Aspen, Colorado — With snow piled three feet on either side of a mountain trail, I punched twin ceiling buttons to activate front/rear differential lockers on my 2025 Ineos Grenadier tester. GRRRRRRRR! With all four wheels churning in unison in low gear, the British beast charged across the white landscape.
Grenadier may have been born to take on the arid grasslands of Africa, but this Brit feels right at home in America.
For generations, we Yanks have fallen in love with English-made Land Rover 4x4s featured in the movie “Born Free,” National Geographic documentaries and African safari trips. The boxy, rugged, lovable Grenadier is a Rover for a new generation of adventure-seekers.
The 2025 Ineos Grenadier is on sale in 50 countries with the United States making up 60% of sales so far.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Grenadier is as familiar as a brawny Jeep Wrangler, as exotic as the BMW drivetrain under its hood, as quirky as a pith-helmeted safari guide. Indeed, it was inspired by Ineos chairman and adventure-seeker Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his safaris with veteran South African guide Charles Van Rensburg. The two friends mourned the passing of the iconic, ladder-framed, solid-axle Land Rover Defender in 2016 (which was finally succeeded by a softer, unibody, independent-suspension SUV in 2020).
The pair brainstormed a Rover replacement that could not only deflect charging elephant tusks on Botswana expeditions (Van Rensburg told me this happens a couple times a year) but also wow U.S. luxury buyers with a hip daily driver. Marshaling the capital resources of petrochemical giant Ineos Group Ltd., billionaire Ratcliffe sought to recreate the Defender to repopulate African safari fleets — and global garages.
The result is Grenadier — a Jeep with an English accent, powered by a German BMW inline-6, and loaded with Ratcliffe’s personality.
Appropriately, this gas-swiggin’, upscale Wrangler has a sibling, the Quartermaster pickup that echoes Jeep’s Gladiator.
The 2025 Ineos Grenadier comes standard with 4WD, all-terrain tires, and off-road toughness.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I flogged both all over Aspen’s Rocky Mountains and they performed like they had lived there as long as imported European draft horses. Like the World War II-born Jeep and Land Rovers, Grenadier and Quartermaster take their names from English military tradition.
The twins differ only in that the Quartermaster sports a 5.1-foot box out back and reduced rear-seat legroom — in keeping with the cramped back seats of midsize competitors like the GMC Canyon AT4, Chevy Colorado ZR2 and Ford Ranger Raptor.
Step up into Grenadier’s cockpit 10.5 inches off the ground and drop into a WW2 Lancaster aircraft. A waterfall of switches, buttons and dials roll down the console controlling climate, radio, altimeter and more. Altimeter? Yes, the round gauge registered 9,532 feet in the Rockies.
Ratcliffe is also an avid sailor, so naturally the dash is bracketed by red and green hash marks designating, respectively, port and starboard in accordance with maritime colors. Aye aye, Captain.
The 2025 Ineos Grenadier is a two-row SUV with a roomy cabin in front and back. The Quartermaster pickup is much tighter in the backseat.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Overhead are more buttons and switches to manage the aforementioned off-road tools as well as external add-ons like winches and lights. Screens? You get one — atop the dash like a piece of bread that just popped out of a toaster. The Ineos is simple, quirky, mechanical, cool.
I awoke the Lancaster bomber — er, SUV — with an old-fashioned turn-key and thought about running down the airplane checklist with my co-pilot.
Four-wheel drive?
Check.
Altimeter?
Check.
Center differential?
Check.
Twin 12-volt batteries under the rear seat in case one expires in the bush?
Check.
BMW monostable shifter?
Check. What the-?
The idea for the 2025 Ineos Grenadier was birthed in the Grenadier Pub in England by Ineos Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, an avid safari adventurer.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
A small-volume automaker, Ineos shopped for a third-party engine with performance, reliability, brand cache. Cue the 3.0-liter, 281-horsepower, 331-torque, turbocharged inline-6 cylinder ubiquitous in BMWs and paired with that eight-speed automatic monostable shifter. It stands out like a greyhound in a horse barn.
It works. WAAAUHGGHGH! The automatic flicked off buttery shifts up a Rocky Mountain four-lane. More importantly, the monostable quickly engages NEUTRAL so you can engage the big, black transfer-care shifter and shove it into LOW when:
– a blizzard blows in out of nowhere- an off-road trail calls- you need to ford 30 inches of water.
The monostable is accompanied by a rotary BMW-like iDrive dial, which comes in handy when you are heaving over off-road moguls, rendering the touchscreen useless. Bimmer details aide, the Grenadier/Quartermaster exudes testosterone.
The 2025 Ineos Grenadier has a pickup sibling, the Quartermaster. They share everything – except the Quartermaster features a 5.5-foot bed, tailgate and smaller backseat.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The front bumper is made in three pieces so that if — you know, an elephant tusk tears off a corner, then the whole bumper won’t fall off. The steel hood and roof support 350 pounds in case you want to climb up the rear ladder (or pickup bed) and survey the Serengeti while your three Labrador Retrievers nap on the warm hood.
The doors feature MOLLE webbing (as does the cargo bay) so your safari guide can hang baggage off the side. The 17-inch steely wheels (18s optional) are wrapped in 32-inch all-terrain tires so you can survive Colorado creek beds — and Detroit potholes. Then there’s a recessed handle above each of the four doors so you can strap down equipment, Christmas trees, and safari trophy kills to the roof.
More clever features abound like the 30-70 rear cabinet doors, so you can just open one side when you are, say, trailering the Ineo’s 7,716-pound limit. Peek under the Ineos and it wears bright red underwear — the color of its ladder frame.
At 6’7” tall, Grenadier has no more ambition to pull corner g-loads than your kitchen toaster. And its Wrangler-like solid axles mean it has all the on-road driving verve of a tractor. With just 15 mpg fuel economy, the three-ton rhino will need to visit a watering hole every 355 miles.
The 2025 Ineos Grenadier has a ceiling-full of switches to control drive modes and three differential lockers. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
As its dimensions suggest, Grenadier focuses on offering utilitarian — not performance — upgrades.
A smorgasbord of options are available for all three trims — base Station Wagon, Fieldmaster and Trailmaster. Options include twin sunroofs, snorkel, roof racks, hood pads (so your Labs don’t slip) and shovel. Its 115-foot wheelbase is competitive with Jeeps and old Defenders — not only good for breakover angles off-road, but also for urban parking.
Alas, safety goodies like blind-spot assist and adaptive cruise control are unavailable in keeping with its simplicity theme (finding a service station that can fix electronics is a bear in the African jungle) — but will be missed in the urban jungle. The good news is the same big, square windows Grenadier needs for safari visibility also aid urban visibility.
And Sir Jim has equipped the Grenadier with a secondary red TOOT button on the steering wheel so that you can politely warn a bicyclist that you’re coming without leaning into the horn.
How very British. And very welcome to the American safari.
Next week: 2025 Cadillac Optiq
2025 Ineos Grenadier and Quartermaster
Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV and pickup
Price: $76,700, including $1,600 destination fee (Grenadier); $85,500, including $1,600 destination fee (Quartermaster)
Power plant: 3.0-liter, turbocharged, inline-6 cylinder
Power: 281 horsepower, 331 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Eight-speed manual
Performance (Grenadier): 0-60 mph, 7.3 seconds (Car and Driver); towing; 7,716 pounds;. top speed: 99 mph
Performance (Quartermaster): 0-60 mph, 8.6 seconds (Car and Driver est.); towing, 7,716 pounds; payload, 1,889 pounds; top speed: 99 mph
Weight: 5,901 pounds (Grenadier as tested); 5,900-6,000 pounds (Quartermaster, est.)
Aspen, Colorado — The early 21st century auto market has experienced a flurry of startup automakers not seen in a century. Following in the footsteps of Tesla Inc., new battery-powered vehicle makers have been inspired by a new electric market, government EV mandates, and fat taxpayer subsidies.
Startup, internal-combustion-engine-fired automaker Ineos Automotive Ltd. is an exception.
The Brit brand sees an opportunity in a different niche market as it brings its straight-6-cylinder-powered Grenadier SUV and Quartermaster pickup to the ring in the hot, premium, off-road segment competing against heavyweights like Land Rover Defender, GMC Canyon AT4, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and Ford Bronco Raptor.
Ineos CEO Lynn Calder on the British off-road startup’s journey: “If it were easy, everyone would be doing it." Stan Papior, Ineos
Like its fresh-faced EV peers, Ineos is jumping into the world’s most ferociously competitive consumer market with a team of risk-takers who believe their product offers a unique answer to consumer needs. The Ineos story is one of overcoming the mountain-sized hurdles of design, funding, manufacturing, marketing and regulation.
“If it were easy everyone would be doing it. We see a lot of people try and fail and I can completely see why,” said Lynn Calder, Ineos’ 45-year old, Scottish-born CEO in an interview. “It’s an extremely complex business that has probably never been as complex as it is right now.”
Unlike its EV peers, Ineos entered the market the old-fashioned way: without government assistance, without the need to build its own fueling infrastructure, and with faith in the traditional franchise dealer market to connect with customers.
“Electric is having its moment, and it’s got its place in the mix of powertrain needs for the customer, but I don’t think it’s everything,” Calder added. “We see an opportunity for a pure-blood, very mechanical, very capable off-road vehicle that (is) different than all the other cars on the road.”
Ineos’ journey stated a decade ago with petrochemical industrial billionaire and adventure seeker Sir Jim Ratcliffe talking with veteran South African guide Charles Van Rensburg about the void created by Land Rover when it discontinued its truck-based, off-road vehicle. The rugged Defender (reborn in 2020 as a unibody SUV) was the cornerstone of African safari adventures.
The Ineos Quartermaster pickup and its SUV sibling, the Grenadier, are assembled in France. Ineos
“We could see the gap in the market as vehicles were stepping away from that pure, go-anywhere 4×4,” said Ratcliffe’s son, George, who resides in New Jersey as Ineos’ president of the Americas. “Everyone was moving to SUVs and becoming street-only cars. That was the seed of our idea.”
The Grenadier SUV was born in its namesake — the Grenadier Pub in London — a favorite hangout of the Ratcliffes and Ineos employees. The dirt-kicker’s distinctive, macho shape was then penned in 2018 by famed yacht designer and Ratcliffe pal Toby Ecuyer. Ineos survived a lawsuit from Land Rover in 2020 claiming the company had stolen its boxy design, then bought an assembly plant from Mercedes in the eastern French city of Hambach.
The idea for the 2025 Ineos Grenadier was birthed in the Grenadier Pub in England by Ineos Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, an avid safari adventurer. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
With Magna International Inc. (which also makes the Mercedes G-Class and Jaguar i-Pace in Europe) as its industrial partner, BMW AG providing engines and ZF providing gearboxes, Ineos set out to sell in 50 markets with an eye on the biggest prize: the USA.
“The heritage of our story, the entrepreneurial aspect to it” has real appeal, said CEO Calder, noting iconic auto executives in the United States like Henry Ford and Elon Musk. “Sir Jim Ratcliffe funded this, designed it, developed it. This is his car. And I think Americans really champion entrepreneurs that do really cool things and stick their neck out and succeed. I think that really resonates in the U.S.”
On paper, the business model had back story, business partners and secure funding from Ineos’s parent petrochemical company. “Ineos appeals to bus boys and billionaires. It offers a tough mage even if it never goes off-road,” said Allison Worldwide auto analyst Rebecca Lindland, herself a veteran of Fisker Automotive’s (failed) EV startup. “Magna has consistently built high-quality vehicles.”
Calder smiled: “That was the easy part.”
The Scot joined the Ineos automotive team as CEO in late 2022 as the brand struggled to organize production. A university-trained economist, Calder had extensive experience in private equity and nine years as CEO of Ineos’ composites subsidiary.
“It’s systems, it’s people, it’s relationships,” she said. “Everyone thinks it’s about getting the system to deliver the right part at the right time. But if you don’t have your supply base knowing what you are trying to achieve, and you don’t communicate with them sufficiently? You need to build relationships and spend time.”
That meant consolidating a diaspora of Ineos employees — supply team in Germany, buyers in Portugal — to join production workers at Hambach’s “coal face,” Calder’s English slang for vehicle assembly.
She also made the decision — against the industry trend — to distribute Ineos vehicles through traditional dealer networks. As other luxury startups like Tesla, Lucid Motors and Rivian Automotive Inc. pursued innovative, in-house retail outlets, industry consultants told Ineos that manufacturer-led distribution was the future.
“BMW, Mercedes, everyone was going to it,” Calder said. “Whereas we had the chance to come in from the ground up. It was a persuasive argument, it was of its time. But we just learned that it is not the right thing to do.”
Ineos has built a network of 30 franchise dealers in the United States, including in Michigan, where Feldman Automotive Group has opened a dealership in Waterford Township. Calder said U.S. demand has been strong, already accounting for 60% of global sales.
“Where we are really excelling is in the U.S. where traditional dealers know how to sell cars,” said Ineos’ chief. “They do it very well, they look after their customers really well.”
Coupled with distribution, Ineos also had to put in place a marketing plan so its voice could be heard above the cacophony of multi-million-dollar consumer ad campaigns. That was not an easy ask of a petrochemical giant, a company that had made its fortune in business-to-business sales.
“The world needs to understand just how complex (the auto) industry is compared to B2B,” said Calder, noting that Ineos’ only other consumer ventures were a small cleaning supplies company and a sportswear maker. “It’s great that we are manufacturing a car, but if nobody knows where we are, nobody is going to buy it. We are learning a new trade, a new, magic black art of marketing.”
In an industry where big players spend “a few hundred million a year” on brand advertising, Calder said Ineos has focused on targeted social media and sponsoring events like Olympic superstar Shaun White’s Snow League pro snowboard competition.
Hanging over these complex operational details is the constantly shifting climate of government regulation and trade policy.
“It’s insane. It’s important for the industry to be regulated, (but) there is something about this particular industry that has gone a bit mad,” Calder said of, in particular, European emissions regulations that are on target to ban internal-combustion engines like that used by Ineos by 2035 — with the United Kingdom threatening a 2030 ban.
“The policy is all wrong. In Europe and the UK right now they want it to be one-size-fits-all, and it’s breaking the industry and it’s not doing consumers any favors.”
The regulatory environment means Ineos — as well as its petrochemical parent that is also under pressure from regulators — has to divert resources to government lobbying. But Calder said it’s the “consumer that speaks at the end of the day. My view is the government stance in Europe . . . is not 10 years in the future, it is tomorrow, relatively speaking. And they are going to have to accept it’s just not going to happen.”
She takes solace in the transition to President Donald Trump in the United States, Ineos’ biggest market, and the move towards deregulation. But the Trump administration’s tariff policies brings other challenges.
“(Tariffs are) a huge worry particularly the levels (Trump) is talking about. We could absorb (a small) tariff giving the size of this market. But the levels that have been imposed on Mexico and Canada — which are in line with the ‘chicken tax’ — would basically mean our cars would be dis-incentivized,” she said. The chicken tax is the 25% tariff the United States already levies on imports of light-duty trucks from outside North America; Ineos is paying the tax on its Quartermaster pickups.
In the end, Calder hoped U.S. tariff threats will level the playing field and reduce tariffs between the United States and Europe. The European Union currently levels a 10% duty on U.S. auto imports, which is significantly higher than the 2.5% U.S. tariff on (non-pickup) vehicles.
