With the kickstarting of Nissan Frontier production in Mississippi during the summer of 2021, the entire automotive market was realigned. Yes, the Nissan Frontier — one intermittently popular midsize pickup — was able, on its own, to shuffle the deck. The arrival of a third-generation 2022 Frontier marked, of course, the end of the second-generation Frontier, a pickup that endured largely untouched for 17 model years.
That Frontier’s lifespan was completely out of sync with an industry that regards “all-new” as all-important. (Honda, for example, released new iterations of the Civic in 2006, 2012, 2016, and 2022, running a cycle that’s not at all atypical in the modern automotive landscape.)
As Nissan finally got around to introducing a new Frontier, the nameplate consequently disappeared from the lists of the oldest designs on the market, leaving the industry with a not-so-new crop of reasonably common vehicles with which automakers only tinker. Forget overhauling, reengineering, revamping, remodeling — think instead of facelifts, refurbishment, and retreads.
Don’t automatically besmirch the notion of an old design. Often linked to superior reliability, older designs typically benefit from modest updates that, at the very least, keep the cabin relevant: the addition of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, for example; or the installation of more advanced safety tech; or upgraded convenience features such as proximity access or remote start. Older platforms may even be gifted with a better powerplant, new transmission, or optional all-wheel-drive.
In other words, the automotive world does allow old dogs to be taught new tricks. Yet it’s still extremely difficult to cover up the fact you’re looking at an old dog. We’ve compiled a group of eight well-known vehicles that haven’t been redesigned in a dog’s age to see just how popular — or unpopular — they become after their best-before date has passed.
Mazda CX-5: Last Updated Model Year 2017
Mazda is now preparing to enter its ninth model year with a CX-5 that was last overhauled in time for the 2017 model year. In Canada’s biggest vehicle segment, the CX-5 has gone without a redesign longer than any other model. Age has hardly hindered the CX-5 — Canadian sales volume in 2023 was down just 18% from a pre-pandemic peak. Some 188,894 CX-5s were sold between the beginning of 2017 and the midway point of 2024.
Honda Ridgeline: Model Year 2017
The second-generation Honda Ridgelineisn’t a hit. In fact, the Ridgeline’s never been an outright success story, but Honda has managed to cater to a sub-section of the truck-buying public that favours a distinct pickup experience.
Nearly nine years since the second-gen Ridgeline debuted at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit – and with trucks such as the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tundra finally revamped after seemingly eternal runs – the Ridgeline is now the oldest truck design on the market, albeit thoroughly restyled for 2021. Honda Canada sold 26,504 Ridgelines between 2017 and the end of June 2024.
Nissan Murano: Model Year 2015
The wild style of the first-generation Nissan Murano was unleashed in the public domain at the 2002 New York International Auto Show. Nissan followed up with a second version of the Murano at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show before reverting to New York for the unveiling of the third-gen Murano in 2014, the first Murano to be built in the United States. Third-gen Murano volume peaked at 15,120 units in 2017 and bottomed out at 3,419 units in 2022. Nearly 10 years into its run, Canadian sales of this version of the Murano total just under 90,000.
Chevrolet Malibu: Model Year 2016
GM’s original Chevrolet Malibu lingered for two decades from the early 1960s to the early 1980s. The Malibu bounced back in 1997 for what would become a five-generation run of front-wheel-drive midsize sedans. Production of the ninth-generation Malibu began in late 2015, but after nine years, the Malibu nameplate is once again being put out to pasture. Ninth-gen Malibu volume topped out at 11,503 units in 2016, its first full year, before declining consecutively in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Sales from 2016 through to the halfway mark of 2024 totalled 50,845 units.
Lexus IS: Model Year 2014
Like the first and second iterations of Toyota’s small premium sports sedan, the third-generation Lexus IS doesn’t dominate the sales charts. In a world where even the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Audi A4 have all faded into the shadows, the IS is clearly going to suffer from declining sales, as well.
This version of the IS was introduced for the 2014 model year — 3,945 were sold that year. By 2023, IS volume had fallen 52% to 1,889 units. It’s worth noting that the 3 Series, C-Class, and A4 collectively plunged 65% during the same period. Lexus sold 26,833 copies of the IS between 2014 and the end of June 2024.
Ford Edge: Model Year 2015
After 148,341 Canadian sales between 2015 and 2023, production of the second-generation Ford Edge is complete at the Blue Oval’s Oakville, Ontario facility. Sales of the Edge actually topped 14,000 in 2023, a four-year high. Ford Canada averaged a hair under 20,000 Edge sales between 2016 and 2019. First-gen Edge production began in early 2006. The second version of the Edge went into production nine years later, in February 2015.
Mitsubishi RVR: Model Year 2011
Released in late 2010 as a 2011 model, the Mitsubishi RVR dove headlong into a fairly shallow subcompact crossover pool. In the many years since, the segment has ballooned, and the RVR now swims with high-volume sharks such as the Hyundai Kona, Kia Seltos, Honda HR-V, and Toyota Corolla Cross. The RVR has generally proven to be a fairly stable force for Mitsubishi Canada, however, with its two best years coming late in life — 2021 and 2023 both produced more than 8,000 RVR sales. As of the halfway point of 2024, all-time Canadian RVR sales total more than 92,000 units.
Dodge Durango: Model Year 2011
If you’d attempted to complete a Statistics Canada census on behalf of the Dodge lineup in the first half of 2024, it wouldn’t take you long. There are no minivans and no sedans. Aside from leftover Challengers, remaining prior-gen Chargers, and a few Hornets, the Durango is the whole show, accounting for 56% of the brand’s first-half sales. That’s a far cry from 2011, when the current version of the Durango was released to capture only 2,549 buyers, fewer than 3% of Dodge sales. Between 2011 and the halfway mark of 2024, Dodge sold 73,074 Durangos in Canada.
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