Why Are Automakers So Greedy for Attention and We Have to Wait Years for New Models?

If you look at Hyundai and Kia, as much as I appreciate them for their bold designs, I do not like the fact that both brands deploy a conniving reveal strategy. So, they first showcase the first pictures of the exterior and interior without giving any juicy details. Then they also set up a (second) world premiere sometime later when they reveal some additional information.

And then comes the long wait until the new model hits all of its intended markets, sometimes with months or even years between them. For example, the boldly redesigned all-new 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe premiered in the middle of July with little to talk about other than the completely new styling and the combination of 12.3-inch displays for the instrument cluster and infotainment system inside the cabin.

Next up, the world premiere will be featured in August on Hyundai's YouTube channel, and only the corner office head honchos know when the rugged-looking mid-size three-row CUV will duke it out with equally new heroes like the 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander on the US market. But, of course, they are not the only ones stretching the can as thin as possible – and our patience along with it.

Look at Ford, as the second-largest US automaker is probably the all-star American champion regarding tardiness. And I have countless examples to substantiate my opinion. For starters, does anyone remember how long it took them from the introduction of the reinvented sixth-gen Bronco until dealerships were stocked with the ordered units? More than a year, that's for sure. But that's not the champion of delays, no Sir. Instead, that would be the 2024 Ford Ranger!

The second-generation T6-based mid-size pickup truck (fourth gen worldwide, fifth in North America) officially debuted in November 2021 with the P703 codename. But that one did it in places like Australia and Europe, not the United States. Instead, even though the North American version was specifically engineered for the region since the start of development for the new iteration, it was only in May 2023 that Ford officially pulled the wraps of the mostly identical version for America!

So, are we surprised that the Blue Oval's most prized asset in terms of passenger cars (it's also the last nameplate of such kind on the US market), the S650 Ford Mustang, is running a bit behind schedule? First shown to the public in September last year at the 2022 Detroit Auto Show, the seventh-generation pony and muscle car is supposed to arrive in showrooms this summer with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-pot (315 hp) and the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 in GT (up to 486 hp) or Dark Horse (500 hp) form.

But for now, all we have are the initial media reviews – so it will take a little while before Mustangs reach dealerships to start carving an S650 name for themselves. Sure, one could say that Ford doesn't even have to hurry since it's going to be left standing as the last of the Mohicans on the market once the 2023 Dodge Challenger and 2024 Chevy Camaro retire to greener ICE-powered pastures. But is Ford so sure that all Camaro and Challenger customers will instead adopt the successor of the originator of the pony car current?

My guess is they would rather jump on board Dodge's new Banshee EV lifestyle promised alongside the production version of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept, or maybe they will snatch a high-performance crossover SUV and be done with the whole deal. Anyway, that could also be because they are tired of waiting so darn long for an announced model to appear on the market – like the all-new Volvo EX30 that premiered in New York City now and will come to the market a year from now, next summer! The flip side of the coin is that some automakers can fulfill a promise, just like in the good old days.

Half across the other side of the planet, Mitsubishi featured the premiere of the sixth-generation Triton (L200) mid-size pickup truck. Unfortunately, it's a forbidden fruit for America despite some prototypes that were caught late last year testing in the United States. On the other hand, swiftly after it was previewed by the XRT Concept at the 2023 Bangkok International Motor Show in March, the Japanese automaker showed it to the target audience in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 26 – and then started sales of the all-new model the very same day!

That's right – once the premiere was over, you could snatch an example from the dealership if you live in Thailand. If an aching, small-time Japanese manufacturer can do it flawlessly – and with no leak whatsoever, are you telling me that much larger automakers cannot achieve the same desirable outcome? If that were the case, I would call them incompetent, for sure. But I think they simply enjoy the hype – the spied prototypes, the leaks, the belated premieres, the weeks, months, and even years of wait! They have become veritable social media queens, frankly, and that's really not a good thing!