“My view is Trump is a negotiator, and he’s talking about 25% because he says (trade is) unfair and you need to do something about it,” Calder said. “My hope is Europe will to come to the table; that is a better outcome. I think all (Trump) wants is parity, so . . . everything is 2.5%.”
That’s a lot on the menu for a startup automaker. The upside, Calder said with a smile, “is the most satisfying job I’ve had. My team and I have a lot of fun.”
It’s fun that Ineos hopes translates to its unique 4×4 products. “The Grenadier and Quartermaster are a celebration of the choice that’s in the U.S. auto market today,” said analyst Lindland. “They show that customers still want individual, customized, gas-powered cars.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Aspen, Colorado — Undeterred by the United States’ stiff tariff on imported pickup trucks, the Ineos Quartermaster is coming to America.
British automaker Ineos announced this month that its premium, French-made truck will start at $83,988 and be the only foreign-made pickup sold in the United States. Significantly, Ineos will swallow the cost of the so-called 25% “chicken tax” tariff that has protected Detroit Three truck sales for decades.
Pickups assembled outside North America are subject to the steep tariff, a barrier that has long protected Detroit’s venerable cash cows and forced foreign rivals to build their competitive metal in the U.S. heartland — or, practically speaking, stay out of the lucrative market.
“The chicken tax has been around for a very long time and applies to light commercial vehicles” including the Quartermaster, Ineos CEO Lynn Calder said in an interview at the pickup’s national media test. “But we still think we’re coming to the market with an extremely competitive price, which is a lot of car for the money. We think the Quartermaster is perfectly placed for the pickup truck market. So absolutely, we will swallow (the tariff) because we want to be in this market.”
The 2025 Ineos Quartermaster pickup truck is made in France. Sold in 50 countries, its biggest volume is expected in the United States in markets like Colorado (pictured), where the truck maker is bringing it despite the six-decade-old "chicken tax" on light-duty trucks produced outside North America.Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Ineos debuted its rugged, off-road Grenadier (the SUV sibling to the Quartermaster) in 2023 to 50 markets around the world, and SUV-obsessed America has accounted for 60% of sales. Built on the same ladder-frame chassis as the Quartermaster, Grenadier won the coveted best Off-Road SUV award from the Texas Auto Writers Association, and Ineos expects the Quartermaster will also have appeal in Pickup Nation.
President Lyndon B. Johnson during a 1964 visit to Detroit. The Texas Democrat levied tariffs on goods including light-duty trucks that year, providing a protective boost to domestic pickup producers that endures to this day. The Detroit News Archives
The chicken tax is remnant of trade wars that long predate the Trump administration’s current trade-and-tariff policies. In 1964, Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson retaliated against France and West Germany for imposing tariffs on U.S. chicken exports by slapping tariffs on a wide range of products including potato starch, brandy, and light-duty trucks.
The so-called “chicken tax” on all trucks and commercial vehicles built outside the United States stuck, effectively shaping the manufacturing footprints and product development strategies of General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Stellantis NV and their foreign rivals.
“The chicken tax has made sure that U.S. truck makers are successful,” said Roman Mica, publisher of TFL Trucks and a longtime expert on the pickup market. “It has kept competition at bay.”
Republican President Ronald Reagan, with support from Michigan Democratic Rep. John Dingell, also led a tariff campaign against Japanese imports in the 1980s that resulted in carmakers like Honda and Toyota locating manufacturing plants stateside.
The 2025 Ineos Quartermaster pickup truck has a 5.5-foot bed, four-wheel drive and 115-inch wheelbase.” data-c-credit. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
To avoid the chicken tax, Japanese manufacturers have built pickups in North America. Toyota assembles the Tundra and Tacoma in Texas, Nissan makes the Titan and Frontier in Mississippi, and Honda the Ridgeline in Alabama.
The chicken tax is a 25% tariff levied on the the base price of a truck before destination fee, so Ineos will pay the federal government $20,997 for each Quartermaster it sells.
That penalty is more easily swallowed by a premium truck like Quartermaster — though Ineos’ decision to eliminate the Quartermaster’s base trim and price its first Fieldmaster model at $84K may be influenced by the tariff. For the Grenadier SUV, which is unaffected by the chicken tax, its up-trim Fieldmaster model carries a similar price — but the base, Station Wagon model starts at $75K.
“Smaller pickups like this 2018 Volkswagen Amarok, produced in South America, have not made it to U.S. shores, largely because of the 25% “chicken tax” on light-duty trucks the U.S. imposes on light-duty trucks made outside North America. AP
The tariff has been a bigger deterrent against mainstream brands like Volkswagen, which has long teased a midsize pickup truck for the U.S. market. Volkswagen makes its Amarok truck in South America for global distribution but has never imported it to the United States.
“The chicken tax has really hurt consumer choice,” said TFL’s Mica. “Especially in small trucks. There are a lot of smaller trucks sold around the world that we don’t get here because of the tariff. For example, Stellantis sells small trucks in other parts of the world and VW sells the Amarok.”
In the early years of the 21st century, Mercedes disassembled fully-built commercial vans from Germany — then rebuilt them in South Carolina — to avoid the tariff.
Even U.S. automakers have struggled with the tariff. Spying a loophole in the law, Ford Motor Co. imported its Transit Connect commercial van from Turkey from 2009-13 with rear seats installed — then removed them after the vans passed customs. Ford eventually agreed to pay the U.S. government a $365 million fine.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Detroit — As the 2025 IndyCar season gets underway, 44-year-old senior statesman Will Power of Team Penske is celebrating his 20th year in the open-wheel sport. With the Detroit Grand Prix less than three months away, Power says the sport has never been stronger.
“It’s been great to watch the series evolve and get to the point where it is at right now with incredible depth of teams and drivers,” said the two-time champion and driver of the No. 12 car in an interview at a sponsor event at the Garden Theater. “With a (broadcast) partner in Fox that is promoting us tremendously — more than I have ever seen. It’s great to see.”
The addition of Fox as the motorsports’ exclusive, 2025 broadcast partner has been a big boost for the sport. The partnership has paid immediate dividends with the season-opening race in St. Petersburg March 2 gaining 45% more viewers than a year ago.
At the Accelerate Detroit sponsor event Thursday, Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske IndyCar, discussed the IndyCar season, including the Detroit Grand Prix on May 30-June1.Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Credit Fox’s relentless promotion of the series (the only North American pro motorsports series with an exclusive TV network partner) on programs like Super Bowl LIX, with ads featuring top drivers including 34-year-old, reigning Indy 500 champ Josef Newgarden, 2024 champion Alex Palou of Spain, 27, and Mexico’s charismatic Pato O’Ward, 25.
Australian-born Power and six-time IndyCar winner Scott Dixon from New Zealand are the oldest full-time racers in the field.
Power enjoys the multi-generational talent in the sport. “(Younger drivers) have always pushed me very hard, and I’m constantly having to elevate my game. I’ve never stopped learning on how to be better. It’s kept me competitive with guys who are 20 years younger than me. I feel like I’m the best I’ve ever been right now.”
The Aussie, who won his last championship in 2022 at the tender age of 41, gives credit to improved diet, exercise, and recovery regimens for extending the careers of professional athletes into their forties.
“You have these people who just specialize in almost reversing aging actually with things you can take and do,” he smiled. But most of all, he credits determination.
“People put an age limit on it and expect people to start falling off at a certain age. I think if you set that in your head and stop working at it, then you will plateau. I believe probably the most important thing is the desire to be competive. If you’re just complacent and picking up a paycheck, you won’t be competitive. To me it’s a lot to do with attitude.”
While a win at Memorial Day weekend’s Indy 500 is the sport’s Super Bowl, the June 1 Detroit Grand Prix one week after the 500 is an important date on Team Penske’s calendar.
“Being a Chevrolet-powered team, it’s a very important event for us because they have been great partners,” said Power who has finished second and sixth in the two Detroit races since it moved downtown from Belle Isle. “To be running around the downtown in Detroit — the home of Chevrolet, the home of Roger (Penske) — it’s a good race to win.”
The tight, rough street course — coming just a week after the 240-mph banking of Indianapolis is a testament to the variety of tracks that IndyCar drivers must race to win a championship. The series is widely regarded as one of motorsports most challenging.
“(Detroit) is a hard one to win,” said Power, who scored the last win on the Belle Isle course in 2022. “It’s quite a difficult track, it’s hard to stay out of trouble and survive. That’s the sort of race that it is and the sort of track that it is.”
At Thursday night’s Accelerate Detroit sponsor event, he previewed a video of his 2024 qualifying lap to be shown to the evening’s audience. Of the four street courses that IndyCar races on its 17-event schedule, Power allows how Detroit is the toughest.
“(It’s) very narrow in spots (and) bumpy. I think it’s great for racing because you have a massively long straight so you can get runs on people. It seems to create mayhem which fans love — though not necessarily drivers, it depends where you are in the field,” he laughed. “No joke, multiple time during the lap you are less than an inch from the wall.”
At the Accelerate Detroit preview event for the 2025 Detroit Grand Prix, Team Penske racer Will Power talks with a student from the Boys and Girls Club of SE Michigan. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Like sister open-wheel racing series Formula One, IndyCar last year moved to a hybrid powertrain to be in sync with the electrification plans of its manufacturing partners, Chevy and Honda. Unlike F1, the IndyCar system is not a full battery-electric system. It uses supercapacitors between the engine and gearbox for total drivetrain output of 900 horsepower.
“It’s added weight, its more power and torque,” said Power. “It hasn’t affected things too much, it’s quite a simple system. You push a button out of the corner to switch it on, you push a button to switch it off. I wish they would open up the technology a little more where we could play around with some of that stuff, but now. . . you can regenerate more energy which means more reverse torque when you brake.”
Power did not finish the season’s opening race in St. Petersburg, but his Team Penske teammates, Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin, finished third and fourth. The next IndyCar race is in Thermal, California, on March 23. Tickets for the Detroit Grand Prix are on sale at www. https://www.detroitgp.com/buy-tickets/tickets.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
San Francisco — The Cadillac Escalade V is the King of Bling. The Lord of Loud. The Knight of Noise. Stomp its massive, 685-horse V-8 — WAUUUUFFRGGH! — and it will alert every patrol car within a 25-mile radius. V for Volume.
The Escalade IQ is its silent partner.
Mat the accelerator and the scenery blurs, your eyeballs flatten . . . and there is no sound. Except for the — PLOP! — of the dude’s jaw on the ground that you left behind at the stoplight. IQ for Incredibly Quiet.
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
A trophy car of the rich and famous, the Escalade has long defined excess and the IQ is a welcome member of the family. It boasts the usual supersized Escalade wardrobe — 55-inch screen, second-seat Executive package, automatic doors and then adds a few more attributes:
9,000 pounds
A mammoth 200 kWh battery that uses half of the world’s lithium
24-inch wheels the size of a NASA satellite dish
Frunk-tastic 12.2 cubic feet of space where the engine used to be
The 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ brings whisper-quiet, battery-powered performance to the GM luxury brand’s flagship SUV. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
But for all its size, what separates IQ from its hulking sibling is how small it feels. Yes, small. Cruising through crowded San Francisco streets, IQ feels stable. Escalade V puts its V-8 boat anchor up front, while the IQ stores its monster battery below deck. Batteries are the bane of smaller EVs like the porky Cadillac Optiq, which weighs 25% more than a comparable, gas-fired XT4, and you feel its girth on road.
But in a land yacht the size of an Escalade, the IQ’s lower center of gravity is welcome. Docking at a typically tight San Francisco service station off Lombard Street, I used the beast’s rear-wheel-steer to deftly maneuver around the pumps, cars and bollards to find a parking space — next to a compact car. The 360-degree camera helped me position the Caddy perfectly. As I negotiated the space, electronic pulses in the seat (a standard feature on Caddies) provided additional reassurance of my proximity to my wee neighbor — or even when a pedestrian approached at close range.
Take an on-ramp onto a California four-lane with 785 pound-feet of torque and — ZOT! — merge with authority. Then settle into hands-free Super Cruise. IQ OMG.
This nimbleness is complemented by a sportier design than the gas-powered skyscraper. Thanks to the electric Ultium platform shared with its smaller Optiq and Lyriq siblings, IQ also shares those vehicles’ design cues.
Raked windshield. Narrow greenhouse. Fast back. Illuminated Black Crystal Shield grille.
The Escalade IQ’s sleek interior comes loaded with tech. The Command Center is where you access features that include opening all four doors of this massive SUV. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Significantly, Cadillac has not starved the gas-fired Escalade as it has the XT4, XT5 and XT6 SUVs that are headed out the door. The Escalade family shares the same toys and they are fun to play with.
Walking up to my pearl white Escalade IQ tester, I squeezed the door handle and it swung out automatically to let me in. Once inside, I pressed the brake pedal and the door swung shut behind me. What is this, a haunted mansion?
The 55-inch display dominates the interior, but the smaller, thin console tablet — the Command Center — is a real jewel. It enables access to — not just climate — but goodies like those magic doors so that you can adjust settings and even open and close all four doors without leaving the driver’s seat.
Its operation is typical of the attention to ergonomic detail (remember those buzzing seats?) that has made GM products easy to use — beginning with moving the electronic shifter to the steering wheel to open console room for the tablet.
Gettin’ frunky with it: The Escalade IQ offers storage space up front where its ICE sibling has an engine. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Navigating heavy Frisco traffic, I manipulated steering wheel controls without ever looking down. Adaptive cruise control speed and distance controls are located on raised, studded toggle switches. Less-used items like heated steering wheel and Super Cruise are located by braille.
The parity between Escalade ICE and IQ — at a time when the rest of the brand’s SUV portfolio is going all EV — appears an acknowledgement that these mega-utes are travel workhorses and Escalade ICE is a superior product even though the EV has longer range — 460 miles — range than the 432-mile V-8. Tow boats behind these oxen and they will both get 50% of that range — but Escalade ICE is much quicker to fill to a full tank. On a long-range trip, that’s gold.
The Escalade IQ’s charging port is positioned for easy access to public chargers. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I pulled into an EVGo charger in a San Francisco parking garage and noted Caddy IQ’s decision to locate the charger (unlike the Lyriq and Optiq) at the left rear corner. Smaht. It’s much easier to plug in the IQ this way — especially at Tesla chargers where Cadillac now has access (assuming you have an adapter for the IQ’s bulky CCS plug).
Alas, the EVGo didn’t work, a typical problem for the country’s non-Tesla charging network.
The good news is IQ’s native navi system (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not welcome here) will find chargers quickly as well as map your road trip with charger stops.
Take a 230-mile ride up north to your Traverse City cottage for the summer and range anxiety won’t be a factor — especially if you install a 240-volt charger in the cottage. The same rear-wheel-steer that makes IQ maneuverable in parking lots also allows ACTIVE STEER — aka CRABWALK to use the GMC Hummer vernacular.
Initiate ACTIVE STEER in the IQ screen and the land yacht will execute a neat party trick: shuffling side-to-side down the street of your cul-de-sac. Drive to the country club and the frunk will swallow two golf bags. Try that in the V8-powered V series. The ICE, however, gets its laugh thanks to a $89,590 starting price that’s well south of the IQ’s $129,990 when it goes on sale.
King of Bling or Queen of Quiet, it’s nice to have choices. And if the IQ’s silence is too much, you can go into MY MODE in the screen and select SPORT. It won’t wake the neighbors with a roar like the V, but it lets off a satisfying GRRRRR.
