These Were The Best Autopian Stories Of 2023

Best Of 2023
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Believe it or not, but The Autopian just finished its second year, and first full calendar year of existence. That’s right, we’re a full 21 months into this grand journey of automotive tomfoolery, err, expertise, and though we’ve run into a few snags (like Jason nearly dying), we have also had our share of triumphs. So let’s take a look at the best stories we wrote in 2023.

Let’s get into it (click the headlines to read each article):

What It Feels Like To Have Your Aorta Explode And Almost Die

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Speaking of Jason nearly dying, his recent article on that whole ordeal has been hailed by many readers has his best work, and that’s a huge deal given that he’s been at this for over a decade. Click the link above the picture above to read the harrowing but somehow absolutely hilarious tale.

They Brought A Crappy Tesla Cybertuck ‘Clone’ To A Major Car Show. We Interviewed Them And It Got Insanely Awkward

Jason’s aortic dissection happened not long after publication of a bit of an Exposé on a supposedly legitimate American startup that brought a hideously-built Tesla Cybertruck lookalike to the LA Auto Show. The thing appeared to be made of fiberglass panels attached to a Toyota Tacoma (or maybe a Tundra), with plenty of body-filler visible under the silver paint.

The video above may go down as the most awkward automotive clips of all time.

Vermont Will No Longer Register Cars In Any State Because People Couldn’t Stop Doing Crimes – The Autopian

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Vermont. It’s been the savior for many car enthusiasts for decades, with Mercedes Streeter brilliantly referring to it in the above article as “America’s DMV.” The state would allow folks from out-of-state to register their vehicles, sideskirting whatever emissions or safety or other restriction that would otherwise make owning a car impossible. From Mercedes:

Vermont was willing to register just about any vehicle to any person living anywhere in the United States so long as they could fulfill some very basic requirements. This has been a godsend to anyone rescuing a barn find motorcycle, saving a car from the crusher, or building a bus into a motorhome.

But alas, the glory days are over:

Unfortunately, not everyone had honest intentions and many people used Vermont to register stolen cars or to run a weird quasi DMV of their own. Now, because of these people, Vermont has closed up its DMV to outsiders.

Read the story for more; it’s an incredible deep-dive from someone who knows their stuff!

I Bought A High-Mileage Electric Car With A Bad Battery. Here’s Why That Was Actually A Stroke of Genius – The Autopian

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I wasn’t expecting the entire internet to read this story, or else I might have made a better topshot than the one I clearly cranked out on Paint. But it got the job done, because the story is what won folks over, not the image — specifically, I suspect it was the part about the “loophole.”

I bought an electric car with a bad battery, which I think is a lot of folks’ fear when it comes to EVs. As a result of the vehicle’s high mileage, I got it for cheap, but given how pricy a new high voltage battery is, not cheap enough — or so you might have thought. You see, I did some digging, and despite the BMW dealer claiming that my vehicle no longer had a battery warranty, the truth is that the state of California (and other states that follow California’s lead) requires automakers to offer a 10 year, 150,000 mile warranty on Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles. Because my i3 has a range extender (a little gas engine that acts as a generator when the battery runs out), it qualifies as a PZEV, and thus I’m covered by the warranty.

Result: I got a free battery, and thus, the deal of the century!

The Dodge Hornet Owners Forum Is Full Of People Who Regret Buying Hornets – The Autopian

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I love an exclusive story, and this one from Thomas about how buyers of Dodge Hornets are unhappy with their vehicles’ lack of reliability is absolute gold — gold I tell you! You can take the Alfa Romeo badge off the car, but it’s still an Alfa Romeo underneath. The jokes write themselves!

Two Decades Ago, You Could Buy A Dodge Ram With A Manual Transmission And One Of The Greatest Truck Engines Of All Time: Holy Grails – The Autopian

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Mercedes’ “Holy Grail” series is one of my favorites on our site because I learn about a bunch of new cars that I never knew existed. Sometimes, though, I learn a lot more about a truck I did know existed, and that’s just as fun. This deep-dive into the beloved second-gen Ram 12-valve Cummins is a great read!

