Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to say goodbye to the many good, bad and amazing cars that died in 2024. Some, like the Nissan GT-R or the Ram Classic, slipped slowly into old age and died surrounded by friends. Others, like the Audi A4 or Infiniti Q50, were unceremoniously slashed from their lineups over the cardinal sin of not being an SUVs. One model died in 2024 from total corporate implosion.
Scroll on through and join me, won’t you, in remember the sports cars, sedans, trucks and SUVs that didn’t make it to the new year.
Audi A4 Sedan, A5 Coupe And A5 Convertible
We lost the Audi A4 sedan along with the two-door A5 coupe and convertible, plus the S5 and the RS5 versions, all at once as Audi spent this summer consolidating its lineup. The new A5 sedan now covers the same territory as the A4 and A5 Sportback did, just without the coupe or convertible options. It’s a bit longer and gets two engine options, a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four and a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6. And if you thought all this line up streamlining would make things less confusing, what Audi calls the A5 sedan is clearly a hatchback. Whatever you want, Audi.
Audi R8
We knew the R8 was going to that great garage in the sky for a while now, but the last one to roll off the production line was in Q1 of 2024, so we’re counting it. What will some future Iron Man drive when Marvel inevitably films a gritty reboot of the entire franchise in one last money grab? Who can say, but it won’t be an R8.
Bugatti Chiron
This one hurts. Now I’ll never own a brand-new Chiron. It took eight years for Bugatti to get through the 500-car run. Pretty good for one of the most expensive new car in the world. The Bugatti Tourbillon takes its place with a V16 hybrid engine rather than the fuel-guzzling W16. Looks like the hippies won.
Chevrolet Malibu
On the opposite side of the ballpark from the Chiron we have everyone’s favorite rental car/sweet 16 present for middle-class kids, the Chevy Malibu. The ’Bu made it to November of 2024, but GM plans to build the new Bolt and the Cadillac XT4 in the Kansas plant, so the Malibu had to go. It was one of the last real car cars, ya know? An affordable entry level sedan is a dying breed indeed.
Fisker Ocean
This is one vehicle where we can’t help but think sometimes it’s OK to go quietly into that good night. You don’t have to do some much raging against the dying of the light. The Ocean failed under a mountain of software problems, quality control issues and bad press. Don’t worry, Henrik Fisker, building cars is hard and ultimately, not for everyone. You can stop trying now.
Ford Edge
Ford made the call last year, but it wasn’t until October of 2024 that the Edge jumped off that cliff into the past. It was old, having a few refreshes since the second generation debuted in 2015, and Ford needs manufacturing room for its new electric future. So, so long Edge. You were the perfect car for fancy Ford Escape shoppers.
Infiniti Q50
Infiniti killed off the last of its non-SUV offerings on my birthday. It’s a present no red-blooded sedan-loving American wants to receive. The Q50 made the scene way back in 2014, and had a lot of success along the way. It got sporty new engines and even talk of taking on Mercedes-AMG or BMW’s M line with a track-attack version, but alas it was not meant to be. Infinit quietly killed off the car in August by just not including it on its future line up.
Basically Every Jaguar
Whether or not you got your feelings hurt by a fluffy pink re-branding of a company you were never going to buy from anyway, you have to admit we lost a lot of Jag models in one fell swoop. That’s the E-Pace, F-Type, I-Pace and XF. That may not seem like all that many models but hey, it’s still more than Chrysler has in its lineup. From here on out, it’s EVs for the automaker. We should definitely see something interesting in 2025. Whether or not those models or their advertising are your personal cup of tea please, rest assured, no one cares.
Lamborghini Huracan
Another car I will never get to own, the Huracan is bowing out at the end of 2024 to make way for a V8 hybrid sports car, the Temerario. As with the passing of the R8, which used the same engine, there’s just not a lot of room in the world for a naturally aspirated V10. Hey, at least Audi didn’t go hog-wild and throw a V6 in there, as Motor1 reports.
Maserati Levante
Am I the only one who kinda forgot this car existed? Well, the answer to that is no, because everyone forgot the Levante existed. That’s why it is not on sale anymore. A sports car SUV seems like such an easy slam dunk thanks to the runaway successes of the Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne. Maserati is a part of the struggling Stellantis brand of course, and reverberations can be felt throughout the company.
Maserati Quattroporte
I didn’t forget about the Quattroporte because how could you, the name has existed since forever. But that staying power won’t help the Quattroporte stay in Maserati’s lineup. We said goodbye to the sixth-generation of a true OG in 2024.
Mini Clubman
We’ve known the Mini Clubman was going to die 2024 for a while now but damn it, that fact doesn’t make it any easier. Mini was busy in 2024 making the last 1,196 Clubman Final Editions. These final Clubmen came with all sorts of unique interior styling based on the original Clubman, which sold from 1969 to 1981.
Mitsubishi Mirage
Now you see it, now you don’t! One of the last sub-$20,000 new cars on the market may seem like an oasis in a wasteland of overpriced cars, but high sales never materialized. Now we have to wave off the last of the truly cheap cars as it rides into the sunset.
Nissan Titan
Making money on a domestically produced pickup truck seems like a no-brainer, but sales never really materialized for the Titan. Even after the brand tried its hand at a heavy duty line, takers remained few. Nissan decided it needed the room at its Canton, Mississippi, for building new EVs.
Nissan GT-R
After 17 years, Godzilla finally gets to rest. Two special models will see the GT-R out the door: the Skyline and Takumi Editions. Both editions will feature that world-shaking twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 making 565 horsepower and 481 pounds-feet of torque.
Ram Classic
Another survivor of 17 years on the scene, Ram killed the Classic version of its Ram 1500 truck earlier in 2024. The truck even received the national spotlight when Vice President-Elect JD Vance accused Vice President Kamala Harris for causing its cancellation. Just two months after the announcement in August, the Classic was done.
Volvo S60
Volvo is going to keep S60 sales going around the world, but here in the U.S., the company needs the manufacturing space at its Ridgeville, South Carolina, plant to build, what else, SUVs! The rest of the world get its S60s from a plant in China, but the company has no plans of importing this proudly sedan-shaped car. Since Volvo predicts there will be plenty of S60s on dealer lots for the 2025 model year, it’s safe to say this one isn’t much of a seller.