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ
Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, seven-passenger SUV
Price: $129,990 including $2,290 destination fee ($150,000 est., Sport 2/Lux as tested)
Powerplant: 200 kWh lithium-ion battery with single rear or dual electric-motor drive
Pontiac―When the auto industry zagged toward electric SUVs, Volvo zigged to an X60 plug-in hybrid station wagon.
Sleek looks, hatchback utility, electric smoothness, no range anxiety.
After plugging into the 220-volt charger in my garage for four hours, the V60’s battery was fully charged to 40 miles — enough to get my daily chores done on battery power alone, but with another 490 miles of gas range in reserve should I need to take a road trip to, say, northern Michigan.
Freight train. The Volvo V60 T8 eAWD Polestar Engineered is very quick with 4.1-second 0-60 mph run and terrific, AWD torque off corners.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Volvo wants to do it all. Which explains the absurdly long name: Volvo V60 T8 eAWD Polestar Engineered. Let’s break it down.
➤V60. The V designates Volvo’s wagon class as opposed to the S60 sedan or XC60 SUV. It’s a handsome thing. The $51,490 V60 starts as a Cross Country model with a higher, SUV-like stance to accommodate easier entry and egress. Step up to my stealth-black, performance-focused $72,445 Polestar Engineered tester, and the V60 steps down to a more aggressive stance. Approach the rear with its bat-wing vertical lights and the V60 looks ready to rumble. V for vroom.
The Volvo V60 T8 eAWD Polestar Engineered is a utility wagon in an SUV age. But its low stance and big power make it a credible performance car.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
➤T8 eAWD. A lot of treats to unpack here. T is short for Twin Engine, meaning the Volvo carries a combined gas-and-electric drivetrain that can be used independently or in tandem. The Swede uses the same all-wheel-drive drivetrain concept as the Chevy Corvette E-Ray — but in reverse. Where the Corvette uses its mid-mounted V-8 engine to drive the rear wheels and an electric motor to drive the fronts, V60 T8 uses its front, turbo-4 cylinder engine to drive the front wheels and the electric motor to drive the rears.
The Volvo V60 T8 eAWD Polestar Engineered combines electric motors and a turbo-4 engine for a remarkable 523 pound-feet of torque, more than double the standard turbo-4 Cross Country model.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
➤Polestar Engineered. The gas/electric double whammy leads to some impressive performance numbers. While the standard Cross Country model boasts a respectable 247 horses and 258 pound-feet of torque, adding the electric motor bumps those numbers to 455 horsepower and 526 torque. With the e-motor proving low-end torque-fill, the V60 accelerates like Thor’s Hammer with Car and Driver clocking a 4.1 second 0-60 sprint.
Better act fast―2025 is the last year for the Polestar Engineered model. Volvo’s decided to zig to EV SUVs.
Sinister Swede. The Volvo V60 T8 eAWD Polestar Engineered dressed in black with Thor’s Hammer headlights presents a menacing look to complement its prodigious power.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
➤What’s it like, Payne? Driving the V60 T8 is like unwrapping a new toy. Follow the instructions and there are all kinds of fun features to discover. Like Easter eggs, Volvo likes to hide them.
Install a $2,000 charger in your garage and you can fill up the battery each night like a smartphone. With 41 miles of charge at my disposal, I went deep. Deep into the Settings (that little gear Easter Egg in the bottom right of the vertical 12-inch dash screen) where I chose PURE mode for the battery part of the twin-drive chain. Then I chose ALWAYS START IN PURE ON STARTUP so that — when I returned to the car with an armful of groceries — the Volvo would automatically start in battery-only mode.
It’s a 14.9-kWh battery — not a 75-kWh moose like my AWD Tesla Model 3 — so don’t go drag-racing anyone on Woodward, but the Swede glided ‘round town like Zetterberg on skates. No gearshifts, no droning CVT transmission, just silky electric power.
Expect your mileage to vary depending on temperature, but I managed 90% of range (37 miles) in the metro area as I cruised roads as diverse as Telegraph, I-696 and two-lane city streets.
Monostable shifters have come a long way from BMW’s first awkward efforts, and Volvo’s tool is a class act. Make that glass act. Swedish glass maker Orrefors crafts the shift knob for Volvo, and I flicked it back and forth between R-N-D-B.
Wait, B?
B for Brake. It’s another Easter Egg — for brake regeneration — so you can one-pedal drive the V60 using the electric motor’s resistance as you brake (and put charge back into the battery at the same time. I told you this was a fun toy). Regen is a common EV feature popularized by the Chevy Bolt and Tesla, but Volvo extends one-pedal driving to its gas-electric hybrid mode as well. Just select B — instead of D — whenever you drive forward.
When the battery runs out, the Volvo defaults to HYBRID mode using the gas engine (which, by itself, will get you a healthy 490 miles). But POLESTAR mode unleashes the full potential of the T8 twins.
Select POLESTAR (inside the Settings screen) and the V60 suspension noticeably stiffens. The steering wheel gets heavier, the exhaust note lower.
The Volvo V60 T8 eAWD Polestar Engineered has a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that powers the front wheels with gas, the rear with an electric motor.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Grrr. Awright, Payne, enough of this green cruisin’, let’s terrorize some Priuses.
The full 525 pound-feet of torque comes on in a rush. I’m generally critical of rough Volvo transmissions, but the electric motor’s torque-fill tidies that up. ZOT! This Volvo goes.
Look closely and you’ll see big, gold Brembo brakes behind the wheels — a giveaway that this is a Swede with teeth.
Point the Volvo toward a road trip and Google Maps will be your guide. The Swedish automaker has adopted Google Built-In to run its infotainment system like General Motors and Honda. The system is as familiar to use as Android Auto on your phone, but is programmed to help you find, say, a gas station when you need gas.
Your fellow travelers may be less impressed by the V60’s rear seat, which is tight for six-footers. Need more interior room? Consider the bigger V90 wagon across the showroom for a similar $70K price — though the V90 doesn’t come with a T8 plug-in option like the V60.
The Volvo V60 T8 eAWD Polestar Engineered suffers from tight legroom for tall people.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
That plug-in option is what makes the V60 Polestar Engineered a genuine performance option alongside other segment hotties like the Audi RS5 hatchback, Audi A6 Allroad wagon and Mercedes E-Class Wagon.
V60 is Jekyll and Hyde in a nice wagon suit. It allows you to glide around all day in respectable green company with its electric motor. Then switch to POLESTAR hellion mode when you need a fossil fuel fix.
Like a Swedish hockey player, the handsome V60 is understated on the outside, a fiery competitor inside.
Price: $51,495, including destination fee ($72,445 T8 eAWD Polestar Engineered as tested)
Power plant: 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 cylinder (V60 Cross Country); 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 cylinder with two electric motors and 14.9-kWh battery (Polestar Engineered as tested)
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.1 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed: 113 mph
Weight: 4,494 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 23 city/30 highway/26 combined (Cross Country); 30 city/33 highway/31 combined (Polestar Engineered); Range (gas-electric combined): 530 miles
Charlotte, North Carolina — Wild horses gotta run.
RAAAAWRRR! I flattened the throttle of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse R out of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s infield track and onto the front straight. The mighty 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 exhaust echoed off the grandstand as I tore past 100 mph on the way to the moon.
Alas, like a spine-tingling Adele aria, all straightaways must come to an end, and I stomped on the giant 15.4-inch Brembo brakes, which slowed the two-ton missile — like NOW! — into a hard, 90-degree hairpin. Retrieving my eyeballs from the dash, I surveyed the stallion beneath me.
This is a Mustang race car.
2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R race car
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
America’s favorite pony car has long competed in GT4 racing, but with the introduction of its global, top-drawer Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona-winning GT3 racer, Ford is taking Mustang racing to an elite level. Welcome to the Mustang race car lineup.
The production Mustang lineup, of course, starts with the 315-horsepower, 2.3-liter, turbocharged, 4-cylinder Ecoboost at $33,515, with standard wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, 25.6-inch twin screen display and cloth seats. Then you can walk up the trim line to the 480-horse, 5.0-liter V8-powered, $47,055 GT, followed by the 500-horsepower, V8-powered Dark Horse and $300,000, 815-horsepower GTD.
If you want to go racing, Dark Horse R is your gateway drug.
2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R race car is the entry-level Mustang Challenge racer behind Mustang’s GT4 and GT3 race cars.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
My V8-powered Dark Horse R tester costs $146,595 for entry into the Mustang Challenge race series — including a trip this year to France’s iconic Le Mans race track.. Get hooked and more powerful thrills await: the $250,000 Mustang GT4 race car followed by the 495-horse GT3 racer with a price tag around $550,000. In addition to the horses, expect your racing budget to top six figures as well with GT3 race teams likely spending over $1 million for a season of racing against competition like Porsche 911, Aston Martin Vantage, Chevy Corvette Z06 and Ferrari 296. Bring a fat wallet — or sponsors with fat wallets.
The common thread through all production and race cars is the spot-welded chassis — aka the body-in-white — that emerges from Flat Rock Assembly. Then the ‘Stangs get sent off to different stables to be bred as pure race cars: the Dark Horse R to Watson Engineering in Brownstown Township; the GT4 to Multimatic in Markham, Ontario; and GT3 to Multimatic’s Mooresville, North Carolina, shop not far from Charlotte Motor Speedway
Then the engineers add — and subtract — technology to make my R into an asphalt-eating cyborg.
2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R race car
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I hammered the impressive 3,949-pound production Mustang Dark Horse around Charlotte a year ago. Physically, R looks similar, save for a lower stance and tweaks like a more prominent front splitter, rear wing and tow hooks. But under the skin, it’s been heavily modified. Beginning with the interior.
You thought a narrow-greenhouse production Mustang had blind spots? Encased in a full-face helmet and HANS safety device, I was strapped to a high-bolster Recaro racing seat by a six-point Sparco harness and surrounded by a full roll cage and left window-netting.
I peered out the front window. Deep-sea submersibles have better window visibility.
The seventh-generation Mustang showcases the most high-tech interior ever seen in the pony car with those hoodless digital screens sprawling across the dashboard featuring wireless smartphone navigation and lush graphics by Unreal Engine. The R couldn’t give a damn.
Sparse cockpit of the 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R race car
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
It rips out all this hardware, saving about 350 pounds in the process. Racers only need to navigate a racecourse. A simple MoTec display sits atop the quick-release racing steering wheel. I secured the wheel and pushed the starter button. WHOOOOOM! The V-8 exploded to life.
While the six-speed manual-transmission-controlled powertrain is similar to that of the production 500-horse Dark Horse, the race car gains a Borla racing exhaust and strips the catalytic converters. The R sounds like a Jurassic Park T-Rex that just laid eyes on Jeff Goldblum.
Within two turns on Charlotte’s track, I knew this was a different animal.
That lowered stance, explained Ford Performance Motorsports Program Supervisor Dave Born, is the result of stiffened 700-pound front/1000-pound rear springs. Combine them with a lighter 3,590-pound curb weight, Formula One-inspired spool-valve shocks and sticky Michelin slicks, and the R is, well, racy.
With little roll through the corners, my confidence rose with each apex. More power. More g-loads. More brake. Chasing NASCAR driver Frankie Muniz (yes, the former “Malcom in the Middle” actor is a heckuva race jockey), we carved up Charlotte.
The 2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R race car thundered around the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Stereo stripped from the car? The V-8 is all the audio you need. Like a high school kid at the playground begging for pickup games, I hung around the pit the rest of the day looking for more laps.
I have raced cars all my adult life and prefer lightweight sports racers, especially with open cockpits for better visibility. But if your tastes run to pony cars and you have the coin … the R is a true race car.
Beware, it’s addicting.
2025 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R
Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, single-passenger race car
Price: $146,595
Power plant: 5.0-liter V-8
Power: 500 horsepower, 418 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Performance: 0-60 mph, NA; top speed: 165 mph
Weight: 3,590 pounds
Fuel economy: NA
Report card
Highs: Sticks like glue, V-8 soundtrack
Lows: Poor visibility; affordable only compared to its GT4/GT3 siblings
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Sebring, Florida — Like a St. Bernard, my Hyundai Kona tester is two-toned and funky-looking outside — fiercely loyal on the inside.
Its looks may not be for everybody, but it’s got everything you need.
Hyundai has been one of the industry’s most creative stylists with lookers like the Lego-brick Santa Fe and bar-of-soap Ioniq 6 EV. The 2025 Kona goes ultra-modern with a design right off a Mars movie lot. Wraparound running lights like a Tesla Cybertruck, low headlights/taillights integrated into black fender cases, abstract Mondrian wheels, sharply-angled hatchback like a Bladerunner spinner.
My 32-year-old son thought it was cool.
My 34-year-old son hated it.
The 2025 Hyundai Kona’s sci-fi design integrates headlights into the fender design making for a clean fascia.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Let’s call it polarizing. Otherwise, Kona proved a welcoming companion. On a dark, rainy Wednesday night, I slipped into the interior of my Neoteric Yellow (a color made for Florida) $28K Enterprise rental in Orlando International Airport and surveyed an interior that wouldn’t be out of place in a $60K luxury car: molded console and hoodless 22-inch screen arching across the dash housing twin digital instrument/infotainment displays. Yum.
It’s a common sight in Hyundai models these days in both internal combustion engine and electric vehicles — including the Kona EV across the Enterprise aisle across from my gas mule. With 261 miles of range, the Kona EV could theoretically make the 260-mile round-trip to my Sebring International Raceway destination. With rain and highway travel in the forecast, I knew that range could be cut by 25%.
And Sebring is in the middle of rural Florida.
With a tight, busy weekend racing schedule ahead and Sunday return flights out of Orlando, I opted for the Kona ICE with its 422 miles of range and ease of use. Though a small ‘burg two hours from everywhere, Sebring did have charging infrastructure: two fast chargers at its Lakeshore Mall, a pair of 240-volt chargers at our destination hotel and … an eight-stall Tesla Supercharger in Route 98 through town.
The interior of the 2025 Hyundai Kona showcases a hoodless screen.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The latter was particularly significant as Hyundai now has access to Tesla chargers, and — beginning with the ‘25 model year — Kona EV models are equipped with Tesla-style NACS charge ports so you don’t need to worry if there is an adaptor in the trunk.
Still, the convenience and efficiency of gas power made the Kona ICE the obvious choice for this trip.
Also worth noting was the electric Kona SE model ($34,952 market price) would have cost $16.50 to fuel every 100 miles at 50 cents/per kWh versus $9.50 for the 31-mpg Kona SEL model ($28,085) at $3-a-gallon regular gas. Indeed, I never visited a gas station until it was time to top up the Hyundai outside the airport at weekend’s end for return to the rental lot.
Like the Kona experience, gas power was carefree.
Kona fit like a glove. For the drive into Florida’s interior, I synced the car wirelessly to my phone’s Android Auto app then barked my destination:
Navigate to Sebring International Raceway.
The 2025 Hyundai Kona is available in FWD and AWD. It continues the Korean brand’s daring design direction.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Done. Hyundai was one of the first automakers to adopt smartphone apps, and Kona paired like it was old pals with my phone. Other brands can be less certain, their screens spinning before finally making a connection.
I exited the rental garage into a black, wet monsoon. While I navigated the conditions outside, Kona’s ergonomics helped me easily navigate interior controls. Climate buttons on the dash were horizontal, logically laid out between twin temperature dials.
Hyundai has adopted GM’s philosophy on raised steering wheel controls, so I could set cruise control with one button, then finger a scroll wheel next to it to adjust speed. All by touch so that I didn’t need take my eyes off the road. Similar buttons on the wheel’s right spoke controlled radio and volume while other switches (voice control, lane-centering) were nicely segregated when needed.
