Cheers and Jeers for 2020

[bobo]

Nobody wants to relive 2020, which was full of pain, death, financial ruin, and overall misery, but here’s a quick summary of what happened.  It started with impeachment proceedings and the shocking death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash in the fog. In March it was clear that the COVID-19 virus had taken a foothold in the U.S., and teleworking, distance learning, and Zoom started to become part of everyday life, and going to movies, gyms, traveling, and eating out largely became things of the past.

In April, the Centers of Disease Control recommended everyone to wear masks in public, but they became a symbol of a culture war rather than protection during a public health crisis in which a highly contagious virus would eventually infect 20 million Americans and kill 1 of every 1000 Americans over the course of the year.  Health care workers became the new national heroes, but their pleas to refrain from travel and gatherings too often went unheeded.  People bought bicycles in droves to get exercise and adopted pets for companionship.

In May, the Central Park “Karen” called the cops on a Black birdwatcher, and George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis officer who had a knee on his neck for over 8 minutes.  It became a flash point for protests against police brutality and reignited a racial reckoning.  Later in the month, Space-X launched the first manned mission from U.S. soil in 9 years with a rocket to the International Space Station.

By the fall, the largest wildfires in recorded history occurred on the West Coast.  In September, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died.  A nominating ceremony for her successor, Amy Coney Barrett, was held eight days later in the White House Rose Garden, in what would become one of many superspreader events that would engulf the inner circle of the inhabitant of the White House.  The East Coast suffered through the largest number of named storms since recording began in 1851.  November brought the election, in which the sitting President was soundly rejected, but that individual would not concede but instead would attempt a thus far unsuccessful legal and political coup.
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By the end of the year, about 350,000 Americans succumbed to the novel coronavirus, but the two approved vaccines had a slow rollout.  The stock market hit an all-time high despite crashing in March.

Additional prominent passings include Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, Regis Philbin, Chadwick Boseman, Alex Trebek, Eddie Van Halen, Sean Connery, Little Richard, and Kenny Rogers.

In the automobile world, car sales took a huge dive, but pickup trucks held steady.  Car shows were canceled.  Much of the news involved electrification.  GM announced the Ultium EV platform and partnership with Honda that shares the platform and Super Cruise technology.  GM showed the Cadillac Lyriq concept and a simulated GMC Hummer EV and started taking reservations for the Hummer.  Contactless deliveries of the Tesla Model 3 began in March.  Lucid announced prices of $75k to $170k for the LIDAR-equipped Air, which has a range of up to 517 miles.  The Volkswagen ID.4 crossover, with a 250 mile range, was revealed with a delayed delivery date in March, 2021   At the end of the year, Ford started making deliveries of the Mustang Mach-E.

Supply-chain issues disrupted manufacturing, and many new vehicle programs were delayed, such as the planned refreshes for the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt and Traverse and updated interior for the Silverado. For vehicles with internal combustion engines, Nissan showed the heavily revised Z.  Subaru revealed the updated BRZ.  Mercedes-Benz debuted the 7th generation S-Class, which has a starting price of $111k..

Departing vehicles include the Chevrolet Impala and Sonic, Cadillac CT6, Ford Fusion, Lincoln Continental and MKZ, Honda Fit, Lexus GS, and Dodge Grand Caravan, though the Grand Caravan lives on in Canada as a Chrysler as a twin to the Chrysler Voyager sold in the U.S.. 

I was hardly on the C&G boards the past year, but it’s nice to see the familiar names still here.  I got a Chevy Bolt EV early in the year, but it hasn’t seen many miles due to my working at home.  Without further adieu, here are some of the best and worst automotive things from the past year in the 19th annual edition of Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers to Ford for the Best Vehicle Introduction with the brilliantly executed Ford Bronco.  This gives the Jeep Wrangler some serious competition.

Cheers to FCA for Best New Truck with the Ram 1500 TRX, with the heart of the Hellcat, for taking on and surpassing the Ford Raptor.

Jeers to FCA for Worst Fuel Economy for any light vehicle that is not a Bugatti or Lamborghini, with the Ram 1500 TRX at 10 mpg city, 14 mpg highway, and 12 mpg combined.  In comparison, the 2020 Ford Raptor achieved 15 mpg city, 18 mpg highway, and 16 mpg combined.

Cheers to Buick for Best Concept Car Name in the revived Electra on the Ultium EV platform.  As for the concept car itself, it’s modern but could pass off as a Mazda.

Jeers to BMW for Worst Styling for their new monstrous grills. BMW has managed to make their vehicles from the Bangle era appear attractive by comparison.  The grills on the M3 and M4 are horrid, but placing such a large grill on an EV like the iX is beyond ridiculous.  The angry beaver faces of the Bimmers also evoke the Bugs Bunny face of the late and unlamented Pontiac G6 GTP, but the Pontiac is arguably prettier.

 

Jeers to GM and Nikola for the Worst Partnership, which originally had GM engineering and manufacturing the Nikoa Badger pickup, supplying Hydrotec fuel cell technology to Nikola for commercial semi-trucks, and taking an equity stake in Nikola.  Fraud allegations against Nikola were lodged by a short-seller a few days after the MOU was signed.  The Chairman of Nikola resigned, and the partnership was reworked with the Badger killed and GM not taking an equity stake in Nikola.

Cheers to Rivian for Best EV Truck Concept to date, though production is still a half year away.  It appears to be the best of a bunch of electric pickups to be introduced in the next year or two.  These include the Tesla Cybertruck, Bollinger B2, GMC Hummer EV, stillborn Nikola Badger, and still mysterious Ford F150 Electric and Chevrolet EV truck.  In 2019 Rivian announced a deal to supply Amazon with 100,000 electric delivery vans, and they showed a prototype in October.

Jeers to GM and Nissan for Undistinguished Leadership by pandering to whatever administration is in charge by first supporting the outgoing administration’s proposal to roll back fuel-efficiency standards and withdrawal of California’s Clean Air Act waiver to set its own standards, and then changing their positions after the November election.  Still supporting the rollback are FCA, Hyundai/Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Toyota.

Cheers to California Governor Gavin Newsom for Distinguished Leadership for issuing an executive order requiring all new passenger vehicles sold in California to be zero emission vehicles by 2035.  The executive order has no teeth at this time but provides direction for implementing agencies.  This announcement was made in front of a backdrop of a Honda Clarity, Audi e-tron, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Tesla Model 3.  Notably absent was any vehicle from a manufacturer that supports withdrawal of California’s Clean Air Act waiver.  The California state government refuses to purchase vehicles from those manufacturers for its government fleet.  Before it was discontinued, the Chevy Volt was the go-to vehicle, along with some Toyota Priuses and Nissan Leafs.

Here’s hoping for a better 2021 for everybody, and hope you get well soon, Drew.  Wishing you all an especially safe, healthy, and Happy New Year!

[Drew Dowdell]

Thank you for this post of yours every year. Happy, healthy, and Safe New Year to you @bobo

[David]

Awesome Job  @bobo Thank you for such an outstanding writeup!  

[trinacriabob]

@boboWe can count on both stellar wordsmithing and incisive observations with your annual Cheers and Jeers write-up.  It's all there.  Thank you! 

It's also proof that one's schooling can be in practical subjects, and that the general education core can be enough to produce critical thinkers and good writers.

Happy New Year!