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Some cars are on the market for a decent length of time - sometimes over 10 years.
But not this lot - and sometimes the brands that make them don't last very long either. Earlier this year, it was announced that Nissan’s luxury arm Infiniti will withdraw from Western Europe, including Britain, by early 2020.
Although reasonably successful in Asia and America, the brand failed to make much headway following its arrival in the UK in 2008. That year was a wretched one to try and launch any business, and the effort was hampered by thirsty engines and an unknown brand.
But it soldiered on, repeatedly launching and then axing models to try and a find a winning formula. All of which means that Infinitis put plenty of appearances in this feature about the shortest-living cars.
Behold then, here are the George Lazenbys of British motoring history, complete with ‘how many left’ data (giving a guide to how many are still on the road today) and indicative used prices in case you're tempted – we start with the ‘longest’, relatively speaking, and work our way up to the shortest – including a model that lasted just seven months or so…
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FIVE YEARS ON SALE
Alfa Romeo 159 (2006-11)
Not a bad car, the preceding 156’s poor reliability and poor dealer support doomed the handsome 159 from the start however.
How many left? Roughly 7700
I want one – how much? Decent ones from £1500
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Audi A2 (2000-05)
A rare off-target car from Audi, though only relatively, as you’ll see from the numbers remaining. Functional low-drag styling produced a sophisticated but earnest look that put off some, while others loved its lightweight aluminium construction and high-rise seating.
A firm ride and the need to pay extra for a fifth seat were minor annoyances in a car that was way ahead of its time. High production costs combined lethally with slowing sales to kill it prematurely.
How many left? Around 11,000
I want one – how much? Decent ones without intergalactic mileages are around £1500, and have future classic potential.
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Peugeot RCZ (2010-15)
This pretty coupé was barely promoted by Peugeot post-launch, with obvious, sad consequences. Another tiresome aspect was that this would-be sports car shared its platform with the Peugeot Partner van and Citroen Berlingo van-with-windows. What could possibly go wrong? The high-performance R version has its fans in our office, however.
How many left? Around 11,500
I want one – how much? Decent ones from £5000. Rs from £10,000.
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Vauxhall Signum (2003-08)
A magnificent example of GM’s build-it-and-it-will sell arrogance that was only tempered by its near demise in 2009. With hindsight, it is amazing that this pointless, long-wheelbase oddball remained on sale for five years. It is the sister car to the Fiat Croma, which you will be shocked and surprised to learn also puts in an appearance in this story.
How many left? Around 8000
I am mildly eccentric and want one – how much? Five-figure mileage cars from £1700.
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FOUR YEARS ON SALE:
Cadillac BLS (2006-10)
Amazing that this one lasted as long as it did, but perhaps stocks took time to clear. A reskinned Saab 9-3, the BLS was unusual for being the only Cadillac not sold in the US, being built in Sweden and available with an Italian diesel engine.
Nothing wrong with the international confection, but the BLS’s limited talents turned it into a cut-price Saab. Industry wags dubbed it the Bob Lutz Special after the GM bigwig who championed this particular idea. Did the wagon version help? No.
How many left? Around 330
I want one – how much? Only two on sale right now – from £1400
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Chevrolet Aveo (2011-15)
This small, cheap car was stalled by Chevrolet’s withdrawal from the UK; it briefly sold in decent numbers before fading as fast as a Snapchat message.
How many left? Around 13,000
I want one – how much? Sheds from £800, decent ones from £1300.
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Chevrolet Orlando (2011-15)
Another car prematurely deceased when Chevy withdrew from the UK. Built in South Korea, this 7-seater was actually decent and practical enough.
How many left? Roughly 3500
I want one – how much? £4500 should get you a 2012 example with 72,000 miles on the clock.
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Chrysler Ypsilon (2011-15)
This was a quirkily appealing little Lancia – for that is what it really was behind the Chrysler badge – but troubled. It died when the Chrysler name disappeared from the UK, it lives on (just) in Italy as a Lancia, that company’s only and almost certainly last-ever model.
How many left? Roughly 4500
I want one – how much? From £3000.
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Jeep Patriot (2007-11)
The Patriot was uncertain off-road, miserable on it, what with its Poundland-standard cabin plastics and yelling VW diesel engine.
How many left? Around 3800
I still want one – how much? Decent ones from £3000.
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MG 6 Magnette (2011-15)
The Magnette was a booted version of the MG6 hatch, badged with the fabled MG name in desperation. Not the worst drive in the world, it was petrol-only, and hampered by very high running costs.
How many left? Around 1050
I want one – how much? Decent ones from £4000.
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Peugeot 1007 (2005-09)
Peugeot’s answer to… who knows what? It had electrically sliding doors, which opened ponderously. They also made it very heavy and slow. It looked truncated, like its career in the UK market.
How many left? Around 5000
I want one – how much? From £1000.
