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Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: Winners And Losers Of 2012
Great new-car introductions, booming auto sales and new technologies were balanced out by lawsuits, failures and bizarre incidents.
Long-awaited and much-anticipated, Jaguar's F-Type sports car was officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. (Photo: Jaguar)
We witnessed quite a variety of highs and lows in the many facets of the automotive world during 2012. Here are the highlights:
Winners
The Auto Industry – U.S sales during 2012 come roaring back, with the latest figures for November showing a healthy pace nearly that of pre-recession levels.
Jaguar F-Type – The long-awaited sports car from the British automaker sets out to revive the spirit of the vaunted E-Type.
SRT Viper – Formerly a Dodge but now part of Chrysler’s new performance division, the V10-powered supercar comes back better than ever.
Hybrid Cars – Various automakers turned out quite a few good ones to compete with the industry-leading Toyota Prius, with fuel-mileage gains and pollution reductions as favorable by-products.
Turbochargers – Long a staple of performance enhancement, more automakers embrace forced-induction, which allows them to reduce engine sizes for better mileage and reduced emissions without losing power. Ford’s EcoBoost engines have been a notable success, especially in F-150 pickup sales where turbo-V6 trucks are outselling V8 models.
Collector Cars – Auction results reach stratospheric levels as the passion for the vehicles of the past blossoms to new heights. There was a total of $260 million in overall sales at the Monterey, Calif., auctions, with many world records set, and Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction in January was its third-highest ever, reaching $92 million. The two higher B-J sales happened before the financial crisis.
Dodge Dart – The first automotive manifestation of the Chrysler/Fiat partnership turns out to be quite a sharp little car, even better than expected.
Shelby GT500 – Everybody took notice when the latest high-performance Ford Mustang hit a stunning 662 horsepower from what Ford calls the most powerful production V8 of all time.
Porsche – Last year’s rebirth of the classic 911 was followed up in 2012 by equally impressive new generations of the Boxster and Cayman.
Losers
Ferrari Sorry – The Italian sports-car builder apologizes to the entire nation of China after a Ferrari dealer vandalizes the Great Wall by doing donuts on it in a 458 Italia during a marketing event, resulting in thick rubber tire tracks on the ancient world wonder.
Porsches vs. Potheads – Owners of Porsche Cayennes and Panameras are riled by the multitude of thefts of their vehicles’ HID headlights, reputedly by marijuana growers who have found that not only are they beneficial to the growing process, they are easy to steal.
Winners
The Auto Industry – U.S sales during 2012 come roaring back, with the latest figures for November showing a healthy pace nearly that of pre-recession levels.
Jaguar F-Type – The long-awaited sports car from the British automaker sets out to revive the spirit of the vaunted E-Type.
SRT Viper – Formerly a Dodge but now part of Chrysler’s new performance division, the V10-powered supercar comes back better than ever.
Hybrid Cars – Various automakers turned out quite a few good ones to compete with the industry-leading Toyota Prius, with fuel-mileage gains and pollution reductions as favorable by-products.
Turbochargers – Long a staple of performance enhancement, more automakers embrace forced-induction, which allows them to reduce engine sizes for better mileage and reduced emissions without losing power. Ford’s EcoBoost engines have been a notable success, especially in F-150 pickup sales where turbo-V6 trucks are outselling V8 models.
Collector Cars – Auction results reach stratospheric levels as the passion for the vehicles of the past blossoms to new heights. There was a total of $260 million in overall sales at the Monterey, Calif., auctions, with many world records set, and Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction in January was its third-highest ever, reaching $92 million. The two higher B-J sales happened before the financial crisis.
Dodge Dart – The first automotive manifestation of the Chrysler/Fiat partnership turns out to be quite a sharp little car, even better than expected.
Shelby GT500 – Everybody took notice when the latest high-performance Ford Mustang hit a stunning 662 horsepower from what Ford calls the most powerful production V8 of all time.
Porsche – Last year’s rebirth of the classic 911 was followed up in 2012 by equally impressive new generations of the Boxster and Cayman.
Losers
Ferrari Sorry – The Italian sports-car builder apologizes to the entire nation of China after a Ferrari dealer vandalizes the Great Wall by doing donuts on it in a 458 Italia during a marketing event, resulting in thick rubber tire tracks on the ancient world wonder.
Porsches vs. Potheads – Owners of Porsche Cayennes and Panameras are riled by the multitude of thefts of their vehicles’ HID headlights, reputedly by marijuana growers who have found that not only are they beneficial to the growing process, they are easy to steal.
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