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We're feeling nostalgic this week. In a follow up to our post about booze brands from yesteryear, we thought we'd do a little retrospective on the American automotive industry. The following are twenty American car brands that eventually failed, some with good reasons, and others because of the economy. They are twenty cars that we wish we could still drive (on our way to the bar to drink those great old beers, of course):

Oldsmobile (1897-2001)

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Established in 1897 Oldsmobile was the oldest surviving car brand in the United States when parent company GM announced its demise in late 2000. Many industry insiders were surprised by GM�€™s news, because Detroit's Oldsmobile had been an American icon for over a century. Sales for Oldsmobile peaked in 1985 when it sold 1.2 million cars. As a result Oldsmobile�€™s Cutlass was the most popular model of all U.S. cars. But by the year 2000, due to poor management and marketing of the brand, Oldsmobile sold less than 300,000 cars. This demonstrated to the GM executives that this brand had seen its day, and they decided to shelve the entire operation. Controversy surrounds this decision among industry insiders, as GM poured billions of dollars into its fledgling Saturn brand.

Packard Motor Car Company (1899-1958)

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The Packard Motor Car Company was established in 1899 in Detroit, Michigan. Packard specialized in luxury brand cars, and managed to make it through the great depression continuing to sell its luxury brand. Packard experienced the typical ups and downs of a car company through WWII, but emerged unscathed from the period. Then in 1954, following the lead of another big car company merger, and trying to boost its fledgling sales, Packard purchased Studebaker and created the Packard-Studebaker Corporation. This new corporation was lampooned by their competition, and soon the new cars coming from this company were known to the public as �€œPakardbreakers.�€ The company never seemed to recover after this, and by 1962 Packard was officially done manufacturing cars in the US. In the Late 1990�€™s the Packard name was purchased by a couple from Phoenix, AZ who were unsuccessful in trying to resurrect the brand.

Marmon (1902-1933)

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Marmon began as a manufacturer of Mill equipment in 1851, but by the turn of the century they had expanded to produce a limited number of experimental vehicles. By 1909, Marmon had produced the first car to win the Indianapolis 500. The car that won the race was the first to ever to feature a rear-view mirror. After this win, Marmon became known for producing high quality luxury cars. But by the mid 1920�€™s due to poor management, the company was reorganized and focused on producing cheaper cars. Then in 1929 the stock market crashed, and by 1933 Marmon discontinued their automobile-manufacturing sector.

Moon Motor Car (1905-1930)

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Moon Motor Cars was based out of St. Louis, Mo, and was founded by carriage maker Joseph W. Moon. Moon Cars were respected among the public for being affordable and reliable. By 1925, Moon Motor Cars were producing over 10,000 cars and trucks a year. Unfortunately for Moon, the company was unable to keep up with the public�€™s demand for their vehicles. Therefore, once the depression hit the company went out of business and all their assets were sold to Ruxton Automobile. Soon after the acquisition in 1930 the Moon brand was discontinued.

Babcock Electric Carriage Company (1906-1912)

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In the early twentieth century, Francis A. Babcock founded the Babcock Electric Carriage Company in Buffalo, NY. At the time, Babcock offered consumers an electric alternative to 1908�€™s popular Model T, and the previous century�€™s horse drawn carriage. The cars costs between $1,800 and $3,800, compared to $850 for the Model T. When these amounts are adjusted for inflation today, they would cost the consumer $42,000-$89,000 to purchase a Babcock vehicle. Due to the high cost and low sales for Babcock, they eventually merged with Buffalo Electric Vehicle Company in 1912 to cut costs. But by 1915, the company was completely bankrupt and had to shut down all operations.

Argo Electric (1912-1916)

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Agro Electric produced large electric cars from 1912 to 1916. The Agro Electric car used a 60v system with Westinghouse motors. The company claimed their cars, which utilized six forward and six reverse speeds, could travel 20 mph for 75 miles. Due to slow sales Agro merged with Michigan based Broc and Borland in 1914, and by 1916 all of Agro�€™s assets were purchased by Columbia Motors thus rendering Agro electric completely defunct.

