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: This luxury image would prove vital to sustaining the brand, even through the Great Depression. Only when they began introducing mid-priced vehicles did they run into problems – they simply were unable to compete with the “Big Three” in a mid-priced market. Price wars among the big auto corporations and a dangerous merger with Studebaker drove the independent manufacturer into the ground. Pontiac (1926-2010)
Like many brand names on this list, Pontiac was introduced as a cheaper alternative to a more expensive luxury car. Pioneering leadership in the late 1950s, among them John DeLorean, made the Pontiac into a fast-racing, exciting, muscle and road car. 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.