Vehicles come and vehicles go, and that means that every year some cars and trucks aren't renewed for another model year. Some carry on but get a new name, while others fade off quietly into the showrooms of history. This is a list of those ones. All of the cars (and a couple of not-cars) that you could buy this year, but won't make it to model year 2021. While some of them have been around for a lot longer than we had ever expected, at least one only lasted one year.
Acura RLX
You're going to notice a pattern on this list: Almost all of the models being dropped for 2021 are sedans. Sedans that have seen their sales shine stolen by larger (and more profitable) crossovers. The RLX was Acura's big luxury sedan, and in past years it offered FWD in a world of AWD and RWD competition. This year, the only trim offered was the top-spec AWD hybrid version, and with just one on offer, it's not much surprise there will be no 2021 model.
BMW i8
The i8 was a sports car revolution from BMW. A plug-in hybrid powered by a three-cylinder engine that boasted carbon-fibre construction and hypercar looks. While it didn't exactly have a hypercar price tag to go with, it was expensive for a car with 369 hp total and a 24 km electric range. The i8, though, was always amazing to look at, but now it's time to bring production to an end. Expect more i models from BMW, since that's now the automaker's EV brand, but don't expect anything quite as special as this one.
Cadillac CT6
The CT6, at least, went out with a bang. A very limited-run of CT6-V cars equipped with the all-new and now also gone 4.2L twin-turbo V8 making 550 hp were some of the last of the CT6s. They didn't move enough of those to save the model, and with flagship sedan customers moving quickly from the sedan to crossovers like Cadillac's own all-new XT6, say farewell to this luxury rocket ship for 2021.
Dodge Journey
The Journey spent the better part of a decade as the most-affordable three-row crossover in Canada. Especially if you wanted that third row to be at least slightly useful. But the Journey's own trip had been a long one, and it was starting to look and feel its age compared with the competition. For 2020 it went four-cylinder front-drive only, and for 2021 the Journey's voyage is over.
Dodge Grand Caravan
Another hit with shoppers looking for a bargain, the Grand Caravan helped pioneer the minivan segment and, even now, sells more than double its closest competitor. But the Grand Caravan was first expected to disappear nearly four years ago when the much fancier Chrysler Pacifica arrived on the market and now the Dodge Caravan is finally gone for 2021. However, as a bit of a last-minute surprise, Fiat Chrysler has announced that instead of calling the new entry-spec version of the Pacifica van the Voyager, as they'll be doing in the US, the pre-refresh Chrysler Pacifica will be sold in Canada as the Chrysler Grand Caravan. So the Grand Caravan is dead, long live the Grand Caravan.
Ford Fusion
It's been more than two years since Ford announced it was giving all of its cars (save the Mustang) the axe in Canada and the U.S., and the Fusion is the last one to go. In its prime, the Fusion could be had as both a plug-in hybrid and a twin-turbo sports sedan, but with the imminent arrival of the Bronco Sport, set to be built at the plant the Fusion called home, there was no more room for the sedan.
Honda Civic Coupe
Honda counts the Civic Coupe, Sedan, and Hatchback as separate models on its website, though not in sales reports, but we'll go with that site separation on this one. While the Civic models together remain the most popular car in the country, Honda said sales of the two-door version have slumped to single-digit percentages. Just three percent of total Civic sales. That means a farewell to the sportier-shaped Civic; and especially in the coupe-only highlighter shades that Honda offered, it will be missed. These days, buyers looking for sporty coupes have fewer choices, but, then again, there are fewer buyers looking for these vehicles in the first place.
Honda Fit
One size down from the ever-growing compact Civic, the Honda Fit hatchback first arrived here in 2006 as a wonder of packaging with more interior space than some much larger SUVs thanks to the magic-folding rear seat and putting the fuel tank under the front seats.
Two generations later, the Fit's run is at an end. While an all-new model, known in some markets as the Jazz, will go on sale in other parts of the world (including as a hybrid), competition from inside the same showroom has taken the finish off of the Fit. Outsold last year nearly four to one by Honda's own HR-V, a trend that's been building since 2015, we'll miss the subcompact that punched well above its exterior size.
