What Formerly Common Cars Have Completely Vanished?

Aa Dodge Intrepid
ADVERTISEMENT

It’s been quite an experience watching my daughter grapple with the impermanence of life. When a store closes it’s possibly a minor disappointment to me, but to her it’s almost cataclysmic. She’s only been fully conscious of the world around her for a few years and so, generally speaking, all that was there is still there, and when it isn’t it’s a big deal.

She just feels so much and, you know, maybe she’s right. Maybe I’m too inured to the fluctuations of life. Perhaps I’d be better off also feeling that much.

One area where I probably feel the shifting of time most is in the slow disappearance of cars that were once ubiquitous. Where have all the Cavalier Z24s gone? Or, for that matter, where the hell are all the old Dodge Intrepids?

While Chrysler’s attempt at making a front-wheel drive competitor to the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord never quite had the same draw, falling short even of the Ford Taurus, the almost-a-Lamborghini 1st generation was fairly common when I was a youth. But now? It’s an occasion when you see one at a stoplight, on par with spying a falling star.

2g Dodge Interipd

Even the 2nd generation car, which was on sale until 2005, is a rare spot.

So, in that vein, SWG has suggested you all help us come up with more examples of once-common cars that have given way to a rusty grave or to being recycled into something more desirable.

About the Author

View All My Posts

264 thoughts on “What Formerly Common Cars Have Completely Vanished?”

  1. Looking through the comments I realize I still regularly see some cars here in Southern California that have disappeared elsewhere. For example, my next door neighbor has a very clean “used bar of soap” Taurus, there are two 1G Neons down the block, and heck, there’s even a Lincoln Blackwood around the corner.

    Sticking to that same era of cars, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a ’92-’97 “whale” Crown Vic on the road. They used to be everywhere. I still see a number of the ’98+ on the road (some local LEOs still use them) but the older ones have disappeared. It’s probably fresh in my mind because my wife started watching the first season of True Detective last night (which is set in 1995) and I was very impressed with whoever handled the cars got all of them right – it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a bunch of “bubble” Caprices and Crown Vics parked together at the same time.

    https://www.imcdb.org/i670479.jpg

    1. Yep, similar story up here in Oregon. Probably even more so because there are a lot of people around here who are too broke or cheap to replace them. GM A, W, and J cars are still fairly common around here, as are Tauruses/Sables of all generations. I even saw a first-generation Intrepid the other day, and a Plymouth Caravelle at a gas station a while back.

      1. IMO Portland is the king of seeing odd/forgotten vehicles still driving around. Every time I visit there’s at least one vehicle I’m shocked to still see on the road. I’m going there next week as a matter of fact.

    2. Part of the problem with these might be the tiny flaw that the intake manifold is cheaply made and can just explode and cause a lot of issues. Happened to my ’96 a month after buying it used. And they say usually those warranties are a scam too, not mine! Paid for itself within 60 days.

    3. With the squinty headlights! I remember Al Pacino’s Vincent Hanna driving one in Heat, as he sets up the showdown meeting in the coffee shop with Robert DeNiro.

    4. Huh! I had no idea any LEOs still used Crown Vics. I figured at this point “okay, even the brokest police departments in the U.S. have to be well-funded enough to replace cars from 2011 (at the newest)….right? right?!”

      Of course, I’m in Pennsylvania, so while I still treat most Crown Vics with suspicion, I assume any LEO ones would’ve been sold from rust and the like. Not sure when I saw an actual, active cop one last.

  3. I haven’t seen one of those late 00’s- early 2010s Ford Focuses. I feel like those used to be everywhere.

    I also feel like Crown Vics and its corporate cousins are all gone or trashed in an alleyway. Those crown Vic’s used to be in every police forces fleet

    2. Most of the Focuses of that era are trashed at this point it seems. Just came across a base model (w/steelies) in a parking lot today and it looked like you’d imagine, rust marks, clear coat delaminating, etc.

      But not mine…my 2010 is my daily!

