolet development team came up with the crazy idea to produce a nostalgic two-seater convertible pickup with muscle car performance. The result was the SSR, a vehicle that looked unlike any other car on the market, but not necessarily in a good way. The 1950s-inspired design didn’t work well, so the SSR looked just plain odd.

Photo Credit: Mecum

Despite many efforts to make the SSR appealing to their intended audience, Chevrolet managed to sell just around 24,000 of these oddballs. The SSR was a painful realization they needed much more than a wild imagination to make a concept work.

Photo Credit: Mecum

30. Pontiac Fiero

The story of the Fiero is one of the greatest “what if” tales in the American car industry. This compact sports car caused a big sensation when Pontiac introduced it in the early ’80s. Everybody expected another GTO from Pontiac but instead got a small sports car like was something the Italians would build. It was a bold move for Pontiac to introduce a compact, rear-wheel-drive car with the engine behind the driver.

Photo Credit: Automobile Mag

They then paired it up with a five-speed manual transaxle gearbox. By the standards of the day, this was the most advanced American production model. The customers were hyped by the modern design of the Fiero and cool, advanced technology, so the initial response was promising. In fact, 1983 sales figures were over 130,000 cars. Unfortunately, Pontiac didn’t develop the Fiero, so early models were badly put together. Also, engine power was lacking and the interior was cramped.

Photo Credit: Motor Biscuit

29. Jeep FC

All Jeeps are capable off-road SUV models with characteristic designs giving them a signature appearance. However, in 1956, Jeep introduced a strange model they named the FC for Forward Control. It was a cab-forward, bulldog-style truck with the engine underneath the passengers and all-wheel drive.

Photo Credit: Car And Driver

Even though the FC was a Jeep, making it a capable, tough, and durable machine, the market didn’t respond well. In nine years of production, Jeep made just around 30,000 of them, mostly for the export market.

Photo Credit: Maserati

28. Maserati BiTurbo

The BiTurbo lineup of cars started with the 222. It was a handsome two-door coupe that continued with the 420 and 430 sedans built on the same base. The BiTurbos were supposed to be entry-level Maseratis at more affordable prices than expected. Under the hood was a new generation turbocharged 2.0-liter or 2.5-liter V6 engine with high power output. It ranged from 180 HP all the way up to 270 HP in later years.

Photo Credit: Telegraph

The BiTurbo cars were famous for their lack of reliability. Soon, most customers discovered the cars were prone to all kinds of mechanical issues. Maserati made over 40,000 BiTurbos in the 13-year production period. Today, just a small fraction of that number is still on the road.

Photo Credit: Dodge Forum

27. Dodge Rampage

Dodge was always an SUV/pickup truck brand in the Mopar world. Despite having a successful line of trucks, the company always explored various possibilities for introducing new models. One of those experiments was the Dodge Rampage offered from 1982 to 1984.

Photo Credit: Dodge Forum

The reason was simple. The front-wheel-drive passenger car platform was not tough enough for any serious tasks. Also, the diminutive 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine producing 96 HP was not powerful or able to tow.

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26. Plymouth Cricket

In the early ’70s, Plymouth needed a fresh, compact car with great fuel economy and modern styling. The solution was to use the Hilman Avenger, which Chrysler’s European subsidiary produced, selling it in the states as the Plymouth Cricket. The Cricket was much smaller than the rest of the lineup.

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It came with decent performance, looks, and equipment, so the Cricket was set to be a sales hit. However, after initial good sales, popularity suddenly dropped. The reasons were due to the poor build quality and rust. In fact, Crickets were so rust-prone, they starred in many jokes of the period. After just three years, Plymouth dropped the Cricket from the U.S. market in 1973.

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25. Eagle Premier

The Eagle, which was introduced in 1989, was supposed to be a fresh start for Chrysler. They were dedicated to producing affordable cars with an import car flavor. Renault and Mitsubishi, as two of Chrysler’s foreign partners, provided the technology, while Chrysler invested the money and effort. The first model was the Eagle Premier. It was a big four-door sedan with front-wheel drive and luxury features.

Photo Credit: Auto Vercity

It was Chrysler’s vision of an import premium model for American buyers. The car had a pale design, but it was quality-made with good driving dynamics and power. The main selling points were the smooth V6 engines and loads of interior space. However, despite the qualities and comfort, the market just didn’t respond to the new brand and model. Chrysler discontinued the Eagle Premier in 1992.

