Top 10 canceled Cars that need to come back

[Drew Dowdell]

<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Winners: Top <span

style="text-decoration: line-through;">10</span> 12 Vehicles that

should stage a comeback</h2>

<br>

Out of 20 eligible nominations, we've pared it down to the top 10

recent cars you would like to see return to dealerships across the

country. The inspiration for this list came to me when I saw three

Chrysler Pacificas sitting in a row at a stop light and I wondered,

"Why did Chrysler ever cancel those with such a CUV craze going on?"<br>

<br>

The rules to be eligible were as follows:<br>

<ol>

<li>The vehicle must be from a brand that was still in business today.</li>

<li>The vehicle must have been canceled in the past 10 years.</li>

<li>The vehicle should make some sort of compelling business case for

the manufacturer.</li>

</ol>

<br>

Lincoln walks away a clear winner in this list with every nomination

they had making it into the top 10. In the end, we couldn't narrow it

down to just 10 due to a two way tie and a three way tie. So here's the

list of the top <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">10</span>

12 vehicles that should stage a comeback:<br>

<br>

The bottom end of the list is where we couldn't make up our mind. We

start off with a three way tie for 10th place.<br>

<br>

10. Lincoln Continental (tie) 10 Votes <br>

<br>

<img style="width: 184px; height: 111px;" alt="2000 Lincoln Continental"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_12306.jpg"

align="left">The last Lincoln Continental rolled of the assembly line

at Wixom in July 26, 2002. By this point in it's history it was

platform shared with the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable and shared a

base price with the larger Town Car. Lincoln cruelly teased us with a

Continental concept in 2002 that was based on the then new Lincoln LS

platform. In spirit at least, Lincoln's current MKS holds the spot in

the lineup where the Continental should be, however being based on the

front wheel drive Taurus, meaningless 3 character name, and tepid

styling apparently leaves us longing for a true Continental to return.

Indeed, the 2002 Continental concept has already been nominated for our

coming poll on Concept Cars that should have been built. <br>

<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><br>

</div>

<br>

10. Chrysler Pacifica (tie) 10 Votes<br>

<br>

<img style="width: 181px; height: 132px;" alt="Chrylser Pacifica"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_153107.jpg"

align="left">This was my personal nomination - The Chrysler Pacifica

was well respected by the press when it was in production, though it

never sold very well. It created a segment and then got left for dead.

You'd be hard pressed to find bad things written about it. It's sort-of

replacement, the Aspen, was mocked mercilessly the moment we found out

the name and what it was based on (and received the least number of

votes in this poll). A large semi-lux crossover is missing from the

Chrysler lineup. It should never have been canceled. It should have

been refreshed and kept on the Caravan platform. After seeing the

refreshes that Chrysler has given to the Caravan and the goodness of

the new Pentastar V6, a new Pacifica is a no-brainer for Chrysler to

bring back.<br>

<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><br>

<br>

</div>

10. Chevrolet Astro (tie) 10 Votes<img

style="width: 175px; height: 113px;" alt="Chevrolet Astro"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_9354.jpg"

align="right">

<div style="margin-left: 40px;">The Chevrolet Astro van died in 2005

...they are the cat's ass as a work vehicle, decent fuel economy, can

tow, can haul, impossible to destroy without explosives and a cliff to

push them off of. GM ceded the compact commercial van market to Ford,

and the Transit Connect has limited payload and towing capabilities.

The Astro was the "just right" sized van. Sometimes you just don't need

an Express.<br>

<br>

<br>

</div>

9. Chevrolet Uplander/Venture (a Chevy Mini-van regardless of name) 12

votes (tie)<img style="width: 174px; height: 116px;"

alt="Chevrolet Uplander"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_23049.jpg"

align="right">

<div style="margin-left: 40px;">GM never should have left the minivan

market, and never should have tried to create four different versions

of the same mediocre product. This time around, build one just for

Chevy on Lambda or Epsilon II, power it with the HFV6, give it some

distinctive style, and watch the Chevy dealer lots fill up with

discarded Odysseys, Caravans, and Siennas. <br>

<br>

<br>

</div>

8. Lincoln Mark series 12 votes (tie)<br>

<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><img

style="width: 173px; height: 112px;" alt="1997 Lincoln Mark VIII"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_13196.jpg"

