2011: The Thinning of the Herd, and why I’m so happy some cars are going away.

Sorry, Gramps. They don’t make it anymore.

This year, a pretty significant number of cars are hitting their last year of production, or are officially dead. A good number of these models should have been dumped eons ago, and others don’t deserve to die. Here’s a few of my thoughts on some of the cars that are either dead or dying. To make life easier, I’ll group them by brand or by configuration. I’m not sad to see most of them go, but I am sad to see one or two in particular go away.

With the Lucerne gone, Buick will make the LaCrosse its flagship–a much more fitting car to the title. The Lucerne is based on a flea-bitten platform and should have been dumped long ago.

Buick Lucerne/Cadillac DTS/STS: I’m grouping these together because the DTS and Lucerne share some parts, and because the STS and DTS are being discontinued for the same reason. The Northstar engine, a Cadillac trademark, has ended production due to the inability of GM to make it suitable for impending emissions regulations. The Lucerne, meanwhile, has been dropped due to slow sales and a lack of room in Buick’s lineup. The Lacrosse portrays a much more youthful and upscale image for the brand, something the Lucerne couldn’t do with its old-man image. I’m quite happy all three are dying this year, because they’re all representative of the Old GM, and are therefore inferior, noncompetitive, unimaginative dreck. Years behind their competition, none of these cars has much of a chance in today’s market.

While a better car than the DTS, the STS still fell short of its European rivals, and with its Northstar engine out of production, the STS pales in comparison to its younger, stronger brother, the CTS. Expect a replacement coming soon in the form of the XTS (to replace this and the DTS).

Ford Panther chassis: This covers the Crown Victoria and the Lincoln Town Car. Neither car was really going to last much longer, and Ford could have kept producing these two dinosaurs. I’m not happy that they’re killing the Panther, but it needed to happen, as Ford can’t really keep them relevant anymore.

Quick, name a car that’s so bad, it’s not even worth renting. If you guessed the Caliber, you get a cookie. What a joke of a car. Some say that an Alfa Romeo-sourced replacement is on the way.

Dodge Caliber: Wait…this is still around? Dodge should never have built it. The Caliber’s been the butt of almost every joke in the automotive world since its 2006 launch, and even the Neon looks like a smash-hit next to this. It’s scheduled to stop production around November, but its cousin, the Jeep Compass, will continue, as its facelift and mechanical updates have given it a new lease on life. According to various sources, an Alfa Romeo Guiletta-based replacement will show up in the not-too-distant future.

2011 was the final year for the RX-8. That’s a big shame, because it’s a car that could have easily been improved, but for some reason, was left alone.

Mazda RX-8: This is a shame. The RX-8 has its flaws, but because Mazda can’t afford to get the rotary engine up to new emissions standards worldwide, it can’t keep building the RX-8. A replacement is said to be on the way. Meanwhile, Nick’s written a piece on the RX-8 and the death of the rotary–check it out to learn more about why Mazda isn’t keeping the RX-8 around.

Even a scooter will beat an Aveo in a drag race. This car is the word “pathetic” on four wheels.

Chevrolet Aveo: This is finally getting replaced by the new Sonic, a welcome change, considering just how much of a stinker the Aveo is. I’ll be glad to see it get a pink slip. Based on an older Daewoo design (never a good idea), the Aveo was a cheap way for GM to get into the small-car market. No intelligent person would bother with one, so GM’s doing the right thing by giving us a new small car.

It’s a shame that Volvo is dumping their entry level sedan and wagon, but sales of it haven’t been great for some time.

Volvo S40/V50: With the Ford Focus getting a redesign, this Volvo, based on the previous “C1” platform, was out of date, and Volvo will probably not try to bring back an entry-level sedan, as these were selling in fewer and fewer numbers. It is a shame that Volvo is reducing its model range, but at least they still have the slick little C30.

The Eclipse is one of the biggest examples of a letdown that I can think of, and Mitsubishi has been beating this dead horse for far too long.

Mitsubishi Eclipse: If you’re crying over this, then that’s a big surprise. The Eclipse, at this point is like Elvis in his later days–overweight, irrelevant, and a bit of an also-ran in its market. With the Eclipse lacking any real credibility, Mitsubishi is killing it, if only a few years too late. The act of dumping AWD and the turbo engine (its two selling points) sealed its fate back in 2001, so I’m still wondering why they kept it in production for so long.

Overall, there’s some cars that are getting redone, some that are getting replaced, and some that are going away. The only car that I’m really sad to see go is the Mazda RX-8, as I think that Mazda could work harder to get the rotary engine design up to modern emissions standards. The Panther’s past its prime, and so is the Mitsubishi Eclipse. The others? Well, I won’t miss them when they’re gone, either.

-Al