We’re well past halfway through 2024, and as 2025 model year cars start rolling onto dealership lots, not every car on sale made the cut to the next model year. Discontinuation is a natural part of the automotive lifecycle, but it still stinks sometimes, so let’s round all the soon-to-be-dead models up in once nice little spot and give you something to peruse. Who knows? Maybe some of these models could make for good pub trivia material.
First, let’s set some ground rules — no crazy niche stuff like supercars, and nothing that was discontinued around the cusp of 2024 yet still lingers on lots. Sorry Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, and Mini Clubman. However, beyond that,
This year’s selection of soon-to-be-discontinued cars includes several sports sedans, an economy car, a handful of crossovers, a gaggle of pickup trucks, and almost the entire lineup of one manufacturer. Without further ado, lets get into it.
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio
Pour one out for a pair of Italian legends that reignited desire for Alfa Romeo in North America, if not exactly sales. With a Ferrari-derived 2.9-liter turbocharged V6, fast steering, and the longitudinal Giorgio platform, the Giulia Quadrifoglio sedan and Stelvio Quadrifoglio crossover are fast, playful machines for those with a bit of imagination. To the brave few who signed on the dotted line, we salute you, because spotting one of these hot Alfas in traffic just makes our day a little bit better. These aren’t just performance cars, they’re public services.
Audi A5, S5, and RS5 Coupe and Cabriolet
It’s been a rough 15 years for coupes and convertibles. From the Chrysler Sebring Convertible to the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drop Head Coupe, all manner of two-door cars have bowed out, and the Audi A5, S5, and RS5 coupe and cabriolet are next. We’ve previously run a eulogy for Audi’s last two-door cars, but it bears repeating that if you want any of these coupes or cabriolets, you better scurry on down to your Audi dealership right about now.
Chevrolet Malibu
Unless you work at a GM dealership or have rented a midsize car lately, you might be surprised to learn that Chevrolet is still making the Malibu sedan. Well, that’s set to change later this year, when the surprisingly popular midsize sedan is slated to end production after ten freaking model years of the current generation. Ten! Sure, the “real people” ads it launched with were bullshit, and nobody would ever confuse this thing for an Audi, but the Malibu still represents strong value in the midsize sedan segment. If you care most about buying a lot of physical car for the money, this might hit the spot.
Ford Edge
Speaking of older machines from Michigan-based brands, how about the Ford Edge? This perfectly cromulent rotund midsize crossover is set to get the axe before the year’s up, as Ford re-tools its Oakville, Ont. assembly plant for big ol’ trucks. Will the Edge be missed? While it’s certainly quite comfortable and surprisingly quiet, it never developed the cult following of the larger Flex, nor did it become an institution like the Explorer. Still, if the rental car lineup is sparse and an Edge is an option, grab the keys. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with its comfort.
Fisker Ocean
Yeah, this one’s a cop-out. It’s not so much that Fisker is discontinuing the Ocean, it’s that financial difficulties have discontinued Fisker. At this point, the Fisker name has graced not one, but two EV brands that have gone bust. Hey, maybe the third time will be the charm. Anyway, if you want a cheap new EV, you can still buy one for now, but Magna won’t be making any more for Fisker, unless something massive and unexpected changes. It probably won’t.
Every Jaguar Except The F-Pace
In about two years’ time, Jaguar will re-launch itself as an all-electric brand, and it’s razing as much of its presence as possible to prepare for war against Bentley. The F-Pace crossover will be the only Jaguar to see 2025, with everything else from the fire-breathing F-Type sports car to the shockingly pleasant XF sedan dying this year. Pretty soon, the Jaguar side of Jaguar Land Rover showrooms is gonna look pretty empty.
Kia Forte
The Kia Forte is dead, long live the K3! Look, it seems that about once every few generations, Kia has switched up its compact sedan naming scheme, and it’s about time for another change. The original Forte replaced the Spectra, and the K3 will replace the Forte this autumn, rationalizing Kia’s naming scheme with the K5 midsize sedan. While Forte is a more memorable name than some variation of alphanumeric soup, the new K3 does look tempting, with a huge footprint, big space, and a price that undercuts the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. Needless to say, we can’t wait to drive it.