The subcompact SUV class is a shark tank of competitors, and Hyundai — long a value brand — trails some rivals in standard safety equipment. Both the Mazda CX-30 and Volkswagen Taos, for example, offer adaptive cruise control and blind-spot assist standard for fewer rubles than Kona. Kona, however, does match the palatial V-dub in rear-seat space with knee room that bests a compact BMW X3.
The Kona design may look Chunky Monkey, but under the hood it’s all vanilla.
The base engine in the 2025 Hyundai Kona is a 2.0-liter 4 cylinder. A more powerful 1.6-liter turbo-4 is on offer in upper trims.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Hyundai has about the same horsepower — 147 — as my 1,000-pound, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Lola sports racer. Yet, the SUV weighs three times as much (3,053 pounds). Mate those horses to a CVT and there were few thrills to be had on rural Sebring roads.
Want more grunt? Kona offers an N Line model starting at $31K with a punchy turbocharged 1.6-liter mill making 190 horsepower. For harsher climates than Florida in February, Kona also offers all-wheel drive for an extra $1,500.
My Kona SEL satisfied with its 31 mpg and quiet interior — deftly isolating the drone of the CVT. My son’s eyes may have been burning looking at the Kona’s lime exterior, but after a long day of racing across Sebring’s brutal bumps and high-g load turns, the Kona offered comfy seats, lots of hatch space for our gear, and a spare tire if needed.
Nice to have a St. Bernard on call.
2025 Hyundai Kona
Vehicle type: Front-engine, gas-powered, front- and-all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $25,745, including $1,450 destination fee ($28,085 SEL as tested)
Cadillac continued to grow its electric lineup this week. Make that supersize.
General Motors Co.’s luxury electric brand added an extended-length version of its three-row Escalade IQ mega-ute called the IQL. The stretched SUV will feature additional rear cargo storage, four more inches of third-row legroom, and 12.2 more cubic feet of storage in the front eTrunk.
2026 Cadillac Escalade IQL profile
Cadillac, Cadillac
Planned for production in the middle of this year, the 2026 electric Escalade siblings will parallel the internal combustion engine Escalade and its stretched twin, the Escalade ESV. Cadillac is phasing out production of gas SUVs but is continuing production of its gas-fired Escalade icon as well as AT4 and CT4 sedans that are the performance touchstones for Cadillac’s petrol-fueled race cars. The stretched Escalade IQL will offer similar features to the IQ, like a 55-inch, pillar-to-pillar screen, second-row executive package with airplane-like tray tables, and standard hands-free Super Cruise.
“Escalade has been the best-selling luxury full-size SUV in North America since 2014. The Escalade IQL is an important addition to the Escalade franchise and the Cadillac portfolio,” said Global Cadillac Vice President John Roth. “With the Escalade IQL, Cadillac now offers a full lineup of internal combustion and all-electric Escalade options for our customers, no matter the propulsion.”
Despite its iconic status, the Escalade mega-ute has faced increased competition from crosstown rivals Lincoln and Jeep. Both the Lincoln Navigator L and Jeep Grand Wagoneer L compete with the ICE Escalade ESV — but neither brand offers a parallel electric model line like the Escalade IQ/IQL.
Indeed, while there are other luxury, electric, $100k-plus SUV options like the Mercedes G-Class EV and Tesla Model X, only GM makes an electric mega-ute. The closest rivals would be in GM’s own stable, like the GMC Sierra Denali pickup truck or GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV.
Large and in charge: The Cadillac Escalade IQL supersizes the already-big Escalade IQ.
Cadillac, Cadillac
In the screen wars, the Navigator has stepped up its technology game with a 48-inch, pillar-to-pillar dash screen while the Grand Wagoneer boasts three screens – including one for the passenger. IQL follows its ICE and EV siblings with a 55-inch pillar-to-pillar jumbotron.
IQL turns up the wick in the second row with an available Executive Second Row package. The package features those stowable tray tables plus a pair of 12.6-inch screens, rear command center screen, dual wireless phone chargers, massaging/heated/ventilated seats, and 14-way power adjustment and headrest speakers. The added 4 inches of legroom (36.7 inches vs. 32.3 inches in the IQ) and headroom (38.2″ vs. 37.2″) augment the living room feel.
“The IQL builds on our iconic Escalade DNA, with a commanding profile offering additional cargo capacity. Brimming with the luxurious features and design found on the IQ, the IQL is another showcase of Cadillac’s artful integration of innovation,” said Cadillac designer Craig Sass.
IQL has seating for seven passengers, and the third row can be folded flat for more storage. Passengers are surrounded by a standard AKG 4 Studio 21-speaker audio system, with available 42-speaker AKG Studio Reference when the Executive Second Row package is included.
2026 Cadillac Escalade IQL moonroof
Cadillac, Cadillac
When the city disappears in the rear-view mirror and the open road calls, IQL comes with a 5G WiFi hot spot — and the driver can relax with Super Cruise. To get you to your destination, IQL boasts 460 miles of range, which is on par with the V8-powered Escalade. Unlike the ICE Escalade, IQL won’t fill up in three minutes, but on a DC fast charger it can add 116 miles of range in 10 minutes.
The IQ and IQL carry Cadillac’s signature vertical design cues but are strikingly different from their boxier ICE brethren. Like IQ, IQL takes its design theme from the Lyriq EV with its graphically-etched face and sleek rear profile punctuated by split vertical lights at the rear corners.
Put your right foot into it and IQL will sprint to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds with 750 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque — about 70% more than the ICE Escalade. IQL will likely weigh about 50% more, too, thanks to its big 202 kWh battery.
With 750 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque, the Escalade IQL can disappear in a hurry.
Cadillac, Cadillac
IQL can tow 7,500 pounds with the ride smoothed by magnetic shocks and air suspension. It will roll on some of the biggest, 24-inch rims in the industry. IQ will start at $129,695 and be offered in four trims — Luxury, Sport, Premium Luxury and Premium Sport.
Complementing news this week of Cadillac’s global ambitions to race four cars at this June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, the IQ siblings will be sold internationally along with the rest of Caddy’s electric lineup. As the brand goes all-electric, it wants the global reach of other EV brands like Tesla and Mercedes’ EQS EV line.
IQLs will be assembled at GM’s Factory Zero plant in Detroit.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Cadillac is named after Detroit founder and French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. Now his namesake is leading a Detroit onslaught on France’s greatest auto race.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race has accepted four entries from Cadillac Racing, the biggest squadron (along with Porsche) of any automaker in the top-drawer Hypercar class. The thundering, V-8-powered V-Series.R models will headline a 21-Hypercar field that includes the Porsche quartet (three entered by Bloomfield Hills-based Team Penske), three entries from defending champion Ferrari, two Toyotas, two Aston Martins and a pair of BMWs.
The Caddy onslaught on the world’s premier endurance race comes as the brand has raised its profile internationally as an electrified automaker (the Le Mans cars are gas-electric hybrids) — including a flagship store in Paris just over two hours from the famed French racetrack that touts Cadillac’s Lyriq and Optiq EVs.
Cadillac Racing has entered four cars for the 2025 Le Mans race in France. Cadillac, Cadillac
The Cadillac effort hopes to build on competitive, three-car entries in 2023 and 2024. With speeds cresting 200 mph around the 8.5-mile track, the #2 car entered by Chip Ganassi Racing last year secured an all-Detroit front row in qualifying next to the pole-sitting, #6 Porsche Penske entry and led 61 of 311 laps before settling for seventh place. Cadillac returned to Le Mans in 2023 for the first time in over 20 years and scored a third-place podium finish.
Determined to win the one race that has eluded its beloved “Captain,” Roger Penske, Team Penske is back this year after a fourth-place finish in the soggy 2024 event. In the production-based GT class (62 cars are entered over three classes: Hypercar, LMP2 and GT), Chevrolet and Ford will carry the Motown flag into battel. Chevy is supporting three V-8-powered Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R racers prepared by TF Sport and AWA Racing, while Ford has entered two Mustang LMGT3 V-8s with Proton Racing.
The #311 Cadillac V-Series.R on track during last year’s 24 Hours of LeMans. Cadillac is entering four cars in this year’s race. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
That’s a lot of Detroit thunder.
“We’re thrilled to have Cadillac Racing return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with four cars competing for the overall win in the Hypercar class,” said Global Cadillac Vice President John Roth. “After scoring our first podium finish at this iconic endurance race in 2023 and securing a Top 10 finish last year, we look to build on that success and showcase the Cadillac V-Series.R’s technology, performance and innovation.”
This year’s Le Mans marks 75 years since Caddy first entered Le Mans’ so-called Circuit de la Sarthe in 1950 with the #2 and #3 Cadillac Series 61 coupes. The #2 car, which finished 11th, was of particular note for its radical, aerodynamic shape, which the French dubbed Le Monstre — “The Monster.”
24 Hours of Le Mans 2024: The #2 Cadillac V-Series.R finished 7th, giving the GM brand a second straight top-10 finish. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Last year’s #2 Ganassi Racing V-Series.R played homage to that car with IndyCar champion and Ganassi Racing’s Alex Plaou at the wheel along with Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn, who qualified the Caddy on Row One.
Palou isn’t returning this year as Ganassi Racing is handing its two works team entries over to Hertz Team Jota Racing, which represents Cadillac in the international World Endurance Racing series. But the driving team is still formidable. Lynn will pilot the #12 car along with Formula E driver Norman Nato and ex-Formula One ace Will Stevens. The #38 Team Jota car will put Bamber at the reins along with ex-F1 superstar Jenson Button and former IndyCar ace Sebastien Bourdais.
Ford will take on rivals including Porsche Penske, which fielded this #6 Porsche 963 last year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
Last year, Hertz Jota entered a pair of Porsche 963 Hypercars and finished eighth and 10th.
The other pair of V-Series.R prototypes will be entered by Cadillac’s North American teams that race in the Weathertech IMSA (International Motor Sports Association). The #101 car will be entered by Wayne Taylor Racing, which will compete at the 24-hour classic for the first time. The Taylor family is well-known in sportscar racing and team principal Wayne’s sons, Jordan and Ricky, will be at the wheel along with veteran Portuguese driver Felipe Albuquerque.
“It has always been our plan to go to Le Mans with a shot at the overall win,” said Papa Taylor. “When I was there with Cadillac in 2002, I was driving, and both my kids were there as spectators. Now, 20 years later, they are here driving for me with Cadillac. I believe we now have the car to beat.”
A Ford Mustang LMGT3 alternately driven by Giorgio Roda (ITA), Mikkel Pedersen (DNK), and Dennis Olsen (NOR), runs practice laps at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Ford has entered two Mustang LMGT3 V-8s with Proton Racing in this year’s race. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
The #311 Whelan Cadillac V-Series.R entry will be back at Le Mans for the third straight year with Action Express Racing. Brit Jack Aitken will share duties with Brazilian Felipe Drugovich and Dane Frederik Vesti.
The three Porsche Penske entries return this year with a similar driver lineup to ‘24, including 2024 IMSA champion Felipe Nasar of Brazil in the #4 entry and Frenchman Kevin Estre in the #6 car that he put on the pole last year.
The Corvette entries hope to improve on last year’s 11th and 15th place result for TF Sport while Mustang hopes to ascend to the top of the podium after an impressive third-place finish in its 2024 debut.
Ford also has its eyes on the Hypercar class with an entry planned for 2027 to rekindle the rivalry immortalized in the Oscar-winning movie “Ford v Ferrari.”
24 Hours of Le Mans 2024: Fans check out the Cadillac Optiq EV at the Cadillac display inside the track. The GM luxury brand hopes its race entries will attract buyers for the compact electric SUV. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cadillac’s push at Le Mans is part of its effort to enter the European market as an EV maker and its Lyriq and Optiq production EVs will likely be on display in the Le Mans paddock for fans to ogle.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same. The V-Series.R Hypercars will be powered by a 5.5-liter V-8 engine. Seventy-five years ago, Caddy’s Le Monstre was powered by a 5.4-liter V-8.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
WaterfordTownship — Tesla Inc. has inspired a wave of electric vehicle startups in recent years, including Rivian Automotive Inc., Lucid Motors, Fisker Inc. and Bollinger Motors — all focused on bringing a new, electrified age to the U.S. market.
British startup Ineos Automotive is something completely different.
The yin to Cybertruck’s yang, Ineos’ Grenadier SUV is an old-school, gas-fired dirt kicker. No jumbotron screens or battery skateboard here — just an all-terrain-tire-outfitted, ladder-frame SUV that can run through walls. Engineered in Austria, built in France and named after a London pub owned by the Ineos International petrochemical conglomerate, Ineos Grenadier has opened its first store with the Feldman Automotive Group here in Waterford Township to appeal to off-road enthusiasts who think Land Rover has gone soft.
The 2024 Ineos Grenadier LWB Station Wagon Fieldmaster on display in the Corporate Eagle hangar at Oakland County International Airport. A dealership in Waterford Township is the first in Michigan to sell the old-school, body-on-frame, off-road oriented SUV from startup Ineos. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
“The look of the vehicles is old-school, it’s got an ICE (internal combustion engine) — not an electric drivetrain. We’re finding out from what we’ve seen that people are veering back to ICE from electric,” said Jay Feldman, sitting next to a silver Grenadier in his Waterford dealership. “This is a very fast vehicle with a turbocharged, inline-6 cylinder BMW drivetrain (with) lots of modern features to it — although the inside looks like a jet plane with controls on the ceiling.”
Like other startups Tesla, Rivian and Fisker, Ineos’ appeal is deeply intertwined with its colorful CEO. Billionaire founder Sir James Ratcliffe is head of Ineos and a passionate outdoorsman, Land Rover collector and sportsman. He owns the Manchester United soccer team and is a partner in the Mercedes AMG Formula One team.
He’s had a long love-hate relationship with the Land Rover Defender, the iconic off-road vehicle that — like Jeep in the United States — is synonymous with adventure and safaris.
Dismayed that Land Rover discontinued his beloved, ladder-framed Defender in 2016 (it was relaunched in 2020 on a unibody SUV chassis shared with other Jaguar Land Rover products like the Jaguar F-Pace), Ratcliffe did what any billionaire enthusiast would: he built his own. The idea for a no-nonsense, ladder-framed 4×4 was hatched over a beer at the Grenadier pub in London.
Think Land Rover’s gone soft? You could be in the market for an Ineos Grenadier like this one on the showroom floor of the Feldman dealership in Waterford Township. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
The result is the Ineos Grenadier SUV, with ambitions to sell 25,000 globally, including in the United States, where it debuted as a 2024 model. The Defender likeness is unmistakable with round headlights and boxy stance, and Ineos survived an intellectual property lawsuit brought by Land Rover in England claiming it has stolen its design. With the runway cleared for production, Ineos has opened 26 dealerships in the United States, including Feldman Ineos Grenadier.
Ratcliffe’s passion was a big attraction to Feldman, who made his mark with mainstream brands like Chevrolet, Jeep and Hyundai.
“Everything is from (the) gut when you look at different opportunities, and when we started looking at Ineos (and) the history of Jim Ratcliffe I just felt like it was a great investment,” Feldman said. “The way they approach their dealer body makes a lot of sense to us. They are not over-dealered and the support, quality and uniqueness of the product is excellent.”
