R.I.P. - Cars Edition

All The Cars That Died In 2017

Volkswagen Scirocco

Much to our eternal chagrin, Volkswagen Scirocco never went on sale in the U.S., but it died a sad death nonetheless. The sporty little hatchback was based on the Mark V Golf that ran from the mid to late 2000s, which put it behind the current Golf and GTI in terms of technology.

But now the Scirocco is no longer behind, it is dead. In a couple of decades, it’ll be new to us in America, if the robots or any other unforeseen forces haven’t wiped us out yet.

We look forward to importing one in 25 years.

Subaru WRX STI In Europe

This one was confusing. First, why kill the Subaru WRX STI? What did it do to hurt anybody, other than being a road car with the soul of a rally car? How is that so wrong?

Second, the saga of its demise in Europe was confusing in general. Reports were that the “Subaru WRX STI is dead,” when the outlets actually meant that the car was dead in the U.K. market. The importer that handled the WRX STI decided it was done importing the car, and Subaru backed up the decision by saying the “timing has felt right to open a new chapter for Subaru and allow WRX STI’s heritage to inform future developments rather than being continued.”

Then, Subaru Europe’s sales and marketing general manager told a website the car would be “temporarily dead” in Europe due to that aging engine under its hood. We’ll see what that means for the future.

Lexus CT200h

The Lexus CT200h was a hybrid hatchback that didn’t get much love, with Lexus selling less than 9,000 of them in 2016. Lexus is phasing the car out of the American market while keeping it alive elsewhere.

The CT200h started at around $31,000, and was a great Prius for people who didn’t want to drive a Prius. In the future, it’ll just be a great used Prius for people who don’t want to drive a Prius.

Dodge Viper

The Dodge Viper—which never got enough love, much like other discontinued cars on this list—died after the 2017 model year as well. The Viper just never sells unless it’s dying, and it’s dead after this year. Dodge said goodbye to the Viper with a final, extreme version it called the ACR—a race car made by racers, as described by a race-car driver.

So long, Viper. We’re sorry more people didn’t buy you, but surely they will in the future when they all realize their mistakes.

Complete list (Jalopnik.com)