These Cars Are DEAD in 2026 (And Here’s Why) | Episode 993

Toyota Thon, Toyota Thon, Toyota Thon is on!

Oh, what fun it is to drive a new Toyota today!

Hey, Jan from Toyota here reminding you Toyota Thon is on!

Make your holiday wishes come true with a new Camry, RAV4, Tacoma and more!

Alright, let's sing it together this time!

Toyota Thon, Toyota Thon, Toyota Thon is on!

Dealer inventory may vary.

Toyota Thon ends January 5th.

See your participating dealer for details.

Toyota, let's go places!

It's 11 a.m. here in New Orleans, Louisiana, and this is Carage Live for, well, Wednesday,

December 31st. New Year's Eve, ladies and gentlemen.

Oh, and by the way, it's noon in Venture City and Washington, D.C. as we speak.

You know, your normal host today, me.

And that, you...

Me, Ray.

Me, Ray, and...

My handsome son.

And my handsome son.

You have a little spot there, Dad.

What kind of spot?

It's like a dark spot.

A good dark spot or a bad dark spot?

I don't know if there are any dermatologists that are going to watch today's show.

Change your head.

That dark spot, wait for it, right there.

Should I send them to a dermatologist?

Let us know in the comments if I should be concerned.

Now, today's show, Dad, we're going to be talking about the discontinued cars of 2026.

You have a second here if you want to put your phone on silent while I do a promo.

Almost like Rick says yes where you guys should.

It's almost like he does every day.

Guys, we have 20 hours remaining...

What?

Turn it on silent.

We have 20 hours remaining today.

It's the last day.

It is our end of year promotion.

If we can help you with our car buying service, it's $150 off or car edge pros, 15% off.

Please take advantage of it.

It will actually legitimately end this time.

So we appreciate everyone that's taking advantage of our promotion.caredge.com.

Now, Dad.

Yeah?

This is also an important note.

We are doing a fundraiser today.

We'll be live again this evening at 7pm Eastern.

We are raising money for Lung Cancer Foundation of America.

You can donate on today's show or the show right now or the show tonight.

We're trying to raise $10,000.

We'll be talking tonight all about my mom, her memory, her legacy, etc.

But we are raising money on this show and tonight's show for Lung Cancer Foundation of America.

Here's the headline, Dad.

Higher-end vehicles make up majority of discounted models for 2026.

So I want to run through the cars that are going to be dead.

Oh, discontinued.

Yeah.

Majority of discontinued, not discounted.

Yeah, discontinued.

Excuse me.

Discontinued vehicles in 2026.

So I want to talk about the vehicles that are going to be dead in 2026.

And the theme before we even get into the particular vehicles

is they are these higher trim level, more expensive options.

Which I think, Dad, as an initial sign,

we're going to run through the vehicles in a second here,

is an initial sign of the times changing.

Hey, we went way out market.

We've charged a boatload of money for more expensive vehicles.

And now the auto industry is reacting and they're saying,

oh, okay, maybe we went a little too high up market.

What do you think?

Who knows what to think?

I mean, you know, I am of a slightly different opinion

as to what's going on in the car industry than you are.

And so I would be curious as to what higher trim level vehicles are being discontinued.

And then what the price points are of those vehicles that are not.

And if the price points are still well above $50,000,

but well below where they're at at the moment,

then we're really not addressing it.

Let's then get into the data.

We tried to get his take without the data,

and he said, no, show me the numbers.

Dad, this information comes from IC cars.

There are roughly 27 models being discontinued in 2026.

20 are classified as either premium or luxury vehicles.

15 of the 27 models, about 55% are priced higher

than the average new vehicle transaction price of $50,000.

The most expensive vehicle being discontinued

is obviously the Porsche 718 Boxster, which is $142,000 vehicle.

One of the lowest priced vehicles among those

being ending or having ended production in 2025

was the Ford Escape at $30,000.

In 16 of the vehicles being discontinued in 2026,

our SUVs are crossovers with the Audi Q8 e-tron

being the most expensive at $86,196.