Why Did The Wheel Come Off That Chevy Pickup That Launched A Kia Into The Air? Let’s Look At The Tech – The Autopian

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Early last year, a viral video hit the web of a Kia Soul driving over a wheel that had fallen off a pickup, and being absolutely launched sky-high into the air. Here’s the clip:

How exactly did this happen? Specifically, how did that wheel fall off that Chevy Silverado? In this article dive deep into the truck’s front suspension/wheel bearing setup to get answers, because it doesn’t appear that this was just a simple matter of lug nuts not being tight enough.

Toyota Prius Owners Are Swapping Tired Old Batteries For Lithium-Ion Ones And Seeing Big Gains – The Autopian

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What I love about this article is that it’s a look at some grassroots wrenching, which is something we champion around here. Owners took it into their own hands to upgrade their old Toyota Prius batteries to lithium-ion ones, and to see the performance gain is just cool.

Honda Allegedly Spent $225 Million Building An Irrelevant, Completely Ridiculous Piece Of Motorcycle Art: Holy Grails – The Autopian

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Yet another Holy Grail, only this time it’s about a bike I didn’t know existed: the Honda Valkyrie Rune.

The story of this bike is absolute madness, and the fact that the bike — essentially an art project turned to life, with a 1.8-liter flat-six engine making an absurd 118 horsepower — made it into production is just a miracle, and even more of a miracle is that they can still be purchased used for around $20 large.

There Was Once A Company That Literally Dragged Cars From The Junkyard And Turned Them Into New Trucks – The Autopian

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Jason Torchinsky’s story on how now-defunct American automaker Powell built its vehicles out of junkyard-sourced cars is something I had never heard!

Tesla Driver Skips Wide-Open Superchargers To Take Ford F-150 Lightning Owner’s Only Charging Spot Because It’s Cheaper (UPDATED) – The Autopian

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Here’s the story of an EV charging-station quarrel that I saw in person. A Ford F-150 Lightning driver gets ready to back up from his broken charging station spot into the only working charging spot for non-Teslas. That’s when a Tesla driver decides to forego the dozen or so Tesla charging stations and pull right into that last remaining non-Tesla charging spot. Why? The non-Tesla charging stations are subsidized by the government, while the Tesla charging stations are Tesla owned, so this guy can save money by not using the Tesla spots. The Ford F-150 Lighting owner, though? He was screwed, and had to wait a while before he could charge his truck. Read all about the experience by clicking the headline above.

The U.S. Military Once Rode 100 MPG Jet Fuel-Powered ‘Combat Motorcycles’ And You Can Buy One Today – The Autopian

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How is it that Mercedes finds the coolest bikes that I’ve never heard of? I mean, really — a diesel or jet-fuel powered motorcycle that gets 100 MPG? That’s absolutely bonkers!

Cummins Has A Super Fancy Oil Meant To Kick Engine Rebuilds Down The Road. Here’s How It Works – The Autopian

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I love learning knew things, so it’s lucky that Thomas’ head is a fountain of random car knowledge. Cummins has its own special oil formulation? Why? Thomas answers that in the post above.

I Talked With UAW Workers On The Picket Line In Front Of The Ford Bronco Plant. Here’s What They Had To Say – The Autopian

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The UAW’s strike with Ford, GM, and Stellantis was historic, lasting six weeks, and closing numerous highly profitable truck plants. I traveled to Detroit and spoke with a number of striking UAW workers; you can see what I learned in the article above.

Here’s Why That Rivian R1T Repair Cost $42,000 After Just A Minor Fender-Bender – The Autopian

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When a Rivian R1T electric truck got rear-ended, its owner got slapped with an enormous bill for the repair. Many news outlets reported this, but Jason was the first to reach out to various parties and dig into why the damage cost so much to fix. Good stuff, JT!

Bring A Trailer Has Lost Its Damn Mind – The Autopian

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The Dodge Avenger was a largely-panned car when it hit press fleets about 15 years ago. It was a Daimler-Chrysler, hard interior-plastic special, and is in no way the type of vehicle you’d expect to see on a premium car auction site like Bring a Trailer, and yet: There it is. Read on as Thomas pokes fun at this odd moment in Bring a Trailer history.

