NINE CARS DISCONTINUED FOR 2013

Each year various models of vehicles are discontinued, and
with 2013 around the corner, it's worth taking a
moment to see which vehicles we won't be seeing on dealership
lots starting next year.

By Jason Siu, Autoguide.com - With General Motors getting ready to launch its next generation of full-size pickups based on its new platform, the American automaker has decided to axe the Avalanche from the lineup. Despite being popular when it was first introduced, the Avalanche's sales have declined over the recent years due to high gas prices and general availability of crew-cab trucks.

It's been well documented that the Mercedes-Benz R-Class would not be making a return to America next year. It's really no surprise considering the strange station wagon/SUV model only sold a mere 300 vehicles in the first quarter of this year. The R-Class will live on however in China, Mexico and Canada.

Back in May, we reported that the Chrysler Town & Country would be discontinued while the Dodge Caravan will live on. The decision was made by CEO Sergio Marchionne, who is adamant against product overlap. It's worth noting that both the Caravan and the Town & Country will hit dealership lots next year, but before it's over, the Caravan will be the only one left rolling.

The Jeep Liberty got the official axe when its Toledo plant was shut down in order to prepare for the new Fiat-based Jeep model. It originally hit the market back in 2001 as a replacement for the Jeep Cherokee, and sales reached as high as 171,212 in its first year on the market. In recent years though, sales figures has dropped to a quarter of that figure with the Liberty being criticized as being "noisy, cramped and outdated" by Consumer Reports.

The Kia Sedona is another outdated model that not surprisingly got the axe for next year. But it appears that the Korean automaker is simply taking a year off for its minivan in order to redesign it for the 2014 model year. Instead of giving up on the minivan market, Kia believes it's too big to not be a part of, so it was time to go back to the drawing board for vast improvements to the Sedona.

In order to make way for its CX-5 model, Japanese automaker Mazda has decided to discontinue the CX-7. The CX-5 may be smaller than the outgoing CX-7, but boasts more cargo space and overall interior volume. The CX-5 has already gotten positive reviews, and will help Mazda be more strategic in competing with other automakers in the same market, such as Honda and Ford.

The Mitsubishi Eclipse has really lost a lot of its luster in recent years and the Japanese automaker ceased production on its sports car model back in August of last year. It's a sad ending to a sports car that was immensely popular back in the late 90s when it came equipped with a turbocharged 4G63. Sadly in an age where every automaker is finding a way to turbocharge their powerplants, Mitsubishi has allowed its Eclipse to fade away into the darkness.

The end of the Volvo C70 model was announced last year, marking the end of the Swedish automaker's attempt at selling a convertible model. The C70 was introduced onto the market back in 2006 and never caught on, seemingly out of place in Volvo's traditional sedan lineup of safe and sturdy vehicles. That's probably why it's no surprise that Volvo has no plans of building a successor.

Last but not least is the Lexus HS 250h model, which has been popularly known as a glorified Toyota Prius. The Japanese automaker actually stopped production on the hybrid sedan model back in January of this year, and only four were sold last month. The strange model along with its premium price tag clearly wasn't attractive on the market. Undoubtedly though, the Lexus ES 300h will fare much better.