Commentary: Are We Getting Jaded About the Automotive Industry?

In order to maintain a website, YouTube channel and social media platforms discussing this subject matter, you have to be still interested in it. You have to embrace both the bad and good about it. There is a license to provide constructive criticism in a way that is learned and professional. 

The latter is the toughest part of automotive media. It comes from experience, knowledge, and a level of expectation based on both. You could go in with a clear conscience and lower expectations. Not everyone does. 

You also have to navigate through some twists and turns that the industry throws at us. It could be decisions made at corporate offices, government buildings, and dealership lots. Things that are clearly out of the control of the consumer, vehicle owner, and licensed driver.

So, do you still love the automobile?

That is a rhetorical question that has been discussed lately. The answer is no longer absolute. Mostly, I found partial responses along the lines of honoring their past love of them combined with the frustrations of the state of today’s vehicles.

The concerns range from the amount of technology has been added to today’s vehicles. Debates of whether battery-fed vehicles are sustainable for all drivers. Of course, a greater concern over the skyrocketing prices of new and pre-owned vehicles in today’s market. 

In other words, cars ain’t what they’re used to be. 

Some conversations I had lately evoked a reflection upon my place in the automotive lifecycle. It elicited definitions of what a vehicle meant to me. That triggered memories of experiences in the course of 46 years since I first attained my driver’s license – and prior to that momentous occasion. 

These memories are rooted in what we’re seeing today in the new vehicle market. Not just because of the newer product’s shiny exterior, tech-laden interiors, and advanced drivelines and chassis. It comes with concerns about some of the decisions being made to offer them to the consumer base. It comes with potential cautionary tales about the future of mobility and transportation. 

These concerns are formed as questions. For example, why did Ford call their upcoming electric pickup truck Fathom as opposed to Ranchero? Why would General Motors want to produce a four-door sedan with the Camaro name on it? Are Fiat-based vehicles the answer to sustain Stellantis’ North American operations, when the brand itself lacks a presence worthy of consideration by consumers? 

Why did the Department of Commerce order the shutdown of Polestar and not of its Geely-owned brand-mate Volvo? Why should tariffs have to be so high as they being used as a weapon of conflict? 

Do we really need an electric four-door Ferrari with a controversial design that would cause an earthquake based on Enzo spinning in his grave faster than a SP90? 

Valid questions, perhaps? Or am I blowing smoke up someone’s posterior as a way to complain and kvetch?

These questions are not without some foundation. The memories of what used to be are often compared to what is on our roads currently. Perhaps lost in the malaise of vehicles painted in grayscale. 

It could be easy to get jaded about something you love. You sink into a “been there, done that” mode that could send you to therapy. I will admit that I want to take on something exciting that would put a smile on my face. Not just the 2026 Lexus IS 350 F Sport Design sedan we recently worked with, but something else that could renew my faith in the automotive industry. 

We’ll let you know what happens. 

All photos by Randy Stern