2006 R.I.P.
By John LeBlanc

November 2, 2006 - 'Tis the end of the 2006 model year and, even though we're still a few month's away from 2007, the Grim Reaper's already hacked his way through the car market, disposing of the underappreciated and unwanted vehicles in ruthless Darwinian fashion. These 2006 vehicles may have reached an untimely death, but there might be some scary deals on some of these leftovers for you necrophiliacs out there:

ACURA RSX
With the NSX supercar axed last year, you can now say bye-bye to Acura's last sporty two-door. Despite solid sales and a loyal following dating back to the RSX's Integra predecessor, Acura's global upmarket brand strategy dictates Honda's new Civic Si coupe will carry the bang-for-the-buck flag. Coroner's report: global branding strategy; new Civic Si.

CHEVROLET EPICA LTZ
Built by GM Daewoo in South Korea and marketed in Canada as the Chevrolet Epica (and Suzuki Verona), this mid-sized sedan arrived among a wave of Korean Chevys along with the equally innocuous Optra and Aveo. This Honda Accord wannabe's only unique selling point was an underpowered but distinctive straight-six engine. Coroner's report: not epic enough.

CHEVROLET SSR
Based on the SuperSport Roadster concept from the 2000 Detroit auto show, the production 2003 SSR was the love child of a Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster and a Chevy TrailBlazer. The 2005 SSR used the 390-horsepower LS2 V8 found in the Corvette and a six-speed manual transmission -- oooh, pretty scary, eh, kids? For its final model year, the V8 was boosted to 405 hp and squeaked onto our 2006 Straight-Goods Sport Coupes top six. Collectors note: Less than 25,000 SSRs were ever built. Coroner's report: Who could have forecast that the market for retro-styled, two-seat retractable-hardtop, V8-powered, mid-sized pickups would evaporate overnight?

LINCOLN LS
As the first Lincoln in decades to offer a manual transmission, the 1999 rear-wheel-drive LS was a serious attempt to challenge BMW's 5 Series at 3 Series money. Sharing a platform with Jaguar's S-Type, with near-50/50 weight distribution, the LS was a legitimate contender in the luxury sports sedan class, and it was seen as a precursor to a range of rear-drive Lincolns to challenge the revitalized Cadillac brand. Coroner's report: The LS's replacement, the Ford Fusion-based MKZ, nee Zephyr, is an indication of Lincoln's future product planning.

MAZDA MPV
Replacing its rear-wheel-drive predecessor in 2000, this seven-seat, front-drive MPV minivan was seen as the people mover for driving enthusiasts. Unfortunately, traditional minivan buyers preferred the standard, full-sized minivan as perfected by Chrysler and Honda. Effectively, Mazda's upcoming seven-seat CX-9 crossover fills the MPV's space in Mazda's lineup. Coroner's report: super-sized Americans.

MERCEDES-BENZ C230 SPORT COUPE
Introduced in 2001 as part of a new C-Class range, the three-door hatchback was supposed to compete against BMW's 318Ti, which (oops!) BMW stopped selling in North America two years earlier due to lack of interest in the U.S. market. Oh, well. At least, the C230 came in at an attractive price point for those wanting the Tri-Star on their hood, and the rear-drive setup was unique. For 2006, it was so long wheezy supercharged four, hello 201-hp, 2.5-litre V6 and a spot on our The Goods Sport Coupes list (Notice a trend? - Ed.). Coroner's report: Mercedes-Benz B-Class; those damn hatchback-hating Americans -- again.

SAAB 9-2X
Cynics, critics and, ultimately, car buyers never bought into this Swedish-badged Japanese-built compact wagon, aka the Saabaru. Although it had a cleaned-up exterior and nicer materials inside, it was hard to justify the 9-2X's premium pricing over the too-similar, down-market Subaru Impreza. Exclusively sold in North America, last year saw the excellent-driving WRX clone 9-2X Aero dropped with only the non-turbo cooking model available. Coroner's report: intelligent buyers; GM/Subaru's divorce in 2005.

SUBARU BAJA SPORT
It's hard to understand why an underpowered, overpriced Legacy wagon (without the covered wagon part) with outrageous body side cladding wasn't a big seller. Another result of car execs getting too excited at the reception of a show car (see SSR), the Baja tried to combine the attributes of a car with those of a pickup -- failing at both. There's a reason why Ford and Chevrolet don't sell their Ranchero and El Camino anymore. Coroner's report: There aren't enough pool cleaners in California.

SUZUKI VERONA
(See Chevrolet Epica LTZ)

VOLKSWAGEN PHAETON
Known within the industry as Piech's Folly -- symbolizing the former Volkswagen chairman's misguided plan to move the people's car brand upmarket -- the Phaeton shared its bones with such upmarket rides as the Audi A8, Bentley Continental GT and Bentley Continental Flying Spur. Hand-assembled in VW's glass-walled Dresden, Germany, factory, both the eight- and 12-cylinder models are ultra-luxurious and loaded with features that would make a Bug owner faint. Coroner's report: Having to share a showroom with the Golf CL.

- John LeBlanc, Publisher, www.straight-six.com

© National Post 2006. This article originally appeared in The National Post's Driving.