Mitsubishi Mirage
Another calendar year, another cheap car riding off into the sunset. The Mitsubishi Mirage isn’t going to set anyone’s hair on fire, but it’s a cheap new car with a long-ass warranty that can be financed for a long time with little risk. It’s easy on gas, runs on tiny tires, and works brilliantly as a utility for getting from A to B. Thankfully, Mitsubishi will be stockpiling these little hatchbacks to have continued supply of 2024 models into 2025, but once they’re gone, they’re gone. It did its job for 11 model years, an honest little car for people who need a bit of stability. It will be missed.
Nissan GT-R
While we’re on the subject of cars that will be missed, 2024 marks your last chance to dance with Nissan’s throwback to 2008. The GT-R did a big, dirty launch control start on the performance car rulebook, bludgeoning it to death and popularizing the modern formula of boost, quick-shifting automatic transmissions, and all-wheel-drive. From boundary-pushing machine to relic, it’s a poster car made to be viewed with awe and ire, but whether you love it or hate it, you can’t deny that we all watched. Godspeed, GT-R.
Nissan Titan
It’s almost hard to believe that Nissan is still building the slow-selling Titan in 2024, but that’ll change soon, if it hasn’t already. Come 2025, the only truck left in Nissan’s lineup will be the Frontier, which makes sense, considering smaller trucks have historically been Nissan’s forte. We’ve known about the impeding discontinuation of the Titan since 2023, but it’s taken a damn long time to actually play out. Hey, Nissan gave half-ton pickup trucks the old college try, and that’s what counts. So what if it never met sales expectations? It added variation to the roadscape, and variety is the spice of life.
Ram 1500 Classic
The Ram 1500 Classic is a real one. Yes, it may basically be the same truck that launched in 2008, but with a bargain price, proven bones, and a massive aftermarket, it’s still a great truck to buy if you want something that won’t break the bank, is reasonably rugged, and rides surprisingly well, you could do a whole lot worse than this. Sometimes an old product just means you know exactly what you’re getting, and with 15 years of reliability data, the Ram 1500 Classic is a textbook example. It’s a shame it’ll be discontinued after 2024, because even though it’s aged, it still gets the job done.
Ram TRX
Speaking of Ram pickup trucks, let’s give a standing ovation for the magnificently malevolent 702-horsepower supercharged Ram TRX. A Hellcat motor in an off-road pickup is a damn good formula, and while production only lasted for several years, the result was undeniably badass. For 2025, the closest thing to a TRX you’ll be able to buy is the RHO, and while that six-cylinder truck with much of the TRX’s goodies hits a more affordable price point, if you want it all, there really is no substitute. Wait, wrong brand. You get what I mean, though.
The Four-Cylinder Toyota Supra
This might only be a variant of an existing model, but the four-cylinder Toyota Supra dies for 2025. An automatic four-cylinder sports car costing substantially more money than a lighter, more practical GR86 you can get with a manual gearbox just didn’t make a ton of sense in North America from the start, so it seems like Toyota is doing the sensible thing and just killing it before 2025 rolls around. However, we wouldn’t be surprised if it sticks around in places where displacement taxes on the six-cylinder model are punitive. Hey, different markets have different demands, right?
Toyota Venza
After adding what seems like eleven billion crossovers to its lineup over the past few years, Toyota’s taking one behind the barn. It turns out that a RAV4-sized crossover probably wasn’t the sort of vehicle first-generation Venza owners, and with the arrival of the excellent Toyota Crown Signia, the Venza will be put out to pasture following the 2024 model year. Look on the bright side, Toyota’s replaced it with a better Lexus RX than the RX 350, except with Toyota pricing. Upgrades, people. Upgrades.
Volvo S60
The sedanpocalypse continues, this time at Volvo, with the S60 compact sedan going the way of the dodo. I always liked the current S60, although in a compact sports sedan market dominated by longitudinal platforms, it was hard to make a case for it. Thankfully, the V60 Cross Country wagon-with-cladding is still available, and I’m happy to report that it’s excellent. The death of a sedan for the life of a wagon? Yeah, I’d take that deal.
