bobo

2023 could not end soon enough.  It seemed like people were freaking out about AI or trying to freak out others about AI.  While the U.S. experienced low unemployment and falling inflation,  American politics is almost beyond repair, with a dysfunctional do-nothing Congress and an ethically challenged Supreme Court.  The previous occupant of the White House was charged with 91 felony counts.  In the UK Charles III and Camilla were crowned king and queen.  The submersible OceanGate Titan imploded in the sightseeing tour to the Titanic.  The Ukraine war has no end in sight, with about a half million deaths so far, the majority being Russian troops.  Hamas attacked Israel in October, and the subsequent war in Gaza has resulted in over 20,000 civilian deaths.  Extreme weather is now the norm, with record high temperatures in much of the southern parts of the U.S., record rainfall in California, and wildfires in Maui.  It was yet again the hottest year on record.

Prominent passings included former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, actors Matthew Perry and Paul Reubens, talk show host Jerry Springer, game show host Bob Barker, and singers Tony Bennett, Sinead O'Connor, Lisa Marie Presley, and Tina Turner.

Tesla was in the news a lot, beginning the year with big price reductions on all their cars, essentially undoing all the price increases after the beginning of the pandemic and causing an industry-wide shock wave.  In May, Ford announced they were adopting Tesla’s NACS charging port for more reliable charging, followed soon by GM, and then all the other automakers fell in line.  At the end of August, the refreshed Model 3 was announced and put in production in China, but North America is still waiting for it.  Cybertruck deliveries began at the end of November, with the pickup using 48 volts instead of the industry standard 12 volts to decrease the mass of wiring.  The truck also uses steer-by-wire.

In non-Tesla automotive news, GM struggled to scale up production of vehicles on the Ultium platform, while simultaneously winding down production of the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV, which had their best sales year ever.  Cadillac announced the oversized Escalade IQ, compact Optiq, and three-row Vistiq as they transition to an all-EV lineup.  The UAW went on strike for six weeks beginning in September.  UAW workers will be getting some big pay increases, and even non-UAW shops have increased their salaries.  GM and Ford retreated slightly on their EV production goals because of concerns of lagging demand.  An updated version of the best-selling car in the U.S., the Toyota Camry, was unveiled in November, with a release date in the spring.  While Chinese automakers are rivaling Tesla in sales in their home market, and their technology and styling are on the leading edge, tariffs are keeping them from the U.S. for now.

Canceled vehicles include the Audi R8 and TT, Chevy Bolt EV, Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, and the compact Jeep Cherokee.  Temporarily gone are the Chevy Bolt EUV, which will be back in a couple of years with a new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) Ultium battery pack, and the Chevrolet Camaro, Nissan Maxima, and Dodge Charger, to be reborn eventually as EVs.

Here’s the 22nd annual edition of Cheers and Jeers for the best and worst things automotive in 2023:

Cheers to Volvo for the Best New EV with the compact EX30, providing an attractive, practical EV that splits the difference in size between the Bolt EV and EUV, and has crazy fast acceleration for the dual motor version.  Not everyone needs a gargantuan SUV as a daily driver, and this car should be able to meet the needs of a lot of people and use less resources doing it.

Honorable mention goes to the Kia EV9 if you need a gargantuan three-row SUV.  It has reasonable pricing, good looks, and all the right technology.  It's the modern EV Telluride except in name.

Cheers to Honda for the Best Concept with the Prelude.  Styling is a little too much like the new Toyota Prius, and the hybrid powertrain will probably be borrowed from the Civic or Accord and doesn’t sound very exciting, but the big deal is that it is a rare coupe in a market that overwhelmingly favors SUVs.  The Prelude could also be the reason why there are no coupe variants of the current Civic and Integra.  The concept, which is not confirmed for release in North America, did not show a moonroof or sunroof, which has been part of the Prelude formula, but perhaps that will change for production.

Jeers to Chevrolet for the Worst New Vehicle Introduction with the Blazer EV.  In general, the Blazer has gotten good reviews despite costing as much as the Cadillac Lyriq.  However, it’s gotten some really bad press from two outfits doing long-term tests, due to software issues.  GM placed a stop-sale on the vehicles until a fix is made.  There has also been a lot of wailing about GM dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto going forward on EVs.  Honda and Acura will be including those features on their versions of the Ultium crossovers and may gain some sales because of that.

