Did you watch The Lion King and hear top cat Mustafa utter all that nonsense about the “circle of life”? Fine for him to say, since (at least theoretically, in the absence of wildebeest stampedes) he got to live to a ripe old age while everything else was prey.

I was thinking about the “circle of life” when Ford announced Wednesday that its more than 70-year-old Mercury division was soon to go back to the ground whence it came, there to nourish new growth. Mercury won’t last out the year, and Lincoln could be next.

Ford was selling only 100,000 Mercurys annually, and that was only one percent of Ford’s 16 percent market share. James Bell of Kelley Blue Book writes, “A large part of the equation was that Ford was investing very little into marketing or product development to even earn those sales, but this tactic would never have lead to a healthy future.” Perhaps Mercury did not deserve such an ignoble fate, but it is shared by many other dying divisions. Sleep well, Mercury.

Let’s look back at some of the more memorable failed auto makes (not coincidentally, all GM) that took part in the great circle of life, and what made them great:

Saturn, R.I.P, 2009. General Motors decided to shutter its Saturn division last year after a deal to sell it to rental king Roger Penske failed at the last minute. Penske had promised to retain 13,000 employees and 350 dealers, but it didn’t happen. Saturn always left me cold as a brand, with only the flamboyant Sky roadster having any pizzazz. Who mourns for the Aurora, the Outlook and the Vue? Sure, there were some virtuous economy cars, but never especially good ones. Consumers voted with their feet for Hondas and Toyotas.