Motor City muscle is going to France this June to take on the world’s best in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s greatest endurance race. Cadillac on Thursday announced a feature-length, 90-minute documentary, “No Perfect Formula,” that will debut May 31 detailing the past year’s development of its wicked-fast, V8-powered Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh hybrid prototype.
Cadillac will be joined in its Le Mans pursuit by Motown brands Ford and Chevrolet. They will be duking it out in, respectively, Mustang and Corvette sportscars for GT-class supremacy against Euro-icons like Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin. And then there’s The Captain. Detroit’s best known racing boss, Roger Penske, has teamed up with Porsche’s LMDh hybrid prototype program to try to win one of the few trophies the 19-time Indy 500 winner doesn’t have on his mantel.
No Perfect Formula, a documentary about Cadillac’s quest to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, airs may 31.Cadillac, GM
“For more than a century, racing has provided a test-bed for Cadillac to transfer knowledge and technology between race cars and production vehicles, and a way to build a fanbase for the brand around the world,” said Cadillac Global Vice President John Roth. “2023 was a pivotal year for Cadillac Racing, and ‘No Perfect Formula’ captures the emotion.”
The massive racing investment comes at a tricky time for automakers as governments in Europe and the United States are forcing their production models to go all-electric. Yet, the American race cars entered in Le Mans June 15 are all powered by bread-and-butter V-8s drinking gas and rattling French windows. As electric powertrains go quiet, racing is more important than ever to define performance brands.
“Motorsport still doesn’t believe that there’s much interest in electric vehicles,” said Stephen Cole Smith, veteran racing writer for Hagerty. “The industry has misread the demand for EVs. I don’t know of anyone in motorsports who thinks there is a fan market there. The V8-powered race cars are an indication of what people want to see and hear.”
The #31 Cadillac GTP and Porsche Penske GTP racers battled to the finish at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January. Both will vie for a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. HZ, Porsche / Juergen Tap
French fans will hear plenty from Detroit’s thundering V-8s married to hybrid powertrains. The Cadillac and Porsche Penske prototypes exit pit lane under electric power before the V-8s thunder to life for 200 mph racing. “The hybrid gives manufacturers plausibility for governments who want to push EVs,” said Cole Smith.
The two Cadillacs entered at Le Mans sport 670-horsepower, 5.5-liter V-8s, the three Porsche Penskes a twin-turbocharged, 4.5-liter V-8. The GT cars are non-hybrid. The Ford Mustang LMGT3 features a 5.5-liter V-8, and the Corvette a 5.5-liter V-8 that screams like a Ferrari.
After its debut at 7 p.m. May 31, “No Perfect Formula” will repeat at 7 p.m. each Friday leading up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 15–16. Viewers can find it on the Samsung TV Plus app, then navigate to Hagerty’s FAST Channel 1194.
The documentary focuses on Cadillac’s 2023 effort — for the first time in over two decades — to win the French race, and the company says the documentary doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges involved. It follows the highs and lows of a year-long journey that saw Caddy capture third place at Le Mans in June, and ultimately the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
At the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, it was Mustang v Corvette in the GT class. They will take their battle to Le Mans in June. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Last year kicked off a new era of international sportscar racing with the hybrid prototype and GT classes. The new rules allow Detroit automakers to use the same race cars in North America’s IMSA series as well as international FIA series that include Le Mans. The changes brought a renewed assault on Le Mans form automakers like Ford and Chevy that have won the race in the past. For Penske and Cadillac, it’s a golden opportunity to win for the first time.
“As Cadillac moves to an electric future, the LMDh regulations offer a unique opportunity to gather key learnings from these advanced hybrid propulsion systems,” said GM sportscar program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser,. “The Cadillac V-Series.R’s V-8 provides a familiar powertrain platform to work with, and the byproduct is an unmistakable sound that is instantly identifiable as a Cadillac.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Santa Barbara, California — I pulled to the brief left passing lane on California Route 154 and — ZOT! — my 2024 Acura ZDX Type S tester exploded past a line of slower traffic down the Santa Ynez Mountains north of Santa Barbara. Merging into heavy Route 101 traffic along the coast, the ZDX’s Hands-Free Cruise system took over and I sipped a can of iced tea while riding hands-free at 70 mph. On the screen, I tapped the nearest fast charger and Google Built-In took me eight miles to an Electrify America station in tony downtown Santa Barbara.
Electric vehicles’ niche is the luxury market, and Acura’s first EV has found the sweet spot with its swashbuckling, high-tech $75,000 Type S entry. Call it the Type Sweet Spot.
Like its sister Honda Prologue, this is new territory for Acura. The brand captured American hearts in the 1990s with the Acura Integra Type R (Type S nameplate predecessor), a nimble, Honda Civic-based driver-centric pocket rocket that turned heads in town and turned on a dime on country roads. Forty years later and Honda-Acura is on a new mission to go all-electric — dovetailing with government mandates that will ban new internal combustion car sales here in California by 2035.
The distinctive, black greenhouse of the 2024 Acura ZDX Type S. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
But EVs have flipped Acura’s marketing script. The giant 102 kWh battery the ZDX Type S requires to give you goosebumps carries an equally giant price tag. So Acura’s first performance EV — unlike its first performance ICE — is aimed at the upper-crust LA suburbs, not gritty LA parking lots where Acura tuners gather for weekend autocrosses in their Integra gas-burners.
The ZDX is more muscle car than pocket rocket.
Tipping the scales at over 6,000 pounds (nearly 1,600 pounds more than a similarly sized Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack, and 1,200 pounds more than a gas MDX Type S SUV), ZDX is a rocket ship in a straight line like a Charger. The grunt suits Acura’s performance vibe, and Type S is a very different animal than the more domesticated 85-kWh battery Honda Prologue EV.
The 2024 Acura ZDX Type S boasts AWD and an impressive 544 pound-feet of torque. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
That muscle-car girth makes this a different Type S than the icons before it. Not far from Santa Barbara last year, I tested the Integra Type S and wrung its neck through the spaghetti roads of Oija, leaving sport bikes in the dust. We laid rubber marks across the landscape like Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote.
The luxurious, air suspension-clad ZDX is an ocean liner next to Integra through the curvy stuff, its three tons apparent. Drive the Integra Type S daily (or any of if its MDX or TLX siblings) and you’ll make the occasional two-minute stop at a gas station to fill up its 367-mile range tank. Drive the 278-mile-range ZDX Type S and you’ll make more regular 15-minute stops at supercharger watering holes like the busy, four-stall Electrify America charger in Santa Barbara where I stopped in — adding 100 miles in 17 minutes.
While I charged, other EVs — a Hyundai Ioniq 5, Lexus RZ, VW ID.4, Porsche Taycan — hustled in and out, topping up for 10-15 minutes to complete their daily chores. The Porsche driver unloaded on EA as we waited — complaining the charger never achieves the advertised 350 kW charge, and he’s had a regular dialogue with the company to get the chargers to work properly.
The 2024 Acura ZDX Type S gains GM’s hands-free, SuperCruise driving system. Acura calls it Hands-Free Cruise. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I, too, was delayed an extra 10 minutes calling EA to wake my buggy charger. No wonder brands like Acura are rushing to adopt Tesla’s reliable charging network with plug adapters.
ZDX is assembled next to its midsize EV-competitor Cadillac Lyriq SUV (they share GM’s Ultium EV platform) in Spring Hill, Tennessee. But they give off very different pheromones.
While Caddy channels the Eldorado Broughams of old with its easy ride, gem-encrusted interior and blingtastic exterior, the Acura electrifies its athletic Type S personality. Acura has extracted another 100-pound feet of torque out of the same twin-motor setup as the Lyriq Sport for freight-train power.
Lyriq starts with a base, $52K model and tops out with the Sport at $65K. ZDX begins at $65K with its A-Spec model, then goes straight to the top-dog $75K Type S.
Type S is a premium value thanks to its GM parentship. Hitting dealerships now, it immediately sheds $7,500 — cash on the hood — thanks to the General’s locally sourced batteries and domestic production. That cuts the price $67,245 — a healthy $20K less than comparable, performance-minded BMW iX xDrive 50 and Audi e-Tron SQ8 electrics — and right on top of non-performance models Lexus RZ and Genesis GV70 that don’t qualify for government sugar.
The 2024 Acura ZDX Type S shows off Acura’s sculpted, modern design. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Acura’s nondescript tablet-screen interior won’t wow like the Caddy, BMW and Genesis. But get it in classic Acura red leather and it really pops. Cabin seating is palatial, with a healthy 40 inches of legroom in back. It’s all wrapped in Acura’s chiseled exterior design language — the menacing “heartbeat” LED running lights communicating its performance intent.
