As we’re approaching the end of year 2011, let’s look at the year in terms of some car ideas and “innovations” that didn’t really succeed. In fact, in some way or another, they actually failed, and pretty bad at that. As the auto industry competes to sell cars, many companies became more profitable than others due to the design, gas efficiency, and new ideas that their cars provided. Take a look at some car ideas that actually flopped in terms of sales, profitability, marketability, and overall unoriginality.

While the car market has been rather slow this year due to the general slow economic downturn, higher unemployment statistics, and natural disasters (Japan, Thailand, etc) halting car production, some market analysts are surprised to see more luxury brands like Audi and BMW at record sales. While the United States sells around one million new cars every month, it’s apparent that the car industry is nowhere close to coming to a standstill. Rather, specific car models that have certain characteristics seem to not be selling well.

For one, car companies that tried to design crossover models either are highly successful, or fail miserably. For crossovers to succeed, car producers need to focus on two key components – handling and visibility for the drivers and passengers. The reliability of Crossovers in 2011 have been very low or well below average with 5 year of ownership of these vehicles. The performance of some Crossovers in the scene have been less than average, something car manufacturers will have to improve on if they expect more in 2012. (more…)