Cars are a part of the fabric of our lives, so it’s natural to wonder about the fate of those that seem to have disappeared without a trace. Sometimes that happens when a particular model is just all wrong for the times – a huge V8 powered American coming to market during the early 1970s oil crisis (and there were a lot of those) would have been about as welcome as ants at a picnic. Others slink off the stage because they just weren’t any good from the outset, either lacking build quality, adequate performance, reliability or just plain good looks. That last point is more important than people realize – if a car is a real looker, people will forgive all sorts of shortcomings to be seen at the wheel.

Some of those cars that disappeared, though, were actually good but fell victim to changes in regulation. Dodge’s Lil’ Red Truck, for example, was a prime example that, in 1978, had the performance to leave a Corvette in its dust. That was partly because a loophole in emissions regulations meant the truck didn’t need to use catalytic converters, thus allowing its big V8 to breathe more freely and produce more power. It was gone by the end of 1979. Others failed because they were way before their time, such as GM’s EV1 pure electric car. More than 20 years ago, GM concluded the market for such cars was too small, and so nearly all existing examples were sent to the crusher. Today, of course, virtually every single manufacturer offers an electric vehicle.

25 FORGOTTEN GM: 1996 GM EV1

via hotcars.com

Forget about Tesla, GM was the first manufacturer to put a pure electric car into mass production, and that was over twenty years ago. It was judged not profitable enough to survive. The brilliantly designed EV1, though, was the most aerodynamic car in the world at the time. It was also really good to drive, quiet at speed with good performance and a smooth, compliant ride.

It was also hugely controversial because GM eventually scrapped the car, crushing all examples, ignoring impassioned pleas from happy EV1 drivers – owners could only lease the car. Lessees were not given the option to purchase their cars from GM, which cited parts, service, and liability regulations. Even so, conspiracy theories flourished, which spawned a documentary titled "Who Killed The Electric Car?"

24 FORGOTTEN GM: 1982 Cadillac Cimarron

via bestcarmag.com

Here was a car that embodied everything that a Cadillac wasn't. In order to woo buyers who were increasingly turning to more compact European luxury brands, GM rushed out the Cimarron in 1982.

Based on the Chevrolet Cavalier, the Cimarron was the smallest Cadillac in history, and it was also front-wheel drive.

It didn't end well. Famous automotive journalist Dan Neil included the Cimarron in his 2007 list of Worst Cars of all Time, saying "everything that was wrong, venal, lazy, and mendacious about GM in the 1980s was crystallized in this flagrant insult to the good name and fine customers of Cadillac." Cadillac recovered from this debacle, but only just.

23 FORGOTTEN GM: Chevrolet Greenbrier

via corvair society of america

The Greenbrier came at a time when Chevrolet was at its most innovative. Based on the Corvair, this funky looking van featured a flat-six, air-cooled engine slung out the back, just like a Porsche 911. The Greenbrier, which is quite collectible now, came with a variety of bodies on the Corvair rear-engine chassis, including a clever pickup truck with a side opening ramp, a motorhome version, and a workhorse windowless van.

Made from 1961 to 1965, the van couldn't compete with cheaper alternatives from Ford and Dodge, so Chevy gave up on the Greenbrier. Also, the Corvair concept was well and truly thrown out when campaigner Ralph Nader published his book, "Unsafe At Any Speed."

22 FORGOTTEN GM: 1976 Cadillac Mirage

via carguychronicles.com

There is no automotive form that more accurately describes the American character than a pickup truck. The Ford F150 is still the best selling vehicle in North America, and pickups are celebrated for their can-do attitude, ruggedness, tough build quality, and adventurous spirit.

But over the decades, pickups haven’t exactly been known for being at the pinnacle of luxury and prestige.

Well, that changed in the mid-1970s when custom-house Traditional Coach Works in California began producing the Cadillac Mirage, which was effectively a pickup fashioned from a Cadillac Coupe de Ville. While not quite officially endorsed, these Caddies were actually sold via official Cadillac dealers. The de Ville hauler came complete with all the Cadillac bells and whistles, including that massive 8.2 liter V8. And there are still a number of them around – it’s estimated that some 240 were built.