The biggest payoff of the GM partnership is shared tech. Google Built-in is Tesla’s equal in charting a charging course for road trips (right down to nearby restaurants/stores to visit while you fill up) — as is Acura’s version of GM’s Super Cruise, Hands-Free Assist.
Oooooh, Hands-Free Assist.
The system comes standard on the Type S with its comprehensive Acura Watch 360+ safety perimeter, including adaptive cruise control, blind-spot assist, emergency braking, 360-degree camera and electric force field to zap Sith invaders (kidding about that last one).
The roomy cabin of the 2024 Acura ZDX Type S. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Tesla pioneered hands-free driving, but GM has perfected it for divide highways. Its consistency, auto lane changes, and escalating warning steps separate ZDX and Lyriq from other premium brands.
Advantage Acura as it enters a stalled EV sales market. With EVs competing in a niche luxury space, brands must conquest sales to grow. From Tesla, primarily. Take my Model Y ride-share driver in LA, for example.
While he loves Tesla’s cutting-edge self-driving and charging network, he’s worried about maintenance and sales quality. Acura, Caddy, Genesis appeal to him — especially if Google Built-in can find him the chargers he needs.
But Honda-Acura isn’t alone in upstart brands who see electrification as an opportunity to capture new customers.
Detroit News auto critic Henry Payne charged the 2024 Acura ZDX Type S at a busy Santa Barbara charger. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Hyundai’s terrific midsize Ioniq 5 N SUV is priced at $67K, weighs a relatively light 4,800 pounds, corners on rails and screams like an F-22 fighter jet when you engage its 545 pound-feet of torque.
Honda-Acura is working on its own lightweight electric platform that will spit out cars at its East Liberty, Ohio, plant. Maybe one of them will be named Integra EV?
Next week: 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI
2024 Acura ZDX
Vehicle type: Electric rear- and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $65,850, including $1,350 destination charge ($74,850 Type S as tested)
Powerplant: 102-kWh lithium-ion battery with electric motor drive
Transmission: Single-speed
Power: 358 horsepower, 324 pound-feet of torque (A-Spec RWD); 490 horsepower, 437 pound-feet of torque (A-Spec AWD); 499 horsepower, 544 pound-feet of torque (Type S AWD)
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.0 seconds (Car and Driver est.); top speed, 150 mph (Type S AWD); towing, 3,500 pounds (A-Spec AWD)
Weight: 6,052 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. range 313 miles (A-Spec RWD); 304 miles (A-Spec AWD); 278 miles (Type S AWD)
Report card
Highs: Sculpted exterior; high-tech performance
Lows: Modest interior; porky
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Atlanta — It’s time for another edition of Design Your Perfect Car. Today’s feature: Chevrolet. OK. The perfect Chevy would be:
1) A bargain like a Chevy Trax.
2) Engaging performance like a Corvette.
3) Off-road capable like a Colorado Z71/Trail Boss/ZR2.
4) Tough like a Silverado pickup, dude.
5) Capable of seating six comfortably like a Tahoe.
6) Stuffed with cool self-driving tech like a Bolt.
Your wish is granted. Say hello to the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71.
The 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71 is comfortable on and off-road with its all-terrain tires and suspension lift. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Whaaaaat? The Traverse?!!! The vanilla Soccer Mom SUV that’s been more miserly on standard features than Scrooge and had the face of … wait, what did it look like again? Yes, that Traverse.
For its third generation, the remade Traverse has gotten its act together. Call it the Multiverse. The big ute has always clocked in for work with the biggest interior in class, but it had fallen behind competitors in value (love ya’, Kia Telluride), style (oooh, that Ford Explorer is hot), interior design (Telluride again), and off-road chops (Explorer Timberline, Telluride X-Pro, Honda Pilot Trailsport, etc.).
The off-road oversight was particularly galling for a brand that produces some of the best trucks on the planet. Buy a Chevy pickup Z71, Trail Boss or ZR2 off-road model and you’ll want to take a detour to Holly Oaks ORV Park sandbox every day on your home from work to play.
The 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71 comes standard with adaptive cruse control, blind-spot assist, even all-terrain tires. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
So Traverse went to the gym and emerged with a toned, ZR1 off-road bod. Dude.
Performance-verse. In the wilds of northwest Georgia, I selected OFF-ROAD mode, turned off traction control and drifted the big ute through some grassy turns. Out on the flat, I buried the throttle and the buttery-smooth, eight-speed transmission swapped the right cogs to get into the meat of the best-in-class, 328-horse turbo-4 — yet another torque monster from the same blacksmiths that gave you gems like the 2.7-liter Silverado turbo-4 and the flat-plane crank Corvette V-8.
Alas, Chevy hasn’t complemented this grunt with a throaty exhaust growl. Pity. A good growl would also reinforce Traverse’s tough truck bod, complete with Silverado-like, get-outta-my-way grille and muscled shoulders. Good riddance to the ol’, vanilla, Malibu-inspired wardrobe.
Truck-verse. GM makes some of the best-engineered chassis in autodom and Traverse is no exception. Whether Camaro, Caddy sedan or Silverado, the General’s models have always been fun to drive. Through rural Atlanta’s twisties, the XL Traverse felt a size smaller. Now, Chevy ups the fun factor with a proper Z71 off-road package taken from its trucks: 32-inch Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires, underbody skid plates, red tow hooks, 1.2-inch lift, twin-clutch rear differential.
The bold, upright front end of the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The latter is a nifty tech that Michiganians will also appreciate in winter snow drifts. One tire stuck? The clutch packs will throw 100% torque to the other wheel to power you out.
Bang! I smacked the front skid plate over a mogul and the big ute shrugged it off. Don’t ford a stream with it (get yourself a Colorado ZR2 with a snorkel for that kind of hooliganism), but Z71 would be happy towing your family side-by-side to a trail head.
Value-verse. Family road trips are also a breeze with the Traverse’s laundry list of standard features. Forget the mid-range Z71 trim (my favorite if you haven’t already guessed), the base $40K LS trim Traverse is loaded with blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree camera, forward collision alert, rear cross-traffic braking, auto high beams, side bicyclist alert, 29 inches of digital screens, wireless charge pad, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Oculus VR headset (kidding about that last one). Walk up with key in pocket and arms full of groceries and the rear hatch will even automatically open for you.
The roomy interior of the 2024 Chevy Traverse also has the biggest screens in class. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
What a contrast from a generation ago when popular features weren’t even available on the volume LT trim. Said then-Auto Pacific analyst Dave Sullivan: “It’s a very strange decision not to include these features. Offering a family vehicle … without that equipment is a miss.”
Miss no more. The now-loaded Traverse is in the segment sweet spot. Spec it against its Trailsport, X-Pro, Timberline peers with a pano roof, and it’s the best value in the stable at $49,295. The Trax, Chevy’s terrific, affordable $21K starter SUV, would be proud. Need more? Opt for the leather-wrapped, fully-accessorized Traverse RS.
Third-gen Traverse has even corrected “very strange” misses like no STOP-START off button. Traverse customers can now nix engine stall — the most despised, government emissions-inspired feature in autodom — with the tap of a button. High five.
With extra cash in their pockets, Traverse customers might even drop $3,280 to outfit Traverse with Super Cruise.
Super-verse.Whaaaat?!!! Yes, Super Cruise, the industry-leading, hands-free driver-assist feature, is now available on the family truckster. I know, I know, hands-free driving freaks you out, but this is a heckuva system. The latest version even self-drives on secondary roads — though I’d recommend using it primarily on interstates so you can safely eat a burger, chat with your spouse and check text messages.
The 2024 Chevy Traverse offers hands-free Super Cruise on the LT, Z71, and RS trims. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I told you vanilla Traverse is now the Chocolate Chunky Monkey Banana Split Traverse.
Multiverse. For all its improvements, Traverse still hasn’t forgotten its core mission: moving people. At 6’5”, I comfortably sat behind myself sitting behind myself with plenty of headroom in row three. The last row is hardly a dungeon despite its porthole window. With cup-and-French fry holders, backseat carve-outs for your shoes and pano roof overhead, it ain’t a bad place to spend a trip. And with best-in-class cargo room, there’s still space in back for luggage.
Detroit News auto critic Henry Payne can sit in the third row of the 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71 sitting behind himself sitting behind himself. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Space in the front of the bus is typically well-designed. Best-in-class 17.7-inch dash screen, and Traverse opens up the console by moving the electronic shifter to the steering column (right behind the clever steering wheel, complete with radio station and volume controls on the backside).