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Peugeot 407 Coupé (2006-10)
Well-made, but not made for long. Survival stats unidentifiable among those for other variants.
How many left? Unknown
I want one – how much? Decent ones from £2000.
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Renault Laguna Coupé (2008-12)
The existence stats are buried among Laguna hatches and wagons. But believe us: it’s rare. Much better looking than the other Lagunas, some compared it to a miniature Aston Martin, at least from the back.
How many left? Unknown
I want one – how much? Five-figure mileage cars from £2700.
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Smart Roadster (2003-07)
This was a clever, roadgoing concept car whose frustrating gearbox helped strangle sales.
How many left? Around 3800
I want one – how much? Decent ones from £1600. 101bhp Brabus version has future classic possibility, with prices from £3000.
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Ssangyong Kyron (2006-10)
The Kyron was good off-road, but felt like it was still there when returned to Tarmac. It was later offered with a five year, 250,000-mile warranty, but even that wasn’t enough to bolster its fortunes.
How many left? 840 or so
I want one – how much? From about £2000.
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THREE YEARS ON SALE:
Alfa Romeo Spider (2007-10)
The Spider was lovely to look at but distinctly average to drive – really more of a two-seat cabriolet than a sportster. Overweight, over-quivery and all over pretty quickly.
How many left? Roughly 1300
I want one – how much? Decent ones from £5000.
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Infiniti M (2010-13)
If you’re going to launch a rival into a conservative space dominated by the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes E-Class, you need to have a prestige brand, a great design, and competitive pricing. Infiniti had none of these, and the market rewarded it accordingly.
How many left? Roughly 300
I want one – how much? Decent ones from £9000.
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Fiat Idea (2004-07)
Once upon a time your ignorant writer made the mistake of accepting this as a ‘VW Golf or similar’ at an Italian car rental counter. Minutes later, bouncing about an autostrada in the middle of the night he realised his error. Frightful.
How many left? 2400 or so
Fake news - I still want one - how much? From £1000
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Honda CR-Z (2010-13)
It only went off-sale in the US in 2017, but Honda’s dinky little CR-Z hybrid disappeared from British showrooms six years ago. The idea was great – combine the cheeky verve of the 1980s CR-X coupé with the low-emissions, low-guilt ownership of a hybrid.
But the CR-Z wasn’t quite quick enough to reignite the frenetic zest of its ancestor (although the volume of noise was there), while an ordinary diesel supermini easily matched its economy.
How many left? Around 3800
I want one - how much? Decent ones from £4500.
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Mercedes-Benz Vaneo (2002-05)
Developed by Daimler’s commercial vehicle arm, as suggested by a name designed to put buyers off. Which it did.
How many left? Around 1300
I want one - how much? Well preserved examples from £2400.
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Seat Toledo (2005-08)
The third-generation Toledo was essentially an Altea with a big fat boot, to which many buyers said a big fat no.
How many left? Around 2200
I want one - how much? Decent ones from £1000 or so.
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Toyota Urban Cruiser (2009-12)
Cool name, almost cool shape and a cool-to-cold reception from buyers.
How many left? Around 4200
I want one - how much? OK-looking ones from £3000.
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Vauxhall Ampera (2012-15)
Brilliant, brave and soon to bomb, this was skewered by a high price and buyers’ then indifference to green machines.
How many left? 1100 or so
I want one - how much? Five-figure mileage examples from £9500
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Infiniti Q30 (2016-2019)
This Sunderland-built premium hatchback semi-crossover should have stood a chance. It had a decent interior and benefited from being essentially a sister car to the Mercedes A-Class. But its ride was choppy, its interior cramped, and its brand uncertain.
With the recent traumatic departure of Infiniti cheerleader and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, production will end in summer 2019, along with that of its QX30 higher-riding sister.
How many left? 2900 or so
I want one - how much? From £10,000.
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TWO YEARS ON SALE:
Now we’re starting to get serious…
Aston Martin Cygnet (2011-13)
The Cygnet was a Toyota iQ city car, converted into an Aston Martin. It was allegedly dreamed up on a golf course. A weird way into Aston ownership.
How many left? 140
I crave an Aston Martin, anything will do - how much? Interestingly, the sheer lack of success of this car when new has led to scarcity holding up residual values. And Stirling Moss has one (pictured). You won’t get into one for less than £29,000.
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Infiniti Q60 (2016-18)
Sharper looks for this new generation coupe couldn’t deflect from a dated interior, spongey steering and an unknown badge on the front.
How many left? 130 or so
I want one - how much? From £20,000.
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Fiat 124 Spider (2016-18)
Sister car to the Mazda MX-5 Mk4, it always sat in that car’s shadow, and the perception that it was more cruiser than sports car. Fiat never confirmed to us why the model was axed – we suspect it was a combination of slow sales and the need to clear the model through WLTP emissions testing. Its presumably more profitable Abarth 124 sister continues, however.
