Another year, another rollout of 900-hp hypercars and new models that steer and brake all by themselves. Wait, what? Autonomous technology trickled down, cars in all categories got way faster and gulped less fuel, our two favorite Americans got a complete redo, startup automakers died, stock prices and sales soared, and some people—namely taxpayers—lost a ton of money. Before we pop the bubbly and forget everything we wrote, let's have one last look at this year's biggest news stories.
 | Real American Heroes |
Modernizing an American classic is extremely risky—you can ruin the spirit of it entirely, like Beyonce did lip-syncing the Star-Spangled Banner in January—but the latest Mustang and Corvette have kept our hearts loyal. The 2014 Corvette Stingray is now a super-handling, bona-fide GT that beats the 911, and while no one has driven the 2015 Mustang, we were delighted our razor-sharp renderings came true as Ford's pony car went global. America can't do healthcare, but damn it if we don't make the best sports cars for the money.
| High-Tech Hybrids |
We'll remember 2013 for birthing not one, but three hybrid hypercars. The Ferrari LaFerrari and the McLaren P1 were introduced to the world, and we finally got behind the wheel of the Porsche 918 Spyder. Each packs more than 880 horsepower, zaps to 60 mph in less than three seconds, tops 210 mph, and promises the fuel economy of a small hatchback for at least a few seconds. The technology bends our technical brains to the breaking point, and we simply cannot fathom how these three automakers could possibly top what might be the greatest automotive engineering feats of our time.
| Slumming It |
German automakers tickled our wallets with three new cars costing around $30,000, the 2015 Audi A3 sedan, the 2013 BMW 320i, and the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250. But while these entry-level models are a step above the rentals you'll find in Europe, they don't come close to the luxury of a loaded Ford Fusion. Dealers, preferring to stuff these German sausages with option packages, aren't going to stock a lot of base cars.
| Fisker Flounders |
Maybe Henrik Fisker should have stuck to rebodied BMWs. His first all-original car, the $103,000 Karma, had the sexy lines and plug-in hybrid powertrain that should have steamrolled Tesla. But then Tesla built the Model S, and Fisker became plagued by fires, battery failures, flooding from Superstorm Sandy, and bad accountants. Once heralded by the White House, Fisker defaulted on a $192-million federal loan and failed to bring factory jobs to Delaware, where its second car would have been built. Then the company's namesake was forced out, paving the way for a sale that's not happened as yet—but likely soon will. Plus, the Karma's efficiency and performance so belied its dynamite style that Bob Lutz bought up a number and swapped out their batteries for Corvette V-8s.
| EV price cuts |
Just when we thought electric cars were too expensive, they got cheap almost overnight. Nissan started a bidding war when it cut the 2013 Leaf by $6400, and no sooner did Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Smart, and Toyota respond with similar discounts. There are five electric cars that cost less than $30,000 without tax incentives, which is great for new buyers and absolutely terrible for previous owners hoping to retain some residual value. The deals seem to have worked. Plug-in sales through November are about 87,000, nearly double those of 2012.
| GM's December to Remember |
Everything that mattered to General Motors investors this year all happened in December. The world's second-largest automaker started the month by announcing it would pull Chevrolet from Europe in 2016 and shutter Holden's Australian manufacturing by 2018 (joining Ford's 2016 factory exit from Down Under). Then the U.S. Treasury sold its last GM shares—at a loss of at least $10.5 billion of taxpayer money. and with shrewd timing, CEO Dan Akerson said he was quitting and promoting Mary Barra as the first female CEO to run a major automaker. GM also sold off its shares in Ally Financial and PSA Peugeot Citroën.
| Tesla on a Tear |
Tesla had the banner year. Even though it won't report sales as does a normal public company, its stock is outrageously inflated and its outspoken CEO likes blaming the media and sketching sci-fi drawings, Tesla builds a great car and has a sound business. Even with three reported fires and some misleading advertising, the company became profitable, paid its $465-million federal loan back nine years early and started its own free fast-charging network. The Model S—outselling luxury brands in some areas of the country—is incredibly fast, well built, and raises the bar among all cars, electric or not. We know they'll surprise us again in 2014.
| Car Robots Got Really Good |
This year proved autonomous cars were closer to primetime than ever, which means we'll need to update our slogan to "Save the Drivers!" But while federal agencies and lawyers hammer out the details, automakers made massive strides. Ford and Lexus rolled out self-driving test cars, Michigan became the fourth state to allow them on public roads, Audi and Volvo demonstrated a self-parking valet feature, and auto-steering technology emerged on cars we can buy now, like the new-for-2014 Jeep Cherokee and Acura RLX.
from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com
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