The internet is a beautiful and utterly mind-boggling thing. As long as we've been doing this, we still are absolutely baffled at the fact that seemingly "meh" stories can become total traffic monsters while other posts that strike us as big news will fade away almost immediately. There's almost no logic to most of it. At least, no more logic than the yearly tradition of an automotive website using an image of the incredibly charming Betty White in a compendium of the year's most popular stories.
But we digress. Now that 2012 has ended, it's time to tally up the page views and find out what ten posts were the most often clicked on Autoblog in the past year. (See? We even waited until the full year was up so the tally was nice and official.) Everything from new car reviews to dash cam videos to auto show debuts made this year's list, so have a look below to see – in order – the ten most-viewed posts of 2012.
#10: This is why you need a dash cam on at all times
If there's one thing we've learned over the past few years, it's that dash cams = viral video gold. But beyond that, dash cams have proven themselves to be incredibly useful for cracking down on unscrupulous people trying to take advantage of unsuspecting folks out on the road. Case in point: This video, wherein a guy tries to blame an innocent driver for causing an accident, only to be foiled by the fact that the whole incident was caught via dash cam.
Click here to read the full story.
#9: 2013 Dodge Dart is half a Chrysler, hAlf a Romeo for $15,995
One of the most important debuts at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show was the 2013 Dodge Dart – the Chrysler Group's highly anticipated return to the very popular C segment. In addition to revealing the full smattering of technical data, Dodge also confirmed pricing for its 2013 Dart during its Detroit reveal. And while the Dart certainly was a big deal – enough to make it the ninth-most-viewed post of the thousands upon thousands we published this year – it isn't the only Detroit Auto Show debut post on this list. What could have been bigger? Keep scrolling to find out.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Copyright 2013 Drew Phillips / AOL
#8: These are your top 10 worst-selling vehicles of 2011
One of the first posts we published in the early days of 2012 was a list detailing the ten worst-selling cars of the previous year. The list was packed full of oft-forgotten vehicles like the Subaru Tribeca, Acura ZDX and now-dead (in the US) Mercedes-Benz R-Class, but of all the mainstream vehicles sold in the US in 2011, no vehicle was more overlooked than the Acura RL. (Sad trombone.) With only 1,096 units sold in 2011, there's indeed a whole lot of room for improvement with the automaker's upcoming RLX sedan. We'll be bringing you a list of the worst-selling vehicles from 2012 in the near future, so stay tuned.
Click here to read the full story.
#7: 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe goes on big diet, unveils five and seven-passenger models
Hyundai made a big splash at the 2012 New York Auto Show when it debuted its new 2013 Santa Fe – a crossover that surely won't set the performance world on fire, but still has plenty of merit. The big news at the time of its reveal was that the Santa Fe would now be offered in short- and long-wheelbase versions (the five-passenger model now being called Santa Fe Sport), and all that commotion was apparently enough to make this post the only debut from New York to be included on our list of most-viewed stories from the past year.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Copyright 2013 Drew Phillips / AOL
#6: Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatches new level of refinement for its class [w/video]
On the eve of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz revealed its new A-Class hatchback, and even though we won't necessarily be seeing the new five-door here in the States (we'll be getting the four-door CLA version, at least to start), there was apparently enough buzz surrounding the new German kompakt's reveal to make it our sixth-most-viewed post of the year. It sure is a looker, this new A-Class, and we can't wait to see what the US-bound CLA has in store when it officially debuts in the near future.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Copyright 2013 Chris Paukert / AOL
#5: First Drive: 2012 Tesla Model S [w/video]
Turns out that one of the posts we were most proud of in 2012 was also one of our most popular. The Tesla Model S was in some ways the most important new vehicle debut of last year, and when it came time to drive the all-electric sedan, we opted out of the ultra-short media drive opportunity and called an old friend (read: Autoblog founder and former owner) to spend a good, long time with his personal Model S. Between the story and the excellent photos that accompanied it, it's hardly surprising that our Model S first drive had the fifth-highest traffic of the year.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Copyright 2013 Drew Phillips / AOL
#4: Angry merging motorist gets clever revenge
Again: Dash cam + internet = success. And of all the places in the world, Russia seems to have the biggest market share of the whole crazy dash cam video industry. Here, we see just how serious road rage can be, when the driver of a Toyota Prado SUV – after being cut off by the smaller sedan on the right – extracts a dirty revenge... literally.
