There is already a huge tradition of seeing big hulking trucks lead vehicle sales in America. But that does not mean passenger cars, particularly sporty ones, are to be dismissed as yesterday’s news. Especially when they have a Blue Oval or C8 badge.
Frankly, there is no other way to put it nicely: the automotive industry is hurting. And with it, all of its customers and the people who rely on it to make a living. The health crisis has not disappeared just yet, no matter what anyone would like to believe. All day long, we see our newsreel filled with worse news regarding the chip and other parts shortages, while in some parts of the world, there is a mindless war raging on as if we are back in the Dark Ages all over again.
In a sense, there is more apocalyptic ethos going on than ever before, it seems. But that does not mean we should all succumb to woes and not fight (even figuratively, not just literally) for a better world. For example, one can bet that some things will go on unchanged for a little while longer. Now that we have just entered the second quarter of the year, the time has come to check up on the statistics and draw a few easy conclusions.
Photo: creativedesigns / MetroWrapz / Instagram
One has to do with Blue Ovals being on top of certain segments all over again as if nothing happened. Sure, there are major drops in sales because of the aforementioned woes – and not because people stopped buying them. The complications arising from the ongoing pandemic, mind-blowing gas prices, the war in Ukraine, and parts shortages of all kinds have not tempered the customer love for America’s pickup trucks. As such, Ford’s F-Series remained king, followed by Ram – which managed to keep a slim lead ahead of Chevy during the first quarter, just like what happened last year.
And do not think this is the only Detroit Three battle raging on across America’s new car market. The legendary Mustang has managed to recoup from the major blow delivered by Dodge’s Challenger in 2021, once again stealing the sales crown for sports cars, ahead of the Stellantis hero and the ubiquitous Chevy Camaro rival. The latter, for instance, even got bested by Chevrolet’s mid-engine wonder, the C8 Corvette!
Naturally, all these OEM heavyweights are so beloved for an incredibly good reason: there is an entire aftermarket world out there, just waiting to make them stand out in any crowd if the owner believes their brand-new vehicle is just a blank canvas for making it their own. There is no need to take our word for granted, as we have a few customized examples to support our case, ranging from subtle to overachiever.
First of all, the good folks over at Miami, Florida-based MetroWrapz have recently prepared a partial Gloss Black wrap for a crimson Ford Mustang GT. The devil is lurking in the details with this one, so do note the matching-red pony badge on the grille, as well as the contrasting black wheels. An order of magnitude above sits the creation of a Jacksonville, Florida-based outlet that personalized Jaydon Mickens’ (yep, the Super Bowl LV champion) Elkhart Blue C8 Corvette Stingray with partially-matching Forgiato Maglia ECL wheels, among others.
Then, at the other end of the spectrum – quite literally, given the murdered-out attire – sits a 2022 Ford F-450 Super Duty dually made by LA’s Creative Designs to seem both menacing and elegant at the same time. They achieved the look via a few tricks: chrome delete, matching Forgiato wheels, black-painted calipers and exhaust tip, dual-tone lug nut spikes, smoked taillights, and more. So, now better be frank: which one of these is for you?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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