Honda S2000
Five Great Cars That Didn't Sell
We look at five models that never sold in large numbers.
Web2Carz Senior Writer
Published: September 15th, 2012
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very so often, a new car hits the market to praise from the press, only to fail in the showroom. Sometimes a car sells poorly due to lack of marketing, other times the car is doomed by outside forces, such as a recession.
Sometimes the benefit of hindsight allows us to look upon the car more fondly than we would have at the time of its release. That's what happened with the famed Edsel. Sure, the Edsel was a dud at the time, but it did offer some innovative features that were advanced for the time, such as seatbelts, child locks for the rear doors, and in-dash warning lights.
Here's our take on five cars that should've sold better, but didn't.
 2006 Pontiac GTO2004-2006 Pontiac GTO: GM resurrected a legendary nameplate with this car, but missed the mark. The modern-day GTO was based on a platform from Holden, GM's Australian subsidiary. While the fourth-generation GTO offered plenty of muscle, it was overpriced and consumers never warmed to its styling. It quickly fell short in the sales race, despite being a solid performer. |
 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS 1994-1996 Impala SS: This full-size monster was a throwback to the old days: V-8 muscle, straight-line performance, not much handling, plenty of interior space. It was a looker, too. Sadly, the shift to smaller cars killed off the B-body platform on which it rode, and the next Impala SS, which placed a 303-horsepower V-8 under hood, driving the front wheels, just wasn't the same. The later version was a quick enough car, but it just didn't have the panache of the 1994-1996 models. |
 Pontiac G8 Pontiac G8: Like the GTO, the G8 was based on a Holden platform. The G8 had an enthusiastic reaction from the press, but because of Pontiac's demise during GM's bankruptcy reorganization, the G8 wasn't around long enough to gain a strong sales following. There's a sad irony in the fact that the first great Pontiac in a while came along just as the brand was going under. |
 Acura RSX Type-S Acura RSX: The RSX actually did sell in relatively decent numbers, but like the others on this list, it was doomed by external factors. In this case, it was the development of the Honda Civic Si that killed this car. Honda didn't need two cars of similar performance--one with a lower price--stealing sales from each other, so the RSX disappeared, to be replaced by the TSX. Lovers of small, sporty cars mourned. |
 Honda S2000Honda S2000: This Miata-competitor initially sold well, but sales slipped in 2006, and the recession that followed the 2008 financial crisis put the nail in the coffin. This fun little roadster is now only available as a used car. |
If there are any vehicles you think we missed, feel free to add them in the comments.
Related Vehicles: honda s2000 | 2006 pontiac gto | 2008 pontiac g8 | acura rsx | 1996 chevrolet impala