Photo Credit: Motor 1

24. Isuzu VehiCross

Behind this strange name was an even stranger vehicle Isuzu only sold in a three-door specification with a 3.5-liter V6 engine and automatic transmission. Isuzu designed the VehiCross to be a modern, even futuristic off-roader, giving it the best all-terrain technology and components.

Photo Credit: Consumer Guide

But, in 1997 when they presented the VehiCross, the market just didn’t react well. The vehicle was strange-looking, and in fact, some said it was ugly. The VehiCross came in crossover form, but in fact, it was a capable, quality off-roader. That is why the U.S. sales were sluggish, so in 2001 they stopped producing the VehiCross.

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23. Chrysler Turbine

During the early ’60s, Chrysler was heavily involved in turbine car testing. At the moment, this kind of engine, similar to a jet aircraft engine, made sense as the future of the internal combustion engine. After extensive testing in laboratories and test tracks, there came a time when Chrysler needed valuable real-life data. So they built 55 cars and sent them to Italy’s Ghia design house to get fancy hand-made bodies. Then, Chrysler gave the cars to randomly chosen families all over America for them to use Turbines as regular cars for a time.

Photo Credit: Car and Driver

The extensive program lasted for two years. The cars covered millions of miles and the drivers tested them in various conditions. Finally, Chrysler decided to abandon the project and scrap all 55 cars because of the import duties since they were mostly produced in Italy. However, due to lucky circumstances, nine cars survived. Today, you can find them in museums and private collections all over America.

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22. Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

If you think the automobile industry has invented all the car classes it could, think again. There is always room for more, although possibly useless concepts. One of those was Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. If you’re not familiar with this car, that is because they only offered it for sale from 2011 to 2014, producing it in small numbers. Nissan realized the SUVs were becoming more luxurious because people wanted a more personalized product.

Photo Credit: Motor Trend

They thought they would take things a step further and present a convertible SUV. It would have all advantages of an SUV in terms of ride height, comfort, and usability with the luxury and open-air feel of a convertible. However, despite the almost bespoke nature of this car and dependable Nissan technology, the CrossCabriolet flopped. Obviously, there wasn’t a market for SUV convertibles, so the CrossCabriolet became Nissan’s newest black sheep car.

Photo Credit: Motor Trend

21. Acura ZDX

Acura, Honda’s luxury division, is famous for its elegant cars, powerful engines, and quality products. But they are also known for a strange model they called the ZDX. Available for just three years, the Acura ZDX was an attempt to present something between a sedan and a crossover.

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Sadly, it ended being neither of the two. Despite the good technical layout, decent power, and interior features, buyers didn’t like the ZDX. As a result, Acura only managed to sell just 7,200 of them.

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20. Renault Avantime

Enjoying the success of the Espace minivan gave Renault the chance to explore the concept. They wanted to try something new and interesting in the typically French way. Renault saw that buyers of the Espace minivan were leaning towards the more powerful and luxurious versions over the baseline models. So their managers thought they should offer a luxury minivan to the most discriminating buyers.

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Renault created a unique minivan coupe named the Avantime, revealing it in 2001. The Avantime was the answer to a question nobody asked, so car buyers received it with mixed reviews. It was also quite expensive and came with only the most powerful engines and a high level of standard equipment. Although the Avantime was a chic and interesting car, it failed to attract customers. Renault discontinued the model after only two years, producing a little over 8,000 of them.

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19. Volkswagen Phaeton

This car was one of the most expensive black sheep models in recent years. Sadly, it was a clear case of misjudgment from Volkswagen. It was a luxury sedan from a company that specializes in economy models. They used a Bentley Continental platform, big engines, and upscale features.

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The market wasn’t ready for the brand that gained fame on affordable models to introduce a luxurious land barge. Sadly, the Phaeton failed worldwide despite being a fantastic car. When they approved the Phaeton project, Volkswagen thought they could pull it off. They thought they would become a legitimate competitor to the Mercedes S Class or BMW 7 Series. However, things turned out differently.