So, which discontinued car are you going to miss the most going into 2025? As weird as it sounds, I reckon I’m the saddest about the Mitsubishi Mirage being discontinued. There are alternatives to everything else, but cheap, economical, no-nonsense new cars are a dying breed in America, and that shouldn’t be the case.
(Photo credits: Alfa Romeo, Audi, Chevrolet, Ford, Fisker, Thomas Hundal, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ram, Toyota, Volvo)
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This is depressing. That’s a lot of cars I like and the things people are buying in their place don’t appeal to me in any way.
Mitsubishi Mirage
“It will be missed.”
No, it won’t. Especially not by people who owned them.
I’ll miss the Ram but not it’s dial transmission shifter.
I’ve been drifting toward Jaguar cars for a while lately, and my next purchase is mostly narrowed down to a Porsche or an F-Type.
There are still a few other long shot possibilities, but Jaguar going all electric is not good news.
Not that I’m buying new, but because I’m shopping for something to keep for life, long term parts support becomes a minor concern.
The F Type shares most of its major mechanical components with rest of the JLR range or they are off the shelf (ZF gearboxes), so should not be a major concern. Bespoke F type Items like headlamps may come more of an issue that time goes on. Jaguar already has a classic department, and I suspect it will continue to support the F Type especially the most desirable versions (SVR, Project 7).
More of an issue seems to be specialists in the US (not such a problem in the U.K.) I live in Atlanta and there is only one main dealer in Georgia (fortunately near my house). I’ve struggled a little to find Indies that have worked on F Types
Ongoing production of new/revised generations doesn’t do much for parts support, so the F-type getting cancelled doesn’t do much to hurt you, but it does cast doubt on the future survival of the company. That’ll have to be a judgement call on your part, whether Jag will live to see another day.
The Edge needed to die because the Fusion has been long dead, but I would be surprised that the Edge-sized hole in the lineup isn’t filled by a 2-row midsize CUV in the near future. It is extremely odd that the Chinese Edge isn’t joining the Chinese Nautilus stateside, but maybe there’s a plan for a 2-row Explorer Sport or an embiggened Escape.
Ford’s 2-row crossover was getting crowded by having both the Escape and Bronco Sport, along with the actual Bronco.
There is a significant size delta between the Escape and the Edge, having driven an Edge for about 3 months and test driven the Escape. The Bronco Sport is a blatant cash grab to sell a “stylish” Escape at a premium to retail channels. It might be that the actual Bronco is the replacement for the Edge size category but it’s way too expensive for that.
Oh I forgot to mention, I believe that the Mach-E is supposed to be the true successor to the Edge, but if you said that neither the Mach-E, Bronco Sport, nor Bronco are a good fit to be the Edge’s successor, I’d agree.
first-gen Venza owners what?!
exactly, this was the second gen, seems like both just died early!
On Kia’s model naming change will they build a K2? It seems like a natural name for a Tasman based SUV to compete with the Ford Everest.
As a quadrifoglioaholic, you can guess which one I will miss the most..
:”'(
You forgot the Mazda 3 in sedan form. After this year it’s hatchback only.
The sedan still continues, just they only have 2025 hatchbacks on the website for whatever reason (odd since usually sedans take precedent and it’s largely a carryover model, compared with say, the Civic). Unless they’ve said something else after the press release for 2025 changes and pricing?
I’m gonna have to disagree with you on that one. Mazda’s 2025 model year overview on their media site makes it pretty clear that both body styles are continuing.
I owned a Ford Edge for a time. When the malfunctioning ABS wasn’t actively trying to kill me (Ford evidently had the intern do FMECA on that system), it was one of the most comfortable cars I’ve driven.
I’ve ended up with a couple of Malibus as rentals and found them to be surprisingly competent.
Finally, it blows my mind that the Kia K5 is considered a midsize car. I had one as a rental and, at 6’3″ tall, I had to fold myself in two to get into the car. It felt like I was driving a (surprisingly fun and torquey) go-kart. I can’t imagine how small the Forte/K3 is.