Dishonorable mention goes to the VinFast VF8, which has the worst reviews of any new vehicle in recent memory, with the vehicles feeling more like prototypes than production vehicles.  The Vietnamese automaker is having a rough start, and the high prices and mediocre range make it a tough sell, but it’s too early to count them out as there is a huge conglomerate backing them.

Cheers to Stellantis for the Best Truck Introduction with the Dodge Ramcharger to provide a practical option for pickup truck owners who tow.  Because towing causes the range to drop in half, the V6 range extender is a workable solution until EV range can be increased.  Having both EV and ICE propulsion does not make sense for most passenger vehicles, as plug-in hybrids, but it does make sense for a truck that will be doing a lot of work.

Cheers to GM for having the Best New Cheap Cars with the Chevy Trax and Buick Envista.  These front-wheel drive only fraternal twins with crossover-ish styling are the best values out there for basic transportation, and they don't look cheap.

Jeers to Subaru for Most Disappointing Refresh with the updated Forester.  It tries too hard to be stylish, but the Forester was always a functional box.  What it needed and did not get was more power.

Jeers to Toyota Motor Credit for being the Worst Fraudsters by preventing customers from canceling bundled products like Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) when not needed or including them on contracts without telling the customers.  They lied to their customers and falsely told consumer reporting companies that customers missed payment.  They are required to pay $60 million in fines and compensation.  Car dealerships and their financiers already have a bad rap without resorting to actual illegal activity.

Hope everyone has a safe and prosperous New Year, and best wishes to trinacriabob on his new adventures and life in the Old World.
 

Bringing the Bolt back is great news.  The Equinox EV is 2 feet longer, and not everyone wants a larger crossover.  The Ultium tech should be addressing the only major issue on the Bolt, and that is the slow fast-charging speed.  While the max charging speed is about 55 kW, it also tapers off quickly.  It's unknown whether the Bolt will live on in EV or EUV form or both.  I would prefer the original EV body to make it an honest hatch, and the EV weighs less than the EUV because it uses several aluminum body panels versus the all-steel EUV.  However, the EUV is the much better-selling body style and has more modern detailing.

Thanks you, gents, and happy birthday to my birthmates.

Nice!  Congratulations, Moltar.  Plenty of room to expand or collect things if needed.  I don't know how y'all deal with the snow and cold.

Clean styling to the extreme of perhaps becoming the most blandly styled vehicle, but I like that there are minimal trendy styling cliches.  I think the earlier concepts were more attractive.  I like that it has lidar.  They will probably get the yoke to work properly, but there seem to be better solutions for visibility of the instrument panel. 

2022 is another year from which everyone is ready to move on.  The world continued to recover from the impacts of COVID and is learning to live with the variants.  Mass shootings unfortunately remain common, though this past year had particularly shocking events at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado.

Inflation was rampant, with high gas prices due to the conflict in Ukraine affecting the cost of almost everything.  Putin's misguided war in Ukraine has cost tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives of both military and civilians.  Cryptocurrencies crashed, and home mortgage interest rates doubled as the Fed tried to control inflation.  Dobbs v. Jackson overturned Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court.  The political red wave that was predicted in the fall elections from the adverse economic news did not materialize, seemingly because of abhorrently poor candidate quality and youth turnout from backlash to the abortion ruling.

In popular culture, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscar’s.  Ye, aka Kanye West, spewed antisemitic remarks and was dropped from major business partners.  The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial mercifully came to an end after two months.

Prominent deaths included Bob Saget, Mikhail Gorbachev, Naomi Judd, Queen Elizabeth II, Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Angela Lansbury, Kirstie Alley, Olivia Newton-John, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, and at the end of the year, Pele, Barbara Walters, and Pope Benedict XVI.

