Automakers come and go, with hundreds of brands rising and falling over the past century or more. Some of the marques were barely known, while others, such as Oldsmobile, once were strong players in a competitive market. We'll focus on 26 discontinued automakers, with each letter of the alphabet represented.
American Motors Corporation (AMC)
American Motors Corporation (AMC) was an American automaker formed in 1954 by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. AMC produced a variety of notable vehicles over its history, including the AMC Rambler, AMC Javelin, and AMC Pacer. Perhaps its most iconic product was the Jeep CJ-5, a precursor to today's popular Jeep models, which AMC began producing after acquiring the Jeep brand in 1970. Despite some successes, AMC faced stiff competition from the larger "Big Three" automakers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) and was burdened by the costs of developing new models and updating its production facilities. In the face of
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automobile marque established by Ford Motor Company in 1938. The brand was conceived by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to bridge the price gap between the Ford and Lincoln lineups, thus serving the mid-market segment. Mercury produced a variety of notable models, including the Cougar, a popular pony car that initially shared many components with the Ford Mustang, and the Grand Marquis, a full-size sedan that became a staple of the brand. Despite its success in the mid-20th century, Mercury began to struggle in the late 1990s and 2000s due to a variety of factors, including changing consumer preferences, economic conditions, and a lack of unique models that differentiated it from Ford's other brands. This led to declining sales and market share. In 2010, Ford announced it would discontinue the Mercury brand by the end of the year to focus on its Ford and Lincoln brands. The last Mercury-branded vehicle, a Grand Marquis, rolled off the assembly line in January