You never want to be the one made to order pizzas for the office. That’s what I can liken the birth of this list to – a list that has taken many forms before the final version here before you. Arguments over the Chevy Impala ensued, just as fond memories of the Toyota Avalon TRD surfaced. Vile words were spoken of the Infiniti Q50. Everybody hated the Dodge Dart, but everybody loved the Nissan Maxima. No one remembers the Chrysler 200.
Not set in stone is our list of sedans that were never replaced or fell victim to a consolidation of models (we’re looking at you, Audi). They also had long, important histories or were flashes in the pan worthy of praise. Also, they aren’t coming back. You won’t find the Dodge Dart—because that wasn’t cool enough—but you will find the Ford Focus, which continued the legacy of Ford’s compact sedans in the US.
2017
Performance Fans Lost Both The Chevrolet SS And Mitsubishi Lancer
Both of these sedans met untimely demises in the same year, but only one would go on to live abroad until 2024 after it faked its death. If it’s not sold here, we don’t give a darn until it’s 25 years old or smuggled into the country through the port of Miami in pieces – almost like how the Chevrolet SS arrived on our shores. Apart from their both having three pedals, the SS and Mitsubishi Lancer couldn’t be more different in their efforts.
Mitsubishi’s shining star blitzed through rally stages when racing in Group A of the World Rally Championship, simultaneously embarrassing German sports sedans twice its size in production form with its 2.0-liter turbo-four pushing 303 horsepower and 305 lb-ft of torque in Evo X variants. The Chevy SS was a 415-horse 6.2-liter V8 sedan built by Holden in Australia and snuck onto our shores by GM for our gas-burning pleasure. They put stickers on NASCAR stock cars to make them look like the SS, but the only real Mitsubishi is a bona fide race car.
2018
Ford’s Evergreen Focus Bit The Dust
The Focus kept Ford atop the list of inexpensive yet reliable cars in America for 20 years. Except, of course, when its dual-clutch transmission tears itself apart, or when the engine eats its timing belt and dumps a slurry of fluids across all lanes of traffic. Small cars were never among the top vehicles produced by Ford in the US, but it held out hope for the Focus until the bitter end in 2018.
Made famous in hatchback form, the Focus still held its own as a sedan despite never getting the ST or RS treatment like its long-roof variant did. Since small SUVs resembling larger hatchbacks might be added to Ford’s lineup stateside, the Focus, in sedan form, won’t get a second chance at life despite selling nearly 4 million of them (more than the still-living Nissan Sentra over the same time period) in the US alone from 2000 to 2018. When it exited the US, it started the clock for the rest of the sedans in Ford’s lineup, with the Fiesta close behind in 2019.
2019
The Ford Taurus And Jaguar XJ Are Both Time-Tested Sedans That Met Their End Together
Long-standing nameplates for both companies, the Ford Taurus and Jaguar XJ were two of the most important sedans ever produced by Ford and Jaguar, the latter of which can trace its roots back to the late 1960s. Where one made a name for itself as a villainous-looking sedan used by art thieves and charming swindlers, the other was RoboCop’s ride around the apocalyptic streets of Detroit.
The Ford Taurus hosted many tech-forward features that pushed the Taurus’ MSRP higher than any sedan produced by the brand before that time. By the end of their runs, both were viewed as vehicles paying homage to their grandfathers, with the Ford still packaged in powerful SHO form, just as the Jaguar became an aluminum-body, lightweight full-size sedan to outpace the rest of the sedans and make its leaper proud.
2020
End Of The Road For The Chevy Impala, Ford Fusion, And Cadillac CT6
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When word spread that Chevy and Ford were giving up on their sedans, it was a one-two punch that knocked us on our rear ends, questioning everything from the sanity of executives in each company’s boardrooms to their commitment to the working class. The Impala was the second-longest-running nameplate in GM’s garage, stretching from 1959 to 2020, when Chevy backed out of the large sedan segment it helped create.
Elsewhere in GM’s lineup, the CT6 brought the goosebump-inducing Blackwing name to Cadillac sedans with its custom 550-horsepower 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8. 0-60 mph in less than 4 seconds and a top speed of 150 mph made the late Caddy the one to get if you can nab one of its 1,200 examples produced between 2019 and 2020.
The Fusion might have a shorter rap sheet, but it was Ford’s last remaining sedan in the US and was boxed up with the Impala by the end of 2020. The Impala was losing its luster and sales were in decline for nearly a decade, but the Fusion was still looking healthy when Ford pulled the plug to make room for crossovers with higher profits built in. Neither is expected to reappear in its former shape anytime soon – and hopefully never resembling a crossover, period.
2021
Mazda Retired Its Midsize 6
2018 Mazda 6 – 3/4 front viewMazda
The defunct Mazda 6 packed as much fury into its front-wheel-drive platform to make it just as enjoyable as a $30,000 family sedan as the above CT6 was as a $100,000 luxury sedan. Mazda’s mid-size cruiser used everything from 3.0-liter V6s in the beginning to turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinders at the end to generate flutter in the pits of a driver’s stomach. It was unmatched in its class in interior fit and finish, and where others would whisper sweet nothings about their sports car siblings, the Mazda shouted it from the rooftops. Gone too soon, the 6 was, and a mid-size Mazda-shaped hole in hearts remains.
