Six reasons why 2020 is going to be brilliant

[anonymous-user]

Sounds like a nice 2020 'perfect garage'...

BMW M3
Ford Focus RS
Land Rover Defender
Lotus Elijah (Wood)

[fatbutt]

Why is the prospect of Hamilton/ Mercedes dominating another season something to look forward to?

[bobo79]

outspan said:

That's in 2021 (the 2020-2021 season)

Which starts in Sept 2020...

[Itsallicanafford]

unsprung said:

And what about the new range of BEVs from Volkswagen?

Surely this can qualify as "brilliant" --- given that many of these vehicles will be people's first experience with a BEV. And VW has vowed to manufacture these things in the millions of units.

UK deliveries of the ID.3 hatchback are to begin this summer:
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/97043/new...

The US skips that vehicle and receives the ID.4 crossover instead:
https://electrek.co/2019/09/10/vw-id-4-electric-cr...

All happening as VW are in court being sued by thousands of uk owners of their products.

[unsprung]

Itsallicanafford said:

All happening as VW are in court being sued by thousands of uk owners of their products.

Are you referring to the defeat device that was part of the software for diesel-equipped VW / VAG cars?

The UK owner was not afforded the refunds / payments / make-goods of the US owner --- is that an accurate statement?

[oilit]

Baldchap said:

The new Defender will never be mistaken for an attractive car, will it?

Funny there was a mud splattered one parked in my village today in the cotswolds - from the rear quarter it is not going to win rear of the year.

[kambites]

fatbutt said:

Why is the prospect of Hamilton/ Mercedes dominating another season something to look forward to?

Because the level at which both Hamilton and Mercedes have been operating recently has been utterly awe-inspiring.

I'd love to see the rest of the field catch up in terms of their execution, but I wouldn't want to see Mercedes/Hamilton slip backwards.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 1st January 19:00

[BlackandWhite]

Ushering in robot overlords in order to provide a tiny handful of humans 2000hp and their own windmill to play with. There goes my hope for humanity, happy new year indeed.

[smilo996]

Just find cars with hair driers less appealing somehow, an exception being those with an RS6 badge.
The best drivers end up in the best cars and keep them being the best. Would love Hamilton to do that and then finish off at Ferrari.
More cars like the superb Alpine would be great.
If the Lotus delivers then it will have the looks to match. Very bold.

[CDP]

unsprung said:

In just a few months, Ford are to unveil the newly relaunched Bronco. Could this be another reason that 2020 will shine?

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/...

.
Below: A speculative rendering not published by Ford.

For me the Bronco will always be synonymous with O. J. Simpson.

I wonder if they will get him to help publicise it?

[fatbutt]

kambites said:

fatbutt said:

Why is the prospect of Hamilton/ Mercedes dominating another season something to look forward to?

Because the level at which both Hamilton and Mercedes have been operating recently has been utterly awe-inspiring.

I'd love to see the rest of the field catch up in terms of their execution, but I wouldn't want to see Mercedes/Hamilton slip backwards.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 1st January 19:00

What you may call 'awe inspiring' I'd call 'terminally dull'. Domination by any team in any sport is bad for the fans. Continual domination doubly so.

[unsprung]

CDP said:

For me the Bronco will always be synonymous with O. J. Simpson.

That's what happens when you look at life through a macaroni

[Ardennes92]

I must admit to looking forward to seeing how the wrc season pans out, as for the rest I reserve judgement as to a better prospect

[unsprung]

Another moment that may be brilliant...

The FCA merger with Groupe PSA is surely fraught with challenges that will be difficult to navigate. And 2020 will see only the beginning of that integration. So: early days.

Yet there might be some early outcomes that are favourable -- both for the motoring public at large and for the petrol head, in particular.

[outspan]

bobo79 said:

Which starts in Sept 2020...

True but we won't see them at Le Mans proper until June 2021. Which is really what we re excited about.

I guess the WEC series is a one-off case of a racing series where everyone would prefer to win one race (LM) as compared to the whole series.