I Found A $1 Million RV Abandoned Off-Road. Here’s How It Failed (UPDATED) – The Autopian

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Earlier this year, things got really testy between me and the CEO of 27North after I wrote about how one of his trucks had failed on the off-road course I had just come back from. He tried to tell me the failure was the fault of Ford’s bad wheel bearing, but I’m no dumbass, and know how unlikely it is for a wheel bearing to suddenly fail in a way that twists a driveshaft into a Twizzler, so I hedged a bit. The CEO wasn’t thrilled, but you can read the rest by clicking the headline above.

How A Tennessee Man Amassed The World’s Largest Junkyard Of Jeep Cherokee XJs – The Autopian

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Here’s a story I assigned our newest writer, Australia-based Lewin. I’d known about Dex from Facebook — he’s a prolific Jeep Cherokee hoar, err, collector. Actually, in truth, he managed to turn his passion into a business, and that’s just badass. Here’s the story of the biggest Jeep XJ collection on earth.

Why Driving Short Distances Can Kill A Newer Honda CR-V – The Autopian

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Thomas has started his “Achilles Heels” series that talks about ways in which various cars fail, and this one about Honda CR-V oil dilution is a doozie!

These Are The Rules Of Electric Car Charging Etiquette

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There are no unified rules on electric vehicle charging, so Jason made them himself. Can you unplug a car that’s done charging? The answer: Yes. This and more after the jump.

This Is The Car Part That Looks Most Like A Little Version Of A Whole Car – The Autopian

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Jason may either be a genius or deranged, and frankly, I’m usually unsure which. He wrote an entire article about turning a common dome lamp found on 1970s-era GMs into the front end of a car. Is this genius? I lean towards “no,” but again, I’m unsure.

How I Used A Chainsaw To Remove Batteries From The Cheapest EV In The World – The Autopian

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This article answers my above question.

Trimflation: Explaining Why Automakers Raised Prices So Much In The Pandemic

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Matt Hardigree coined a term that I hope someday makes its way to the fabled servers of Wikipedia: Trimflation. It’s about how, in the throes of the pandemic, when people had lots of cash sitting around and automakers were limited due to supply chain shortages, cars became more expensive. Much more expensive. This didn’t necessarily happen by changing cars’ base prices, but by making the mix of vehicles available to buyers flush with expensive, high-trim offerings. Now that interest rates are up and folks aren’t spending as much, automakers are in a bind. Matt explores that in his excellent piece above.

I Bought A 20-Year Old BMW With 234,000 Miles On It To Prove The Haters Wrong

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As a seasoned writer and editor, Matt is multitalented, and is not only coining his own economics terms, he’s also telling you about the 234,000 mile BMW that he bought for a steal. Was it a triumph in car purchasing or just another waste of money on a shitbox? Matt lays it all out.

The Morning Dump

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Every morning, we are graced by a Morning Dump in which Matt not just reports the news, but lays it all out in context. This requires a deep knowledge of the auto industry and its history, and it is a true boon to our site at large.

The Pontiac Aztek Was Not A Design Tragedy, It Was A Corporate Tragedy.

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Speaking of people who can put things into context, Adrian Clarke is a seasoned automobile designer who understands how cars end up the way they do. So when people question “How could GM have designed a car as ugly as the Aztek,” Adrian can answer that beautifully. And I do mean beautifully, as his writing is itself a work of art.

A Car Magazine Convinced Me The 1990 Ford Escort Was Trash. Now That I’ve Driven One I’m Here To Defend It From The Classist And Wrongheaded Editors Of The October 1990 Issue Of Autocar

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The only reason why I don’t necessarily owe Adrian an apology for initially declining his pitch for this story is that, in my defense “Can I review a Ford Escort” is hardly that appealing. I mean, the thing is 34 years old, and has been reviewed to death. Why would anyone read it?