So let's just start here.

15 of the 27 models being discontinued.

Dad, in 2026, are more than $50,000 vehicles.

So how does that influence your thinking?

But are the replacement vehicles or are the,

is the remainder of the offerings

from whatever brands are discontinuing these vehicles?

Will their average asking prices or MSRPs

still be in excess of $50,000?

If the answer to that is yes, then okay,

so they've decided to discontinue some cars

that perhaps aren't selling all that well,

but they're not discontinuing cars

that are still overpriced for most people,

if that makes any sense.

I don't have, Dad, what they're replacing them with.

So I can't comment on that.

I don't know.

I do think it's still a sign.

I mean, you can have no opinion

if you don't know what's coming on the other side

to replace them, but I think it's a sign

that they are taking a little bit of heat

on those very expensive vehicles

because they wouldn't get rid of these vehicles

if they were selling off the shelves.

And I doubt that they're replacing them

with even more expensive options.

I'm not suggesting they are, but I guess

my concern is that the remaining offerings

will still fall between, say, $50,000 and $70,000,

which is well out of the reach

of the vast majority of the population.

I am convinced that the manufacturers

are perfectly content with selling

to the 12% to 13% of the population

that really feels as if they can participate.

Like I said, don't have that.

I don't know, I understand.

Let's keep moving.

I understand.

All right, so let's keep moving here, Dad.

Amid the dominance of premium or luxury models,

the list of discontinued vehicles

underscores notable shifts that will likely

continue in 2026, specifically with regards

to sedans and EVs.

So we have more discontinued models in 2026,

including the Audi QA.

Each of our Mercedes-Benz EQB and the Nissan Aria,

all of them are being discontinued in 2026.

And sedans, we know are going, by the way,

side Subaru Legacy, Volvo S60 and S90

are also no longer going to be an option in 2026.

So what do you make of this, Dad?

EVs and sedans, that's not too surprising.

Well, what would be surprising is if somebody said,

you know what, we're just leading cash

when it comes to selling EVs.

So guess what?

Let's offer more of them.

So I don't see that.

So cutting expensive EVs makes perfect sense to me.

And then with the Nissan Aria, which isn't nearly

as expensive as some of the others out there,

but it's certainly not popular.

Yes, the fact that you're cutting vehicles

that aren't selling, well, that makes,

in my, like, perfect business sense.

You look at what sells and you look at what doesn't,

and then you say, well, why do we keep making what doesn't?

So for discontinued vehicles, Dad,

how does that influence deal-making here?

So if I'm in the market, let's say, for a Subaru Legacy,

and this can be our first little live experiment

of the show today, let's say I'm in the market

for a Subaru Legacy, so here's a website really quick,

and let's take a peek.

Subaru, and we're doing, what do we say, a Legacy?

Yes.

Okay, so if I'm in the market for a Legacy, Dad,

there are 2,536 for sale nationwide right now.

Am I anticipating a bigger deal, a less of a deal?

Okay, you immediately said yes.

Oh, absolutely, because they're not going to build them anymore.

So it was not as desirous of a vehicle

as they would have liked when they were building them.

They discontinued them, so it makes it harder

for the dealers to find somebody

that's willing to take on that discontinued vehicle.

So there should be the opportunity for significant savings,

and if you look at something like the Subaru Legacy,

it's not a bad automobile, and if you can buy it

at a really reduced price because it has been discontinued,

and if you're the type of person who keeps a vehicle a long time,

this can be a tremendous opportunity for you.

So, yeah, dealers are, because it's not like,

well, we've got a year to sell them,

it's like, we ain't building them anymore,

we just need to get rid of them.

Yeah, so the incentive is that they want to get rid of them.

Let's click into one of these, I'm just curious.

158 days on the lot for this one.

2025, so it's MSRP of $32,190.

Gone are the days of cheap sedant.

This is a great option, it's being discontinued.

Dealers advertising it for $31,135, invoice price $30,285,

when I want to look at here, your negotiation position,

moderate leverage.

So we have 158 days on the market, but 45 days supply.

Look at that, 13 for sale, but 13 have sold in the last 45 days.

So they are moving quickly on these.

I am also curious that incentives wise, let's take a quick peek.

Okay, nothing too crazy, 2.9% for 36 months.

So, Subaru's stepping up a little bit here,

but it does seem like they are moving pretty quickly

because to your point, dealers have no incentive to hold on to them.

It's not like they're going to go, well, you can either buy this 2025 or the 2026.

It's like, okay, this is the end of the line.

And anytime that you discontinue a vehicle, whatever of those remain,

I don't want to say they're distressed,

because it's not necessarily distressed merchandise,

but it is less desirous merchandise.

So, there are deals to be had if you're looking for a legacy,

or that LDQ8 eTron.

Let's run through a few more.

We actually listed out 15 of the discontinued vehicles,

specific discontinued vehicles in 2026.

Back on the Car Edge website, thanks to Justin for maintaining this page.

So let's go through it really quickly here, Dad.

The BMW X4 is being discontinued.

So that's an example of a luxury vehicle, an expensive luxury vehicle.

Let's come over here again, actually, and take a quick peek.

BMW X4, I think it's going to be pretty expensive, but let's see.

I think most BMWs are pretty expensive.

Let's see.

Last time I checked.

Drum roll, please.

You don't have that many for sale nationwide right now, obviously,

because of discontinuing it, but, you know, 60.

Actually, you know, I thought it was going to be even more expensive.

There we go.

That's kind of more of what I was anticipating in the 70s,

but $60,000, $70,000 SUV, some in the 50s as well.

So that's going away next year.

Let's see what's next on the list.

The Cadillac XT6 that is going away in 2026.

Let's do that really quickly here.

Cadillac XT6.

XT.

Wow, and look at this.

We've got over 2,000 of them, almost 2,500 for sale right now.

So maybe more deal-making to be had on the XT6.

But again, MSRP 5261, this is definitely over the industry.

That's 74.

Depends on what equipment level you get.

So these are some examples of the vehicles that are being discontinued.

They are more expensive vehicles, obviously.

Keep going here.

Ford Escape.

So this is one of the ones.

This is a bummer.

This actually is one of the more affordable options out there.

And I think Ford dealers are a little bit disappointed to see this one go.

Well, what are they replacing it with?

I mean, there is no option for somebody that's coming in that

say would be interested in a Ford Escape and then there is no more Ford Escape.

And well, you don't have another little SUV to put them in.

We are supposed to sell them a Maverick?

We can put a cover on it, you know.

Next on the list, the Infiniti QX50 and QX55.

These are supposed to be like big sellers for Infiniti,

but unfortunately have not moved much.

So they're being discontinued in 2026.

We also have the Kia Soul.

So here's another example of an affordable vehicle.

I actually am very interested to look at the Kia Soul market right now.

Yeah, the hamsters have found somewhere else to live.

It seems that way.

Yeah, they're almost 5,000 for sale right now at Nationwide.

Wow.

So if you're looking for an affordable vehicle,

a 2025 Kia Soul because it's being discontinued in 2026 is probably a great option.

You should be able to get a decent discount because it's being discontinued.

Depending on your taste, some would suggest it's a cutesy little vehicle,

roomy, gets you from point A to point B and you can get from point A to point B

for under $25,000 in a brand new car.

There's not a lot of vehicles you can say that about.

I'm interested on the Kia Soul in particular what incentives Kia has right now.

So let's take a quick peek here.

Also, what I love looking at these less expensive vehicles is the Delta,

the difference between MSRP and invoice price, $23,255 MSRP.

It costs the dealer $22,320, so there's only even $1,000 in profit

built into the MSRP of this vehicle.

Obviously, there's other things like hold back and whatnot.

We got zero for sale.

All right, so this is only one, but 214 days on the lot for this LX option.

