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Detroit — The motorsports world came to the Motor City for the Detroit Grand Prix last weekend for the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship.

And the home teams dominated.

Cadillac swept the front row of Friday qualifying in the GTP class and then won Saturday’s race over an elite field of Porsche, BMW, Acura and Aston Martin cars. Corvette did the same in the GT class — sweeping the front row, then controlling the race over European rivals with Ford Mustang not far behind. Only Lamborghini spoiled a Detroit muscle car one-two.

Detroit automakers have invested billions to become players in international motorsports, and the Detroit GP was a proof point of the momentum they’ve built. While competitors Porsche and Honda are cutting back on their motorsports programs after disastrous corporate decisions on electrification, General Motors and Ford are well-positioned this year to make a mark across the globe — including in the premier international endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France later this month.

“What a special day for General Motors and the Cadillac and Corvette Racing teams in Detroit,” said GM President Mark Reuss after the Saturday afternoon IMSA result. “Winning both classes of the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic on the streets of the Motor City is a tremendous achievement for our motorsports, design and engineering teams.”

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Detroit – What’s a lap like in an IndyCar around the Detroit Grand Prix street circuit?

It’s a rollercoaster on ‘roids.

Sandwiched between ex-IndyCar driver Spencer Pigot and a howling, twin-turbo V-6 engine in a two-seat, Arrow McLaren Dallara DW12 IndyCar, we stormed up Rivard Street, hung a left onto Jefferson in 2nd gear and then exploded down Jefferson Avenue hitting 155 mph as we passed “Speed Limit 35” signs.

No sirens. None of Detroit’s finest pulling us over. Pedal to the metal.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Detroit — Exiting Turn 2 onto the long, Jefferson Avenue straight, Detroit Grand Prix racers row their steeds through six gears, their howling, 12,000-RPM engines hitting 185 mph as they reverberate off the canyon of Detroit buildings.

The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear feeds our need for speed. It also feeds the homeless.

One of the buildings that lines the ¾-mile long straight is Detroit’s oldest church, St. Peter and Paul at 438 St. Antoine, which houses the Pope Francis Day Center for the homeless. It’s one of four charities (Belle Isle Conservancy, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Detroit, and the Detroit Public Safety Foundation are the others) that the Grand Prix, now in its fourth year downtown, prioritizes.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Mark Rushbrook, Ford Racing boss, agreed. “We are racing in front of friends, family and our co-workers from across Michigan. While we continue to expand Ford’s racing footprint globally—competing in 35 series around the world—our home is here in Detroit.”

The Detroit GP, said Campbell, stands to gain from the Memorial Day weekend’s epic Indianapolis 500 — where the Honda-powered Meyer Shank IndyCar of Felix Rosenqvist beat the Chevrolet-powered Team Penske entry of David Malukas in the closest finish in Indy history.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Sterling Heights — With 420 horsepower and a satisfying roar, the 6.2-liter pushrod V-8 engine under the hood of my 2026 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Sport tester would usually be my obsession.

But eight is a trivial number in the Platinum Sport model.

What has my attention in the Platinum Sport are the dozens of buttons that operate a cornucopia of automatic functions on this rolling condominium: auto doors, seats, tailgate, drawers, TV screens and Super Cruise hands-free driving. At $131K, Platinum Sport is an expensive automobile — but an affordable condo.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Indianapolis — Two one hundredths of a second.

That’s how close Bloomfield Hills-based, 89-year-old Roger Penske came to winning his 21st Indianapolis 500 Sunday — and to his 24-year-old Team Penske phenom David Malukas winning his first.

In the tightest finish in the 110-year history of the Indy 500, Malukas and his No. 12 Chevrolet-powered IndyCar was passed by Honda-powered Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist in the final stretch before the green flag in a wild, rain-interrupted, yellow flag-marred, 200-mph-pass-fest over 500 miles. The win was popular one for 34-year-old Swede Rosenqvist, one of the most-liked drivers in the paddock, but a heartbreaker for Malukas who just joined Team Penske this year.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

West Bloomfield — I slipped into the comfortable leather seats of the 2026 Jeep Cherokee and pressed the elegant, bejeweled starter button on the console. Just like a Jeep Wagoneer S. I gripped the rectangular steering wheel to better view the big digital instrument display. Just like a Wagoneer S. Merging onto I-75, I nailed the throttle and the gas-hybrid Cherokee leapt forward thanks to an assist from its electric motor like the all-electric S.

The $67K Wagoneer S EV has left the market for 2027, but — for 60% of the cost — its DNA lives on in the terrific, $37K Cherokee reborn for 2026.

You need a baseball scorecard to keep track of the lineup changes at Stellantis brands these days.

As the feds called off the government dogs mandating electric vehicles, automakers have shuffled models to please customers again. Ram 1500 brought back its V8-powered truck, gas-fired Dodge Charger hellions are in vogue, and Jeep has paused the compact Wagoneer S ute and resurrected the Cherokee for the market’s most-popular, compact SUV segment.

Cherokee is an S without the $.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Chelsea — The street truck wars are back.

In the tradition of iconic Mopar pickup hellions like the 1978-79 Li’l Red Express and 2004-06 SRT-10, Ram has introduced its Rumble Bee muscle truck lineup for 2027. Street trucks — pickups channeling their muscle-car siblings with big engines, body mods and lowered chassis — were a fascination in the late 1990s/early 2000s with unique beasts like the Ford F-150 SVT Lightning, Chevrolet 454 SS and GMC Syclone.

The SRT-10 was considered the standard with its earth-shaking, Dodge Viper-derived, 8.3-liter V-10 engine and record-breaking 154 mph top speed. The street truck trend faded during the 2008 recession and has been dormant as consumers flocked to off-road hellions like the Ram TRX, Ford F-150 Raptor and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro.

Ford resurrected the street truck idea in 2025 with the lowered, drifting Maverick Lobo and aggressive-looking F-150 Lobo. Now Rumble Bee kicks down the door with a full-blown, full-volume, full-size-street truck revival.

Here are five key things about the 2027 Ram Rumble Bee pickup.

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