Because it’s Adrian at the helm, and the man is a comedic genius. And the angle of this story is gold.

I could go on and on, bragging about Adrian’s great writing and his design breakdowns. Instead I’ll implore you to read his work here on his author page. Here are some links to some of my faves:

https://www.theautopian.com/our-british-car-designer-digs-deep-into-mini-design-and-things-get-complicated/

https://www.theautopian.com/why-the-new-mg-cyberster-is-a-great-metaphor-for-the-collapse-of-the-british-car-industry/

https://www.theautopian.com/our-pro-car-designer-fixes-the-jeep-grand-wagoneer/

I’m An Ex-Tesla Suspension Engineer Here To Tell You: The Cybertruck’s Front Suspension Is Not ‘Terrible Engineering’

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As an engineer, I’m a huge fan of Huibert Mees. The way Huibert can bring context to discussions about engineering — especially suspension design — is unparalleled in the world of automotive journalism. He is singularly the best, and truly a gem to work with.

The above story basically tells all the folks freaking out about that ball stud poking down from the Tesla Cybertruck’s steering knuckle: relax, it’s fine.

Why Automakers Still Worship This 30-Year-Old BMW’s Suspension

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The article above may seem like it’s just about suspension engineering and the E39 BMW 5 Series, but it’s about so much more. Huibert gives loads of context into what goes into developing a vehicle — who sets the vehicle level functional objectives and how? How do you determine your competitive set?

It’s a fantastic piece that could only have been penned by Huibert.

I’ll paste a few more excellent pieces by Huibert below, but I recommend you check out his author page and read everything there.

https://www.theautopian.com/why-pickup-truck-shocks-are-mounted-weird/

https://www.theautopian.com/why-you-wont-find-carbon-fiber-in-most-land-speed-record-cars/

https://www.theautopian.com/why-the-new-ford-ranger-and-toyota-tacoma-are-finally-offering-coil-springs-and-why-you-should-care/

Why People Cut Holes Into Their Cars’ Trunk Floors Even Though It Could Kill Them

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Since I’ve moved to LA and become soft, I’ve been lucky enough to have Stephen Walter Gossin take over as Oil-Covered Chief Wrenching Machine. He provides us with joys like this piece about why folks put their lives at risk grinding holes into their trunks, just above their fuel tanks.

Proof That A $700 Car Saved From The Junkyard Can Make Someone As Happy As A New Lambo Can

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This is a heartwarming one about how beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. The young man who ended up with SWG’s Envoy was more thrilled than anyone could have imaged.

How I Bought A Broken Version Of My Dream Car For $300, Then Nursed It Back To Glory And Let It Free

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My favorite SWG stories are the long, detailed ones that tell a full tale about a car that required some seriously heavy wrenching. They’re hilarious, and they’re always full of great little tidbits that one can learn about how to fix old crap-cans.

Read everything SWG writes by following his author page!

We’d Love Your Feedback

How can The Autopian improve to make your experience as a car-nut/reader more fun? We’re always listening to our readers, so hit us in the comments. Above all: Thank you!

2024 will be better than ever. We have big plans that we’ll announce soon!

 

42 thoughts on “These Were The Best Autopian Stories Of 2023

  1. Not much room for improvement y’all are doing a great job only 2 suggestions:
    1) no autoplay videos, I’ve got 4gigs of data a month any little extra use hurts.
    2) get some extra/new writers for the morning dump, variety is nice.

    1. Cheers, SWG!

      Writing for The Autopian has me looking at every opportunity to do more than just merely travel to a place and make an adventure out of it instead, the fact that people like my recounting of the trip is a great feeling!

      Everyone loved your Envoy piece, but I want to nominate your writing on your Dodge Stealth: https://www.theautopian.com/how-i-bought-a-broken-version-of-my-dream-car-for-300-then-nursed-it-back-to-glory-and-let-it-free/

      Some true wisdom coming out of that one and a great read!

  2. I’m here for all the weird stuff I’d never before considered and that you make absolutely fascinating. Please don’t change!

