2022 has been an eventful year for the motoring industry. We've had new supercars and hypercars raise our pulses, been disgusted at extortionate markups, and been disappointed by supply chain challenges. New incentives designed to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles have been signed into law, as have numerous anti-emission legislative bills. Some automakers have fully embraced electrification, while others continue to explore alternative fuel sources. The likes of BMW M celebrated milestone anniversaries, while some fledgling automakers have just entered production.
Basically, 2022 has been a rollercoaster of emotions. The following are the reports that you, our valued readers, have viewed the most. We'll start at number 10 and work our way up; can you guess which manufacturer generated the biggest CarBuzz news story of the year?
10. Honda Unexpectedly Announces Three New Cars
The first entry to our list was published in March. Honda revealed plans to introduce three new electric vehicles, including an SUV based on the e:Ny1 prototype, a new hybrid SUV, and a new CR-V. Honda is one of the automakers many would consider to be lagging in the EV race, but these new arrivals could help fix that.
9. Tesla Is Finally Giving Buyers What They've Wanted All Along
Our ninth most-viewed article this year concerned Tesla and the news that it is finally adding some new colors to its palette. In March, we learned that a new shade of red was coming to the lineup called Midnight Cherry, and this was joined by Quicksilver, a stunning multi-layer finish that changes depending on the light.
8. Ram Rampage Midsize Truck Targets Ford Maverick
In July, new patent filings revealed that Ram wanted to protect the name "Rampage," a name that has been in the news since 2017. More recently, in 2020, Stellantis design boss Ralph Gilles and Mopar's head of exterior design, Mark Trostle, ran a contest to see who could come up with the best Ram and Dodge sketches. It looks like Stellantis wants a piece of the Ford Maverick pie...
7. Formula 1 Set To Lose Its Most Iconic Circuit
In seventh place on our list of the most-viewed CarBuzz articles for 2022 is a report that suggested the imminent departure of the Monaco Grand Prix from the 2023 Formula 1 calendar. With increasing lockdowns in China and much red tape to cut through in South Africa, it seems unlikely that the Monte Carlo GP will leave us any time soon, but the argument about Monaco's value to the F1 circuit continues to rage on.
6. The Feds Are Not Happy With Honda
Next up is a story that broke in the middle of the year. The 2018-2019 Honda Accord and the 2017-2019 CR-V had issues with the automatic braking system activating for no reason. With no active recall at the time, the NHTSA was dealing with numerous complaints. It set a deadline by which Honda was to address the issues, and the Japanese automaker complied.
5. Tesla Will Start Refunding Cybertruck Reservations
The long-awaited Tesla Cybertruck has still not hit the market, and in the middle of the year, Tesla realized that it was incapable of meeting demand for the 1.2 million confirmed pre-orders it had for the electric pickup. Thus, it had no choice but to refund interested parties, although it made these individuals apply for their refunds rather than facilitating them automatically.
4. Ram 1500 Getting A Baby Brother
CarBuzz readers seem to love the idea of a smaller version of the Ram 1500, and one of our biggest stories of the year covered a report about a new Ram 1200 pickup to be produced at a Jeep factory. Interestingly, a smaller Ram pickup based on the Fiat Strada is already offered in some markets as the Ram 700.
3. Watch This 9.8-Liter V8 Ford Mustang Blow Up At The Track
YouTuber Emelia Hartford is best known for her antics behind the wheel of the C8 Corvette, but she also owns muscle from other brands. One of her biggest showstoppers is a Ford Mustang with a massive 9.8-liter V8 shoved up front, and as you can imagine, complex cars like these are rarely reliable.
2. Toyota's New Portable Invention Could Change The World
Our second most popular story of the year is about a new development from Toyota. One of the automaker's subsidiaries has developed a working prototype of a portable hydrogen cartridge. If this novel idea catches on, hydrogen power could become a viable power source for homes, vehicles, and more. A carbon-neutral society requires more than just clean cars, and clean energy for the masses is certainly worth getting excited about.
1. Every Single Tesla On The Road Has Been Recalled
Is anybody surprised that an article about Tesla took our top spot? In April, a huge recall affected thousands of Tesla Model X EVs, while another affected hundreds of thousands of examples of all Tesla's products. The latter was remedied by a software update, while the former required physical inspection at a service center.
As we look ahead to 2023 and say goodbye to a year in which Tesla's mercurial CEO Elon Musk has dominated media broadcasts, we wouldn't be surprised if Tesla is our most talked-about automaker come the eve of 2024.
