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Payne: Mazda fixed the CX-5. Except for the turbo-4
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 14, 2026
Southfield — Rarely do I attack a 180-degree cloverleaf with an SUV. Exiting I-75 in the all-new 2026 Mazda CX-5, I activated SPORT mode, stabbed the brakes, then rotated the 3,856-pound ute into the looooong turn, hugging the apex until the all-season tires screamed in protest. The CX-5 stayed true.
Yep, the CX-5’s poised handling hasn’t changed.
But everything else has. After lagging the segment in touchscreen ergonomics and interior room, the third-generation CX-5 has been remade as a roomy, cutting-edge tool for the digital age. But for the curious absence of Mazda’s turbocharged engine alternative, CX-5 is a high five.
Job One: The touchscreen
As an aspirational premium brand, Mazda made a splash with the second-gen CX-5 in 2017, equipping it with a chic remote-rotary-controlled infotainment screen in the fashion of luxury brands Audi and BMW. Mazda engineers also embraced the technology because it allowed them to move the touchless screen forward on the dash where it was more in the line of the driver’s road view.
But as smartphones took over the world — and our cars — Tesla-like touchscreens were the rage. We were driving iPhones on wheels! BMW quickly fell in line with a touchscreen to complement the rotary i-Drive it had, ahem, invented. So, too, Genesis. Audi went touchscreen, and suddenly … Mazda’s system was unfashionable.
And unloved. My son looooves his Mazda3, except for the clumsy remote controller.
Read full article here.
Payne: Chinese Polestar 4, U.S.-made Tesla Model Y go wheel-to-wheel
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 7, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Washington, D.C. — Who says Chinese cars aren’t sold in the United States?
Produced by Chinese auto giant Geely, the Polestar 4 SUV debuted this year into the U.S. market’s most competitive luxury segment: electric vehicles.
Its Swedish design is wrapped around Geely’s Sustainability Experience Architecture — a platform shared with other Geely Group vehicles like the Zeekr 001 (and the Waymo Ojai autonomous vehicle currently cruising the streets of Detroit, Phoenix, and San Francisco). The 4’s assembly was recently moved to South Korea from Chinato bypass U.S. tariffs.
In design, concept and performance, it is one of the most daring EVs on the market and is aimed squarely at the best-selling U.S. model made by the company that has defined daring: the Tesla Model Y.
I flogged 4 and Y far and wide across roads from Oakland County to Washington, D.C., to Virginia’s North Neck. Tesla vs. Polestar. U.S. vs. China.
Here’s how the king and the contender compare, and which comes out on top in which areas.
F1 announces return to V-8 engines. How it impacts Cadillac F1, Ford
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 7, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cadillac F1 and Ford Racing’s first Formula One race together on US soil wasn’t the only big news at last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix. In a bombshell announcement, F1’s governing body announced that it wants to ditch electrification to get its thundering V-8 voice back.
That’s music to the ears of its new Motown competitors.
“It’s coming. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of time,” Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), told Reuters on Sunday. “In 2031, the V-8, the FIA will have the power to do it. That’s the regulations. But we want to bring it one year earlier, which everyone now is asking for.”
Ben Sulayem’s announcement – reiterated in a media roundtable post-race — came in the wake of another 2026 Grand Prix weekend mired in controversy as drivers, teams and fans rebelled against its new 50-50 battery-gas hybrid power unit (F1-speak for powertrain).
With battery regeneration requiring a lift-and-coast driving style around high-speed circuits like the Miami International Autodrome, drivers mocked the system as an expensive version of Nintendo’s Mario Kart video game. The complex 350-kW electric unit with a small, 1.6-liter turbo-V-6 engine has also caused safety concerns.
Spotted in Detroit: Chinese-made minivan could ferry Waymo riders here
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 5, 2026
The Detroit News, The Detroit News
Waymo did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from The Detroit News.
The China-sourced Zeekr platforms have been imported from China as so-called “glider” chassis. Waymo pays a tariff on those imports, but it is not affected by U.S. regulations restricting the import of Chinese cars because they are not sold to retail customers.
The Zeekr sighting comes amid mounting China anxiety spawning federal legislation to bar Chinese-made vehicles from the United States, with arguments for doing so that include protecting national security and the domestic auto industry.
Where Cadillac, Ford stand in F1 after historic Miami GP debut
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 5, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Miami — Cadillac F1 and Ford Racing may one day go toe-to-toe at the front of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix.
But they will take very different paths to get there.
In a historic Detroit first, General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. motorsports divisions squared off on U.S. soil in the world’s premier open-wheel series Sunday, with some 80 million fans worldwide watching on TV. In searing Miami heat on the Hard Rock NFL Stadium’s Miami International Autodrome track, Ford Racing partner Red Bull Racing and its superstar driver Max Verstappen qualified on the front row and finished fifth after an epic, race-long battle with Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari rivals.
