As we come to the end of the 2010s, it's time to re-evaluate and maybe discard some of those things we held dear in the previous decade or to try and better conserve them for future enjoyment. Either way, we can't ignore that time moves on and some things just don't hold the same novelty they once did. Maybe it's time to move on from the studded belts and crocs, a lot like cars that were built for the time but have quickly aged beyond any reasonable justification you could muster to try and save it.
"Out with the old and in with the new" as they say, but if that were the case then we wouldn't have the amazing classics that have been found in long abandoned garages or meticulously preserved to look as they did when new, as hard it may be to predict what is to become a glorified classic among collectors from the everyday cars we see. I want to lend a helping hand to determine what may be worth saving in an effort to enjoy more later on, or what to just get rid of and move on to the 2010s and the options a new passing decade may bring.
From the defunct brands like Pontiac, Hummer, and Saturn that may offer some sort of collectibility, to the everyday car like Aveo, Echo, and Rendezvous that should be put to rest in search of something more modern, reliable, and usable, here's a 25 list of 2000s cars you shouldn't be driving anymore for one reason or another.
25 Pontiac G6
Towards the end of Pontiac's life, the brand released mostly uninteresting models, besides the Solstice Coupe and the GXP trims. According to Autotrader, the final year for Pontiac produced the Vibe and this uninteresting model. The G6 was just another car from GM, it wasn't a Pontiac in the same essence that we understand, but just an a to b roamer, not meant to be fun unless you paid extra for the GXP, leaving all other trims behind it. Don't drive these. They may be the last of a legacy, but they don't have much to show for it.
24 Isuzu VehiCROSS
This oddity may have begun production in the late 90s, but the last model year was in 2001. These are gaining more and more appreciation for how oddly sporty they were. It's a 2-door crossover that isn't the only one of its kind but seems to be the last one to end up in America. The 1990s had a string of 2-door crossovers like the first-gen RAV4 and the Suzuki Sidekick, but this trend ended in America in the early-2000s for the same reason the VehiCROSS got discontinued. Don't drive this one for collectibility, the fewer miles on these the better off you'll be, and with increasing popularity the higher the price will go.
23 Jaguar X-type
Not a bad car by normal standards, but with Ford behind this model it wasn't any surprise they mixed Mondeo parts into it. Made to be an entry-level luxury sedan, the X-Type is largely overshadowed by its competition of the time.
It misses the mark set by BMW's 3-series and Mercedes-Benz's C-class.
These other models are best to look for when pursuing a decent European luxury model. The X-Type is good for luxury on the cheap, but the looks don't give way to how it was built as it looks like a Jaguar, but under the skin it's a little bit of Ford blandness.
22 Chevrolet Cavalier
This one was only made up until 2005, and then in China since 2016 but that's another list. I've had experience with these nothing cars, they're cheap and purpose-built to be just that. Since the very beginning, the Cavalier has been unassuming and largely forgotten. Moving on from these to a Cobalt wouldn't be a large jump, and not an expensive one either as the cars cost around the same price. The only thing that didn't carry onto the Cobalt that may be worth keeping is a convertible Z24, which may be rare to find in good condition, but may lead to cheap open-top fun.
21 Toyota Echo
A simple car for its day, the little Echo is extremely lightweight, which is good for the economy, and with the motor dependability that Toyota is known for, this car will last a while. Why stop driving such a good, simple car then? Well as much as the concept is appealing on paper, the Echo suffers from a little blandness.
It's not tacky nor is it appealing, it just is.
Not to say it was made to stand out among the crowd, but to any car guy, it takes driving one to find the appeal in owning an Echo. At the very least they made a 5-speed version. With the motor from the Tercel, it may be reliable, but you're gonna have to tinker to get some good power out of it. You'd probably be better off moving on and getting something new
20 Pontiac Vibe
This is the “Last of the Mohican” Pontiacs. The Vibe lasted longer than its own maker due to a joint venture with Toyota forcing another production year alongside its Matrix sister (the real last Pontiac was a fleet of white-G6s.) The Vibe wasn't a bad crossover being mostly a Toyota with a Pontiac body on it. The engines were solid, being mainly Corolla motors (to which you can bolt on a TRD supercharger) and an optional AWD system makes this a good car for snow. Praised by critics and buyers, the Vibe may be overlooked, but being one of the last models to come out of Pontiac may raise its value, so it might pay just to keep the miles off.