21 FORGOTTEN GM: 1970 Chevrolet Vega

via hemmings.com

The Chevrolet Vega was a prime example of a bad car finally abandoned by disappointed owners. Launched in 1970, the Vega had at least a good-looking profile against competition such as the Ford Pinto. It also looked more substantial than the Japanese competitors beginning to make inroads in the American market.

So in the beginning, the Vega actually sold well. But that wasn’t to last. It was a car built to a low price, so corners were cut. For example, the body’s sheet metal was thinner than usual and Vegas were very prone to rust – there are stories of Vegas just two years old needing replacement fenders. The engine, with a weedy 80hp, was also prone to overheating and gasket failure, which could and did kill engines. By 1977, the Vega was history.

20 FORGOTTEN GM: 2004 GMC Envoy XUV

via bestcarfinder

The GMC Envoy XUV is perhaps best viewed as the answer to a question nobody asked. It’s a five-passenger vehicle that attempted to crossbreed a pickup truck with a conventional SUV. Its party trick was a retractable rear roof section that could be slid forward providing an open-topped cargo area in the rear of the truck.

The Envoy also employed a "midgate" that could be raised to partition the cargo area completely from the passenger compartment. The cargo area was also waterproofed and featured a drainage system so you could just hose it down for cleaning. That’s kind of cool.

But the Envoy XUV was compromised as a pickup because the cargo area was so small, and equally compromised as an SUV thanks to the absence of the third row of seats. It survived just two years, bowing out in 2005.

19 FORGOTTEN GM: 1975 Chevrolet Chevette

via hemmings.com

The Chevrolet Chevette was launched at a time when subcompact cars from Europe and Japan were poised to make a huge impact on the American market. Compared to competition such as the front-drive Honda Civic and Volkswagen Rabbit, the Chevette was hopelessly outclassed, with archaic suspension, rear-wheel drive and an almost comically underpowered four-cylinder engine producing a meager 53hp. The Chevette did, though, help Chevrolet meet its fleet gas mileage targets mandated by the government.

The Chevette’s appeal was strictly based on its bargain-basement pricing, so its sales were healthy enough to keep it going until 1987, at which point Chevrolet adopted badge-engineered Suzukis and Isuzus as its least expensive entry-level models. That’s a lot cheaper than developing your own subcompact model.

18 FORGOTTEN GM: 1964 GM Runabout Concept

via autoclassics.com

GM explored the concept of a three-wheeled vehicle designed to be super economical to buy and run. The Runabout made its debut at General Motors Futurama Exhibit in 1964 at the New York World’s Fair.

The Runabout featured a front wheel that could turn through 180 degrees, giving it a spectacularly tight turning circle.

GM said the concept had room for two adults up front and three small children in the back. One of its more quirky elements were the two detachable shopping carts with wheels that folded away when the carts were docked in the rear of the Runabout. The concept, which didn’t specify a powertrain, disappeared after the World’s Fair.

17 FORGOTTEN GM: 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Diesel

via wheelsage.com

When America faced yet another oil crisis in the late 1970s, GM rushed out what it thought was the answer – a hastily designed V8 diesel that would combine the power to move big, luxury cars with the fuel consumption of something much smaller. The result was an unmitigated disaster.

GM rolled out its 5.7-liter V8 for its large Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Buick luxury cars. The engine delivered awful performance, unrefined manners and worst of all, unreliability on a huge scale. Engines overheated, head gaskets blew and engines also seized. The long-term result, which persists to this day, is a deep mistrust of diesel power for cars in the minds of consumers. This is a shame because modern diesels are as refined, smooth and powerful as their gas-engine counterparts.

16 FORGOTTEN GM: 1975 Chevrolet Monza

via favcars

The Chevrolet Monza was, basically, a Chevrolet Vega wearing a fancier suit of clothes. Truth be told, it was a good-looking thing but underneath, it was still based on what was a pretty awful car.

