Yahoo Autos These Cars Were Only Sold For A Single Model Year
Welcome to a showcase of automotive rarities; cars that left their mark in automotive history by gracing the roads for just a single model year. Some of these one-hit wonders achieved cult status, while others rightfully faded into obscurity, and there are even a couple that I think deserve more love than they get. Whether the reason for the short production run was a flawed initial design or a culmination of a financial crisis and grossly mismanaged funding, these delicious automotive duds are rare if nothing else.
These vehicles may have only graced showrooms for a single model year, but my purpose is to make sure their legacy lives on, even if only in a cheeky Jalopnik slideshow. Interestingly, I’d say that each of these single-year models taught their respective automakers some valuable lessons in their own ways. But ultimately it comes down to automakers listening to the desires of their customers. This slideshow compiles several models that only lasted for a single year, and a bit about their respective rarity.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Surprisingly, the reason that the Corvette was sold with a split rear window for a single model year was due to poor public reception of the design. Obviously a split rear window impedes visibility, so the split was removed for 1964. Nowadays, split window Corvettes are incredibly sought after by collectors.
2009 Kia Borrego
This was a moment of unhinge on Kia’s part. The Borrego was a body on frame three-row SUV that was meant to compete with the likes of the Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota 4Runner of the time. The Borrego offered a V8 from the Hyundai Genesis, and could tow up to 7,500 pounds. It was hurt by bad fuel economy and lack of name recognition, but now I really want to see someone lift it and turn it into a total trail machine.
1990 Nissan Axxess
I must say I had never heard of the Nissan Axxess prior to writing this. I have seen them on the road, but I just assumed they were Nissan Stanzas, but Nissan brought this mini minivan to the U.S. to undercut the Chrysler minivans’ dual sliding doors. It seems like a great little MPV, but it was canceled after a single model year.
2011 Saab 9-4X
This one hurts. My first car was a 2003 Saab 9-3 Cabriolet, and I loved that car despite its catastrophic reliability that almost bankrupt me at the age of 18. General Motors ran Saab into the ground, and this 9-4X was one of the legendary Swedish brand’s last gasps of life. It was a rebadged Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, Cadillac XT5 clone, and it was emblematic of everything that GM did wrong with this once-great brand.
2012 Honda Civic
The 2012 Honda Civic has a fun story, or at least I think it’s fun. When Honda introduced this generation of the Civic, it was immediately met with resounding hate. Honda really dropped the ball on its compact car with this redesign, earning critique for looking boring, feeling boring to drive, and having poor interior quality where previous Civics were favorites of the automotive press. Honda immediately facelifted it and changed almost everything for the 2013 model year and it was much better received.
2007 Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG
Two words: hell yes. It’s such a tragedy that Mercedes-Benz only built the R63 AMG for a single model year, but that contributes to its allure. It’s incredibly rare, and incredibly weird. It’s basically an AMG minivan and I want one so so so badly.
2008 Dodge Magnum
2008 really wasn’t a great year, was it? Did something happen? Just kidding I remember when the government bailed out Chrysler and General Motors during the recession. I was but a child at the time but I do remember it well, actually. The Dodge Magnum was refreshed for the 2008 model year, but Dodge had to refocus its money toward fending off bankruptcy rather than keeping slow-selling models afloat. I think it’s a shame, too since I love the Magnum.
2016 Scion iA and iM
Scion was an experiment for the Toyota brand in the United States. It was supposed to be a youthful sub-brand that targeted funky millennials who wanted to personalize their cars and not be affiliated with the stodgy Toyota name. I guess Toyota gave up on that since Scion went the way of the Dodo, leaving the iA and the iM to continue on as Toyota models.
2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe
The BMW 1-Series M Coupe is a single year model that has a hefty following behind it. The 1M as it’s often called, was one of the last analog BMW M Cars ever made. It was front engine, naturally aspirated, manual transmission, rear wheel drive performance coupe that was rowdy and characterful.
2002 Lincoln Blackwood
With the success of the Lincoln Navigator in the 1990s, it would make sense to expand America’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-Series pickup into the luxury space, but unfortunately for the Blackwood that theory didn’t pan out. The Blackwood is a total automotive anomaly that was launched at the same time as Cadillac’s Escalade EXT pickup that lasted a bit longer than the Blackwood, but was never a screaming success. Fast forward to modern pickups that have all the luxury amenities that grace luxury cars, and maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea? It’s strange to me that the Lincoln Blackwood wasn’t a success, but it sure makes for a cool collectible pickup.
2003 Mazdaspeed Protoge
Mazda needs to bring back its Mazdaspeed cars. One of my favorite traits a car can have is playfulness, and a name like Mazdaspeed guaranteed that these little pipsqueaks were playful and zippy. Mazdaspeed made faster versions of the Mazda 6, the Mazda 3, the Mazda Miata, and this sweet little Protoge.
2006 Lincoln Zephyr
I remember when the Zephyr came out and I absolutely loved it from the name to the looks to everything about it I wanted one desperately. I am not a big fan of alpha numeric car model names, since I feel like it moves the car more toward an appliance than a friend, so I prefer the Zephyr name to the MKZ naming scheme that came along in 2007.
2009 Pontiac G3
The G3 was Pontiac’s version of the Chevrolet Aveo. Not a great car or one that anyone misses, but it’s stinkin’ adorable. I feel like the Pontiac clones of GM cars looked the best out of all the GM brands. Fight me. This, the Pontiac Torrent, and the Pontiac Solstice, all looked better than their GM stablemates.
2021 McLaren Elva
The Elva was a very specialized project by McLaren that only resulted in 149 cars. It had no windshield and no roof, so it’s definitely a special car for a special buyer. Another one percenter special, just what the world needs.
2012 Coda EV
The Coda EV was an early EV startup that never got much chance at life. Like many startups, the quality of the initial product was questionable, with poor interior quality and fitment, especially considering the $38,000 price tag back in 2012. You can read more about it in a previous article here!