In automotive news, the push for electrification is unrelenting.  The Inflation Reduction Act brought revised tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles, restoring credits to purchasers of GM and Tesla EVs, but it came with confusing new restrictions based on location of assembly and source of battery mineral content.  At the beginning of 2022, Chevrolet revealed the Silverado EV.  Cadillac started deliveries of the Lyriq crossover in August as the brand started the transition to an EV-only lineup.  Corvette is to become a sub-brand in two years with a sedan and SUV, and there are rumors of a Camaro EV sub-brand as well.  Electra is becoming the EV sub-brand for Buick.

Updating logos continued to be a thing for automakers.  Buick unveiled a new logo that ditched the familiar circle to help signify the new direction of electrification.  Audi flattened the ringed logo, as is the current trend.  Citroen and Lancia also have updated logos.

Dodge announced the end of production for the current Charger and Challenger models but revealed an EV Charger concept car with fake engine sounds.  Toyota introduced a new generation of Prius to a gushing press.  It has more power, bigger wheels, and most importantly better looks, but less interior room, less cargo capacity, and worse aerodynamics than the outgoing model.

Dealerships still had low inventory amid the supply chain constraints, and added dealer mark-up or exorbitantly priced add-ons persisted.  GM lost sales leadership to Toyota in 2021 amid supply chain issues but is poised to regain the title in 2022.

EV startups like Canoo and Faraday Future struggled to reach production.  Canoo is testing vehicles with Walmart in Texas, and vehicle deliveries are expected in a few months, about the same time Faraday supposedly will start delivering vehicles assembled in California.  The Fiskar Ocean is about 9 months from starting deliveries.  Lucid has struggled to produce the high-end Air sedans.

Departing vehicles include the Kia Stinger, Acura NSX, and Ford GT, as well as the Hyundai Accent, Ionic Hybrid, Ionic Hybrid Plug-In, and Veloster N.

Here is the 21st annual edition of Cheers and Jeers for some of the best and worst of all things automotive in the past year:

Cheers to the Best Scoop on the hybrid and AWD 2024 Corvette E-Ray found by Corvette sleuths on Chevy’s website.  The visualizer gave a glimpse at the new colors and body-color trim.

Cheers to Cadillac for the Boldest Move by introducing the handbuilt $300,000 Celestiq.  It’s a statement of confidence but is also risky because Cadillac does not have a good track record with low-volume boutique models.  The styling is polarizing, but it will debut the new Ultra Cruise with lidar.

Cheers to the Best Vehicle Introduction, the Hyundai Ionic 6.  It’s not exactly pretty, but it does have a best-in-class 0.21 drag coefficient, Hyundai’s excellent EV propulsion, and it’s a car.

Honorable Mention goes to the BMW I4, based on the 4-Series 4-door Gran Coupes, resulting in an ICE-looking EV for those who may not want to stand out,  BMW has their wild-looking iX, but the I4 and forthcoming I7 will appeal to those who want to blend in.  It goes without saying Jeers to the hideous grills.

Jeers to Toyota for the Worst Vehicle Introduction with the ungainly Crown.  It replaced the Avalon as their new flagship and has a storied name, but it’s unclear who would want to buy such a thing.

Jeers to the Biggest Troll Man-Child, Elon Musk.  The Twitter takeover has been nothing short of disastrous, and alienating the greenie and techie base of Tesla vehicles is a questionable marketing strategy.  Tesla had to resort to ever-sweetening deals, up to $7,500 and free Supercharger miles for some models, to move vehicles at the end of the year, though some drop in demand is likely from the tax credits resuming in January.  The value of Tesla stock dropped by two thirds in the year, and Musk saw his personal fortune drop by $200 billion.  The years late Cybertruck is still undergoing engineering and the new Roadster is nowhere to be found.

Jeers to Toyota for Failed ZEV Leadership, having placed all their ZEV marbles on hydrogen but seeing consumers gravitate towards battery EVs.  Hydrogen continues to have potential in certain segments like trucking.  For their one BEV offering, Toyota tried to buy back all the bZ4X crossovers due to the wheels coming off, and they have had to revamp their EV strategy to catch up.

For the New Year, wishing all your EV and ICE dreams come true.  Hope you all have a safe, prosperous, and Happy New Year!

