It’s been a truly crazy year…
Just a year ago, we thought 2019 had been a “wild ride” but we obviously had no idea the kind of turmoil 2020 would bring. Amidst the craziness of a global COVID-19 pandemic, quite a few interesting ups and down were experienced by the auto industry. Now is the time to reflect on some of the automotive comebacks and failures for 2020.
Ford Bronco Return Delayed – Failure
First, Ford announced the much-awaited and already-delayed new Bronco reveal would be pushed from the spring of this year to July 9, thanks to the pandemic. But then that date was changed to July 13 after many pointed out OJ Simpson’s birthday is July 9. As if that weren’t enough frustration for fans eagerly await the new Bronco, the market launch has been pushed until next summer instead of the spring, thanks to an issue with a parts supplier. We’ll see if all these delays have dampened enthusiasm about the much-anticipated off-roader or not.
C8 Corvette Production Back On Track – Comeback
Thanks to first a workers’ strike and then the COVID-19 shutdowns, production of the new C8 Corvette started out rough. That meant the few so-called “Covid Corvettes” or 2020 models were going for top dollar as everyone wanted one of the first mid-engine Corvettes to hit the market. Thankfully, the Bowling Green plant re-opened and slowly but surely ramped up production again, filling more orders than some feared would be met this year. While not everything has been perfect, the fact GM was able to step up in the midst of adversity so more people could enjoy America’s sports car was impressive to see.
Cars Damaged And Stolen During Riots – Failure
Riots swept parts of the United States and other countries in 2020. While the loss of life and people’s livelihoods was awful, we also saw car dealerships targeted as criminals looted or trashed expensive cars, from an ultra-rare Alpina Z8 to dozens of Dodge Hellcats. Rioters even burned a Wisconsin dealership and most of the cars.
Guy Shows Kindness To Neighbor Kid – Comeback
During a year of so much strife and the worst of human behavior on full display, everyone desperately needed a reminder of the goodness of humanity. That’s where a video of a guy catching the neighbor kid playing in his driveway, only to draw chalk tracks for him to ride his bike on really caught fire. Instead of being a jerk about it, the guy did something so simple yet so inspiring.
Rash Of Stolen Dodges – Failure
The truth is 2020 has been a year of increasing car thefts. One of the favorite targets for thieves have been Dodge muscle cars. All that power and apparently easy ways to steal them have made the Mopars unbelievably attractive targets. We expect this phenomena to only get worse next year.
Artists Whip Up Creative Renderings – Comeback
It seems like the shutdowns of 2020 might have contributed to artists going a little crazier than usual on car renderings. Some were pretty awful to the point we had to pour bleach into our eyes, but others were pretty awesome. Among the highlights was a Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Hearse, the Ferrari F40 Bandit Edition, and a monster truck General Lee. These renderings kept us and readers entertained during these challenging times.
Canceled Events – Failure
Everyone knows 2020 was a year of canceled events, both for the automotive industry and in society as a whole. With how many events which were either outright canceled or “delayed” until next year, it was disappointing to see these gatherings not happen. Even worse has been the economic impact of these canceled events for many families who’ve come to rely on the revenue generated by annual gatherings. Even worse, we’ve seen events as far ahead as spring of 2021 canceled, but we’re hoping this trend doesn’t continue at the level we saw this year.
In-Person Auctions – Comeback
For a good portion of 2020, auction houses switched from in-person events to online formats. This was met with mixed results, but finally we saw the return of in-person auctions starting first with GAA hosting a live auction back in July, of course with many restrictions. Another notable example was the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona in October, which was quite successful.