That means more real estate for charging phones, purse storage underneath and tall drinks to sip while Super Cruising.
The 2024 Chevy Traverse RS is loaded with every Traverse feature and bears a hefty, $56k price tag with it. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Cars are extraordinary things these days with turbocharged engines putting up power numbers V-8s once dreamed of, sophisticated tire/shock combos and dash jumbotrons. The ‘24 Traverse manages to integrate all that hardware and then imbue it with personality.
Vanilla no more, the Multiverse — er, Traverse — will be the envy of your kids’ friends in the school pick-up line. Load ‘em up and drive home hands free.
Next week: 2024 Acura ZDX
2024 Chevrolet Traverse
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger SUV
The Andretti Cadillac race team is turning up the heat on Formula One in its bid to enter the world’s fastest open-wheel motorsport.
Michigan Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, joined legendary race driver Mario Andretti at a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday, warning Formula One of federal antitrust action if it does not reconsider its decision against letting Andretti Cadillac participate in the global series. A bipartisan group of twelve congressional representatives — including James and fellow Michigan Reps. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, and Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham — signed a letter to Formula One’s Colorado-based owner, Liberty Media, demanding answers.
U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, and race car legend Mario Andretti at a news conference Wednesday outside the U.S. Capitol, where they discussed Formula One’s refusal to admit the Andretti Cadillac team to the open-wheel racing circuit. James, James
“We write to express our concerns with apparent anti-competitive actions that could prevent two American companies, Andretti Global and General Motors, from producing and competing in Formula One,” opened the letter.
The series’ rejection of America’s team, Andretti Cadillac, for entry into the sport in 2026 has set off a firestorm of criticism in the United States and revealed fissures in F1’s governing body between the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, which approved Andretti Cadillac’s entry) and its 10 race teams (Formula One Manufacturers), which rejected the deal.
“FOM’s rejection appears to be driven by the current lineup of European Formula One race teams, many of which are affiliated with foreign automobile manufacturers that directly compete with American auto companies like GM,” continues the congressional letter. “It is unfair and wrong to attempt to block American companies from joining Formula One, which could also violate American anti-trust laws.”
The letter demands that F1 explain, first, the rationale for Andretti Cadillac’s rejection given that the series governance allows up to 12 teams to participate (10 currently compete); second, its compliance with the Sherman Antitrust Act, and, third, whether its decision was intended to blunt Cadillac’s reintroduction into the European passenger car market.
“Liberty Media is kicking the can down the road to get more money for themselves at the expense of having (Mario Andretti) racing on America’s 250th anniversary,” thundered James, standing next to Andretti as the Capitol dome loomed behind them. “If you want access to our market (and) fans, you must grant access to our companies.”
The Capitol Hill news conference came just two days before the Miami Grand Prix — the first of three F1 races in the United States this year (the others are Austin, Texas, in October and Las Vegas in November) — and a planned meeting between Andretti Cadillac and F1. Further eroding trust, the race series has never met with the prospective team.
American firms do have a presence in F1 today. GM rival Ford Motor Co. has partnered with Britain’s Red Bull, the reigning F1 champion, as a battery supplier for 2028 and North Carolina-based Haas has competed since 2016 — but no entity has the gravity of Andretti Cadillac with its storied motorsports heritage and massive GM powertrain investment.
Formula One Management’s patronizing dismissal in a February letter of two icons of American motorsport as “a novice entrant” with little “understanding of the scope of the challenge involved” created loud blowback.
The letter’s tone was taken personally by the Andretti family — in particular by Mario, who won the Formula One championship in 1978 with Lotus and is the last American to have won a Grand Prix. His son, Michael — now CEO of Andretti Global — also competed in F1 for the 1993 season.
Michael Andretti, left, listens as McLaren CEO Zak Brown speaks in the paddock ahead of the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix auto race at Circuit of the Americas, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Darron Cummings, AP
“I was offended, actually,” Mario told the Associated Press at the Long Beach IndyCar race in Long Beach in April. “I don’t think we deserved that, to be honest with you.”
He was particularly irked by F1’s dismissal of Andretti Global as a “novice entrant.” The race team is one of the world’s premier race shops, competing in the IndyCar Series, Indy NXT, Formula E, Extreme E, IMSA sportscars and the Australian Supercars Championship.
“That’s another offensive statement,” said Andretti. “There’s an undercurrent there that I don’t understand, quite honestly. But if they want blood, well, I’m ready.”
Son Michael’s disappointing 1993 F1 season helps feed that undercurrent. He declined to locate in Europe like other drivers — instead commuting from the United States, where he had a young family — leading to charges he didn’t put in the time necessary to master F1’s demanding tech. He badly lagged teammate and F1 superstar Ayrton Senna in pace.
“That doesn’t mean he was phoning it in, but on that level you have to put your heart and soul into it to make it work — even 1% missing can make the difference between success and failure,” wrote The Race, a European motorsports publication, in 2021.
If Formula One continues to be unresponsive, blood could come in the form of a congressional hearing or antitrust filing with the Department of Justice. James said he has communicated with House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who has the authority to hold hearings on F1’s practices.
“This is the consequence you get when you snub the biggest auto market in such a backhanded manner,” said Patrick Anderson, CEO of East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group and a long-time motorsports watcher. “Pro sports like baseball have long received kid glove treatment from antitrust lawyers. But Formula One does not have anywhere near the popularity of Major League Baseball or the NFL in this country. They have an effete, European snobbery that offends Americans.”
Fans, teams, even European drivers have been perplexed by F1’s obstinance.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, drives past the Sphere during the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix auto race, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, in Las Vegas. U.S. Rep. John James and Mario Andretti are pressing Formula One for answers on its decision not to let Andretti Cadillac participate in its races. Nick Didlick, AP
“It’s hard to argue that Mario and Michael are not part of the foundation of where F1 is today. They’ve won . . . in every championship they’ve ever participated in,” said ex-Formula One ace and IndyCar driver Oriel Servia. “The arguments that Formula One gave, in my opinion, were pathetic and insulting.”
Still, Andretti Cadillac has plowed forward with its F1 plans. The team has opened a racing center in Silverstone, home to England’s most famous F1 race track. On Capitol Hill, Mario Andretti expressed determination.
“We are here to strengthen our resolve to be in Formula One,” he said. “Time is of the essence. We want to be able to represent the U.S. on the world stage. I consider Formula One the Olympics of motorsport.”
In addition to entering two cars in 2026, Andretti Cadillac has committed to developing an all-new powertrain to satisfy the F1’s new, 50-50 hybrid gas-electric rules in 2028. The team also expressed interest in hiring Adrian Newey, widely regarded as the sport’s premier race car designer, who leaves F1 champ champion Red Bull Racing next year. If that doesn’t sway F1, then congressional hearings could be next.“You’ve got a smackdown that’s going to happen,” said economist Anderson.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
The autonomous vehicle revolution has hit some speed bumps here in the United States, but in other parts of the world it is accelerating at speeds over 180 mph.
Eight teams competed for the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League’s $2.25 million purse.
JASON, A2RL
The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL for short) held its first fully autonomous race last weekend with eight entries — including Code19 Racing from Indianapolis — competing in front of 10,000 spectators packing the main grandstand at the Yas Marina Circuit. Based on race cars similar in construction to human-piloted Formula One and IndyCars, the A2RL cockpits were filled with massive computing power to hurtle them around the track while competing wheel-to-wheel with their competitors.
The weekend even featured a head-to-headless competition between an A2RL racer and ex-Formula 1 driver Danill Kvyat to show off the technology’s potential. Kvyat won one for the human race over AI — though by just 10 seconds after 45 minutes of racing.
In addition to U.S.-based Code19 Racing, the main event featured entries from international teams based in the UAE, China, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Singapore and Switzerland vying for the $2.25 million purse. German Team TUM from the Technical University of Munich won the race over Italian team Unimore while Code19 failed to qualify for the final, four-car competition.
“So many firsts have been achieved here today. It’s been an amazing start,” said Code19 team principal Lawrence Walter even as his team struggled. His car qualified sixth, missing the cut after three rounds of single-car style qualifying.
Like autonomous driving on U.S. city streets, the A2RL race was not without hiccups.
Autonomous race cars spun, veered into walls, rear-ended one another and stopped on track. The featured, eight-lap race began with two slow laps under a virtual safety flag to allow the cars to get their slick tires up to temperature.
An autonomous race car hurtles down the Yas Marina Circuit’s front straight at the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League before 10,000 spectators. A2RL
The pole-winning, Polimove Italian team raced off to an early lead, then spun and stopped on track — triggering the other robots to file back into the pits. After another virtual safety car period, the TUM team passed the spinning Unimore car for the last-lap win.