Dixie Flyer (1916-1923)

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Coined with the phrase �€œThe Logical Car,�€ the Dixie Flyer was sold from 1916 until 1923. The conception for the Dixie Flyer began when a Kentucky wagon company acquired an electric vehicle company in 1912. Fours years following the acquisition the first Dixie Flyer was released. Two distinguishing features of their first model included a vertical windshield and a spring-mounted radiator. These features drastically reduce vibration and proved very popular with the people who purchased a Dixie Flyer car. Following WWI, a deep recession hit and Dixie Flyer was unable to survive the tumultuous economic environment. Dixie Flyer was then acquired by Associated Motor Industries, and in 1923 production of Dixie Flyer vehicles were discontinued.

Nash Motors(1917-1957)

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Nash Motors began its operations in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The company, which was founded by former head of GM enjoyed decades of success selling affordable cars to middle class consumers. Then in 1957 the Nash brand was discontinued after Nash merged with Hudson to create American Motors Corporation. Eventually, after many ups and downs, American Motors Corporation was discontinued after Chrysler acquired it.

Erskin Automobile (1927-1930)

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The wagon manufacturer Studebaker founded Erskin Automobile in 1926. They focused on high performance engines, which routinely won car races. This resulted in solidifying a significant market share of luxury priced vehicles. Towards the end of 1927, in order to increase Erskin�€™s share in other markets, the company released a car that was sold for $995 ($12,000 today). Unfortunately, a year later Ford released a car that sold for $525 ($6,200 today). Unable to compete with this pricing, Erskin tried different marketing techniques, which proved unsuccessful. Then the depression hit and in 1933 the head of Erskin committed suicide, after that the line of vehicles was discontinued.

Plymouth (1928-2001)

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The Plymouth automobile was introduced for the 1928 model year as a direct competitor to Detroit's more popular brands, Ford and Chevrolet. From the beginning, the Plymouth proved to be a popular and durable little car. Beginning in the Great Depression the Plymouth automobile attracted a legion of loyal owners throughout its 70-year history. Plymouth became one of the low-priced-three from Detroit and was usually #3 in sales, just behind Ford and Chevy. In good times, Plymouth sold almost 750,000 cars per year. But after many acquisitions over the years by larger companies, DaimlerChrysler finally announced in 1999 that it would be discontinuing the brand by 2001. All of Plymouth�€™s popular cars, like the Voyager, Neon, Prowler and PT Cruiser would be absorbed and become Chryslers. Then by the end of 2001, the Plymouth Brand was officially obsolete.

American Austin Car Company (1929-1941)

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The American Austin Company began operations in 1929, and like many companies started that year, found it impossible to weather the economic storm of the great depression. Having close ties with the British Car company of the same name, the company produced 20,000 vehicles during its life cycle the 1930�€™s. Having filled for bankruptcy protection in 1934, The American Austin Company was purchased and reorganized under a different name, American Bantam. The new company continued to produce vehicles until the start of WWII. Though this company only lasted 12 years, it was credited for producing the prototype that eventually became the jeep.

Stout Engineering Laboratories (1932-1946)

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Stout Engineering Laboratories is credited with creating the world�€™s first minivan. Basing it operations out of the Detroit, Michigan, the Stout Company created its first prototype, the Scarab, in 1932. The Scarab was the first car to be made with an aluminum space frame unit-construction body. The company boasted that each car was handmade, and no two were alike. This unconventional production model caused the cars to be priced way above similar cars in its category, and the result of this was only nine units were made. The Scarab sold for $5000 (nearly $77,000 today), which proved to be the eventual demise of the company. The last Scarab prototype was built in 1946, but because of the high cost to make it, the unit was never produced.

