6. 2012 Jeep Liberty Sport MSRP: $24,320
Market price: $20.980
Discount: 13.7%
Why give you Liberty or give you death when you can have both?
If you're buying a Jeep Liberty these days, you're buying a dead car rolling. Chrysler's new Italian masters at Fiat took one look at the boxy, bulky, V6-driven Liberty, noticed that Jeep hadn't turned it into a crossover like the Compass or Patriot and decided to cut its losses. The last Liberty rolled out of the factory in Toledo, Ohio, in August as a 2013, but bears a distinct resemblance to the 18.8 mpg model produced in 2012.
All the interior room is still there, dashboard distractions including Bluetooth and navigation remain, but the sales just never surfaced. After peaking at more than 171,000 sales in 2002, demand for the Liberty dropped to 66,900 in 2008 and never reached that ceiling again. Ciao, Liberty.
5. 2012 Nissan Pathfinder V6 SV MSRP: $33,465
Market price: $28.522
Discount: 14.8%
This SUV should come pre-loaded with either a collection of grunge albums or an MP3 of Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days," as it's still clearly living in the past.
The Pathfinder is still being built to compete with the Chevy Blazer and Ford Bronco. It's still hopped up on trucks, it's still getting a paltry 18 miles per gallon and it still thinks a 4.0-liter V6 is something anyone wants in a family vehicle. So why is this museum piece finally getting such a drastic discount? Because next year it joins the rest of the modern automotive world by switching to a car-platform crossover, trimming to a 3.5-liter V6 and cutting fuel economy to a combined 21 miles per gallon. The Pathfinder is finally evolving, but its Stone Age 2012 throwback is still looking for a few good knuckledraggers to drive its old bones off the lot.
4. 2012 Lincoln MKX MSRP: $40,420
Market price: $34,295
Discount: 15.2%
Even Lincoln isn't averse to taking the crossover route. It replaced the Navigator's bulky midsize SUV cousin the Aviator with this vehicle back in 2006 and has racked up more than 20,000 sales each year since.
It may be a luxury crossover, but it's built on the Ford Edge platform and still gets 22.3 combined miles per gallon. That roughly $7,000 premium on the Edge gets drivers a 3.5-liter V6 engine, 20-inch chrome wheels, a voice-activated DVD navigation system, a reverse sensor system, Sirius satellite radio, a THX II-Certified audio system, heated and cooled front seats, and driver and passenger power lumbar supports. It's a lot easier to ride in style when you do so at a discount.
3. 2012 BMW X5 MSRP: $59,045
Market price: $50,079
Discount: 15.2%
The crossover of choice for America's swankier ZIP codes takes the kids to lacrosse and prep hockey practice in a ride that includes a panoramic moonroof with two-piece glass panel, automatic front climate control with separate left and right temperature settings, automatic tailgate with opening and closing feature, front and rear parking distance sensors, rearview camera, a heads-up display on the windshield, HD radio, Sirius-XM satellite radio, rear entertainment center and a navigation system with traffic alerts.
That third row of rear seating and engines that range from the 269-horsepower, 26-miles-per-gallon diesel V8 of the xDrive35d to the 4.4-liter, 400-horsepower V8 of the xDrive50i keep the X5's prep-school parents plenty happy. At a time when luxury SUV sales have been slumping, X5 sales jumped from 35,000 just before the recession in 2007 to more than 40,000 last year.
2. 2012 Ford Expedition XL MSRP: $38,595
Market price: $32,408
Discount: 16%
How old-school is the Ford Expedition? It was brought in to replace the O.J. Simpson-tainted Ford Bronco in 1997. It's still based off a Ford F-150 platform and comes only with a V8 engine. Its combined mileage is a binge-drinking 16.8 mpg.
Like its luxury sister vehicle the Lincoln Navigator, the Expedition is a dinosaur. Despite including I-Love-The-2000s features suchas 20-inch chrome-clad aluminum wheels and a dual head-restraint DVD system in its latest models and being offered in a Funkmaster Flex edition in 2008, the Expedition's sales have cratered from 233,000 in 1999 to just 40,500 last year. That was an improvement from the 32,000 sold after the market tanked in 2009, but still a sign of potential Expedition extinction.
1. 2012 Nissan Armada SV MSRP: $40,865
Market price: $34,187
Discount: 16%
First off, it's tough to invest much faith in an full-size, 5.6-liter V8-engine-laden, combined 15.7-mpg SUV when even the fate of the vehicle it's based on -- the Nissan Titan -- is in question. A deal to make the vehicle in tandem with the Dodge Ram fell through and though Nissan says the Titan will survive, the downward spiral of similar oversized vehicles calls the Armada's survival into question.
Secondly, why would you name your biggest, most intimidating SUV the Armada. Didn't history's most famous armada lose to a smaller British fleet in spectacular fashion? Maybe the options should include a while flag in case drivers find themselves in a parking lot surrounded by Mini Coopers.
