It can be challenging to gauge the relevance of any automaker, but you can generally feel it. For example, how many recent Jaguars do you see on the road? When was the last time you’ve seen anyone get excited for a Chrysler that wasn’t a 300? You know, the Chrysler 300, the vehicle famous for resembling a car produced by a different automaker.
What’s the most irrelevant automaker? Which car company has effectively vanished from the face of the Earth? It could still be producing cars, but the ones that are sold disappear into the void as soon as they roll off the lot. It’s about being present in the conversation for good or bad reasons. By that definition, Tesla is definitively a relevant automaker.
My choice is Plymouth. It might sound like a cop-out to pick a defunct manufacturer, but a brand can hold cultural cachet despite no longer producing vehicles. The Aztek is still paying Pontiac’s rent in the minds of millions of car enthusiasts. What does Plymouth have? The Prowler? The majority of Plymouth models were virtually indistinguishable from their Dodge counterparts. When the brand folded, the Plymouth Voyager got a Chrysler badge slapped on it and no one was the wiser.
Don’t hesitate to explain why which automaker is the most irrelevant in the comments below.