5 Cars GM Never Should Have Discontinued

Anytime there's a list of cars, a few deserving models get left off. On this list, for example, you won't see the recently discontinued Chevy Camaro. Its omission is partly due to the possibility it could return in some form, but mostly because it's had enough time in the limelight, for now.

Instead, we'd like to dig a little farther into the General Motors archives for our list of cars we'd like to see return to production. There are a lot of classic car models to consider among GM's expansive collection of brands. Some of GM's most popular brands are still with us, of course, like Chevrolet and Buick. However, some models from discontinued brands, such as Pontiac and Saturn, deserve another shot as they may have been ahead of their time.

We'll explore five cars GM never should have discontinued, listed in alphabetical order to avoid favoritism. These cars represent a variety of characteristics, from performance to practicality and all-around fun.

Like it or not, the Pontiac Aztek's unusual list of features prove it was a cool car. Sure, it's not powerful or sporty, and it may have a face that only those that know it best could love, but it is certainly engrained in automotive industry memory. Besides, if people can get behind notoriously ugly trucks like the Honda Ridgeline and Tesla Cybertruck, why not an ugly SUV?

Typically, cars appearing in movies or popular television shows enjoy elevated levels of success. However, the Pontiac Aztek's claim to fame occurred with its role as the dilapidated daily driver of Walter White, "Breaking Bad's" mundane high school chemistry teacher turned drug trade kingpin.

Pontiac Aztek production began in 2000 and ended in 2005. However, more than a decade later, automotive types like Car and Driver were still telling its story as a cautionary tale. The Aztek featured a 185-horsepower 3.4-liter V6, optional all-wheel-drive, and a few optional "lifestyle" package offerings.

Perhaps the coolest lifestyle package was designed for camping. The camping package came with a tent that attaches to the rear of the Pontiac Aztek, a two-person air mattress, and an air pump to inflate it. With the recent surge in the popularity of travel vans and campers, this setup could go over better today.

[Featured image by IFCAR via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | Public Domain]

Another entrant on the list of questionable style choices (and is also connected to "Breaking Bad", oddly enough) is the Chevy El Camino. Its debut in 1959 wasn't well received by the car-buying public, so Chevrolet discontinued it for the first time in 1960. A similar styled car-truck hybrid, the Ford Ranchero, was gaining traction with consumers, so GM entered the fray with the El Camino once more in 1964. That production run lasted until 1987, spanning four more generations, five total, counting the short-lived first-generation El Camino.

Recently, rumors of a 2025 Chevrolet El Camino have surfaced. While those rumors aren't supported by any official statements from GM or Chevrolet, artist- and AI-generated El Camino images and videos abound on the internet, providing fuel to the rumors.

While the El Camino's 2025 reintroduction appears unlikely, it could fit nicely into the current market. Vehicles like the Hyundai Santa Cruz, Ford Maverick, and Honda Ridgeline are popular models with a similar car-truck hybrid design. A new El Camino could also revive its muscle car roots, where it once sported some of Chevrolet's most powerful V8 engines.

Some of the first Pontiac Fieros failed in dramatic, fire-engulfed fashion. While public appearances, such as the 1984 Indy 500 Pace Car outing, helped the Pontiac Fiero's popularity, reports of one out of every 400 1984 Fieros (its inaugural year) going up in flames couldn't be overcome.

The sources of the 1984 Fiero fires, bad connecting rods, undersized engine oil supply, and poor electrical harness wiring, were addressed for the 1985 and subsequent model years. While the cars themselves were no longer fireballs waiting to happen, the Fiero's reputation could not withstand the heat, and GM pulled the plug on the Pontiac Fiero in 1988.

Nearly 20 years before the Fiero's 1984 debut, then Pontiac executives Elliot "Pete" Estes and John De Lorean wanted to bring a sporty mid-engine two-seater to production, but GM upper management didn't want to distract buyers from the Corvette. However, the 1970s fuel crisis prompted Pontiac to reconsider the concept as an economy car with a performance vibe.

If the Pontiac Fiero returned today, with modern materials, tech, and drivetrains, it could rival some of the best performance EVs on the market. However, it's not likely to happen since GM won't risk the Corvette nameplate with any sibling rivalry.

[Featured image by MercurySable99 via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]

The Buick Grand National debuted in 1984, the year the Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles. How awesome would it be if, like the Olympics returning to southern California, GM announced the Buick Grand National's return?

The Grand National name first appeared on Buicks as a trim level but was upgraded to a standalone model in 1984. It was basically a blacked-out Buick Regal that could easily fit on the set of the next John Wick movie. In 1987, Buick took the Grand National to the next level by installing a 276-horsepower turbocharged and intercooled 3.8-liter V6 with 360 lb-ft of torque. For comparison, the 5.7-liter V8 in the 1987 Chevy Corvette had 240 horsepower and 345 lb-ft of torque.

We don't expect GM to bring a full-size coupe, like the original Grand National, to the market. However, as long as it doesn't get the same disservice Chevrolet applied to the fifth-generation Malibu when bringing it back in 1997, it would be interesting to see another powerful Buick.

GM launched the Saturn brand in 1990 to combat the influx of affordable, efficient imports, but Saturn ultimately flopped during GMs bankruptcy recovery efforts in 2009. Early Saturn models included L-Series cars and S-Series sedans and wagons featuring in-house drivetrains.

Following a display of innovation in its early years, Saturn limped into the new millennium with platforms borrowed from other GM brands and even engines from Honda at times, like in the Saturn Vue. The Saturn Sky is mostly a rebadged Pontiac Solstice (a Pontiac model that deserves more recognition) with a cooler, and easier to spell, name. Both cars were convertible roadsters with seating for two, powered by GM Ecotec engines.

The Saturn Sky debuted in 2007 with GM's 177-horsepower 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder at its base. The upscale Sky Red Line featured the turbocharged 2.0-liter version with 260 horsepower, the same engine as the Pontiac Solstice GXP.

It's unlikely that GM will debut renewed versions of these discontinued models anytime soon. Probably the best we can hope for is AI-generated videos and artistic renderings to bring past models to life on our screens.

[Featured image by MercurySable99 via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]