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10 failed automobile manufacturers

Throughout the past century, we’ve seen the evolution of the automobile as we know it. As we progressed into the post-war era in the 1950s, companies like Packard faded from existence as companies like General Motors and Ford reigned supreme. Unfortunately, by the late 1990s, most of the companies on this list were extinct. Whether a result of being driven out of the industry, financial mismanagement or simply poor design, no one can deny that these automotive manufacturers gave it their all.

(Ranked by user votes) Vote on and review the contenders below.

Well known for being the "Back to the Future" car, the DeLorean DMC-12 was quite a distinct car for its time. The company did not last long, however, with rumors of the auto giants like GM and Ford pushing John DeLorean out of the business.

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DeLorean Motor Company (DMC-12). more...

(votes: +21)

2 comments »

The Triumph Motor Company is a defunct British motor manufacturer. The Triumph marque is currently owned by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann (1863-1951) and Moritz (Maurice) Schulte from Germany founded Bettmann & Co and started selling Triumph bicycles from premises in London and from 1889 started making their own machines in Coventry, England.

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Triumph Motor Company (TR3). more...

(votes: +11)

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Datsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1983 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. took control of DAT Motorcar Co., the last syllable of Datson was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "loss" (損) in Japanese. The Datsun brand was discontinued in March 1986.

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Datsun (240Z). more...

(votes: +8)

8 comments »

Oldsmobile was a brand of automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory. When it was phased out, Oldsmobile was the oldest surviving American automobile marque, and one of the oldest in the world, after Daimler and Peugeot.

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Oldsmobile (Super 88). more...

(votes: +5)

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The Bricklin SV-1 was a gull-wing door sports car assembled in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Manufactured from 1974 until early 1976 for the U.S. market, the car was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin, a Jewish American millionaire who had previously founded Subaru of America. Due to Bricklin's lack of experience in the auto industry, coupled with the fact that the cars were not properly designed or engineered, the Bricklin factory was not able to produce vehicles fast enough to make a profit. As a result, only 2,854 cars were built before the company went into receivership, owing the New Brunswick government $23 million.

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Bricklin (SV-1). more...

(votes: +4)

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American Motors Corporation (AMC) was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history, valued at US$198 million ($1.44 billion in 2006 dollars). When declining sales and the competitiveness of the United States auto market forced AMC to seek a partner in the late 1970s, the company formed an alliance with France's Renault. This lasted until March 2, 1987, when the Chrysler Corporation bought out AMC.

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American Motors Corporation (Rambler). more...

(votes: +4)

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Packard was an American luxury automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899 and the last in 1958.

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Packard Motor Car Company (Second Series 243 Touring). more...

(votes: +3)

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Eagle was a marque of the Chrysler Corporation following the purchase of American Motors Corporation (AMC) and aimed at the enthusiast driver. The most popular model was the Talon, which was essentially a Mitsubishi Eclipse.

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Eagle (Talon TSi AWD). more...

(votes: +2)

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Geo was a brand of small cars and SUVs marketed by General Motors as a subdivision of their Chevrolet division, introduced in 1989 and discontinued in 2004. Their original slogan was "Get to know Geo."

(votes: -1)

Plymouth (founded 1928 - dissolved 2001) was a marque of automobile based in the United States, marketed by the Chrysler Corporation and DaimlerChrysler. From the early 1980s on, most Plymouths were spin-offs of other Chrysler or Dodge vehicles.

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Plymouth (Prowler). more...

(votes: -3)

2 comments »

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