align="left">The Lincoln Mark VIII made it into a list by mistake

based on my poor recollection of when production ended (I thought it

was 2002, but it actually 1998). Before I was able to yank it out of

the list, it had already moved firmly into 5th place before finally

settling on 7th. Even though it's slightly out of bounds, I can't argue

with that sort of demand. Lincoln needs a big, rear wheel drive, luxury

coupe. The masses have spoken.<br>

<br>

<br>

</div>

<br>

7. Chevrolet S-10/GMC Sonoma 14 votes<br>

<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><img

style="width: 174px; height: 109px;" alt="Chevrolet S-10"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_8502.jpg"

align="left">Chevrolet currently has the Colorado in service, but it

has never resonated with people the way the old S-10 did. For starters

it grew in size to be more of a midsize pickup. While the S-10 was

available with an 8 foot bed, it is primarily thought of as a compact

pickup.  With the pending death of the Ford Ranger, compact pickup

buyers will no longer have a place to go among the domestic

manufacturers.  We think Chevrolet to be in a prime position to

offer them an option. <br>

<br>

</div>

<br>

<br>

<br>

6. Lincoln LS 15 votes<img style="width: 171px; height: 107px;"

alt="2006 Lincoln LS"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_12.jpeg"

align="right">

<div style="margin-left: 40px;">Lincoln's LS won Motor Trend's Car of

the Year for 2000, but was dead just 6 years later. It shared a

platform with the Jaguar S-Type and sported the first manual

transmission in a Lincoln in decades. Sales peaked just about 51,000

and dwindled steadily as the flair wore off and Lincoln provided only

minor visual updates. In it's final year, the Lincoln moved just 8,797

copies of the LS.  Still, we feel that Lincoln needs a proper rear

wheel drive luxury sport sedan in it's lineup. <br>

</div>

<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><br>

</div>

5. Ford Panther platform replacement (Lincoln Towncar/Ford Crown

Victoria) 16 votes<img style="width: 175px; height: 131px;"

alt="Ford Crown Victoria"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_19056.jpg"

align="right">

<div style="margin-left: 40px;">Some of us can't believe the end is

here for these tanks. We find it even stranger that Ford is willing to

walk away from the ubiquitous cop car, taxi, and limousine without a

direct replacement in hand. No one really seems to believe that the

Taurus can step in for the Crown Vic or the MKT for the Towncar. The

Taurus may have the Crown Vic beat in every performance measure on

paper, but in the end, we don't feel it's a real replacement. It's like

buying store brand "chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies" instead

of the real Oreo. Ford need to have a <span style="font-style: italic;">direct</span>

replacement for this platform.<br>

<br>

</div>

4. Ford Thunderbird 19 votes<br>

<div style="margin-left: 40px;"> <img

style="width: 143px; height: 96px;" alt="Ford Thunderbird"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_2299.jpeg"

align="left">It's just dripping with brand equity and Ford is lacking

a flagship. Ford's last Thunderbird was a cool looking retro car let

down by an inadequate powertrain and high price. Couple that with the

limitations of being a two seater, and it was a sales disaster. Only

67,518 were built over a 4 year period. Given that we already feel the

entire Lincoln lineup should return to a rear wheel drive platform for

both coupes and sedans, giving Ford a version to build a new

Thunderbird on seems like a smart move.<br>

</div>

<br>

<br>

<br>

3. Cadillac XLR 21 votes<br>

<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><img

style="width: 242px; height: 181px;" alt="Cadillac XLR"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_386.jpeg"

align="left">Cadillac XLR was the best looking Cadillac of the past 10

years. The price for what you got was the problem. Either the interior

and engine needed upgraded, or the price needed to come down. The XLR

may do better at the $50k price point against the SLK and Z4 type

vehicles with V6 and perhaps turbo V6 power. Cadillac needs a sports

car, 2-door, and convertible, the XLR fits the bill and gives Cadillac

some sportiness to it's image. And it is somewhat unique, not just

another sedan that can get lost in the shuffle. </div>

<br>

<br>

<br>

<br>

<br>

<br>

2. Dodge Magnum (tie) 22 votes<br>

<div style="margin-left: 40px;"><img

style="width: 259px; height: 194px;" alt="Dodge Magnum"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_259.jpeg"

align="left">Chrysler, are you listening? Tied for first place is the

Dodge Magnum. A functional wagon with great engine options and the

handling to make coupe owners jealous. It did suffer from some interior

blah-ness, but with the new interiors Chrysler has been coming out

with, now that their own designers are allowed to work on them again

and not stay within $15 material costs for each one, we can easily see

it ending up with a much better interior if it had stayed around.

