One person bought a brand new Dodge Avenger in 2019.
In 2019, a whopping 448,071 people bought brand new Toyota RAV4s. It’s the brand’s best-selling model, and it handily beat out its competition to become the dominating crossover in the U.S. market. Someone out there — and by that, I mean one person — bucked the trend and managed to find a brand new Dodge Avenger on a dealer lot. You know, the same Avenger that went out of production six years ago.
Here’s the thing. The Dodge Avenger wasn’t really competitive when it went out of production. However, it went out of production so long ago, the car that essentially replaced it — the Chrysler 200 — is also out of production. Here’s to hoping that person got a screaming deal, but they weren’t the only ones who bought discontinued cars in 2019.
Chrysler 200: 48 sales in 2019
Speaking of the Chrysler 200, 48 of you managed to find one in 2019. This is a newer example than the Avenger, but it had its own issues that kept it from being competitive against its sedan competition at the time. That, apart from the fact people weren’t buying nearly as many sedans in the first place, cemented the 200’s downfall.
In terms of zombie cars, many more people managed to find FCA’s old models kicking around, just waiting to be scooped up.
Jeep Patriot: 27 sales in 2019
The Patriot was the cheapest Jeep model around, a distinction that’s now been passed to its car-like cousin, the Compass. It still sold fairly well despite being in production for over a decade. But when FCA went to redesign the Compass in 2017, the aging Patriot got the short end of the stick. Now the Renegade and Compass occupy the entry-level area of the Jeep brand.
Dodge Dart: 25 sales in 2019
Noting a trend here? FCA has built a plethora of models that met their maker in the past few years, and some new examples are still kicking around dealer lots. That’s also the case with the ill-fated Dodge Dart, which bit the bullet along with the Chrysler 200. Both the Dart and its Chrysler-branded sibling were, per former CEO Sergio Marchionne, two bad investments the company made in recent years.
The Dart sold decently throughout its life, and the model still lives on in the Fiat-based Dodge Neon aimed at the Mexican market. Still, sales just under 100,000 weren’t even close to unseating the Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic as two of the best-selling small cars in America today.
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive: 8 sales in 2019
It’s likely you may not have known the Mercedes-Benz B-Class even exists if you live in America. While other global markets have known this small wagon for nearly two decades, we only received the electric version between 2013 and 2017. Just over 3,500 found their way to U.S. buyers in that time.
Dodge Viper: 5 sales in 2019
The Dodge Viper lived for five generations over 26 years, with the VX generation putting out over 600 horsepower when it ended production in 2017. Odds are some dealers held onto their Vipers as a halo car to get people in the door, but these also could have been floating in the ether. Whatever the case, 5 remaining new Vipers found homes in 2019.
Lexus LFA: 3 sales in 2019
It’s weird when supercars sit unsold for years and years on end, but that’s what happened with the Lexus LFA. In fairness, it wasn’t exactly cheap to buy new, as it cost $375,000 back in 2012. It’s definitely a unique offering with a screaming 4.8-liter V10, and only 500 were built.