The S60 is fairly interesting as the PHEV variant is pretty affordable, especially compared to the XC60 and V60 (which is “Polestar” only). Alas I won’t be in the market that soon to buy one though. Not sure I am sold on Volvo quality these days either.
I loved the previous generation S5. This one always looked a little off to me. Maybe because every one I saw for sale on dealer lots had that dumb “blackout” trim package on it.
But if I am going to buy a potentially unreliable coupe, I’d rather get an F-Type. Is a used one really that bad? V8 of course.
My 2021 V60 CC hasn’t had a single issue for over 50k mi. But yeah, I looked at the S60 PHEV for a moment after deciding I did not want to pay the premium for either the V60 Polestar or the XC60 PHEV, and decided that I also didn’t trust the complexity of turbo + supercharger + hybrid in any of them.
About to take another road trip to fish remote Wyoming rivers, and have complete confidence in the fish wagon to get me way down nasty dirt roads and back home again in comfort and style.
As an XK8 owner, it’s disappointing to see its distant relative, the F-Type, disappear. I also have a Spark, so seeing the Mirage go away is a bit of a bummer. And, as the previous owner of many flavors of GM sedans over the years including a ’77 Malibu, it’s a little saddening to see the current Malibu end up on the chopping block… even though I kind of forgot they were still building them.
I’m pretty sure the Forte is being replaced by the compact K4, not the K3, which is the subcompact Rio replacement (for other markets).
Looks like I’m going to run out of reasonably priced sedan options… come about 2034. (I only buy used.)
I think sedans will come back as EV’s take over. Without engines, there’s no CAFE incentive for manufacturers to peddle “light trucks”, and sedans just get better range for the money.
Combustion SUV’s out-compete their sedan counterparts because emissions standards allow the same engine to be more powerful and efficient in its SUV version, meaning there’s no drawback to the customer. This means a Tiguan only gets 3 mpg less than its Jetta sibling and 0.2 seconds FASTER 0-60, so there are pretty much no drawbacks, plus it’s not much more expensive as the production cost is only extra sheet metal.
Compare that to EV’s. With emissions standards (or direct emissions, for that matter), the drivetrain on a sedan can be exactly as powerful and as efficient as it is in the lifted version. The new standard is range. Range is a factor of chassis efficiency and battery size.
Chassis efficiency is a factor of drag and weight. No matter how slippery of a shape you give your SUV, you’ll still have a bigger cross-section than a sedan, and it’ll be heavier too.
To achieve the same range, you’ll need a bigger battery, and I don’t need to tell you that battery cells are heavy and expensive. So where before an SUV was marginally more expensive to make with a wider profit margin, now it’ll also need a bigger battery, which costs way more and comes with greater drawbacks.
Now you’re looking at a vehicle that takes longer to charge, wears through tires faster, costs substantially more to make and is noticeably slower.
Sedans are by far the more efficient form-factor in terms of range, efficiency, cost and performance, and this time there will be no legal-loophole incentives to shove SUV’s at us.
As a former owner of multiple generations of Honda Fit, I’m sad to see the Mirage leaving. Not because I liked the Mirage, but because I love the small hatchback bodystyle and they are continuing to dwindle in numbers.
I have a neighbor who just bought their second Fit. The people that have them love them, and they’ve held their value shockingly well as a result.
I agree, and wish I still had one. It would be awesome if Honda brought the fit back to the US.
Yes and no… the Fit was and is amazing, but the 4th gen axed the manual transmission, which was one of the things that made the Fit so excellent.
True, two out of three of my fits were 5mt sport models, the third was a lx cvt. Guess which one I miss the least!
About a year and a half ago, a dealership gave a friend $16k trade-in value for her Fit. I’d be shocked if it was on the lot for five minutes before it sold.
I have relatives with a 3rd gen Fit sport with a 6MT. That happy little thing is a strong contender for the most fun you can have on the road without breaking the law. It’s not possible to drive it without smiling, and when you need to carry things you fold down the rear seats it does truck stuff better than many trucks on the market. Plus it’s a small, simple Honda which means it gets fantastic mileage and will last forever, and if anything breaks parts are easy and cheap to obtain. 10/10 car, and I’m trying to figure out how to buy it off of them.
