Cars that they built a zillion of and have now disapeared

Something I think about from time to time.(Not talking car shows or Hot rods here just drivers). GM built a zillion X-cars and I don't know when I last saw one on the road. I still see K cars fairly often though. I still occasionally see Pinto's, mavericks and Gremlins on the road but never a Vega or Chevy Monza. Again, Chevy must have built a million Lumina's haven't seen one in a decade at least. Datsun B 210?, Plymouth/Mitsubishi Sapporo? LeCar? Renault Feugo? Alliance? I can spot a Plymouth Duster occasionally but VW Dasher?(ok, maybe their weren't THAT many Dashers). I am sure I missing quite a few 80's, even 90's cars that were built by the bucket load that have almost disappeared from the roads.

One guy close to me still DD's a Citation. Retired dude who keeps it in the garage.

Pintos once roamed the earth like cockroaches. Haven't seen one on the road for years. When I find one on Craigslist I always read the ad because...well, it's a Pinto. Kind of like when you find a Yugo.

Air cooled Beetles were even more prolific when I was growing up. Now I can think of only ONE that still sputters down the road around here (a very tired Super Beetle that is on it's 3rd color change).

1970s Chevy Monte Carlos. Seems like everyone had one with air shocks, traction bars and Cragars when I was in school. Haven't seen any in probably 15 years.

RWD Toyota Celicas.

1st and 2nd gen RX-7s are pretty rare.

Sciroccos.

My wife and I each bought a new Ford Escort in '89. Mine was a GT, her's a standard LX. We didn't have a lot of 'scrole at the time, needed reliable transportation, got a good package deal on two cars, etc. Despite enthusiast media derision at the time, the Escorts weren't bad cars, performed well for our needs, and lived up to our expectations. I traded my Escort GT in '94 for a new Probe GT (movin' on up). My wife's car subsequently went to our son for a few years of use and abuse. I haven't seen any Escorts or Probes on the road in years.

I bought a Mazda 626 brand new in 1980, that was the first generation rear wheel drive version. I've searched recently to see if I could find another one; it appears there are a few left in Australia for some reason, but they've been extinct in the US for years.

In reply to stuart in mn:

Theres one for sale an hour east of you with a rotary. Check the open classifieds.

stuart in mn wrote: I bought a Mazda 626 brand new in 1980, that was the first generation rear wheel drive version. I've searched recently to see if I could find another one; it appears there are a few left in Australia for some reason, but they've been extinct in the US for years.

A friend of mine in St. Louis has two of them.

The funny/interesting thing I've noticed about car extinction is that a certain vehicle will be relatively common, and then a "great falling away" occurs very abruptly, after which they all seem to be gone. It's as if 95% of them on the road experience terminal failures within a span of a couple years. Then one day you're all like: "Hey, where did all the Daihatsu Charades go?"

RossD wrote: In reply to stuart in mn: Theres one for sale an hour east of you with a rotary. Check the open classifieds.

That's amazing. It looks to be in pretty good condition too, although the seats have been reupholstered (the original cloth was about as strong as Kleenex) and I suspect it's been repainted at some point. But still.

Ditto on Pintos and Vegas for that matter. I've seen a couple of Cosworth Vegas at shows, but that's just about all. Wonder what ever happened to all those V8 Vega conversions. They were so common in the 1970's but I haven't seen either on the road in a donkey's age. Early Jap sedans also - early Toyota Corolla, Datsun B210, and Mazda rotaries - RX2, RX3, first gen RX7.

In reply to TR8owner: I would also include the Datsun PL-510. OHC, IRS, great handling, etc. it was and is all we could ever hope for from a D.D. sedan.

True. We don't see many 510's around any more but I remember when they we quite common and when people used to do them up with after market BRE parts. Friend of mine had a hotted up four door that he rallied back in the day.

My celica is a prime example. When I moved to Oregon in 2003 you could find these all day long for 1000$. Now you're lucky to find one on Craigslist in running condition, the ones that are running are for 3500$, the rest are parts cars.

Although I think a lot of it has to do with where you live because I'll tell you right now, the PNW is the Datsun/rwd Toyota/Volvo/Subaru capital of the planet.

And yet when I lived in the heartland of America, you could pick up a cavalier or escort all day long. (It helps that Detroit was right near us)

Does anyone concur? I bet Montana, north and South Dakota, and Idaho has 4x4's aplenty.

