Classic Automobile Brands That Went Dormant Over Time

Over the years there have been quite a few luxury car manufacturers worldwide. While there have been a few that have been succeeding the race for the best luxury cars regularly, and a few that have been dormant and have failed to beat the odds (White, 2019).

Every few years there are new car manufacturers that enter the race and just bow out. There are always extreme highs and extreme lows in the luxury automobile industry. While there have been brands like Ferrari, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Ferrari still competing, there are brands that have already gone defunct. Below there is a list of a few luxury brands that went into non-existence. Let’s have a look at those brands and see what happened below:

‘Top 5 Extinct Luxury Car Brands’

1. Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company

Arguably, one of the best luxury car makers during its time, which existed from 1913 to 1937, Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company was purely an American made elegance. Fred and Augie started building and designing racecars post WW1. Due to lack of advertising, failure to get the car on the market, finding a network of dealers, led to financial instability thus leading to management issues in the company. This led to E.L. Cord, a famous American businessman taking over the company, which led to the making of Model ‘J’ car. Each craftsman had to assemble every component of the chassis by hand. The Duesenberg car had won the famous ‘Indianapolis 500 Mile Race’ in 1924, and the famous International Grand Prix at ‘Le Mans, France’ in 1921. As a subsidiary of Auburn Automobile company since its takeover in 1926, the financial success of Duesenberg was dependent on Auburn indirectly (Mason,1970). Due to change in the ‘Securities Act Of 1993’ E.L. Cord could not have his holding company ‘Cord Corporation’ include all the companies. This led to discontinuation of Auburn and Cord sold all his shares in the holding company for $2.6 Million. The 16-acre factory of Duesenberg in Indianapolis was sold. Less than 1200 doosies were made, out of which, very few were fortunate enough to drive them.

2. Packard Motor company

Packard auto Company was one of the most iconic American automobile companies in the world. ‘Ask the Man Who Owns One’ is a famous slogan when talking about Packard. It first started off in 1899, it was called Ohio Motor company. The vision for the company began when James Ward Packard, a mechanical engineer was challenged by Winton Automobiles to make a better car when James complained about their car. A 12-cylinder car was the amplifying essence of the Packard automobiles. During World War 1, James decided to stick with production of Boats and aircraft helping the company generate a profit. In 1942, due to the war, Packard also manufactured military vehicles and engines which generated them $33 Million in Profit. The Clipper series cars were one of the widest cars ever made. Towards the end of 1940’s started the decline of the company. Many did not purchase Packard cars as much due to the longevity of the Packard car itself. Packard was owned by Chrysler for a while before its official demise in 1956. Although Packard was very diverse within its company during the time, by employing African Americans, the African worker were denied from using sanitation or Foundry facilities. Almost 25,000 White workers walked out on a blackout protest. Packard cars truly were one of the most breathtaking and admirable cars ever made. One of the most long-lasting cars ever made, if not the most. You truly got to ask, who owns one.

3. The DMC DeLorean 12

The DMC company was founded in 1975. The ‘Back to The Future Car’ was quite eye-catching with the traditional open wings (Conlin & Jolliffe). John DeLorean offered stocks to dealers and investors to obtain funding to build a car. John was destined to be a president at GM Motors though, due to indifferences he left the company and started his own company. According to (FalIon and Srodes, 1983: 117—23) John DeLorean was able to secure an offer worth$121 Million in just 45 days as the British Government wanted to provide jobs after the Guerrilla War. The most terrible Chapter for DMC was yet to come When John DeLorean was arrested on Drug Charges through a ‘Sting FBI Operation’ and the court found him not guilty though they did hear John say, “A Bag Full of Cocaine Is as Good as Gold”(Rothman, 2016). John was The Face of the Brand Himself. He was accused of Building Twice as Many Cars As he was selling. He denied these allegations and was living an Extravagant life. With a very sad ending to The DeLorean Brand, The Car however can still be seen in a Museum Off Ulster Folk & Transport near Belfast. However, DeLorean is remembered as an important heritage in Belfast. The DMC Brand represented a very Flamboyant but an element of Pride. You can enjoy the amazing DMC Story on the New Netflix saga, ‘Framing John DeLorean’ launched in 2019.

4. Plymouth (Chrysler Corporation)

The Famous Plymouth was established in 1928 by Chrysler. It was a move back then by Chrysler to bring affordable priced fancy cars to the youngsters (myAutoWorld.com). Plymouth was a car that was being driven to grocery stores, Baseball courts, to go for a local trip. It was a family-owned car. The increase in fuel prices during the 1973 crisis, gave rise to the Plymouth Horizon. This crisis led to Japanese car companies selling small-sized cars like Datsun and Toyota. This led to a reduction in Retail Car sales for Plymouth from 7,50,000 units to 5,00,000 in 1973. This called for a hammering of a new dynamic approach to tackle the sales issue by Chrysler. A new 23-man team was formed, where the marketing strategy was to target women of the age between 20-40 as they would go for more compact cars. ‘Plymouth Place’ was a concept to showcase their cars in local shopping malls to take the stress out of Car shopping. Each Plymouth car was catered for the specific target market. The famous Plymouth Prowler was designed to revamp the ‘Hot Rod’ Shock culture. There was a decrease in sales for Plymouth after 1990, whereas in Canada, by 1999 the brand had gone dormant. Due to the consolidation of other brands under the Chrysler Company like Dodge, Chrysler itself. The last model was launched in 2000-2001. Due to Competition in its own division of cars, saw the Plymouth Division come to an end in production in 2001. You can still catch a glimpse of the car through auction houses a by just placing A hefty bid for the car if you can shell out the big bucks.

5. Kaiser-Frazer Corporation

Kaiser Frazer was established in 1947, Ohio. They lasted in the Automotive Industry for a very short while from 1947-1955. They were successful because of their Modern Design cars whereas others still had outdated engines, after World War 2. The story began with Henry J. Kaiser who started as a construction worker and then later branched into cement, construction, and steel production. Kaiser’s values were inculcated in the company which was considered anachronistic during its time. Kaiser saw an opportunity to team up with Joseph Frazer to increase sales, who was a top salesman at Chrysler. “It’s been the dealers who have always been the guts of the car business in the USA” (Lee Lacocca,) Former CEO, Chrysler. Henry Kaiser did not understand this concept, which started the downfall of his company. He and his company lacked Consumer Marketing Skills. Henry Kaiser merged with Willy’s-Overland Motors in 1954, by making it the largest merger in American automotive industry. Henry’s ambition to claim a share in ‘The Big Three’ (Ford, GM, Chrysler) ended with this merger. They introduced cars with not more power than 90HP for a car called ‘Darrin’ that had not succeeded, though it had fancy doors that slid to the fenders to open and a first of its kind, a ‘Fibreglass’ stylish Roadster. Only 435 models were made. Kaiser Frazer cars are to date considered to be an all-time classic.

To the Classic collectors and car enthusiasts, getting your hands on any of these cars even for a few hours would be a ‘Pride of Joy’. The elements of being extinct, very few made in the world, is what drives classic’s like these Brands, became Defunct over time but still in our Heart over time. From producing competitive pony cars to delivering luxury transport, the demise of car brands has been quite painful but very much pleasurable to car enthusiasts.  Did you own a car that any of these car brands made? If you do want one, the hustle to search for any of these would not be easy.