[British Beef]

sidesauce said:

jason61c said:

Agree. 3 of his titles are from when only one car could win. Mercedes dominated, not LH.

Really? If it's all down to Mercedes and nothing to do with LH, who else would have won the 3 titles you claim only one car could win then?

Also, using your logic this argument could be made about a few of Schuey's titles too, no?

Exactly, Schumacher dominance in the Ferrari, was largely down to the car. 2002 & 2004 Ferrari recorded over double the contrucotr points of the next rival (mclaren) this is only possible with a far superior car and both drivers clocking up podiums.

As an all round F1 diver Hamilton is better than Schumacher, I think, however raw skills displayed in the wet the German in still the best.

[Jon_S_Rally]

Great to see the WRC make the list. I think this year's championship could be the most thrilling of the current era with so many driver moves. My money is on Ogier though. I think he will just make it work, much like he always does, but this year he is in a much better car.

unsprung said:

And what about the new range of BEVs from Volkswagen?

Surely this can qualify as "brilliant" --- given that many of these vehicles will be people's first experience with a BEV. And VW has vowed to manufacture these things in the millions of units.

UK deliveries of the ID.3 hatchback are to begin this summer:
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/97043/new...

The US skips that vehicle and receives the ID.4 crossover instead:
https://electrek.co/2019/09/10/vw-id-4-electric-cr...

I'm not sure how anyone could get excited about that. It's an appliance, but also defines one of the huge issues with EVs - VW are effectively making two cars to do the same job - the Golf and the ID.3. Two platforms, two production lines, two design teams, two engineering exercises during the development. I find it very odd how we are claiming to save the planet, but effectively using double the resources to produce two products that do the same thing.

fatbutt said:

Why is the prospect of Hamilton/ Mercedes dominating another season something to look forward to?

I suspect because people would like to see a Brit become the most successful F1 driver of all time.

unsprung said:

In just a few months, Ford are to unveil the newly relaunched Bronco. Could this be another reason that 2020 will shine?

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/...

.
Below: A speculative rendering not published by Ford.

I was driving near Dunton recently and saw what looked like a current Ranger, but the rear of the body was part of the cab, effectively making it an SUV. Do you think that could be what the Bronco ends up being?

British Beef said:

Exactly, Schumacher dominance in the Ferrari, was largely down to the car. 2002 & 2004 Ferrari recorded over double the contrucotr points of the next rival (mclaren) this is only possible with a far superior car and both drivers clocking up podiums.

As an all round F1 diver Hamilton is better than Schumacher, I think, however raw skills displayed in the wet the German in still the best.

I think people conveniently forget how much the car contributed to Schuey's success. A great talent without doubt, but the car is critical to anyone's success.

[velocemitch]

unsprung said:

Another moment that may be brilliant...

The FCA merger with Groupe PSA is surely fraught with challenges that will be difficult to navigate. And 2020 will see only the beginning of that integration. So: early days.

Yet there might be some early outcomes that are favourable -- both for the motoring public at large and for the petrol head, in particular.

What are you expecting?

[Syrils Neer]

outspan said:

That's in 2021 (the 2020-2021 season).

For 2020 : excited to see Safari rally returning to WRC calendar here !

Safari in name only; it's the usual WRC generic sprint event. The equivalent of making Le Mans a 6 Hour event like most of the other WEC rounds.

[spikyone]

Jon_S_Rally said:

I think people conveniently forget how much the car contributed to Schuey's success. A great talent without doubt, but the car is critical to anyone's success.

Absolutely. "Option 13" in '94, the ridiculously dominant cars in 2002 and 2004. If you want a real benchmark of how important the car is in F1, consider that Eddie Irvine almost won the 1999 world championship...

And that's sort of the point, isn't it? Reliability aside, F1 has almost always been won by the driver in the best car. The best teams can attract the best drivers - and the best drivers can pick and choose who they want to drive for. That's true of every single form of motorsport that allows technical freedom without performance balancing. If you want random results, there's BTCC, NASCAR, GTs, etc.