Let's take a peek down here, dad, for incentives.

Yeah, they're really not doing much to move these 4.49%.

You have up to $500 customer cash.

Right, yeah, $500 customer cash.

It is interesting, though, because Kia is one of the brands that has moved up market,

and so the vehicle that they're discontinuing is one of their down market views.

Oh, absolutely.

Kind of the opposite of what we're seeing from some of the other automakers.

Here goes another sedan, dad, who likes this RC.

I think that's a little hatchback.

Either way, it's the same kind of con.

It's like a coupé.

Yeah, coupé.

Toyota Thon, Toyota Thon, Toyota Thon is on.

Oh, what fun it is to drive a new Toyota today.

Hey, Jan from Toyota here, reminding you Toyota Thon is on.

Make your holiday wishes come true with a new Camry, RAV4, Tacoma, and more.

All right, let's sing it together this time.

Toyota Thon, Toyota Thon, Toyota Thon is on.

Dealer inventory may vary.

Toyota Thon ends January 5th.

See your participating dealer for details.

Toyota, let's go places.

Yeah, so it's really interesting here, dad, to see another vehicle,

that type of vehicle go away.

The Altima's going away, y'all.

Along with the Versa.

Yeah.

I think we have the next one on our list too.

Well, the Aria and the Versa.

Yeah.

So this is interesting.

Nissan's killing three vehicles in one model year changeover.

Yeah.

What does that suggest to you?

I don't know.

That they created three vehicles that nobody wanted.

Yeah.

Although, you know, the Altima has served Nissan well over the years.

It's a popular rental car.

It's a very popular rental car.

It shows the Versa.

The Aria was their, I would say, their big mistake.

Yeah.

I mean, that's an EV.

I have seen, I think, one or two on the road in my lifetime.

And that's a vehicle that obviously nobody's wanted.

But between the Versa and the Altima,

those were vehicles that have had a rather long lifespan at Nissan.

Apparently, perhaps they're going to be replaced with some newer models.

And so instead of just keeping the Altima name and the Versa name,

maybe they're thinking if they come up with a cute name

for the next vehicle to improve sales.

Then I am curious to actually take a quick peek at the Altima market

because I wonder if that's another option like the Kia Soul here

that is a relatively, relatively affordable one.

Oh, I would think so.

There are almost 180,000 new Nissan's for sale in Asia.

I'm like, that's crazy of the Altima.

Yeah, look at this.

This is the biggest number we'd seen yet.

There are over 8,000 new Nissan Altimas for sale right now.

And it's being discontinued.

When we talked about there's a million unsold new cars going into 2026

because there are 2024 new cars and 2025 new cars, these are only 2025s.

There are no 2026s that are going to be coming anytime soon for the Nissan Altima.

Let's take a peek here, $34,000 MSRP, $35,000, $36,000 MSRP.

And let's get, we can do this SR four-wheel drive.

There we go, strong leverage on this one.

80 days on the look at that.

Dealers in this area have 14 of this particular year make model and trim,

but have only sold one or last 45 days.

I'm curious.

Do you think that could be valuable information for a customer to share with the dealership?

And look, that should add 1.99% financing for 36 months.

So it's still not 0% or 72 or anything like that,

but this is more aggressive than we saw from some of the other manufacturers here.

And yes, do I think that this information,

let me come back up to it, under market insights,

is valuable information for a customer to have?

Yes, this is how you negotiate with the dealership.

You print this out and you give it to them.

This is how you say, by the way, listen, I am one of the few people

within 100 miles of where we are standing at the moment

who would have any interest in this vehicle at all.

And based on the current sales rate, you would be an absolute fool

to allow me to walk away without buying this vehicle.

You would have to have your head examined.

So how can we make this happen?

And do you think that these Nissan dealers are looking at the fact

that it is discontinued to your point earlier and saying,

I don't want to hold on to this any longer?

Is it going to get more valuable next year?

It will not.

Trust me, it is not a fine line.

So it is not going to get more valuable.

