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These Cars Were So Popular No One Could Buy Them

• James Derek Sapienza

The great Yankees catcher and king of the malapropism Yogi Berra once said, “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” While you take a moment to parse that out, consider this: The same sentiment can apply to cars. Every year, at least one model gets released that captures the public’s imagination. In 2016, it was Ford’s Focus RS and Raptor.

For 2017, it’s the Honda Civic Type R and Tesla Model 3. Although there isn’t much common ground among any of these models, there is one common thread: They’re nearly impossible to get.
For well-heeled enthusiasts, there is a special kind of bragging rights to picking up one of the first cars to roll off the assembly line. And as there are a lot of well-heeled enthusiasts out there, every now and then a production vehicle sells out before the general public even gets a chance to get their hands on one. More often than not, this phenomenon occurs with an already outrageous supercar. But recently, more attainable models have become forbidden fruit, too. Looking over the past few years, here are cars that were so popular they sold out almost instantly.
1. 2017 Ford Raptor

Ford Raptor | Micah Wright/The Cheat Sheet


When it debuted in 2009, the Ford SVT Raptor was a revelation. A street legal 4×4 built for off-road duty, the Raptor became an icon before it disappeared in 2014. Flash-forward two years, and Ford released an all-new Raptor for 2017. And though the trucks started at around $48,000, dealers were reportedly getting away with adding up to $10,000 to the sticker price.
If you’re lucky, you might still be able to find one of these marked-up trucks somewhere. But production ended back in January 2017, and the last truck off the line sold for a whopping $157,000.