27 Cars We Lost in 2021
Building cars is a tough game. There’s no consolation prize for models that don’t carry their weight in sales. Consequently, production for dozens of vehicles ends each year — and this year that includes storied nameplates such as the Toyota Land Cruiser and Volkswagen Golf. As models come and go — and sometimes return — savvy shoppers may be able to take advantage of the situation. In some cases, dealers are offering incentives to liquidate the remaining stock of retired vehicles. Here’s a rundown of the cars you won’t be seeing on lots in the coming year.
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The good news is the 2-series coupe underwent a redesign for 2022, but the next generation of the model will go forward without a convertible body style. BMWblog.com says the model “didn’t sell that great.” So, that’s that. Car and Driver holds out hope that the model might return.
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An EV pioneer, the i3 “was one of the first mainstream electric vehicles to hit the market, way back in 2014,” says Edmunds.com. But newer EVs were able to offer “superior range, performance, and utility.” Autoweek says BMW was expected to keep the model around a bit longer, “but priorities have changed” and the brand is concentrating its efforts on other electric models.
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Here’s another model that seems to be a casualty of the redesigned 2-series two-door line. “Fortunately, this omission shouldn’t last long,” Car and Driver says, “as we wager the automaker will unveil a new M2 coupe for the 2023 model year.” Stay tuned.
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If there’s such a thing as a muscle SUV, this is it with its 710-horsepower supercharged 6.1-liter V-8 — and an EPA-estimated 13 mpg. Car and Driver says the demise of the Hellcat will leave the 475-horsepower V-8 Durango as “the most powerful entry in the three-row SUV segment for the 2022 model year.”
Fans of the automaker’s popular pickup line are losing the option of the Power Stroke V-6 diesel engine. A Ford representative tells Car and Driver it’s fallen out of favor with customers who “overwhelmingly” prefer the EcoBoost V-6 gas option, which actually produces more horsepower.
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Here’s a tricky one. When Jeep released information on its revamped 2022 Grand Cherokee line, the SRT (which stands for Street and Racing Technology) was notably missing, J.D. Power says. But the agency hesitates to say its demise is official — despite also noting that the group that developed the model was disbanded this year. Car and Driver counts it as a goner.
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The fuel cell and plug-in hybrid versions of this car join the pure EV version in retirement, closing the book on what KBB.com called “another significant step for Honda into the fuel cell and EV market.”
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Hyundai will continue to offer the hybrid and plug-in hybrid models of the Ioniq, but this all-electric version — which was offered in only 11 states and had an unimpressive driving range of 170 miles — is finished, Car and Driver says.
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The 275-horsepower Veloster N will be the only version of this model on the lots in 2022. The other iterations of what KBB.com called “a fun and funky entry-level sports coupe” are no more. The Veloster has been around since the 2012 model year.
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After 20 years of battling Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota in the minivan market, Kia is throwing in the towel, J.D. Power says. The Sedona will transition to a multipurpose vehicle called the Carnival.
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If you have a cool $100,000 and change you don’t know what to do with, you can still find one of these 416-horsepower rockets in the United States. But 2021 marks the final year of the nameplate, says Car and Driver, though a similar model — the Emira — is due soon.
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The slightly larger CX-30 will replace this model in Mazda’s lineup of crossovers. KBB.com calls the newer version “a better vehicle wrapped in a slightly larger package.”
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Mazda is retiring this model after nearly 20 years in America. Sales have slipped — “despite it being one of the best driving cars in the midsize sedan class,” says KBB.com — partly because of the rise in crossover SUVs in recent years.
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This 804-horsepower sports car with no roof or windshield — it resembles something you might see flying down a Hot Wheels track as opposed to a street-legal vehicle — was always going to be a one-and-done model, with
only 399 units scheduled for production, Car and Driver says. Still, pretty cool.
The second model year of this upgraded A-class compact sedan that housed a buff 302-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine was the last, Car and Driver says. The magazine’s test driver clocked it at 12.9 seconds in the quarter-mile at 109 mph. Not too shabby.
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Dropping this model after five years is something akin to thinning the herd, Car and Driver says, as the manufacturer already sells a number of six-cylinder midsize models. Other models that share the powertrain and platform remain on the market.
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Car and Driver says newer models such as a four-door GT sedan and redesigned SL-class convertible have “overshadowed” the performance-oriented two-door GT and its convertible roadster version. The publication expects the car to reemerge in Mercedes’ lineup at some point.
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Mercedes made the decision to ax the two-door coupe and convertible (cabriolet) versions of its flagship sedan back in 2020, says Road and Track, in what Mercedes CEO Markus Schaefer said was a move “to reduce complexity” amid the automaker’s shift to more electric vehicles.
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The automaker has been saying that 2021 would be the last model year for its commercial vans, and it’s held firm. J.D. Power says production of the compact NV 200, standard cargo van, and 12-seat passenger van ended this summer.
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The first model from Volvo’s electrified performance brand was always intended for limited production, Car and Driver says. The precursor of the all-electric Polestar 2 launched last year, and the Polestar 3, an “aerodynamic performance electric SUV,” is in the works for 2023.
This compact crossover “excels in style, performance, and interior quality,” but the 2022 iteration will drop the “Turbo” name and won’t be offering a 3.0-liter turbo V-6 engine, KBB.com says. That being said, this is more of a technicality; the remaining trim versions of this model all offer a turbocharged engine.
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The departure of the convertible version of the Wraith — as well as the Wraith itself — will leave Rolls-Royce with only four-door “British brutes” in the U.S. market, J.D. Power notes.
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Based on the carmaker’s older Ghost sedan, this model is being dropped following the four-door Ghost’s redesign. Car and Driver cites the Spectre as the Wraith’s likely replacement when it debuts in 2023.
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When the automaker unveiled a redesign of the WRX for the 2022 model year, it came without an STI version, Car and Driver says. But the publicati
on expects to see the moniker return, maybe as soon as the 2023 model year.
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“This one hurts a little,” says Kelley Blue Book, calling the Land Cruiser “an icon and one of the most desirable used SUVs.” Hint: Don’t look for incentives on this model. Not only do these hold their resale value, but some newer used models are going for more than their original sticker price, says KBB.com.
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Volvo has stopped production of these two (dare we say the words) station wagons — the full-size V90 and the smaller V60 with its 240-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. KBB.com says the V90 “was every bit the anti-SUV, which these days is kind of a cool statement to make.”
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KBB.com says sales of the standard Golf model have dwindled recently, setting the table for its retirement. But the “spunky” GTI version and the “high-performance” Golf R will continue to stick around.
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