Further down the order, Cadillac F1 drivers Sergio “Checo” Pérez and Valtteri Bottas finished 16th and 18th, , respectively, in the 22-car field — marking the third consecutive GP that both Cadillacs finished.
The contrast is by design.
As F1 drivers blast electrification, GM’s Barra signals flexibility
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 3, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Miami — When General Motors Co. committed to join Formula One under its Cadillac flag in January 2023, it joined other luxury makers, including Mercedes, Audi and Aston Martin, enthusiastic about F1’s development of a new, electrified, 50-50 hybrid V-6 powertrain to debut this year.
But drivers despise the new powertrain for its girth, complexity and safety concerns.
“It’s just destroying the racing,” said Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, normally one of the paddock’s most reticent drivers. “We’re far away from proper F1 cars, and pushing flat out without thinking about batteries and all this stuff. I saw (onboard laps) from … the V-8 era and then what it looks like versus now … the character of the cars, and just how much more intense it looked, and how much more exciting it looked back then compared to now. I think that it’s sad.”
Stroll’s comments are echoed by drivers up and down the pit lane who pine for the purity of past, nimble, V8-powered racers and express disdain for the electrified powertrain they’re using.
Read full article here.
How American driver Herta is climbing the ladder to Cadillac F1
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 3, 2026
Hitech, Hitech
Miami — Cadillac F1 not only wants to win a Formula One World Championship, it wants an American driver to be at the wheel.
General Motors Co.’s luxury brand is making its debut on American soil this weekend — and so is American F1 hopeful Colton Herta.
Ex-IndyCar ace Herta, 26, is gaining his stripes in F1’s feeder series, Formula Two, which has been moved to a U.S. track, the Miami International Autodrome, for the first time after the cancellation of its Bahrain event due to the Iran conflict. Herta has kept a low profile here this weekend with his UK-based Hitech Grand Prix F2 team — deferring media attention to Cadillac F1’s experienced duo of drivers, Sergio Pérez of Mexico and Valtteri Bottas of Finland, and their historic debut.
Payne: Swank GMC Acadia Denali is a couple cylinders short of luxury
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 30, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Romulus — With the I-94 interchange underwater, I exited Detroit Metro Airport and waded through the flood waters in my 2026 GMC Acadia Denalia. With a GMC truck-like 7.3 inches of ground clearance and all-wheel drive, the big three-ton, three-row ute shrugged off the hazard while smaller cars turned around.
After churning through the Strait of Romulus unscathed, I scaled the on-ramp to I-94 East. Before activating hands-free Super Cruise for my ride into Detroit, I floored the throttle to merge into traffic. GROOOOOAN! droned the four-cylinder engine with a compact car-like note that sounded like the small sedans I had left behind.
The handsome, high-tech, roomy, rugged Acadia is a welcome injection of luxurious GMC cred into the three-row SUV segment, but for one flaw.
It lacks a V-6 or V-8 engine that GMC cred demands.
GMC has become a sales juggernaut in a portfolio hampered by upscale Cadillac and Buick premium brands that carry a lot of baggage.
Miami F1 preview: Cadillac, Ford square off amid series turmoil
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 30, 2026
GM, GM
Miami — Cadillac F1 and Ford Racing square off on American soil this weekend at the Miami Grand Prix, Formula One’s first of three U.S. events in 2026.
The historic clash of Detroit-backed teams comes as F1, the world’s premier open-wheel motorsport, struggles to transition to the new 50-50 hybrid powertrain that attracted investment from the Motown brands. Following chaotic opening races in Australia, China and Japan, the series faced an open revolt from drivers and fans over the new, electrified technology’s competitiveness and safety.
After the Iran war precipitated the cancellation of F1’s twin Mideast April events — the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix — the month off allowed the sport to regroup with technical changes as it heads to Miami and May. Host venue? The Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, owned by another Michiganian giant, billionaire developer Stephen Ross.
Chevy Bolt 2.0 reflects a new auto landscape with new battery tech
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 29, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Westlake, California — The electric Chevrolet Bolt was born in 2016 with high expectations, put out to pasture in 2023, and given a second chance for the 2027 model year.
Its rebirth is a microcosm of Detroit electric vehicle learnings over the last 10 years. From its new battery to its new charging port, hands-free driving system and new assembly plant, the upgraded Bolt 2.0 has adapted to a dramatically different EV and manufacturing ecosystem than Bolt 1.0 occupied.
“The industry had a lot of dreams. Now we have a lot of realities,” said auto analyst Rebecca Lindland, managing director of automotive and mobility for HarrisX and Allison Worldwide – and former communications director for kaput EV startup Fisker Inc. “Bolt is coming into a market very different from what manufacturers thought (it would be) 10 years ago. So it’s smart for GM to provide a vehicle that’s different, that’s got a very passionate buyer base, that has distinctive technology.”
