Title: 14 Defunct Car Brands and Why they Failed
Headings: Defunct Car Brands
Defunct Car Brands
Studebaker (1852-1966)
Oldsmobile (1897-2004)
Packard (1899-1958)
Pontiac (1926-2010)
DeSoto (1928-1961)
Plymouth (1928-2001)
Mercury (1938-2011)
Tucker (1944-1950)
Kaiser-Frazer (1945-1951)
American Motors Corporation (AMC) (1954-1988)
Edsel (1957-1959)
DeLorean (1975-1982)
Saturn (1985-2010)
Hummer (1992-2010)
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Content: Fuel shortages and safety concerns curbed this image in the 1970s and 80s, resulting in a slow decline until GM’s 2008 Chapter 11 reorganization. DeSoto (1928-1961)
DeSoto was created by Chrysler as a mid-priced model, but was doomed to failure almost immediately. Chrysler’s purchase of Dodge happened not long after DeSoto’s founding, and DeSoto found itself competing with its own sister in the mid-priced market. In an effort to boost Dodge sales, Chrysler attempted to remake DeSoto as an upper-mid-priced car in 1933. Repeated mismanagement by Chrysler and the 1958 recession would eventually put DeSoto to bed. Plymouth (1928-2001)
Chrysler introduced Plymouth as a low-cost alternative to its other cars. Its high-flying and futuristic design kept the brand strong in the 1950s and 60s, but “badge-engineering,” or slapping the Plymouth label on other Chrysler products, destroyed this identity in the 1990s. The Chrysler Prowler and PT Cruiser were planned as Plymouths – a way to recapture an old, original spirit – but Plymouth was shuttered before their release. Mercury (1938-2011)
Mercury was a mid-priced car at its introduction, designed to be an affordable medium between the cheaper Ford models and the luxury Lincoln line. As sales slumped in the mid-1940s, Lincoln and Mercury merged.