And like I say, if you have that information as a customer

and you can print that out and share it with them,

it is like, come on, man, what are you doing here?

There might not be another person based on the sales rate

other than me that would even consider this vehicle.

Absolutely.

All right, so let's keep going through vehicles

that are being discontinued in 2026, the Boxster.

So we know that Sam Cayman,

that's who more should get rid of that,

but it's obviously an expensive vehicle.

Buy, buy to the McCann, the gas power.

Yes, yes.

This is an interesting decision because they made it a while ago.

But I wonder if they're going to stick with it,

the McCann only as an electric vehicle.

My guess is, this is just a guess.

I don't have any inside information.

But if I were to guess, I would say to you that perhaps we will see

Porsche come out with some hybrids

to go along with their battery electric vehicles.

Now that we talked about it earlier on the show

with regards to sedans, the legacy is being discontinued.

Yes.

Which is a bummer.

This thing, this thing.

You know, I actually buy some.

I know, excuse me, I know no one buys them.

I was actually considering it because once you fall down

the rear seats for space if you need it,

it has almost as much space as the Outback.

It's built on the same platform as the Outback.

And it is a relatively large sedan.

And you can get them very well equipped for a very reasonable price.

The only problem is it's the type of vehicle that you buy

if your intention is to keep it for a very long time.

Because it will depreciate probably almost as quickly as an EV in today's world.

Because there's no real market for it.

Yeah, exactly.

Now another vehicle being discontinued, the Supra.

This thing was short lived.

Obviously this kind of falls more into like,

I don't want to say collectors, but definitely more enthusiasts.

I remember when they brought it back out again

and they sold the first one at the Barrett Jackson in Scottsdale.

For over a million bucks.

But that was for charity.

Like we talked about the S90 and the S60 Volvo struggling mightily

and obviously having big expensive sedans cutting it for them.

Now we did, you just mentioned for charity today's show,

what we're doing here live.

We've raised zero dollars thus far.

The big show is tonight.

We have to please tune in tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

But we are trying to raise $10,000 here for a lung cancer foundation of America.

We learned, I learned this morning,

that we can have multiple live streams be associated with a fundraiser.

So if you are feeling an interest in contributing to charity,

we are raising money in connection to lung cancer.

Because my dad's wife, my mom died from lung cancer.

Good cause for us to support.

And may I say, there's like two types of people in this world.

And they are people who have cancer of some kind.

And then people who will get cancer of some kind.

That is not actually true.

But it feels that way.

And we are in so many cases so close to being able to either make it a

long-term illness as opposed to a terminal illness, a controllable illness.

So that it just, whatever we can do to raise money and to help researchers

figure out how to make these long-term illnesses or preventative illnesses all together,

we should do what we can.

And that's why we try to do what we can.

Yep. We'll be talking about that much more tonight.

Dad, we've had a couple of comments come through that we need to address.

Yes. I'm Paul over on Facebook.

So do I need to buy today or do I have until the fifth for the best deal?

We also have here from Mini the Cholama 934 asking the same question.

So let's break down here, Dad.

Is it today? Is it Friday? Is it Monday?

Some of the manufacturers, their incentives run through the second.

Some of the other manufacturers, their incentives run through the fifth.

For the large publicly traded dealer groups out there, the AutoNations,

Lithias, Sonic, Penske Group 1, they actually have to close their books for the month of December

today. So they can't, even though the incentives will extend, they can't

keep the books open and pretend that they sold a car in December when they actually sold it

January 1st. They can't do that. Many other dealerships will actually keep their books open

through the second or the fifth to match whatever their manufacturer does.

Which for what it's worth, the large publicly traded dealer groups make up

two or three percent of all cars sold. So it's actually like a fairly miniscule.

So I'd say in most cases, it's through Monday.

In some cases. Because I think Ford's programs end on the second.

Others end on the fifth.

So let's take a peek on Ford in particular. This is why I like using the Car Edge Car Search.

One, we built it. Two, it's ours.

Yeah. That also comes with all its words.

