2004: What the car world was like the year Autoblog came online

How the cars and the cast of characters have changed

Elon Musk in 2004
Elon Musk in 2004
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It was the year that Janet Jackson had her wardrobe malfunction at Super Bowl XXXVIII and the Dave Matthews Band's tour bus had a fecal malfunction over the Chicago River. George W. Bush started his second term in office. The No. 1 song on Billboard's Hot 100 was "Yeah!" by Usher (featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris). Tom Hanks got stuck in an airport in "The Terminal," and Will Smith drove an amazing Audi RSQ in "I, Robot."

On the internet, not only did a website called "The Facebook" debut, but more significantly, 2004 was the year that Autoblog began its obsessive coverage of the auto industry.

Here are some of the other vehicular events of 2004:

Elon Musk emerged at Tesla. The company was established in 2003, but in 2004 Musk led the Series A funding round (the first round, which gets the investors the preferred stock). A consequence was that Musk became chairman of the board. (Tesla's first car — the Lotus Elise-based Roadster — didn't appear until 2006.)

Rick Wagoner was in his fourth year as CEO of GM and his second as chairman of the board. His tenure at both ended March 30, 2009, coincident with the financial failings at GM. (He was followed as CEO by Fritz Henderson, who lasted until December 1, 2009, and as COB by Kent Kresa, who lasted until July 2009. The collapse of the auto industry was that bad.)

Dieter Zetsche was the CEO of the Chrysler Group, which was part of DaimlerChrysler, which came into being in 1998 and ceased to exist in 2007. (Zetsche was named DaimlerChrysler CEO in 2006 and just retired from Daimler-sans-Chrysler this May.)

Bill Ford Jr. was Ford CEO, having taken over from Jacques Nasser in 2001. Sir Nick Scheele was the president of Ford, and probably the only Knights Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George to operate a car company.

Ford opened the Dearborn Truck Plant. As part of Bill Ford's environmental approach, the factory featured (and continues to have) what was then the largest — according to Guinness World Records — living roof, a 10.4-acre field planted with sedum.

On the subject of Ford and trucks: Model year 2004 was the first for the 11th-generation F-150, which one could argue is the start of the contemporary era of pickups, as the styling is edgier than the innocuous model it replaced and there was significantly more attention paid to the quality of the interior (not just a tradesman vehicle). MSRP for the nicest F-150 in Lariat trim topped out at $33,465 before options. Top trim today is the Limited, starting at more than twice that price.

It was the first full year of the 2004 Nissan Titan, the company's first full-size pickup. It offered a 5.6-liter DOHC V8 rated at 305 hp and 379 lb-ft of torque. It was said to be the first pickup offered with a factory-applied spray-in bedliner. That notwithstanding, Titan sales have been anything but strong: In 2018 the company sold 50,459; during the month of December 2018 alone, Ford moved 87,772 F-Series trucks.

Lexus sold its 2-millionth vehicle in April 2004, an RX 330. The buyer received a trip to Pebble Beach. (For model year 2004, Lexus offered the SC Pebble Beach Edition.) The RX has continued to be the mainstay of Lexus: In 2018, Lexus delivered 111,641 RXs, while its entire lineup of sedans and coupes accounted for 92,660 deliveries.

Honda launched an Accord Hybrid, positioned as more of a performance car than an environmental car, boasting a system total of 255 hp. The standard Accord V6 offered 240 hp. (The current-generation Accord received a hybrid powertrain in 2018; the performance approach went away, as it uses an inline four and produces 212 hp.)

GM introduced Cadillacs to the China market. This was a good move, because in Q1 2019 there were 44,684 Cadillacs sold in China and 35,995 in the U.S.

Cadillac Racing was established, campaigning the CTS-V.R in the SCCA World Challenge GT Championship. (The CTS-V is still available, but act fast because it is going to be replaced by the CT5.)

Dhivya Suryadevara joined the GM treasury department. She is now the company's chief financial officer. Persistence pays.

Chevy introduced the gold bowtie badge that still adorns vehicles. (The bowtie had its start in model year 1914.)

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited was introduced by DaimlerChrysler. A longer wheelbase meant 13 more inches of cargo room and 2 more inches of rear legroom. Not a Gladiator, but a move in that direction.

Buddy Rice won the Indianapolis 500, which was actually the Indianapolis 450 as the race was called early due to rain.

Kurt Busch was the NASCAR Nextel Cup champion. He won three races, had 10 top five finishes and 21 top 10 finishes. Oddly, Jimmie Johnson won eight races, was in the top five 20 times and had 23 top 10 finishes. In 2005, Nextel got folded into Sprint, which now hopes to get folded into T-Mobile.

Michael Schumacher won his seventh and last Formula One World Drivers' Championship.

While there were no "Fast and Furious" movies in 2004 (a franchise that includes the acting chops of the aforementioned Ludacris), there was one focused on vehicles, in this case motorcycles, "Torque." The synopsis on IMDB.com can't be bettered: "A biker returns from Thailand to set things straight with his girlfriend. One gang leader wants him for delivery of 2 motorbikes filled with crystal meth and another gang leader wants him for murdering his brother." Of course.

Gasoline prices started the year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, at $1.55 per gallon and finished the year at $1.83.

Two driverless vehicles started their journeys — on Mars. NASA's Opportunity and Spirit motored on, exploring the Red Planet far longer than had been anticipated. Spirit lasted until 2011, during which time it traveled 4.8 miles. Opportunity had a 15-year run and covered 28.06 miles, the all-time record (as far as we know) for a vehicle on another planet.

The Ford F-150 was the top-selling vehicle (939,511) of 2004. The Toyota Camry was the top-selling car and third overall (426,389). Little has changed since. We'll see what the next 15 years brings.

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