This is well-executed.  I have one of those $100 deposits on a Cybertruck, but I would also consider getting this if there is a reasonably priced model between the WT and the RST.  I love the features from the Avalanche returning.

It was another unforgettable year that we would like to forget.  It started with an assault on democracy in the nation’s Capitol by deluded and enabled followers of the previous occupant of the White House.  A new President was sworn in with the first female and person of color as Vice President.

In May the U.S. started the quick removal of troops from Afghanistan, which was the longest war in U.S. history, at 20 years.  The immediate takeover of the country by the Taliban showed that the Afghan National Army was incapable and probably would never have been capable to keep the government in power.

In June, 98 lives were lost in the coastal town of Surfside, Florida, when a poorly maintained 12-story condominium building collapsed.

Politics were ugly throughout the year, whether dealing with voting rights, abortion, COVID-19, or infrastructure, and flying the skies proved not to be friendly.  Inflation was a hot topic with rising costs for food, housing, automobiles, gasoline, and just about everything else, though wage gains also helped at the lower end.  Service jobs went unfilled as many people, particularly those at the older range, chose to leave the workforce.

By the end of the year, another 400,000 Americans would lose their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of those preventable had they not succumbed to disinformation.  The highly contagious Omicron variant spread like wildfire at the end of the year and once again put strain on healthcare professionals.

Prominent passings include Secretaries of State Colin Powell and George Schultz, Senator Bob Dole, publisher Larry Flynt, rapper DMX, and racers Al Unser Sr., Bobby Unser, and Bob Bondurant.  There was also Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, radio host Rush Limbaugh, baseball great Hank Aaron, TV and radio host Larry King, Dodgers General Manager Tommy Lasorda, and NFL broadcaster John Madden.  Four actors from the classic sitcom Mary Tyler Moore passed away:  Cloris Leachman, Ed Asner, Gavin MacLeod, and Betty White.

In automotive news, the supply chain and chip shortage affected automobile deliveries.  With decreased inventory, dealerships jacked up prices above MSRP and stocked their parking lots with late model used cars.  Numerous automakers announced the phaseout of internal combustion engines in the 2030s, with some already stopping development of the engines.  Rather than cupholders or horsepower, the latest metrics seem to be the total number of diagonal inches of display and number and type of USB ports.  There are many upstarts from both within the U.S. or overseas wanting to take on the legacy automakers with new EV offerings.

GM started the year by unveiling a new logo to signify its transition to electric vehicles.  The logo was designed in-house and was given lukewarm reviews, with the dated gradient in particular receiving criticism.  In general, automakers have been transitioning to flatter, more minimalist logos, with Volvo and Cadillac also unveiling updated logos later in the year.  GM introduced the Chevrolet Bolt EUV to great fanfare in February, with the most significant additions over the slightly smaller regular Bolt EV being an available sunroof and SuperCruise.  However, sales would later be halted as all Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV models ever produced were recalled to replace defective battery modules but got LG to foot the majority of the bill.  Production of the vehicles remain on hold to allocate the battery modules for recalled vehicles.

In March, Volkswagen started deliveries of the electric ID4 with hopes that Dieselgate would forever fade into the past.  Also in March Jeep unveiled the big body-on-frame Wagoneer, with a big price, to take on the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator.

Ford unveiled the F-150 Lightning in May to great acclaim, having long range, normal looks, and a useful frunk. Tesla started deliveries of the 1020-hp Model S Plaid in June.  Nissan unveiled the new retro Z in New York in August to generally rave reviews.  In September, Mercedes introduced the blandly styled EQS, and Rivian started delivering the R1T electric pickup.  Lucid began deliveries of the lidar-equipped Air in October.

By the end of the year, GM delivered the first GMC Hummer EV pickups, a 9,000 pound behemoth.  Over the year, Tesla raised prices of the Model 3 and Y by about $7,000 and $9,000, respectively, likely due a combination of increased demand, higher production costs from the supply chain issues, and anticipation of newly available rebates, yet to occur, from the stalled Build Back Better bill.  Tesla moved their Headquarters from California’s Silicon Valley to Texas next to a new factory that will soon be up and running.  Tesla briefly reached a $1 trillion dollar valuation, making it about 6 times more valuable than GM and 5 times more than Ford.  Elon Musk was named Person of the Year by Time Magazine and is the wealthiest person in the world.  The Tesla Cybertruck was delayed another year.