In addition to wheel-to-wheel racing, A2RL sees the closed environment of a race track as a test bed for autonomous tech that avoids the hassles that have come with testing on, say, San Francisco city streets where General Motors Co.’s self-driving Cruise service ran into issues last year. Indeed, the series advertises itself as a self-driving laboratory and a recruitment center for engineers.
Indianapolis-based Code19, for example, partnered with students from the Detroit Boys and Girls Club in an international A2RL STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) contest in Abu Dhabi. The students traveled to the Mideast and raced a small, 1:8 scale, 60-mph RC car against other international youth teams.
“What we want to do . . . is teach students what it means to code and what robotics can do,” said Stephane Timpano, CEO of Aspire, which runs A2RL.
The team from the Technology University of Munich won the inaugural Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League. A2RL
In addition to advancing AI technology, A2RL is also working to transform the racing fan experience. Some 600,000 viewers tuned in from around the world — some of them on Virtual Reality headsets where they could watch the race from the cockpit of the race car of their choosing.
Autonomous racing is not without controversy and has been a hot topic among enthusiasts.
At the enthusiast magazine Road & Track’s 70th anniversary in New York in 2018, a panel of auto experts — including skilled driver and ex-General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz — talked about the future of autonomy. Lutz predicted a racing future that would be remote-control guided, virtual or autonomous (like the A2RL race).
Lutz’s predictions shocked fellow panelist Mario Andretti, one of the world’s driving legends.
“Bob, he’s very eloquent, and all he talked about in his spiel was about the coming of autonomous cars,” recalled Andretti in a subsequent interview with Motor Trend. “I got up. I said, ‘Who the hell invited this dude?’ I said, ‘Do you know who you’re talking to? (Meaning a room full of enthusiasts).’ I got a standing O.”
Driving legend Mario Andretti has famously resisted the idea of autonomous racing. Here he receives a kiss from Lady Gaga before the start of the 2016 Indy 500. (Credit: Michael Hickey, Getty Images)
Today, Waymo driverless vehicles operate daily in Phoenix and San Francisco. There are multiple autonomous racing experiments as well. The Indy Autonomous Challenge, organized by Indiana’s nonprofit Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, held its first competition between university teams in Las Vegas in January with open-wheel cars.
Teams in the lucrative A2RL series are based on a Dallara Super Formula SF23 chassis used in the Super Formula Championship — a Japan-based open-wheel series similar to IndyCar in the United States. The Dallaras are powered by 2.0-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engines making 550 horsepower operated by a six-speed gearbox.
The cars are stuffed with standard autonomous hardware, including three lidar, four radar units, GPS and seven cameras. Also standard is the onboard computer equipment: Neousys RGS-8805GC computer, Nvidia GPU, Intel Internet connection, and storage drives. It’s the team’s software coding that makes the difference between winner and also-ran, with AI making split-second computing decisions on when to steer, accelerate, shift and brake.
The U.S.-based Code19 entry for the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League. Code19 Racing
“All race cars in A2RL use a drive-by-wire system that replicates human inputs. This system employs actuators for the steering, braking and gear shifting, eliminating the need for a physical driver. These actuators are all controlled by the onboard computer,” said Tom McCarthy, executive director of Aspire.
Next up? The series has committed to at least one race per year for four years. Any predictions of the end of human racing may be premature, however.
“The ultimate demise of the fighter pilot has been prophesied for decades, ever since my active-duty days in Marine aviation,” said Lutz, a former fighter pilot, in a 2020 article for Road & Track. “We fighter pilots always consoled ourselves with a notion that’s still true today: the human being is the most efficient and easily-programmable non-linear psychomotor machine ever devised.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Stellantis NV’s truck brand introduced the latest salvo in the super truck wars on Thursday, the 540-horsepower, twin-turbo, inline-6-powered, terrain-eating, 2025 Ram RHO. RHO is short for Ram High Output, but the inference to rhinoceros is intentional. Like the outgoing V8-powered TRX (think T-Rex), the RHO is a ferocious off-road beast.
The RHO is the top dog — er, rhino — in Ram’s light-duty performance truck lineup that includes the Warlock and Rebel. Here are five cool things about the new super truck:
Price. At $71,990 (including $1,995 destination charge), the RHO is nearly $30k cheaper than the $98k TRX, which will be retired after the 2024 model year. Ram swaps out TRX’s insane, 702-horsepower, Dodge Hellcat-derived, supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 for the brand’s newest mill: the 540-horse, twin-turbo, straight-6 Hurricane engine. But the rest of the TRX’s awesome capabilities are intact, including performance Bilstein shocks, lux interior and 35-inch all-terrain tires. The 6-cylinder still sports plenty of grunt (90 more horses than the Ford F-150 Raptor’s V-6) and, with the money you save, you can buy a nice used Ram 1500. With a price just north of the already hot-selling Rebel, the RHO should rack up sales. “We want to grow,” said Ram brand boss Bob Broderdorf.
Shocking performance. Armored like, well, a rhino with skid plates, 11.8-inch ground clearance and 35-inch all-terrain tires, RHO is ready to roam off-road. Put your boot in it and the adaptive, Baja racing-inspired Bilstein shocks boast impressive 13-inch front/14-inch rear suspension travel (40% more than a standard Ram) to navigate terrain at 100-plus-mph speeds. To manage this punishment, the dampers feature remote reservoirs to better control shock fluid temperatures.
These capabilities are managed by an eight-speed transmission, low-speed transfer case, and Drive Mode selector that can rotate between Auto, Tow, Mud/Sand, Rock, Snow, Sport and — bwa-ha-ha-haw! — Baja modes. There’s even a Launch Control button so you can race sportscars out of stoplights to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds.
Screen-tastic. For all the violence outside, the RHO interior is a corporate boardroom. The last-gen Ram wowed truck fans with its Tesla-like center screen and material opulence. The RHO (and brother Rebel) continue that vibe with 50 inches of available screens starting with the vertically-mounted, 14.4-inch console screen with dual screen capability for multi-tasking. Behind the steering wheel is a 12.3-inch digital display that changes character depending on drive mode.
Borrowing from its Jeep Grand Wagoneer brother, the RHO also offers a passenger-side, 10.25-inch display so you can ride shotgun with access to music, navigation and your own phone apps. But wait, there’s more. Even the driver’s head-up display is a massive 10 inches and includes details like digital tachometer, turn-by-turn navigation and speed so you can keep your eyes on the ever-changing off-road environment.
A rhino in tennis shoes. The Hurricane engine may give up 162 horsepower to the V-8 nuke, but it’s 150 pounds lighter, which makes for better balance up front. And if you still covet a V-8, walk across the showroom to the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Powerwagon. Its Hemi V-8 and detachable front swaybar make for remarkable rock-crawling capability.
Wide load. Speaking of Heavy Duty, the RHO requires three amber lights (normally reserved for HD trucks) due to its 88-inch width for surer footing on cross-desert sprints. The lights flank the front bumper and are integrated in the tall hood scoop, which filters mud and water in order to make sure the beast within is fed by nice clean air.
The RHO comes in one body style: four-door Crew Cab with a 5’ 7” box and can tow up to 8,380 pounds. That’s enough to pull a real rhino.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Oakland County— Luxury cars are becoming Brookstone gadget stores on wheels. Who needs to drive them? They’re just fun to play with.
Take the 2024 Genesis G90 sitting in my driveway.
With the key in my pocket, I walked up to the Genesis and it rolled out the red carpet. Make that lit carpet. A Genesis logo splashed on the ground in front of the door and the handles moved outward to my waiting hand. Coldwell Banker, do your house tours do this?
I slid into the posh seats, pushed the brake pedal and the door softly closed next to me. Push the door button and it swings back open (sensing the distance to the car next to you, of course). Step out, lightly tap the door handle button and the door swings closed. Show it off to your friends; you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood.
Show-and-tell luxury accessories have been coming fast and furious in recent years. There’s the Tesla Model 3/Y that will follow you like a dog, the Genesis G60 SUV that you can remote parallel park, the GMC Sierra’s Multi-Pro six-way tailgate including a stairway-into-the-bed, the Ram 1500’s mega-screen, the Lincoln Nautilus’s 48-inch pillar-to-pillar display.
The G90 shows off its cutting-edge tech inside a stunning sedan. Remember those? Cadillac and Lincoln long ago exited the big sedan market, so the Genesis is left to compete with icons like the Audi A8, BMW 7-series and Mercedes S-class. In an SUV-mad world, these loooong land yachts remind just how elegant the sedan figure can be.
