Just ahead of the end of the dirty-diaper dumpster fire that was 2020, we asked our Twitter friends: “If 2020 was a car, what would it be?” The responses ranged from blindingly obvious to the subtlest shade of, well, shade. Some of you kept it topical to current events in the automotive industry, while others dug deep into the smelly annals of automotive history. To those who mined Google image search, Giphy, or Photoshopped their own memes, we salute you. Everyone else, enjoy scrolling through these selections from the replies—which include a surprising number of three-wheelers…
From the “obvious yet 100 percent correct” department were suggestions of the Pontiac Aztek, the Ford Pinto, the AMC Gremlin, Ford’s Edsel, and the Yugo.
But if you use stock market performance as a measure of success, there’s no debating Tesla had an amazing 2020. Not so much for supposed competitor Nikola, whose wild rise, fall, and possible/probable demise we documented throughout the last few months. You guys were clearly paying attention.
Some of the eye-catching imagery scraped from the internet brought out a chuckle and nod, like this “Forester,” “Camry,” and “BMW,” plus a number of GIFs.
Detroit wasn’t spared either—with lots of shade thrown at sedans from ’90s and ’00s.
MotorTrend senior editor Christian Seabaugh even got in on the fun, and his selection wasn’t a car at all, but a new category of Amazonian vehicles you’ve probably become deeply familiar with. He elaborated: “Ford Transit/Mercedes Sprinter/Ram ProMaster: The only good thing about 2020 is that these things keep showing up at my house and dropping stuff off so I don’t have to go outside. Plus they’re usually working for someone who has gotten richer since the pandemic began.”
Some more out-of-the-box thinking:
The Dale even popped up—an infamous ’70s-era three-wheeler from the Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation.
…we do agree with the suggestion of the Reliant Robin, a vehicle famously maligned (and rolled) on the BBC’s Top Gear. (Shameless plug alert: If you’re a MotorTrend OnDemand subscriber, you can watch the episode right here.)
Of course, no such listing of disastrous cars would be complete without screen icons. The blood thirsty, unrelenting 1958 Plymouth Fury made famous in Stephen King’s Christine, is an apt comparison to this annus horribilis.
And for all the time spent at home, staying #SaferAtHome, why not drive The Homer?
But perhaps the best answer was not a car at all. After all, cars are great and even the worst ones beat walking.
So long, 2020. Welcome, 2021. And Happy New Year to you all.