Ratcliffe’s journey also appeals to customers like Theo Nittis, 50, of Bloomfield Hills — the first Grenadier buyer in Michigan, who attended a Feldman Grenadier open house at Oakland County Airport this week.
“I’m a fan of Ratcliffe, who is known for his Land Rover collection and hunting lifestyle. Everyone wants to be Jim Corbett or Ernest Hemingway,” said Nittis, referring to the renowned author/hunters. “The Grenadier feels authentic. I love the aesthetic, the capability, and it’s different from the soccer mom SUVs that everyone drives.”
Not your soccer mom’s SUV: The 2024 Ineos Grenadier. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
Industry veteran Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst with Allison Worldwide Communications & Marketing, has worked the industry both as an analyst and as a communications chief with startup automaker Fisker. She says authenticity is key to Ineos’ appeal in a crowded U.S. marketplace.
“In the digital age, there is a real desire for authenticity. The homogenization of the industry is well-known,” she said. “There are customers who want a grittier feel like Ineos offers. It’s exciting to see new brands take a risk. People are looking for personalization for their vehicle.”
Like Wrangler, Bronco and Land Rover products, Grenadier can be customized to a customer’s taste with rugged options — not just paint color and wheels — but offerings like a snorkel, lights, winch, tent and shovel.
“I like the shovel. It’s not a pavement princess,” said Chris Kouza, 55, of Bloomfield Hills, who is looking to buy a Grenadier. “It’s different, and it’s half the price of a Mercedes G-Wagen.”
Jay Feldman says part of the reason he was attracted to Ineos is that "they are not over-dealered and the support, quality and uniqueness of the product is excellent. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
Grenadier pricing starts at $76,700 and can be loaded with options close to $100K.
“A very close friend of mine has a Mercedes G-Wagen — a new one — and drove my Grenadier and felt like (it) drove better than his $150K G-Class,” smiled Feldman, who was drawn to the Grenadier when he saw them on the road during trips to Long Island, New York.
The Ineos’ presence (Feldman drives a black one) is undeniable, but sustaining the capital — and build quality — of a startup automaker is a daunting task as even heavily-capitalized startups like Tesla, Rivian and Lucid can attest. Analyst Lindland was chief communications director for electric startup automaker Fisker, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.
“The appeal of the Grenadier to a narrow demographic is undeniable,” Lindland said. “The success of Ineos will depend on their capital management. Auto startups always take more money than you think, and even billionaires expect a return on investment. There are no shortcuts.”
Ready for takeoff: The Ineos Grenadier’s cockpit looks more vintage aircraft than 21st century SUV. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
She is impressed that “top-notch” Magna Steyr, an automotive engineering contractor, helped to develop the Grenadier for production in France. Magna also produces the Mercedes G-Class, BMW Z4 and Jaguar i-Pace EV under contract, and its manufacture of Fisker’s Ocean SUV helped that company attract early investment. Ineos also sources its engine from BMW and its 8-speed automatic transmission from Germany’s ZF.
“For a startup company, I have not had any quality issues,” said Feldman, whose dealership services Ineos products under the manufacturer’s five-year/60,000-mile warranty. “It’s really a solid vehicle. It’s designed with a lot of off-road capability.”
Feldman Auto has been successful since its first store opened in 1996 and now sprawls across 21 dealerships in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, showcasing 14 brands. CEO Feldman located the Ineos store in Waterford Township alongside his Pre-owned Supercenter showroom for its proximity to upscale buyers in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Oakland County Airport, where general aviation pilots/flyers pass by on a regular basis.
The Ineos Grenadier has some controls on the ceiling but in keeping with its austere nature, the visors have no mirrors. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
Feldman has Grenadiers on display at the Somerset and Twelve Oaks shopping malls and ultimately plans for a fully-branded store in Novi.
“It’s a startup brand, and recognition is an issue for right now (which) goes with any startup brand,” he said. “It’s going to take time for people to recognize it and realize it’s going to be around to stay. Having Feldman behind it — people know that we wouldn’t have picked a brand like this if we didn’t know it had legs.”
Recognition will get a boost from a second Ineos product, the Quartermaster, that will begin arriving in the next 60-90 days. It’s similar to Grenadier — and adds a pickup bed out back. Think the Gladiator pickup based on the Jeep Wrangler or the Rivian R1T pickup.
Its cockpit will feature the Grenadier’s modern, monostable BMW shifter and that throwback, switch-rich, aircraft cockpit.
“My wife thought I was nuts when I brought it home and it didn’t have, for example, mirrors on the sun visors,” laughed owner Nittis, who takes the SUV up north on hunting trips. “But the reliability has been shockingly good. It has plenty of modern appointments like leather seats from Recaro that are the most comfortable I’ve ever driven in.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Detroit — Forget “Barbenheimer.” This weekend, “Barbieformers” is coming to Huntington Place.
Barbie’s Pink Cadillac convertible and the “Transformer” movie-inspired Megamorph Giant Robot Car are among the headliners for this weekend’s 72nd Annual Meguiar’s Detroit Autorama presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts as it roars into town Friday through Sunday. The Hollywood duo compliment over 800 of world’s best chopped, channeled, dumped ‘n’ decked hot rods and custom cars — including competitors for hot rodding’s biggest bauble, the Ridler Award.
Autorama attracts custom builders from all over the world — including an Austrian entry this year — as well as celebrities like former “Street Outlaw” TV hosts Farmtruck and AZN and Farmtruck, “Counting Cars” TV hosts Danny Koker and Kevin Mack, and WWE Hall of Famers Team 3D.
A 1970 Barbie-themed Cadillac Deville from the Walt Disney World Resort is displayed in the 2025 Autorama car show on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 at Huntington Place in Detroit.
Katy Kildee, The Detroit News
In addition to the stars, Autorama spices the recipe with local flavor including Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone, who will sign autographs, a Dexter family’s 1941 Buick Special that survived Parel Harbor, an 11-year-old Macomb drag racer, a 17-year-old Madison Heights customer-builder’s AMC Gremlin, and more.
“Being that this is the Motor City, we have the most knowledgeable, passionate and dedicated hot rod/custom car fans in the world. That’s why we look forward to their reaction to this year’s Autorama,” said producer Peter Toundas, who is also president and owner of Championship Auto Shows Inc. “All of the attractions at this year’s Autorama will astound showgoers. Bu, at the heart of Autorama are the dazzling hot rods and customs competing for top awards including The Ridler.”
Austrian custom builder Knud Tiroch brought his dazzling, Sterling Silver, 1951 Mercury 951 all the way from Vienna for Autorama to compete in the Match Race and Exhibition Class. Tiroch said the United States is the epicenter of global hot rod culture.
“Hot rod and custom culture in Europe is also American Fords, Corvettes, Chevys,” he said. “We have them all. Occasionally you’ll see a modified VW Beetle. We have done shows in Oslo, Norway; Elmia Convention Center in Sweden, and Essen, Germany. And now I’m doing shows in the United States while my son runs the shop back home.”A veteran of the Red Bull Formula One racing team, Tiroch has brought racing know-how to his Mercury creation, which is slammed to the ground on a performance chassis and fortified by a full roll cage. F-16 fighter plane controls activate everything from lights to the automatic hood, while a sequential racing gearbox operates the 6.2-liter, 600-horsepower Chevy V-8 engine under the hood.
Knud Tiroch brought his custom 1951 Mercury 951 all the way from Austria for Autorama.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“It will hit 168 mph on the race track,” smiled the Austrian.
Directly in front of Tiroch’s exhibit are the 24 Ridler entries that will cap off the weekend’s festivities. Entries like the “Gray Madder” — a custom-built 1955 Chevy Nomad from Pekin, Illinois, that has been in the making for 10 years. Presented by Meguiar’s, the most coveted award in hot rodding is presented to the best new custom car. The world’s finest custom car builders will unveil their cars here — many of them the result of of years (and millions of dollars) in prep.
Some 30 cars qualify and will then be winnowed by judges to the BASF Great 8. The Ridler winner of the Great 8 takes home $10,000 cash, a custom trophy, and jacket.
“It’s extremely gratifying that Detroit Autorama is the home of America’s most important hot rod award,” said Toundas. ” Detroit is where hot rod/custom car shows started so we make every effort to let everyone know about this important heritage.”
Beyond the Rider, top customizers and backyard car jockeys have brought their creations to compete for awards across numerous classes in the Summit Racing Equipment Show Car Series. The 30th Anniversary of The Cavalcade of Cars is also on hand — a collection of the United States’ finest customs cars selected by legendary builder Chuck Miller.
Also a legend here is Al Bergler, 88, the first Ridler Award winner in 1964 with an Austin coupe dragster. These days, Bergler is passing on his know-how to 11-year old drag racer Aiden Thomas of Macomb who has brought his Junior Dragster class slingshot racer to Autorama. Aiden’s grandfather, Kelly Wojzik, 64, crews for his grandson.
Other Michigan entries of note include:
➤Amy and John Michalek of Dexter will showcase their 1941 Buick Special, which survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor after its owner — Amy’s great uncle — did not. He dashed from the car on Dec. 7, 1941, to a nearby Curtiss P-40 fighter plane and lost his life while fighting off invading Japanese warplanes.
John Michalek brought a Pearl Harbor survivor – a 1941 Buick.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
➤“The Road Chief,” a completely restored 1949 Pontiac convertible owned by Mike Stowe of Boyne City that has been named one of Rod & Customs’ 100 best cars.
➤Rubbing shoulders with the male motorheads is Charlotte Davidson of Southfield and her blue 2017 Corvette.
➤Harold Sullivan of Bloomfield Hills will show off his silver 1967 “Silver Bullet” Plymouth, which terrorized Woodward years ago.
➤Artist Murray Pfaff of Royal Oak brings his D LOT! to Autorama featuring drawings of hot rods that ultimately got built. Murray also auctions auto memorabilia to raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation.
Back in the celebrity aisle, Farmtruck and AZN’s latest creation is called (appropriately) The Funny Farm. This Frankenstein’s monster features opposing, 1970 C10 truck cabs welded together, then powered by twin Cadillac 500-cubic inch engines. Operation requires two drivers — facing in opposite directions — controlling independent steering, braking and drive systems
The result? All-wheel-drive, 360-degree burnouts.
Barbie’s 1970 pink Cadillac — all the way from Orlando’s Epcot Center, where it’s used as a parade car — is on the main floor with all these toys, but the eight-foot-tall Megamorph Transformer will be found in the high-ceiling Atrium.
Want more eye candy? Autorama Extreme covers Huntington Place’s 100,000-square-foot lower level featuring over 200 traditional rods, customs and bobber bikes inspired by the 1950s. There can be found one of Autorama’s youngest entrants, Nolan McCann, 17, of Madison Heights, who will has brought his custom 1972 AMC Gremlin.
The first Detroit Autorama took place in 1953 at the University of Detroit Field House as a fundraiser for Michigan Hot Rod Association’s efforts to build the legendary Motor City Dragway. The circus then moved between the Michigan State Fairgrounds and the Detroit Artillery Armory before coming to rest at Detroit’s convention center in 1961.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Oakland County — The delicious 2024 Genesis GV70 Sport Prestige has tailpipes the size of bazookas, jewel-like dials, seats that hug you in Sport mode, split headlights and a spine-tingling welcome chime from the TV series “Westworld.”
But with winter temperatures below freezing and half a foot of snow on the roads, all that really concerned me was whether it had all-wheel drive and a bottomless reservoir of windshield washer fluid.
With AWD, the 2024 Genesis GV70 was comfortable in Michigan winter conditions.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Viking Ocean ships are posh, but they had better have hot water in the shower.
Michigan’s brutal winters are a test of any vehicle, and the GV70 largely passed with flying colors. Make that salt color. At the end of my week-long journey with the Genesis compact SUV, its Mauna Red exterior (think Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii) looked more like Lotsa Salt color (think Morton Salt in your cabinet).
My $68,870 Sport Prestige model came equipped with SPORT PLUS mode that automatically turns off traction control if you want to explore the limits of, say, M-32’s twisties on a glorious summer day up north. But in Michigan winter, I went to the opposite end of the Drive Mode spectrum — SNOW mode — as I slid onto a sloppy Maple Road on Friday night in the teeth of a frigid Michigan storm.
Neither rain nor sleet nor snow would keep Mrs. Payne and me from our weekend movie.
The 2024 Genesis GV70 options a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 that packs a punch: 375 horses and 391 pound-feet of torque.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Genesis’s AWD system churned away beautifully in the snow — SNOW mode picking a higher gear so as not to access all of the 3.5-liter, twin-turbo V-6’s prodigious 391-pound feet of torque. Despite low-profile 21-inch wheels, the Michelin all-season tires did their job and I grew in confidence as I urged the dogsled through the gloom.
Entering snowy Telegraph Road, I goosed the throttle to test the ute’s balance, and the rear end slewed sideways like a pup on ice before the front paws gripped and pulled the sled forward. Nicely done, GV70.
“Cut that out!”
My wife was not amused with my antics, and I dutifully returned to my job as chauffeur. Automatic windshield wipers also knew their job and began wiping away the endless flakes.
The 2024 Genesis GV70 rear has a Porsche Macan look – look closer and the dual taillights give it away as a Genesis.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Next morning, I awoke for an early Padel game (if you don’t know it, you have to try it) with friends. I set sail for Sterling Heights by way of I-696 and, thankfully, the salt trucks had done their night’s work. Boy, had they ever. The highways were clear, but I was met with nonstop salt splash on my windshield from traffic in front of me. I repeatedly pulled the wiper stalk toward me to wash away the grit. Genesis obliged by squirting fluid from both base windshield nozzles and jets in the wiper arms.
Pull. Wash. Pull. Wash. Pull. Wash.
So frequently did I use the wiper fluids that I checked the reservoir at my destination should I need to add more. The easy-to-spot blue filler was right where it should be — at the right corner of the engine bay. It was a reminder that most folks don’t pull their hood latch to ogle the engine underneath (guilty), but to fill the wiper/anti-freeze/oil fluids or jump-start the battery. Both were located with easy access.
Some things are harder to find.
It’s trendy these days to locate windshield wipers below the hood cowl to eliminate visual clutter. I get it – vehicles aren’t the bricks of yesteryear, but beautifully-drawn sculptures with scalloped stampings.
But when you wake up to four inches of snow on top of your windshield, hidden wipers are a pain in the ice. I cleaned the windshield of snow, then carefully chipped away at the ice that had encased the wipers (carefully, because I once broke the joint between wiper and blade on a competitor SUV. Argh), eventually freeing them up.
The interior of the 2024 Genesis GV70 options heated seats and a sunroof – so you can enjoy the falling snow but stay warm inside.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Happily, Genesis has a solution which they share in a YouTube video: turn off the engine, hold the wiper stalk to MIST, and the wipers emerge from hiding and stop on the windshield. Pull them off the glass. I’ll remember that for the next ice storm.
Slip into the interior of GV70 (front or rear, it’s comfortable for six-footers) and you’re met with an attractive bezeled dash that reminded me of the Dodge Charger (a mainstream model, yes, but with one of the most distinctive interiors in the biz). It’s a neo-classical look that melds old-school instrument dials with state-of-the-art digital displays.
What is not state of the art on my 2024 tester is wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The industry has moved fast toward wireless tech, and GV70 trailed even mainstream models like the Honda Civic and Dodge Hornet in offering wireless smartphone connections before upgrading for the 2025 model year. An important note for electronics-minded shoppers.