They’re going to their carternal rest.
The A/S/RS5 Coupe and Cabriolet going away is a tragedy. They are absolutely stunning perhaps too much for this world. Hot take: The A/S/RS5 silhouette and general shape is what the 6th Camaro should have been.
The S60 is a sad loss too because it truly is an excellent sedan but with no pretensions of sportiness which I admire.
Agree on both counts. The A5 has a fairly clean basic shape that is really attractive, the best looking coupe available in the past 10 years.
While they are beautiful the doors really don’t need to be 95% of the length of both of the sedan doors. The price premium and the manufacturing premium are just too difficult to justify for the decrease in usability that those very long doors offer.
Fisker should just join JLR.
The Edge needed to go. Ford just has too many CUV/SUV in that space. The Explorer and the Bronco and the Edge all have really similar base prices. You can also load up on the options and trims on a Bronco Sport and get to the same place.
If you like sedans, there are already some screaming deals on the Malibu. If you live in Florida, they seem to be selling for $10k under MSRP – as low as $16,995!
Very surprised about the Quadrifoglio’s departing. That sucks because the regular Giulia and Stelvio are pretty meh.
Obviously sad about the Audi coupes leaving as well.
Honestly, couldn’t care less about the TRX or the Titan. I care about them about as much as the Edge or the Forte, and those two are even below the Venza.
BMW 330e for the US is dead. Just as it is getting a bigger battery in Europe.
Yeah, with the death of the 6mt in any 3 but the M3 the 330e was a unique and compelling choice in the small luxury market.
It seems like BMW is phasing out semi affordable PHEVs in the US market. The X3 went away years ago and the new one is not going to offer a PHEV in the US. The X1/assorted Mini platform things aren’t going to offer any hybrids either. If you’ve got cash to burn they’ll gladly sell you an X5, 5 Series, or 7 Series PHEV for $80,000+, but the less expensive ones are all dead.
It’s a bit of a shame. I’ll bet there’s a market for a PHEV luxury sedan in the 40-60,000 range but no one seems to be interested in offering one. They’re all convinced luxury buyers want EVs but that’s not always the case.
We really like our 2021. The wife works a mile from the house, but is also running kids to school and such. 20 miles of range is enough that we only gas up every 5-6 weeks. It seems to get in the low 40’s mpg on the highway too. It’s a nice intersection of efficiency and a great driving car. The awd is nice too. We still have plenty more years to enjoy it.
I’ll say this about the Edge, it came a long way.
I think for me, it’s that it still, a decade later, looks like an SUV version of the final Fusion, a very handsome design; when it first appeared, it was just another anonymous blob crossover…I remember wondering “who’d buy this?”
Sure, it’s not the most attention-grabbing design, but I increasingly like that about it.
I wonder if they’ll be some serious “cash on the hood” deals to move the last of the Edge inventory like there was for the Fusion. Would be tempting indeed…
My wife is in the “should be looking for a new car soonish” range and if we happened across a great deal on an edge it would definitely be a top contender. Maybe not the best vehicle but decent and at this point should be pretty durable. I’ve driven a couple of both generations and they were fine, nothing stood out as being an immediate deal breaker.
My old man has a 2013 Edge in white. It looks more modern than the last gen IMO and it has been dead reliable for him. Only needing oil changes, tires and fuel since he purchased it.
Sure, some painted plastics in the interior look terrible, the Ford logo has peeled away twice and the chrome grille has been tortured by highway driving sand and rocks, but it has been a great car.
My mom is looking at new vehicles, and it’s on her radar for those exact reasons. Though I think she likes the new look of the Escape.
I swear, the peeling Ford logos are like their equivalent of the early 2000s GM trucks/SUVs with burned out DRLs.
IDK, the first generation Edge was more distinctive in my eyes. I can’t unsee it in that press car orange
Most of these cars I’m not particularly disappointed about, though I will miss the F-Type. Jag is hit or miss for me these days, but the F-Type is one that makes me excited whenever I see one on the road.