The first-gen Bolt hatchback debuted as a 2016 revolutionary with 238-mile range.
It was the first, affordable, non-Tesla EV with 200-plus mile range electric vehicle produced at General Motors Co.’s dedicated small-car Orion Assembly plant north of Detroit. The first-gen Bolt was built alongside the Opel Ampera-e EV bound for Europe and Chevy Sonic subcompact as GM transitioned from its Volt sedan’s plug-in hybrid technology to an all-electric future.
Mustang accelerates Ford’s global icon strategy. Here’s how
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 24, 2026
Ford
Ford announced this week that the Mustang Dark Horse SC makes a staggering 795 horsepower — eclipsing its predecessor, the 2023 Mustang Shelby GT500, by 35 ponies.
But horsepower isn’t the only thing rising in Mustang’s lineup.
At $108,485, the supercharged V-8 Dark Horse SC is well above the $81K ($94K inflation-adjusted) Shelby GT500 when it retired in 2022, much less the entry-level, turbo-4-cylinder, $34K Ecoboost model. And the Dark Horse SC is well shy of the range-topping, estimated-$328,000 Mustang GTD supercar that boasts 815 horsepower.
The massive expansion of the Mustang lineup for its seventh-generation pony car is driven by Ford’s icon strategy, which prioritizes passion products including Mustang, F-series pickups and Bronco SUVs. Indeed, the ‘Stang production lineup’s $300,000-plus price spread dwarfs that of luxury German performance automakers like BMW, with a sedan lineup that ranges from the $43,550 2-series sedan to the $126,850 M5 track beast. That’s a mere $83K price spread.
Payne: Stick-shift Acura Integra is two-wheels shy of perfect
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 24, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Built on the same bones as the terrific, manual-only Honda Civic Si, Integra is the rare vehicle that offers a manual shifter these days. Honda-Acura are brands built on performance: Honda Formula One drivetrains, Acura IMSA Weathertech Sportscar prototypes, Honda Civic Type R IMSA World Challenge.
If the manual is ever retired, Honda-Acura models will surely be some of the last bulls put out to pasture.
The Integra’s manual fits like a glove. Intuitive console placement. Precise shifts. Short throws. It’s the best thing this side of a Porsche 911. Complemented by a standard rev match no matter what mode you’re in — SPORT, NORMAL, COMFORT — it begs to be rowed. Even on M-31 which — unlike my favorite, west side M-32 and Hell, Michigan, roads — is as flat as a board with few twists and turns.
EV winners and losers: Tesla and Chevy gain, VW and startups retreat
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 21, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
After a turbulent 2025, U.S. electric-vehicle market share stabilized in the first three months of 2026 at 5.8% — consistent with Q4 2025, the first quarter without government incentives ended by Congress and President Donald Trump. EV sales swings from the United States to Norway to China have consistently tracked government support, industry analysts say.
Even before the U.S. government pulled the plug on the $7,500 sales subsidy late last year — causing a brief, Q3 run to 10.5% market share — EV sales, as The Detroit News reported, had stabilized at about 8% of the market. Without the Damocles Sword of 2026 government EV mandates overhead, manufacturers are reassessing the EV market — or leaving it altogether.
Absent the threat of billions in state-and-federal fines, brands like Volkswagen, Honda, Ram, and Ford have dropped planned electrics. Meanwhile, mega-brands and luxury makers like Chevy, Toyota, Hyundai, Audi, BMW and Mercedes have stayed the course on parallel ICE/EV lines.
Perhaps a leading indicator of the electric market’s plateau is U.S. EV market leader Tesla, which while still dominating the segment, has canceled its iconic S/X models to focus on robots — whether robotaxi or humanoid.
Ford v Corvette: Mustang GTD retakes American Nürburgring lap record
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 21, 2026
Ford
For good measure, the Mustang lap also eclipsed the fastest Porsche 911 GT2 lap ever recorded at the Nürburgring by three seconds.
More insanity? The non-street-legal, track-focused version of the mid-engine Ford GT supercar, the GT Mk IV, set the outright American lap record of 6:15.9 minutes last month. It’s the third-fastest lap ever recorded round the ‘Ring behind the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo and VW ID.R race cars.
Auto titans share Pope Francis podium to help the homeless
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 17, 2026
Carlos Osorio, Special To The Detroit News
Detroit — Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley and General Motors Co. President Mark Reuss are ferocious competitors on auto development, dealer showrooms and race tracks. But on Thursday night they came together at Ford Field to affirm their shared passion for Detroit.
And for its favorite adopted son, Roger Penske.