The imposing 2024 Genesis G90 is roomy, powerful and bears signature twin headlights. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The G90 debuted back in 2017 as an Audi knock-off and has since matured into its own style. The band’s signature dual lamps are on display — wrapped around the front end like racing stripes — and are both instantly recognizable as one of the most handsome designs in class. My G90 tester doesn’t come cheap at $100K, but that’s 5 grand south of the comparable BMW 7-series I tested last summer — and showcases classic lines compared to the German’s new techno-punk wardrobe.
Like the Bimmer, the Genesis sports those mesmerizing auto-shut doors — and lots more toys inside. No, our tour still hasn’t got out of the driveway yet.
Fall into the palatial backseat (just press the door button and it silently closes behind you) and slip your shoes off. Press a button on the door and your chair turns into a Barcalounger.
The posh interior of the 2024 Genesis G90 is knee-deep in technical controls. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The front passenger seat rolls forward to open up (even more) legroom while the backseat reclines. Out pops a thigh support so your legs can stretch out straight, my 6’5” drumsticks dangling in the air. Ahhhh.
Feeling sleepy? A center screen of controls is at your disposal so you can 1) close the rear sunroof (did I mention there are separate sunroofs for the front and rear passengers?), 2) cover the rear windows with blinds, 3) activate a massage, 4) heat/cool your seats, and 5) put on your favorite tunes (assuming the driver doesn’t mind).
Oh, yes, the driver.
The front thrones are not only beautifully designed (check out the concave steering wheel, flying buttresses bracketing the instrument display and butterfly console doors), but the cockpit can also be customized to your liking. Choose your graphic themes, font size, screen color, head-up display content. Three buttons on the steering wheel can be programmed with shortcuts to your most-used features — I performed mine for preset radio stations, audio mute and AM radio.
Hello. The door handles of the 2024 Genesis G90 pop out to greet you. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
While Genesis has come into it own on interior/exterior design, the brand seems determined to give you feature options you might find on other premium brands. The center console screen can be controlled by touch (like an Audi) or by remote rotary dial (like a Bimmer). Radio presets can be swiped though via a Mercedes-like steering-wheel touchpad. And volume and adaptive cruise speed controls are easily manipulated via raised toggles like a Cadillac or GMC.
Speaking of speed, you’ll eventually want to drive the Genesis after ogling its blizzard of features. The experience doesn’t disappoint.
Mash the pedal and the 409-horsepower, twin-turbo V-6 responds with a mighty roar — thrusting you into traffic with impressive velocity (a 48-volt battery provides extra oomph) despite the yacht’s 5,156-pound curb weight. Sixty mph blows by just 5.1 seconds while the all-wheel-drive system provides welcome stability. A SPORT mode is on offer — tightening the seat bolsters around you — but this is no sportscar.
Backseat passengers get their own rotary controller to adjust things like massaging seats in the 2024 Genesis G90.Henry Payne, The Detroit News
More enjoyable is adaptive cruise control, which automatically changes lanes on interstates. Parent Hyundai has been at the forefront of usable ACC systems, and the Genesis is no exception with lane-keep assist that is excellent for long drives.
I especially appreciated that Genesis had located the rotary shifter to the left of the rotary infotainment controller in the center console. Other Genesis models stack them, which can bring confusion — I’ve been caught out shifting the sister GV80 SUV into neutral, for example, when I though I was rotating between radio stations. Ugh.
Other ergonomics still need tidying, however. For all its technical wizardry, G90 still requires a cable to operate Apple CarPlay and Android auto — cluttering the console. The dreaded STOP-START switch is in the nether regions of the left dash rather than right next to the ignition button as in BMW and Mercedes.
It’s hard to be mad, though, when you have so many goodies at your fingertips.
The 2024 Genesis G90 shows off sleek proportions and fancy 21-inch wheels. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I thrilled at the authoritative roar of the V-6 under my whip, but otherwise the cabin was whisper quiet during my week of cruising. Mrs. Payne and I conversed easily. In a sudden March blizzard, the all-wheel-drive system was unfazed and confident in the slippery conditions. Alas, that 48-volt battery cramps the cargo sub-space, meaning no spare tire should a tread come to grief.
Genesis competes with Bimmer and Merc with its 6-cylinder powertrain. The Germans up the ante to V-8s in their top-line models. Genesis is content to offer a 375-horse V-6 and the (48-bolt assisted) 409-horse mill in my tester.
After a haircut, my barber was keen to take a tour. She slipped into the driver’s seat, then beamed when the door closed at her press of the brake pedal.
I’m going to have to start charging for these tours.
Next week: 2024 Acura ZDX
2024 Genesis G90
Vehicle type: Gas-powered, all-wheel drive, five-passenger luxury sedan
Price: $90,450, including $1,195 destination charge ($100,695 e-Supercharged model as tested)
General Motors this week announced the retirement of Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter, the most influential chief of the iconic sportscar program after the legendary Zora Arkus-Duntov, aka the Father of the Corvette.
While Arkus-Duntov took a fledgling Corvette coupe in 1957 and defined it as an affordable, V8-powered sportscar that would become a cornerstone of General Motors engineering, it was Juechter who brought the Corvette into the modern era — transforming the Chevy’s interior into a luxury cockpit, delivering consistent international racing success, and moving the engine midships like its more expensive, 21st century European supercar competition. The latter feat finally realized Duntov’s mid-engine dream hatched 60 years ago.
Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter’s Corvette career started with the C5, left, and ended with development of the first mid-engine Corvette C9, right. Jenny Risher, GM
“In my judgment, Tadge is one of the industry’s greatest engineers, blessed with both the requisite technical background but, also — and equally importantly — a strong drive for perfection of the product,” said former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, a legend in his own right as one of the industry’s most influential product managers. “It’s no wonder that the Corvette, under his leadership, has gained an international reputation for being comparable to foreign hyper-cars costing a multiple of the Corvette price.”
Lutz, Corvette Chief Engineer Tom Wallace (who ran Corvette from 2006-08) and then-Corvette Assistant Chief Engineer Juechter nearly brought the mid-engine dream to reality in 2007 for the supercar’s seventh generation. That program was sidelined by the 2008 Great Recession, but Juechter was undeterred, eventually getting the mid-engine car approved for the eighth-gen that debuted in 2020.
The 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 development team led by veteran Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter (third from right). Henry Payne, The Detroit News
It’s that persistence — and understanding of GM’s corporate culture — that made Juechter so effective and was the glue for strong production and racing teams.
“He possesses keen intuition for the needs and wants of the Corvette customer and is fearless in performing the often difficult task of selling his ideas to senior management,” said Lutz. “His charm, knowledge and verbal skills permit him to prevail more often than not.”
He continued to push the integration of racing and production as a key to elevating Corvette engineering and morale.
“One of our major concepts was to incorporate racing learnings — we called it cascade engineering — into the production car to make it better for the customer,” said Doug Fehan, who ran Corvette Racing from 1996-2020, working closely with Juechter after he ascended to chief engineer 18 years ago. “Tadge was not a guy who was going to compromise on anything. He was a relentless fighter with a level of dedication and commitment to the product.”
Tadge Juechter with the Corvette C8 that was named the 2020 North American Car of the Year at NACTOY. Daniel Mears, The Detroit News
For all Juecheter’s accomplishments, the 47-year GM veteran — he joined the Corvette team in 1993 — was admired for his modesty and approachability. No prima donna, he was passionate about his product, and always deferred praise to the team around him. Announcing his retirement, he was typically humble.
“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to work at this company, leading the men and women who have brought to life one of the most iconic and recognizable vehicles in recent American history,” said Juechter.
Juechter, who’s 67, won’t begin his retirement until later this summer in order to see to market his masterpiece — the track-focused ZR1 monster. Teased by GM earlier this month, the ZR1 is expected to send 800 horsepower to the rear wheels by turbocharging the 5.0-liter, flat-crank V-8 engine that first appeared in the 2024 Corvette Z06.
That engine was developed by the Corvette team in conjunction with Corvette Racing — a key test ground for the engineering tea.
Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter was in Daytona to watch Corvette Racing finish second in the GTD class. Tech transfer from racing has benefited the Corvette program enormously. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Tadge took the partnership between racing and production to a level where it had never been,” said Fehan. “He knew the effect racing success could have on his team. It was not without risk, but when you are on the public stage developing an engine to compete against Porsche and Ferrari, you have to deliver. That’s how you build a team.”
