1975 Rolls-Royce Camargue
Having a Rolls-Royce is having a collector’s item, not just a car. The car manufacturer has produced some of the best machines in history, but the 1975 Camargue wasn’t one of them. The company wanted to update its old-fashioned image and decided to contact Pininfarina, a respected coachmaker, to help them create a grand tourer that would appeal to younger consumers.
Unfortunately, the company was going through serious economic problems, and by the time it managed to release the car, consumers were unpleasantly shocked. The 1975 Camargue was criticized for its style and standard underpinnings, and to make matters worse, Rolls-Royce jacked up the price in hopes that it would make the car more exclusive. Obviously, this didn’t work, and in eleven years of production, it only sold 531 cars.
2006 Honda Ridgeline
Honda is another car industry giant that has established itself as one of the most trusted names on the market. Unfortunately, their 2006 Honda Ridgeline, the company's first attempt at the pickup truck market, was a huge disaster. The car was aesthetically nice-looking, and it took years and millions of dollars to produce, but unfortunately, the car fell short of consumers' expectations.
What was destined to be a super famous Honda model ended up getting very bad reviews. One consumer claimed that “the Ridgeline can’t really do what most people who like trucks need it to do.” Another reviewer even called it the “anti-truck”.
Dodge Ram Daytona
Nowadays, the Dodge Ram is known as one of the fiercest competitors when it comes to heavy-duty trucks and SUVs. But their Daytona model was definitely more looks than power. On the outside, the Daytona was a beautiful piece of machinery, with the Dodge Ram's distinctive grille. Unfortunately, the car wasn't great when it came to functionality.
Popular among consumers because of its fierce look, it only took a good look under the car's hood to understand its shortcomings. This was another case of pickup trucks that looked menacing but were actually anything but. The Dodge Ram Daytona was discontinued in the same year it came out.
1980 Chevrolet Citation
In 1980, General Motors was trying to get past the awful disaster that was the Chevy Vega, and so it came up with the Chevy Citation. In theory, the Chevy Citation was the company's first attempt at a compact front-wheel-drive platform. Almost a million people bought the car when it came out in 1980, making it the country's best-selling car of the year. Sadly, the hype didn't last long.
The car's build was disastrous, and very ugly, causing sales to drop dramatically after just the first year. The Citation managed to stay in production until 1985, until they finally, and thankfully, discontinued it.
1995 Oldsmobile Aurora
The 1995 Aurora was Oldsmobile's failed attempt at saving the brand, and the company certainly put up a decent fight. The Aurora had a unique look and build, and a special 4.0-liter V8 engine that certainly made it sound like a great purchase. Oldsmobile launched one hell of an ad campaign, and consumers were super excited. Unfortunately, Oldsmobile lost the fight.
The Aurora was just looks and specs, but in reality, it was just a regular car that was way too expensive for what it actually was. Oldsmobile tried to release a redesigned Aurora in 2001, but they also failed miserably, and the company completely collapsed in 2004.