Before 1,000 attendees at the 2026 Building Bridges Gala hosted by the Pope Francis Center, the Big Three of Detroit motorsports — Penske, Reuss, Farley — talked about their commitment to helping the Motor City’s neediest and honored Penske for his decades of community service.
How Nissan plans U.S. comeback with Bronco-fighting Xterra SUV
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 17, 2026
It’s been a rough decade for Nissan Motor Corp. as sales plummeted 40% in the United States, CEO Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Japan, and the brand’s planned EV transformation, beginning with the Ariya SUV, flopped.
So for the 2027 model year, Nissan is going back to basics — beginning with the return of the dirt-chewing, Mississippi-assembled, V6-powered, truck-based Xterra SUV aimed squarely at the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco.
Just three weeks after Hyundai stunned attendees at New York Auto Show media week with the midsized, truck-based Boulder Concept, Nissan announced the Xterra. Based on its midsized Frontier pickup truck, the Xterra was previously produced from 1999-2015. The new model joins an Asian assault on the popular, profit-rich off-road segment as General Motors Co.’s Chevy and GMC brands have focused on new electric vehicles.
Nissan
Payne: Rivian R1T Quad is a tank turnin’, electron burnin’, cargo storin’ hoot
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 16, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Holly — When I was a kid, I’d spin toy tanks in my sandbox, slinging sand while mimicking real tank turns. WHEEE! As I’ve grown older, my sandboxes have gotten bigger.
At Holly Oaks ORV Park, I stopped my 2026 Rivian R1T Quad pickup in the dirt and selected ALL-TERRAIN mode in the 15.6-inch console screen. I selected the KICK TURN icon and swiped PREPARE TO TURN. A Sasquatch-like cartoon character named Gear Guard Gary popped up and performed a break dance. Tank-turn time.
Holding the steering wheel straight, I pushed the RIGHT buttons on each steering spoke simultaneously, engaged the throttle and spun the pickup clockwise — slinging sand like a tank. WHEEE! Stop. Engage the LEFT buttons and spin counterclockwise. WHEEE!
Rivian Quad is a toy for big kids with big piggy banks.
Payne: Corolla FX Hatch brings affordable Toyota X-citement
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 9, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Oakland County — After a couple of somnolent performance decades while it nerded out on hybrid hegemony, Toyota has awakened from its slumber. Formula One partnership with Haas, GR86 sportscar, GR Corolla hot hatch. Huzzah.
The latest espresso shot is the 2026 Corolla Hatchback FX Editon burning a hole in my driveway.
You can see it from space. Orange paint, white wheels, giant aerofoil hanging off the rear hatchback. The FX Edition hatch follows on the limited-edition FX sedan introduced last year and is a more direct homage to the 1986-88 Corolla FX16 hot hatch from a hot decade of ‘80s culture: Top Gun, DeLorean DMC-12, ZZ Top, Audi Quattro, Pac-Man, Ferrari F40. But whereas FX16 was a sleeper hellion to take on the Volkswagen Golf GTI, FX Edition flips the script with its gym bod, and … standard 169-horse Corolla 2-liter under the muscle shirt.
Payne: NY Auto Show touts muscle, off-road challenge to Detroit icons
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 4, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
New York — The New York International Auto Show opened in 1900 at Madison Square Garden and it’s still going strong in the Javits Convention Center 126 years later.
This week the Big Apple’s big show kicked off featuring 32 brands, 10 new model reveals, two outdoor test tracks, an indoor EV track, and the World Car of the Year Awards.
The BMW iX3 won World Car of the Year, the Chinese-made Firefly won Urban Car, and the Corvette E-Ray was a World Luxury Car finalist even as Chevy announced last month it is ceasing the hybrid’s production. The show floor is littered with everything from $3 million Koenigsegg Regera to electric Lucids to a Mustang v Corvette muscle war. In addition to the sheet metal, there’s a Subaru dog pen, racing simulators, and the United States Marine Band.
Here are the new model highlights.
King of the ‘Ring: Ford GT Mark IV sets American Nürburgring lap record
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 3, 2026
Drew Gibson, Ford
There’s a new American king of the ‘Ring.
The Ford GT Mark IV, the last model of the mid-engine GT produced from 2016-2026, has destroyed the American Nürburgring lap record, gas-engine lap record, and Mercedes AMG-One GT-car lap record in one fell swoop.
The Ford GT lapped the storied, 12.9-mile German circuit — nicknamed the Green Hell for its diabolical, high-speed, 170-turn layout — at an astonishing 6.15.9 minutes. Introduced in 2023 as the ultimate expression of the Ford GT, the $1.7 million Mark IV has a lightweight carbon-fiber body, active aerodynamic, spool-valve shock absorber suspension, racing gearbox, and a upgraded, 800-horsepower version of the twin-turbo V-6 in the $700,000 GT.