The 2026 model year brings an unusually long list of farewells across the American new-car market. Automakers are clearing out slow sellers, converting factories over to electric production, and retiring gas-powered sports cars that no longer fit tightening regulations abroad. Fourteen familiar nameplates are set to disappear from showrooms.
1. Kia Soul: The Boxy Bargain Bows Out
Kia has pulled the Soul from its 2026 U.S. lineup, ending a run that began in 2009 for the tall, square-shouldered hatchback. According to a roundup of 2026 discontinuations, the 2025 model year is the Soul’s last on American roads, leaving the brand without its cheapest entry.
Budget shoppers lose one of the few remaining new cars priced close to $20,000. Kia’s crossover range now starts with the Seltos and Sportage, both larger and costlier. Used Souls should stay plentiful for years, though the boxy silhouette becomes a discontinued nameplate rather than a showroom option.
2. Ford Escape: The Kentucky Plant Turns Electric
Production of the Escape ends as Ford converts its Kentucky assembly plant to build electric vehicles, according to Edmunds’ discontinuation list. The compact crossover, a fixture of the segment since the 2001 model year, has no direct gas-powered successor announced.
Escape shoppers get pushed toward the boxier Bronco Sport, which shares much of the same engineering, or toward the Maverick pickup. Dealers are expected to carry remaining inventory well into the year. Ford’s decision reflects a broader shift of assembly capacity toward electric models, even as demand for affordable gas crossovers stays strong.
3. Lincoln Corsair: The Luxury Twin Exits Too
Lincoln’s compact crossover leaves the lineup alongside its Ford Escape sibling, since the two share an assembly line being retooled for electric production. Forbes’ 2026 farewell list counts the Corsair among 25 nameplates disappearing this model year.
Lincoln’s least expensive entry point disappears with it, leaving the Nautilus as the brand’s new baseline crossover. Shoppers wanting a compact luxury utility must look to rivals from Acura, Audi, or Volvo. Whether Lincoln returns to the segment with an electric replacement has not been confirmed by the company.
4. Acura TLX: A Sales Collapse Ends The Sport Sedan
Acura is retiring the TLX after demand cratered. Annual volume slid from roughly 47,000 at the nameplate’s peak to just 7,478, a decline documented in SlashGear’s discontinuation tally. The midsize four-door had served as the brand’s flagship sedan since replacing the TL and TSX.
Acura’s car lineup shrinks to the Integra, pushing the brand further toward SUVs. Performance fans lose the Type S variant and its turbocharged V6, one of the few remaining sport sedans at that price. The move mirrors an industrywide retreat from midsize sedans as crossovers absorb the volume.
5. Nissan Versa: America’s Cheapest New Car Signs Off
Nissan is ending U.S. sales of the Versa, a subcompact that long held the title of the least expensive new car sold in America. A Cars.com rundown confirms the sedan does not return for 2026, closing out a run built almost entirely on price.
Entry-level shoppers lose the cheapest path into a new vehicle backed by a full factory warranty. Nissan’s smallest remaining car becomes the Sentra, which carries a higher starting price and a bigger footprint. With the Versa gone, the sub-$20,000 corner of the new-car market keeps thinning out.
6. Nissan Altima: A Steady Seller Cut Anyway
The Altima departs even though the midsize sedan continued to move respectable volume, a point noted in an Edmunds model-year rundown. Nissan is redirecting showroom space and factory capacity toward crossovers led by the Rogue.
Fleet operators and value-focused buyers lose a roomy option that often undercut the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord on price. Nissan’s sedan presence narrows sharply as a result. Midsize four-doors keep contracting as a category, with each departure leaving the survivors a slightly larger slice of a shrinking pie.
7. Cadillac XT5: A Midsize Crossover Retired Despite Demand
Cadillac is retiring the XT5, a decision chronicled in a Forbes in-memoriam roundup covering 25 departing vehicles. The midsize crossover had continued to sell decently, but the brand is reorganizing around an expanding electric lineup.