19 Chrysler PT Cruiser
As we all know, the early-2000s had a retro-trend that picked up and dropped just as quickly. This trend brought the weird Prowler and SSR, but arguably the most successful was the PT Cruiser, with over a million made until the end of its production in 2010.
Since then the PT Cruiser has come under a lot of scrutinies, with Top Gear listing it as the worst model of the past 20 years, with Chrysler coming up 3 times throughout that list.
The PT Cruiser may look strange as well, but the GT version added a more potent motor, making them a little faster and while it may still be getting laughed at, the Turbo GT will be the only trim worth hanging onto.
18 Hummer H2
A Suburban with army inspiration, the H2 was never a decent thing to drive. Overly built with useless design cues that serve no purpose compared to the real utilitarian spec HMMWV, the H2 was meant to carry on the legacy of a heavy-duty factory-built off-roader, and it may have not done as well which can be explained away by not being as purpose-built as the H1. Aesthetically bulky, the mechanical aspect is a little underdeveloped with off-road aspirations being thrown out with a broken tie-rod. These Hummers are not bad, just not thought out, with poor-visibility and no diesel option. Visibility especially is important when designing a truck that's meant to tackle off-roading.
17 Dodge Caliber
As Dodge's follow-up to the Neon, the Caliber was a mislabeled mess, and complaints of being underpowered and under-par handling plague the reputation. Although the base Caliber had more power, the delivery was through a CVT transmission making the car more efficient but losing the performance edge over a base automatic with set gearing.
The SRT4 model is all to often overlooked in favor of the SRT4 Neon that came out about 5 years before.
The SRT4 trim improved drastically over the base model Caliber, with 5-speed and more power output over the Neon making this a guilty pleasure. For this reason, the SRT4 is a keeper and possible future collectible. However, the normal Caliber is forgettable and should be moved on from by now.
16 Chevrolet Aveo
I'm not sure why these came in, were they replacements to the Cavalier or the Metro? I assume the latter considering the Cobalt looks like the Cavalier although an Aveo doesn't look like the Suzuki-based Metro. These cars are known for being “lemons” and anyone who bought one knows now for sure. The Aveo is a product that seems to compete with the Cobalt, and during the 2000s it was losing. Don't drive this car, get a Cobalt or maybe a Cruze if you can find them cheap enough, this car's more of the Chevette of our time.
15 Lexus SC430
This one is regarded as the worst car in history by Jeremy Clarkson, but it's possible the car is bogged down by the same type of automotive bullying that the Chevy Corvair endured in the 1960s. The SC430 isn't a sports car as explained in the by Alex Kersten who proceeds to tell the former hosts of Top Gear off. It's this hatred toward this car that drives its value well below the competitors, making this car easy grabs for now. later on, the model will rise again in appreciation much like the Corvair about 50 years later, so the lower the miles the better off you'll be in the long run.
14 Buick Rendezvous
According to a review in Edmunds, the Rendezvous was supposed to be a luxury sedan/minivan/SUV. As far as every one of these go, it has missed its mark. The Rendezvous isn't very luxurious on the inside with a ride that's under-par to other luxury brands. It also has a fold-down third-row seat that was too small to really be likened to a minivan. The AWD variant added a bit to the Rendezvous formula, making it a capable road holding car in the winter months, but otherwise was useless in any sort of off-road situation. There are much better models that do all of these much better than this Buick ever could.
13 Chrysler 300
Another luxury car from Chrysler and not to mention one of only two models still surviving today under the Chrysler brand, the 300 is meant to be the company's leading model and even though it's still sold today it still suffers from the same things as the Crossfire mentioned earlier. It falls short on the luxury end but makes up a little with the Hemi option. The SRT8 utilized a larger Hemi motor that turned out 425 horsepower, the saving grace of the 300 lineup. Things have changed a lot since 2004, and I think a trade up would suit those well who love 300s.