Modern Americans have never given wagons the respect they deserve. They

get better gas mileage than SUVs, look better than crossovers, and when

built correctly, can outperform and out handle comparable sedans. If it

wasn't for this strange, off-base hatred of wagons, we wouldn't be so

dependent on SUVs and minivans for people/stuff hauling.</div>

<div style="text-align: left;"><br>

</div>

<br>

<br>

<br>

1. Buick Riviera (tie) 22 votes<img style="width: 339px; height: 213px;"

alt="Buick Riviera"

src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1292458660/gallery_51_2_11625.jpg"

align="right">

<div style="margin-left: 40px;">The dark horse nomination to the poll

ends up in a surprise tie with the Dodge Magnum for first place.

"Riviera but with a GS this time" without any explanation was all the

nomination read. Perhaps that's all it needed to read. The grand coupe

that Buick has been known for was built until 1999 but sold into

2000... so it just. squeaks. in. however, pulling off a win like that,

I can't overrule the voters. Buick is sorely missing a flagship or

grand tourer of any kind. Returning the Riviera to it's proper place in

the lineup would bring Buick the prestige it very much needs.<br>

</div>

[Camino LS6]

Nicely done.

[smk4565]

XLR was my original pick, I'd stick with that, even though many of those are good choices. I do believe Lincoln needs a rear drive car. The LS/Continental/Mark VIII replacement could all be meshed into 1 rear drive car with coupe and sedan body styles, possibly off a tweaked Mustang platform. Problem could be where to slot it into Lincoln's lineup, maybe MKZ size, but $40-55k range. If you put MKS-like luxury and technology with a Mustang chassis and 5.0 V8, you've got something good brewing.

[Drew Dowdell]

XLR was my original pick, I'd stick with that, even though many of those are good choices. I do believe Lincoln needs a rear drive car. The LS/Continental/Mark VIII replacement could all be meshed into 1 rear drive car with coupe and sedan body styles, possibly off a tweaked Mustang platform. Problem could be where to slot it into Lincoln's lineup, maybe MKZ size, but $40-55k range. If you put MKS-like luxury and technology with a Mustang chassis and 5.0 V8, you've got something good brewing.

I think Lincoln could revamp it's car lineup in one foul swoop with one, very premium RWD platform.

Make the platform in Medium (LS), Large (Continental), and Extra Large (Towncar) sizes. Build a coupe off the medium platform.

Don't bother trying to take on the 3 series or be super sporty M5 like. Be unapologetically Grand-Lux. The MKZ can stick around if it has to, but for god sakes give it a real name.

[Blake Noble]

When the next nomination thread is up, I call dibs on doing the next one.

[Paolino]

I see Rivieras on the road all the time and they still look good today. I was very upset when I saw the Mark VIII (my fav car at the time), the Continental and the LS all go. To me, they were awesome cars that needed updates/replacements (albeit, I didn't care much for the last gen Continental).

[smk4565]

I think Lincoln could revamp it's car lineup in one foul swoop with one, very premium RWD platform.

Make the platform in Medium (LS), Large (Continental), and Extra Large (Towncar) sizes. Build a coupe off the medium platform.

Don't bother trying to take on the 3 series or be super sporty M5 like. Be unapologetically Grand-Lux. The MKZ can stick around if it has to, but for god sakes give it a real name.

Big Lincolns don't sell though. The MKS is already huge, they don't need to go bigger than that. MKZ does need a real name, Zephyr perhaps. Take the Mustang 5.0, give it an independent rear suspension and MKS-dash, and there is new Mark VIII, make a 4 door version and that's the Continental.

[Drew Dowdell]

Big Lincolns don't sell though. The MKS is already huge, they don't need to go bigger than that. MKZ does need a real name, Zephyr perhaps. Take the Mustang 5.0, give it an independent rear suspension and MKS-dash, and there is new Mark VIII, make a 4 door version and that's the Continental.

The current big Lincolns don't sell. If I put up a poll that said "Which would you rather have, a 2010 Lincoln MKS or a 2002 Lincoln Continental Concept?" there would be eleventy billion votes for the Continental and none for the MKS. The big Lincolns don't sell because they're not big LINCOLNS, they're still tarted up Fords.

[Camino LS6]

The current big Lincolns don't sell. If I put up a poll that said "Which would you rather have, a 2010 Lincoln MKS or a 2002 Lincoln Continental Concept?" there would be eleventy billion votes for the Continental and none for the MKS. The big Lincolns don't sell because they're not big LINCOLNS, they're still tarted up Fords.

So very true, those concepts in the other thread have me drooling. Current Lincolns are invisible to me.

[bobo]

I really enjoyed this nomination thread. I hope there are more. A couple of vehicles that weren't mentioned were the Buick LeSabre and Park Avenue. The Lucerne never really caught on as the replacement, and the current LaCrosse is too small to be the big Buick.