The year 2017 has been quite a pivotal year in the motoring industry as Europe's making headlines over the topic of outlawing the sale of petrol and diesel due to their commitment to the Paris Accords. It's also a year when some of the most noteworthy racers in history are retiring from their posts, a winning manufacturer announces their departure from a popular endurance race in favor of an electric car race series, there's so much you can think about how the world of motoring change throughout the course of this year.
In this yearender, time for me to jot down the top ten bits that changed the way we think about cars in 2017.
1) Australia ended car manufacturing - Ford was the first to produce an Australian-made car but General Motors Holden became the last to produce an Australian-made car as the last Commodore rolled off the assembly line in Elizabeth, signalling the end of Holden's almost seven decades of local manufacturing and almost a century of Australian car manufacturing. Since the FX of 1948, about 7,687,675 Holdens were produced within the last 69 years, that's more than Ford's 5.9 million production figures and Toyota's 3.4 million, both of which closed their Australian factories within the past year.
2) The new king of the Nurburgring - The all new Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991.2) became the fastest production car to lap the dreaded Nurburgring Nordschleife in 6:47.25, faster than the Lamborghini Huracan Performante. For now, this is the fastest lap time to blitz the Ring. Let's see what happens next when Chevrolet tries to outdo it with their upcoming Corvette C7 ZR1 next year. All bets are off, ladies and gentlemen.
3) 70 years of Ferrari - 2017 marks the 70th anniversary of Ferrari and they've celebrated the occasion with the launch of their latest vehicles, the 812 Superfast and the Portofino.
4) Scandals plaguing Japanese car manufacturing - Japan is plagued with a tsunami of scandals surrounding the manufacturing sector. Since the Kobe Steel scandal, a handful of car manufacturers like Nissan and Subaru admitted themselves to the public due to manufacturing malpractices like for example, inspection purposes because there are some people doing inspection work slipped themselves by tampering the seals before rolling off the assembly line.
5) #Appreci88ion - The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR series is the last NASCAR season for veteran driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he announced to the public that he will retire from this sport for good. Following his announcement, most of his sponsors are paying tribute to the #88. Other than Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch is not signing up for next year's season while Matt Kenseth announces he will step away from this sport indefinitely. Danica Patrick, the only female driver in NASCAR, sadly announced her departure from being a full-time driver but she will drive for next year's Daytona 500.
6) Porsche leaves Le Mans - After their three-time victory at Le Mans, Porsche announced that they will step down from their LMP1 duties in the World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Heures du Mans endurance race, to pursue their entry in the FIA Formula E, leaving Toyota as the sole manufacturer competing in next year while dealing with privateers who are upped their ranks to compete the only ronin of the category.
7) Koenigsegg claims top speed record - Koenigsegg has smashed the top speed record for production cars when the Agera RS set a verified top speed of 277.9mph or 447kph, Faster than the Veyron Super Sport's 267.81mph and Hennessey Venom GT's 270.49mph record (although unverified). That was impressive for a small Swedish supercar maker but the battle rages on because Hennessey just unleashed the Venom F5 and its mission is to claim the Agera RS's top speed record soon.
8) Women now allowed the drive in Saudi - In a historic move, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia finally allowed women to drive on their roads, a move welcomed by feminist groups.
9) Trouble before GT - There has been some trouble happening before season two of Amazon's The Grand Tour is out. First, Richard Hammond was involved in set-related injuries such as the bike accident in the upcoming special and he was involved in a car accident in Switzerland while driving the Rimac electric supercar as seen in the first episode of this season. Then, following Hammond's accident, Jeremy Clarkson suffered pneumonia while on a holiday at Ibiza. Thankfully, both of the presenters are okay and the second series of Amazon's The Grand Tour goes on as planned.
10) Banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars - Because of some of the Europe's commitment to the Paris Accords, the one the United States has withdrawn from due to the Trump administration, a handful of European countries are banning the sale of petrol and diesel engines in favor of electrification. France, Britain, Norway, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, and Portugal are among the European countries banning the sale of petrol or diesel engines in the coming decades and it's not just Europe, some countries like South Korea, Japan, and India are among the countries proposing the ban on internal combustion.
That's it for the motoring bits, join me next time for more on this year in review.
2) The new king of the Nurburgring - The all new Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991.2) became the fastest production car to lap the dreaded Nurburgring Nordschleife in 6:47.25, faster than the Lamborghini Huracan Performante. For now, this is the fastest lap time to blitz the Ring. Let's see what happens next when Chevrolet tries to outdo it with their upcoming Corvette C7 ZR1 next year. All bets are off, ladies and gentlemen.
3) 70 years of Ferrari - 2017 marks the 70th anniversary of Ferrari and they've celebrated the occasion with the launch of their latest vehicles, the 812 Superfast and the Portofino.
4) Scandals plaguing Japanese car manufacturing - Japan is plagued with a tsunami of scandals surrounding the manufacturing sector. Since the Kobe Steel scandal, a handful of car manufacturers like Nissan and Subaru admitted themselves to the public due to manufacturing malpractices like for example, inspection purposes because there are some people doing inspection work slipped themselves by tampering the seals before rolling off the assembly line.
5) #Appreci88ion - The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR series is the last NASCAR season for veteran driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he announced to the public that he will retire from this sport for good. Following his announcement, most of his sponsors are paying tribute to the #88. Other than Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch is not signing up for next year's season while Matt Kenseth announces he will step away from this sport indefinitely. Danica Patrick, the only female driver in NASCAR, sadly announced her departure from being a full-time driver but she will drive for next year's Daytona 500.
6) Porsche leaves Le Mans - After their three-time victory at Le Mans, Porsche announced that they will step down from their LMP1 duties in the World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Heures du Mans endurance race, to pursue their entry in the FIA Formula E, leaving Toyota as the sole manufacturer competing in next year while dealing with privateers who are upped their ranks to compete the only ronin of the category.
7) Koenigsegg claims top speed record - Koenigsegg has smashed the top speed record for production cars when the Agera RS set a verified top speed of 277.9mph or 447kph, Faster than the Veyron Super Sport's 267.81mph and Hennessey Venom GT's 270.49mph record (although unverified). That was impressive for a small Swedish supercar maker but the battle rages on because Hennessey just unleashed the Venom F5 and its mission is to claim the Agera RS's top speed record soon.
8) Women now allowed the drive in Saudi - In a historic move, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia finally allowed women to drive on their roads, a move welcomed by feminist groups.
9) Trouble before GT - There has been some trouble happening before season two of Amazon's The Grand Tour is out. First, Richard Hammond was involved in set-related injuries such as the bike accident in the upcoming special and he was involved in a car accident in Switzerland while driving the Rimac electric supercar as seen in the first episode of this season. Then, following Hammond's accident, Jeremy Clarkson suffered pneumonia while on a holiday at Ibiza. Thankfully, both of the presenters are okay and the second series of Amazon's The Grand Tour goes on as planned.
10) Banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars - Because of some of the Europe's commitment to the Paris Accords, the one the United States has withdrawn from due to the Trump administration, a handful of European countries are banning the sale of petrol and diesel engines in favor of electrification. France, Britain, Norway, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, and Portugal are among the European countries banning the sale of petrol or diesel engines in the coming decades and it's not just Europe, some countries like South Korea, Japan, and India are among the countries proposing the ban on internal combustion.
That's it for the motoring bits, join me next time for more on this year in review.
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