19. Pontiac G8
At one point Pontiac thought a rear-wheel-drive sedan would help them fight their European competitors. The G8 was a good idea and with Pontiac’s redesign and small-block V8 engines, it was quite an effective performance sedan, too. The base engine was a solid 3.5-liter V6 with 256 HP, but the real deal was the G8 GXP with a 6.2-liter V8 and 415 HP. Also, they fitted the G8 with high levels of standard equipment, as well as a long list of optional extras.

Unfortunately, the G8 came too late so customers just weren’t ready to accept a performance sedan that could beat the overpriced European models. After years of anemic models, front-wheel-drive economy cars, or minivans of the ’90s, Pontiac lost its performance image, so only a handful of buyers remembered what the company was famous for. So when they finally presented a car of reclaiming the title of a performance brand, they ran out of time. In two years, Pontiac sold just over 30,000 G8s.