List of Recent Dead, Defunct & Bankrupt Car Companies

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Dead car companies have met their demise for a host of reasons. For some dead car companies it was not enough desirable selection, others too much selection and the high costs of marketing all of it, others a myopic focus on producing gas guzzlers as consumers swiftly changed their buying priorities to fuel sippers and still others simply blame the economy.

Whatever the reason for the car company’s bankruptcy, there have been literally thousands of car manufacturers since the inception of the automobile which have gone out of business. A large percentage of this figure is due to the fact that in the early years of the automobile, it was commonplace to see people making their own automobiles out of their garage and selling a few to friends and neighbors. Due to the mass number of defunct car companies worldwide, we decided to simply compile a list of the more recent dead car companies (failing after 1960) of which most people would be more familiar with.

Which car company is the biggest failure? Well, that would be a good debate, but one of the more notables would be the Edsel. Ford invested heavily in the manufacturing and marketing of this dead car business, which was immediately rejected by the public in terms of it being too expensive and rather unattractive (particularly the grill). Post a comment and tell us which failed car company you wish could be brought back to life and why.

Defunct Car Companies Since 1960:

American Motors (AMC) (1966–1987)
Apollo (1962–1964)
Aptera Motors (2005-2011)
Autoette (1948–1970)
Bricklin (1974–1976)
Checker (1922–1982)
Citicar (1974–1976)
Corbin (1999–2003)
Dale (1974)
DeLorean (1981–1982)
DeSoto (1928–1961)
Dovell (circa 1980s)
Eagle (1988–1998)
Edsel (1958–1960)
Electricar (1950–1966)
Eshelman (1953–1961)
Fiberfab (circa 1960s)
Fisker (2007-2013)
Frazen (1951–1962)
Gaslight (1960-circa 1961)
Geo (1989–1997)
Henney (1960–1964)
Hummer (1992–2010)
Imperial (1955–1975, 1981–1983)
International Harvester (1907–1975)
King Midget (1947–1970)
Mercury (1939–2010)
Nu-Klea (1959–1960)
Oldsmobile (1897–2004)
Plymouth (1928–2001)
Pontiac (1926–2010)
Powell (1930s-1960s)
Rambler (1958–1969)
REO (or Reo) (1905–1975)
Saab (1937–2012)
Saturn (1985–2010)
Studebaker (1902–1967)
Stutz (1968–1987)
Stutz (1968–1987)
Vector (1971–1999, 2006-2010)
White (1902–1981)
Willys (1916–1918, 1930–1942, 1953–1963)