Discuss End of a decade: The Auto industry from 2010-2019

[M.N.D]

Hello, residents of GCF

So...

We all know that we're about less than a couple of weeks from the end of 2019, but also, we are about to see the end of the second decade of the third millennium...

With this cheesy dramatic entry, on to the topic of this thread...

We are all used to talk about cars from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, 2000's, and how each era can be defined by its own unique features...

Of course, we know that change came and comes gradually, but even though...

Many aspects of auto industry took place during this decade, starting from 2010 until this very moment, in various perspectives, such as:

Design
Technology
Safety
Significant models
Performance
Management
Motorsports
Important events
Related media
etc...

How do you view the industry of this decade, and how is it compared to the previous ones? What do you think about what went good and what ws it, or what do you think that went south, and what do you think about what lies on the road ahead?

If you're interested, share your thoughts and let's hear them.



P.S:

As always, keep it civil, and try not to engage in an aggressive VS fight that may not end up well

Also, a funny story:

I did the exact same idea 10 years ago on a forum that doesn't exist anymore, and the thread turned into a very odd VS, that to this day, I cannot comprehend. It was this:

vs this:

Go figure

 

[SCOTT27]

What would be your favourite cars of this decade?
Mines is the BMW i3 and the Tesla Model S.

 

[Rolf]

Probably hybrid and electric technology has been pushed forward more this decade than in previous times as well as autonomous driving safety systems. More cellular based in car infortainment systems with 360degree camera systems.

If we look at car makers, its been Tesla's decade for huge innovation in electric cars.

Downsizing and turbocharging has taken over internal combustion engines. Normally aspirated engines are becoming a dying breed as well as Diesel tech engines are becoming less promoted and losing favour with motorists compared to the decade before.

Car lighting has improved massively this decade with LED and Laser lights been available on more models than ever before.

SUVs are more popular now than ever before and I do think that smaller sports cars and roadsters are dying out which is a real shame.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Cool thread !

I'll give it a shot:

Design:
Audi eTron GT concept, BMW VFL concept, Aston Martin Vanquish, Pininfarina Battista
Technology:
Tesla, Rivian, Rimac and BEV technology in general (VAGs' remarkable MEB platform, i.e.).
Safety:
Various situation/hazard recognition technologies.
Significant models:
Tesla Model S/Model 3, Porsche Taycan,
Performance:
Rimac C 2
Management:
VAGs' post-"Dieselgate" commitment to electric mobility.
Motorsports:
Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastien Ogier, Marc Marquez
Important events:
Dieselgate.

 

[Matski]

Good topic @M.N.D

I suspect I'm going to be a bit cynical about this decade, I'm sure.

Focusing just on my brand of choice, BMW. The '10's have been mixed, but I'm tempted to say we finish them in a worse position than where we started, design wise. The 3, 5, 7, Z4 are all worse looking (IMHO), though the X1, X3 are greatly improved. Back in 2010, an M6 had a V10 engine, now the 6 is a somewhat uglier 5 door with no M-variant, and instead we get a reboot of the 8-er badge, which many consider to lack the spirit of the original - though at least this time we do get an M8. Hightlights design-wise, the i8, the pre-LCI M2, the M6GC and the LCI Alpina B7. We've now got FWD BMW's, mini-vans, Sub 3 series saloons, Gran Turismos, Gran Tourers, Gran Coupes, an X7, 3 cylinder engines, an EV, still no dedicated sports car, and a Supra. I welcome all new BMW models though, so for the most part, I'm still happy with the line-up.

In general, across the industry, there'll always be trends I like and don't like. I think Aston Martin have dramatically gone down hill, and there's not much from Japan I like the look of these days. The Ford GT for me is the standout super car of the decade from a looks point of view, though I am partial to the SCG003 also. As for other American cars, the C7 Corvette being one of the best looking 'vettes IMHO, has been replaced by the C8, which looks rubbish to me, so that's not great. I'm not going to lie, the design trend of EV's being shaped a bit like eggs (i.e. short, low noses) from the side is still a bit iffy for me, the Model III isn't too bad in this respect but cars like the i-Pace just look terrible IMHO.

As for Tech... m'eh. I'm sure it's great, and clearly EV's have made a leap forward over the last 10 years, but I think the next 10 years will likely make those achievements look humble. Clearly though, there's still a long way to go on the Autonomous side.

