These Dead Cars Are Selling Better Than You Might Expect

With the first six months of the year out of the way, we've already looked at the worst-selling cars so far this year, as well as the cars that saw the biggest year-over-year sales drops. For those lists, we skipped cars that are no longer in production, because of course a car they don't make anymore is going to sell poorly. And what good does it do to point out that people aren't buying a car that's no longer in production?

Still, we were a little surprised when we looked through the sales data to see that some out-of-production cars are actually selling better than you might expect. So we gathered as many canceled cars as GoodCarBadCar has sales data on for 2024. And then we added in a MotorWeek video because who doesn't enjoy taking a look at the past with the voice of John Davis in their ear?

Anyway, click through to see what cars made the list.

We're starting off small with the Audi TT and its 39 sales so far this year, but we promise those sales figures will only continue to grow. Also, congratulations to the folks still buying the TT. It was a fun little car that we already miss.

The Infiniti Q60 was absolutely gorgeous when it was first introduced, and the Red Sport 400 gave it plenty of power. It wasn't necessarily competitive in other ways, but still, we respect the 49 people who have bought a new Q60 this year.

Buick replaced the Encore with the larger, more competitive Encore GX several years ago, and yet, so far this year, 126 people have opted for the old Encore instead. Hopefully, they got some screaming deals on them.

For the longest time, the Fiat 500X was one of those cars you could easily forget was still in production, and yet, it wasn't actually canceled until the end of 2023. In the six months since production stopped, Fiat has sold another 267 500Xs.

While we're really not sure why anyone would buy an Encore or 500X unless dealers were basically giving them away, we totally understand why someone would go out of their way to find a discontinued Audi R8. Turns out, 268 people have done exactly that in the last six months.

The Nissan Maxima may have had a lot going for it when it was first introduced, but the U.S. just isn't the best place to sell a large, sporty, front-wheel-drive sedan anymore. And yet, even though production has stopped, Nissan has managed to sell another 813 Maximas.

The Volkswagen Arteon was probably never going to be a huge seller in the U.S., and yet, it also felt like the Arteon never really got a chance to at least try. And while it's probably not causing Volkswagen to reconsider its decision to cancel the Arteon, we're still impressed that it's managed to sell 923 of them in 2024.

Considering how many other automakers killed off their subcompact cars in the U.S., we're a little surprised the Kia Rio held on here for as long as it did. We've been seeing increased demand for inexpensive small cars, though, so maybe that explains why 1,916 people bought a new, old Kia this year.

The Jeep Cherokee had its shortcomings, and it was certainly no XJ, but it was at least an interesting, more outdoorsy take on the compact crossover. And, apparently, there's still enough interest in it (or enough leftover stock) for Jeep to sell 2,164 of them this year.

The Chrysler 300's run has finally come to an end after 19 years, several refreshes and one sort-of redesign. And even though it's no longer rolling off the production line, Chrysler's still managed to find 3,692 buyers for its discontinued muscle sedan.

Chevrolet invested so much money into Camaro development over the years that it had to be frustrating to watch buyers flock to the older, less track-capable Dodge Challenger. It did have its dedicated fans, though, and this year, 5,307 of them have taken home discontinued new Camaros.

Allegedly, there's a new replacement coming for the discontinued Chevrolet Bolt, but until that actually arrives, people who want a basic, affordable EV appear to just keep buying leftover Bolts. Chevrolet has already sold 12,154 Bolts so far this year.

You had to have known the Challenger would be on this list. It may be dead, but it's still a popular car, and it was only a matter of time before the remaining inventory got bought up. You may be surprised to hear, though, that through the first half of 2024, Dodge has sold a whopping 21,216 Challengers. That's more than the 19,204 very-much-still-in-production Escalades that Cadillac has sold so far this year.

If you thought the Dodge Challenger's post-production sales were impressive, then take a look at the now-canceled Dodge Charger's sales. With 26,878 sales so far this year, leftover Charger inventory has been more popular than the Audi Q5, Jeep Gladiator and Ford Mustang Mach-E. Not bad, Dodge.