What’s in store for 2024?
Last year, 2023, turned out to be a great year. The Cars Made Simple YouTube channel hit a few big milestones and I had several new experiences myself. To recap, the 2023 Chicago Auto Show started off the year with a bang. This was my first “media event” where I got early access to the vehicles on the show floor as well as met several other creators. The Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon peaked my interest at the show given it was one of their first appearances in public and were soon to be on sale. During the media days, Toyota also held their global debut of the 2024 Grand Highlander which I managed to attend as well.
The following couple months were fairly quiet with the usual content being created for the channel until April 12th, 2023. I managed to get hands on with two refreshed 2024 GMC Sierra HD’s finished in the same exterior color and two of the most popular trims. That video to this day is still the most viewed piece of content on the channel save the exhaust sound of the upcoming Dodge Charger EV which was filmed at the Chicago Auto Show as well. During the month of April, I was also able to drive the Colorado for the first time in it’s Z71 trim.
During May, another crazy opportunity presented itself. I got to drive the 2023 Corvette Z06 and Stingray Z51 back to back. This was the best opportunity to feel exactly how different each of these two Corvette’s really are. A few days later, the first Chevy Trax’s arrived at dealers and upon first impression, I really like it. Later in the month, the MAMA Spring Rally was held and I got to drive many new vehicles I wouldn’t normally have access to in track, street, and off-road environments. After taking my first fully electric “road trip”, I realized the biggest downfall of EV’s, public charging.
It was fairly quiet until late July when a Facebook comment on Tim Esterdahl’s Facebook page turned out to be my entrance into receiving press cars from a manufacturer. This particular manufacturer was one I had very very little experience with but was excited nonetheless. The Lexus NX350h was my very first press car and I was beyond excited. The NX isn’t brand new but isn’t old either, so it has many new updates that are still rolling out across every Toyota/Lexus product for the latest model year. The experience was extremely positive and beneficial as a creator. With press cars approved for other manufacturers, the ball was off and rolling.
In August and September, I received my first press loans from other manufacturers and created several videos for each vehicle. This included the Lexus LC500 Convertible which was by far the best press vehicle I received all year. The weather was absolutely perfect, albeit a little chilly. Towards the end of the month, the MAMA Fall Fest was held and I got my first hands on look at the all new 2024 Hyundai Kona Limited among a host of other vehicles. It was a great experience to get behind the wheel of many brand new or refreshed models. The next day, Chicago Drives Electric was held and I got my first hands on look with several electrified models including the new 2024 Kia EV9 SUV. Unfortunately, we were not able to get behind the wheel but upon first impressions, it seemed very impressive.
Rounding out the year, I got to drive the all new 2024 Chevy Blazer EV 1,000 miles from Dallas Texas to Western Illinois. This experience was productive and interesting as this was only my second fully electric vehicle trip. I feared I would encounter the worst of the current public charging infrastructure and sure enough that came true. CCS DCFC stations were down or working at reduced speeds, ICE drivers were blocking stations, and/or the Blazer wasn’t taking peak speeds. All around, I learned a lot about the state of public charging but also several negative aspects of the Blazer EV specifically. This was all prior to the eventually stop sale that has plagued the rollout.
As a whole, 2024 was a great year for Cars Made Simple and I want to thank everyone who supported the channel in some fashion. Looking forward into 2024, there will surely be a few repeat events such as the MAMA rallies and Chicago Auto Show but I hope to expand these even further. I also hope to grow my list of approved manufacturers for press loans to gain a better understanding of what each manufacturer has to offer and bring you some of the best content I can. If you’re looking to support the channel further, Merch will be available to purchase, YouTube memberships are available, and an Amazon affiliate storefront is available. By supporting the channel in any of these ways, you are allowing me to put more time and effort into each and every piece of content I produce.
With all that being said, I hope to see you… in the next one!