Click here to read the full story.
#3: Parking lot owner's joyride in customer's car caught on film
With all the
sneaky
clever ways to capture video these days, everyone really ought to think twice before doing something illegal. Parking lot owner Jay Nieves, who was caught driving customer cars at Premier Parking Spot – a cruise ship parking area – in Florida. A local news team rented the Corvette Convertible seen here, installed a GPS tracker, and followed Nieves around to find that he put 60 miles on the car, including time spent doing burnouts, blasting down dirt roads, and even hauling lumber. Yikes.
Click here to read the full story.
#2: 2013 Ford Fusion debuts along with 47-MPG Fusion Hybrid, 100-MPGe Fusion Energi
That other Detroit Auto Show reveal post we mentioned earlier? This is it. If there was any Detroit debut that garnered our attention more than the Dodge Dart, it was that of the all-new Ford Fusion, which was rolled out in its standard, Hybrid and Energi variants. Since this debut, we've driven the Fusion (and liked it, quite a bit), though the car has had other big news moments this year for not-so-great things like recalls and fuel economy follies. But that doesn't change the fact that the debut of the sleek new Ford sedan was important enough to make it the second-most trafficked post of 2012.
Click here to read the full story.
#1: Guy Fieri's stolen Lamborghini found in teen's storage container
Sometimes, we don't know what makes a story so clicky. Take this, for example: a followup post about celebrity chef Guy Fieri's stolen Lamborghini holds the title as the most-viewed post on Autoblog in the year 2012. Not the original post – the followup. Then again, with searchable terms like "Lamborghini" and "Guy Fieri" working together, it sort of makes sense.
Anyway, let's recap: Fieri's Lambo was ripped off by a guy who rappelled off the roof of a dealership and, one year later, was found in a storage locker belonging to a 17-year-old guy who was being investigated for an unrelated shooting. Crazy stuff, to be sure, and apparently crazy enough to make it our most-viewed post of 2012.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Harry How / Getty
Past Years
This year's list isn't indicative of what always gets tallied as the most popular posts of any given year. Click through the lists from previous years to see what took the top ten spots in the past (and to see more adorable Betty White images).
But we digress. Now that 2012 has ended, it's time to tally up the page views and find out what ten posts were the most often clicked on Autoblog in the past year. (See? We even waited until the full year was up so the tally was nice and official.) Everything from new car reviews to dash cam videos to auto show debuts made this year's list, so have a look below to see – in order – the ten most-viewed posts of 2012.
#10: This is why you need a dash cam on at all times
If there's one thing we've learned over the past few years, it's that dash cams = viral video gold. But beyond that, dash cams have proven themselves to be incredibly useful for cracking down on unscrupulous people trying to take advantage of unsuspecting folks out on the road. Case in point: This video, wherein a guy tries to blame an innocent driver for causing an accident, only to be foiled by the fact that the whole incident was caught via dash cam.
Click here to read the full story.
#9: 2013 Dodge Dart is half a Chrysler, hAlf a Romeo for $15,995
One of the most important debuts at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show was the 2013 Dodge Dart – the Chrysler Group's highly anticipated return to the very popular C segment. In addition to revealing the full smattering of technical data, Dodge also confirmed pricing for its 2013 Dart during its Detroit reveal. And while the Dart certainly was a big deal – enough to make it the ninth-most-viewed post of the thousands upon thousands we published this year – it isn't the only Detroit Auto Show debut post on this list. What could have been bigger? Keep scrolling to find out.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Copyright 2013 Drew Phillips / AOL
#8: These are your top 10 worst-selling vehicles of 2011
One of the first posts we published in the early days of 2012 was a list detailing the ten worst-selling cars of the previous year. The list was packed full of oft-forgotten vehicles like the Subaru Tribeca, Acura ZDX and now-dead (in the US) Mercedes-Benz R-Class, but of all the mainstream vehicles sold in the US in 2011, no vehicle was more overlooked than the Acura RL. (Sad trombone.) With only 1,096 units sold in 2011, there's indeed a whole lot of room for improvement with the automaker's upcoming RLX sedan. We'll be bringing you a list of the worst-selling vehicles from 2012 in the near future, so stay tuned.
