21st-Century Vehicles With the Shortest Production Runs

Vehicle models usually have a lifespan of at least five to eight years. The cost of development and marketing typically means that for automakers to turn a profit on a vehicle, a model must be on the market for as long as possible. Some specialty models often have longer lifecycles; lower volume niche vehicles like sports cars or dedicated off-roaders can remain in production for over 10 years without significant changes.

This industry-established pattern makes it a rarity when a model is around for less than five years. Despite the large initial investment, a vehicle can often be a complete miss and, as a result, becomes a sales dud. This leads to certain vehicles being discontinued early. Here are some vehicles with the shortest modern production runs.

Cadillac ELR: 2014 to 2016, 2,958 units

General Motors (GM) has a long history of creating lazy rebadges of Chevrolet models for the Cadillac brand. In the 1980s, GM attempted to sell the Cadillac Cimarron, a rebadged Chevrolet Cavalier with some extra bling for double the price tag. The same formula was applied to the Cadillac XLR, a rebadged Corvette. In the 2010s, Cadillac made the same mistake when creating the ELR. The ELR was a rebadged Chevrolet Volt produced between 2013 and 2016, and was on sale for the 2014 to 2016 model years. The ELR used the same powertrain as its Chevrolet counterpart: a 1.4L inline four-cylinder plug-in hybrid producing 207 hp and 295 lb-ft combined.

The ELR’s attractive but impractical coupe design made it unique, but the main issue holding it back was cost. In 2014, the ELR’s MSRP was $78,250. Meanwhile, the Chevrolet Volt started at $36,895, less than half the price of the Cadillac. GM did a terrible job concealing the ELR’s underpinnings, and consumers were not prepared to pay over $80,000 when optioned for a barely fancier Chevrolet Volt. In its short three-year run, only 2,958 ELRs were made, and the car gained a reputation for being a flop.

Kia Borrego: 2009 to 2010, 23,768 units and fewer than 1,000 sold in Canada

Before the successful Telluride made its debut, Kia had another large SUV on offer at the start of the 2010s. The Kia Borrego was sold in the U.S. for the 2009 and 2010 model years, and for the 2010 and 2011 model years in Canada. The Borrego was a full-sized body-on-frame three-row SUV that came with two engine choices: a 3.8L V6 and a larger 4.6L V8.

The Borrego received decent reviews, but its main issue was the fact that it was launched right after the 2008 financial crisis. Despite being relatively affordable, it really wasn’t a time when people had the money to splurge on large, thirsty V8 SUVs. Over its two short model years in Canada, fewer than 1,000 Borregos were sold, so it’s a true rarity.

Saab 9-4X: February to November 2011, 673 units

The Saab 9-4X is the first example of a common theme on this list: the final models made by brands approaching extinction. The Saab 9-4X is the final model produced by once-loved automotive oddball, Saab. By 2011, the future of the brand was already in contention, as facing bankruptcy, GM had already sold its stake in the company, with ownership transferring to Spyker, a small Dutch sports car maker. Spyker was a boutique brand that couldn’t support a large-volume brand like Saab.

Before the brand was entirely discontinued, however, one last model was released: the 9-4X. It was produced for only nine months between February and November 2011. The 9-4X was nothing special and was based on the Cadillac SRX, but due to its unfortunate time of release, it is extremely rare, with only 673 units being produced before the Saab brand was gone for good.

Isuzu VehiCross: 1999 to 2001, 4,000 units

The Isuzu VehiCross is one of the weirdest-looking cars in automotive history. It was produced by Isuzu from 1997 to 1999 for the Japanese market, and from 1999 to 2001 for the North American market. The VehiCross was a decent off-roader, with a short wheelbase and good ground clearance. It was intended to be the brand’s halo car, but it failed to find a customer base due to its odd styling and was quickly discontinued. As a result, VehiCrosses are rare: only about 4,000 units were produced, with about half being Japanese models and the other half North American ones.

Acura ZDX: March 2024 to September 2025, 19,000 units

The original Acura ZDX was an oddball crossover that had a short production run of only three years between 2010 and 2013. This makes Acura’s decision to revive the unsuccessful ZDX name even weirder, and oddly, the revived ZDX had an even shorter production run. The ZDX was reintroduced as an electric vehicle (EV) in March 2024 and concluded production in September 2025. It was based on the same GM EV platform that underpins vehicles like the Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, and Honda Prologue. Unfortunately, the ZDX was launched at a time when interest in EVs was dropping and purchase incentives dried up, so sales were slow. Honda is also refocusing on in-house EV platforms instead of relying on partnerships. Only 19,000 ZDX units were sold in North America during its short run.