2022
Volkswagen’s Passat Survived Dieselgate But Couldn’t Outlast SUV Dominance
2022 Volkswagen Passat front 3/4 angle in gray while parkedVolkswagen
The vibrant resurrection of humanity’s collective social life must have been enough of a distraction to keep sedans off the chopping block for a year. However, Volkswagen didn’t get the memo and pulled the Passat from the US after a 32-year-long run. The Passat survived Dieselgate and quick stints cradling W8 engines, all while providing German quality and engineering (for better or worse) at a mainstream price point when no one else was. The Jetta hasn’t fully taken over the Passat’s old desk, which leaves an empty space in VW showrooms across the globe where it once patiently waited to be brought home.
2023
This Year Saw The Chrysler 300, Kia Stinger, Maserati Quattroporte, And Nissan Maxima Disappear From Showrooms
Whatever factory doles out the death sentences kicked into high gear from here on. The Chrysler 300 gracefully departed with class, the Kia Stinger reminded us why we can’t have nice things, Maserati’s Ferrari-powered limo scooted off to the great big Amalfi Coast in the sky, and the Nissan Maxima left before we could properly thank it for its 42 years of service.
Each of these sedans served their purposes and their brands well. The 300 brought Chrysler back into popular culture with its muscle car power and suave looks, just as the Kia Stinger proved Kia meant business when it brought in a who’s who of car design and performance engineering. The end of the Quattroporte meant the end of a 60-year-long chapter of Ferrari V8s draped in Pininfarina sheet metal and stuffed with Italian leather – one that is likely not going to reopen under current management. Nissan is treading in the same waters as it is, and the Maxima was a hole that needed to be patched anyway. C’est la vie, we suppose.
2024
Chevrolet’s Humble Malibu And The Punchy Maserati Ghibli Retired
The last two sedans in either’s stable, the Chevy Malibu and Maserati Ghibli couldn’t be further apart on the sedan spectrum. The Malibu was Chevy’s final sedan after the Impala, Cruze, Sonic, and Volt liftback were all brushed under the rug. It departed on strong footing, however, as the Malibu left with all its cards on the table. No oddball trims not sold in America, no outlandish powertrains gate-kept. Just a tried and true sedan that served two stints in Chevy showrooms from 1964 to 1983 and from 1997 to 2024.
The Ghibli was short-lived (in each of its iterations) compared to the Quattroporte, but like many Maseratis, it follows a long line of short-lived models that Maserati built its brand on. Ferrari powertrains are a stone’s throw away from Maserati’s front door, but the era of engine poaching is likely over now with the all-new Nettuno V6 powering the MC20 and GranTurismo – a design of the trident’s own. With V8s slowly on their way out in Modena, it’s a sad day to think these two have done away with 8-pots as well as sedans.
2025
Cost-Conscious Buyers Lost Both The Nissan Versa And Adventure-Ready Subaru Legacy
Separated by less than you’d think, the Subaru Legacy and Nissan Versa did what many couldn’t (or didn’t bother with) for quite some time. The Versa soldiered on with its five-speed manual until the very end, and what else could power a Subaru but a boxer engine. Both of these nameplates could be found in conjunction with another when outside their traditional three-box sedan shape: the Legacy Outback wagon and the Versa Note.
Each was squeezed out by consumer preference, putting a dent in the number of cars that live south of the $50k average transaction price of a new car. The Legacy lived in a segment of the market that heavily relies on brand loyalty, something Subaru has – but not with its sedans, as we’ve learned from the cancellation of the Impreza in sedan form as well. The spirit of the Versa lives on in the Sentra with its low price, but nothing will beat its $17,390 base MSRP.
2026
We Recently Lost Two Premium Flagships In The Lexus LS And Tesla Model S
2024 Lexus LS 500h from the front three-quarter angleLexus2012 Tesla Model S SignatureTesla
More has been said about these two and their impact on the industry than any of the other sedans listed combined. The Lexus LS forced each brand playing the full-size luxury sedan game to rethink how it built cars, and the Tesla Model S showed an electric vehicle could be capable and desirable in a world where EVs were retrofitted economy cars or basement projects that rarely saw the light of day. Sure, the LS lost its silky V8 in favor of a V6 and the Model S parades more horsepower than any heavy EV needs, but you can’t ignore each’s contributions to recent history.
That both of these influential sedans are extinct before the end of the year is a sobering reminder that what made them great in the beginning, isn’t what will keep them alive as the years go on. Sedans are on their way out, and the best luxury sedan of the early 1990s and the best electric sedan of the 2010s don’t have what it takes to live past 2026 through no fault of their own. Tastes change. Sedans haven’t. So, the real question is, what’s wrong with enjoying the few constants in life?
Sources: Tesla, Lexus, Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, Subaru, Maserati, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Mazda, Cadillac, Jaguar, Mitsubishi, Kia.