Canceled vehicles included the Toyota Avalon, BMW i3, Lotus Elise, Toyota Land Cruiser (in the U.S.), Volkswagen Passat, and Mazda 6, which may return.

Without further adieu, here’s the 20th Annual Edition of Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers to Ford for Best New Vehicle with the practical and attainable Ford Maverick.  With a projected 42 mpg EPA City rating for the hybrid powertrain and starting price below $20,000, it’s a brilliant follow-up to last year’s Ford Bronco.  Not everyone needs a $50,000 full-size pickup.

Cheers to Genesis for Best Save for saving the life of Tiger Woods when he seemingly dozed off and crashed a GV80 into a tree in a L.A. suburb in February.  The event brought non-stop cable news coverage and gave visibility to the obscure Genesis brand.  Normally a car crash is a bad look, but lesser vehicles would likely have resulted in much more serious injuries or death, and the IIHS gave the GV80 a Top Safety Pick + rating just weeks after Tiger’s crash.

Jeers to Volkswagen for Worst Marketing Move with their botched April Fool’s joke that the company was going to be renamed “Voltswagen.”  They insisted it was not an April Fool’s joke, and they came across as liars, which hurt their credibility when they are trying to move on from the deceit of Dieselgate.

Cheers to Volkswagen subsidiary Audi for Best Marketing Move by gifting a Q3 to a contestant on “Wheel of Fortune” who failed to win a Q3 due to an obscure and subjective technicality.  It generated goodwill and became a feel-good story during the holiday season, with the bonus of making Pat Sajak look bad.

Cheers to Acura for Best Nameplate Revival with the Integra returning in 2022.  The styling certainly could have been better than the mini-TLX looks up front, mashup of the Toyota Supra and old Genesis Coupe in the rear, and overall Civic profile.  Previous Integras hid the Civic roots better, but at least the Integra appears to be getting good mechanical pieces.

Jeers to Toyota for Worst New Nameplate with bZ4X for the electric crossover.  bZ standards for beyond zero and will be a sub-brand of zero-emission vehicles.  Subaru’s version of the vehicle received a much better name, Solterra.

Jeers to Tesla for Worst New-Car Feature with the yoke-style steering wheel, which provides no advantages to a normal steering wheel other than improved visibility of the instrument panel, and makes driving at low speed more difficult.  Toyota solved that problem on the pending bZ4X by providing electronic steer-by-wire with nonlinear assist.

Jeers to GM for Most Frivolous Lawsuit for suing Ford over use of the name Blue Cruise.  There was a settlement, details unknown other than Ford will continue using the name.

Jeers to Toyota for Worst Grille on the Toyota Tundra.  Ugly grills are normally reserved for Lexus and BMW, but Toyota tried to fit the biggest grille on the Tundra as possible because grille size of course is commensurate with toughness and capability.

Jeers to Mazda for Most Disappointing New EV, the MX-30 with a paltry range of 100 miles.  The range is slightly better than the defunct Honda Clarity Electric, which was introduced for the 2017 model year and had a woeful range of 89 miles .  The MX-30 doesn't get many miles from the 35.5 kW battery, which indicates not having a very efficient powertrain.  The range may have been acceptable 10 years ago, but certainly not now.

Here's hoping for better times, and wishing you all a healthy, safe, prosperous, and Happy New Year!

Last week I saw a Lincoln Mark V with a personalized plate with something like "79 MARK V."  It appeared in excellent condition.  Nice to see something of that vintage still on the road.

I didn't dig the looks initially, but it's growing on me.  Priced right, it can be a serious contender.

Finally, some good news out of Cadillac.  The current batch of alphanumeric names is probably the worst in the business now that Lincoln abandoned theirs.

EV is the future, BEV or otherwise.  Our household is on our second EV, and next year we'll get our third.  We're never going back to ICE.

