Synonymous with quality but no longer priced out of reach, German cars are now churned out in huge volumes and as a result have become far more accessible. But if you had to name a dozen German car brands dead or alive, you'd probably run out of steam before you were even half-way there.

However, over the years there's been a raft of companies that have tried and failed to make a success of car manufacturing, many before the war and quite a few in the post-war period. These are just some of those that didn't make it: