Our Favorites of 2024
We should celebrate the positives. That includes those vehicles which made our work an enjoyable one.
This past year was both triumphant and challenging.
Triumphant, because the website reached new records for traffic. In turn, we welcomed back two brands to our regular workflow. We also welcomed our share of vehicles to work with, opportunities to do media coverage of events and vehicles, and to build our brand and content through the medium of video.
However, there had been challenges along the way. Professional ones that had to change before anything personally catastrophic would happen. Plus, navigating through a divided society and business climate that has challenged our own workflow and presence in this mediascape. Not to mention the senseless act of murder and suicide that rocked our local car community.
At the end of this year, it is perhaps inappropriate to call out those who created the latter’s conditions. Rather we should celebrate the positives. That includes those vehicles which made our work an enjoyable one.
These are those vehicles – our favorite ones of 2024…
DEFENDER 110: JLR has been putting an emphasis on build quality in recent years. In the Defender 110 I worked with back in June – it showed. The four-door, two-row off-roader punched it weight, thanks to a turbocharged in-line six-cylinder mild-hybrid engine and its superb four-wheel drive system. All the while providing comfort over every mile. It is good to experience a fantastic off-road ready machine that still coddles you with its luxurious charms.
FORD MUSTANG GT: This V8 pony car provides the key ingredients for a recipe for fun. Power? Check. Rear wheel drive? Check. Improved handling and defeat-able traction control? Of course! Even though the instrument cluster is and all glass digital affair, the touch points are still analog with its available manual transmission. It is no wonder why it remains America’s sports coupe.
GENESIS: The luxury brand of the Hyundai Motor Group continues to produce the most compelling lineup of vehicles for the marketplace. Case in point, we had four of them to work with – the G70 sports sedan, the G80 mid-size luxury sedan, and the GV80 SUV and Coupe SUV. All four vehicles demonstrated the maturity of the brand through distinctive design and engineering, as well as supreme execution. As distinctive as they are separately, these four Genesis models were simply a joy to work with.
HYUNDAI: Along with its luxury brand, Hyundai never failed to deliver on vehicles that were compelling and enticing to its potential customers. There are three we will be calling out: The Kona, the Santa Fe, and the Sonata. All three of these were either all-new or heavily revised for 2024. They also exhibit a maturity in terms of delivering key product to the masses, as well as stretching the idea of what a mainstream automotive brand should deliver to the marketplace.
ROLLS-ROYCE SPECTRE: Who says you can’t have an uber luxury experience in an electric vehicle and look impressive while doing so? The Spectre paves the way with their first all electric offering, with more vehicles to come in the future. One thing is certain: It retains the highest level of luxury expected in a Rolls-Royce. Even as electrons now fuel the Spirit of Ecstasy.
SUBARU CROSSTREK: A small crossover/SUV that were built for fun and adventure. That was the update we were waiting for – a five trim level lineup with their own personality. In particular, the Wilderness model. This was a prime example of a vehicle that wants you to do extraordinary things within a scale that still puts a smile on your face. This is truly the first Subaru that has accomplished that.
TOYOTA LAND CRUISER: The return of this nameplate to the United States sees an entirely new and modern Land Cruiser with its hybrid powertrain, refined road manners and modern tech. It can also take you further off road. That’s the one thing you expect in a vehicle with a legacy of conquering lands beyond the urban sprawl. It is what makes the new Land Cruiser worth our time putting it through its paces.
TOYOTA TACOMA: Simply put, it won #VOTY2024. The Tacoma was redesigned to be more ergonomic and efficient than its predecessor. The TRD Pro grade offered off-road ready FOX suspension, off-roading tires and attractive body accents in two tone paint. Having driven three of the leading mid-size pickup truck in the USA, we are convinced that no matter who grade you chose, you are driving a winner indeed.
VOLKSWAGEN JETTA GLI: What do you consider fun? A juiced up four-door sedan that has always been a part of the “three-box” Golf’s legacy. I know it’s wrong to call it a “Golf," but it was derived from that seminal car. Still, the heart of the GLI is the turbocharged four-cylinder engine. That heart still stirs this soul. It has a different driving signature as the Golf, which makes the Jetta equally fun to shag around the block. That’s all we enthusiasts want.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: This list is not as long as you think, but these vehicles are worth mentioning. They serve as further context to the work we’ve done this year. Vehicles, such as the Dodge Durango, Lexus GX, Lexus LC 500 Convertible, Nissan Ariya, Nissan Kicks, and Volkswagen ID. Buzz yielded their own stories that were worth telling on here. All of which reflected the year thar yielded so much for us and for you.
Thank you for reading along – and viewing our videos – this year. Let’s see what 2025 has in store of us…
Photos by Randy Stern and George Torline