Well, that was a fast year.  Here are some of the things that happened in 2017:

A new American President was sworn into office and found to be a truth-challenged, serial golfing narcissist whose primary goal appeared to be undoing all the achievements of his predecessor.  His own crowning achievement was a windfall of wealth to corporate America and its officers at the expense of the lower and middle classes, future generations, and blue states.

A series of hurricanes swept through the Gulf of Mexico and ravaged Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico, resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars in damages.  The country's deadliest mass shooting occurred in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Festival from a madman in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.  Last year's abundant rainfall in California gave way to some of the worst wildfires in California history that wiped out communities.  In Hollywood and Washington D.C. the “#MeToo” movement gave power to sexual assault victims and toppled entertainment and political titans. The fidget spinner fad peaked.

Prominent passings in the entertainment industry included Mary Tyler Moore, Sean Cassidy, Adam West, Roger Moore, Tom Petty, and Chuck Berry.

In the automotive world, passenger sedans continued to fall out of favor, with the future of the Chevy Impala and Ford Fusion in doubt.  Cadillac will be consolidating several sedans under a single nameplate.  New versions of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord were introduced.  The march towards fully autonomous vehicles continued, and Uber inked a deal with Volvo for fully autonomous vehicles. Vehicles that went away include the Viper, Buick Verano, Hyundai Azera, Honda Accord Coupe, Nissan Juke, and Volkswagen Touareg.

GM rid itself of Opel to the PSA Group, which decided it overpaid and wants half its money back because of vehicle emissions and what they deemed to be the lack of a credible plan to get the fleet to conformity.

In the aftermath of Dieselgate, Volkswagen is going all-in with electric vehicles.  China, France, and the U.K. look to ban new vehicles with internal combustion engines in about 20 years, and California considers the same.  GM, Volvo, Toyota and others announced major electrification efforts for their fleets within five years.

I was barely on the C&G boards the past year because of job and family, and my interest in personal transportation has shifted to human-powered two-wheeled devices and EVs (my household has two).  I have cobbled together the 16th Anniversary Edition of Cheers and Jeers, but I'm unfortunately unable to note whatever drama has been happening in the forums since I wasn't here enough to experience it.  Here are some automotive highlights and lowlights:

Cheers to Lincoln for Best Move by bringing back real names.  The MKX is being reborn as the Nautilus with its refresh as Lincoln goes with a nautical theme.  If only Cadillac would rid itself of the awful CT and XT naming convention.

Cheers to Tesla for Best Car Reveal by surprising everyone and bringing out a new Roadster from the back of the Semi after revealing that.  The Semi is also significant for its moderate $150k cost and up to 500 mile range if they can deliver.

Jeers to Tesla for the slow roll-out of the Model 3, which was not ready for prime time and beset by welding issues.

Cheers to Mazda for Best New Engine Technology with their Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition gas engine that is projected to have 30% better fuel economy when introduced in the 2020 Mazda3.

Cheers to Chevy for the Best Truck Reveal in the surprising introduction of the new 2019 Silverado at the Chevy truck centennial celebration at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Cheers to FCA for increasing sales of the aging Ram, even surpassing the Silverado for a few months.  Ford, with the new Super Duty trucks, increased domestic truck sales the most and outsells Silverado and GMC Sierra combined.

Cheers to Kia for Best New Sedan for the Stinger.  Who would have imagined that once-lowly Kia would sell a RWD or AWD car that is competitive with the BMW 3 Series?  It helps to have talent that was at Audi and BMW.

Jeers to Honda for Most Disappointing New EV for the class-lagging Clarity with only 89 miles of range.  Only the Fiat 500e and smart fortwo electric have lower ranges now that the Mitsubishi i-MIEV and Mercedes B250e are no longer sold in the US.  The Plug In Hybrid and Fuel Cell versions of the Clarity are decent though. 

Wishing all a safe, prosperous, and Happy New Year!

2016 was a year that almost everyone wants to forget.

The election season that seemed to go on forever ended with the surprising election of a thin-skinned accused sexual predator demagogue and reality TV host to be 45th President of the United States.  This extremely unpopular candidate had nearly 3 million fewer votes than the almost equally unpopular runner up.

