The Ten Best Things To Happen To The Automotive World In 2014

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2014 was a pretty fantastic year for cars, so lets celebrate the best things that happened in the automotive world this past 12 months.


10.) Martini Liveried Williams FW36

Mercedes dominated F1 this year, but Williams had the best looking car on the grid with their Martini liveried FW36. The racing world was a little bit darker without Martini colors, so we're thrilled to see them back.

Suggested By: McLarry, Photo Credit: Williams


9.) R32 Skyline GT-R Eligible For Import

The R32 GT-R is a hero car if there ever was one, and now that the oldest are 25 years old, we can finally enjoy them in this country legally. Godzillas for everyone!

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Suggested By: Sn210, Photo Credit: Nissan


8.) Volvo Begins Comeback

Under Ford ownership, Volvo lost their way for a while, but now they're poised for a big comeback. Lets all pray that they put the sexy-as-hell Concept Estate into production.

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I'll have mine in brown.

Suggested By: RampagingNewt, Photo Credit: Volvo


7.) Cheap Gas

While cheap gas might not be the best thing in the long run, it's still something to be enjoyed while it's around. It's a great excuse to get out there and enjoy driving.

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Suggested By: Arch Duke Maxyenko, SHAZAM!, Photo Credit: Getty Images


6.) Jaguar Saves The Manuals

It might not seem like a big deal, but the fact that Jaguar went through all the trouble and expense to fit a manual to the V6 F-Type is huge. Maybe rowing your own gears isn't dead after all.

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Suggested By: QuickCharisma, Photo Credit: Jaguar


5.) New Mazda Miata

In its 25 years of existence, there have only been three generations of Miata, so an all new one is kind of a big deal. By the look of it, Mazda seems to have nailed it, and hopefully they make good on their promise of lighter weight and more efficiency.

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The roadster is a bit of an anachronism in 2014, but the Miata soldiers on, strong as ever.

Suggested By: MallardDuck, Photo Credit: Tavarish via Jalopnik


4.) BMW i8 Showed Us The Future Won't Suck

Many enthusiasts were afraid that the ever increasing need for more efficient cars would suck the life out of them, but the BMW i8 crushed all those fears.

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The future is here and it's stunning.

Suggested By: SLA, Photo Credit: BMW


3.) Porsche Returns To Le Mans

Of course, Porsche never left Le Mans, but their return to top level Prototype competition with the 919 was long overdue.

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With Nissan joining in on the LMP1 fun with their front engined car, Le Mans 2015 should be a hell of an interesting race.

Suggested By: Joest, Photo Credit: Porsche


2.) Tons Of Great Trucks

2014 was a banner year for trucks with the aluminum F-150, and the genuinely mid-sized Colorado/Canyon from GM. I'll let Truck Yeah's Andrew Collins elaborate:

"Consider this: we have have a brand-new mid-sized truck that's pretty awesome. We're about to get a new one.

Yes, trucks are super huge and their prices aren't far behind. But competition among them is getting so hot that the truck industry is finally starting to get serious about 'adding lightness' and 'efficiency' more than ever. That's good for all of us."

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Suggested By: Andrew P Collins, Photo Credit: GMC


1.) America Brought The Heat

Chevy has the bonkers, track focused Camaro Z/28 and crazy fast Corvette Z06. Cadillac is waging war on BMW with the ATS-V and CTS-V. Ford has the stunning, flat-plane V8 Shelby GT350. Dodge has the certifiably insane, 707 hp Challenger & Charger Hellcats. All of these cars cost less than $100k.

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Yeah, it was a pretty great year for American performance cars.

Suggested By: 472CID, Photo Credit: Dodge

Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!

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Top Photo Credit: Chevrolet