Cadillac’s remaining gas utilities skew larger and pricier, while the electric Lyriq takes over much of the XT5’s position in the range. Loyal owners face a jump in size or budget to stay with the brand. The change accelerates a shift toward battery-powered models across nearly every Cadillac segment.
8. Cadillac CT4: The Compact Sport Sedan Signs Off
The CT4 does not continue past the 2026 model year, according to SlashGear’s 2026 list. Cadillac’s smallest sedan struggled against entrenched German rivals and against a broader collapse in compact luxury four-door demand.
Enthusiasts lose the CT4-V Blackwing, a manual-transmission sedan with almost no equivalents left at any price. Cadillac’s car strategy now leans on larger models and electric replacements. Values for well-kept Blackwing examples could hold up, given limited production and the shrinking number of stick-shift performance cars still available.
9. Cadillac CT5: A Pause Before A Gas-Powered Return
Cadillac ends the CT5 in its current form, though the Cars.com list indicates a gas-powered sedan is expected to follow rather than a permanent exit. The midsize four-door had been the brand’s mainstream sedan since the CTS was retired.
Shoppers watching the CT5-V Blackwing face a narrowing window on the current supercharged V8 version. Cadillac has signaled continued interest in sedans even as its utility and electric ranges expand. Timing, pricing, and powertrain details for any successor remain unannounced, leaving a gap in the lineup meanwhile.
10. Porsche 718 Boxster: The Combustion Roadster Bows Out
Porsche is ending combustion production of the 718 Boxster, with the Edmunds farewell tally placing the mid-engine roadster among this model year’s casualties. Regulatory pressure in Europe accelerated the timing, and an electric replacement has been confirmed for the nameplate.
Drivers seeking an affordable flat-six roadster face a shrinking field, with the 911 Cabriolet the obvious but far pricier alternative. Late Spyder and GTS 4.0 examples are likely to attract collector attention. Porsche’s electric Boxster is expected to keep both the mid-engine layout and the badge.
11. Porsche 718 Cayman: The Hardtop Twin Follows
The coupe version of the 718 exits at the same moment as its convertible sibling, as Forbes’ discontinuation feature documents. Both cars share a platform and an assembly process, so Porsche is retiring them together ahead of electric successors.
The Cayman GT4 RS marks the high point of the gas era, and demand for late build slots ran strong. Sports-car shoppers lose one of the most praised handling packages available under six figures. Porsche has committed to an electric Cayman, though pricing and full specifications remain undisclosed.
12. Toyota Supra: The Revival Ends Its Production Run
Production of the current Supra concludes in 2026, a SlashGear model rundown reports, closing a revival that began when Toyota brought the nameplate back in 2019 with BMW-derived hardware. A Final Edition marks the end of the run.
Manual-transmission examples of the inline-six version look likely to be the most sought after on the used market. Toyota’s performance range leans on the GR Corolla and GR86 in the meantime. Executives have hinted at another Supra eventually, but nothing has been confirmed for the near term.
13. Lexus LC 500: The Flagship Grand Tourer Departs
Lexus is discontinuing the LC 500, according to Cars.com’s model-year tally, retiring a halo coupe that carried a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 long after most rivals downsized. Low volume and tightening efficiency rules made the business case difficult to sustain.
Departure of the LC removes one of the last big-displacement luxury coupes without forced induction. Convertible versions leave alongside the hardtop. Lexus is redirecting attention toward electrified flagships, which means the brand’s next halo car is unlikely to sound anything like the outgoing one.
14. Lexus RC: The Coupe Retires After A Decade
After roughly a decade on sale, the RC coupe is dropped from the lineup, Edmunds’ 2026 guide confirms. Sales had dwindled as the two-door aged with only incremental updates since its 2014 debut, and no replacement has been announced.
Gone with the rest of the range is the RC F and its 5.0-liter V8, ending the brand’s most affordable performance coupe. Buyers are left without a Lexus two-door once the LC also exits. Lexus continues concentrating on hybrid crossovers, which now account for the overwhelming majority of its volume.