Photo Credit: Automobile Mag

18. Lincoln Blackwood

You might be surprised to learn Lincoln made pickup trucks for one year only in the form of the Blackwood model. That, by itself, should be enough to explain why this upscale pickup is a black sheep car. Back in the early 2000s, Lincoln offered the popular, successful Navigator. It was the golden standard of luxury SUVs at the moment. To capitalize on their success, somebody at Lincoln suggested they should build a pickup version to expand the range. The idea seemed plausible, so soon they sent the first prototypes for testing. The Lincoln used a Ford F-150 platform with the front end and cabin of a Navigator. They added a custom truck bed with a tailgate that opened like doors and it even had a power cover.

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The finished product looked like a Navigator truck. Although it was luxurious, it failed as a truck, since the truck bed was so small, it was unusable. But the biggest problem was the price because a new 2002 Lincoln Blackwood started at a whopping $52,000. That was an extremely high price for an unusable truck with a Navigator fascia. As you may expect, the market was not amused, so during its 15 months in production, they only made 3,356.

Photo Credit: Automobile Mag

17. Ford Mustang McLaren M81

This exciting car was built with the help of the famous McLaren racing team; in fact, their American operation office from Michigan. The project’s whole idea was to take the 2.3-liter turbo engine from the regular Mustang and transform it into a street racing beast with race-tuned suspension, lightweight body, and a host of other modifications.

Photo Credit: Mustang Specs

McLaren and Ford did exactly that by installing the tuned turbo engine with 190 hp, a significant number for the day, especially coming from 2.3-liters and totally changing the Fox Mustang looks. However, due to the extremely high price and specific technology, only 10 cars were ever made before the project was shut down.

Photo Credit: Moment Car

16. Suzuki X-90

How about a two-seat, two-door SUV with compact dimensions and removable T-Top? Sounds insane? Well, that’s exactly what the Suzuki X-90 was when it was introduced in 1995. Powered by a 95 HP 1.6-liter four-cylinder, the X-90 was rear-wheel drive as standard or optional all-wheel-drive model with very limited interior and trunk space.

Photo Credit: Hooniverse

The car was officially sold in America, and Suzuki even managed to sell 7,000 copies. Still, neither the buyers nor the motoring press understood what Suzuki wanted to say with this model. It wasn’t an off-road vehicle and it wasn’t a roadster.

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15. Buick Reatta

It seems like everybody forgot about the sleek Buick Reatta. Introduced in the late ’80s, the Reatta was Buick’s halo car, and it was a cool-looking two-seater coupe or convertible built on shortened GM’s E platform.

Photo Credit: Automobile Mag

Under the hood was a 3.8-liter V6 with independent suspension and disc brakes all around. All Reattas were highly-optioned cars, and despite dating from the late ’80s, they featured board computers and lots of pretty modern electronic systems. The production lasted four years, and over 21,000 were made. Even though the Reatta was a composed and well-executed car, it was considered a flop.

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14. Fiat 500X

The Fiat 500 is a cute little car, especially if you have an Abarth version. The 500 L is bigger, a bit more practical, but not particularly nice or dynamic to drive. The 500X is even worse. It looks like a compact SUV but doesn’t have anything going on. The Fiat 500x is two-wheel drive, slow, and odd-looking.

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It isn’t really a surprise that 500X is a flop; it is terrible value for the money, and it doesn’t offer any real advantages over other cars. Also, it is no surprise that Fiat has withdrawn from the US market as well.

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13. Pontiac GTO (2004 to 2006)

The last generation of the beloved Pontiac GTO was one of the best examples of both missed opportunities and car flops. The Holden-built and LS-powered GTO was a proper muscle car with a powerful engine, sleek design, modern suspension, and brutal performance. And all of that in an affordable package with a long list of desirable options. So why was it on the market for just a couple of years, and why did Pontiac sell just around 40,000 of them?

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Well, the reason was simple and similar to the previously listed Pontiac G8. The GTO appeared in the time when Pontiac was mostly known for failures like the Aztek. Regular customers just didn’t connect the Pontiac brand with performance in the same way as buyers did in the ’60s or ’70s. For modern buyers, Pontiac was just another tired old nameplate from GM’s roster. Also, the fact that the GTO was, in fact, an Australian product didn’t help since traditional muscle car customers like their cars to be American.

Photo Credit: Car and Driver

12. Chrysler Aspen

The Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango were practically identical models with only exterior differences. However, while Durango was very popular, Aspen was discontinued after just three years on the market. The problem was the fact that Aspen was pushed towards higher segments of the market and competitors from Cadillac and Lincoln.

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Unfortunately, Chrysler didn’t have what it takes to take away those customers, and it sold poorly. Today, those big SUVs with eight seats are perfect secondhand luxury models.

