The Los Angeles Rams narrowly beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the extended cryptocurrency commercial known as Super Bowl LVI last night. But America doesn’t watch the biggest football game of the year just to see football. We also watch for scintillating halftime shows (check) and the most creative commercials we see all year.
As always, America’s automakers did their part. We got Arnold Schwarzenegger as Zeus. We got the return of The Sopranos and the villain from the Austin Powers movies. We got famous Joneses, from Tommy Lee to Leslie.
While most Americans may have recognized the stars, the cars they were selling included some new names you might not have known so well. A rundown of what was advertised and when you can expect to see it in traffic:
BMW iX
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek appeared as Greek gods Zeus and Hera to push BMW’s move into electric cars. They drove a battery-powered midsize SUV you might not have seen before: the 2023 BMW iX. The iX starts at $83,200, plus a $995 destination fee. It’s certified for more than 300 miles of driving on a charge. It’s known in the auto industry as more than just another electric SUV (there will soon be so many of them that you won’t be able to keep track). BMW is using the iX to test out new ideas in sustainable manufacturing – from materials built to be easily recycled to more ethically-mined lithium in the batteries. It’s available for order now, with deliveries set to begin next month.
Electric Chevy Silverado
Chevrolet resurrected Meadow Soprano to show off a vehicle at the heart of the company’s future strategy: an all-electric pickup. The Chevy Silverado EV won’t be available until late 2024, appearing as a 2025 model. Chevy promises a driving range of up to 400 miles. That may seem high for an EV, but a full-size truck can carry enormous batteries. At launch, options will include a basic work truck for a little under $40,000 and a luxury truck in the low six-figure range. More models, with prices between those two, will come within the first year. By the time the Silverado EV reaches showrooms, you’ll likely have seen other electric trucks on the road. Ford’s F-150 Lightning will beat it to market by as much as two years.
GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq
In another General Motors ad, Dr. Evil, the raised-pinky villain of the Austin Powers movies pondered saving the world before taking it over. This one didn’t tout a specific vehicle, but rather, promised 30 new electric vehicles (EVS) globally by 2025 – part of GM’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2040.
Dr. Evil and his entourage climbed into several GM EVs at the end of the commercial. Among them was the GMC Hummer EV – an off-road-oriented all-electric truck with a range of up to 350 miles on a charge. The first Hummer EVs are already in customer garages. They began shipping in late December. The Hummer isn’t cheap, with a starting price near $80,000.
The commercial also pictured the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq – a midsize luxury SUV starting at $58,795. It features a stunning cabin with a huge curved central touchscreen and a range of over 300 miles. GM quickly sold out of reservations for the first set it plans to build. They’ll be delivered in spring.
Hyundai Ioniq 5
Jason Bateman took a trip through history, showing human evolution from prehistory to… the Hyundai Ioniq 5? The goal of history, at least in Hyundai’s eyes, is a funky little EV straddling the line between hatchback and crossover. The Ioniq 5 starts at $43,650 and is on dealership lots now in very low numbers. It packs a lot of interior space into a small footprint – storage and living space rival those of much larger SUVs thanks to a flat floor and hyper-adjustable seats and storage bins.
Kia EV6
An adorable robot dog fell in love with a sleek, sporty hatchback EV in Kia’s Super Bowl ad, but the dog’s batteries died before it could reach its dream car – the 2022 Kia EV6. A kindly EV6 owner, however, used the car’s bi-directional charging to recharge the little dog. The EV6 shares many parts with the Ioniq 5. But it’s tuned more for sporty driving – there’s even a 576-horsepower GT version. It starts at $40,900 and has just begun arriving at Kia dealerships.
Nissan Z
Eugene Levy might seem like an unlikely action movie hero. But the car he drove as “the Thrill Driver” has a history as an action star. The all-new 2023 Nissan Z is the rebirth of a sports car that has been on American roads since 1969. The newest Z car isn’t on sales lots yet and doesn’t even have a price (we expect it to start in the high $30,000 range). Unlike most of the cars advertised in the big game, there’s nothing electric about it.
Polestar 2
The age of electric cars will see a number of new automakers reach the U.S. market. Few Americans have heard of Polestar, but it’s been around for a while. It used to exclusively build high-performance editions of Volvo cars. Today, it’s building its own electric vehicles. The handsome car shown off during the big game is the Polestar 2 – a liftback 4-door that starts at $45,900. It’s already on the road, though in low numbers.
Toyota Tundra
A bunch of famous Joneses (and one Jonas) raced up a snow-covered mountain in the all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra. Just recently redesigned from the ground up, the Tundra is available with a hybrid drivetrain (it’s a Toyota, after all) and in an all-new luxury Capstone trim. A coil spring rear suspension gives it a more comfortable on-road ride than some rivals.