      1. Yup, that description sounds like most of them.

        I wonder if a low mileage clean example will show up on BAT in a couple of years, like that dodge avenger.

        1. I bet you’re right. Mine’s high mileage, but she does have a manual, which was pretty rare at that point (right after the recession and that first gen was getting pretty long in the tooth).

            2. I’d love to see the stats on manuals for that time period. It was right after the recession, so they were pitched to the economy-minded audience.

              Mine’s an SE, so she’s fairly loaded but not with leather or the nice radio, that sort of thing.

    3. One of the major family cars from my childhood was a 2005 Focus station wagon. I feel like I rarely saw the station wagon variant much even back then, and these days I seldom see any of that era at all, I think.

      I don’t know when the last time I saw an actual active cop Crown Vic was, but I see used P71s fairly regularly.

      1. We had a 2000 Shale Green hardtop Sebring. Mom went into the dealership to buy a convertible, and walked out with a beautiful coupe. It was a major lemon, and was back in the hands of Chrysler after 8 months.

        1. How about the inverse of that era’s car, the 200 convertible? I saw one last week and was shocked, as I’d completely forgotten Chrysler had made them, since almost nobody bought them by that point.

          1. I saw the 4 door 200 on my way home today, but totally forgot about the convertible, even after talking Sebrings. The 200 convertible would be a good Beige car nomination.

          2. I don’t know if I’m just blind, Pennsylvania is atypical, or it heavily has to do with me only becoming more car-aware in the last ~10 years, or some combination of those, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Chrysler 200, period. I didn’t even become conscious of the nameplate until maybe 1-2 years ago and it was from a list of the worst cars of the 2000s, I believe (right next to the Jeep Patriot which I am definitely aware of and still see plenty around).

    1. The PT Cruiser is mechanically totaled when the timing belt breaks. It’s a non-interference engine but the process to change it is so labor intensive, they just get junked. The rapid depreciation of Chrysler products of that era didn’t incentivize anyone take care of them.

      I had the opportunity for a free PT Cruiser once. It even came with the timing belt kit. I declined, way too much work for “free”. For many years, them along with the first generation of the New Beetle were over represented at my local LKQ yard.

    1. Funny you should mention small trucks… Ford made the Ranger in the MN plant which shut down years ago. I’d think I’d see them in/around MN, but even here seeing them seems rare

    2. Those old Japanese pickups were subject to the Chicken Tax, which dates to 1964, so their disappearance isn’t related to the Chicken Tax but more likely another annoying, oppressive reality: rust.

      2. The Japanese manufacturers were still subject to the tax and reduced the tax burden by importing the chassis and bed separately. This reduced the tax burden but it was still higher than cars. My guess is that at some point, sales declined to the point where the profit levels couldn’t justify continuing. Likewise, sales numbers likely weren’t enough to justify producing the small trucks in the US. Of course there are some still around, like Honda’s Ridgeline, but I have to wonder how much longer they will produce that.

        1. Yeah the tax had an impact at the margins (and I wish it was abolished), but changing consumer tastes really killed off those trucks, which is why they morphed into today’s midsizers. But the popularity of the Maverick and existence of the Santa Cruz makes me think there will be a small pickup from one of the Japanese automakers in the near future.

  8. Ford Escort ZX-2. I used to see them all the time up until about 10 years ago. The last one I saw was more rust than car, hence why they have largely vanished. For a good while though they were a hit among young drivers who wanted something more stylish than a regular sedan at an economy car price.

    1. Good call…they were like the Ford hangover from the 80s/90s sport coupe era (as you cite), holding on into the 2000s. Ford’s last coupe besides the once and forever Mustang.

      I miss that era.

  9. I barely see any Saturns anymore and it makes me sad….and when I do it’s usually a roached out Vue, which IMHO is probably the least cool Saturn.

    1. Understandably, you’re forgetting the Relay. Don’t let GM get away with that.

      Among actual polymer-paneled Saturns, that honor would have to go to the L-Series. ION has the quirk factor, VUE was right product/right time and the Honda V6 would sprint to 60 in 7 seconds (maybe less).