The Zika virus hysteria hit a fevered pitch. The Pokemon Go fad came and went.  Transgender people using bathrooms consistent with their identities seemingly became the most important topic for legislatures across the country.  The Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando was the deadliest mass-shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history, with 49 people killed.  The Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland, California, was the deadliest building fire in the U.S. in 13 years.  There were terrorist attacks around the world, including in Syria, Brussels, Nice, and Turkey. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones were recalled twice and continued to catch fire and be banned from airplanes.

Prominent passings include David Bowie, Prince, Muhammed Ali, Antonin Scalia, Nancy Reagan, Morley Safer, John Glenn, Arnold Palmer, and Fidel Castro.  At the end of the year, George Michael, Carrie Fisher, and her mom Debbie Reynolds passed on.

In automotive news, U.S. sales continued at a near historically high rate.  Genesis was launched as Hyundai’s luxury brand instead of just being Hyundai models.  There was a Volkswagen settlement for about 450,000 TDI owners and regulators valued at almost $15 billion.  Google branded their autonomous driving program Waymo, and discussions with Honda were announced.  FCA already had a working relationship with them and plans for 100 autonomous Pacificas.  Various automakers became involved with ride-hailing companies.  Toyota's subbrand, Scion, went away, with three of the four models continuing as Toyotas.  Traditional sedans continue to fall out of favor as the crossover market seems to have no letting up.  Miniature CUVs are the new big small things.  Cadillac and and Ford are looking at scaling back their car plans to focus more on crossovers.

Big topics on the C&G boards were the Chevy Bolt, the direction of Cadillac, and pushrods or overhead cams for the Corvette.  The site got a major software update (thanks, Drew!).

Unfortunately, I have had precious little time to spend on the C&G boards because life has been busy with work and parental responsibilities.  But here are some of the highlights and lowlights I have been able to gather in the last year for all things automotive for the 15th Annual Edition of Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers to the Chevrolet Bolt as the Best New Production Vehicle.  The 239 mile range is game-changing for an affordable EV.  The packaging and build quality are good.  However, Jeers for the lumpy styling and mediocre aerodynamics.

https://www.cheersandgears.com/articles/news/chevrolet/its-official-2017-chevrolet-bolt-to-offer-238-miles-of-range-r3777/

https://www.cheersandgears.com/articles/news/chevrolet/chevrolet-bolt-design-has-a-lot-of-interior-space-but-is-a-bit-of-mess-in-terms-of-aero-r3718/

Cheers to the Lincoln Motor Company for having the Continental be a ray of light, with promising sales numbers so far, better than the Cadillac CT6.  The styling is a little too frumpy, but it’s a nice attempt at a serious luxury car.

Cheers to FCA for introducing the Best Minivan with the class-leading Pacifica, including the Hybrid variant.  The unremarkable sales numbers are not necessarily indicative of how much improved it is over the previous Town & Country, though the quality-challenged Dodge Grand Caravan remains available as a budget buy.

Jeers to FCA for their Dead Brand Walking, Dodge.  It was 2009 when Ram was separated from Dodge.  This year the Dodge Dart (and sister Chrysler 200) were killed off to free up factory space to build more profitable SUVs and pickups.  The future of Dodge is questionable as the Viper just died, Durango is slated for demise, and the Grand Caravan, while continuing for now, will not be replaced.  The aging Charger, Challenger, and Journey are still slated to get Fiat and Alfa-based replacements, but with the Chrysler brand down to the 300 and Pacifica only, it makes you wonder whether the Dodge models will be folded into the Chrysler brand.

Jeers to FCA for the dishonest inflated sales reporting.  There was immense pressure to keep the increasing sales streak alive, but when they couldn’t, they faked it.

https://www.cheersandgears.com/articles/news/chrysler/fca-admits-sales-streak-ended-three-years-ago-makes-changes-in-how-it-reports-sales-r3691/

Cheers to Volvo for Good Design.  Despite being wholly owned by Geely, the current batch of vehicles remains largely true to its roots with its Swedish focus on safety and stylish lines in a Scandinavian way.  The new S90 and last year’s XC90 are cutting edge, practical, and desirable.

