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Keep in mind when Backstreet Boys offered 24 million copies of a single album — again when MTV truly had music movies? Or when everybody wished to go to Hogwarts — earlier than we actually knew the lady behind the phrases? The tough actuality is that issues come and go, even issues we swore would at all times be there. Issues we didn’t need to ever lose.
The automotive panorama is plagued by acquainted nameplates that when packed showrooms however now struggle for each sale. Some are area of interest darlings, others fallen giants, but all share the identical uneasy destiny: dwindling lineups, razor-thin margins, and a fan base that’s growing old quicker than their merchandise. Earlier than you write them off fully and swap your ‘Save the Whales’ bumper sticker for a ‘Save the Jaguars’ one, right here’s a more in-depth take a look at the ten marques clinging to relevance, and why their subsequent few mannequin years may very well be make or break.
By no means Gonna Give You Up
For this assortment of endangered carmakers, we targeted on mainstream and luxurious manufacturers nonetheless stubbornly doing enterprise in the USA, regardless of clear indicators of misery. Consider it as an automotive intervention. Some manufacturers, like Suzuki, Peugeot, and Isuzu, have already left the U.S. market, however these are those that don’t appear to be giving up the Land of the Free simply but.
We seemed for steep two-year gross sales drops (as a result of a one-off unhealthy quarter can occur to anybody, even Porsche), publicly acknowledged monetary hassle (no, denying it in a press launch doesn’t depend as fixing it), a shrinking or embarrassingly outdated product portfolio ( you, manufacturers nonetheless peddling sedans from 2008), or an introduced “reinvention” that’s generated extra press releases than precise gross sales quantity.
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi continues to be technically within the sport, however the model’s U.S. presence is thinner than a worn-out set of all-season tires. Keep in mind the times of the Evo tearing up rally phases and the 3000GT being a Japanese tech marvel? Yeah, me neither, apparently. Their present lineup feels extra dated than making an attempt to entry AOL chat rooms on dial-up web.
Whereas the Outlander is placing in some severe time beyond regulation making an attempt to hold the entire rattling group, it’s dealing with powerful odds in a aggressive SUV market — it’s simply not sufficient. Dealerships are scaling down quicker than a untimely balding sample, and model recognition amongst anybody beneath 40 is fading quicker than a foul tattoo. So yeah, Mitsubishi is like your uncle who’s final to depart after the BBQ winds down.
Positive, gross sales have been truly up 25.8% in 2024 to 109,843 models (their greatest efficiency since 2019), which is a commendable bounce again from their 2023 determine of 74,387. However let’s be actual, that’s probably a short-term sugar rush, not a sustainable pattern. In a crowded SUV market the place everybody and their cousin has a crossover, Mitsubishi is struggling to face out. It’s like bringing a boring knife to a gunfight. Nonetheless, that surprising uptick reveals there’s a faint pulse, a flicker of hope. Possibly they’ll resurrect the Evo as an EV crossover? Simply kidding. Until?
Fiat
Fiat claims a whopping 153% gross sales “surge” for 2024, which sounds spectacular till you understand that’s off a base so micro, it makes a Good automobile seem like a Suburban. We’re speaking 2024 gross sales of only a few thousand models, up from a paltry 605 automobiles nationwide in 2023. It’s sorta just like the time I used to be thought of engaging at a Walmart — context issues.
The lovable however growing old 500e is again because the lineup’s sole headliner, changing the 500X, which quietly pale away. Even Stellantis executives, normally masters of company spin, are tempering expectations, framing Fiat as a distinct segment electrical “assertion” slightly than a quantity play. It’s a brand-building gesture geared toward millennials who adore retro Instagram vibes greater than precise showroom visits.
With out seller funding or contemporary SUVs, its U.S. presence feels extra like an automotive artwork set up than a viable enterprise. That mentioned, 2024’s shocking gross sales soar proves there’s nonetheless a sliver of curiosity left for the little Italian toaster. Apparently, some individuals simply can’t resist a automobile that appears prefer it’s perpetually observing you.
Alfa Romeo
Ah, Alfa Romeo. The model that proves ardour alone doesn’t pay the payments. Their styling is sharper than a contemporary razor blade, and the dealing with will make you overlook your mortgage fee, however that hasn’t translated into precise traction. Alfa managed simply 8,857 U.S. gross sales in 2024, a drop from 10,898 in 2023, proving that beauty don’t equal good gross sales when your lineup is thinner than a McDonald’s patty.