Hyundai Accent
The Accent arrived here in 1994, eventually becoming so popular it made up a third of the entire segment's sales. But after close to half a million units, the upstart Venue has wiped off the Accent's crown. With the hatch in Canada and not the U.S., and the sedan gone here last year, this is another vehicle that will be missed, but only by about half as many people as at its peak.
Hyundai Veloster
We're used to seeing the fast version of cars disappear, but Hyundai's pulling a bit of a surprise. The Veloster and Veloster Turbo are gone for 2021, but the hot-hatch N remains. Sales of the three-door plus hatch asymmetrical Veloster were up last year, from 1,077 to 1,420, but both are well down from the car's high of 5,741 per year in Canada. Our understanding is that many Velosters last year were the very quick N, and with it getting an automatic gearbox this year, demand for the regular models would likely shrink again. So after only two years, say farewell to the regular Veloster.
Lincoln Continental
Just a few years ago, Lincoln made a massive move in the sedan segment. The Continental was an effort to recapture the brand's big-car prestige, and, frankly, it did a great job of it. Especially the coach-door special edition. But, alas, sedans continue to lose market share, and with Lincoln launching excellent (and more popular) crossovers like the Navigator and Aviator, the Continental was left out and won't be back for 2021.
Lincoln MKZ
Lincoln's smaller sedan, the MKZ, was the more upscale version of the Ford Fusion. But that doesn't mean it was just a rebadge, this sedan offered some serious luxury credentials. But compact and midsize luxury buyers are looking at crossovers like the Corsair instead, and so the MKZ goes away to make room for more crossovers at the Ford plant that builds it.
Lexus GS
The GS was the Lexus competitor to the likes of BMW's 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, but in the last few years the sales gap has widened between the Lexus and the rest. The GS offered up some serious performance, especially when the box for the 467 hp, 5.0L V8-powered GS F was ticked, but it didn't have the staying power of the Germans.
Mercedes-Benz SLC Roadster
You can probably picture the BMW Z4 in your mind, and the same with Audi's TT. But can you picture the SLC? Probably not, and that's largely the problem facing the roadster that first arrived in 1996 as the SLK. While the retractable hardtop car was offered with a 2.0L four as the SLC 300 and with a 385 hp AMG V6 as the SLC 43, with gadgets like a clear roof that could change to opaque to keep the sun off of you, sales in the last few years were just a fraction of the competition.
Mitsubishi Mirage G4
We're not sure when this one happened, exactly, but the Mitsubishi Mirage G4 sedan is no more. While there was no 2020 model either, it looks like some 2019s did make it to dealers this calendar year, which means it's on the list. The sedan version of Mitsu's subcompact offered a shockingly large cabin, especially in the rear, but a surprising amount of competition in this segment meant that the Mirage G4 didn't have the sales success of the hatch. The hatch lives on, getting a new face for the new year.
Nissan Micra
One of the competitors for lowest-priced new car in Canada and the vehicle that launched one of the most entertaining racing series in the country, the Micra didn't get a 2020 model either. But since Nissan still has the 2019 listed for sale on its website, we're calling it as dead this year. For a hair over $10,000, this one gave you everything you really needed from a car, along with a new car smell and a long warranty. We'll miss the Micra and the Micra Cup that will likely go with it.
Toyota Yaris
For 2020, the Yaris hatchback was an all-new model to Canada. Based on a Mazda2 not sold here, that car replaced the previous, French-built iteration. After just one year on the market, Toyota has pulled the plug on its smallest car. While we'll miss this little model, the larger and better-equipped Corolla starts for less than $2,000 more, so we think most shoppers will just make the upgrade.
Volkswagen Golf SportWagen/Alltrack
The Golf wagon and lifted Alltrack both technically ended with the 2019 model year because the cars were dead in the US that year. But VW knows that Canadians love their wagons, so the company told us that they were stockpiling what they thought would be enough to sell until the end of this year. It might say 2019 on the sticker, but we're calling this one dead for 2021.
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