As 2023 comes to a close, we take a look back at the MotorTrend stories that got the most views. Which theme runs through them all? The most anticipated new cars for the 2024 and 2025 model years will be going on sale in the next few months. These got a lot of attention, which is one of the things we look for in the most important news of the Year. But there were a few others that are very important to the car industry as a whole and should get your attention as well. If you want to read about news, new cars, and the business in 2023, here are some lists: The 2024 Toyota Tacoma The launch of the new Tacoma truck had the most excited fans, and Toyota needed to do it right because it is one of three stories about Toyota that get the most traffic. The updated 2024 Toyota Tacoma has become a legend in the off-roading and overlanding groups. It has also surpassed its predecessor as the best-selling midsize Truck. Many people have been dreading the arrival of this Truck. When it finally came out, our fans told us how excited they were. After finally getting to drive the bigger Tundra, we can say that Toyota did not make the same mistakes. While the Chevrolet Colorado, which won Truck of the Year, and the new Ford Ranger will be strong rivals, the Tacoma will still be able to hold its own in its class. Tokyo 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser Most of Toyota’s customers and fans seem to like the new Land Cruiser. This is another famous car that Toyota tried to get right and has done so far. For the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser, the FJ40 was completely redesigned to really live up to its history. Also, it’s the first Land Cruiser to actually set foot in the United States since the bigger 200 series left our market three years ago, supposedly taking the Land Cruiser name with it. The new Cruiser is very bold. It comes in three trim levels and two different front ends. The regular Land Cruiser has horizontal headlights, while the 1958 and First Edition trims have circle ones. Will people who were upset when Toyota briefly pulled the Land Cruiser from this market be happy with all these tributes to the famous vehicle, or will the smaller size and lower price bring in new customers? Let us see what takes place. Battery technology: “The Kiss of Death” Every story about an electric vehicle (EV) or a technology linked to EVs has the potential to divide people. We tell you that people love their gas and diesel cars and trucks. You can be sure that the story will be interesting if Tesla and EV expert Sandy Munro are involved. He’s not afraid to say what he thinks, especially about the EV business. But an article we worked on together about solid-state batteries really sparked the camp of people who love internal combustion engines. Munro said that solid-state batteries would be “the kiss of death for gasoline and diesel” if they could be made good enough to sell. The reason for this is that these batteries not only charge faster, but they also have up to eight times the energy density, which means they have more energy in a given number of batteries, which makes them smaller, without the problems of being flammable or having dangerous ingredients. The 2024 Jeep Wrangler People talk a lot about the Jeep Wrangler. The current JL generation is about to start its seventh Year of production, coming right after its sixth Year. This is happening at the same time that Ford’s new Bronco is still competing with them. Even though most of the Wrangler’s sheet metal stays the same, our audience was captivated when the 2024 Wrangler was unveiled, even though it had some small cosmetic changes. This Year, the Jeep gets a new full-float Dana 44 rear axle and a new head, and Rugged models get an 8,000-pound Warn winch added at the factory. A bigger 12.3-inch touchscreen screen, new center vents, a bigger 7.0-inch digital gauge cluster screen, and better materials are some of the things that the 2024 Wrangler has to offer. The 2025 Toyota Corolla Another story about Toyota? When talking about the Camry’s sales numbers, we can sum up by saying that the name is well-known and that a large group of people are both current owners and people who want to buy a car. Of course, the release of a new Camry will be one of the most-anticipated stories of the Year. The 2025 Toyota Camry is the ninth generation of the popular midsize sedan. It is a highly modified version of the outgoing model, but it looks brand new because it has the new Prius’s striking front-end design. It is also put back together from scratch in the US, but this time it has a hybrid engine. For the first time, all trim levels will offer both hybrid and optional all-wheel drive (AWD). An electric motor will power the back wheels through an automatic on-demand system. The Rev 2025 and the Ram 1500 Ramcharger The all-electric Ram 1500 Rev shows us what might have been and what we will get. Everyone was shocked when Ram showed off a crazy and beautiful electric car concept at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show. This book has both the story and the production models, even though the story was one of our biggest hits this Year. The idea truck looked and felt like a Ram, but it had futuristic features like a fold-down midgate, the famous “passhole” longitudinal storage tube, and a new third-row seat that would have been the first of its kind if it had been made. After a while, it clicked. The ideal 2025 Ram 1500 Rev has an all-electric frame with a regular Ram 1500 body. Even though the F-150 Lightning is similar, Ram’s approach to EVs isn’t terrible. But everyone was so excited about the idea of flying cars that this seemed like a huge failure. Would you like the 1500 Rev to be more of a show truck? Yes, but we’re also interested in the 1500 Ramcharger, a Rev that came out later this Year and has a smaller battery but a gas-powered range extension built right in. The Lexus GX 2024 Toyota brought back the Land Cruiser, and Lexus redesigned the GX, which is also a famous off-road car. We were shocked by how off-road and violent it looked the first time we saw it in June. Even though it was dressed up for the suburbs, the old GX was a good 4×4. Many modded cars skip mall-ready extras in favor of roof racks, wide tires, and lift kits. Lexus took most of the changes that GX owners made after they bought the car and put them into the 2017 GX right out of the box. The new GX is taller, wider, and longer than the old one. It shares the same GA-F frame with the Lexus LX and 300-series Land Cruisers sold in other countries. The new three-row TX will also be a mid-range car, putting it below the LX, which is Lexus’s top-of-the-line SUV. Is it certain that the next Dodge Charger won’t just be electric? Such was the case with the 1500 Rev; Ram may once again say one thing but do something else. When Dodge released the Charger and its replacement, the Charger Daytona SRT EV, in 2022, it showed that it was serious about making electric cars. “But” there were rumors that gas engines, maybe even V-8s, would not be taken out of Dodge cars for good. Stellantis will only sell electric cars, which seems like a crazy idea because Dodge buyers are used to buying reasonably priced gas-powered muscle cars. Also, the platform that will support the next generation of cars is flexible and can work with gas, hybrid, and all-electric powertrains. This was one of our most important stories of the Year because it caused such a heated discussion on social media. After that, a lot of stolen pictures of the 2025 Charger body-in-white were posted on social media. The clear transmission tube in the body, which has room for a gearbox bell housing, is more proof that the 2025 Dodge Charger will be sold as more than just an electric car. The Tesla Cybertruck will come out in 2024 A lot of people are excited about Tesla cars, and it was clear when the long-awaited 2024 Tesla Cybertruck started production. There are some clear changes, but overall, it looks a lot like the prototype we saw for the first time in 2019. But people are still looking forward to the Cybertruck, and even though it has a lot of controversial parts, it’s still likely to be a popular pickup truck for the American EV brand, even though Tesla hasn’t kept some of its most important early 2019 promises. When a Kia Soul hits a truck tire, it goes flying through the air Accidents involving cars are usually not funny, but this poor Kia Soul was in a very strange one. The strange event starts when the wheel of a raised pickup truck comes off and rolls straight into a nearby lane, right into the path of a Kia Soul. The Kia Soul doesn’t notice the flat tire in time. The tire slides under the Kia’s nose in an instant, sending the small hatchback flying through the air and landing on its wheels. The tire hits the Kia’s trunk, which is now stopped, making the damage worse. Good news: the Soul’s driver got away with only minor injuries. As the saying goes, you can’t turn your head away from a car crash.
