Cars

During the hustle and bustle of the fall new-car-launch season, the spotlight is on the new offerings and improvements/additions to the current models. Rightly so.

However, every year there are models that, amidst the hubbub, fall by the wayside. These are the same models that, when they first appeared, received the same attention as today’s new offerings. And they deserve at least a passing mention upon departure.

Consider this a salute to the retirees that once made our palms sweat and our hearts race.

Acura Csx Mirror .

Buick Rendezvous, Rainier and Terraza
It’s rare to see one of General Motors’ divisions dispatch more than half its fleet in one shot, but that’s exactly what Buick has done by cashiering the Rendezvous (a close relative to the long-gone Pontiac Aztec and built on a soon-to-be gone GM minivan platform), the Rainier sport-ute and Terraza minivan. When it’s time to clean house, Buick uses the really big broom. As Buick begins to reinvent itself as a world-class brand with aspirations of taking on the best from Germany and Japan, it becomes more obvious why Rainier, Rendezvous and Terraza were let go. Just look at the new Enclave.

Chevrolet Monte Carlo
“Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” is the catch-phrase used to justify the millions of dollars that automakers spend every year supporting various forms of auto racing. The Monte Carlo name was used on NASCAR Chevrolets, pure racing machines that had little or nothing to do with the street-legal version, unlike the Corvette, which is actually used in various road-racing series. Whether connected to NASCAR adoption of a common car or that sales were not where they should be, despite adding a V8 model, the big front-wheel-drive Monte Carlo coupe actually ceased production earlier this year.

Saturn Ion and Relay
The youngest of GM’s marques has gone all Euro lately, introducing vehicles developed by its German Opel division to the fold, including the all-new Vue sport-ute and Aura sedan. The Ion’s departure brings to a close Saturn’s Grand Experiment of creating an entire line of dent-and-ding-resistant plastic-bodied models. Shopping carts throughout the land are declaring total victory and are considering the terms of surrender. The Ion’s replacement is the Astra from — you guessed it — Europe. Elsewhere, there’s one less minivan as Saturn has axed the Relay without delay.

Ford Freestar/Mercury Monterey
Ford actually closed shop on its minivan twins late last year and shipped the final lot to dealers for final clearance. Both were decent enough people-movers that became caught in the crossover (tall-wagon) crossfire. Nearly done are the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car, which have been relegated to fleet (taxi, limo) sales. Also gone in name only are the Ford Five Hundred sedan, Freestyle wagon and Mercury Montego sedan, a schwacking that came about when the company reversed course and returned the much better-known Taurus/Sable nameplates to the active-duty roster.

Suzuki Aerio
How could a vehicle be tall and short at the same time? Well, the Aerio — an amazing five-letter name with four vowels — managed that slight of hand remarkably well as many shoppers who took the time to drop by their local Suzuki store would attest. You could actually sit in this wee beastie and not have your knees hit your elbows while the generous glass area gave all aboard a panoramic view of the other side. Sure, it wasn’t the best-dressed vehicle in town, but it made up for its physical shortcomings by being comfortable, sure-footed and spunky. Hard to top, but its SX4 replacement is giving it a go.

But wait, there’s more
Beyond this list are a few offshoots of existing models that won’t be back. There’s a new Honda Accord for 2008, but sluggish sales of the gasoline-electric Hybrid sedan means that model has been cut. Honda promises a dedicated replacement on a dedicated hybrid platform in a year or two. Over at Mazda, the high-performance Mazdaspeed6, an offshoot of the mid-size Mazda6 sedan, is no more. The wagon is also toast. And Volvo has eliminated the 300-horsepower S60R sedan, which never caught on with the Swede’s mostly conservative patrons.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS