Hey, whatever happened to...

[Flybrian]

...the Acura RL with its world-changing SH-AWD?

...the German-but-American-but-German-but-seriously-don't-worry-its-German Crossfire?

...the Ranger? Is it just me or are there like a mere handful of the redesigned ones out there?

...the Insight? Are they still making these or...?

...the Axiom? Did all these get reposessed or something? Joe Isuzu?

...the X-Type SportWagon? Did they sell any?

...the Mazda5? They debuted...right? 'Cause I've seen one on the road that's not on a test drive

...the Monterey? Nah, I'm joking; we all know none of these sold.

...the Raider? They've been out for months, so, where are they?

...the Relay?

...the S80?

...Suzuki?

[Nick]

Well, I actually see crossfires on occasion. Had one driving behind me today. I see RL's...have yet to see the redesigned ranger on the road, either that or haven't noticed. Too bad I don't see more Axioms...I kinda like those. I've seen like 2 X-type sportwagons and that's about it. Too bad because I kinda like those as well...but maybe its just because you don't see them too often. They are pretty good looking wagons though and I have a thing for wagons. I see insights on occasion, and one of the cars my boss has (who doesn't drive anymore) is an S80. I see a lot of volvos too...Of course, me being in SoCal, I see a lot of cars.

[Drew Dowdell]

I see a few RLs and Crossfires.

I didn't even know they redesigned the ranger.

Never see any Insights not on Honda lots

I've seen one X-type Estate ever.

I see a few Axioms around... there is a bright blue one that apparently lives near me.

I see lots of Suzikis

I've seen more Relays and Terrazas then I've seen montanas and Uplanders

I see S80s frequently

Never seen a Raider or a Mazda 5

I see Monterays a lot.

The Oddballs I've seen but not expected to. Apparently Mitsubishi is STILL selling the Diamante? I see ones with fresh dealer tags running around.

Apparently there was a Lancer Wagon?

[Variance]

RL: They're around but BMWs and MBs are (unsurprisingly) more plentiful.

Crossfire: Needs to get caught in one. Rare that I see one of those.

Ranger: There's some irony in the "Ranger" not being able to best the "Frontier", "Tacoma", "Dakota", "Colorado", or "Canyon" but I'm not clever enough to make a joke out of it.

Insight: The most impractial hybrid ever made. No shock it's a limited-supply vehicle (I think).

Axiom: It followed the old axiom that Isuzus do not sell these days.

X-Type wagon: I've seen more Bentley Continentals on the road than this thing. They might as well put this kitty to sleep.

Mazda5: I've seen one on the road so far. I'm not sure the idea of a small, nimble minivan is all that popular.

Monterey: One on the road. I can't imagine why Ford is considering getting out of the minivan business.

Raider: Again, one on the road. Admittedly, it looks better in person (and better than the Dakota) but I still think this isn't taking off in sales any time soon.

Relay: Let's just forget it ever happened.

S80: They're actually not too uncommonly found around here but the new S80 is much more handsome and can't get here soon enough.

Suzuki: I've seen none of their new products. None. They're supposed to bringing over the new Swift, so we'll see how that goes.

[Variance]

The Oddballs I've seen but not expected to.  Apparently Mitsubishi is STILL selling the Diamante? I see ones with fresh dealer tags running around.

Yeah, I've actually seen a couple '06s running around.

Apparently there was a Lancer Wagon?

Yes and it was quite possibly one of the biggest flop in the history of cars. It was pulled from our shores after only one model year.

[Cory Wolfe]

I've actually seen some RLs and Crossfires... More than some GM vehicles, I might add. STS? Where are they? Never seen one on the road. CTS? Where the hell are they? I think I've seen one not on a dealer's lot. C6 Corvette? WTF? Never seen one at all... unless you count that small glimpse of one deep inside a dealer's garage. So... what was it that you were saying, Fly?

[balthazar]

Here in NJ CTSs are quite common, and I see STSs frequently too.

Crossfires: on occcasion.

RLs: wouldn't notice them. Acura gets my vote as the 'slowest make' as I am too often stuck behind a plodding one on the road, but they never seem to be RLs.

new Ranger: Have not noticed any yet.

insight: seen about 5.

axiom: seen about 4.

x-type & mazda sportwagon: wouldn't notice.

Monterey: a handful.

raider: only one- out front of the frighteningly overstocked dealer.

Relay: maybe 10.

s80: who can tell any volvos aparts unless reading the nametag? I do see a bunch of s60s with their curiously small-yet-still-made-in-3-pieces decklids.

[sciguy_0504]

I've seen more RLs than Crossfires.

More Crossfires than the redesigned Ranger.

The Monterey comes into vision more than the X-Type Estate, Axiom, Insight, Raider and Mazda5 combined.

Relays and S80s are just about even.

I see more Suzukis than all the other cars mentioned combined.

[CSpec]

Yeah, I've actually seen a couple '06s running around.

Yes and it was quite possibly one of the biggest flop in the history of cars. It was pulled from our shores after only one model year.

Explanation:

[Sixty8panther]

Yeah... good point all those products are pretty much lame ducks. The last Relay I saw was in that super chesy "I GOT DIBS" commercial.

The Crossfire uses way toomany bizare styling elements and the proportions are HORIBLE, like a Shrunken Head AMC Marlin that wants top be one of those exotic looking 1930 wooden speed boats.

BTW: Marcia's EX bought a slightly used 2005 Ranger after years of saying he'd never get rid of his "rare" 1994 Ford F150 2wd, reg-cab. sports-side. When I saw it for the first tie I was like did you even test drive a Colorado/Canyon? (if he has he'd obviously not be driving the POS Ranger) he said in response: The Colorado is too small.

Edited January 28, 2006 by Sixty8panther

[Satty]

I've seen one Ranger outside of a dealer lot. I actually see a lot of Relays (and Terrazzas(that is so not spelled right)) but not many Uplanders or TransSport Montana SV6 CSVs and the new Daezukis are fairly common around here, I'm sure is has more to do with the "Get a brand new car for $6700" line at the end of the radio ad than the "The only car in its class with steering wheel mounted radio controls" line in the middle of the ad. Yeah, we get a lot of Suzuki commercials. RLs are extremely rare, I did see a house that had *TWO* old RLs in the driveway, I think I've only seen one new one on the road, and one in the dealership I bought my Solara at. I saw a Mazda5 parked ouutside of the dealership the other day, I was wondering if they solved that little fire issue. And the Insight is apparently still available, it is listed on Honda's website. For someone who has a long commute, the only better alternative would be a motorcycle. The rest of the cars I either haven't seen or haven't seen in a really long time.

[Variance]

In case anyone's wondering why the X-Type wagon sells so horribly, the starting MSRP is about $37K. That's about $2300 more than a BMW 325Xi wagon (and BMW aren't exactly a value-priced, low-cachet brand). It was doomed from the start, IMO.

[Enzora]

Has anyone else seen a Mark LT on the streets? I still haven't. Although, that's still almost makes as many Mark LTs I've seen as Blackwoods.

[Satty]

I've seen one Mark LT, but I've seen it twice. How do I know it was the same one? It had Arkansas plates, and I highly doubt that of the 14 people in Arkansas who can afford a Mark LT, more than three bought one and more than one of those three was trolling around in SW MO. The only Blackwood I saw was at a used car dealership, one of the shady ones that will probably be gone a week after you buy a car there.

[Petra]

- Haven't seen a single one of the new RL's, except at NAIAS. Then again, I'd be a little frightened if such an expensive car suddenly started appearing in my middle-of-nowhere neighborhood.

- I've actually seen quite a few Crossfires, but none lately... After all, this isn't exactly the coupe or convertible season. One I've seen on several occasions was painted a nasty piss yellow colour; it just about killed my enthusiasm for the car.

- I've seen a couple of the "new" Rangers. None with the chrome grille, though; all the ones I've seen have had body-colour grilles.

- Haven't seen an Insight in a couple years. In fact, I probably have, but I just wouldn't remember it. For such a high-tech car, it is pretty plain looking.

- I vividly recall seeing one Axiom in real life... because it took me a while to figure out what it was. I've never seen another before or since, and that was about a year ago.

- Never seen an X-Type Wagon, nor any variety of X-Type in quite some time. Again, I'm not sure I'd recognize the car even if I did see it.

- Haven't seen a Mazda5 either, except at NAIAS. I climbed into the backseat and marvelled at the lack of any sort of room, except for a lot of empty air right in front of my face. The rear seats (the headrests of which, when lowered, dug into my spine) obviously were not designed with adults in mind. North American adults, anyway.

- Except for the Grand Marquis, the Mercury brand is not sold in Canada anymore. So, needless to say, I've seen no Montereys.

- Haven't seen a Raider. In my book, that is a good thing... that truck looks like a Transformer waking up after a night of heavy drinking.

- The Relay is another one of those cars where I wouldn't even notice if I did see one. I've got this vague half-memory of seeing one before, but I can't be sure that it wasn't an Uplander or a Terazza or a Montana.

- Saw a used Volvo S80 once on a dealer's lot, but I haven't seen one since. Again, all Volvos look pretty much the same; you'd have to be a Volvo nut to be able to tell the difference between an S80 and an S60.

- Here's the thing about Suzuki: Here in Canada, the Reno, Forenza, Verona, and, of course, the Swift are all sold as Chevrolets (and, in the case of the Swift, as a Pontiac, too). Hence, it's hard to tell the difference between a Suzuki Forenza and a Chevy Optra, and so on. The only Suzuki model that stands out is the Aerio, and I haven't seen one of those for a while.

On the subject of the Mitsu Diamante: Are you sure they aren't just old, '04 or '05 models that never sold, and are still sitting unwanted and in brand-new condition on the dealer lots? Mitsubishi never sold the Diamante in Canada (they probably knew the end was near and never bothered), so I can't really comment. I've seen maybe two or three in my lifetime, and that was mostly on trips to Michigan.

Edited January 29, 2006 by Petra

[Guest YellowJacket894]

The Axiom was canceled in '05, I think. Crying shame, too. It was one of my favorite Isuzus of all time next to the VehiCross and Impulse.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

...the Acura RL with its world-changing SH-AWD?

Maybe it went to hell, where it should be... *BADDABING!!!*

Seriously though, it was probably HYPED enough to jump start sales so Honda started mailing out Ridgeline/Civic checks instead.

...the German-but-American-but-German-but-seriously-don't-worry-its-German Crossfire?

I still see them and I still LOVE them... But it is kinda funny that the AMERICAN designed 300 is mopping the floor with Chrysler's "halo"

...the Ranger? Is it just me or are there like a mere handful of the redesigned ones out there?

Too bad Ford has neglected it's entry level vehicles so badly (Focus?Ranger)

...the Insight? Are they still making these or...?

Lame ass car.... Nah, after Toyota started passing out the "REVOLUTIONARY PRIUS kool aid" This 'flavor of the week' got set out on the dock bound for asian town.

...the Axiom? Did all these get reposessed or something? Joe Isuzu?

I was actually a fan of the Axiom and thought it would do great things for Isuzu... But I guess not, they're not a "chosen" Japanese brand (a.k.a GM owned a share in them) You laugh, but it is awefully funny that the ONLY 2 or 3 Japanese companies that EXCEL in this country have NO Detroit influence. Mazda does decent (Ford) Mitsubishi is dieing (DCX) Isuzu died (GM) Subaru will grow (GM sold them) and Suzuki is on the skids right now (GM)

...the X-Type SportWagon? Did they sell any?

Just a bad idea from the beginning...

...the Mazda5? They debuted...right? 'Cause I've seen one on the road that's not on a test drive

See above "Mazda" post.

...the Monterey? Nah, I'm joking; we all know none of these sold.

Sadly.....

...the Raider? They've been out for months, so, where are they?

You know... I've read in 2 reviews now: "This is the SEXY brother to the stodgy Dodge Dakota."

First, the Dakota isn't stodgy at all... Secondly this thing looks god-awful-anime-dog pile-come catfish-frikkin' ugly to me and aside from the HIGHLY exploited asian badge, offers NOTHING to get excited about.

...the Relay?

Goodbye Relay... Hello Lambda

...the S80?

I thought these sold well... And I figured it'd be a success.

...Suzuki?

Sad... I wish Suzuki were doing better... They are a very good GM partnership after all.

[Robert Hall]

...the Acura RL with its world-changing SH-AWD?

I see a few around..saw one last week.. I really like the interior and front end.

...the German-but-American-but-German-but-seriously-don't-worry-its-German Crossfire?

I haven't seen one in a while..

...the Ranger? Is it just me or are there like a mere handful of the redesigned ones out there?

I saw some at a Ford dealer a while back..I don't see many compact pickups around here... (then again, I generally don't notice trucks..not my thing).

...the Insight? Are they still making these or...?

Still making them... I only seem to see them when I'm in Cali...I see quite a few Priuses around here (esp. in the Boulder area) and Civic hybrids.

...the Axiom? Did all these get reposessed or something? Joe Isuzu?

It's gone..the Assender is the only Isuzu SUV left...(are they on their way out the US? Sure seems like it).

...the X-Type SportWagon? Did they sell any?

I saw one at a car show a year or two ago, but haven't seen any on the road..

...the Mazda5? They debuted...right? 'Cause I've seen one on the road that's not on a test drive

Haven't seen any yet..

...the Monterey? Nah, I'm joking; we all know none of these sold.

Haven't noticed..minivans aren't my thing.

...the Raider? They've been out for months, so, where are they?

Saw one.

...the Relay?

None that I know of...seen a couple of the Chevy and Pontiac versions, though.

...the S80?

I see a few now and then, but since the styling hasn't changed in years, I have no idea what year they are..

...Suzuki?

Seen a couple..

[Cory Wolfe]

You know... I've read in 2 reviews now: "This is the SEXY brother to the stodgy Dodge Dakota."

First, the Dakota isn't stodgy at all... Secondly this thing looks god-awful-anime-dog pile-come catfish-frikkin' ugly to me and aside from the HIGHLY exploited asian badge, offers NOTHING to get excited about.

Actually... The Dakota is stodgy... and ugly. While the Raider isn't exactly a beauty... it's alot better looking than the Dakota. Especially after seeing both in person.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

The new Radier actually reminds me of the previous generation Dakota due to how both were/are very curvatious and rounded.