For about eight years, I had the privilege of driving and reviewing brand new cars nearly every week as a freelance writer. I started off with a 2014 Lexus LX570 and progressed through a wide spectrum of vehicles and experiences – from doing a line lock burnout in a 2015 Ford Mustang GT to towing a boat to the lake with a Toyota Sequoia Limited and taking a Ram 1500 Rebel EcoDiesel on a 2,600-mile out-of-state trip to flying down the highway in an Audi R8 V10 plus. In late 2022, my schedule didn’t leave room for reviews and I passed the press car keys to one of my (now former) colleagues. I’m happy to announce I will soon be reviewing cars once again, in written and video forms for the ClassicCars.com Journal. These are a few of the changes I’ve seen take place in the last two years and some of the things that have stayed just as they were before.
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE…
SUV-ification Nation
There was a time when sports car companies didn’t produce SUVs or crossovers. Now you can get people-movers from Aston Martin, Maserati, and even Ferrari. It’s understandable because the revenue generated from the sales of vehicles purists loathe funds the development of true sports cars they love. But now certain manufacturers are blurring the line between the two.
Porsche and Lamborghini are two prominent examples of this. As if Porsche didn’t have enough variations of the 911 in its lineup, in late 2022, it announced it would be producing 2,500 units of the 911 Dakar. As its name implies, it commemorates Porsche’s victory at the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally. It backs that image up with a ride height that’s been increased approximately two inches, a lift system that can add another 1.18 inches between the car and the trail below, and Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tires. Lamborghini pushed its already-bonkers Huracan supercar over the top by creating an off-road version called the Sterrato, which flies over rough terrain 1.7 inches higher than a street-only Huracan with the power of a mid-mounted 5.2-liter V10.
Hyundai has done something similar with a completely different vehicle. The outgoing 2023 Santa Fe had a slightly jumbled, curvy design. The all-new 2024 model has the same badge, but with its hard lines and right angles, it looks more like a Land Rover Defender. How is it on the road? I’m looking forward to finding out and telling all of you about it.
New Generations – Finally!
When I stopped getting media loaners, the contemporary Toyota 4Runner and Tacoma were still going strong – and long in the tooth. The S550 Mustang, all-new for the 2015 model year, was nearing the end of its product lifecycle. Now these off-road and performance car go-tos are up to date once again and more powerful than ever. We are living in a time when the Tacoma (albeit with the i-Force Max hybrid engine) has up to 465 lb-ft of grunt and you can get a 500-horsepower Mustang (Dark Horse) from Ford that has no association with Carroll Shelby.
Even Trucks Aren’t Safe from Downsizing
This isn’t totally new because Ford began offering the EcoBoost 3.5-liter V6 in the F-150 way back in 2011, but its span is. When other companies were shifting to smaller engines with forced induction, Stellantis was the bad boy of the industry, upping the output of the Dodge Hellcat models to a peak of 807 horsepower, stuffing a 702-horsepower Hellcat engine into the high-flying TRX supertruck, and finally giving Wrangler lovers a factory-produced V8 model (Rubicon 392) with an enormous 6.4-liter V8 under the hood.
Stellantis has softened a bit. The Hellcat engine was discontinued last year. For now, at least, the TRX has been replaced with the Ram 1500 RHO, powered by a 540-horsepower High-Output 3.0-liter Hurricane I6. There are two versions of the Hurricane engine available in the regular 1500 along with the eTorque version of the 3.6-liter V6 – but no Hemi V8.
…THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME
Bigger is Better
As time goes on, touchscreens cover more and more space. A few years ago, I was stunned when Ram began offering a 12-inch touchscreen as part of its Uconnect 5 infotainment system. That’s old news now that you can get the 2025 Ram 1500 with a 14.5-inch display. Not only that, but you can spec it with a secondary screen for the front passenger that takes the total amount of touchscreen display space north of 24 inches.
Manuals Continue to Exist
Online forums are full of people bemoaning the fact that manual transmissions seem to be dying off. True, they’re not abundant in new cars these days, but they are still available in the Mustang, GR86, Miata, and other models. Chevrolet fans have it the worst – the Camaro is dead and the Corvette has had only a dual-clutch auto since the 2020 model year.
I’m Still a Nerd
Press cars are certainly a great perk. They’re typically loaded models with all the bells and whistles on them. As nice as they are, the things I miss the most are the feeling of wonder I get behind the wheel of a new car and the process of learning about it, whether it’s something the vehicle does well or gets completely wrong. I look forward to sharing my journeys and thoughts with all of you.
Source: www.classiccars.com