    Oh, but, do – please?! – add the ability to view full- (or fuller-) size/resolution images.
    It’s so disappointing to read an article about some wonderous minute detail that we can’t appreciate for ourselves because <ctrl>-+ zooming in on the whole page only makes for larger but blurry images.
    Pretty please?

  3. The Escort one brought back memories of American reviewers’ astonishment that the new-for-1990 US-spec Escort with its’ 1.9L single-point injected CVH and 5-speed standard, and Mazda 323 bones, was better than the Euro version. Had the same dinky little hubcaps in base (“Pony”, a holdover from the Pinto) trim though.

    1. I had this argument with my wife a couple days ago! I’m not sure I agree, but I agree. If I do it for one day, does that make me one? Cause, that was basically her argument. She graduated with a history degree, but has never been paid to do it. Does that NOT make her a historian? We both ended it upset and frustrated. I’m a dingus in the end. Now, twice.

    2. Oh god. My day job is working in a call center for a building products manufacturer. Any time a call starts with “I’m a retired engineer…” I reflexively grit my teeth because I’m about to be told about how our century old, industry proven, time tested installation systems are dumb and we need to adopt the entirely new installation method the dude just invented. The only thing that tops that is the very rare and feared “I’m a retired NASA engineer…”

      1. I was fighting a ticket in court once and started laying out photos and paperwork and the judge, without having talked to me yet, said, “you’re an engineer, aren’t you?”

  4. My personal favorite was the Leaf range test love blog, but in reality there were so many great stories, it’s hard to narrow down more.

    Also Hubert’s break downs on suspensions have been really informative and eye opening.

        1. Poorly, as expected. I’m going to have to either make some progress on getting it running or let it go this year.

          Looking forward to more of your excellent work, my man!

  5. Keep. It. Up.
    David – meeting you was still the highlight of my LA trip! And having you and Jason on Reels & Wheels was super fun. And I meant everything I said – I’m rooting for you guys forever. It’s not just the content that makes this site great – it’s the genuine interaction with your readership. You could have put darn near any article on this list and I would have nodded, “yeah… that one was great.”

  6. You all have great content and writers. I just hope you’re making enough money to stay afloat, it’d be very sad to see disappear.

  7. Just keep doing what you’re doing (and whatever you have planned). It’s so obvious to everyone on this site that every single author, whether it be staff or freelance contributor, are amongst the best around, the community is excellent, and the content cannot be beaten. Keep up the great work, and most importantly, keep being yourselves Autopians (readers and staff!), this place wouldn’t be the same without your personality and passion.

  8. There’s lots of excellent content on this site, so I’ll limit myself to listing 10 of my favorites.

    My favorite article of the entire year was Adrian Clarke’s “Why The New Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale Can’t Measure Up To The Gorgeous Original”.

    Second favorite: “The Unsung Hero Of The Autopian Booth At The Auto Show: Cold Start” by Jason Torchinsky

    Third favorite: “Watch Me Drive My High-Mileage BMW i3 For The First Time To See If The Dealer Actually Replaced Its Dead Battery” by David Tracy

    Honorable mentions:

    “I’m A French Aerospace Engineer And I’m Going To Teach You About Car Aerodynamics: Drag Coefficients” by Manuel Verissimo
    “This Cheap 1974 TriVette Is An Ultra-Rare Three-Wheeler Built To Conquer The Oil Crisis” by Lewin Day
    “A Man Thought Motorcycles Were Too Thirsty, So He Built A Diesel Motorcycle For People Not Looking For Fun” by Mercedes Streeter
    “This Rotary-Powered Domino’s Test-Trike Almost Became The Future Of Pizza Delivery” by Mercedes Streeter
    “What It Was Like Road-Tripping David Tracy’s ‘Project Cactus’ Ute To Australia’s Premier Chrysler Show” by Laurence Rogers
    “Our Daydreaming Designer Imagines A Chevy Corvair As America’s First Hybrid, Even Before The Honda Insight And Toyota Prius” by The Bishop
    “The Delightfully Charming Morgan Super 3 Three-Wheeler Is Now On Sale In America” by Thomas Hundal

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