Yeah, some of these cars I have totally forgotten about, Ford Probe, was going to replace the Mustang...my first wife had one when we were dating, now they are almost all gone along with the Mazda equivalent, (forgot what that was, Mx6?).Ford Fairmont and the Fairmont Futura, they must have made hundreds of thousands of those, even the Ford Contour almost all gone. Grenada? I think James Mcd is right, ...."The funny/interesting thing I've noticed about car extinction is that a certain vehicle will be relatively common, and then a "great falling away" occurs very abruptly, after which they all seem to be gone. It's as if 95% of them on the road experience terminal failures within a span of a couple years. Then one day you're all like: "Hey, where did all the Daihatsu Charades go?"

Shoot. I rarely even see a fox body mustang anymore. At least where I'm at, it's rare to see much in the way of cars older than the late 90's My 91 MR2 is typically the oldest car in the parking lot.

Chevette! I bought a new one in 1977. I wanted something cheap, but NOT a Vega or Pinto. Wanted an American car. This Chevette foot the bill. Went way over 100k without ever an issue. Right at about the only thing was a headlight switch went bad once. Was a good car really.

In reply to Trackmouse: Yes you are correct!

Here in Greater Appalachia I was always in the huge minority because I drove a lot of those funny "furrin" cars. Though I did own a couple of Ford Rangers, which were then built nearby.

But finally two or three Toyota plants, Nissan plants, a BMW plant, etc. etc. all were built in our region. Now about the only "merican" stuff we see on the roads are Fords, with two plants nearby, and pickups. And a lot of the pickups are now Toyotas, also built nearby.

Also when Jaguar was owned by Ford & Mazda was a partner with Ford we saw a bunch of Jaguars & Mazdas in the Ford plant parking lots. And almost all the execs at the Glass House in Dearborn seemed to drive Jaguars during that era.

The Ford/Mercury Capri 1970-1977. The first couple of years this was the second best selling import in the USA! Only VW sold more cars here and that was all models of VW where the Capri was one body style with only an engine option. There are still quite a few around but not may are driven much. A friend has one sitting in his garage for nearly 20 years and I've run across ads of Capris for sale in similar condition. My friends is solid body wise but needs mechanical work to get it running.

The Midwest is where cars die young due to the heavy use of salt in the winter. Back in the late 70's before cars were better protected from corrosion cars would suffer rust through in as little as 4-5 years! I remember wanting a winter beater back then and looking at a 7 year old Pinto that had no sheet metal left in the bottom 5-6 inches of the doors.

Wow, yeah, Capri's, Chevettes, they used to be everywhere, now not one to be seen. Even original Dodge mini vans are thin on the ground, but occasionally you do see them.

I think the Cash for Clunkers deal did away with a ton of these cars. Like it was brought up in the other thread, I haven't seen a late 80's early 90's Cavalier Z24 or in a loooong time. I haven't seen a decent looking MX6 or Probe either, those things used to be everywhere.

Took my buddy over a year's worth of wrangling and a twenty hour drive to get this Vega GT Kammback. Unheard of around here.

Wow, I don't even remember the Kammback version.

When i lived in VA i didn't see a lot of these cars. But then i moved to SoCal and wow all these odd cars can be found randomly on the road or parking lot quite often.

yupididit wrote: When i lived in VA i didn't see a lot of these cars. But then i moved to SoCal and wow all these odd cars can be found randomly on the road or parking lot quite often.

Lots less rust! Lots more parts access.

• S-10s and Rangers from the 80's (including Blazers and Bronco IIs)

I remember a time when it seemed like everyone had one. I barely see them anymore. Like if I see one, even if it's beat to hell, I always have to look.

They were used like they were supposed to be and usually killed.

• 4-Door cars from the 50s and 60s.

Yes you still see them, especially American stuff, but the Coupe versions were always taken better care off. Most, if not all 4-doors were pretty much what we would call "Beige" now. There were so many that were made but driven like an appliance, that they just ended up in the junk yard.

• Any Japanese car from the 70s and 80s that wasn't a sports car.

You really don't see anything anymore. You have the occasional sighting, but I can remember a time of boxy Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans that littered the roads and parking lots, aside from the occasional "Grandma" car or one that just got taken care of really well, I can't tell you the last time I saw a 4th gen Civic. I do see a lot of AE92 Corollas though, I think those things are like cockroaches.

I don't think I've seen a 80's Audi in forever, never mind a '70's one, (outside of a car show). Ford Grenada! they used to be everywhere, now??? and Chevy's answer to that, I can't even remember it, was there one? Chevy Beretta and Corsica? Mass produced, really massed and gone.

Things I remember seeing around here but not any more:

Escorts, not even in junkyards.

73-87 Chevy trucks/Suburbans/Blazers.

3rd gen Camaros/Firebirds.

Geo Trackers.

1st gen 4Runners. The ones left are being horded.

1st gen Caravans.

Luminas.

VW Beetles.

C4 Vettes.