Cheers to Elon Musk for his Marketing Genius and convincing 400,000 people to put down refundable $1,000 deposits on the upcoming Model 3.  Tesla got its share of bad news over the year with its semi-autonomous Autopilot contributing to the fatal crash of a Model S by mistaking the side of a big rig for the sky and quality glitches over its new Model X.

Cheers to Buick for producing the Best Concept Car, the stunning Alpha-based Avista, though it unfortunately will not see production because there are not enough coupe buyers to support it and the Camaro.  A new Riviera would still be a nice flagship for Buick, which has embraced becoming primarily a SUV brand, not unlike Acura.  Honorable mention goes to the Cadillac Escala, which was willing to break with some traditional styling elements but comes off looking a little generic.

https://www.cheersandgears.com/articles/auto-show-news/detroit-auto-show/2016-detroit-auto-show-2016-buick-avista-concept-r3271/

https://www.cheersandgears.com/articles/news/cadillac/cadillac-escala-concepts-previews-the-future-of-brand39s-design-r3737/

Cheers to Mazda for building jewel-like, fun-to-drive cars that Honda used to build.  Mazda sales are down slightly, but they will look at going upscale and not try to be all things to all people.

Cheers to Honda for Best Determination with giving it another go with the Ridgeline pickup.  The looks are entirely conventional and boring compared to the old model.  It drives very much like a Honda Pilot with an open back, not like a really serious truck, but it still fulfills the needs of many people.  If only GM had done a Lambda pickup or a new generation of Avalanche.

Cheers to William Maley for his new car reviews and dfelt for keeping us abreast on the alternative propulsion news with some excellent reading.

Wishing all a safe, prosperous, and Happy New Year!

Congratulations on the job.  You've come a long way since your angst-filled youth.  Glad things are working out for you.

Hey trinacriabob.  Nice to see you stop by and give an update on your LaCrosse.  W-bodies were decent cars but didn't have the best packaging.  Good to see that yours has been reliable for the most part.  Perhaps the 2018 Regal could be a contender if you decide to replace your LaCrosse.

I wanted to buy an RX-8 when they first came out, but the dealers had $4,000 added dealer markup.  I'm glad that I didn't end up with one of these oil-burners.

As for the question, I might prefer the Camaro.

^ An '81. V8-6-4 (unless it's a diesel).

 

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I like the exterior of the GNX, and the performance is awesome… but I canNOT get past the interior. '80s vehicles…. probably why I've never owned one.

The 1987 Brougham used the same grille design as the '81 deVille/Fleetwood with the infamous V8-6-4.  The '87 had different front turn signal lenses with the Cadillac crest and cleaner-looking side moldings.  The wire wheel covers were also slightly different.

As for the question, I'd take the M3.

Sorry to hear.  It's a difficult decision to put a companion down.  Dogs give much more than they ask for.

The E-Class used to have a unique look.  The C and S-Classes always looked similar.  Now they all look the same, with that worn bar of soap look.  I liked the 2003 to 2009 E-Class a lot, except for the weak V-6 engine.  The outgoing E-Class did nothing for me.  Benzes no longer have any appeal to me, except for maybe the Metris van.

When I was at the L.A. auto show, I was surprised at the lack of attention that Chevrolet was giving the Malibu.  It was just kind of there.  The car itself seemed nice enough, with much better packaging than the outgoing model.  However, if I were getting a new sedan now, I'd get an Accord, even though it's in its fourth year of this generation.

I bought myself a 2006 ION 3 sedan a year ago for $5,500 plus tax and license, and it had 52,000 miles on it.  This car replaced my Prelude as the daily driver/beater, and I have put 8,000 miles on it (I still have my Silverado and IS300).  I was actually searching for an ION because they are cheap and I like the plastic body panels.  Some days I feel like a Sentra would have been a more substantial and less crude car, but for the most part, I like it and it's been trouble-free other than the driver's door window stopped going down (window actuators seem to be a common problem).  Mileage isn't great overall, around 25 mpg, and acceleration is leisurely unless it's punched.