# Production cars with no known surviving examples **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 9, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308 "2020-06-09T18:12:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/21 "2020-06-09T20:02:05Z")
GM destroyed almost all their EV1 cars , they were leased. People who leased them wanted to buy one but they would not let people buy them. Even a movie about that: [Who Killed the Electric Car? - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/22 "2020-06-09T20:13:43Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > I thought about poking around in my books listing obscure brass-age cars to see what I could dig up but that’s not really what the OP is looking for. Actually I’m thinking that might be the most likely candidate. As I said in the OP I’m thinking we’ll likely have to go back to at least pre-WWII to find anything where there are literally none left, if not earlier. > [@Folacin](#): > > Apparently, Hagerty insures ‘collectible’ cars. I would guess that a lot of owners of Impulses or Lasers wouldn’t be looking to pay the premium they likely charge. I actually thought “collector car” insurance was cheaper than regular car insurance, since such cars typically aren’t driven that much. IIRC such policies usually stipulate that the car can only be driven a limited number of miles per year, and only for certain reasons like to car shows and the occasional weekend drive. > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > GM destroyed almost all their EV1 cars , they were leased. People who leased them wanted to buy one but they would not let people buy them. Even a movie about that: > > [Who Killed the Electric Car? - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F) I thought of those, but I don’t think the EV1 was technically a production car. IIRC all of them were officially prototypes. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/23 "2020-06-09T20:23:04Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I actually thought “collector car” insurance was cheaper than regular car insurance, since such cars typically aren’t driven that much. IIRC such policies usually stipulate that the car can only be driven a limited number of miles per year, and only for certain reasons like to car shows and the occasional weekend drive. It would depend heavily on what the car is and whether you have an “agreed value” or “stated value” policy. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/24 "2020-06-09T20:29:22Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > It would depend heavily on what the car is and whether you have an “agreed value” or “stated value” policy. Indeed. I’m sure insuring something like a priceless Ferrari 250 GT California is going to be expensive even if you don’t drive it at all. But I would guess insuring something more pedestrian like a 1955 Chevy that you only drive to get ice cream on summer weekends would be fairly reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/25 "2020-06-09T20:32:45Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I actually thought “collector car” insurance was cheaper than regular car insurance, since such cars typically aren’t driven that much. IIRC such policies usually stipulate that the car can only be driven a limited number of miles per year, and only for certain reasons like to car shows and the occasional weekend drive. Not exactly the same thing but my cheapskate brother’s car is an old Toyota Camry, I think a 1990 model, that he refuses to replace. He got “classic car” license plates because the registration fees are cheaper. Keep in mind that my mother offered to pay for a new car. As I said, he’s a cheapskate _and_ he’s stubborn. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/26 "2020-06-09T20:49:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Not exactly the same thing but my cheapskate brother’s car is an old Toyota Camry, I think a 1990 model, that he refuses to replace. He got “classic car” license plates because the registration fees are cheaper. And those plates come with the same stipulation that the car can’t be driven more than like 2000-3000 or so miles per year (I’m sure it varies by state). In other words you’re not supposed to use those plates on a daily driver. I assume if your brother gets caught (unless he actually does manage to stay below the mileage limit) they’ll make him pay for the regular registration. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/27 "2020-06-09T20:53:18Z")
A friend of mine keeps and maintains a fleet of old cars that he registers and insures cheaply as “collectibles” for the purpose of lending out to friends who need local transportation for a while. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/28 "2020-06-09T20:57:30Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Not exactly the same thing but my cheapskate brother’s car is an old Toyota Camry, I think a 1990 model, that he refuses to replace. He got “classic car” license plates because the registration fees are cheaper. Keep in mind that my mother offered to pay for a new car. As I said, he’s a cheapskate _and_ he’s stubborn. that was “Peak Camry,” for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/29 "2020-06-09T21:09:20Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > Not exactly the same thing but my cheapskate brother’s car is an old Toyota Camry, I think a 1990 model, that he refuses to replace. He got “classic car” license plates because the registration fees are cheaper. Keep in mind that my mother offered to pay for a new car. As I said, he’s a cheapskate _and_ he’s stubborn. > > And those plates come with the same stipulation that the car can’t be driven more than like 2000-3000 or so miles per year (I’m sure it varies by state). In other words you’re not supposed to use those plates on a daily driver. I assume if your brother gets caught (unless he actually does manage to stay below the mileage limit) they’ll make him pay for the regular registration. I don’t [see](https://portal.ct.gov/DMV/Special-and-Vanity/Special-and-Vanity/Classic-Vehicle-Plate) where that mileage limitation is in place in Connecticut. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/30 "2020-06-09T21:52:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I don’t [see](https://portal.ct.gov/DMV/Special-and-Vanity/Special-and-Vanity/Classic-Vehicle-Plate) where that mileage limitation is in place in Connecticut. I found [this article](https://www.motorbiscuit.com/know-before-getting-historic-vehicle-plates/) that goes over the application process for Ohio. It mentions that the car must be “used for exhibition purposes, NOT general transportation” but doesn’t mention any mileage limit regarding the plate either. It does mention mileage limits imposed by insurance companies. Maybe I conflated the two, or maybe it’s only certain states that impose the limit. But I imagine they must have some similar requirement that it not be used for general transportation at least. ---
**Author:** ![Zelski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c67d28/32.png) [@Zelski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zelski)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/31 "2020-06-09T21:53:04Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > You’re thinking too recent. There were hundreds of car companies in the early part of the 20th century. You are probably going to find examples among them, particularly if you consider models, rather than just makes. > > Some of these won’t be crappy cars, but very limited production. The reason a lot of early car companies went bust was by making a very high end car that practically nobody could afford. > > [Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Defunct_motor_vehicle_manufacturers_of_the_United_States) About a month ago, I was poking around wikipedia and found a [related page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_Era_car). I think I was trying to look up Jack Benny’s car and/or the Clampett’s truck for the Giraffe Boards Penultimate megapoll on vehicles. > [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > … I figured if people came up with any examples, it would be cars “produced” in the single or double digits. I thought about poking around in my books listing obscure brass-age cars to see what I could dig up but that’s not really what the OP is looking for. I’m surprised to find some decent candidates among cars produced in the thousands. At the very bottom of my linked Brass Era page, there is a cool chart (with links) to eras of American automobile history. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/32 "2020-06-09T22:05:23Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > We’re mostly going to find crappy cars which never had love but were cheap. > My example’s would be the Chevy Chevette & Citation. > > I had an 83 Citation, I would be shocked if there are any left outside of a junkyard in the desert. A crappy car with no redeeming value. I had an 85 baby blue Chevette that was passed on to me from my dad when he bought a new car (a gold 1991 Chevy Cavalier.) My Chevette did 0-60 if pushed off a cliff. Anyway, I do very very very occasionally see a Chevette out in the wild, still. It’s probably been about 3 years since I’ve last seen one, but I do, along with the similarly styled Dodge Omni. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/33 "2020-06-09T22:10:11Z")
Tucker only completed 50 of their cars in 1948, yet some survive. > [@](#): > > When the cars appear at auction, which is rare, they command prices attained by only a few marquee cars. In August 2010 Tucker #1045 sold for $1.127 million[25] while Tucker #1043 went for $2.915 million at auction in 2012.[26] > **[Tucker 48](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker_48)** > > The Tucker 48, commonly but incorrectly referred to as the Tucker Torpedo, was an automobile conceived by Preston Tucker while in Ypsilanti, Michigan and briefly produced in Chicago, Illinois in 1948. Only 51 cars were made including their prototype before the company was forced to declare bankruptcy and cease all operations on March 3, 1949, due to negative publicity initiated by the news media, a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, and a heavily publicized stock fraud trial (in ... At that value, you may not see any in a museum but they do exist. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/34 "2020-06-09T22:18:08Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > My wife had a RENAULT/AMC ALLIANCE and it started falling apart at 40k miles . It was a total piece of crap. Many of those cars did not make it to 50k miles. I knew a guy who had one and it broke down a lot . Finally when it broke down the last time he gave it away for free to the people who lived where it broke down, he did not know them. I had a 1984 Alliance. Miraculously it made it to 70k. Funny thing was it ran great and was reliable until around 60k. Then BAM! Thing after thing went to shit. I had the balls to trade it in when I bought its successor and the dealer threw pity on me and gave me $500 credit. But, before it went to hell, I was enjoying it. I had a coworker who asked me if I liked the car. At that time it was still running fine so unfortunately for him I talked it up like it was the greatest car ever made, and so he bought one. Thank god I went to a new job before the inevitable happened to his. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/35 "2020-06-09T22:21:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Not exactly the same thing but my cheapskate brother’s car is an old Toyota Camry, I think a 1990 model, that he refuses to replace. He got “classic car” license plates because the registration fees are cheaper. Keep in mind that my mother offered to pay for a new car. As I said, he’s a cheapskate _and_ he’s stubborn. That’s actually a dangerous move, insurance wise. In most states “classic car” registrations do not allow for regular use of the vehicle, hence lower insurance to go with lower registration. If the insurance company finds out you used it as a commuter car and you get into an accident they will deny the claim. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/36 "2020-06-09T23:06:09Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Tucker only completed 50 of their cars in 1948, yet some survive. > > [Tucker 48 - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker_48) > > At that value, you may not see any in a museum but they do exist. If you include that, you may as well include the [Chrysler Turbine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Turbine_Car), which was technically a concept car but in addition to five prototypes, they eventually handbuilt 50 of them that were lent free of charge to select drivers for 3 months at a time as part of a public test program, and over the years 203 different drivers in 133 cities drove a cumulative one million miles in them. Technically a “concept car”, but with a much bigger presence than a typical concept car that might only appear at an auto show. Chrysler eventually destroyed most of them, as GM did with the EV-1, and today only nine exist, most of them in museums and not operational. One of the most famous is the one Jay Leno bought from the Chrysler Museum, which is one of the very few operational ones – there’s even a _Jay’s Leno’s Garage_ video of him taking it out on the road. Would love to know what he paid for it – it supposedly cost Chrysler nearly a quarter of a million in today’s inflation-adjusted dollars to hand-build each one. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/37 "2020-06-09T23:20:24Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > My wife had a RENAULT/AMC ALLIANCE and it started falling apart at 40k miles . It was a total piece of crap. Many of those cars did not make it to 50k miles. I knew a guy who had one and it broke down a lot . Finally when it broke down the last time he gave it away for free to the people who lived where it broke down, he did not know them. I had a Renault Encore, and I second that statement. “Click & Clack” on NPR had no love for them either. Many years ago, I worked with a woman who came of driving age during WWII (I found out a while back that she died in 2008 at the age of 84) and she said her first car was a Model B. Nobody else there had ever heard of it, and I haven’t seen any evidence of them online either, but she swore that was what it was called. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/38 "2020-06-09T23:28:02Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Many years ago, I worked with a woman who came of driving age during WWII (I found out a while back that she died in 2008 at the age of 84) and she said her first car was a Model B. Nobody else there had ever heard of it, and I haven’t seen any evidence of them online either, but she swore that was what it was called. [There was a Ford Model B that predated the Model T](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company#20th_century): > [@](#): > > Between 1903 and 1908, Ford produced the Models A, B, C, F, K, N, R, and S Although if she started driving in the 1940s a Ford Model B would have been a very old car even then. ETA: Ah, [Ford re-used the Model B name from 1932-34](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932_Ford), as it replaced the Model A. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/39 "2020-06-09T23:49:07Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Depends, in the North East the Valiants tended to rust out, but that Slant 6 engine seemed like it would run forever. I had the Barracuda with the Slant 6. When I junked it it had around 270k on the engine. Really amazing engine for a gas engine. Not performance, but endurance. Yep. One of my very first cars was a ‘68 Valiant. Didn’t have power steering or power brakes which made city driving a chore. But that engine was a champ!! My parents had a 1960 model with I believe the same engine. My Ma called it “the truck” because of how rugged it was for it’s size. What surprises me is how I almost never see Dodge/Plymouth Neons anymore. It wasn’t that long ago they stopped making them and they used to be everywhere, like freaking flies. One of the first cars I bought brand new was an ‘82 Chevy Citation with the 6 cylinder engine. Ugly as shit but it was very roomy inside.Great in the snow. I put 188K trouble free miles (other than expected maintenance, brakes, etc) when the timing chain went and screwed up the engine. I’m sorry some people did not have the great experience with theirs like I did mine. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308/40 "2020-06-10T00:05:22Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > One of the first cars I bought brand new was an ‘82 Chevy Citation with the 6 cylinder engine. Ugly as shit but it was very roomy inside.Great in the snow. I put 188K trouble free miles (other than expected maintenance, brakes, etc) when the timing chain went and screwed up the engine. I’m sorry some people did not have the great experience with theirs like I did mine. I think you got lucky. The Citation and its brethren had a poor reputation. 2nd Gen GM X-Platform: also the Pontiac Phoenix, Buick Skylark, and Oldsmobile Omega. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/production-cars-with-no-known-surviving-examples/855308.md?page=3)