Car companies swing the corporate budget axe each year to chop dead weight from their model lineups. This year is no different, though several models departing U.S. shores for 2023 are anything but duds. Some have reached the end of the road, while others are excellent representatives of their segments that simply can’t find any buyers. Naturally, uncompetitive models are also earning pink slips. But these cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans that are dead for 2023 all have one thing in common: you can’t buy one after the 2022 model year. So, get ‘em while they’re not so hot.
Acura built the compact ILX sedan for a decade. Based on the ninth-generation Honda Civic, the ILX debuted for the 2013 model year with available driving-enthusiast features like a 201-horsepower engine and a manual transmission. The car received refreshes in 2016 and 2019, and Acura kept the price low enough to attract first-time buyers to the brand. However, though the automaker dropped the duller versions of the car not long after the ILX went on sale, it never developed a loyal following. The 2023 Acura Integra replaces the ILX.
Acura’s second-generation NSX sports car took its sweet time to go on sale for the 2016 model year. By then, Acura had teased the car for years, and moneyed enthusiasts may have moved on to the next big thing because the hand-built NSX landed in a booming economy with a muffled thud. The hybrid-powered NSX took a greener approach to high performance and enjoyed a successful racing career, but never sold in sustainable numbers. The final run of cars for 2022 all wore a Type S badge, and the more aggressive styling the car deserved from the start. Acura made just 350 examples of the NSX Type S.
Called “the shoe” in the halls of General Motors, the tiny Buick Encore was a big sales success. In fact, the Encore’s popularity caught Buick by surprise. But with its torquey turbocharged engine, available all-wheel drive (AWD), elevated driving position, manageable size, affordable price, extra utility, and upscale look and feel, the Encore scratched an itch for a part of the American consumer populace. The slightly larger Encore GX, which went on sale two years ago, effectively replaces the original Encore. And nobody calls the Encore GX “the shoe.”
Small, affordable, efficient cars like the Chevy Spark once appealed to people seeking new and reliable transportation. But that was then, and this is now. Today, people don’t want small cars. They want small SUVs. In response to this consumer preference, Chevrolet dressed the Spark in an SUV costume and called it the Activ, but the ploy didn’t work. So now the tiny little Spark is going away, which means you can no longer buy a brand-new car in America for less than $15,000, including destination charges.
While Americans definitely want small SUVs, the Ford EcoSport isn’t high on their shopping lists. Built in India and uncompetitive in many ways, Ford canceled the EcoSport for its lack of popularity and decided to shutter the factory that made it. This model’s departure makes the Ford Maverick small hybrid-powered pickup truck the most affordable model in the automaker’s lineup. The company can’t build enough of those to satisfy the overwhelming demand.
At the opposite end of Ford’s lineup, the GT supercar is also gone for 2023. Always meant to be a limited-production model, the GT represents the best of Ford’s design and engineering capabilities. Like the Acura NSX, the Ford GT won numerous races and brought positive attention to the company. Still, as the automaker transitions to an electric future, it is winding down GT production and focusing resources where it matters most to the bottom line: creating electric vehicles (EVs).
The Honda Insight is a high-mileage hybrid sedan based on the tenth-generation Honda Civic. To distance the Insight from the Civic, the fuel-sipper received its own styling and dashboard design. However, unlike the original teardrop-shaped 2-seat Insight, this third-generation version wasn’t terribly insightful. It was, however, an affordable, efficient, reliable, and roomy car with a sense of style. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Honda will replace the Insight with an upcoming Civic Hybrid model. But this nameplate is too good to shelve permanently, so we won’t be surprised to see it on an EV of some kind in the future.
Disinterest in small cars has killed the Hyundai Accent. To be sure, this subcompact sedan exuded quality and offered peppy performance. Still, since the company’s Venue model looks more like an SUV, it gets to stay while the automaker shows the Accent the exit door. If you’re still into this kind of vehicle, check out the 2023 Kia Rio, which is the same car with different styling. Plus, you can get the Rio in both sedan and hatchback body styles.