Like its sibling Vega, the base model was woefully underpowered – GM tried to address this by offering a V8, a rarity in the small-car class.

The Monza was offered in either hatchback or traditional coupe form, and sales were split evenly between the two. Interestingly, the Monza was initially intended to receive a revolutionary Wankel rotary engine, but this plan was dropped because of emissions-compliance and fuel economy concerns. After a run of just six years, the Monza was dropped.

15 FORGOTTEN GM: 2005 Saab 9-2X Aero

via carspecs

Nope, this isn’t a misprint. In 2000, Saab became a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors. GM also had a 20% stake in Subaru’s parent company, and so the idea of fusing Saab brand identity with Subaru’s giant-killing Impreza came to be. The Saab 9-2X went on sale in 2005

With cosmetic modifications to make the nose and tail of the Subaru more Saab-like, GM created a car that would provoke countless double-takes as observers with a little car knowledge wondered what that Subaru was doing with a Saab nose. And it was a rather good car, too, with all the drivability of the all-wheel drive Subaru, but with more noise and ride refinement that you’d expect in a Saab. Sadly, the 9-2X’s run lasted just two years, perhaps because of its confused brand identity.

14 FORGOTTEN GM: 1988 Pontiac Le Mans

via yandex.com

As badge-engineering exercises go, this one wasn’t so good. In the late 1980s, Pontiac was importing South Korean built Daewoos based on a German Opel Kadett design. Once stateside, they received the Pontiac badge and logo, but were as far removed from the original Pontiac Le Mans as that French town is from Seoul.

Simply put, these were poorly built, slow, awkwardly styled cars.

The only reason buyers would choose one over, say, a vastly superior Toyota Corolla is that the Pontiac would have been thousands cheaper. At this point, it bears pointing out that South Korean cars can now comfortably hold their own with European and Japanese competitors. That just wasn’t the case 30 years ago.

13 FORGOTTEN GM: 1988 Pontiac Banshee Concept

via carstyling

While a great many concept cars are just luridly shaped clay models, the 1988 Pontiac Banshee had the feel of a properly thought out prototype. The body, for example, was a fiberglass skin stretched over a tubular frame. Under the hood was a 4.0-liter double-overhead-cam aluminum V8 with a novel integrated block and head design, which needed no gaskets. The swooping bodywork also did away with such annoying details as door handles and rear view mirrors. The headlights were also concealed.

It was a stunning show car, but the job of any concept is to test public reaction to new styling directions. The Banshee did just that, previewing styling treatments, particularly at the front and rear, that would emerge on the 1993 production versions of the Pontiac Firebird.

12 FORGOTTEN GM: 2006 GM Ecojet

via supercars.net

Looking like a small boy’s fantasy of a supercar, the GM Ecojet’s sensational styling gives a hint of its potential. It combines fighter jet cues with Buck Rogers futuristic touches. This stunning supercar is the result of collaboration between talk-show supremo Jay Leno and GM’s Advanced Design Studio.

The concept uses a gas turbine normally found in helicopters to generate a huge 650hp to drive the rear wheels through an automatic transmission. As a nod toward its name, the Ecojet effectively runs on refined cooking oil, which explains the French fry odor as it passes by. It rides on a modified Corvette ZO6 aluminum frame and the bodywork is a lightweight combination of carbon fiber and Kevlar. And it is fully functional and is used at car shows and exhibitions.

11 FORGOTTEN GM: 2000 Pontiac Aztek

via platesmania.com

The Pontiac Aztek is undoubtedly most famous for its starring role in the hit series Breaking Bad as the ride for archetypal loser Walter White. By any measure, the Aztek is a disaster of design. In a straw poll of car designers at Geneva Motor Show some years ago, a majority said the Aztek was the one car they were relieved to have had nothing to do with.

Indeed, the Aztek combines discordant body lines with plainly awkward dimensions.

