15 Car Brands That Disappeared From American Roads

Go back far enough and the showroom looked very different. You could buy a Pontiac, an Oldsmobile or a Plymouth, and nobody gave it a second thought.

A classic teal car sitting alone on a grass field.

Then, one by one, the badges vanished. Using dates from Wikipedia’s entries on each automaker and its list of defunct American manufacturers, here are 15 brands that disappeared from American roads.

The years below are those Wikipedia gives, and some sources differ by a year or two on certain brands.

1. Pontiac Stopped Selling In 2010 After More Than Eight Decades

Wikipedia says Pontiac was founded in 1926 by General Motors. It was discontinued on October 31, 2010, the date its dealer franchise agreements expired.

The last Pontiac was assembled on January 4, 2010. Its best-known names include the GTO (1964 to 1974) and the Firebird (1967 to 2002).

2. Oldsmobile Was Founded In 1897 And Ended In 2004

Oldsmobile began on August 21, 1897, as the Olds Motor Vehicle Company, founded by Ransom E. Olds. It became a General Motors brand and went defunct on April 29, 2004.

The final model, the Alero, ended production that April. Famous nameplates included the Curved Dash Model R, the Toronado and the Cutlass.

3. Plymouth Rolled Out In 1928 And Rolled Off In 2001

Wikipedia says Plymouth was introduced on July 7, 1928, and discontinued in 2001. It was owned by Chrysler Corporation and later DaimlerChrysler.

Notable models include the Fury, the Barracuda and the Neon, which was the brand’s last new model.

4. Mercury Lasted From 1938 Until The Last Grand Marquis In 2011

Mercury was introduced in November 1938 by Ford Motor Company. The final Mercury, a 2011 Grand Marquis, was built on January 4, 2011.

The Cougar and the Marquis both debuted in 1967, and the Capri debuted in 1970.

5. Saturn Was GM’s Fresh Start That Ended In 2010

Saturn was founded January 7, 1985, by General Motors. Production ended October 7, 2009, and the franchises ended October 31, 2010.

The S-Series ran from 1991 to 2002, followed by the Vue and the Aura.

6. Hummer Closed In 2010 Then Came Back As A GMC

Wikipedia says Hummer ran as a standalone brand from 1992 to 2010. GM announced on February 24, 2010, that it would close the brand after a sale to Sichuan Tengzhong collapsed.

The twist is that the name returned in 2020 as a GMC model line, with the first vehicles sold for the 2022 model year. So the old Hummer brand disappeared, and the name came back under another badge.

7. Packard Went From Luxury Leader To Memory In 1958

Packard’s first car was built in Warren, Ohio, on November 6, 1899. The last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana, in 1958, and the brand was phased out in 1959.

It was one of the “Three Ps” of luxury American automakers, with Peerless and Pierce-Arrow. During World War II it built 55,523 Merlin V-12 engines under contract with Rolls-Royce.

8. Studebaker Built Cars Until A March Day In 1966

Studebaker was founded in 1852 in South Bend, Indiana, and entered the car business in 1902 with electric vehicles. The South Bend plant closed in December 1963, and the last car left the Hamilton, Ontario plant on March 17, 1966.

The compact Lark sold over 130,000 units in 1959, its first year, and the Avanti sports car followed in 1962.

9. DeSoto Was Discontinued In November 1960

Walter Chrysler founded DeSoto on August 4, 1928, and the final car left the line on November 30, 1960. The 1961 DeSoto sold just 3,034 units, according to Wikipedia.

That was a long way from 1929, when 81,065 DeSoto Sixes were produced, a first-year U.S. production record that stood for 31 years.

10. Edsel Lasted Just Three Model Years

The Edsel was a Ford division, with model years 1958 to 1960, and the discontinuation was announced November 19, 1959. Wikipedia says Ford invested about $400 million in development, advertising and launch.

Sales from September 1957 to November 1959 were about 116,000, less than half the break-even point. Historians cite styling, workmanship, marketing and a recession as reasons.

11. Hudson Merged Into AMC And Ended In 1957

Hudson built its first car in July 1909. It merged with Nash-Kelvinator on May 1, 1954, to form American Motors, and the last Hudson rolled off the Kenosha line on June 25, 1957.

The Hudson Hornet, built from 1951 to 1954, won NASCAR championships from 1951 through 1954.

12. AMC Ran From 1954 To 1987

American Motors, also known as AMC, is listed by Wikipedia as running 1954 to 1987. It was formed by the Hudson and Nash-Kelvinator merger.

It was the maker of the Javelin and the Spirit, and Chrysler bought the company in 1987.

13. Eagle Showed Up In 1988 And Was Gone By 1998

Wikipedia lists a modern Eagle brand from 1988 to 1998. It was Chrysler’s brand for the former AMC product line.

It was short-lived, lasting about a decade.

14. Geo Was Around For Only 1989 To 1997

The list shows Geo as 1989 to 1997. It was a General Motors brand that sold small cars to a new set of buyers.

Models like the Metro, Prizm, Storm and Tracker carried the Geo badge.

15. Saab Went Bankrupt In 2011 After Long Years Under GM

Saab began as a project in 1945 under parent Saab AB. General Motors took 50% in 1989 and bought the rest in 2000, then sold the company to Spyker, completed on February 23, 2010.

It filed for bankruptcy on December 19, 2011. The Saab 900, with nearly a million built, was its best-selling model.

Take a look at what is parked around you and you can still spot a few survivors. Each of these badges had loyal owners, and many of them still do.

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