Lincoln Blackwood: September 2000 to August 2002, 3,383 units

The Lincoln Blackwood was a commercial failure that was ahead of its time. It was one of the first attempts at a luxury pickup truck, a segment that’s popular today but didn’t have much success in the early 2000s. The Lincoln Blackwood was based on Ford’s F-150 pickup truck — a great start, except it got changes that made it worse. The bed was replaced by a trunk, it was only available as a two-wheel-drive model, and payload capacity was heavily reduced, not to mention it was a lot more expensive.

The design was also questionable, with the Blackwood featuring suit pinstriping on the rear quarter panel of the truck. The Blackwood was produced from September 2000 until August 2002. Only 3,383 Blackwoods were made, making this failure a rare sight.

Pontiac G3: 2009, 7,000 units

The Pontiac G3 was the last new model introduced by the now-defunct automaker. The Pontiac Wave was introduced in 2008 as a subcompact model that was later renamed the G3 in 2009. It was basically a rebadged Chevrolet Aveo with a Pontiac-styled grille. This model was nothing special, just a low-effort rebadge of an uninspired economy car that never lived up to Pontiac’s performance reputation. The G3/Wave was also introduced at the start of the 2008 economic recession, when General Motors was facing bankruptcy and downsizing its massive portfolio of brands, which included Pontiac. The G3 only existed for the 2009 model year, with 7,000 units being produced. The final Pontiac rolled off the assembly line in 2010.

Fisker Karma: 2011 to 2012, 2,450 units

Fisker seems to have some of the worst luck in the automotive industry. The Fisker Karma was introduced in 2011 as a luxury electric car. The Karma was quite innovative, as it was an early range-extended electric vehicle (REEV), a type of powertrain that still hasn’t quite taken off. The styling of the Karma was also praised; the brand’s founder, Henrik Fisker, started his career as a designer. The larger issue was the recalls that the Fisker Karma suffered from in regards to its poor reliability, which included engine fire issues. This was a blow to the brand’s reputation. The Fisker Karama was only produced for the 2011 and 2012 model years, with just under 2,500 units produced. This reputation, along with well-documented fiscal mismagagement, caused the Fisker brand to dissolve soon after.

Saturn Astra: 2008 to 2009 

Originally introduced in the 1990s by General Motors, Saturn was intended to be entirely independent from any other GM brand. The idea behind Saturn was that it didn’t share any parts with any other GM models. However, by the 2000s, the Saturn brand had completely strayed from this formula, and the brand was used to sell various rebadged domestic and international models from GM’s vast catalogue of brands.

The Saturn Astra was sold in Europe as a Vauxhall/Opel Astra. It was introduced into the North American market at the start of 2008 and lasted only until 2010, as the Astra had failed to meet sales goals. GM also made an odd decision to import only the hatchback models while sedans existed and were far more popular in North America. Due to the 2008 financial crisis, the decision was made to discontinue the Saturn Astra along with the Saturn brand in 2010.

Chrysler Aspen: 2007 to 2009

The Chrysler Aspen is a short-lived and largely forgotten SUV from the late 2000s. Introduced for the 2007 model year, the Aspen was a rebadged, more luxurious Dodge Durango. It was intended to be Chrysler’s flagship model and, at the time, was the most expensive model in its lineup. It is also Chrysler’s only three-row, full-sized SUV to date. Unlike the Durango, the Aspen was only offered in one trim level, which featured the top-of-the-range V8 engine. The Aspen suffered from slow sales, as it was sold in the same showrooms as its Durango counterpart, on which it was based. The Aspen was discontinued after Chrysler’s Newark plant, where the Aspen and Durango were assembled, was shut down in late 2008. The financial crisis heavily impacted the sales of full-size SUVs, and the Aspen, along with Chrysler, suffered heavily.

Mercury Sable: 2008 to 2009

The Mercury Sable name was introduced in the mid-1980s as a more luxurious Mercury counterpart to the very popular mid-sized Ford Taurus. The last generation of the Sable was released in 2008, coinciding with the then-latest generation of Taurus. This particular Sable was produced for only two years (2007 to 2009). Much like other cars on this list, the last-generation Sable was released during the 2008 economic recession, and was thus met with decreased demand for luxury sedans. Ford discontinued the Sable after only two years. In subsequent years, the Mercury brand was also discontinued, as Ford found it difficult to distinguish between higher-trim Ford models and Mercurys, resulting in the cancellation of the brand.