A blast from the past? A testament to post-pandemic auto industry weirdness? Whatever they were, seeing these cars on the sales charts was unexpected
1 hour ago
–> 
–>
The automotive industry has been marked by a desire for newness in the 2020s. Startups have emerged out of the blue, while old automakers are introducing fresh models with novel powertrains. However, some surprisingly elderly models could still be seen dotting the sales charts in 2023.
For instance, Honda has put a lot of effort into its lineup in recent years, updating the Civic, the Accord, the CR-V, and more. Same goes for Acura, which introduced the Integra. But new cars weren’t the only ones that the automaker managed to shift. Despite officially going out of production in 2022, Acura still managed to sell five NSXs last year, which was 98.3 percent fewer than it managed in 2022, when it sold 298 of them.
Read: Alfa Romeo Debuts 4C Unica One-Off Special As A Fitting Farewell
advertisement scroll to continue
And it wasn’t the only automaker that managed to sell out of production sports cars in 2023. Dodge sold two Vipers in 2023, despite officially discontinuing the car in 2017. Similarly, Alfa Romeo managed to sell a single 4C last year, even though the car was discontinued after the 2020 model year. Could it have been the very special Unica edition?
It wasn’t all sports cars and enthusiast specials, though. Stellantis had another surprise seller in 2023. Although production of the Chrysler 200 officially stopped in 2016, there were apparently a few hangover examples still sitting in dealer lots, because the automaker reports that it sold four of them in 2023.
Indeed, Stellantis provided us with many of the strangest sales figures of 2023. Although they all went out of production in 2016, the automaking conglomerate somehow managed to sell three Dodge Darts, two Chrysler Town & Country minivans, and a single Jeep Patriot.
It wasn’t the only automaker selling out-of-production vehicles, though. Toyota officially stopped selling its premium sedan, the Avalon in America after the 2022 model year. Despite that, it still managed to find 55 buyers who were interested in buying it in 2023. Don’t expect sales to continue into 2024, though, they were down to zero in December.
These cars prove that despite the auto industry’s obsession with newness, there are still ghosts haunting the sales charts.
