Showroom: Expires 2013: Models That Won’t Return

Some vehicles fail to meet expectations from the very start. Many more lose their relevance over time. It’s a rare automobile that is introduced with a firm expiration date in mind.

While models like the BMW M3 and the Volkswagen Golf R are skipping 2014 because of redesigns, the vehicles presented here are truly dead. Don’t expect to see new models wearing these badges anytime soon, if ever:

ACURA ZDX The genre-bending ZDX combined the ride height of an S.U.V., the roofline of a coupe and the four doors of a sedan. From the driver’s seat it was as well-sorted as the more conventional MDX, but the ZDX’s styling left buyers confused enough that Acura never met its modest goal of 5,000 sales a year.

ASTON MARTIN VIRAGE The Virage was a head-scratcher from the moment it was announced, wedged into the narrow price and performance gap between the DBS and DB9. It was no surprise, then, that the British automaker pulled the Virage off the market after just 18 months.

AUDI TT RS Audi’s performance division conjured a 360-horsepower turbocharged 5-cylinder engine and a sweet-shifting 6-speed manual to create the RS. The result was powerful and nimble enough to transform the humble TT — its underlying platform is shared with the Volkswagen Golf — into a legitimate Porsche rival.

CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT Outward appearances suggest that the EXT rode on four standard tires, but what really carried this reskinned Chevrolet Avalanche was the Escalade name. The business case was just as tenuous as that of the failed Lincoln Blackwood, yet with an 11-year run the Escalade EXT disproved the notion that a luxury pickup is a sales-proof oxymoron.

CHEVROLET AVALANCHE Many will remember the Avalanche by its distinctive “midgate” between the bed and the cabin. Its place in history is more significant: the Avalanche was a harbinger of today’s trucks that place as much emphasis on moving people as they do on hauling cargo. The Avalanche was undone by the gentrification of conventional pickups, including Chevy’s own Silverado.

CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 AND ZR1 The new 2014 Corvette Stingray has sent the high-performance variants on sabbatical. While the Z06 and ZR1 had distinct personalities, rumors suggest that Chevrolet’s succession plan calls for a single car to replace the duo. Whether it will be closer in spirit to the brutal, track-ready Z06 or the sophisticated six-figure ZR1 remains to be seen.

FISKER KARMA Fisker lived and died by an Energy Department loan intended to promote the development and production of its plug-in-hybrid technology. But the Karma’s lasting contribution had nothing to do with batteries or electric motors. Rather, Henrik Fisker, the designer who founded the company, taught the establishment how to create a truly beautiful four-door car.

FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302 The Boss’s fate was sealed before it even went on sale: Ford promised to sell this rowdy special-edition Mustang for just two years. Its throwback name evoked the muscle car’s glory days while its 302-cubic-inch V-8 was a modern 444-horsepower dynamo.

NISSAN ALTIMA COUPE It’s a small pool of car buyers that prefers two-door coupes built on the underpinnings of sensible family sedans. Toyota buried its Camry-based Solara coupe four years ago. With Nissan now doing the same, Honda’s two-door Accord stands alone.

SUZUKI Perpetually besieged Suzuki gave up on the United States market in late 2012, just as it was finding its feet. The newest of its models — the SX4 subcompact and the Kizashi midsize sedan — were genuinely good cars. Its Grand Vitara S.U.V. and Equator pickup, not so much.

TOYOTA MATRIX Toyota’s small hatchback should be remembered as a survivor. When General Motors shuttered the Pontiac brand in 2009, Toyota lost the mechanical twin (the Pontiac Vibe) that gave the Matrix scale and the experimental joint manufacturing plant where both cars were built. Rather than call it quits, Toyota relocated the tooling to Cambridge, Ontario, and gave the Matrix another four years of life.

VOLVO C30 For conservative Volvo, the plucky C30 hatchback was a rare departure from conventional high-volume segments. With its 5-cylinder engine and all-glass rear hatch, the C30 packed loads of charisma into a package that was simply too small for most luxury buyers.

VOLVO C70 The 1998 C70 was the first modern Volvo to break out of the brand’s boxy design language. Initially sold as a coupe and soft-top convertible, the C70 later became a single model with a retractable hardtop. The Swedish automaker is focusing on mainstream segments as it reboots its lineup under its new owner, the Chinese automaker Geely.

Wheels Blog: Cadillac to Recall SRX Models for Wheel Problem; Triumph and Nissan Issue Recalls

Cadillac Cadillac said it will recall 19,000 SRX models for a problem with wheel lug nuts that could increase crash risk.

General Motors will recall almost 19,000 2013 Cadillac SRX models because the lug nuts on its 18-inch wheels may loosen, the automaker told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In a report posted Friday on the safety agency’s Web site, the automaker said it traced the problem to “wheel nuts with a blue tint Teflon content topcoat, a nut torque at the lower end of the acceptable range and a rarely occurring rotor dimensional characteristic.”

The combination means “one or more of the wheel lug nuts could detach” possibly causing a crash. However, the automaker said it found the problem on vehicles in its fleet and was not aware of any wheels coming off or crashes related to the defect.

In other actions:

• Triumph says it will recall about 279 of its 2012-13 models because an indicator light might show that the transmission is in neutral when a gear has been selected, according to a report posted on the N.H.T.S.A. Web site. The action covers Triumph’s Speed Triple, Speed Triple ABS, Speed Triple R, Speed Triple R ABS, Sprint GT, Sprint ST, Tiger 1050 ABS and Tiger Sport models.

• Nissan’s worldwide recall of 841,000 vehicles does not include any in the United States or Canada, Steve Yeager, a spokesman for the company wrote in an e-mail. Mr. Yeager said the recall affected Cube, March and Micra models sold in Japan, Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, Latin America and Middle East, where the automaker will tighten the steering wheel fixing bolt to the correct torque.

Wheels Blog: Porsche Recalling 911 Models for Exhaust System Problem

Porsche Cars North America 2012 Porsche 911.

Porsche is recalling about 2,263 of its 2012-13 911 models because part of the exhaust system can fall off.

In a report posted on Friday on the Web site of the National Highway National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Porsche said the models were the 911 Carrera, 911 Carrera Cabriolet, 911 Carrera 4 and the 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet equipped with the 3.4 liter, 6-cylinder engine and the standard rear muffler exhaust system. Models with the optional sport exhaust are not affected.

The automaker said its internal testing showed the exhaust systems “do not achieve the required service life” and might fracture, allowing the end to fall off.

Porsche said it first noticed the problem on a high-mileage test vehicle last May and began an investigation. It recently concluded a recall was needed, although company officials told the safety agency they were not aware of any failures on vehicles owned by consumers.

Porsche described the recall as voluntary, but under federal regulations once a manufacturer learns of a safety problem it has five working days to inform the agency of a recall or face a civil fine.

In December, Porsche had recalled 455 of its 911 GT3s from the 2010 model year saying the rear wheel hub might come off.