We've got here an F1.

I fucked Ford's ended on the second, but obviously I couldn't be wrong.

There you go, through the fifth. So double check. Do I hear any vehicle double check the incentives?

But I think your point is well heard. Like if you can get a deal done today or Friday,

do it. The motivation's there for sure. But if you're getting a deal done on Friday or on Monday,

I don't think it's the end of the world.

Yeah.

And these dealerships are also going to be open on Saturday. Many dealerships are closed on Sundays.

Well, yeah. And many dealerships will be closed tomorrow for New Year's.

Although I did work at some dealerships where we were actually.

You worked New Year's Day.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

That's nice.

Yeah. Tell me about it. Yeah.

Yeah. But it was, hey, it was my choice. That was my career path that I chose.

Yep.

Which meant that there were very few holidays that we actually had often.

So whatever it is, you do whatever it is you have to do in order to,

in order to provide for your family.

Absolutely. Dad, just want to do a quick thank you over here. Bear with me.

They'll be pulled up on the screen. Rich Diana.

Thank you, Rich, for the kind contribution, donating to L.N. Cancer Foundation of America.

Again, we will try and hit this $10,000 mark tonight when we do our other live show at some

PM Eastern. So if you wanted some New Year's Eve entertainment, we are here to hang out with

y'all and spend some time together. A friendly reminder, if we can help you with anything,

caredge.com. Even if you're not going to buy a car here at the end of the year,

we're not going anywhere come January. First, we have this promotion on going, however,

the Car Buying Service Car Edge Pro. Our friends over at Ferro are also offering $150 off on the

extended warranty side of things as well. So please, please, please take advantage of those

offers as they will actually legitimately end at the end of today. Well, 9 a.m. tomorrow,

but end of today. We need someone on the team to go in there and update itself.

Well, yeah, and everybody's off tomorrow, so...

Yeah, no, we've got one person who very bravely will be waking up, pressing some buttons,

and then going on with their New Year's Day.

Is his name Zach?

No. I don't know how to change or how to hit buttons. I'm not allowed to anymore.

Well, you can rest assured it's not me, folks. I wouldn't begin to know what buttons to push.

Leave some comments. What do you want to do tonight when you're on with us at 7 p.m.? I don't

know. I was thinking, obviously, we'll be talking about my mom and share some stories there. I think

we could also talk about the year in review, like what we've learned in 2025. We could do

some comments, leave some chat messages. We're going to be on at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Let me

show everyone what that's going to look like. I believe that is 6 o'clock New Orleans time.

Yeah, 6 o'clock for us here in New Orleans. Yes. Let me just pull this up so everyone can see it.

Bear with me. It's going to be this one. Tribute to Suzanne. Suzanne, excuse me.

So please, please, please, I don't know. Press the notification button. Join us. Join us for

that. We would really, really appreciate it. But let us know if you have more pics of playing with

hair. All right. Well, I'll queue up some photos of my dad. I didn't. You know, there was a time.

I don't know if you were, but I looked like I had like a Prince Valiant haircut. I mean, it had

and you didn't moisturize your scalp. It's very dry. Well, that's because I take very hot shower.

Yeah, even here. Yeah. All right, folks, tune in tonight. We look forward to seeing you then.

And yeah, enjoy your afternoon of New Year's Eve.

Thanks everybody for being here. We look forward to seeing you tonight. And please,

please, please, tell a friend to tell a friend to tell a friend to shop for tonight's show.

That's the big show. That's for a good cause. The rest of this is just pure unadulterated crap.

But tonight is not something like that, isn't it?

And behind the scenes stories, you won't hear anywhere else from track tested reviews to legendary

car collections. This is where passion meets performance. Subscribe to Car Cast Now on Apple

podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you liked the show, please take

a moment to rate, review and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening.

These Cars Are DEAD in 2026 (And Here’s Why) | Episode 993

About this episode

Request an Explanation

Want to learn more?

Help improve this episode

More from CarEdge Live