My granddad had an audi coupe quattro that was probably one my dad’s favorite cars ever, so I’ll say the A5 family dying off probably stings the worst. What’s the point of the Qs selling better than every sedan if they don’t put all that money back into the less successful sedans on the grounds of “because I like them better”?
I’m the saddest specifically for the TRX, because it’s both awesome and perfectly honest in what is and isn’t, and who it’s for and not.
Taking the bigger picture into account though, the loss of the Audi coupes really stings. If even premium German brands can’t make coupes work anymore what hope does anyone else have?
It really does show how tastes have changed, doesn’t it? It was always the Euro luxury stuff that more than anything could reasonably hope to bring out the inner racecar driver in buyers vs. a more practical 4 door, but no more I guess. Seems like the inner outdoorsman (with all the vagueness inherent in that) has won out maybe.
Practicality above all. Function over form. I’m a dad with little kids, I get it. But that doesn’t mean I need to like it.
The market is still getting squeezed, prices are going up and wages are going down. As long as this continues, people will just get the cheapest thing that fits their needs.
Folks can’t afford a second car, or the services/lifestyles that facilitate life with a coupe (such as having large items delivered instead of having to pick them up, or having a stay-home parent instead of daycare). People who REALLY want a sports car are buying a 23-year-old CR-V and a 26-year-old Boxster, not a new A5. The same thing happened in the past, we’re in a new Malaise era that will only end AFTER the market crash that everyone’s been trying to delay/deny for the past decade. When the average person can afford a 2-car garage again, THEN we might see the return of the sports coupe.
Not a word of this is true, though for some reason a small group of people likes to loudly proclaim that it is. The market is near all time highs. Inflation is below the Fed target. Real incomes are at (non-Covid) all time highs. Unemployment is still low, even if up slightly from last year.
People buying new Audis aren’t deciding not to get a coupe because they need furniture delivered.
You’re right that I over-emphasized access to services being a factor. I’m happy to retract that part of my argument.
Bug inflation targets, stock markets and mean incomes don’t mean much to the average person. Real median household income has been declining since 2019, and cost of living has been climbing with or without inflation, particularly housing. It doesn’t particularly matter if the cost of gas, food, cars or anything else stops climbing or even starts going down when rent dominates most budgets and health insurance costs more than a car payment.
The target demographic for sport coupes, younger professionals, have for the most part been facing lower incomes and higher rents, and the ones that could be in the market for a new Audi are saving up for a down-payment on a “starter” house.
Just to clarify, your facts are correct, it’s true that there are many more people seeing improved economical conditions, but most of those people are either well past sports coupe-buying age or well above the income level of a mid-size Audi. Just look at Porsche, they’re making an absolute killing right now.
Of course, outliers and exceptions exist for all the stuff above, I’m talking in general mass-market terms.
I don’t mean to get too into politics of why or who or whatever else, just my 2c about why I think semi-accessible premium coupes are dying.
And finally, I’m not trying to “win” a discussion or anything like that. I respect your views and appreciate all the knowledgeable stuff you’ve said in this site the past couple years. Just sharing my views.
I appreciate your kind words and civil tone, and I agree that some aspects of the cost of living have been increasing more than the broad-based inflation numbers.
The reason I push back so strongly against statements like this one that simply aren’t accurate:
Is because I strongly believe that doomerism about the economy elects the type of people that I don’t like to see elected.
The truth is that median wages (adjusted for inflation), median household income, and wage growth for the lowest income workers are all at or near multidecade or all-time highs. The fact that this seems so poorly understood remains a mystery to me, and a concerning one given the high stakes of this fall’s election.
Actual sources:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA646N
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q
https://www.epi.org/publication/swa-wages-2023/
I definitely see the issue with doomerism, and certainly don’t intend to spread it (though reading my first comment again, I was unwittingly doing just that).
I definitely don’t bring these things up because I think they’re unfixable, on the contrary, I think we can and should fix it, but it’s hard to talk about fixing things without instantly getting political about electing X or voting for Y policy, which is something I try to avoid on civilized parts of the internet. With that in mind, I ended up making half a point with no conclusion.