1. Isuzu and Mitsubishi should leave the consumer business and just do commercial trucks.
2. Smart
3. Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep - when an entire major car company fails to have a single vehicle that even vaguely interests me.... they've failed. As much as I harp on BMW, Nissan/Infiniti, and Toyota/Lexus, they each do make at least one vehicle that I'd give a shot at my money if I were in the market today.
4. Kia.... just fold it into Hyundai and save the marketing dollars. It's not like it has any cache.
5. VW.... come back when you're relevant again and the Euro isn't so strong.
6. Saab... just leave them in Europe as Saabs. Rebadge the 9-5 as a Saturn Aurora.
Runners up.
1. Subaru - as much as I like Subi, their styling direction is way off these days. Fix it before you lose relevance.
Disagree with others on:
1. Mercury - I think Mercury really has the potential to be where VW thought it was going. Where VW still has the stigma of being the "people's car", Mercury, as damaged as it is <was?> is still though of as better than a Ford. Mercury is one of the few lineups where I like everything they make.
2. Lincoln - Lincoln is going through their remake and so far I want to give it time. I'm not thrilled with their design direction, but if it sells... then hey.
3. Jaguar - I think the expectations on Jaguar are a bit unrealistic. Jaguar should get comfortable with it's current sales volume, improve the cars it has, and advertise the hell out of the exclusivity of owning a Jaguar. Stop trying to go for volume.
edit: I didn't include the niche players like Maseratti or Lotus. They're too small to matter.