Company father or mother Stellantis says the junior Tonale and forthcoming “Junior” child SUV (sure, they named a automobile “Junior”) will repair every little thing, however insiders whisper that Alfa must show its price quicker than a red-hot Giulietta on a mountain move, or threat shedding precedence to better-selling, much less temperamental siblings. Till a broader lineup (and an even bigger advertising price range that doesn’t simply encompass fairly photos) arrives, showroom visitors is nearly as scarce as spare components for that obscure Nineteen Seventies Alfetta.
Even so, the arrival of recent EV ideas might give the model a second likelihood to impress and shine. Or it could make automobile fanatics pine for the times when Alfa Romeo and different sports activities automobile manufacturers had an inner combustion soul and stalled on hills.
Chrysler
Chrysler turns 100 this 12 months, and albeit, it seems prefer it. With precisely two quantity merchandise, the Pacifica and Voyager minivans, and guarantees of three new fashions “quickly” (which in Stellantis time might imply 2030, or by no means), it’s a grim anniversary. Gross sales have cratered, falling nearly 60% over the previous decade as once-loyal sedan patrons moved on to actually anything, leaving the model to lean on rental fleet nostalgia and the lingering scent of stale espresso.
A classy electrical crossover is rumored for 2026, however delays have been extra constant than a Dodge Challenger’s exhaust observe. If the centenarian can’t hurry up and get its act collectively, it dangers turning into an asterisk in Stellantis’s sprawling portfolio, relegated to a footnote in automotive historical past subsequent to names like Plymouth and Saturn.
Nonetheless, Chrysler’s identify carries weight, a phantom limb of American automotive may, and the fitting electrical reboot may very well be its saving grace. Or simply one other missed alternative to be dissected on YouTube. Simply don’t lie and inform Chrysler it doesn’t look a day over 80…
Jaguar
In a determined bid to reboot as an all-EV luxurious participant by 2026, Jaguar did the automotive equal of burning its personal home right down to construct a brand new one: they slashed their present lineup, and paid dearly for it. International gross sales plunged 45.8% in early 2025, and their 2024 U.S. retail gross sales sat at a measly 7,456 models (down from 7,880 in 2023, however up from 2022’s 6,469), proving that an empty showroom doesn’t generate buzz.
The novel “Mission Roar” guarantees boutique, six-figure grand tourers offered by way of pop-up salons (as a result of precise dealerships are too pedestrian for Jaguar’s new (hated) make-up brand-inspired vibe). This can be a daring guess, or a final gasp, relying on how a lot tea you’ve had. Alienated traditionalists are questioning if there’ll be any patrons left as soon as the lights lastly come on.
It’s a high-stakes gamble for a model that when epitomized British cool. But, with electrification across the nook, Jaguar might roar again with a brand new technology of patrons. Or simply quietly purr into obscurity.
Maserati
Maserati’s 57% international gross sales nosedive in 2024 (from 26,600 models in 2023 to 11,300 in 2024, even getting outsold by Ferrari) underscores a model identification disaster extra extreme than a young person’s existential dread. They’re too upscale to chase quantity however too mainstream to command Lamborghini-like value premiums. It’s like being caught in automotive purgatory.
Stellantis management blames “muddled advertising” and “seller discounting,” whereas anybody with eyes blames an growing old Ghibli and an expensive Grecale that underwhelm in opposition to German rivals who, let’s be sincere, truly end their automobiles. Both method, trident loyalty alone received’t hold the lights on if contemporary steel doesn’t land quickly and really, you recognize, promote. I feel Maserati forgot that phrase exists. It’s a traditional Italian drama: lovely automobiles, large guarantees, questionable execution.
Even so, Maserati nonetheless carries cachet — the sort of cachet that will get you a great desk at a restaurant, however not essentially a brand new buyer. One hit mannequin might flip the script for them. Or they may simply hold making restricted version variations of the Gran Turismo for the following decade.
Infiniti
As soon as Lexus’s feisty challenger, Infiniti now sells barely 58,070 autos a 12 months within the U.S. (2024 figures), a ten.2% slide from 2023’s 64,699, and barely 1 / 4 of its 2010 peak. Keep in mind the G35/37? Yeah, that’s about it for his or her memorable hits.
The pared-down lineup is heavy on growing old crossovers that seem like they’ve been melting within the solar for a decade, plus an deserted shift towards efficiency hybrids that nobody requested for. This left sellers with much less buzz than a damaged doorbell. Nissan’s luxurious arm hints at an electrical renaissance, however till then, showroom discuss revolves round incentives so aggressive they virtually pay you to take the automobile.
Infiniti’s popularity for consolation and worth provides it a basis to rebuild from, certain. However rebuilding requires bricks, not simply good intentions. It’s like watching a once-great band play solely their B-sides at a sparsely attended live performance.
Lotus
This one is heartbreaking, with a number of Guessing Headlights writers proudly owning Lotuses (Loti?). However Lotus, bless their light-weight hearts, guess large on scaling EV manufacturing, then promptly slashed their 2024 goal by 78% (from 26,000 to only 12,000 international deliveries) due to new U.S. tariffs and capital shortfalls. The smooth Emeya sedan and battery-hungry Evija hypercar seize headlines, however quantity stays tiny and margins are thinner than the unique Elise’s aluminum chassis.
A U.S. retail push is deliberate, but the model’s “light-weight, less complicated” ethos fights an trade sprinting towards heavy, bloated household SUVs. It’s like a ballet dancer making an attempt to compete in sumo wrestling. Their whole income elevated in 2024, however gross margin plummeted to three% from 15% in 2023. This isn’t precisely an indication of monetary robustness. Nonetheless, their smooth new EVs just like the Emeya show Lotus isn’t afraid to dream large, even when their checking account often reminds them to get up.
They’re nonetheless constructing automobiles for drivers, not spreadsheets, however the spreadsheets are getting awfully antsy.
Good
Daimler’s metropolis automobile pioneer give up the U.S. in 2019 as a result of, effectively, People like their automobiles supersized, not supershort. After regrouping in China with Geely, Good is now staging a CES-era comeback with the midsize all-electric #5 SUV. Sure, they went from making automobiles that hardly match a grocery bag to a household hauler.
The pivot from micro-runabouts to chunky EVs feels gutsy, however Good faces an American EV market already full of alternate options, and little to no seller infrastructure. It’s like when your youthful sibling begins repeating stuff they heard on TikTok months after it was already unfunny — blocked.
But, because the EV market grows, possibly another reinvention might revive the badge and show that “good” was understanding learn how to discover new relevance down the road. Or, extra probably, they’ll simply develop into one other cautionary story for automotive execs who assume “cute” equals “money cow” in America.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin is preventing for its legacy, normally with one hand tied behind its again and a Bond villain respiration down its neck. Whereas the model has confronted extra monetary bumps than a rally stage, 2024 gave it a much-needed breather. Their full-year 2024 wholesale volumes decreased by 9% to six,030 models, and adjusted EBITDA fell 11%, however the second half of the 12 months noticed a vital turnaround in wholesale quantity and a return to working earnings, thanks partly to refreshed fashions just like the DB12 that truly sparked renewed curiosity.
Although internet losses and excessive debt stay, there’s clear ahead momentum, particularly with robust This fall money circulate and rising demand within the ultra-luxury section. Aston Martin nonetheless carries that James Bond mystique, and if it retains tightening its funds and delivering iconic automobiles (that don’t break down earlier than the credit roll), it simply may keep away from the hazard zone.
For now, it’s not fairly out of the woods, but it surely’s lastly headed in the fitting path. For a model identified for cinematic aptitude, the comeback story may simply be its greatest plot twist but. Simply strive to not get caught in a high-speed chase with a examine engine gentle on.
Nonetheless On the Street (However Virtually On E)
Not each automaker is firing on all cylinders, however that doesn’t imply they’re out of gasoline. For a few of these manufacturers, survival isn’t about dominating the market; it’s about understanding their area of interest and staying simply related sufficient to spark a comeback. Consider it as skilled boxing: typically you simply want to remain in your ft lengthy sufficient for the opposite man to tire himself out.
Whether or not it’s a determined pivot to EVs, a laser concentrate on high-end luxurious for patrons with more cash than sense, or just driving the waves of nostalgia for a previous they barely bear in mind, every of those names nonetheless has a shot at turning the nook. They could be struggling, they could be an inside joke amongst fanatics, however they’re not giving up.
And within the unpredictable, usually illogical world of automobiles, that’s usually how essentially the most surprising success tales start. Or how they merely hold amassing mud on the again lot. Both method, it’s a present.