      I am surprised that I see as many Outlooks as I still do given their reliability wasn’t great – just saw 2 on my lunch break. More than I see Auras, which were higher production numbers.

    1. my university uses mostly rusted-out old Astro vans, so on a bad day (fewest Astros) I see around 10, although I see few AWD ones which are the ones I like.

    2. Astro/Safari I will see somewhat regularly. People seem to like turning them into adventure vehicles/campers, so they usually show up in AWD form covered in stickers and various gear racks. Dustbuster minivans though, I don’t remember when I last saw one of those.

    3. I look for conversion vans in Pennsylvania regularly and I’m constantly surprised that I see more Dodge Ram vans (like, actual 90s Dodge Ram Vans, not Ram Promasters) than Astros for sale.

      Of course, it could just be everyone with an Astro conversion is hanging onto them with a death grip while the Ram Van owners are trying to offload their pile of rust before it actually disintegrates.

  11. Strangely, as much as LH’s of any kind have virtually disappeared around here, I know of two within about 300m (not a 300M, that was 2nd gen, a Concorde and an Intrepid) of each other nearish to me. I’m not sure I’ve seen a single other one in years, but these two must be providing emotional support to each other.

  12. I was looking to see if I could find a 4th gen Golf GTI to steal suspension parts from for a jetta TDI Lemons car, and was surprised that there are essentially 0 of these for sale, and if you search for any trim golf of that generation I only see 9 total nationwide on autotempest.

    1. MK4 GTIs are pretty rare and the 5s are growing rarer as well. The only 5s I see these days are special editions that I’d imagine are only 1 or 2 owner cars that have been well cared for. But alas…I think the fact that VWs have German reliability and German maintenance costs sends them to the crusher earlier than a lot of other cars. I’d imagine once that first 4 figure repair bill hits a lot of people cut their losses….thus why even the cool ones become scarce quickly.

      That being said there used to be an R32 in my previous neighborhood that was ridiculously cool.

    2. MKIV VWs are getting rarer, in general. They were nice when new but time wasn’t kind to them and interiors had a habit of falling apart, along with your typical German reliability. Once these cars were on their third owner who started neglecting things…it was all over.

      My ex has a 2005 Passat wagon, he got it in 2012 and even then, there were so many in junkyards when I needed parts. Pretty telling of VW reliability at the time. It’s still not great, but I will say that I almost never see MKVI VWs listed at the local Pull-A-Part.

  13. Hardtops – Whether wagons, sedans or coupes.

    If you don’t know what a hardtop is – it means a car with frameless glass and no B post – so when you run the windows down, you get unobstructed open space between the A pillar and the C pillar.

    Mercedes-Benz had the last of them with the prior generation S-Class and E-Class coupes.

    But they cheaped out with the 5/4ths scale C-Class replacement badged as a CLE – Now no more hardtops.

  14. Here in Oregon it’s pretty hard to find a nice motorhome that hasn’t been converted to a meth lab. It’s just sad… On the motorhome’s behalf.

    1. Never had a motorhome or anything, but isn’t “nice motorhome” mostly a pipe dream?

      I thought there was some kind of saying/common knowledge that there’s no such thing as a motorhome that doesn’t need some kind of repair or fix, that they’re all cheaply made, even going further back. With very limited exceptions (Airstream or something?), perhaps.

  15. Ford Taurus. Haven’t seen one in ages, saw the last gen Wagon at a light a few months ago and was shocked. I remember at least 4 or 5 at my high school parking lot.

    Chevy Lumina

    Pontiac Trans Sport

    Chevy Monte Carlo

    Mercury Cougar (the hatchback)

    Lincoln LS

    Jaguar X Type

    Astrovan

    Mazda Millenia

    1. Really? Not even the cop Tauruses?

      I see them occasionally in Pennsylvania. Certainly not as much as 10 years ago when I was in high school, when cops were actually using them, but as police surplus, I still see them around.

