Watch Out For These Top Car Trends
There are many trends to watch in the motor industry every year, but there are several intriguing ones to look out for in 2020. For most of us it’s like playing craps in an online casino, watching where the dice fall.
I mean, who can afford a car anymore? Maybe it’s just a pet peeve as someone who only buys used cars these days, as vehicles are now very expensive. The growth of leasing and lengthy car loans have masked that expense, but at some point buyers will hit a brick wall, although delinquent loans are far healthy than the number of car loans in circulation. I don't know what the answer is, but I hope it's not staying in more debt for longer. Let’s take a closer look at the trends.
Electric Vehicles
I do have to agree with Digital Trends’ Adam Kaslikowski’s choice of best vehicle of 2020: Jaguar I-Pace simply because it’s simply the best modern vehicle on sale. I’d be willing to spend my last dollar on this $69,500 vehicle. It may not be a million-dollar supercar, but the world can’t wait to drive an all-electric crossover from British automaker Jaguar.
Contemporary EVs have several performance advantages over their gas-fuelled brothers and Jaguar turns each of these into weapons. It starts with the platform, which stretches the I-Pace’s 90 kWh battery pack across the floor. This gives the vehicle an ultra-low centre of gravity and diffuses weight evenly in front and rear. Jaguar was also able to push the wheels to the absolute ends of the body, improving cornering stability.
While it may not have a better range than a Tesla Model X, or the cargo capacity of the Mazda CX-5, the I-Pace stands out with overall dynamics, packaging, and driving experience. It may not hold your attention when you are commuting but it still takes centre stage when hustling through tight turns. But overall, what a beautiful car to be seen about town in or gliding the interstate. It’s sure to turn heads.
5G enabled
Tech is ramping up with 5G powers as it looks like the automotive, wireless and regulatory players have finally decided on 5G as the way cars will talk to each other and the world around them. What with driverless and steering-less vehicles, we will now have them talking to each other. In the States the US FCC commissioner wants to move ahead with 5G spectrum for cars, which should speed design and investment to finally get cars truly connected.
Everything Tesla has done up to now has been constrained because it hasn't had a compact crossover, the kind of car America loves most in its overall passion for utility vehicles. Tesla’s Model X SUV doesn't count for being too unloved, however, its Model Y is on track for arrival this year and will put it in the main arena of the auto industry for the first time.
Flooding the market
Tesla buyers no longer have IRS tax credits available, and GM is approaching that situation as well. 2020 will put car buyers in the difficult position of choose an electric car due to regulation timing rather than just the vehicles' features and MSRP.
We can expect a flood of new electric cars as over 100 new plug-in vehicles are in production over the next three years, and with a couple of established trailblazers, we're about to enter an era of vast voice in electrified cars.
Electrics still won't reach anything close to a tipping point in 2020, but for the first time we’ll see them populate almost all sectors of the new car market.
