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3 Classic Luxury Cars No Longer on the Market in 2016

Nothing lasts. Eventually, everything bites the dust. Even classic luxury cars that you thought would outlive as all. Within the last decade, the U.S. market has become a graveyard for defunct brands such as the Saab (we still believe the Swedish car could have been resurrected by the Chinese if GM hadn’t played a game of ego and refused to sell the line), the Hummer, the Suzuki vehicle line, the Maybach and the Pontiac.

Newcomers on the market combined with auto sales barely keeping their breath all through the summer have been two factors to distress the oldies, some productions being put on hold, while others eliminated completely.

For example, Roll Royce entered an ill-timed venture with its bespoke four-wheeled cannon, the Phantom Coupe. Additionally, the more finely tuned emission standards of the 21st century drove a final nail into the Land Rover Defender’s box-section chassis.

Three Classic Luxury Cars that Will Forever Rust in Peace

The Dodge Viper

Dodge Viper

This is the first model we won’t see living past its 2017 anniversary. However, Chrysler’s new bosses at Fiat have decided the Viper will go with a bang. It’s only appropriate for a vehicle that’s been gearing the enthusiasm of car lovers for 25 years now.

Five special editions will have a last run in the limelight before finally turning the corner. When this was announced, for example, the Voodoo II American Club Racers model sold out in just two hours. The 1:28 Edition ACR (American Club Racer) batch was exhausted in a mere 40 minutes, along with its 28 models that have not yet been built. Which begs the question? Why is post-mortem fame easier to get a hold of?

Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe

Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe as one of the disappearing classic luxury cars

Tomorrow never dies. It’s a nice thought and may work for James Bond, but not its trademark auto brand. The bespoke Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe has lived its final days in a blast. Literally, if we consider its 6.8-liter V12 engine can hit a sub-eight second 0 to 60 mph sprint. After all, it did come equipped with a sport button, which was like a British dandy giving a sympathetic nod to its servants.

Priced at around $400,000, the Phantom Coupe was too much of a highly-equipped, post-apocalyptic bunker on wheels, with leather, wood, tech, buttons, switchgear and other heavyweight features. It just proved too much of a hulk to languorously stream through the morning traffic.

Land Rover Defender

Land Rover Defender, one of the most beloved classic luxury cars

Why did Land Rover stop making the Defender? After almost 68 years on sale and with 2 million Defenders coming off the production line, the ultimate go-anywhere car will finally ‘rust’ in peace. Modern safety and emissions regulations have deemed the Land Rover simply unsuitable for further production. Truly this is no country for old vehicles.

It’s nothing less than the end of an era. Well, if it’s anything this iconic and greatest 4X4 ever made taught us is how to be tough and take bumps on the road with smooth grace. So, we’re going to wipe our tears away and hope the next generation will still get a feel of the Defender. The company already announced a revamped version, one that would meet the demands of a modern, eco-friendly world.

The auto market’s slow decline may seem dark and foreboding for some of the beloved classic luxury cars. However, it is a long lane that has no turning. Nothing lasts forever, not even bad times.

Images sourced from: 1, 2, 3

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