Yahoo Autos Jalopnik's Favorite Stories From 2023
Here at Jalopnik we published more than 6,000 stories in 2023, including everything from new car reveals and tech deep dives to racing interviews and recaps, and governmental issues and police force fuckups to comedic crashes and plane incidents.
While we obviously put our hearts into everything we write, our talented staffers all have their own specific topics they’re passionate about covering. To wrap up the holidays, we tasked our staff with choosing their favorite stories they wrote in 2023. (We’ve also got a separate roundup of the best cars we drove in 2023.)
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Back in February I took a trip to Paris with nearly a dozen of my friends so we could attend the Rétromobile classic car show, which exceeded my already high expectations. It’s beyond anything else I’ve experienced, including Monterey Car Week, with an incredible variety of cars and an amazing selection of parts, books, memorabilia and other things for sale. I rounded up my favorite cars from Rétromobile, and also wrote about R-Fit Vintage, a company creating EV conversion kits for classic French cars like the Citroën 2CV and the Renault 5.
Daniel Golson – I Don’t Want To Drive Gas Cars Anymore
At the beginning of the year when I was just a contributing freelancer I wrote this story about why I don’t want to drive gas-powered cars anymore, and after another 12 months of driving new EVs and internal combustion cars, I stand by it even more firmly. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of fantastic ICE cars on sale, and new hybrids are getting even better — it’s not like I don’t want to drive the next Porsche 911 — but I’ve found myself so enamored by electric cars of all kinds that I’m ready for a swift, overwhelming transition to EVs. (Also shoutout to my story about Paris’ seemingly excellent EV infrastructure; this is the kind of thing the U.S. needs more of.)
Elizabeth Blackstock – 170 MPH On The Back Of A Motorcycle At COTA
Circuit of the Americas and MotoGP invited me to the track to sample some “backpack laps” on the back of a 2023 BMW S 1000 RR. Professional rider Nate Kern told the assembled group of journalists and influencers that us passengers determine the speed of the ride based on how well we followed instructions — and I’m proud to say I followed instructions so well that we hit 170 miles per hour on COTA’s back stretch, where I stared directly into the face of God in what remains the most exhilarating experience of my life.
Elizabeth Blackstock – Las Vegas Grand Prix
Formula 1's much-hyped Las Vegas Grand Prix was ultimately a success, but it fell victim to one of the worst faux pas in the sport’s American history: F1 entirely ignored the concerns of the locals. Ahead of the race, we spoke to 15 people connected with Las Vegas in some way and found that an extreme lack of communication left them praying for the event’s failure.
Bradley Brownell – Baja 1000
I truly enjoyed going to Baja California Sur for the legendary Baja 1000 race. This was one of the last major motorsport events on my personal bucket list, and now that I’ve been there, I’ve seen just how grueling the race actually is. Digging in with a team and seeing the full extent of the logistics, personnel, and human fortitude required to get to the finish line was astounding and inspiring. I left a part of me in the desert; it was a near-spiritual experience. If you ever get the opportunity to go to Baja for the 1000, absolutely do it.
Logan Carter – What The Hell Are Cigarette Cars?
I loved writing my cigarette car story because I love writing colloquially, and sharing a stupid trend that I kept seeing on my TikTok feeds with Jalopnik’s audience was a lot of fun. I was surprised to learn how few people were aware of the trend, including some of my coworkers. I think it’s a great term to describe those ratty cars that so many folks drive and love, and it felt like a story that nobody else was writing about.
Lawrence Hodge – Trying Elon Musk’s Las Vegas Loop
We here at Jalopnik get called out for calling out Elon Musk on his bull. His defenders just can’t seem to accept that we don’t see how he’s apparently changing the world. One of the ways in which he’s doing that is running right now under the Las Vegas Convention Center, and a few months ago I got to check it out. Yes, the Las Vegas Loop is just as dumb as I thought it would be. Even though I got a lot of heat for it, this is one of the my favorite posts I wrote all year.
Lawrence Hodge – Don’t Buy A New EV, Try Used Instead
Calling out the realities of the electric vehicle market isn’t being anti-EV; it’s calling out the realities of the EV market. Electric car market share is growing, but sales are slumping due to a number of factors, mainly affordability and high interest rates. I got a chance to highlight something that some buyers in the market for an EV might not be aware of: just how cheap these things have gotten on the used market. Many models that buyers were clamoring for or willing to pay insane markups to get a year or two ago have taken a nosedive and are now actually cheap. While it may seem boring to call this post one of the best things I wrote all year, I always jump at the opportunity to help people with car buying or making a financially sound decision.
