10 Auto Brands That Ought-to Go.

Businessweek took aim at 10 floundering car brands--cars and companies we may be able to do without. They say that there are too many brands and not enough buyers.

Many auto-industry insiders agree weak ones should go, but it's not that easy.

While some of you out there may be still mourning the demise of Oldsmobile and Plymouth, others wonder why Pontiac and Mercury still exist.

Here's my take on the 10 brands that Businessweek says may be headed for the junk heap before long:

GMC may be too much of a niche brand. It may have rested nicely in the bosom of the gas-guzzling '90s, but if its recent hybrid attempt is any indication of how it plans to fit in to the days of $4 a gallon gas, (it gets 50% better mileage in city driving. However, that’s still only 21 mpg), I say its days are numbered.

Like GMC, Hummer must outlive its gas-guzzling reputation. And, are there really that many guys out there who need their manhood extended by driving a tank?

Jaguar has to stop building cars like the Jaguar X-Type, which reminded too many people of a Ford Taurus.

Land Rover is probably the most viable of the SUV niches, based on its reputation and customer devotion, so I wonder if its recent acquisition by Tata Motors will be the good luck Land Rover's been waiting for as it changes hands for the third time in the last 15 years.

Lincoln needs more like its new MKS, MKL, MKZ to distance itself from its brand association with the Lincoln Town Car, who, with an average age around 70, is one of the oldest in the industry.

Maybach an expensive hobby for Mercedes-Benz, and one that we can all do without.

Mercury is an undifferentiated brand, that has had a lack of new product for the last 30 or 40 years.

Pontiac sales are a small fraction of its heyday. Time to merge with Buick

Saab lost its soul when GM tried to "fix it" Time to put this soul to rest.

Volvo: safety stance ain't enough any more.