Photo Credit: Auto Mdb

11. Honda Insight

The Honda Insight is a hybrid vehicle introduced back in 1999 and featured a strange design with a lightweight body structure that helped achieve a great fuel economy and reduce emissions. However, the first generation, which was discontinued in 2006, was almost an experimental model and sold in limited quantities. The second generation, introduced in 2009, was a much more mature and conventional car, with enough room for five passengers. It also has decent handling and driving characteristics, and a very efficient hybrid drivetrain. Back in 2009, the world went crazy for hybrids, and Toyota Prius and Honda Insight were introduced just in time.

Photo Credit: Auto Mdb

It even features better performance, a more upscale interior, and several more advanced systems than in the Prius. But, the sales figures were pretty low, and Insight was lagging behind the Prius. The Insight was more expensive, and in an economic recession, like in 2009, the price was very important to the average buyer. Second, it looked like a copy of the Prius. Not only technologically but aesthetically as well. Honda said that it chose a five-door hatchback style because of its aerodynamic qualities, but the finished product looked like the Prius, and people didn’t want to pay more for a copy.

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10. Cadillac ELR

The ELR should have been a success but turned to be a failure and a forgotten model even though it’s just two years old. GM’s premium plug-in hybrid was eagerly expected, but the market seemed to ignore it as soon as it was introduced.

Photo Credit: Auto Blog

Despite its cool looks and premium appointments, the ELR had an underachieving drivetrain, which consisted of a 1.4-liter engine, electric motor, and a pack of lithium-ion batteries. The power output was somewhat satisfying at 217 HP, but the electric-only range was disappointing at just 37 miles. In the end, the base price of $76,000 seemed too much for what the car offered. All of that resulted in less than 3000 units sold, which was embarrassingly low. Cadillac discontinued the model after just two years on the market.

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9. Renault Le Car

Back in the early ’70s, economy models were very popular, and foreign companies started importing cars on the American market in significant numbers. French company Renault was present in the US and thought that it would be a great idea to send its new supermini called Renault 5 to America. Called Le Car, the new car was meant to be a competitor to the newly introduced Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit and various Japanese imports. But there was a problem.

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The US safety standards imposed the use of different bumpers and grille, and the 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine only developed 51 hp in the US-spec model. Painfully slow, strangely designed, small, and badly put together, Le Car soon became a subject of jokes, and it was considered the worst choice in the compact car class. Renault struggled to sell them and eventually pulled out of the market. Despite the success of Renault 5 in Europe, Le Car is considered a terrible failure in the eyes of the American car public.

Photo Credit: Motor Trend

8. Merkur XR4 Ti

During the ’80s, Ford attempted several approaches in order to revive its performance image, and one of them is the introduction of the Merkur XR4Ti model. This was basically British Ford Sierra but packed with the special aero package, 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, and various other improvements.

Photo Credit: Car Domain

Ford envisioned it as a hot hatch with rear-wheel drive, racing credentials, and better driving dynamics than front-wheel-drive competitors. Unfortunately, Merkur XR4Ti proved to be unsuccessful since it was expensive, and the American market just didn’t understand Ford’s attempt.

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7. Pontiac Aztec

Introduced in 2000, Pontiac Aztek was a good idea, at least on paper The mid-size crossover model with sharp new styling, a decent engine lineup, and plenty of interior space was a pretty modern concept at the time. Pontiac was eager to present it to the public since overall sales were not so good, and they thought the new model would boost the popularity of the brand and bring new customers to the dealerships. The plan was sound, except for one thing – the design. Somehow, Pontiac designers managed to draw and push to production one of the ugliest cars ever made. Even from this distance 17 years after the first Aztek saw the light of day, it is still a car with a design that makes no sense whatsoever.

Photo Credit: Auto Savant

The Aztek designer later designed a great-looking Corvette C7, and it is very strange how he managed to do such a bad job at Pontiac. The ugliness of the car and not great fit and finish quality sealed the Aztek faith despite some good aspects of this model. The Aztek had plenty of space inside, decent performance, higher than average equipment, and a big trunk. In fact, it would be a good family crossover if it wasn’t for the hideous design. In recent years, over a decade after they stopped producing them, Azteks are popular, mostly due to their appearance in the cult TV show “Breaking Bad” and first places in many “ugliest car” lists. Unfortunately, the Aztek failure affected Pontiac as a brand, and a couple of years later, Pontiac closed its doors for good.

