Automobile companies come and go. This has happened many times even as long as I’ve been around. Literally hundreds of manufacturers have gone the way of the Dodo since the late 1800’s. Some lasted just a few years, some were absorbed by larger companies like Ford, Chrysler, or General Motors. This is part two of a list of defunct car companies that you may have actually heard of.

Packard

Along with George Lewis Weiss, James and William Packard founded their namesake automobile company in 1899. They were around until 1954 when Packard merged with Studebaker (they didn’t last either, keep reading). Owning a Packard was considered prestigious, as they were manufactured as luxury vehicles.

During WWII, Packard build powerplants for boats and aircraft to help the war effort, including a licensed version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine for the P-51 Mustang.

Plymouth

During the 1990’s, there were a whole lot of models that were basically identical, but badged differently between Dodge, Chrysler, and Plymouth. The latter hasn’t made it to modern times. Founded in 1928 by Walter Chrysler to compete with the lower-end models from Chevrolet and Ford, the Plymouth nameplate made it all the way to 2001 when it was discontinued by DaimlerChrysler.

Before the merger, there was an effort made to present Plymouth as a retro-styled brand. The only production model to make it out of the gate was the Prowler, and even that didn’t make it long after the Germans controlled Dodge and Chrysler. There were several models that were branded both Dodge and Plymouth that they didn’t even bother changing the name. The Neon comes to mind, and the Voyager and Caravan were literally the same thing.

Pontiac

Pontiac was created by General Motors in 1925 to be in the range between Chevrolet and their more luxurious offerings from Buick, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac. Eventually the marketing turned to Pontiac being the ‘exciting’ GM division, but by its demise in 2010, they were making minivans and that Aztec thing. Not very exciting.

To be fair, let’s backtrack a bit and note that Pontiac is responsible for some pretty nice models including the Firebird Trans Am, GTO, Grand Am and Grand Prix. They also made what is probably the most kitted car ever – the mid-engine Fiero.

When GM fell apart in 2011, it was decided that the Pontiac line was to be no more.

Saturn

Here we go with General Motors again. Saturn was developed in 1985 by GM to compete directly with Japanese auto makers – and you could tell. The first model off the line didn’t come about until 1990, and by 2010 the company was dissolved, just like Pontiac and for the same reasons.

I had a girlfriend in high school that drove an SC2 Coupe, and as I recall, they weren’t made to fit people my size.

Believe it or not, Saturn actually had quite a few different models in their two decades of production: the series’ S and L, Vue, Outlook, Sky, Relay, Ion, and Aura. I’ve physically worked on most of those and they really were similar to the Japanese models of the time.

Studebaker

Studebaker is old, or it would have been. We’re talking so old that they got started manufacturing horse-drawn carriages. Founded by five brothers in 1852, Studebaker was known for quality and reliability until its merger with Packard in 1954 over 100 years later.

Their manufacturing facility produced not just cars, but also trucks, fire engines and busses. After the company folded, Kaiser used the South Bend location to assemble Jeeps, which is still done today by the Jeep mother company Stellantis.

If Studebaker was still in business today, it would be 163 years old. That’s considerably older than even Mercedes-Benz.

Willys-Overland

Most people today would probably only recognize the name “Willys” because some models of Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators have the name across their hoods. At one time, however, Willys-Overland was the second largest automobile manufacturer in the United States, behind Ford.

The name is kind of goofy because it is not the possessive form of “Willy”. In fact, the guy who the company is named after pronounced it “Willis” (like Bruce).

The company that would become most famous for Jeeps was founded in 1908 by John Willys. Instead of Detroit, the Willys-Overland Company was uniquely headquartered in Toledo, Ohio.  By 1963 Willys was no more, as it has been purchased by Kaiser for it’s Jeep division. That seems to be how it works, because Kaiser was eventually sold to AMC, which was later bought by Chrysler – for its Jeep division.