        1. Interesting how different that mix is! In Pennsylvania in the last 5-10 years I feel like it’s been 90% Explorers. Sure, I’ve seen a handful of some of those you listed, but I’m not sure if I’ve seen any Durango cop cars myself, and the Fusions maybe only once or twice.

    1. The CD4E automatic probably gets most of the credit for that. My parents had 2 ’98 626s. One transmission lasted 150,000 mi, the other one lasted 98,000. That one was rebuilt and failed again at 150,000. It was rebuilt again, and was acting up again at 200,000. The cars didn’t really have much else go wrong with them, though. The engines were still fine despite indifferent maintenance.

  17. The VW Beetle, classic or new. When I was growing up in the 70’s and 80’s the Beetles were everywhere. When the New Beetle was released I saw them all over the place.

    1. Good one – what I find humorous is that at this point, it’s about as common to see a 50 year old restored Beetle as it is to see one from the 2010s.

    2. It’s not just the new Beetle that is conspicuously missing. There’s nearly no Golfs or Jettas from that generation even if you do a nationwide search for used ones for sale.

  18. The Ford Countor/Mercury Mystique twins.

    Sure, we love us the SVT version, but the regular but still nifty SEs that made up the bulk of sales are almost completely gone from the roads these days.

    Also, it’s shocking how small this midsized sedan seems now when you do see one.

    3. These were almost great cars, but they were built out of cheap materials. A few things did them in quickly: horrible rust in the rocker panels, and fast wearing and expensive front suspension pieces and motor mounts. Also, the AC system wasn’t very robust. Plenty cold when it worked, though. Engines and transmissions were rarely the cause of problems with these.

      What’s strange is that they didn’t seem cheap on the inside. They weren’t luxury, but they were much better than average in their price range.

      If they’d chosen better quality metal for the body and frame, and better bushings for the moving parts, these would still be around. This was too much to ask, though.

      This was Ford just after the failing shock towers of the Escort, and while they were still making Escapes with failing shock towers. You couldn’t ask them to use decent quality metals while they were shouting that “Quality is Job One!” Just like you couldn’t ask them to make a decent V6 engine gasket for the jellybean Taurus.

      I really liked the Contour. It was a decent car that was really close to being a great car.

      1. They really represented the most recent of Ford’s periodic attempts to woo us with Euro-ish spec stuff. These days, it’s all ‘Merica all the time, but I’ve always liked when Ford’s bit is “hey, we sell this stuff abroad in places where buyers are more discriminating than you…”

    4. I used to own a Contour. Those things were everywhere. The V6 was surprisingly quick for its time period and still holds up well today, but they weren’t the best built of car. Mine liked to eat CV Axles at least once a year.

  19. At least in the Midwest, any 20th century Japanese car.

    When I’ve been to salt free areas, 90s Toyotas and Hondas are everywhere. There’s basically none left here. Plenty of 90s domestic iron around though.

    1. We have an excess of pretty much any Asian economy car that you can think of here in DC. 90s/early 2000s Altima, assorted Hyundais, and seemingly infinite beige on beige Camrys/Accords/etc are like cockroaches. They all seemingly survive absolutely everything that gets thrown at them. Curiously we don’t have too many American hoopties on the roads here outside of Tahoes and Suburbans, which we all know are completely unkillable…although like I said in my other comment there are plenty of panther bodies around and they’re popular mod platforms.

    1. I often point out to more casual drivers that the Bronco Sport is essentially the second coming of the Bronco II; I’m usually met with blank glances.

      1. I have been saying that since the Sport came out! My mom even owns one! No one will listen!!!
        First off, it has the same underpinnings as a small truck,
        Bronco II and the ranger. Bronco Sport and the Maverick
        Both are a smaller and a more economical version of the regular Bronco.

        1. I am SO glad it’s not just me.

          I’m Gen-X, so as a teenager, plenty of friends had the IIs. I used to ride to high school sometimes with a guy who had one, and looking back, knowing what I do now, I’m AMAZED we didn’t roll.