Crosley Motors (1939-1952)

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Successful Midwestern entrepreneur and owner of the Cincinnati Reds, Powel Crosley, established Crosley Motors to build a sub-compact car for mass distribution. The first Crosley Model was a two-door convertible that was sold for $250 ($3900 today). Crosley�€™s vehicles proved popular during the beginning of WWII, because of their cars affordability and fuel efficiency that could reach 50 miles per gallon. Once the war was over, America�€™s appetite for sub-compact cars disappeared, and by 1949 Crosley�€™s sales began to slip. By July of 1952, production of all Crosley�€™s had ceased, and the plant where these cars were made was sold to the General Tire and Rubber company

Playboy Motor Car Corp (1947-1951)

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The Payboy Motor Car Corporation was founded in 1947 and based out of Buffalo, New York. The upstart car company was only able to produce 97 cars before it went bankrupt in 1951.

Keller (1948-1950)

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Keller Motor Corporation�€™s manufacturing headquarters were out of Huntsville, Al. The Keller model vehicle was based on earlier versions of the Bobbi Car, produced by San Diego based Car Company Bobbi Motors. The original Keller was fabricated by laid off aircraft technicians after WWII. Though production stopped after the untimely death of the CEO, the Keller was known for its innovative singe unit engine. This engine incorporated an engine/flywheel, transmission, clutch, and differential all built into a single unit. This made it easier to remove and replace old parts.

Kurtis Kraft (1949-1955)

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Kurtis Kraft was founded by Frank Kurtis, and specialized in designing and building racing cars. Kurtis Kraft was influential in creating midget and sprint cars throughout the 1950�€™s. Kurtis-Kraft created 120 Indianapolis 500 cars, which included five winners. His cars were so successful in influencing the racing industry, that Kurtis was the only non-driver inducted into the National Auto Racing Midget Hall of Fame. By 1962 Kurtis Kraft was purchased and in 1963 Kurtis Kraft manufactured its last car.

Edsel (1958-1960)

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The Edsel brand is known as one of the biggest commercial failures of the 1950�€™s and 60�€™s. Edsel was created as a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company, and marketed to the public as a completely new kind of car. The publicity and promotion surrounding the unveiling of the Edsel vehicle line was unprecedented. Ford created a top-rated television special to promote the new vehicle line. Once the new line of cars was revealed, the public was unimpressed and from day one the Edsel brand sold very poorly. By 1960 Ford discontinued the brand, and cut their losses.

Nu-Klea (1959-1960)

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Nu-Klea Automobile Corporation was a car company based out of Lansing, Michigan in the late 1950�€™s. The company�€™s one car was an electrically powered two-seater, which was called the Starlite. Because this car was expensive to produce, not many were sold. And after only a year and a half in business the company filled for bankruptcy.

American Motors (1966-1987)

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During the spring of 1954, the largest corporate merger in US history (at the time) took place to create American Motors Company (AMC). This merger was valued at 198 million (1.6 Billion today). The key people that were in charge of American Motors were George W. Mason, and future Republican presidential nominee George W. Romney. American Motors did well until the decline of the market in the 1970�€™s. At its decline in the mid 70�€™s, American Motors formed an Alliance with France�€™s Renault to cut costs. After that, AMC suffered a huge blow, when in 1978, the EPA made the company recall every model released in 1976 due to pollution system violations. AMC never recovered after that, and in 1987 Chrysler purchased all assets and discontinued using the AMC and Renault brand names.

Corbin Motors (1999-2003)

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Corbin Motors was founded to create pure electric, and gas efficient hybrid vehicles. Though they seemed to have the future in mind, since its inception, the company was marred by litigation and lawsuits by its main shareholders. Throughout the company�€™s shot life span they released the Corbin Sparrow and the Corbin Merlin,of which the Sparrow was designed for use by Dominos Pizza chain. Eventually, Corbin Motors filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in March of 2003 due to the inability to produce a more affordable production system and looming litigation. Meyers Motors has since purchased Corbin and continues to produce the Sparrow and Merlin.