Management and other events.. gotta be dieselgate.... and probably Musk's twitter antics.

Motorsport. Hmmmm. The SRO's organisation of the Blancpain series has been fantastic. GT racing has come on leaps and bounds over the last 10 years, and it's been really great for the fans. The entry list at the N24 has gone from strength to strength with GT3 too. GT4 is developing nicely as a really good series, and GT2 should build on that. The various Creventic endurance series haven't fared so will in my opinion. It was a great idea initially, making endurance and sports car racing more accessible, but I don't think it's capitalised on that very effectively - seeing first hand the fall of the Silverstone 24 hour was a sad loss to motorsport in this country IMHO. The evolution of ALMS into IMSA has perhaps been weaker than the sum of it's parts would indicate, but has still been quite enjoyable.
TCR dominantly took over as the international standard for touring cars as Super2000 died off, BTCC has kept away from TCR, but the NGTC regs have taken the sport to its biggest and best successes since the Super Touring Era. BTCC has been awesome, and remains my favourite form of motorsport.
Formula E has defied many peoples expectations so far, the Gen 3 car will come next decade though, and I think that'll be the next big thing for the sport.
Top level Sports Cars have seen some highs and lows... the Hypercar era really needs to arrive ASAP as LMP1 has died a lingering death since 2015 - having said that, this decade saw Nissan enter the Deltawing, and a FWD/AWD LMP1 entry, which I think were great, though not successful entries that really embodied the spirit of prototype racing.
DTM saw an uptake in interest when BMW rejoined in 2012, which was I think was great for fans in general... Mercedes leaving was definitely a blow to the sport, though the Class One tie-up with SuperGT will hopefully yield a bright future.
Formula 1... m'eh. It's seen an impressive level of dominance from Mercedes, which while admittedly has been impressive, I also think it's been a turn off for lots of fans. The Liberty Media buy out was probably a good thing, but overall... yeah, I don't really care that much... there's too many contradictions in the sport these days, it lacks a direction and IMHO struggles to justify its own relevance, it also remains a poor ambassador for the entertainment value inherent in motorsport. The cars still remain at 2009 levels of ugliness, and the V6T sounds sh*t frankly.
I've followed NASCAR less this last decade, I hear it has problems... Jimmie's only won 3 titles this decade, and all the manufacturers seem to have had a champion, so I'm guessing it's been pretty close.
The Dakar has been fun, I got into it during MINI's run of success 2012-2015, but it remains a bucketlist thing for me. I love some of the photography that comes out of it.


On a personal motoring level. the '10's started with a 1983 E28 520i, and have finished with an '04 E87 120d. I wrote off my first, and hopefully last, car in 2015, but only accrued 3 penalty points on my drivers license, compared to the 18 or so in the previous decade!

 

[LaArtist]

Was a great decade.
Porsche went from hot to hotter.
Mercedes under dr Z has been on fire.
Bmw has come out worst than they started the decade which is always nice, let’s all join hands and pray for further downfall.
Tesla is the the thing of the past decade like it or not.
VW f#cked up , but they are so rich that they will bounce back stronger.

Oh and this decades S class was strong the w222.

so as the new s class will kick off the new decade, i hope it does it in a spectacular fashion.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

I appreciate @Matski's contribution "on a personal motoring level".

For me, it was undoubtedly parting company with my nearly 12 year old, nearly 200,000km on the odometer Audi TT roadster in early 2016. An inevitable decision due to life events that required, among other things, a far more practical and "a far less emotionally consuming" mode of transportation (a KIA Sportage). The TT was a very loyal companion-and I tend to get a bit sentimental when I reminisce.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Allow me to lavish my eyes (and perhaps those of others as well) on my personal "Best Exterior Designs Of The Past Ten Years":

I've excluded the 991 and 992 Porsche Carreras. I'm infatuated with them. However, they are quite evolutionary.

 

[Matski]

^Agreed on the Vanquish. Certainly one of the most well executed interpretations of the theme since the DB7. I find it a shame everything since has been miles off working as well.

Just remembered one of my favourites of the decade from Mercedes...

 

[Wolfgang]

The decade of the crossover?

Source: Consumer Reports / Wards Auto

 

[SCOTT27]

Th

Was a great decade.
Porsche went from hot to hotter.
Mercedes under dr Z has been on fire.
Bmw has come out worst than they started the decade which is always nice, let’s all join hands and pray for further downfall.
Tesla is the the thing of the past decade like it or not.
VW f$%ked up , but they are so rich that they will bounce back stronger.