As ugly as it was, the Aztek did actually feature some neat touches and was a fairly practical car under all that ugly. It offered an optional tent and inflatable mattress with an air compressor for camping in the back of it, and its Pioneer stereo had controls at the rear of the car for tailgate parties. The Aztek even offered a center console that doubled as a removable cooler.

10 FORGOTTEN DODGE: 1955 Dodge La Femme

via autoweek.com

It has long been accepted in the industry that women are a crucial factor when it comes to deciding car choice – salesmen patronize these customers at their peril. It has not always been that way. Back in the mid-1950s, American carmakers were touting features like power steering, automatic transmissions, and brakes as a boon to female drivers.

Dodge went even further in 1955, offering a car built specifically for women. The Dodge La Femme was offered exclusively in heather rose and sapphire white, a theme that carried over to the interior with color matching fabrics. And taking things even further, the interior was equipped with a pink raincoat and hat, an umbrella and a shoulder bag stuffed with a compact, lipstick, a lighter and a cigarette case. Dodge gave up this shtick in 1957.

9 FORGOTTEN DODGE: 1978 Dodge Lil' Red Truck

via dodge

This extraordinary 1978 pick-up truck sported red paint with gold details and, unusually, twin big-rig style functional exhausts stacks. And the flashy truck wasn't just a boulevard queen, it was also blindingly quick and could smoke a Corvette of the same year. That was mainly because a gap in EPA regulations meant it didn't have catalytic converters.

And its engine was a 360c.i. V8 with about 225hp, which was a lot in 1978.

But the EPA caught up with the loophole that allowed Dodge to dodge the emissions rules, so the Lil’ Red Truck was not built beyond the end of 1979. Today, it remains a sought-after collectible, and there are also plenty of clones around, so beware if you’re in the market.

8 FORGOTTEN DODGE: 1978 Dodge Challenger

via classiccars.com

Many of us will remember the cult movie Vanishing Point, which starred a fierce looking 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440. Well, eight years later the car wearing that badge was neither quick nor particularly fierce, thanks largely to oil embargoes and a move away from gas guzzlers. The '78 Challenger was actually a Mitsubishi with a bit of badge engineering, which was a common way for domestic makers to cheaply put more fuel-efficient cars on the road.

The second-generation Challenger was much smaller than the original, and where mighty V8s had lived before, there were now four-cylinder power plants of 1.6 and 2.6-liters. But the ’78 Challenger wasn’t a bad car, with agility and in 2.6-guise, a turn of performance.

7 FORGOTTEN DODGE: 1982 Dodge Charger

via bringatrailer.com

Just as Dodge revived the Challenger nameplate for a new, frugal age, so did the company revive the Charger nameplate. No longer equipped with fire-breathing Hemi V8s, the flagship performance Charger in the early 1980s was the Dodge Shelby Charger.

Carroll Shelby had made a name turning ordinary Mustangs into super-performance hotrods. And so Dodge asked him to work his magic on the Charger.

Tough brief, that one. Unlike the earlier Chargers, Shelby was working with a lowly 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine with just 94hp on a front-drive platform. So to eke out what performance he could, Shelby’s operation increased the compression ratio, opened up the exhaust for better breathing and added hot camshafts. This upped power to 107hp and top speed to 117mph. For the era, these weren’t bad numbers.

6 FORGOTTEN DODGE: 1986 Dodge Omni GLHS

via motor1.com

Although tuning genius Carroll Shelby didn’t have so much to work with on the Shelby Charger, he was able to turn up the wick much more substantially with the Omni GLHS, which was an evolution of the Omni GLH, a car that boasted a decent 146hp. Amusingly, the GLH initial stands for ‘Goes Like Hell’, so when the even more powerful GLHS emerged with 175hp, Shelby dubbed it "Goes Like Hell Some More."

The GLHS was a great halo car for Dodge, arguably the first domestic manufacturer to bring a front-drive small car to the mass market. And the GLHS was a seriously quick piece, with a 0-60mph sprint in just 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 130mph. That made it quicker than contemporary Mustangs, Camaros, and even Corvettes. The GLHS, though, only lived for two years.