Genesis creates ergonomic confusion by making both its remote infotainment controller and its gear selector rotary dials. Like wipers, it’s an aesthetic choice that isn’t optimal from a use perspective. Neighbors on the console, they led to occasional confusion as I awkwardly shifted into NEUTRAL when tuning the radio — or changing radio stations when I meant to go in REVERSE.
Like other Hyundai products, the 2024 Genesis GV70 steering wheel ergonomics are excellent.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Happily, the dash-mounted infotainment display can also be operated as a touchscreen. I flipped through pages like a BMW or Mercedes. And — should I have needed it — GV70 will parallel park like its electric brother, GV60, that I’ve tested.
Unlike GV60, the gas-fired GV70 comes standard with no range anxiety. While a Michigan snowstorm sucked 40% of range from fellow Korean Kia EV9 SUV (necessitating multiple charging stops on a trip north), I rarely glanced at GV70’s fuel meter despite the bone-chilling temps.
When the needle hit a quarter tank, I simply ducked into the nearest gas station and filled ‘er up. Indeed, Genesis doesn’t publicize GV70’s 418-mile range because it’s not a concern — whereas the GV60’s 235 miles is important to know up front.
When the streets cleared, I took the opportunity to pedal the GV70 hard, and it did a nice imitation of its fleet G70 sedan brother. Walking away for the last time, I was left with two thoughts: 1) With $70K in pocket, customers will likely choose a BMW X3 M40i, but 2) this is no dressed-up snowflake, but a proper, snow-eating ute.
2024 Genesis GV70
Vehicle type: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive five-passenger SUV
Price: $47,050, including $1,450 destination fee ($68,870 3.5T AWD Sport Prestige as tested)
Power plant: 2.7-liter turbo 4 cylinder; 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6
Power: 300 horsepower, 311 pound-feet of torque (turbo-4); 375 horsepower, 391 pound-feet of torque (V-6)
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.9 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed: 150 mph
In the electrified era, common acronyms include EV, HEV and PHEV. Get used to a new term: REEV.
Ram on Tuesday introduced its new Range Extender Electric Vehicle (REEV), the 2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger. The Ramcharger is a truck for customers who want electric vehicle (EV) performance but with the range of a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV). Its internal combustion engine (ICE) — a 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 — acts as a generator and kicks in when the battery bricks. It’s just like a gas generator connected to your house when the electric power goes out.
Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis calls it the Goldilocks truck: it’s just right for the electrified customer who wants EV performance and ICE utility. It’s also just right for Stellantis NV, which has faced massive government fines for selling too many V-8 ICEs and not enough green EVs.
2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger painted fascia
Stellantis, Ram
Kuniskis made it clear that government rules have forced the industry to make EVs to “comply with the regulations.”
“Who is calling the shots? The government? Or is it the customer that used to be the case?” he said standing in front of the Ramcharger’s huge, 7,507-pound fame.
With the auto industry/government bet on EVs souring and electric truck sales stalled, Ram is determined to make an electrified pickup that will satisfy both its masters, consumer and bureaucrat. So it has moved up production of the Ramcharger to the second half of 2025 due to “overwhelming” consumer interest while indefinitely postponing its battery-only, so-called Ram REV pickup. It claims the Ramcharger meets California’s increasingly stringent SULEV III regulations that are targeting all-electric sales by 2035.
Here are five things about the Ramcharger.
1) How REEV works. Unlike a HEV or Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), the Ramcharger is an EV with gas-engine assist — not a gas engine with electric assist.
Like an EV, the Ramcharger’s big 92-kWh battery (about the size of a long-range Tesla Model X) powers twin drive motors, one on each axle. Only when the battery is depleted will the generator — aka, the V-6 — kick in to power the battery and generate enough juice to turn the motors. There is no direct connection from engine to wheels.
Charge the battery overnight and the Ramcharger will deliver about 145 miles of electric range. When that depletes, the ICE kicks in for an estimated total electric-gas range of 690 miles. No long stops at charging stations on road trips. No range anxiety.
“Charging? Who cares?” said Kuniskis. “It runs off the generator.”
2) Truck performance. On electric power, the Ramcharger’s 400-volt architecture posts formidable numbers with 647 horsepower and 610 pound-feet of torque, making it the most powerful Ram on the market, eclipsing the Ram RHO performance truck’s 521 pound-feet of torque while nearly matching the legendary (discontinued), Hellcat V-8-powerd TRX truck’s 650. Ram’s 0-60 mph target of 4.5 seconds is shy of the Ford Lightning EV’s 3.8 seconds.
As for pickup utility, the Ramcharger advertises a maximum payload of 2,625 pounds and towing capacity of 14,000 pounds.
3) Eight-lug wheels. The Ramcharger’s provdigious power requires heavy-duty equipment. In addition to the high-strength steel rails to carry its nearly four tons of weight, the pickup will ride on wheels with eight lug nuts — typical of heavy-duty trucks, not the Ramcharger’s light-duty peers.
2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger has eight lug-nut wheels.
Ram, Ram
4) Drive modes. Jeep has a lot of experience with PHEVs, and the Ramcharger will offer drive modes similar to its Stellantis stablemate. In Electric + mode, the Ramcharger will maximize its battery output before calling on the generator (at around 145 miles) for assistance. Or you can choose E-save mode to run on the engine/generator alone. Or you can choose Eco mode to maximize electric range.
5) Toys, toys, toys. In keeping with other HEV and EV trucks, Ramcharger has the ability to charge another EV, charge your home during a blackout, and power multiple electrical devices at a tailgate bash. Ramcharger features signature Ram elements like a smooth-riding, multi-link rear suspension, and Hands-free Highway Assist for assisted driving on those long, 690-mile trips. You’ll know the Ramcharger by its unique, body-colored fascia and updated Ram badging.
2026 Ram 1500 Ramcharger bed charge ports.
James Lipman, Ram
Ramcharger — like most EVs — will be targeted at luxury buyers with Ram’s posh interior including 14.5-inch touchscreen, 12.3-inch instrument cluster and 10.25-inch passenger screen. All that hardware won’t come cheap. Expect a starting price north of $70,000 when it goes on sale later this year.
Ramcharger does require more upkeep than a traditional EV because of the gas engine onboard, but executives said it will go longer between oil changes and other routine maintenance because the generator won’t run all the time. The ICE will occasionally kick on automatically if it hasn’t run in a certain length of time to safeguard the engine’s health and ensure water isn’t infiltrating engine oil.
“With unlimited battery-electric range, the Ram 1500 Ramcharger is the pinnacle of the light-duty pickup truck segment and the ultimate electric truck,” Kuniskis said. “The new Ramcharger is a beast (with) zero need for a public charger.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Detroit — January and the Detroit Auto Show fit like hand and a (winter) glove.
The show’s organizers said Wednesday it will be back next year from Jan. 14-25, solidifying itself as the first North American auto show on the calendar after a successful return this year. Like a mall, the Huntington Place showcase will again be anchored by Detroit automakers, The Gallery exhibit full of exotic cars, and Racing Day sponsored by the Detroit Grand Prix.
Visitors explore the 2025 Detroit Auto Show on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025 at Huntington Place in Detroit. The show, which returned this year to its traditional January slot for the first time since 2019, will be back from Jan. 14-25, 2026. Katy Kildee, The Detroit News
After a disjointed four years that saw multiple date changes and even cancellation due to the COVID pandemic, the Detroit Auto Show was back to its traditional January dates this year for the first time since 2019. Shedding its moniker as the North American International Auto Show as the auto industry has become less show-centric for vehicle reveals, the auto-palooza now carries the moniker Detroit Auto Show.
It attracted 275,000 people over 11 days this winter, well off its NAIAS peak of 800,000. The show boasted an economic impact of $370 million as it brought car fans into the city to kick off the new year.
“Having just concluded the show’s incredible return to its traditional time slot, we’re excited to announce next year’s dates and keep the momentum going,” said 2026 Detroit Auto Show Chair Todd Szott, a partner in Szott Auto, which runs a number of dealerships in Metro Detroit. “January is synonymous with cars in the Motor City, and we expect plenty of auto-centric experiences to, once again, be on tap for the 2026 show.”
Ford Mustang debuts — an RTR concept and GTD “Sprit of America” special edition — headlined this year’s show, and there will be media and industry preview days next year on Wednesday, Jan. 14 and Thursday, Jan. 15, respectively.
But the show’s focus has shifted to floor activities.
Josef Newgarden prepares to warm up the 655-horsepower Corvette E-Ray, the 2025 Detroit Grand Prix pace car, for fan rides at the Detroit Auto Show. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Detroit Grand Prix is a partner and will again host a Racing Day during public days, Jan. 17-25. The GP uses the auto show to launch ticket sales for its June event. And the black-tie Charity Preview will be held on Friday evening, Jan. 16, raising money for charitable causes. Media day is also traditionally opened with the awarding of the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year honors.
Where multimillion-dollar displays once dominated the floor, ride-along tracks now make up much of the floor space, offering an opportunity for the 30-plus brands on display to put attendees in the seats of vehicles. Among the 500-plus vehicles on display this year were 50 ultra-lux vehicles in The Gallery space including Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Rolls Royces.
“We’re pleased to learn about the new Auto Show schedule, which will enable the media and industry to meet and network in a focused and energized environment to preview the show before it opens to the public,” said Joe Rohatynski, vice president for AISIN Corporate Communications. “This is how it was for many years, and it worked very well for OEMs and suppliers.”
The Detroit Auto Dealers Association hosted the first show in 1907 and the NAIAS ran from 1989-2024.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Naples, Florida — In the Dollar Store corner of the auto shopping mall is the wee Mitsubishi Mirage. At $17,965, it is the most affordable new car in the U.S. market.
But you had better act fast; the Mirage is about to disappear.
The 2024 model year is the last for the subcompact, leaving only one car available under $20,000 (destination included) — the $18,330 Nissan Versa. The demise of the Mirage is the latest evidence of an unaffordable U.S. car market with the average transaction price of new vehicles pushing $50K and automakers flooding the market with pricey EVs to meet government mandates. We’ll miss you, Mitsu.
The Mitsubishi Mirage is the most affordable new car in the U.S. market and 2024 is the last model year – leaving the Nissan Versa as the only new car priced under $20,000.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
In ritzy downtown Naples, I wheeled the Mirage into the National Pickleball Center’s jammed fenced parking lot. Spying an opening between hulking Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Nautilus SUVs, I maneuvered the hatchback around a tree, between a row of tightly-packed cars and slotted into the space like a magazine into a bookshelf of encyclopedias.
I love subcompact hatchbacks and have sadly watched the Chevy Spark, Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta be let out to pasture. These pint-sized bargains were not only easy on the wallet, they were clever toys that immediately engaged customers with their brands. Heck, the Fiesta even had a performance ST version that still terrorizes autocrosses across the country.
Not Mitsu. Like the (also discontinued) Toyota Yaris, Mirage is basic transportation. The auto equivalent of Wonder bread. Tap water, vanilla ice cream, generic drug. It will get you from point A to B.
The wee 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage can park anywhere – a nice attribute in urban America.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I rented the Mirage for a week in Naples, where it shuttled Mrs. Payne and me between the beach, racquet sports, shopping centers, meals.
At a stoplight on Tamiami — aka Tampa-to-Miami, aka Route 41 — I lined up next to a Porsche 911, one of many in this playground for the rich. The light turned green and the 911 disappeared. Zero to 60 mph? 3.5 seconds. The Mirage uses a different metric: Zero-to-someday.
With just 78 horsepower under the hood — half that of a $21K Toyota Corolla compact — Mirage is built for fuel sippin’, not asphalt burnin’. I swear the Mitsu was powered by a gerbil wheel, though a check under the hood revealed a 1.2-liter three-cylinder connected to a droning CVT transmission. DROOOOOOOONE! The Mitsu went down Tamiami. DROOOOONE! It went up the I-75 on ramp. DROOOOONE! It went around a 90-degree turn.
Mirage is not much more exciting standing still.
The 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage comes standard with cloth seats, CVT automatic transmission, front-wheel drive, and steering wheel.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Where I was once smitten by the Spark’s big insect-eyed headlights and Fiesta’s sleek snout, Mirage is a wallflower with blocky headlights and squared-off tail. Square taillights, plastic wheel covers, not even a high rear-door latch like the Spark. Inside, the Mitsubishi was bare bones as well with standard digital infotainment display set in acres of plastic dashboard. No clever-folding Magic Seat like in the ol’ Honda Fit.
Indeed, rather than buy a new Mirage, I’d take your $17K and go to, say, a Honda pre-owned lot and buy a used (50,000 miles on the odometer) Civic Hatchback. More car, more power, more style.
Still, there’s a charm about Mitsu’s simplicity. Like putting an old LP on your home turntable instead of listening to Spotify.
The 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage offers four doors and good hatchback space for cargo. Rear seat roomy is tight, however.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I’ve been driving electric cars — Chevy Equinox EV, Tesla Model 3, VW ID.Buzz — that turn on when you tap the brake pedal. The Mirage requires that you dig into your pocket (or worse, rummage through Mrs. Payne’s bottomless purse) for a key, then turn it in the ignition to turn over the gerbil wheel — er, starter motor. A good ol’ hand brake separates the seats, which I grabbed when I leaned my 6’5” frame into the car to steady myself. The Mitsu is so basic it doesn’t even have a center console arm.
Standard is a steering wheel, emergency braking, excellent 10-year/100,000-mile drivetrain warranty and back-up camera so I could back into those tight parking spaces. However, the camera is so basic that it doesn’t follow the path of the car, so I generally craned my neck. How dependent on technology we have become.
Most cars these days come standard with a cocoon of safety systems including blind spot-assist and adaptive cruise control. With Mirage, you get basic cruise control — so basic it doesn’t tell you what speed you’ve set. I figured it out when it settled on a number in the analog gauge cluster.
Yet analog Mirage acknowledges the digital smartphone.
The 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage is no speedster with a 0-60 mph time of more than 10 seconds. But it’ll get you where you need to go.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
When we picked up the hatchback at the Fort Myers airport, my wife synched her iPhone — then started Apple CarPlay on the seven-inch screen to guide us to our hotel. No, the Apple CarPlay isn’t wireless, but it did its job.
As did Mirage. With the back seats down, we loaded our daily needs — tennis bags, towels, beach chairs — into the roomy hatchback. The gas tank was tiny. as you’d expect, but with 43 mpg highway, the 9.3-gallon tank still gets you 400 miles of range — equivalent to an electric $81K Tesla Model S but with quicker refueling times.
The 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage hatch has plenty of room for the Paynes’ stuff on a Florida vacation.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Once Mirage sells out, Versa will stand alone as the only new car under 20 grand. Or you can get that used Civic on the pre-owned lot.
Charlotte, North Carolina — Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford and his son Will, Ford Performance general manager, are leading a company assault on international motorsports not seen since the 1960s.
Then, Henry Ford II took the Blue Oval to the racing summit with wins at Le Mans, Daytona 500, Baja 1000, and in Formula One. Today, with a new generation of Ford gearheads at the helm, the company is going back to war at Le Mans, NASCAR, Baja, F1 — and beyond.
Detroit News Auto Critic Henry Payne sat down with the Fords on Jan. 30 at the second annual Ford Performance Season Launch to talk about their vision.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
At the 2025 Ford Performance season launch in Charlotte, N.C., Chairman Bill Ford, Jr. (left) and Will Ford, GM Ford Performance, talk about Ford racing plans. Behind them is the Ford Raptor T1+ Dakar Rally race car. Ford
Question:Bill, some exciting news you are dropping here about future race plans.
