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Payne: Dodge Charger Sixpack is a hot hatch for all seasons
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 12, 2026
Detroit — In the midst of another Michigan snowstorm, I slid my 2026 550-horsepower Dodge Charger onto Woodard Avenue, toggled WET/SNOW mode and churned toward Huntington Place for the Detroit Auto Show, the adaptive-cruise control system helping maintain distance to traffic ahead.
Payne, have you gone mad? Driving a Charger muscle car in the snow?
Reset everything you know about the Charger. The 2025 Detroit News Vehicle of the Year picked up 2026 North American Car of the Year to open the Detroit Auto Show, and earned its praise as I flogged it all over town during show week.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cartoon: Cadillac F1 Super Bowl Reveal
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 12, 2026
Cartoon: Valentine’s Day Cupid Truck
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 10, 2026
Cartoon: Super Bowl 2027 Chinese Halftime
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 10, 2026
EV U-turn: 2026 Alfa Tonale leads return to gas lineup
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 6, 2026
Montreal — Three years ago in Italy, the plug-in-hybrid Tonale SUV projected a new era for Stellantis’s storied Alfa Romeo brand. The automaker’s first electrified model, Tonale, would lead a parade of six fully-electric Alfas by 2030 as the Italian maker transitioned with other luxury brands — including Cadillac, Buick, Jaguar, Genesis, Volvo and Mercedes — to battery power. Just three years later, the industry has done a U-turn.
And so has Alfa.
For 2026, the refreshed Tonale SUV will only be offered as a turbo-4 model, leading a brand retreat to reliable gas power. Plans for an all-EV showroom by 2030 have been shelved, and the aging, gas-powered Stelvio SUV and Giulia sedan fill out the U.S. lineup. Like the rest of the industry, EV sales — including of the plug-in Tonale — slid without hefty government subsidies.
The gas-powered, 2.0-liter turbo-4 U.S. Alfa lineup for 2026: Tonale SUV, Giulia sedan, Stelvio SUV.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cartoon: Walz Fort Sumter Civil War
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 5, 2026
Cartoon: Tesla Robot Brake
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 5, 2026
Payne: Slinky Crown Signia is the cure for the common Toyota SUV
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 5, 2026
Oakland County — The station wagon is back. And from an unlikely source.
My Toyota Crown Signia is long, sleek and roomy. Remove the badge and you might mistake the profile for the Volvo V90 Cross Country or Audi A6 Allroad, European stalwarts in the midsize wagon business. While wagons are common across the Atlantic pond, we Yanks prefer boxy, lifted SUVs — thus the limited offerings from the likes of Volvo and Audi.
Now comes Signia, the midsize cure for the common Toyota SUV.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cartoon: Groundhog Day Epstein Files
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 5, 2026
Cartoon: Melania Movie Tix
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 5, 2026
Cartoon: Media Hypocrites Protestor Babbitt
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 30, 2026
Cartoon: Global Warming Gore Lying Eyes
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 29, 2026
Payne: Get the Griswolds a Honda Pilot road-warrior
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 29, 2026
San Diego — Honda makes sensational hot hatches for gearheads with the ferocious, corner-carving Civic Type R at the front of the parade
The Honda Pilot is not that car.
The three-row SUV is Honda’s band leader for a different hatchback parade: ergonomically brilliant hatchback for families. If the driver-centric Civic Type R is built for adrenaline-pumping short sprints, Pilot is made for the long haul — a rolling living room for 4-7 passengers.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cartoon: Coach Walz Diagrams Anti ICE Plays
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 27, 2026
Rolex 24 thriller: Motown icons Penske and Cadillac put on a show
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 27, 2026
Daytona Beach, Fla. — Twelve manufacturers, 47 race teams and 232 drivers from all over the world came to Daytona Beach over the weekend for North America’s most prestigious 24-hour sportscar race, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
But in the end, all eyes were on two Detroit icons battling it out for the win.
In a repeat of the 2024 result, Porsche Penske Motorsports beat Whelen Cadillac Racing to the finish line by a scant 1.5 seconds. Capping an epic race across 24 hours, a six-hour fog delay and Daytona’s 30-degree bankings, the Team Penske Porsche 963 and Cadillac V-Series.R went hammer and tongs over the final hour at speeds up to 200 mph.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cartoon: Davos Trump versus Europe
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 27, 2026
Payne: Toyota Prius Nightshade looks hot, drives easy
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 27, 2026
Charlevoix — The Toyota Prius is really getting cheeky.
America’s favorite green nerd car underwent a fourth-generation transformation in 2025 from ugly duckling to swan. Sleek fascia. Scalloped flanks. Horizontal rear taillight. I saw your head swivel when I sailed by.
For 2025-26 it got a hot Nightshade edition. Take a look at my hot hatch tester (also being featured at the Detroit Auto Show) with yellow paint, black wheels, black mirror caps. It’s a look familiar to enthusiast hellions like the Honda Civic Si and Ford Mustang that offer look-at-me Skittle colors.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cartoon: Hoosiers Win College Football Championship
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 21, 2026
Payne: The Dandy Dozen, Detroit Auto Show 2026 highlights
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 21, 2026
Detroit — Brave the ice outside, come see the ICE inside the 2026 Detroit Auto Show.
After years of taking a backseat to electric vehicles as automakers strained to meet government emissions and gas mileage mandates, the internal combustion engine is back inside Huntington Place.
From muscle cars to trucks to off-road dirt-kickers, ICE vehicles are the stars of the show. Even Aston Martin brought a quartet of its greatest ICE hits. Not that EVs have gone away. General Motors Co. is still bullish, with electrics fronting the Chevy display — and you can take test rides on a dedicated EV track.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cartoon: Walz Illegal ICE
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 20, 2026
