Cars that won’t return for 2020

Here are the models automakers are dropping from their lineups

Every year the auto industry kills off a few slow sellers and dated rides, but the casualty list as we enter the 2020 model year is especially long. Automakers — particularly the domestic brands – are shedding traditional passenger cars from their lineups as they go all in on sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

Dodge and Chrysler were the first brands to ditch sedans, with only their full-size muscle cars remaining. General Motors will be dropping five car lines by January. Ford is in the process of canceling all vehicles from its lineup, except for the Mustang; the midsize Fusion will morph into a crossover-like station wagon with its next redesign.

Here’s a look at some of the automotive nameplates that are driving off into the proverbial sunset: • BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo, 6 Series Gran Turismo and 6 Series Gran Coupe. These four-door hatchback variations looked odd and never caught on with U.S. buyers.

• Buick Cascada. The convertible genre is fading

fast, with Buick dropping its stylish Cascada ragtop for 2020.

• Buick LaCrosse. Sedans are becoming an increasingly vanishing breed, with the LaCrosse sedan being another casualty. That leaves the Regal as Buick’s last passenger car.

• Cadillac CTS. The slowselling midsize Cadillac CTS will go out of production in January, giving way to the new CT5 sedan.

• Cadillac XTS. Introduced for 2013, the big XTS sedan became the odd front-drive sedan in what’s become a reardrive luxury car lineup.

• Chevrolet Cruze. The compact Cruze sedan/hatchback could stand up nicely to the segment stalwarts like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, but it’s not selling well enough to continue.

• Chevrolet Impala.

Production of Chevrolet’s largest car will cease in January, with sales at a fraction of what they were in the Impala’s glory days.

• Chevrolet Volt. When it debuted in 2010, the Volt extended-range electric vehicle seemed like the car of the future, but Chevy is pulling the plug due to short-circuiting volume.

• Ford Fiesta. Introduced to help salve skyrocketing gas prices, subcompacts like the Fiesta became largely unnecessary in the U.S. once fuel became cheaper and small crossover SUVs became popular.

• Ford Taurus. Once a groundbreaking vehicle, Ford is discontinuing the full-size Taurus sedan to make way

for additional SUV factory capacity.

• Jaguar XJ. The brand’s flagship sedan is now out of production, with a full-electric successor to be revealed sometime next year.

• Lincoln MKC. The compact Lincoln MKC crossover SUV is being redesigned and renamed the Corsair for 2020.

• Lincoln MKT. The threerow MKT crossover is hitting the road, being replaced by the more stylish and capable Lincoln Aviator.

• Nissan 370Z Roadster.

While the coupe version of Nissan’s sports car will continue, the convertible variants are being axed.

• Nissan Rogue Hybrid. The otherwise popular compact Nissan Rogue crossover SUV loses its gas/electric versions for 2020.

• Smart EQ For Two. MercedesBenz is shuttering its Smart brand of two-seat mini cars in the U.S. this fall.

• Toyota Prius C. Toyota is canceling its subcompact hybrid-powered car, with its slot being filled by the new 2020 Corolla Hybrid.

• Volkswagen Beetle. When Volkswagen revived its most iconic car for 1998, it was a genuine head-turner. Now VW’s lowest-volume model, the Bug is being squashed. • Volkswagen Golf SportWagen and Golf Alltrack. The station wagon versions of the compact Volkswagen Golf four-door hatchback are two more victims of the crossover SUV boom.