Models of Defunct American Manufacturers Quiz

Answer: Ion

Saturn was established as a General Motors subsidiary in 1985. The first car rolled out of the Spring Hills Tennessee factory in 1990. It proved to be a significant challenge to establish a new factory producing a brand new model car at some distance from the traditional suppliers.

The Saturn did develop a cult-like following, and many buyers appreciated the haggle-free purchasing approach. However, sales did not meet original projections. The Saturn Ion, which was produced from 2003 through 2007, proved to be one of their more popular models.

It was eventually replaced by the Saturn Astra. GM folded the Saturn brand back into the main organization in 2008, eventually discontinuing it in 2009 when the automotive consolidations occurred in the early 2000s.

Answer: Firebird

Pontiac was founded in 1926 and produced cars until 2010 as part of General Motors. Successful models included the Bonneville, Fiero, Grand Am, GTO, Tempest, and Trans Am. The Firebird was produced from 1967 through 2002. Originally it was modelled after its compatriot car the Chevy Camaro. Along with the Ford Mustang and Mercury Cougar, these four cars were the muscle cars of the late 60s and 70s.

The design of the Firebird evolved over time as the public's taste in cars changed.

Answer: Valiant

Plymouth was established in 1923 and continued to produce cars until 2001 when the parent company Chrysler consolidated operations. By that time many of the Dodge and Plymouth cars were clones of each other; and this was viewed as unnecessary duplication of efforts.

The Plymouth Valiant was introduced in 1960 as a compact car, and later versions included innovations such as the slant-6 engine and aluminum block engine. By 1976 the Valiant model was replaced by the Plymouth Volare. For a while special versions of the Valiant were used as police vehicles.

Answer: Cutlass

Oldsmobile was one of the grand-daddies of American car manufacturing, founded in 1897 by Ransom Olds. At the time that Oldsmobile ceased production of cars in 2004, it was the longest surviving American car manufacturer brand. It played a significant role in the introduction of automatic transmissions and front wheel drive. Famous car models included the F-85, Delta 88, Olds 98 and Vista cruiser. When Oldsmobile stopped production, the last 500 cars in each model were made as special editions with special emblems and markings.

The Cutlass was built from 1961 through 1999, eventually replaced by the Olds Alero. It was a very popular car that included the Cutlass Calais, Cutlass Supreme, and Cutlass Ciera.

Answer: Pacer

American Motors was formed in 1954 by the merger of Nash Kelvinator and Hudson Motor Company as an attempt to establish a company with enough critical mass to compete with GM, Ford, and Chrysler. It limped along until 1987 when it was acquired by Chrysler.

The Pacer was the main AMC car between 1975 and 1979, built as a compact car that would get better gas mileage at the time of the oil embargo. It included significant safety improvement that the Big 3 claimed that were unable to meet at that time.

Answer: Avanti

The Avanti was a truly hot sports car that was Studebaker's last gasp at survival. It broke 29 performance records at Bonneville Salt Flats. Due to the complexity of the fiberglass manufacturing only about 2500 Avantis were build before Studebaker ceased manufacturing and was acquired by AMC. The Avanti was built only between June 1962 and December 1963.

Answer: Cougar

Mercury built the Cougar between 1967 and 1997 and then again between 1999 and 2002. The original design was based on the Ford Mustang. Later generations of the car were based on the Mercury Montego and Ford Torino. The car logo was the iconic walking cougar.

The production of the Cougar model stopped long before Ford closed the Mercury division, which by that time overlapped the parent Ford models significantly. Mercury had been founded in 1938 and ceased operations in 2011.

Answer: Manhattan

Kaiser built cars in the U.S. between 1945 and 1953, although it continued to manufacture some cars and the Willys/Kaiser Jeep overseas until merging with AMC in 1969. The Manhattan was built between 1952 and 1953, and it was one of the first to offer supercharging.

Answer: Prizm

Chevrolet attempted to enter the minicar market by establishing the GEO brand in partnership with three Japanese manufacturers under the GEO product line. The Prizm design was based on the Toyota Sprinter model, which itself was based on the Corolla.

It was built between 1989 and 2002. In 1998 the GEO was folded back into the main Chevrolet line as the Chevrolet GEO. Losing its semi-independence, the GEO line lost out in internal decisions to promote the Saturn line and Cavalier models and ceased production in 2002.

The Metro was another noteworthy model of GEO.

Answer: Rambler

The Nash Rambler was produced between 1950 and 1955 and is viewed as the first successful compact car. The Nash car company existed under that name from 1916 to 1937 and as the Nash Kelvinator company from 1937 to 1954. In 1955 it merged with American Motors, which tried to compete with the American big 3 car manufacturers and the foreign cars coming to the U.S.