Bill Ford: Yeah, it’s really big news. We’re going into prototype racing with LMDh. That will allow us to go after the overall win at Le Mans. We’ve done very well in our (GT) classes, but we haven’t been able to go for the overall win because we didn’t have an LMDh car; we will now.
Q:Will, I know this is exciting for you. You are the general manager of Ford Performance. But you don’t know how exciting this is to 60-year-old guys like your father and I. The 1960s is when racing really started — it’s Porsche and Ferrari, it’s Ford v Ferrari, it’s the touchstone of racing, and you guys are launching a second Golden Age in the hybrid era.
Will Ford: It was the right time for us to do this. I think I do have a little bit of a sense of how exciting this is for you guys (laughing). I didn’t get to live through it and see it firsthand in the ‘60s, but I’m obviously very familiar with — and love — the history. I was there in 2016 when we got the class win with the (mid-engine Ford) GT and last year when the GT3 Mustang got its first podium at Le Mans.
This was the natural next step for us to take where we are entering a new golden age of Ford Performance. Everything we are doing in motorsport right now is not for vanity or nostalgia — this is an indication of where we are going as a company and with our products. It’s going to be awesome to compete for the overall (win) over there.
Q: Racing is in this company’s DNA. Ford Motor Company was launched at a track with Henry Ford attracting investors. How do you keep that DNA going over 100 years?
BF: It was 1901 when (Henry Ford) first raced and won on the track to raise the money. It’s been something that has been part of us certainly for my lifetime. It’s not hard to keep that going. It’s the passion of — anytime you are at a race, your adrenaline gets going. Ours certainly does, but also the fans. And this is great for the brand.
It’s one of the things that Will is so uniquely qualified to do in his job because he grew up with this. And it means something to him beyond the cars and the race. It is all tied to our family’s history, it’s who we are as a company, and it’s who we are as a family.
Q:The 2016 GT was an homage to the original GT40. What is happening right now in prototype racing that is recreating this second Golden Era?
BF: We are entering a new era, the hybrid era. We believe this is a great time for us to do it. The other thing that is happening is — if anyone out there is really paying attention, we are going all-in on racing all around the world in every kind of racing.
I think that is something that individual fans will take note of, but they may not see the totality of what we are doing. One of the things we’ve said is we want to own off-road. And so we are racing off-road. Will was just in Saudi Arabia for the Dakar (Rally) and Baja before that. And so we are racing off-road all around the world. We are racing in Australia; we are racing on all the circuits here. Mustang is now not only available for our factory racing, but — very importantly — for customer racing all the way through the various classes that a customer might want to be in. So this is very much who we are, and, as Will indicated, where we are headed.
WF: One of the exciting parts about tonight is — as my dad was saying — our breadth of racing is so wide that sometimes it’s hard for us to show that to customers and fans. To show how many different places we are racing, how many different vehicles we are racing. At the Ford Performance Season Launch, we have everything in one room.
We are the only OEM on earth that can bring all these drivers, team partners and technical partners together. That’s one of the coolest parts about tonight is seeing the off-road drivers meeting the WEC (World Endurance Racing) drivers meeting Aussie Supercar drivers.
Even though motorsports is in our DNA, we’ve sort of had a pattern in our company of having periods where we go all-in and then we lean out a little bit — and then we go all-in again, and then we lean out.
Right now, we are all-in again to an extent we never have been before and it’s not something we’re going to let up on anytime soon.
Q: That’s unusual for any brand. Porsche and Ferrari, for example, play in a very different market from Ford but they have committed to racing internationally. That was part of the breakthrough of Ford winning Le Mans in the 1960s — it put you on the international level with those brands. And it is striking today that you are doing this on a sports-car level but also off-road where you have really committed to taking brands like Mustang and Raptor international.
WF: Yes, sports car obviously. Mustang is racing everywhere, the elite global sports cars are winning top races like with our win at Rolex Daytona 24 last weekend.
But off-road is a really important space for us. It’s where we have a unique competitive advantage with our trucks and Bronco products, and we need to keep finding those toughest, harshest environments to race in — Baja 1000, King of the Hammers, Dakar Rally is the next, natural evolution of our off-road racing program.
We have an opportunity with our products and off-road racing brands and efforts to create that ecosystem that is analogous to what exists in sports-car and really be the only brand that owns that whole world.
Q: Bill, look back over the last 60 years from 1966 to your announcement today. Has the world gotten smaller? Is is easier for you to market these vehicles internationally now?
BF: In some ways, the world has gotten more complicated because there are so many more players now than back then. You have the Koreans, the Japanese, now the Chinese in big numbers. So the field we compete against around the world has gotten larger than it was in the 1960s. But that is where we are going to press our advantage. We are the only brand that can do what we are doing, and we are going to take on all comers and we are going to win.
WF: We want more brands in every series that we race. Down at the Baja 1000, we are the only OEM that is there consistently year-after-year for 15 years with our Raptor products. Occasionally, some other OEMs drop in and drop out.
But we would love for more to come down and compete against us there, because it’s good for the sport, it raises the overall presence of the sport — and we are still going to win.
Q: All the biggest names are there — Porsche, Lambo, Ferrari —– in the LMDh series. Speaking of big names, it’s hard not to talk about 1966 without talking about Henry the Deuce. The force of his personality in bringing that program to bear. Clearly, there is great Ford heritage here with the two of you. Talk about that relationship in the Ford family history having a father-son advancing the brand like this.
BF: We really have not had a father-son kind of relationship. Obviously, Henry the First and Edsel worked together and at times that was a little rocky. I think.
But it’s really fun . . . it’s fun for me to see Will and his younger brother, Nick, who is now working at the company. The one thing that I think they will both have that nobody they work with will have is a commitment to the brand that goes way beyond just the paycheck but also beyond the job.
It’s what they were born with, it’s their last name, it’s their family heritage and it’s going to be their future.
Q: Will, you’re a talented, educated guy. You’re a competitive hockey player, you’ve got a Princeton degree, there are a lot of things you could have done. The Danforth family that created the Purina Company, for example. … John Danforth was a senator, Bill Danforth ran a university. What attracted you to Ford Motor Company. Is it the Ford Performance piece?
WF: I’ve always had a feeling I was going to work at Ford one day. I didn’t know exactly what part of the company I was going to join or when it was going to happen.
My dad has always been very clear with me and my siblings that we needed to go work other places before we joined Ford. We need to go get experience other places and get graduate degrees and prove ourselves outside of the company. But I always knew I was going to probably end up here one day. Sports have been the other big part of my life. I’m an athlete, I’ve always been an athlete. I like to compete — mostly against my dad (laughing) — but I can’t say I always knew I was going to join the motorsports group when I came to Ford.
But the timing was perfect. I remember my dad and I were sitting on the beach one day a few months before I started in this role and it felt like the time was right for me to join the company and I knew everything that we were starting to build back up in the motorsports realm. Not just our racing but the efforts to tie everything that we do in motorsport and integrate it more directly into our products and into our brand identity.
It was an opportunity to be in the motorsports world — and in a highly competitive environment that I love and naturally gravitate to — with something that’s vitally important to our business.
Q: Bill, the timing seems right. You have a CEO in Jim Farley who is a racer and very committed to motorsport. Your son is at this point where it makes sense to him. This seems like a nice trifecta to carry this brand forward in motorsport.
BF: It really is. It’s building the brand, it’s proving to our own employees that we are the team to beat around the world. Our employees take great pride in that. Jim Farley is a racer, but I think importantly — and something that Will touched upon — it will bring what we learn in racing back to our vehicles. If all we did was race and forget about it, we’d have an adrenaline rush on the weekend — and that’s all we would have.
But if we can — and we are — bring back what we have learned in some of the world’s toughest endurance races both on track and off-road . . . if we bring that back into our passenger vehicles, that’s something our customers will love. And we are doing that.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Charlotte, North Carolina — Henry Ford had a need for speed that helped launch Ford Motor Co. A century later, Bill and Will Ford are stepping on the gas.
In perhaps the closest father-son relationship in Ford’s storied family history, the Fords are leading the company into a new era of motorsports.
If Henry used racing success to attract investors and Henry Ford II used Le Mans and Formula One to prove that Ford could compete with the world’s best, then Bill and Will want to establish Ford as the premier performance manufacturer by competing in every aspect of motorsports from F1 to off-road racing to NASCAR to endurance sports cars.
“It was 1901 when (Henry Ford) first raced and won on the track to raise the money,” said Bill Ford, the company’s executive chairman, as he leaned forward on a couch next to his son on Jan. 30 at the Ford Performance Season Launch in Charlotte, where the company ramped up for this weekend’s Daytona 500 and a full 2025 racing calendar ahead.
At the 2025 Ford Performance Season Launch in Charlotte, Executive Chairman Bill Ford (left) and Will Ford, general manager of Ford Performance, talk about the automaker’s racing plans. Behind them is the Ford Raptor T1+ Dakar Rally race car.
Ford
Racing is “something that has been part of us, certainly for my lifetime,” Bill Ford said. “It’s great for the brand. It’s one of the things that Will is so uniquely qualified to do in his job because he grew up with this. And it means something to him beyond the cars and the race. It is all tied to our family history; it’s who we are as a company, and it’s who we are as a family.”
On stage before a sea of Ford fans, drivers and race personnel, Bill Ford announced that, in 2027, the automaker would return to the pinnacle for prototype racing, something not seen since it dominated Le Mans with the legendary V8-powered GT40 from 1966-69. With Will as general manager of Ford Performance, father and son will be in the front seats of Ford’s racing renaissance.
“It was the right time for us to do this,” Will said. “This was the natural next step for us to take where we are entering a new Golden Age of Ford Performance. Everything we are doing in motorsport right now is not for vanity or nostalgia — this is an indication of where we are going as a company and with our products.”
His father’s excitement was palpable on this night when Ford brought its racing teams and drivers together to kick off the 2025 season. Bill Ford, 67, grew up in the 1960s when Ford blossomed as a performance manufacturer — introducing the wildly popular Mustang sports car at home and beating Ferrari, a racing demigod, at the summit of motorsports, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
At the 2025 Ford Performance Season Launch in Charlotte, Chairman Bill FOrd, Jr. (left) and Will Ford, GM Ford Performance, talk about Ford racing plans. Behind them is the Ford Raptor T1+ Dakar Rally race car.
Ford
Not since Henry II — Hank the Deuce, immortalized in the Oscar-winning movie “Ford v Ferrari” — has a Ford brought this passion to the track. “We’re going back to Le Mans, back to win. This time to win it all . . . with a new prototype LMDh,” Bill Ford said on stage before a cheering crowd. “Let’s go like Hell.”
He drives the 1964 Indy 500 Mustang pace car, attends races and rubs shoulders with his drivers in the pits. And he has another Ford at his side.
“We really have not had a father-son kind of relationship,” Bill said. “Obviously, Henry the First and Edsel worked together, and at times, that was a little rocky, I think.”
Author A.J. Baime, who has chronicled the Ford family in two books, says the Bill & Will relationship represents a unique evolution of a family-owned company.
“Unlike automakers like General Motors or Chrysler, the founding family is still influential, and the Fords takes great pride in the company. That there is a desire among the Fords to return to the pinnacle of racing is incredibly exciting,” said Baime, whose book “Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans,” was the basis for the “Ford v Ferrari” movie.
While GM over the years has nurtured generations of family talent (Chevrolet President William Knudsen and son Semon Knudsen, Pontiac general manager; GM President Lloyd Reuss and his son, Mark Reuss, current president of GM), Baime said that founding family relationships are rare and mostly associated with small European marques, not big, mainstream companies.
In the 1930s, for example, Bugatti founder Ettore Bugatti’s oldest son, Jean, designed the brand’s famed Royale Type 41 and the Type 57 models. After World War II, Ferdinand Porsche and his son, Ferry, launched their namesake company with the 356 model. And Dino Ferrari was a talented race engineer for his father, Enzo’s, company before his untimely death at the age of 24.
The close father-son bond is unique in Ford history. In his book “Arsenal of Democracy,” on Ford Motor’s efforts to manufacture airplanes during World War II, Baime describes the chilly, fraught relationship between the driven Ford founder and his more cosmopolitan and only son, Edsel. While Edsel commissioned several automobiles from Ford for his personal use, including the 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster, his passion was for boats — even competing in speedboat races.
At the 2025 Ford Performance Season Launch in Charlotte, Red Bull Formula One boss Christian Horner (middle) talks with Ford CEO Jim Farley. Red Bull and Ford are teaming on the F1 drivetrain for the 2026 season.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The warm bond between Chairman Bill and GM Will is apparent. Both are car guys; both are competitive. While earning a history degree at Princeton University, Will, 32, also competed for four years on the varsity men’s hockey team.
“I’m an athlete. I’ve always been an athlete. I like to compete,” he said with a laugh, “mostly against my dad — but I can’t say I always knew I was going to join the motorsports group when I came to Ford. It was an opportunity to be in the motorsports world — and in a highly competitive environment that I love and naturally gravitate to — with something that’s vitally important to our business.”
That top-down passion was apparent to Red Bull Formula One CEO Christian Horner, who has partnered with Ford to make a hybrid drivetrain under F1’s 2026 hybrid-engine (so-called power unit) regulations, and who attended the Charlotte event.
“It’s something we’re very excited about because Ford has such a rich history in Formula One,” Horner said in an interview. “We felt that it was the right time to take control of our own destiny and produce our own power unit in-house. But to do that as an independent when you are going up against massive manufacturers (like Ferrari and Mercedes), we felt like we needed a partner. The enthusiasm of Bill Ford … was apparent and the deal was basically done within a couple of months.”
At the 2025 Ford Performance Season Launch, Bill Ford Jr. (left) and son Will talk about the races ahead this year.
Ford
That family enthusiasm has been crucial to Ford’s racing success. “The impetus for Ford’s efforts in the 1960s had to come from within the family with Henry II, and now it’s happening again,” said author Baime.
Beginning in the 1960s, Ford and Formula One became synonymous, with the Blue Oval producing (in partnership with Cosworth) the most successful F1 powerplant of all time, winning 155 races from 1967 to 1983. Ford’s efforts would continue through multiple rule changes until it exited F1 in 2005. For 2026, Red Bull will assemble the 50-50 gas-electric hybrid powertrain while Ford provides battery/electric motor expertise.
“It’s the first time in 50 years that F1 has introduced, coterminous, different engine and chassis regs,” Horner said. “(Ford has) so much experience in the EV sector of the market now, and that puts us on even keel with some of our other competitors.”
The feeling is mutual, as the tech transfer from racing to production is crucial for Ford as it builds and markets a new generation of internal combustion and electrified production vehicles around the world.
“(Racing) will bring what we learn in racing back to our vehicles,” Bill said. “If all we did was race and forget about it, we’d have an adrenaline rush on the weekend — and that’s all we would have. But if we can — and we are — bringing back what we have learned in some of the world’s toughest endurance races both on track and off-road … into our passenger vehicles, that’s something our customers will love.”
The Formula One and Le Mans LMDh prototype class both run hybrid drivetrains at the very limits of material and heat tolerances — limits that inform the development of hybrid and battery drivetrains in production cars from hybrid Maverick trucks to Mustang Mach-E EVs.
But, as in the ‘60s when Ford won the Baja 1000 in the deserts of Mexico in addition to high-profile Le Mans and NASCAR victories, the company is expanding its reach off-road to carry the flags of F-150 truck and Bronco SUV models that are the company’s biggest profit drivers.
Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch and Dennis Olsen piloted the #65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 to first place in the GTD Pro class at the 2025 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Jake Galstad, Courtesy Of IMSA
“Off-road is a really important space for us,” said Bill. “It’s where we have a unique competitive advantage with our trucks and Bronco products, and we need to keep finding those toughest, harshest environments to race in. We have an opportunity … to create that ecosystem that is analogous to what exists in sportscars and really be the only brand that owns that whole world.”
While Ford’s Mustang GT3 race car was beating Porsche, Ferrari and Mercedes around the high-bank ovals of Daytona in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January, it was also competing in the remote desert of Saudi Arabia in the Dakar Rally, finishing third with its maiden Raptor entry. All told, Ford will compete off-road with Raptors this year in Dakar, Baja and the U.S. King of the Hammers series.
“Our breadth of racing is so wide that sometimes it’s hard for us to show that to customers and fans,” said Will, who spent the evening in Charlotte mingling with drivers, team owners and fans at numerous race car displays. “We are the only (manufacturer) on earth that can bring all these drivers, team partners and technical partners together.”
Such commitment has waxed and waned over the decades in a cyclical industry. Fiery Hank the Deuce made motorsports a priority beginning in the 1960s and the father-son team has rekindled it along with Ford Performance chief Mark Rushbrook and CEO Jim Farley, himself an accomplished amateur racer.
“Having the company CEO architecting this is crucial,” Baime said. “The commitment to racing couldn’t happen if Farley didn’t see eye-to-eye with the family.”
At the Ford Performance event, the company announced the integration of the Ford Performance Racing division with production to better align its racing and production learnings.
“Even though motorsports is in our DNA, we’ve sort of had a pattern in our company of having periods where we go all in and then we lean out a little bit,” said Will. “Right now, we are all in again to an extent we never have been before, and it’s not something we’re going to let up on anytime soon.”
At the 2025 Ford Performance Season Launch in Charlotte, Ford drivers of the Mustang GT3 celebrate their win at the season-opening Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January.
Ford
Racing also aids the bottom line with customer programs that parallel factory team efforts. Ford has long sold Mustangs to private teams in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GT4 race series and is expanding that effort to international GT3 racing. It’s also forged a track-focused Mustang Dark Horse R for customers to race in the Mustang Challenge. The series will cross the pond to Le Mans this June.
“(Mustang) is not only available for our factory racing but — very importantly — for customer racing all the way through the various classes that a customer might want to be in,” said Bill. “So this is very much who we are and . . . where we are headed.”
Next year, 2026, is the 125th anniversary of Henry Ford’s 1901 Sweepstakes victory that attracted the investor seed money for Ford Motor Co. It will also be the 60th anniversary of Ford’s historic Le Mans win. In its second century, the Ford family — and its racing DNA — is still at the heart of the company.
“In some ways, the world has gotten more complicated because there are so many more players now than” in the 1960s,” Bill said. “You have the Koreans, the Japanese, now the Chinese in big numbers. But . . . we are the only brand that can do what we are doing, and we are going to take on all comers.”
And with a new generation of Fords by his side. His daughter Alexandra is on the automaker’s board of directors, and his youngest son, Nick, has joined the company as director of corporate strategy. Will joined Ford Performance in 2023.
“My Dad has always been very clear with me and my siblings that we needed . . . to experience other places and get graduate degrees and prove ourselves outside of the company,” said Will, who, after earning an MBA from MIT, spent a decade in the finance world. “But I always knew I was going to probably end up here one day. The timing was perfect.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Oakland County — The midsize sedan segment’s perennial sales leader, the Toyota Camry, is winning huzzahs for its comely 2025 makeover. Sultry face, coupe-like roof, all-wheel drive.
It had to upgrade. Camry has a galloping herd of competitors breathing down its neck.
Take a look at the Korean tag team — Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited and Kia K5 GT — sitting next to the Camry in my driveway. Chiseled fascias, lean lines, tech-tastic interiors.
“What is that?” exclaimed my friend Mark when he saw the K5. “That’s a nice-looking thing. Looks luxury.”
Detroit automakers may have abandoned sedan segments, but Japanese and European automakers continue to slake our thirst for cars. American makes are gone but not forgotten. To my eye, they once set the standard for looks and ergonomics. Think the aging Ford Fusions, Chrysler 200s and Dodge Chargers that still populate our roads. Dodge has long set the standard for ergonomics with its intuitive Uconnect system, knob controls — even clever goo-gaws like radio volume and station controls on the backside of the steering wheel.
Asian makers have won over customers with their reliability and 100,000-mile warranties (Hyundai/Kia), and now they’re making strides in exterior and interior design. Good looks and handling are a must in the midsize segment to attract customers who would otherwise choose SUV hatchback utility.
Give the K5 and Sonata high-fives.
Lookers
My midsize $39K Kia GT stunner borrows luxury-class tricks like flat-gray paint and colored calipers to turn Mark’s head. Heck, the Korean automaker even poached Audi TT designer Peter Schreyer to sketch its distinctive “Tiger Nose” front grille. Sonata impresses, too, with its sci-fi wraparound LED running light and scalloped shoulders.
The 2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has an impressive range of 673 miles.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The art tour continues inside, where Kia and Sonata share BMW-like hoodless, 24.3-inch jumbotron screens that sprawl across the dash housing a 12-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen. The tech echoes the cockpit of a Bimmer 5-series costing twice as much.
Camry was a leading contender for the 2025 North American Car of the Year because it has spent hours at the beauty parlor.
Its face takes cues from the handsome Prius, which got its own extreme makeover for the 2024 model year (scoring a COTY trophy). Alas, that aesthetic restraint doesn’t apply to the rest of the Toyota’s body, which is a maze of sheet metal stampings. There’s a lotta Lexus here, which may be the premium intent.
The Kia-Hyundai twins are sleek, the Toyota busy.
The 2025 Kia K5 GT is quick with 291 horsepower – but, curiously, does not offer AWD like some lower trims.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Inside, Camry is more traditional than the Koreans, choosing a hooded instrument display and separate 12.3-inch console screens on up-trim models like my XSE. The Toyota wows with optional red leather seats. Red never gets old and Mrs. Payne enjoyed slipping into Camry’s rouge thrones whenever we went out.
Not to be outdone, Kia dresses its GT with yellow seat stitching — matching the yellow brake calipers on the outside. That’s a lot more coordinated than my wardrobe, where I often can’t match socks, for goodness’ sake.
All three sedans provide ample rear legroom to accommodate friends ‘n’ family.
Ergonomics, technology
The Toyota, Kia and Hyundai also bridge the premium moat by stuffing their cabins with tech. There is little here you won’t find in a much pricier Audi, Bimmer or Caddy.
Adaptive cruise control with lane-keep? Check. Emergency braking? Check. Blind-spot assist? Check. Rear cross-traffic alert for tight parking lots? Check. Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto? Double check. Indeed, my $39K Sonata tester is as easy to operate as it is easy on the eyes, with easy auto unlock and phone syncing.
Cruising Metro Detroit’s congested highways, I put the three Asians on adaptive cruise control to maintain a safe distance from the vehicles in front of me. With traffic racing past in both lanes of the Daytona tri-oval race track — er, I-96 — I glanced at the mirror blind-spot indicators before making a lane change.
The 2025 Toyota Camry options comfy red leather thrones.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Impressive tech, but the brands still have work to do to catch up with the ergonomic geniuses at GM, Dodge and Ford.
The K5 andSonata are built on the same platform and their steering wheels have gone to GM ergonomics school with tactile buttons that I could toggle for cruise speed and radio volume without taking my eyes off the road.
However, Kia jumped the shark in designing radio controls that double as climate controls. That’s right, if you want to control the radio, you have to first look down at the console to make sure it’s not set to, um, climate. Otherwise, you might turn the cabin temp to 80 degrees thinking you’re raising the volume. Argh.
Sonata sanely maintains a distinction between radio/climate controls. As does Camry. Alas, the steering wheel control buttons are flat, requiring that I look away from the road to use them.
The 2025 Kia K5 GT has confusing interior controls, with the same buttons used for climate/audio.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The sedan trio don’t take a hint from GM/Dodge to put radio volume/station controls buttons on the back of the wheel. Instead, K5/Sonata paddle shifters on the back of the steering wheel are as useful as sneakers on a fish.
None of these boulevard cruisers will tempt you to Hell, Michigan’s twisty roads.
Driving
Performance is what you are really paying for by buying premium these days. Power. Verve. The thrill of side G-forces. At its stratospheric 80grand price, a BMW 550e packs a 483-horsepower hybrid powertrain that stirs a smoking cocktail of turbochargers, six cylinders, and electric motors for gobsmacking acceleration.
The Toyota and Hyundai also offers hybrids … with the sole purpose of thrilling your wallet. At an impressive 44 and 47 mpg, respectively, the Camry and Sonata Hybrid will rarely have to visit a gas station. You’ll rarely stomp your foot on the throttle through a corner, either.
Though their platforms are sturdy, the pair’s handling won’t induce goosebumps. The Camry, however, does offer all-wheel drive over the Hyundai front-wheeler for better winter traction — and 232 horsepower versus Sonata’s 183.
The sleek, premium bod of the 2025 Kia K5 GT turns heads for under $40k.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The K5 GT is more ambitious (Sonata has a similar N-Line offering).
Its 2.5-liter turbo-4 gains a whopping 100 ponies over the standard K5’s 191-horse 2.0-liter. Paired with an eight-speed transmission, I zipped to 60 mph in just over 5 seconds (at the sacrifice of 27 mpg compared to the hybrids). Alas, I spun the front tires because the GT trim (like the comparable Sonata N-Line) doesn’t come with an AWD option like models powered by the standard 1.6-liter turbo-4. A head-scratcher, that.
Hybrids will save you at the pump — but they will cost you at sticker. The AWD Camry clocked in at $45K and the Sonata at $39K. With sexy looks and a lot more grunt, the $39K Kia GT is this gearhead’s pick. But if you demand AWD and better fuel economy … well, the Camry will make up that added $6K with fuel savings in about eight years.
Next week: 2025 Rivian R1S
2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
Vehicle type: Gas-powered, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger sedan
Price: $38,810 as tested, including $1,150 destination charge ($27,800 Sonata base)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter inline 4-cylinder combined with electric motor, 0.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed
Power: 192 horsepower, 210 pound-feet torque
Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.8 seconds. (Car and Driver); top speed, 120 mph
Weight: 3,400 pounds (est.)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 45 city/51 highway/47 combined
Report card
Highs: Sleek looks; excellent fuel economy
Lows: No AWD option for hybrid model
Overall: 3 stars
2025 Kia K5 GT
Vehicle type: Gas-powered, front-wheel drive, five-passenger sedan
Price: $39,625 as tested, including $1,155 destination charge ($28,145 K5 base)
The Daytona 500’s field of 40, thundering, V8-powered NASCARs will be led to the green flag this Sunday by . . . a green, whisper-quiet, battery-powered Chevy Blazer EV SS.
It’s the first time the Florida race, now in its 67th running, has been paced by an electric vehicle.
Together with the debut of a Blazer EV.R NASCAR Prototype race car, the Blazer EV SS is another indication of General Motors. Co.’s commitment to an all-electric future. Don’t expect NASCAR to abandon crowd-pleasing, internal-combustion-engine V-8s anytime soon, though, as even NASCAR’s mild electrification plans to go hybrid in 2024 have come and gone. But the Blazer indicates how the motorsport’s manufacturer sponsors — Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota — want it to promote the electric technologies they are developing for road cars.
The Chevy Blazer EV SS will be the pace car for the 2025 Daytona 500 – the first EV to do so. Chevrolet, Chevrolet
EV sales are less than 10% of U.S. car sales — about 40% of them in California — and have been targeted at upper-income buyers. Indeed, the Blazer EV SS will start at $61,995 — the price of a gas-powered Audi Q7 — when it goes on sale later this quarter. Among the 100,000, largely middle-class fans choking the Daytona infield this weekend, Chevy owners will skew to ICE pickups rather than EV SUVs, but Chevrolet is bullish on its electric lineup that starts with the $34,995 Equinox EV.
The 2025 Blazer EV SS is the first Chevy EV to wear the iconic SS performance badge and is the quickest SS model the brand has ever produced, rocketing from 0-60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. Its 615 horsepower is nearly on par with the 670-horse NASCARs lining up behind it — though the Blazer’s estimated 5,300 pounds make the big, 3,400-pound NASCARs look like lightweights.
Chevy’s NASCAR race car is badged a Camaro — a two-door, V8-powered sports car that went out of production in 2024. NASCAR racers use a bespoke racing chassis that shares nothing with production cars. Ford badges its NASCAR a Mustang and the Toyota NASCAR is a Camry.
“Chevrolet has a long history with racing — it’s in our DNA – and the Blazer EV SS is a testament to that,” said Chevrolet Vice President Scott Bell. “We’re excited for customers to watch the Blazer EV SS — the quickest SS we’ve ever produced — pace such an iconic race this weekend.”
The Chevy Blazer EV SS pace car packs 610 horsepower – nearly on par with a 670-horse, V8-powered NASCAR. Chevrolet, Chevrolet
In addition to its face-flattening power, the 303-mile range, all-wheel-drive Blazer EV SS is peppered with performance goodies like Brembo brakes and sport-tuned shocks. It boasts luxury touches like a 17.7-inch-diagonal color touchscreen and standard, hands-free Super Cruise driver assistance –— though for divided highway, not racetrack, use only.
“We’re honored to have Chevrolet as a founding partner of Daytona International Speedway, and that the iconic brand chose to feature the all-new Blazer EV SS,” said DIS track president Frank Kelleher.
The first EV to pace the field, the Blazer is the 16th Chevrolet model to do the honors.
The Blazer EV.R NASCAR Prototype also took a bow at Daytona this week, part of a joint effort between NASCAR and its manufacturing partners — Chevy, Ford and Toyota — to showcase emerging auto tech. Ford debuted its own version of an electric NASCAR — based on its Mustang Mach-E SUV — at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona last month.
Chevrolet introduced the electric Blazer EV.R NASCAR Prototype race car at Daytona this week as manufacturers preview emerging tech. Chevrolet, Chevrolet
“Our Chevrolet V-8 engines continue to be an important part of NASCAR. Racing has always been an important platform for Chevrolet to test, learn and explore new technologies,” said GM Performance & Motorsports Vice President Jim Campbell.
Chevy’s ICE production models will also get star turns at Daytona this weekend with the V8-powered Corvette Stingray leading the field for the Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 on Saturday and the Silverado RST pickup leading the Craftsman Truck Series race to the green flag Friday.
For a closer look at the Blazer EV.R and the three pace cars — Blazer EV SS, ‘Vette and Silverado RST — Daytona fans can check out Chevy’s infield displays.
When the green Blazer EV peels off the track and the flag waves at 2:30 pm Sunday, all eyes (and ears) will be on the pack of V-8s — including defending Daytona 500 champion William Byron, who will be seeking to put a Chevy NASCAR in the Daytona winner’s circle for the 27th time.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
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The idea for the 2025 Ineos Grenadier was birthed in the Grenadier Pub in England by Ineos Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, an avid safari adventurer. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The 2025 Ineos Quartermaster pickup truck has a 5.5-foot bed, four-wheel drive and 115-inch wheelbase.” data-c-credit. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