With the nameplate “Ioniq” becoming a sub-brand for Hyundai’s EV lineup, the automaker is putting the 5-door hatchback that has worn it since 2017 to rest. During the Prius-fighter’s final year, it came with a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but prior to 2022, there was an Ioniq Electric that offered up to 170 miles of driving range, depending on the model year. Hyundai is not replacing the model.
Last year, Hyundai canceled the Veloster, a small car that always proved challenging to define. Was it a coupe? A hatchback? A shooting brake? Whatever you called it, the Veloster had a whimsical style. And in N specification, it supplied giggle-rific performance. In 2022, the Veloster N was the only version available. Now, it is vanishing from Hyundai dealerships and will serve as yet another performance-oriented casualty of the industry’s accelerating shift to EVs.
Photo: Ron Sessions
Speaking of sporty cars, you can bid the Infiniti Q60 goodbye. It is the 2-door coupe version of the automaker’s Q50 sedan, featuring good looks and impressive performance in Red Sport 400 spec. But people generally don’t want traditional cars anymore. While you could argue that the naming change from G35 Coupe/G37 Coupe to Q60 may have alienated the Infiniti faithful, the stylish Q60 is mainly a victim of changing consumer preferences.
Some people won’t buy a midsize SUV that doesn’t have a third-row seat. When Lexus customers balked at giving up the car-like comforts of the RX and switching to the Toyota 4Runner-based GX to get the added seating capacity, Lexus responded by cramming a third row into a stretched RX to create the RX L. Now, with the redesigned 2023 RX arriving in showrooms, Lexus canceled the RX L because it has something better (and bigger) coming soon.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
With a base price starting more than $1,000 higher than where a leather-lined Honda Accord sells, the tiny Mercedes-Benz A-Class sedan has one thing going for it: the emblem on the grille. Available with front-wheel drive or AWD and a modestly powered turbocharged engine, the A-Class was supposed to attract young buyers who would, theoretically, upgrade to bigger, better, and more expensive Mercedes models over time. Now, the GLA small SUV fulfills that role.
The Rogue Sport always had an appealing look and price. What it lacked was anything resembling performance or technological sophistication. The Rogue Sport’s departure leaves a big hole in the Nissan SUV lineup, putting about a $7,000 spread in base prices between the entry-level Kicks and the much larger Rogue. However, the company will almost certainly fill that gap sooner than later, so stay tuned.
Small commercial vans are fading faster than a Kardashian spray tan. In recent years, Chevrolet and Nissan dropped out. Next year, Ford and Mercedes-Benz are bailing on the segment. For 2023, Ram kicks the Fiat-based ProMaster City to the curb. With its quirky sense of style, the ProMaster had personality in a vehicle segment notoriously lacking in it. But Ram’s focus is on electrifying its commercial vans rather than serving a shrinking buyer base, so if you want a ProMaster City, get one while you still can.
There was a time when the Toyota Avalon made sense. But that time has passed, and now the next-generation Camry can grow larger to become a fully-fledged rival to the Honda Accord. However, while the Avalon is gone, a new car is taking its place. What is replacing the Toyota Avalon? The all-new, high-riding 2023 Toyota Crown with hybrid power, AWD, and a name that ought to appeal to anyone who enjoys the British tradition of high tea.
Speaking of royalty, as Queen sang decades ago: “Another one bites the dust.” Volkswagen officially drops the long-running Passat midsize family sedan, leaving the surprisingly roomy Jetta and essentially invisible Arteon to serve customers seeking a 4-door VW that isn’t an SUV or a hot-hatch. Either alternative is appealing, especially the Arteon, which offers much of what an SUV does in a more efficient, fun-to-drive, and stylish package.
The automakers are the source of information in this article. It was accurate on December 7, 2022, but it may have changed since that date. Always confirm product details and availability with the automaker’s website or your local dealership.
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