Automakers and brands come and go, but would you buy an orphaned product?
Fisker is teetering on the brink and hosting what amounts to be a fire sale on Oceans. While the company isn’t dead yet, it makes us wonder if you’d ever buy a car from a discontinued brand or automaker.
There’s no shortage of options as General Motors alone has killed Pontiac, Hummer, Oldsmobile, and Saturn – just to name a few. Ford dropped Mercury a little over a decade ago, while Saab died a brutal death by a thousand cuts.
In other cases, automakers have left the United States but continued to sell their vehicles elsewhere. Two relatively recent examples are Smart and Suzuki, but there are countless others if you crack open the history books.
With all that being said, would you buy an orphan car or a vehicle from a dead brand? There are a lot of interesting options out there and the Hummer H3 can now be found for $10,000 or less.
While you’ll have to shell out more for the V8-powered H3 Alpha, the standard model was built on the bones of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. As a result, it was launched with a 3.5-liter five-cylinder engine producing 220 hp (164 kW / 223 PS) and 225 lb-ft (305 Nm) of torque. The SUV also came standard with four-wheel drive as well as a choice between automatic and manual transmissions.
If you’re looking for a cheap used car, Mercury might be worth considering as they’re effectively better equipped Fords with slightly different styling. As a result, you might be able to find a better deal on a Mountaineer than an Explorer.
More: Which Deceased Brand Would You Like To See Revived?
Late model Saabs are also pretty interesting as the company was seemingly on the right track with the 9-4X and final 9-5. Of course, once GM parted ways with the brand, it was all downhill.