Click here to read the full story.
#7: 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe goes on big diet, unveils five and seven-passenger models
Hyundai made a big splash at the 2012 New York Auto Show when it debuted its new 2013 Santa Fe – a crossover that surely won't set the performance world on fire, but still has plenty of merit. The big news at the time of its reveal was that the Santa Fe would now be offered in short- and long-wheelbase versions (the five-passenger model now being called Santa Fe Sport), and all that commotion was apparently enough to make this post the only debut from New York to be included on our list of most-viewed stories from the past year.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Copyright 2013 Drew Phillips / AOL
#6: Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatches new level of refinement for its class [w/video]
On the eve of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz revealed its new A-Class hatchback, and even though we won't necessarily be seeing the new five-door here in the States (we'll be getting the four-door CLA version, at least to start), there was apparently enough buzz surrounding the new German kompakt's reveal to make it our sixth-most-viewed post of the year. It sure is a looker, this new A-Class, and we can't wait to see what the US-bound CLA has in store when it officially debuts in the near future.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Copyright 2013 Chris Paukert / AOL
#5: First Drive: 2012 Tesla Model S [w/video]
Turns out that one of the posts we were most proud of in 2012 was also one of our most popular. The Tesla Model S was in some ways the most important new vehicle debut of last year, and when it came time to drive the all-electric sedan, we opted out of the ultra-short media drive opportunity and called an old friend (read: Autoblog founder and former owner) to spend a good, long time with his personal Model S. Between the story and the excellent photos that accompanied it, it's hardly surprising that our Model S first drive had the fifth-highest traffic of the year.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Copyright 2013 Drew Phillips / AOL
#4: Angry merging motorist gets clever revenge
Again: Dash cam + internet = success. And of all the places in the world, Russia seems to have the biggest market share of the whole crazy dash cam video industry. Here, we see just how serious road rage can be, when the driver of a Toyota Prado SUV – after being cut off by the smaller sedan on the right – extracts a dirty revenge... literally.
Click here to read the full story.
#3: Parking lot owner's joyride in customer's car caught on film
With all the
Click here to read the full story.
#2: 2013 Ford Fusion debuts along with 47-MPG Fusion Hybrid, 100-MPGe Fusion Energi
That other Detroit Auto Show reveal post we mentioned earlier? This is it. If there was any Detroit debut that garnered our attention more than the Dodge Dart, it was that of the all-new Ford Fusion, which was rolled out in its standard, Hybrid and Energi variants. Since this debut, we've driven the Fusion (and liked it, quite a bit), though the car has had other big news moments this year for not-so-great things like recalls and fuel economy follies. But that doesn't change the fact that the debut of the sleek new Ford sedan was important enough to make it the second-most trafficked post of 2012.
Click here to read the full story.
#1: Guy Fieri's stolen Lamborghini found in teen's storage container
Sometimes, we don't know what makes a story so clicky. Take this, for example: a followup post about celebrity chef Guy Fieri's stolen Lamborghini holds the title as the most-viewed post on Autoblog in the year 2012. Not the original post – the followup. Then again, with searchable terms like "Lamborghini" and "Guy Fieri" working together, it sort of makes sense.
Anyway, let's recap: Fieri's Lambo was ripped off by a guy who rappelled off the roof of a dealership and, one year later, was found in a storage locker belonging to a 17-year-old guy who was being investigated for an unrelated shooting. Crazy stuff, to be sure, and apparently crazy enough to make it our most-viewed post of 2012.
Click here to read the full story.
Photo credit: Harry How / Getty
Past Years
This year's list isn't indicative of what always gets tallied as the most popular posts of any given year. Click through the lists from previous years to see what took the top ten spots in the past (and to see more adorable Betty White images).
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