Oh an...

That's all very well.
I had expected your hate for BMW even though they have achieved a lot this decade even over Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
But the S-Klasse is a generational luxury car. I tend to think that the EQS will be far more superior or influential than the actual new S-Klasse.
You can tell by how serious they are with EQS because it has the potential in this day and age to eclipse the S-Klasse.
And if it works? The EQS will be the future template for the S-Klasse in general.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Th

That's all very well.
I had expected your hate for BMW even though they have achieved a lot this decade even over Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
But the S-Klasse is a generational luxury car. I tend to think that the EQS will be far more superior or influential than the actual new S-Klasse.
You can tell by how serious they are with EQS because it has the p...

The F32/F82 4 series coupe/M4 coupe, the F87 M2 coupe, as well as the F12/F13/F06 M6 cars are the production model BMWs' that truly impressed me this soon-past decade.

 

[M.N.D]

Good comments and thoughts, everyone

I don't have access to my laptop now, so I'll try to chime in later on, as I need to sort my thoughts and opinions before sharing them.

 

[hovabongZA]

Thread needs me to be sober, but good read and very valid views.

 

[Matski]

Thread needs me to be sober

Spoiler: Me too..

 

[hovabongZA]

Spoiler: Me too..

Meme stolen thanks

 

[Levi68]

For me the decade kicked off very well with the best car ever built: Lexus LFA. But this car was not enough to compensate for how badly the decade ends, as one of the very worst. There has been simply no advancement in this decade, rather things got only worse.

As a BMW fanboy, BMW did the worst in every way, and with supercars gone wild, BMW still has none (not that it matter anymore). Worse, the only BMW I like has a Toyota badge.
I do not know how, but Porsche managed to make their cars uninteresting, a first, and somehow the Taycan managed to kill the 918 Spyder.
Audi same as always, nothing new. Mercedes sold its soul with the A Class, sorry @LaArtist, but now in my eyes the S Class will just be an expensive A Class.

Very sad for Infiniti that they gave up, especially with the FX, the father of performance CUVs. Lexus started off well with the LFA, but did not follow, they do too little too late, but at least the LC exists and is one of the two only worthy cars to buy. Yes, the other worthy car is the Alpine A110, unbelievable how it made Porsche irrelevant. Toyota, same as Lexus, with a good start with the GT86, but a compromized Supra, yet the best BMW. Subaru has the same problem, as Toyota: too little, too... never.

Great Alfa revival, but still not enough, same goes for Maserati, a real pity. Aston Martin sold its soul to an A Class, this is unforgivable. Nothing new at Lotus, as they started, so they finish.

Not my cup of tea, but spiritual successor of the NSX, the mid-engine Corvette is a big middle finger to all other sports/supercars, so huge respect. Talking of the Honda/Acura, a great NSX II, but as all Japanese, too long wait. A pity they did not come back with a new ZDX, that could put all other coupe CUVs to shame.

Supercars gone wild, they got so boring, that even youtubers and istaguys change them every week. By the way, McLaren built only 2 cars, the F1 and the MP4-12C right?

Electric cars, that will not happen as all imagine, so not point in discussing this.

Well, there still were quite some good things in this decade, but not enough not to be overshadowed by all the bad things. You know what it the worst thing by far? No, it is not BMW's new xxl kidney grill, it is cheap chinese tablets stuck on dashboards, cheap chinese TVs by way of instruments panel and buttons and US carspyware.

Is there a car today with good old 2DIN unit that is not an old Toyota?

 

[klier]

This was the decade that made legacy makers realise their trillion Dollar company can be wiped out in a couple of years if they don't start to play close attention. All the rest is completely meaningless.

Next decade we will see the entire industry change to something else. ICE will be history, and the car enthusiast market will get smaller and smaller.

The decade of the crossover?

Source: Consumer Reports / Wards Auto

This is the U.S only though I assume?
I also wonder what they see as the difference between an SUV and a Crossover, because the line is thin here....

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

I think that this was the decade of the Germans. Total domination. The next one will be IMHO the decade of the german downfall.

 

[Matski]

This was the decade that made legacy makers realise their trillion Dollar company can be wiped out in a couple of years if they don't start to play close attention.

I think the GFC should have given them a clue to that last decade!