It that time of year again when automakers clean out their showrooms for the new model year. So while you’ll see plenty of all-new 2015 cars and trucks arrive in Canada over the next few months, it’s time to say goodbye, au revoir, auf wiedersehen or sayonara to these 10 vehicles not coming back:
Acura TSX & TL
We’ll miss ye, Acura TSX, and your slick-shifting six-speed manual.
Nick Tragianis, Driving
Honda’s luxury Acura brand has decided to trim its sports sedan offerings by merging its compact TSX and mid-sized TL into the new-for-2015 TLX. Debuting for 1996 as a replacement for the Vigor sedan, the front- and all-wheel-drive TL was a roomy alternative to more compact offerings like the BMW 3 Series. The smaller and front-drive-only TSX was first seen for 2004, and was sold in foreign markets as a Honda Accord.
Cadillac CTS Coupe and Sport Wagon
Cadillac CTS Coupe
Handout, GM
When the third-generation CTS mid-size sedan was introduced for 2014, there was plenty of speculation as to what the Coupe and Sport Wagon models would look like. But the introduction of the smaller Cadillac ATS Coupe for 2015 — and slow sales in general — means the sharp-looking CTS Sport Wagon and two-door Coupe (based on the older, second-generation platform) won’t be coming back for 2015.
Chrysler 200 Convertible
2008 Chrysler Sebring Convertible
Handout, Chrysler
The all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 comes only as a four-door sedan, and is based on a Fiat compact platform that also supports the Dodge Dart sedan. Hence, your options for an open-top car to rent will be one less for 2015 with the demise of the last generation Chrysler 200 Convertible. First seen in 2011, the 200 Convertible was essentially a renamed 2007 to 2010 Chrysler Sebring Convertible.
Honda Insight
2013 Honda Insight
Handout, Honda
We suspect few buyers will even notice Honda’s Insight compact hybrid hatchback won’t be around for 2015. When it was introduced for 2010, the Insight was targeted directly at the Toyota Prius Liftback hybrid. But after sales peaked in 2010 with 1,136 copies sold, the Insight became virtually irrelevant on the sales charts. For all of 2013, only nine Insights were sold in Canada.
Lexis IS C Coupe and IS F Sedan
2014 Lexus IS250
Handout, Lexus
As the compact Lexus IS four-door sedan was redesigned for 2014, now comes the replacements for the outgoing IS C two-door hardtop/convertible: the hardtop-only 2015 RC and RC F coupes. The RC comes either with a 314 hp 3.5-litre V6 or a 2.5L hybrid powerplant. As a successor to the last-generation IS F four-door sedan, the two-door RC F gets upgraded styling, suspension, brakes and steering and a healthy 460 hp V8.
Mazda2
2014 Mazda2
John LeBlanc, Driving
Sharing a platform with the Ford Fiesta, the subcompact Mazda2 is one of the last remaining vehicles from the Japanese automaker’s days of partnership with the American automaker (the other is the CX-9 crossover). So the subcompact is taking a hiatus for the 2015 model year while Mazda ramps up for the all-new 2016 Mazda2. Just released in Japan as the Mazda Demio, expect the North American Mazda2 to arrive some time next year looking a lot like the Mazda Hazumi Concept that debuted at last year’s Geneva Motor Show.
Mercedes-Benz CL-Class
The Mercedes-Benz CL-Class will be discontinued.
Handout, Mercedes-Benz via Wikipedia Commons
Like BMW, Mercedes-Benz is rejigging its naming system. But unlike its German rival, Mercedes is simplifying things. No longer calling its full-sized S-Class Sedan-based two-door the CL-Class, the all-new version for 2015 has been logically renamed the S-Class Coupe. Compared with the outgoing CL two-door, the S-Class Coupe is lower, wider, shorter in length and has a bigger and wider grille. And as neither BMW nor Audi offers a full-sized, two-door luxury coupe, the newly named S-Class Coupe remains unique.
Nissan Cube
Turns out, there is a limit to funky, as the Nissan Cube demonstrates.
Handout, Nissan
Since its celebrated debut in 2009, the subcompact Nissan Cube has never caught on with Canadian new car buyers. With only 14 Cubes sold through to the end of June this year, sales are down a whopping 87%. That’s a far cry from the 2,864 Cubes sold in the Nissan small wagon’s best year, 2010. Even Nissan’s high-performance GT-R supercar (with 76 copies sold for 2014) outsells the woeful Cube.
Scion xD
Toyota Scion xD.
Jim Leggett, For Montreal Gazette
Like the Cube, the xD is a small-and-quirky Japanese hatchback that never found a following and is being shown the door. While it first appeared in U.S. showrooms in 2007, the four-door xD didn’t arrive in Canada until Toyota’s Scion brand was introduced here for 2011. Compared to the over 4,000 copies of the subcompact Toyota Yaris that were sold in Canada for the first half of this year, only 167 xDs were moved.
Toyota FJ Cruiser
2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser
Handout, Toyota
Inspired by the iconic FJ40 Land Cruisers from the 1960s, when the modern FJ Cruiser arrived for 2007 it was seen as a breath of fresh air from Toyota: here was a vehicle overflowing with personality and purpose. But the FJ’s popularity seems to have run its course. While almost 5,000 FJ Cruisers were sold in its first year on-sale, Toyota Canada moved just under 700 copies in 2013.