    2. They migrated to Colorado…

      There is one out in front of my neighbor’s house, along with an 85 Toyota Truck my other neighbor has. Growing up in WI. These things disappeared.

  21. Neons… I swear every family used to own 4 of them in my town, and there were always 2 dozen of them for sale int the local paper… Now the only (running) one I’m aware of is owned by a cousin of mine who will probably see it hit 1M miles if he gets his way. I still see a decent number of them rotting in yards, but outside of being what we call “Lawn ornaments” up here, I don’t see as many as I’d expect.

    1. And transmission failures. I’ve known a few people who had transmission problems/failures, and the classifieds around here are full of Tauruses with failed transmissions.

    1. Suzuki Sidekick Yes. Capable fun little vehicles and now they’re all gone save for a few really clapped out ones on Marketplace. Saw a sweet survivor the other day though.

  24. I feel like this is kind of regionally dependent—heck, there’s a whole song about ’98 Pontiac Sunfires—but that and the Grand Am are two cars I just never see around anymore. Same with the Cavalier, for that matter. Are these all hiding in the rust belt living out their halcyon days as a primo Juggalambo? I feel like that’s where most of the current jokes about old Pontiacs are from, anyway.

    Granted, my Grand Am started breaking in silly ways around 60K—iffy gas gauge, power windows being GM power windows—so build quality might’ve had something to do with that.

    1. Esp the Sunfire sedan. It was at least as common as the coupe back in the day, but I haven’t seen one in forever.

      Not worth saving I guess. I chalk it all up to it not having the light-up Pontiac logo on the decklid.

      1. There’s a Sunfire 4-door in my neighborhood. Elderly lady had a Hyundai XG300 that she replaced with this. Not sure if lateral move, upgrade, or downgrade to tell the truth.

      2. I hated those logos. They were right where you’d expect the CHMSL to be, so I always thought a car was braking when it wasn’t, until I took a closer look. Such a dumb design.

    2. This is exactly what I was thinking – it depends on region. When I lived in the south, I hardly ever saw GM J/L/N/W-bodies, not to mention Robocop era Tauruses (especially the wagons).

      When I moved to the upper Midwest back in the 2000s, like 75% of the vehicles I saw were the ones above (albeit mostly rusty).

      Living in the PNW I saw plenty of everything sans convertibles. If I saw a convertible, it always had Cali plates on it.

      Here in the Rockies, I cannot recall the last time I saw an older (pre-2000) luxury sedan. There are plenty of AWD Caddy STSs, lots of newer Audis and Mercedes, and the occasional ragged CTS or Lincoln LS, but I haven’t seen an InTech Lincoln Continental, Cadillac Seville, or W220 Mercedes in ages.

    4. My neighbor in my apartment building has a grand-am with rusted out rockers, and what I swear is a bungee cord running under the door over the rotted out rockers under the frame. I hesitate to think of what that cord is holding together.

    5. Yep definitely regional. I live in the DC area, and all the cars I see are Japanese, Korean, German, generally not more than 15 years old. Then I visit my in-laws in Nowhere PA, just outside of Stick-in-the-Mud, and the roads are crawling with forgotten 20+ year old GM cars.

    3. These are all over the place in the DC era. In fact the panther bodies are rather common and are a go to for ballin on a budget type builds. And you know what? I respect those builds a ton. It’s about the cheapest path to a V8/RWD that exists, they’re unique, they’ll run forever/parts are plentiful, and those 4.6s actually sound fantastic with the right exhaust.

      SN95s are a little less common but they’re still pretty frequent spots. I get the sense that folks consider the refresh/new edge Mustangs to be more desirable, but I’m not sure why. They might actually be my least favorite Mustang outside of the 2nd gen, and at least the second gen looks alright.

    4. You know, I don’t see a lot of SN95s but I almost NEVER see them as GTs or higher trim levels. It’s always a beat up V6, probably a convertible, missing most of its clear coat and on mismatched tires.

Leave a Reply