Corvette Racing has won five IMSA Sportscar Championships, one FIA World Endurance Championship, nine victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and four 24 Hours of Daytona. Technology transfer between racing and production has accelerated everything from tire to engine development.
Juechter began his GM career in 1977 at Lordstown Assembly in Ohio. He initially worked on the 5th and 6th generations of Corvette under Dave Hill and Tom Wallace. In what he described as “the promotion of a lifetime,” he took over the reins as executive chief engineer in 2006 to lead development the 7th and 8th generation cars.
“From an owner perspective, the C8 is a home-run automobile. Without Tadge we wouldn’t have the C8, the best Corvette ever,” said Jake Drennan, head of the national Corvette Registry in Orlando, Florida, who has interacted with the Corvette team for years on behalf of Corvette owners nationwide. “Over the five years since its launch, there have been no discounts, no rebates. There has just been one winning year after another, from the Stingray to the convertible, E-Ray and Z06 models.”
Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter and his new toy, the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
For all of the technical prowess of the C8, however, Drennan credits Juechter with bringing Corvette interiors on par with their European peers. “Before the C8, the C7 interior had a touch-and-feel quality to it that was first class,” he said. “Double-stitch leather, suede materials, all the stuff that European supercars had had for years.”
In addition to the Corvette’s sales and racing success, Juechter’s accomplishments did not go unnoticed by the automotive press. The Corvette has been on Car and Driver’s 10 Best Cars List since 2015, and was honored as Road and Track 2019 Performance Car of the Year, 2020 North American Car of the Year and 2023 MotorTrend Performance Car of the Year. He has been honored personally as Automobile Magazine’s 2014 “Man of the Year” and 2020 All-Star for Product Engineering by Automotive News.
“If Tadge were an ‘airplane guy,’ he could fix the Boeing culture,” said Lutz, an accomplished pilot as well as driver. “For him, the product is king, but affordability is a necessary sidekick.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
People react as the result of a vote comes in favor of the hourly factory workers at Volkswagen’s assembly plant to join the United Auto Workers union, at a watch party in Chattanooga, Tenn., April 19, 2024. (Seth Herald/Reuters)
And why Volkswagen employees are likely to regret it.
Detroit — Volkswagen workers’ vote for United Auto Workers representation last week was driven by the union’s promise of the same rich $108,000 annual pay package (equivalent to a Silicon Valley software developer’s income) that the union won for Detroit Three blue-collar workers last fall.
But VW’s surrender to the highly partisan union played a factor as well.
In a not-so-subtle threat to all 13 nonunion auto companies being targeted by the UAW, 33 Democratic Party senators sent a letter earlier this year demanding that they remain neutral in the union’s campaign.
“We believe a neutrality agreement is the bare minimum standard manufacturers should meet in respecting workers’ rights,” wrote the senators, before getting to the point. “Especially as companies receive and benefit from federal funds related to the electric vehicle transition.”
Unionize, or pay the consequences.
These are dramatically different times in the U.S. auto industry since the UAW last tried to organize VW’s Chattanooga plant in 2019. Today’s industry is being forced by U.S. governments — at both the federal and state levels — to manufacture electric vehicles to solve the manufactured climate crisis.
Failure to meet government sales mandates will be met with massive fines that increase by leaps and bounds after 2026. California, the nation’s biggest auto market, will, for example, require that 35 percent of automaker sales be of battery-powered vehicles by 2026. Failure to meet that number will cost them $20,000 per vehicle for every vehicle below the threshold. The percentage jumps to 43 percent in 2027, 51 percent in 2028, 59 percent in 2029, and 68 percent in 2030 on the way to outlawing the sales of gasoline cars in 2035. Federal penalties are similarly harsh.
Tesla aside (as an EV-only seller, it is not only exempt from penalties, but also receives generous subsidies), just 5 percent of sales today are electric, with 50 percent of EV buyers returning to a gas car when they go back to market.
To help automakers meet their arbitrary sales goals, the U.S. government is greasing the “EV transition” skids with billions in federal aid under the Inflation Reduction Act to construct battery plants and sweeten each EV purchase with $7,500. To gain that subsidy, the Biden administration prefers that EVs be domestically produced — preferably with UAW labor that ultimately benefits Democratic election coffers.
An admirer of Communist Chinese industrial policy, Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm is determined to follow in their EV footsteps.
“China . . . has adopted 14 five-year plans that are focused on dominating supply chains and manufacturing products that we used to excel in. They’re producing huge volumes of solar panels and EVs,” she told media allies at the National Press Club in February. “But we are fighting back.”
VW got the message. It was notably neutral in its handling of this year’s UAW campaign, in contrast to the union’s narrow 2019 defeat when the German transplant actively discouraged unionization — creating a website detailing the benefits of a non-union shop as well as links to anti-UAW editorials and UAW corruption.
With a UAW shop, VW will lose its competitive cost advantage over Detroit automakers — a big reason it located its sprawling 350,000-square-foot facility in right-to-work Tennessee in 2011. VW’s nonunion labor costs are 30 percent less than those of U.S. competitors on the popular VW Atlas SUV and VW ID.4 electric vehicle, and the plant hasn’t been shackled by inefficient UAW work rules.
But the cost equation may be changing as governments dictate product planning.
Ford lost over $4 billion on its EV operations last year, and VW EV sales have cratered in Europe, where EVs are also mandated. VW has dealt with unions for years in Europe and may feel the cost of unionization is a necessary price to stay in the good graces of Democrats who control the subsidy spigot.
“VW is accustomed to a union environment in Germany,” said veteran industry analyst and Seeking Alpha columnist Doron Levin. “But the UAW is likely to be more adversarial and militant than Germany’s metal workers union.”
It’s the second time VW’s U.S. facilities have opened their doors to the UAW. The union successfully organized Volkswagen’s Pennsylvania facility in 1978. Years of labor unrest followed, with VW eventually shuttering the plant in 1987.
“Every autoworker in this country deserves their fair share of the auto industry’s record profits, whether at the Big Three or the Non-Union Thirteen,” UAW president Shawn Fain said in response to the senators’ February letter. “It’s time for the auto companies to stop breaking the law and take their boot off the neck of the American autoworker, whether they’re at Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, or any other corporation doing business in this country.”
In Chattanooga, Fain got his wish and will next target Mercedes’ Alabama plant. But as unionization takes hold, workers may regret its consequences. Detroit Three automakers are accelerating robotic automation in their plants to replace expensive worker jobs. In union-heavy Europe, meanwhile, the high costs and low demand for EVs have led to thousands of layoffs in the last year as carmakers and their suppliers struggle to meet governments’ socialist EV vision.
Million-dollar Ferraris, thousand-horsepower dragsters, hundreds of some of the rarest muscle cars you’ll find anywhere. From 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, the public is welcome in to ogle Ken Lingenfelter’s 170-car collection at the annual Charity Spring Open House — and even get an autographed poster from the man himself.
All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. There is no entry fee, and visitors are free to make a contribution at the door or choose from the hundreds of Lingenfelter Shop items that celebrate the need for speed and the cars that deliver it. In 2023, over 3,000 people mobbed the Spring Open House and filled the charity’s coffers.
Just south of I-96 in Brighton (more details at website: https://www.thelingenfeltercollection.com), the Collection’s 40,000 square feet is split into three massive galleries filled with eye candy.
“These are the cars that have caught my eye over the years,” said Lingenfelter, whose Lingenfelter Performance Engineering has become one of the country’s premier after-market mod shops. “I fell in love with the 1963 Corvette Split Window when I was a kid, and I was hooked.”
The first gallery hits you with a row of five red-blooded Ferraris. Though Ken’s business has made its name modifying General Motors Co. muscle, Lingenfelter has a weakness for Ferraris just like everybody else. He rotates his Prancing Horse collection, and this year it’s book-ended by front-engine Ferraris: Roma and 812-horsepower 812 Competizione. The latter, its hood as long as a football field, bears the last normally aspirated V12 before the brand moves to hybrid powertrains.
Lingenfelter Collection: Ken Lingenfelter. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Drag yourself away from the Italians and you’re greeted by good ol’ American muscle: A row of menacing Camaros and Pontiac Trans Ams, including a Lingenfelter-produced 2010 Trans Am. One of 30 made, the white and blue-striped beast has a shaker hood to feed the V-8 within making more power than the Space Shuttle.
Speed runs in the family, and wife Kirsten is an accomplished autocross driver. She finished fourth last year in the Corvette Club’s national autocross championship in her mid-engine, Accelerate Yellow Corvette C8 — which is buried in the first gallery.
Gallery #2 is all ‘Vettes with very special pedigrees – including that ’63 Split Window that Ken coveted as a boy.