Photo Credit: Motor 1

6. Honda CR-Z

When it was introduced in 2010, the CRZ was an innovative compact hybrid-powered coupe which looked like the spiritual successor of the legendary CRX. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even close, with the 1.5-liter engine and barely 130 HP along with heavy hybrid add-ons, CRZ was slow and not handled as it should. Needless to say, Honda drivers were pretty disappointed.

Photo Credit: The Car Connection

Honda just didn’t have any luck with electric or hybrid cars, and CRZ didn’t help. After all the money invested in engineering and marketing, we are sure Honda wishes that the CRZ never happened.

Photo Credit: Auto Week

5. Sterling 825

If you don’t know what the Sterling 825 is, nobody can blame you. Once marketed as the next big thing in the luxury segment on the American market, Sterling is now a forgotten brand that didn’t leave a mark and moved to automotive history’s margins. Sterling had an interesting story; it was basically a British company, established in the late ’80s with Honda’s capital and Rover’s design. Back then, Honda owned Rover and wanted to enter the American market with a luxury model. So they conceived the Sterling, a luxurious car based on the Acura Legend.

Photo Credit: Auto Week

It was quite a strange combination, but the finished product looked nice and had a well-designed interior and decent power from a V6 engine. After the introduction in 1987 and promising sales numbers in the first few months, the first problems showed up. The Sterlings were pretty poorly put together, the electronics were troublesome, and some cars even developed rust issues. Honda tried to improve the production process, but there wasn’t much they could do, and by the early ’90s, Sterling was gone, and nobody was sad about it. Not even Honda.

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4. Audi 5000

Today, Audi is one of the leading luxury brands in the American market. Still, in the late ’80s, the company was almost gone from US shores due to the news of unintended acceleration and numerous crashes as a reason for that. In 1986, a popular CBS TV show “60 Minutes” ran a feature about Audi’s unintended acceleration on the popular 5000 model. The viewers didn’t see that the car was rigged and that the acceleration featured in the show wasn’t genuine. After the show was aired, the car community was buzzing, and Audi’s reputation was badly damaged.

Photo Credit: Car And Driver

Audi responded by publishing numerous tests and videos showing that the only possible way of something like this happening is if the driver’s foot slips from brake to accelerator pedal. Still, it didn’t help, and sales hit rock bottom. Despite the fact that “60 Minutes” published a false story and it was proven that Audi didn’t have acceleration problems, the damage was done and it took the company two decades to recover. It’s still unclear why CBS did this feature. Was another rival car company behind it?

Photo Credit: Consumer Guide

3. Saab 9-4 X

The Saab 9-4X was a compact luxury crossover SUV that was built on the Cadillac SRX basis and intended as a competitor in the premium field. It was introduced in 2011 just before the company was closed by the GM. At the moment, Saab was desperate and needed anything to catch the attention of the car-buying public. The company turned to GM looking for an SUV platform, which can be turned into Saab’s own model.

Photo Credit: Car And Driver

Its very short production run means that only around 800 9-4X were made, which makes this Saab one of the rarest models ever made by this company and an extremely rare sight on the roads. Most people don’t know the car existed.

Photo Credit: Auto Evolution

2. GMC Envoy XUV

The GMC Envoy is a fairly popular model, and all through the years, it sold well even on some export markets. However, the XUV version, introduced in 2004, was a different case. At GM, somebody thought it would be a great idea to combine the SUV with the pickup truck and presented the XUV with its removable roof panel and opening tailgate.

Photo Credit: Auto Evolution

The XUV was more practical, obviously, but it was more expensive, heavier, and buyers simply didn’t get the idea. It was discontinued just after a year in production.

Photo Credit: Motor 1

1. Range Rover Evoque Convertible

The Evoque Convertible is a pretty unique car in today’s market because it is the only convertible SUV currently on sale. It is the answer to the question nobody asked, but it looks like fun, and if you want an SUV but you crave an open-top car, then this is the one. For a $42,000 base price, you will get a 240 hp turbocharged engine, luxury features, and a special vehicle.

Photo Credit: Auto Blog

But the real question is should you do buy this since Evoque Convertible is nothing more than a full-size Barbie car which is no good as an SUV and no good as a roadster. Entirely pointless, and it’s no wonder it is sales flop.

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