What happened to the liftbacks???

The liftback might be a car configuration you’ve never even heard of. What it basically is is a 3 or 5 door coupé, or a hatchback with a sloping rear end and a big boot lid. Actually just check out the picture of the BMW 3-Series GT and you will get the idea. Anyway! From where I’m standing this style was pretty popular back in the 80s and 90s with cars like the Mazda 626, Ford Sierra and later Mondeo, Toyota Carina, Honda Accord, Opel Vectra etc, but also more sporty cars like the Toyota Celica, Audi Quattro, Mazda RX7 and Porsche 928/924 etc.

This style combines the best of both worlds, with the good looks from a coupé or a saloon/sedan and the practicality of a hatchback. It seems like a good way to make cars that doesn’t really appear very practical a bit easier to live with (like a RX7 or a 928). For example, my very own BMW E46 Compact is quite a small car, but thanks to the liftback configuration I can get a dishwasher in the boot if I fold the back seats down! No where in hell that would work in a E46 saloon or coupé!

So what I’m wondering is why these cars have seem to disappeared from the market. We obviously still have some; BMW 3/5 GT, Audi Sportback, Tesla Model S, Porsche Panamera and Jaguar F-Type Coupé (?), but these are all pretty expensive cars. Both Mazda, Ford, Toyota and many more have dropped it in favoure of the saloon and estate. The only “normal” liftbacks still in production today that I can think of are the Skoda Octavia/Rapid, Toyota Prius (ew) and Opel Insignia! So why did this, in my view, superb body style disappear? Anyone else who share my view, if so let me know!