How Quickly We Forget: They Sold These Cars Just Last Year

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

What do the Honda Element, Honda S2000, Chevrolet Aveo, Mazda Tribute, Chevrolet HHR, Lexus HS250h, Cadillac STS, Mitsubishi Endeavor, Dodge Caliber, four Suzukis, and the Jeep Liberty have in common?

They all generated U.S. sales activity in 2013, and we all forgot about them in 2014.

Jeep first introduced the Liberty in 2001 as a Cherokee replacement. In the U.S. alone, nearly 1.3 million were sold. The Liberty’s first full year, 2002, was its best, with 171,212 sales. 6101 were sold in 2013. Of those 6101, 81% were sold in the first-quarter. The Liberty’s Cherokee replacement will top the 170K mark this year.

Suzuki reported 5946 sales in calendar year 2013. All of those reported sales occurred in the first-quarter of last year. The SX4 and Kizashi were the “big” sellers, with 2859 and 1602 sales, respectively. The Grand Vitara and Equator contributed the remainder.

Mitsubishi sold 109 Eclipses and 24 Endeavors last year. The Galant is the most recently killed Mitsubishi. 122 Galant sales were reported by Mitsubishi USA in the first-quarter of 2014.

Last year, Honda’s two S2000 sales popped out of the blue. Honda’s two Element sales were the last of 338,788 sold in America. Dodge finished off the Caliber’s disappointing run – to begin a disappointing run with the Dart – with 45 sales in the first two months of 2013. Besides five Lexus HS sedans and three Mazda Tributes, leftovers also included 19 Cadillac DTSs, nine Buick Lucernes, seven Cadillac STSs, three Chevrolet HHRs, and two Chevrolet Aveos.

They all generated varying degree of sales in 2013, but none in 2014. The Hyundai Veracruz, Mazda RX-8, Mercedes-Benz R-Class, Cadillac Escalade EXT, Volvo C30, Acura ZDX, Chevrolet Avalanche, Mitsubishi Galant, Volkswagen Routan, and Mercedes-Benz CL-Class all stand out from the aforementioned pack as these latter cars generated at least one reported sale in calendar year 2014. It’s unlikely any of them will turn up on sales charts in 2015, joined in the great parking lot in the sky by, perhaps, the Lexus LFA (one sale reported as recently as November), the Porsche 918 Spyder (sold out, but 20 were delivered in November according to Porsche USA), and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (another three sales reported in November).

The Acura TSX is being cleared out: two of the wagons were sold in November; 18 of the sedans. Acura also has a few lingering TL sedans. 78 were reported sold in November. Subaru’s Tribeca is very nearly finished – only 30 were sold in November. Chevrolet is finishing up their fleet-only Captiva Sport. The Jaguar XK’s casket was prepared months ago but the clear-out will likely continue into 2015. Honda dealers will also need time to rid themselves of Insights.

Many of these we are happy to forget. Some slip too quickly from our minds. Recent history suggests many niche-market BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes will step in to fill the void. There will be plenty of choices in 2015 just as there were in 2014, despite the complete loss of your beloved Suzuki brand and the disappearance of the maligned fourth-gen Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.

Timothy Cain
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  • Raresleeper Raresleeper on Dec 29, 2014

    Who bought a last of production Galant? Lol I rarely ever see any of the 2004- (and up) models. They must have crapped out boat loads of the previous generations. I see those things every where. And you just KNOW they're worth every bit of $400.

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    • MRF 95 T-Bird MRF 95 T-Bird on Dec 29, 2014

      The Gallant was still on Mitsubishi's web site earlier this year even tough the last ones were produced in 2012.

  • APaGttH APaGttH on Dec 29, 2014

    I would speculate the languishing HHR models were SS versions that dealers had stupid high ADM on and were clinging on to the hope some idiot would pony up the money. As maligned as they are, if someone handed me the keys to a HHR SS with the manual I'd be grinning - Cobalt SS wagon sleeper fun - fine the interior is designed by Coleman and built by North Korea, but the chassis is supposed to be impressive.

    • Jeff S Jeff S on Dec 29, 2014

      If you plan on keeping a vehicle more than five years it would pay to buy a discontinued model or an orphan brand that can still be serviced under warranty. I bought a new 2008 Isuzu I-370 4x4 crew cab in the Summer of 2008 after Isuzu announced they were pulling out of the US market. With a 10k discount it was a good buy and I still own it 6 1/2 years later. If you keep a vehicle less than 5 years you might take a beating on the depreciation. My Isuzu is the same truck as a Colorado/Canyon so getting parts for it is not a problem. Also having a 6 year warranty was a good incentive which I did use once which covered towing.

  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
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