The car industry is an unforgiving world. One day a brand can be on top of the world and the next one it can end up in oblivion. There are currently hundreds of automakers in the current market, however, some iconic ones have been lost over the years.
It is always a tragic event when a top-notch brand reaches the end of its life. The causes can be multiple: from losing the spark that made the models they produced unique to making arguably bad financial decisions. However, one thing is certain: brands might cease to operate but the iconic models that they have created will be remembered for ages.
10 Autobianchi
This manufacturer is little known outside of Italy and for many people, this is the first time they hear about it. However, Autobianchi for Italians is something very special with a huge fan base. They built cars from 1955 until 1995 and they created some unique models that have become highly popular in Italy.
Among them, there is the Bianchina, which was a tiny 2-door convertible, and the A112 which was a compact front-wheel-drive car that could be highly modified into a mean racing car.
9 Oldsmobile
This American icon is one of the first car manufacturers to ever exist as it started producing vehicles in 1897 but unfortunately, it was discontinued by General Motors in 2004 after sales have been dropping for over a decade. Renewed competition, from Japanese and other GM brands, was the main cause behind the downfall of the brand.
However, between the 1960s and 1980s, Oldsmobile lived a truly golden era where it was the third most sold brand behind Ford and Chrysler. Some of their models have become icons that will never be forgotten such as their great muscle car, the 442.
8 AMC
The American Motor Corporation ceased operations in 1988 but not before producing some great AMC models. The downfall of this brand was due to the fact that it was in a market that was dominated by the Big Three from Detroit (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler).
The automaker had a discrete success in the '60s, however, just a decade later AMC was losing millions of dollars each year. Their AMX was a great muscle car that never really peaked in sales even though it was powered by a beefy 6.8-liter V8 that offered great performance at an affordable price.
7 Triumph
There are very few brands that have created an insane quantity of beautiful cabriolet and Triumph is clearly one of them. The automaker started producing cars in the United Kingdom in 1885 until the brand ceased operations in 1984.
The rights for the name Triumph are now owned by BMW, which bought the Rover Group in 1994. This legendary brand gave birth to absolute beauties such as the Spitfire and the TR6. One of the reasons behind the disappearance of this brand is due to the bad reputations of the cars as they were deemed highly unreliable.
6 Pontiac
The brand was in production from 1926 until 2010 when it followed the same destiny of Oldsmobile as it was discontinued by General Motors. The vehicles produced by Pontiac can be divided into two categories: everything before the 2000s and everything after. Because, even though they might share the same logo, they have nothing in common.
In the 60s they produced the fantastic GTO, in the 70s the cool Grand Ville, and in the '80s, the mighty Firebird. However, after the 2000s, the American company build some of the ugliest models ever seen on the road, such as the Pontiac Aztek.
5 Ascari
The English brand took the name from legendary Formula 1 driver Alberto Ascari, who won two world championships in the 1950s with Scuderia Ferrari. The name was not as casual as the company produced high-performance cars. It had a very brief life as it built cars only from 1995 to 2010.
Their debut car was the Ascari Escosse, which was powered by a 4.7-liter V8 engine that produced an amazing 400 horsepower and could reach a top speed of 200 mph. The small manufacturer had to cease operation before being able to produce their last model the A10.
4 Plymouth
Plymouth is one of those brands that throughout the years completely lost its identity and went from creating unique models to building tasteless cars. The brand was in production from 1928 to 2001 when Chrysler decided to discontinue the brand.
Plymouth was once known in the '50s for making cars with endless curves and in the '6os to for their beastly muscle cars, towards the end of the 80s and early 90s started to produce vehicles that were far less than memorable. They were basically just building Dodge cars under a different emblem.
3 DMC
Can a brand make only one model in its entire history and be considered one of the greatest automakers that do not exist anymore? The quick answer is yes, if they have built one of the most iconic and recognizable cars in the history of the automotive industry.
The Delorean Motor Company existed only from 1981-1983 and sold about 9000 Deloreans. The car was the brainchild of legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. Even though it was extremely expensive and not very fast due to its weight, it became an absolute icon after it was used in the trilogy of movies Back to the Future.
2 SAAB
The great Swedish brand produced cars from 1945 until 2012, when General Motor, who bought the automaker in 1989, discontinued production. Saab was also an aerospace company and in its first few years, the influence from that division was visible in their models such as the Urusab 92.
However, in 1979 they created their best seller: the 900 Turbo. It was an absolute hit because the swedes turbocharged a car that was meant for everyday use, creating an affordable and super performant vehicle that simply did not exist in the market at that time.
1 De Tomaso
This is the one brand that everyone wants back as the cars they built were simply unbelievable. The automaker was founded in 1959 and it was liquidated in 2004 following the death of its founder Alejandro de Tomaso in 2003.
The company created a supercar with arguably one of the best names ever, Pantera (Panther). It was powered by a fantastic 4.9-liter V8 that produced 330 horsepower and could reach a top speed of 180 mph. This absolute icon was in production for over 20 years.