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Not all auto makers are opting to abandon the family-transportation standard, although most are siphoning resources to the more popular models

Sales of the Lincoln Continental are strong, said Kumar Galhotra, group vice-president in charge of Ford’s luxury brand.

If you like old-school family sedans, your buying choices are sinking under a tsunami of sport utilities and crossovers. But don't despair, auto makers aren't giving up on them completely.

Mazda showed a heavily refreshed version of its mid-size Mazda6 at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. Toyota, which debuted a new mid-size Camry last summer, will unveil an all-new Avalon full-size sedan at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Volkswagen also has announced a new Jetta sedan arriving soon as a 2019 model.

But fresh entries are becoming rare in the bread-and-butter family-transportation segments, especially among domestic marques.

Toyota debuted a new mid-size Camry last summer.

FCA tossed the compact Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 overboard in 2016. General Motors is reducing sedan production and putting several nameplates, including the Chevrolet Impala and Buick LaCrosse, under review.

The Detroit News reported last summer Ford had three passenger-car nameplates on the chopping block, including Taurus, C-Max and the subcompact Fiesta, although the company would not confirm. A Ford Canada spokesperson said the Taurus remains in the lineup despite declining sales (the midsize Fusion is also down).

Auto executives have said in interviews that sedans can thrive in niches such as high-performance and luxury, where they're profitable, and maybe even the mainstream if auto makers zealously nurture the nameplate.

Low-priced A-to-B sedans and unique models such as the coupe-like Charger are surviving the utility onslaught, said Tim Kuniskis, FCA North America's head of passenger car brands. It's the mid-priced segment suffering most, Kuniskis said, "because there are 28-29 cars in there competing with very similar offerings and in a lot of cases on price."

A Ford Canada spokesperson said the Taurus remains in the lineup despite declining sales.

As auto makers pour in marketing dollars and customer incentives to sustain sales volumes, thin profits put marginal models under the gun.

"There's a lot of players out there in that segment, and so to get the word out and get the awareness out you have to spend a lot of money," Mitsubishi U.S. executive vice-president Don Swearingen said.

Mitsubishi, which axed the Galant sedan in 2012, is dropping the Lancer for 2018, putting almost all its chips on utilities. The only sedan in its North American lineup is the three-cylinder Mirage subcompact.

Mitsubishi's not ruling out a return to sedans, Swearingen said, but not on its own. "We have an alliance with Nissan-Renault," he said. "They have the vehicle. We are looking at it. For Mitsubishi to do it on their own, our business case does not show it's a win-win proposition for us."

The only sedan in Mitsubishi’s North American lineup is the three-cylinder Mirage subcompact.

The Mazda6 was updated with the latest technology, including the Skyactiv-G turbo four-cylinder and upscale trim because it's a corporate flagship.

The Canadian-built Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans have bucked the sales slide because they're different from the "commoditized" models other car makers offer, FCA's Kuniskis contended.

Charger buyers view it as a four-door muscle car, cross-shopping not with other sedans, but with its sibling Challenger coupe. Charger U.S. sales are actually up sharply while the 300 has remained relatively flat for the past three years.

"When the segment's down 20 per cent and you can stay flat, flat's the new up," Kuniskis said.

General Motors is reducing sedan production and putting several nameplates, including the Buick LaCrosse (above) and the Chevrolet Impala (below), under review.

Subaru, which will be introducing the seven-seat Ascent SUV, hasn't given up on sedans, said Canadian vice-president Ted Lalka. "Passenger cars still represent a sizable volume and, frankly as a brand, we've been under-represented in that whole area," he said.

Subaru launched a new Impreza compact sedan for 2017 and facelifted its Legacy mid-sized sedan recently. Lalka admits awareness of that model could be higher. It's the reason for the cheeky TV ad that uses a Steve Jobs-like pitchman to sell the all-wheel-drive Legacy as a sport-utility sedan, using the hashtag #trunkification.

"We've actually seen an uptick of interest and sales in Legacy so far," he said.

Sedans remain important to Lincoln, said Kumar Galhotra, group vice-president in charge of Ford's luxury brand. Sales of the flagship Continental are strong, he said, but the overall erosion of sedan sales continues.

"Eventually, at some point the equilibrium will be achieved, but anybody who tells you exactly what year that's going to be and what percentage is speculating," he said.


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