How many left? 2600 or so
I want one - how much? From £12,500
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Cadillac STS (2009-10)
Another product of GM’s seemingly endless quest to make Cadillacs a force in Europe. GM tooled these for right-hand drive and set prices keenly – essentially charging 5 Series money for a 7 Series sized car. But it was rewarded with sales of just 45.
How many left? 24
I want one - how much? Extremely hard to get hold of, when they appear they seem to sell for around £9000.
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Chevrolet Volt (2013-15)
Chevy’s withdrawal didn’t help, but it was selling slowly anyway despite its brilliance. Just too expensive.
How many left? 118 or so
I want one - how much? Very rare, lowish-miles examples from £7500.
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Chrysler Delta (2011-13)
A miserable, short-lived, badge-engineered travesty and another example of Fiat Chrysler’s periodic abuse of brands – this Delta being a Lancia. This quietly elegant hatch was true to the standard, pre-rallying Delta of 1978. Not that anyone cared. FCA rebranded the Delta over here because it figured that Chrysler badges would smother sales less completely than a Lancia shield.
Either way, the Delta’s pricing was heroically ambitious (equivalent BMWs were often cheaper, at retail if not real world prices at least), and its career was brief.
How many left? 830 or so
I want one - how much? 60,000 milers from £4000.
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Chrysler Sebring saloon (2007-09)
A US budget rental fleet special that made you pleased to get back in your own car. Nasty.
How many left? Around 1300
I love rental cars – how much? OK looking examples are to be had from just £1500.
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Dodge Avenger (2007-09)
As per the Sebring, but this was meant to be a budget performance car. It wasn’t. Those of a historical bent may be interested to know that the Avenger name was something Chrysler first used on the Hillman Avenger, a big selling but now largely forgotten saloon in the 1970s, and a nameplate retained when the rest of its European arm was sold to PSA in 1979.
How many left? About 600
I want one - how much? £2000 should secure a tidy example.
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Dodge Journey (2008-10)
The Journey was an unfortunate car, as it was launched just as the people-carrier class implosion gathered force, and the new owner of Chrysler, Fiat, was questioning the wisdom of bringing the Dodge brand to the UK.
How many left? Around 1400
I want one - how much? Reasonable examples seem to be out there from £3000.
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Dodge Nitro (2007-09)
In a chunky kind of way it was quite good-looking, which matched its rough-edged manners. Yet another failed Dodge.
How many left? Around 2000
I want one - how much? Decent examples without vast mileages start around £4000.
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Fiat Croma (2005-07)
Made the troubled 1980s original look good. Hard to believe Da Vinci flourished in the nation where this was born. It had lifeless steering, dubious handling, and a soggy gearchange. Sister car to the Vauxhall Signum, which also died young. Hideously bad.
How many left? Around 500
I still must have one - how much? Extremely cheap for a reason, from £900.
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MG XPower SV (2003-05)
As newly independent MG Rover ran out of road, in its wisdom it decided to spend time and money on this handsome-as-a-hippo rework of a failed De Tomaso project. And then tried to sell it for Porsche 911 money. As our Andrew Frankel reported when he first drove it, “The driving position is one of the worst I can recall… Headroom is appalling, too.”
Rowan Atkinson was one of the few purchasers. It might conceivably have gone on for longer but the company went bust.
How many left? 20 it seems
I want one - how much? They don’t come up often, but rarity seems to have helped residual values, and when they do sell they do so from around £35,000.
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Renault Vel Satis (2002-04)
A classic “What were they thinking of?” machine. It was outstanding at almost nothing.
How many left? Around 230. It is at least slightly more plentiful than its two-door sister car, the Avantime. There are only 195 of them left on UK roads
I want one - how much? Extremely rare, examples cost from £1500.
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Renault Wind (2010-12)
Curious niche roadster developed by Renault Sport. Euthanised during the Renault UK range cull of late 2011. And the name is not without its problems in the British context.
How many left? Around 2100
I want one - how much? They don’t seem to do many miles, so most out there seem tidy enough, from £2500.
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Rover CityRover (2003-05)
An Indian-built car with a Union Jack on its rump. It was at least cheap, but there was a reason for that.
How many left? Around 940
My life is incomplete without a CityRover in it - how much to buy one? Rare, they start at around £500.
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TVR Sagaris (2004-06)
The Tagaris is one of the best cars in this story, though as with all TVRs driving and indeed owning one wasn’t for the faint-hearted. And just look at it. It would have gone on a lot longer but TVR went bust.
How many left? 112, down from 190 in 2006. We suspect most were smashed, not scrapped
I want one - how much? From £80,000
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Vauxhall Sintra (1997-99)
Even Vauxhall insiders thought this 8-seater relabelled US import was expensive and thirsty rubbish, and when it performed very badly in crash tests in 1998 it got pulled from the market, after just over two years on sale
How many left? 26
I want one - how much? When they do come up, think £500 or so.