12 Ford Five Hundred
It's a Taurus. Well at first it was engineered with help from Volvo and sold alongside the S80 sister car. It had "class-leading" trunk space and an overall larger interior according to the people at Motorweek. The Five-Hundred was produced for a few years before being renamed the Taurus in 2008. Why stop driving the Five-Hundred if it's comfortable and safe? Because what the Ford does well the Volvo does better, and the Volvo comes with better brakes and a stability package that wasn't anywhere to be found on the Ford.
11 Bugatti Veyron
Okay, think about this: the Veyron is timeless, leading the hypercar charge with Koenigsegg. The Veyron may have been built with the purpose of speed and to dethrone the McLaren as the fastest car built, but since then it's become a status symbol. you may find a Veyron on the Nurburgring, and the same night finds it cruising the city streets with some rich guy showing off. Now I bet you may still find these monsters at the track, but anyone “who's anyone” will now have a Chiron. So why stop driving the Veyron? Well either because you already bought the next best thing, or to collect it for a better investment.
10 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon
"It's a freaking factory-made hot rod luxury station wagon!" Couldn't have put it better myself. These cars are really unique in a world that seems to be leaning toward crossovers.
This station wagon existed not only with a Corvette ZR1-derived V8, but they could also be had in a six-speed manual!
The amount of people looking for a car like this is very slim, being almost exclusively down to us car freaks who with small families may yearn for a stick-shift station wagon. If you got one of these, hang up the keys when the family is grown up, and don't you dare let little Sally talk you out of them.
9 Pontiac GTO
A rebadged Holden from Australia, the GTO was the first kind of muscle light we've seen from Pontiac since the fall of the Firebird. Although it may be a modern muscle car, it's no less a mislabeled import.
It doesn't show a bit of the heritage that the GTO is known for, being more reminiscent of the 80s GTO trimmed Ventura.
That's not to cut the car down, it's heart is GTO if nothing else. Only a little more than 40,000 were made in the 3-year span starting in 2003. Keep these under wraps to show off at the classic car shows when they'll no doubt be more appreciated in the next decade.
8 Dodge Viper SRT10
The Viper has always been a special kind of breed. Unrestricted, relentless, and maybe a little insane in this world built for safety. The Viper is a common man's supercar if they think a V8 Vette can't quite "wet their whistle." But these are the ones that should be driven as long as you don't slide them off the road, the ACR is the one to keep miles off of. These cars are racing bred bulls that'll take you out if you're not paying enough attention and respect. Nevermind collectibility, leave it alone to look at if you have any doubts about your abilities.
7 Chevrolet Cobalt
The successor to the previously mentioned Cavalier, the Cobalt shows minor improvement in its base model. Being the follow-up to the follow-up of the Vega, not much is to be expected from the Cobalt. It's when you get into the trim options that things start to get interesting, the SS trim more specifically.
Coming in Turbocharged, Supercharged and naturally aspirated, the SS brought the fight to the SRT Neon and SVT Focus in hopped up compact car models.
These SS Cobalts will no doubt grow in value being a part of the tuner car trend that spread worldwide 15 years ago or so. Though this trend still survives in part today, the people who were inspired by it will be looking for these compact factory-tuned rockets.
6 Chrysler Crossfire
Often likened to a dog squatting, the Crossfire isn't as desirable as the SLK upon which it was based. Chrysler has had this problem a lot as of late, with a lack of genuine luxury in their cars compared to the competition of Mercedes, Cadillac, and Lexus. As unique as it is, it's very unpleasant to drive if you're looking for anything comfortable, and when it comes to a sense of sportiness the SRT6 (The only V6 SRT model built) will add a supercharger, a stiffened suspension, and some styling bits, but it still fails to meet what you can buy for the same price. The Crossfire is a handsome car but its manners are left at the door once you step in.