GM has a bad habit of destroying its concept cars, but the collection showcases a re-creation of the first-generation 1954 Corvette Corvair Motorama Showcar, of which only two were made (before their destruction). The first Corvette coupe, it also bears the first use of the Corvair name — a badge that would ultimately stand alone as a separate model line in the 1960s.
Lingenfelter Collection: Corvette Corvair. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Did you know Corvette made a station wagon? Well, kinda of. The concept for the two-door Nomad wagon started as a Corvette-based model — complete with Corvette C1 fascia — at the 1954 Motorama (a GM showcase in the day). Lingenfelter showcases one of five re-creations of that concept car (which was destroyed, naturally) made in 2004 and based on a fifth-generation Corvette chassis. It’s wild-looking.
Wilder still is a Greenwood Corvette GTO based on the legendary red-white-and-blue race cars of the 1970s that hit a GT record 215 mph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance car in France. Greenwood made two of these cars for the street, and it looks little different than the wide-bodied monsters that wowed race fans. Under the swollen hood is a turbocharged 6.0-liter V-8 engine.
Lingenfelter Collection: Greenwood Corvette. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Speaking of V-8s, Lingenfelter’s engineers added twin turbochargers to a fifth-gen Corvette and raced it against a Blue Angels F-18 jet down a runway. The Corvette won, hitting 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds. The ‘Vette is on display behind a poster signed by the Angels team.
Even the cars in Gallery #2 that don’t look like Corvettes are Corvettes. Check out the 1981 Caballista, which looks like a Rolls-Royce and a Corvette had a baby. Behind that vertical British grille is a good ol’ Corvette pushrod V-8 Just six remain in the world today.
The third and final gallery shows off the diversity of Lingenfelter’s collection. Sure, there are plenty more Camaros and ‘Vettes to check out. but there are also unique animals like a modified, V8-powered, 1974 Gremlin (complete with Levi’s jeans interior). A nitrous-fed 2007 Dodge Charger Funny Car dragster lurks in the corner. The winner of the 2007 NHRA Nationals, it ate a quarter-mile of track at 327 mph in just 4.8 seconds — that’s more than twice as fast as the Ferrari 812 Competizione. Oh.
Lingenfelter Collection: After Lingenfelters’ 2000 Corvette beat ta Blue Angel’s F-18 down the runway, the Angels became fast friends of the collection. A signed poster is on the wall. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
There’s also a movie star in the house. A heavily-modified 2006 Pontiac Solstice sports car played the character “Jazz” in the 2007 sci-fi hit “Transformers.”
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of gems in the Lingenfelter Collection. And all in support of a great charity cause.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Laguna Seca, California — Out of slow, 90-degree Turn 11 onto the Laguna Seca Raceway’s pit straight, my 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N performance SUV instantly put down 545 pounds of torque and 601 horsepower to all four fat Pirelli P Zero performance tires. No downshift to second gear. No turbo lag. Just pure thrust. Zot! Seconds later, the EV crested the hill into Turn One at 120 mph.
Welcome to the electric track car.
The Ioniq 5 N hot hatch is the first track-focused EV from a major manufacturer, and it is a marvel. Despite its 4,900-pound girth — 60% more than a Volkswagen Golf R hot hatch — Hyundai pro test drivers here were recording 1 minute, 35 second laps. That is on par with a 640-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 Turbo S. That’s crazy.
The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is focused on track days at tracks like Laguna Seca. Just watch your state of charge. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
That’s what instant torque, extensive body bracing and suspension stiffening will do for you. It’s what BMW does to make its M-badged cyborgs quicker than the average Bimmer sedan. Indeed, at the world’s greatest racetrack, the formidable 13.9-mile Nürburgring (Ioniq N’s namesake) in Germany, the Ioniq 5 N nearly matched the time of BMW’s premier driver’s car, the M2 CS, at 7 minutes, 45 seconds. Craaaazy.
Crazier still, we’re comparing a ute with a coupe thoroughbred. Like the M2, the 5 N has been screwed to the ground with chassis performance enhancements and sticky Pirelli P Zero tires. But it still exhibits the inherent high center of gravity of an SUV and its tall seating position. Over Laguna’s signature Corkscrew turn, I managed the throttle as the top-heavy ute navigated the turn’s extreme, downhill switchback. So how is it possible this shoebox’s lap times are on par with Porsche’s finest?
“It maximizes the tire,” deadpanned engineer Robin Shute, the accomplished Pike’s Peak and off-road rally ace who I chased around Laguna at obscene speeds. “The electric motors are feeding maximum torque all the time.”
The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N shows off its Hyundai Racing blue and red-trimmed colors. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
So whatever the shoebox loses to the Porsche in the corners, it makes up with Thor’s Hammer acceleration off every turn. I’ve experienced this shocking performance before — albeit from the passenger seat of Ford CEO Jim Farley’s Transit SuperVan 4.0 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, another e-Kong in a box. Imagine what these drivetrains could do in a proper, low-center-of-gravity sportscar.
I have tracked my Tesla Model 3 Performance and crave its instant, AWD torque. But the 3 Performance is not optimized for track use, and its Brembo brakes will cook after six laps around Pontiac’s 1.5-mile M1 Concourse. I hammered the 5 N for 26 miles around Laguna’s 2.2-mile rollercoaster (12 laps) with no brake fade. Indeed, Model 3s outfitted with properly tuned aftermarket brakes from Unplugged Performance have recorded similar track times to the 5 N despite giving up 100 pound-feet of torque and 150 horsepower. The future of electric performance is bright.
But … tracking an EV at hyper speeds comes with the same compromises of any EV: namely, range.
The Ioniq 5 N’s 84 kWh battery holds just 221 miles of range, and I sucked down nearly half of that over my 20-minute session around Laguna. Oof. That’s about four miles off the battery for every mile on the odometer (0.8 kW/per mile), which is at least better than my Tesla’s 6:1 ratio since the Model 3 hasn’t undergone the extensive aero-and-heat management intervention engineers administered to the Ioniq bot. Around two 14-mile laps (28 miles total) of the Nurburgring and its extended, full-throttle straightaways, Hyundai says I5N drank over half the battery.
The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N sports Pirelli P Zero performance tires with nearly 11 inches of tire patch for better cornering. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Travel to Laguna from, say, Silicon Valley 80 miles to the north, you’ll need to plan multiple fast charger visits to get laps on a track day.
As California bans new gas car sales over the next few years (and likely makes it hard to use older, internal-combustion cars with increased taxes and geographical bans), will Laguna nix gas racing? Figuring out how to charge at racetracks will be a priority. Some tracks, Laguna included, have already installed Tesla Superchargers due to the volume of Tesla enthusiasts who track their steeds.
Our Hyundai track day was supported by a Mullen natural gas fast charger, which topped up the Hyundai between four media track sessions. Mullen’s charger (and similar generators) tend to be prohibitively expensive for non-corporate events.
My track day pals own Mustang and Corvette muscle cars — or Subaru WRX and Civic Type R pocket rockets — and don’t suffer charging inconvenience. Gas refueling takes minutes and you can bring gas to the track. If you live in Metro Detroit and commute to either rural Gingerman or Grattan racetracks, you’re looking at 350-mile round trips with limited fast charger support nearby.
In RACE mode, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N offers lots of track info. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Most buyers will simply use their I5N as a daily driver — its AWD and luxurious interior (twin 12-inch digital displays arching across the dashboard, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, roomy rear seats, hatchback cargo storage). Plying California’s Route 68 to Monterey, the IN5 was easy to drive while turning heads with its Hyundai Racing-inspired blue-and-red-trimmed exterior and Camaro-like front cowl.
Lean into the throttle, however, and the hot hatch is stupid quick. Zero-60 mph passes in a blink — 3.1 seconds (nearly on par with the Model 3 Performance despite weighing 800 pounds more) — and Hyundai has provided electronic toys to augment the experience. My favorite? Supersonic jet fighter audio that sounds like you’re breaking the sound barrier.
The sheer speed and novelty of IN5 are sure to attract track enthusiasts. Will it be the small-displacement, pocket-rocket crowd or big-block muscle car owners?
I’m guessing the latter, given the Ioniq’s colossal straight-line speed — and matching price. Where hot hatches tend to be $40K machines, the IN5 weighs in at $67, 475. That’s Corvette and Mustang GT350 money.
But the roots of Hyundai’s N brand are in 4-cylinder fun boxes like the terrific Elantra N and (defunct) Veloster N. To evoke those vehicles, Hyundai has equipped Ioniq 5 N with an IGNITION sound option that perfectly mimics the brand’s turbo-4 cylinder engines.
