Since the beginning of the 21st century, the automotive industry has undergone drastic changes. For a quarter of a century, hundreds of new cars have appeared, but not all innovations in the industry have been justified. Now we briefly present you a selection of the biggest disappointments for the period from 2000 to 2024.
American car manufacturers are not what they used to be
In the last century, the "big American three" - Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Chrysler Corporation - dominated both the domestic market and abroad, but suddenly everything changed and European brands, led by Volkswagen, came into fashion. Then preferences began to lean first towards Japanese, and later towards Korean subcompact cars, and now things are going entirely towards Chinese brands. There are still plenty of innovative and interesting vehicles in the US, but these days they are all electric - and badged after new companies like Tesla, Rivian or Lucid. Instead, Ford's best cars are developed in Europe (Fiesta, Focus, Puma) or Australia (Ranger, Everest), Chrysler/Dodge is now owned by Stellantis and is not in the best shape, while General Motors is also losing ground in many key markets.
Cars have become similar
It seems like most cars made today are sold in some shade of white, silver, grey or black, with drab interiors and no option for unique equipment. All because that's what buyers want. It clearly doesn't make sense for automakers to spend millions developing and marketing unique models while their competitors make a standard popular SUV. Currently, most of the optional extras that would make a car even a little more unique are available for a high additional fee, while the simplification and standardization of all models continues in full force, because that increases profitability.
Where have all the cheap fun cars gone?
This point is directly related to the previous one: unique sports coupes or hot hatches are becoming more expensive. At the beginning of this century or in the 2010s, models like the Nissan 350/370Z, Toyota GT86 or high-performance versions of the Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf could be purchased for relatively little money, but now their successors cost almost twice as much. Of course, inflation plays a role, leaving the young car enthusiast with far fewer options for fun.
A model that didn't live up to expectations
The automotive industry is full of stories about models that never lived up to expectations, but since the beginning of this century there has been one model that completely failed to live up to the expectations set for it. It was Alfa Romeo with a coupe called the 4C. The model was supposed to be the Italian answer to the Lotus Elise. However, the driving dynamics never lived up to the supercar's impressive looks, the two-spoke steering wheel was a terrible design, and the lack of a manual transmission was a good reason for potential buyers to give up on the 4C. A few years later, the French Alpine A110 managed to do everything the Italians could not, although its design was not as impressive.