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DeLorean DMC12 (1981-82)
Unlike for many of these cars, the DeLorean tale is reasonably well known. By the standards of its time, it wasn’t a bad car, and its design has arguably aged reasonably well. And gullwing doors on an affordable sports car were not to be entirely sniffed at. But it wasn’t very well built, and scandal and financial problems led to the company’s collapse and the car’s premature end.
How many left? Very few indeed
I wish to drive at 88mph and be in 1955 - how much will it cost to get there? The cars have rarity and a cult following in their favour, so you won’t get one of any consequence for less than £30,000.
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ONE YEAR ON SALE:
You have to work very hard – or be very unlucky – to last but one year on the market. Here are the members of this exclusive club…
Chevrolet Epica (2008-09)
Sorry, but only these words will do: epic fail. You’ve likely forgotten that it’s a very tedious family saloon.
How many left? Around 280
I want one - how much? An OK-looking example is currently on sale for £1700.
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Chevrolet Trax (2013-14)
This crossover’s name and semi-digital dashboard were interesting, but it was killed by Chevy’s European withdrawal. The Trax lives on today, in the shape of the Vauxhall Mokka.
How many left? Around 1600
I want one - how much? Decent ones from £6000.
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Honda Legend (2006-07)
This car ought really to be a legend, because it offered optional kit such as automatic, self-steering lane-keeping (an industry first), forward collision mitigation and a pyrotechnic bonnet as long as 13 years ago. Active front-lighting, Bluetooth and a rear-view camera also appeared on an amazing roster of kit.
Less impressive, surprisingly, was the 3.5 V6 petrol (low-rev lethargy slowed it), but what really did for this technical marvel was the lack of a diesel engine in the range, which were becoming all the rage at the time in the executive market.
How many left? We think a few hundred of this particular generation
I want one - how much? Tidy ones from £5000.
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Nissan Cube (2010)
The Cube looked great on Japan’s city streets, but somewhere between weird and foolish on Britain’s. Made in Japan, it incurred hefty shipping and currency-change costs, and it accordingly had overly-ambitious pricing – which also didn’t help.
How many left? Around 1000
I want one - how much? £4500 gets you a nice example.
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Renault Fluence EV (2012-13)
Renault sold only 79 before pulling the plug (sorry) on this pricey, short-range electric saloon.
How many left? 57
I want one - how much? You’ll pay upwards of £6000 – but you’ll have to find one first.
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Renault Koleos (2008-09)
You have to work quite hard to miss-hit the SUV boom, but Renault aced it with this South Korean makeover. The Koleos name returned with a rather improved SUV offering in 2017.
How many left? Around 2300
I want one - how much? Decent ones from £2500.
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Saab 9-5 (2010-11)
This was an over-rushed Saab version of the Vauxhall Insignia, conceived well before GM’s hurried exit from Sweden in 2010. Lovely seats were spoiled by dubious ride and handling, woolly steering and, on cooking versions at least, ghastly green dot-matrix information displays that aspired to be Boeing 747 but achieved Amstrad 464.
Nevertheless it stood a vague chance in the admittedly not overlarge non-German luxobarge market, but it died when Saab’s woefully underfinanced, over-ambitious new owners went bust.
How many left? Around 1000
I want one - how much? Around £5000 gets you into this final Saab.
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Subaru B9 Tribeca (2006-07)
With a snout even odder than its name, this thirsty road-biased SUV disappeared as quickly as a rallying Impreza WRX. It was memorably launched to journalists in Venice, a place not normally noted for the quality of its roads – or indeed any roads.
How many left? Around 440
I want one - how much? Nice ones from £5000, though be warned its £555 annual road tax will prove increasingly irksome.
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Suzuki Kizashi (2012-13)
Four-wheel drive, a 2.4-litre petrol, automatic, 191g/km and no diesel mean low sales. But a not unpleasing shape, we think.
How many left? 325
I want one - how much? Very rare, neat ones are out there from £6000.
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Honda Logo (2000-01)
And the winner is… The Honda Logo. It was on sale between April 2000 and January 2001, and thus by our reckoning, the Logo had the shortest on-sale run of any cars sold in the UK in the modern era, cracking just seven months on the market. Why?
It was a dated, dull supermini memorable for absolutely nothing. Except, it seems it was the most reliable car in Britain, according to some independent research. That was partly because it had so little kit that there wasn’t much to go wrong, but also because it was Japanese. The Logo was introduced not long before the first Jazz (a vastly better car) to give Honda a toehold in this segment. Though only with bus-pass holders.
How many left? Around 1050
I want one - how much? Only one out there at the time of writing – a 125,000 miler, for £800.
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