Here Are All The Cars That Died In 2021

The air's a bit colder now. The days, shorter. The trees are bare of their leaves and you notice your breath when you go outside. All are nature's little ways of reminding us that while we'll head valiantly into the new year, there are a number of cars that won't come along for the ride.

It's tough, I know. But we can't look away; we must keep them in our memories. It's what they'd want. This year we bid farewell to yet more smaller cars and hatchbacks, while ever-larger crossovers further entrench themselves into the fabric of our everyday living. And let's face it — we're to blame. So while you're cozying up near a fire with a mug full of hot cocoa and those fancy gourmet marshmallows, swiping through the following deaths as a Taos sits in your driveway, remember: you could have bought a Golf.

Let's be honest: BMW's first mass-market EV was never a good fit for America. With a range of about 80 miles in the beginning of its run, a controversial design and the fact it was a small hatch with half doors, it was always going to have a rough go of it. It was a neat experiment though, and to this day and in the off chance I see one on the road, I'm still smitten by its forward-thinking exterior. The i3 left us this year, and BMW's next stab at EVs is regrettably going to be far more traditional.

I'm not cheering the demise of most of the cars in this list, but I will shed no tears for the EcoSport. Sure, we need more rationally-sized vehicles, but the EcoSport simply wasn't it. It had no redeeming qualities and came across inexcusable given that Ford already offers a great compact crossover in Europe called the Puma. Like all the best Fords, we don't get that one.

The Blue Oval is shutting down the factory in India that built the EcoSport for the U.S. While it seems a few will roll onto dealer lots in 2022, Ford doesn't appear to have a replacement waiting in the wings — unless you count the Maverick.

Last year we lost the battery-electric version of the Honda Clarity. In 2021, death came knocking for the hydrogen fuel-cell and plug-in hybrid versions, too. Meanwhile, the Sayama, Japan plant where the Clarity was built will shut its doors this coming March. If you want a Honda not powered by gasoline, you can look forward to the Ultium-based Prologue in 2023.

When was the last time you saw a Hyundai Ioniq on the road? I totally forgot the car existed, and evidently I'm not the only one. The hybrid and PHEV versions of Hyundai's Prius-at-home will live on, but the fully electric one won't be so lucky. Which makes sense, considering the Ioniq 5 is almost here and way more compelling in every sense.

As highly as people speak of the Veloster N, that goodwill has never really extended to the regular Veloster and Veloster Turbo. So it was somewhat unsurprising that Hyundai quietly discontinued those lesser models this year, initially refusing to acknowledge plans already set in motion before conceding that the N would be the lone Veloster to continue forward into 2022. That's a bit of a shame, because the Veloster N has only ever gotten more expensive; besides, slower and more affordable hatchbacks are important and worth buying, too.

Mazda sold a small SUV called the CX-3. It then decided to also come out with another small SUV that was very similar in concept and style but much better, called the CX-30. Rather than simply introducing the CX-30 as the new CX-3, it sold them both simultaneously for two model years, which didn't make a whole lot of sense. That's played out in exactly the fashion everyone expected, as Mazda cancelled the CX-3 in 2021. Meanwhile, the CX-30 will march into next year and beyond.

There are rumors that the Mazda6's discontinuation alongside the aforementioned CX-3 is a mere formality, and that the handsome, enjoyable premium-ish sedan will return with an all-new generation in the next year or so. I'm not entirely convinced. Of course, I'd love to see it, but the Mazda6 has always been an also-ran to the Camry and Accord in terms of sales volume.

While some might argue that Mazda's courted more discerning buyers with its midsize sedan — especially within the last five years — I think Mazda also wants to sell cars and make money. The CX-30, CX-5 and CX-9 are far more likely to do that.

The flagship for Volvo's extra-luxury spinoff EV brand was never intended to stick around forever. A weirdly overengineered and expensive hybrid GT, the Polestar 1 departed this year after just 1,500 examples were made. It never quite made a lot of sense, but then when you look that good, you don't really have to.

This one hurts. Of course there is a new Land Cruiser; we just won't get it in the U.S. and will have to make do with the less rough-and-tumble, more-bougie Lexus version. It's disappointing, but the sales numbers speak for themselves.

If all the people who could've afforded Land Cruisers actually bought them instead of Land Rovers before sales climbed all of a sudden last year, Toyota might've actually considered letting the nameplate stick around. With big, off-roady SUVs selling so hot these days, I wouldn't be surprised if the company reconsidered.

Technically, the Volkswagen Passat still has maybe a year of production scheduled at the automaker's Chattanooga plant. However, the Passat assembly line will be retooled for the ID.4, starting in 2022 and heading into 2023. Once that's complete, the nameplate will be finished in North America.

Volkswagen hoisted the Passat to take on Camry and Accord almost a decade ago, vying to be the volume king of the segment. Unfortunately, that effort waned once the company was preoccupied with other, more pressing matters. As you might guess, the Passat will continue to be sold elsewhere in the world.

In a very similar fashion to what's going down with the Hyundai Veloster, the non-enthusiast flavor of the Golf officially died in the U.S. very early this past year. It's unimaginable that the Golf — a cornerstone of Volkswagen's global business for decades — could ever be killed off in favor of nonsensical alphanumerics. But then, no hatchback, coupe or sedan is safe from the onslaught of crossovers, SUVs and EVs in these brave times.

Finally, chalk it up to regulatory issues that Rolls-Royce's two-door models — the Wraith and convertible Dawn — will no longer be sold on our shores in 2022, though Europeans will still be able to buy them until 2023. The trouble pertains to the cars' BMW F01 platform, which underpinned the 7 Series from 2008 to 2015. Don't take this to mean Rolls-Royce doesn't have potential replacements waiting in the wings, though: this year it gave the world the Boat Tail one-off to continue its long tradition of rich people nonsense.