In RACE mode, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N turns off all the nannies for optimum driver control. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Muscle car enthusiasts may pass — waiting for the coming V8-simulation of Dodge’s Charger Banshee EV that, like the I5N, has a useful hatchback for hauling tires to the track. I found the I5N’s fake-ICE sound remarkably realistic on track laps — including the ability to shift through multiple gears (with rev matching) just like a gas car.
Unlike a petrol car, however, the so-called GRIN SHIFT option won’t make you faster. Single-speed, uninterrupted electric torque is the quick way ‘round. Want to go even quicker? Press the N-boost button for an extra 40 horsepower when you want it.
Zot! Crazy.Next week: 2024 Genesis G90
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Vehicle type: Electric, all-wheel-drive, five-passenger performance SUV
Price: $67,475, including $1,375 destination charge
Powerplant: 84-kWh lithium-ion battery with dual electric motor drive
Transmission: Single-speed
Weight: 4,861 pounds
Power: 601 horsepower, 545 pound-feet of torque
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.3 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 162 mph
The frunky, ginormous GMC Sierra EV will be crab-walking your way this summer with 440 miles of range.
Sierra EV is the premium pickup brand’s second entry in the electric pickup space following the brand’s 2022 Hummer moonshot. The GMC is for buyers who might shy from the military-inspired Hummer’s blingtastic personality for a more traditional GMC wardrobe — yet want to be a first adopter on the route to General Motors Co.’s all-electric future.
Like the Hummer EV Edition 1, Sierra EV will debut in loaded, top-drawer Denali Edition 1 trim featuring tricks like all-wheel-steer (for side-to-side crab-walking), SuperCruise driver-assist, air suspension and 200 kWh of battery giddyap.
The 2024 GMC Sierra EV can add 100 miles of charge in 10 minutes with its 800-volt platform.
GM, GM
“Denali has been an industry icon for 25 years and the Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 provides customers an exclusive opportunity to be a part of the next chapter,” said GMC Global VP Duncan Aldred. “As a limited-run exclusive trim for launch, the Edition 1 is truly the Denali of EVs.”
Sierra EV is instantly distinguishable from its internal combustion engine-powered counterpart by its closed face — a striking contrast to the Sierra’s typical handsome grilles. If that robs character, then the bold, blocky EV adds back a sci-fi element with three, perimeter-fascia light bars that double as battery indicators while charging. Headlights are subtle and positioned low on the bumper.
Pop the hood, and . . . a massive front trunk (frunk) is revealed where the engine would be in an ICE truck. The frunk includes a 120-volt outlet and a pair of drain plugs.
The GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 with the power-operated hood open, showcasing the storage in the front eTrunk. GM, GM
Following its sister pickup, the Silverado EV, Sierra EV boasts a MultiPro midgate (shades of the ol’ Chevy Avalanche) that disappears to allow nine feet of storage from the rear cabin to GMC’s signature MultiPro Tailgate’s load-stop feature out back. Also in the bed, the EV Denali Edition 1’s Power Station Pro feature allows the pickup to be used as a mobile power source for, say, your home. The available Ultium Power Bar offers up to 10 outlets that can help power tools at a worksite or cooking accessories at a tailgate party.
Sierra has been delayed from its early 2024 launch, but buyers will be rewarded for their patience with a GM-estimated 440 miles of range (40 more than initial estimates), 10,000-pound towing (500 more than initial estimates) and 1,450 pounds of payload capacity (150 more).
If those numbers have inflated, the Sierra EV’s price has deflated from an initial six-fire hit of $108,695 to the new $99,495 starting price.
The all-new MultiPro Midgate expands the usable bed space up to 10 feet, 10 inches on the GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1, which can help accommodate longer items like a canoe. GM Design, GM
Available SuperCruise, the industry’s leading hands-free driver-assist tech, will also show increased capability with the ability to navigate 750,000 miles of roads (up from 400,00 in 2022) in the United States and Canada by the end of 2025.
Sierra EV sits on the same, heavy, 800-volt Utium battery platform as Hummer and Silverado. That translates into as much as a 350 kW recharge rate on a fast charger (100 miles in 10 minutes), but also an asphalt-crunching weight of an expected 9,000 pounds.
For all the pickup’s heft, Sierra’s four-wheel-steer feature is designed to make the beast feel smaller in parking lots by allowing for a sharper turning radius. Crabwalk is fun to show off at the country club, too.
With more room to maneuver, the GMC can snap your head back with an estimated 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque in Max Power mode. That will get you to 60 mph in under 4.5 seconds — or about the same as an all-wheel-drive Tesla Model Y weighing half as much. Want more? Brand halo Hummer EV offers 1,000 horsepower and will skip to 60 mph in a dizzying 3 seconds in Watts to Freedom Mode (WTF Mode, as GMC likes to call it).
Interior shot of the GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 showing the first application of a 16.8-inch-diagonal, portrait-orientation freeform infotainment touch screen. GM, GM
True to its premium badge, Sierra EV will feature Air Ride Adaptive Suspension for comfy trips and 2 inches of adjustability up or down.
Inside, the Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 is a rolling boardroom with pore wood and metal trim. A giant, Tesla-like, 16.8-inch display screen dominates the console — though truckers will appreciate the un-Telsa-like volume knob and toggle control switches. A digital, 11-inch instrument cluster and a head-up display is in front of the driver — who sits below a fixed panoramic sunroof.
After the EV Denali Edition 1’s summer debut, less-expensive models will follow in 2025 including an off-road-oriented AT4 model and more affordable (think $50k) Elevation trim.
From left to right: 2025 GMC Sierra EV Elevation, 2025 GMC Sierra EV AT4, 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1.GM, GM
“The 2024 Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 is just the beginning,” said Aldred. “From the Hummer EV supertruck to the first-ever Sierra EV, GMC continues to write the next chapter in its future as a premium truck and SUV brand.”
Reservations to order the Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 are now open.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Honda Motor Co. is transferring production of its iconic, internal combustion engine-powered Accord sedan from its long-time home in Marysville, Ohio, to its Greensburg, Indiana, assembly plant to make room for electric vehicle production starting in 2025. The move is a major step in Honda’s “Second Founding” as an all-electric brand.
The Japanese automaker is one of the world’s most aggressive mainstream auto brands in moving to an all-electric model lineup, and it’s speeding that transition at its U.S. based plants.
A version of Honda’s Saloon concept will likely go into production in Marysville in 2026. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe with the Saloon EV concept, the first of the 0 Series mode line, at CES 2024.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Marysville is part of what Honda calls its Ohio EV Hub, a sprawling network of four vehicle and battery manufacturing facilities across Ohio and Indiana where the Japanese brand is investing over $4 billion. While Honda is retooling production lines, the bulk of that investment will go to its new East Jefferson, Ohio, plant that will make batteries with partner LG Energy Solutions.
Honda has not yet revealed the EVs it will hammer together in Marysville, but it showed futuristic-looking Saloon and Space-Hub prototypes for its 0 Series EV model line at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Expect the first, Saloon-based EV to be a 2026 model off the reconstructed Marysville line. Honda’s first EV, the Prologue SUV, is being jointly produced with General Motors Co. in Mexico and arrives in dealerships this spring.
“Our EV Hub is playing an essential role for the evolution of EV production at Honda, in North America and globally,” said American Honda Executive Vice President Bob Nelson of a process that will provide learnings for plants across Honda’s global empire.
Honda Marysville Plant consolidates to one line to make Evs and ICEs. Honda, Honda
Marysville has symbolic significance for Honda as its first U.S.-based manufacturing plant. The company began making its gas-fired Accord sedan there in 1982, with it since becoming one of the most popular nameplates in the United States. The Accord will share a production line in Indiana with the CR-V SUV and compact Civic sedan. The ICE Acura Integra and TLX will remain in Marysville on a single, flexible production line capable of making EV or ICE vehicles.
The Ohio shake-up comes as consumer EV adoption in the United States is on the wane even as more battery-powered cars hit the market. A Gallup poll this month showed the proportion of prospective buyers of EVs has shrunk from 12% to 9% of the market. EV market leader Tesla Inc. has experienced sales declines and Ford Motor Co. has throttled back F-150 Lightning pickup truck production.
Honda’s goal is to sell only EVs by 2040, joining GM and Volkswagen AG (by 2035) as the most ambitious mainstream automakers. Other brands, like Japanese rival Toyota, don’t see broad consumer demand for EVs and are committed to building ICEs and plug-in hybrids. The consolidation of Honda’s Maryville production to one line is meant to build in flexibility so that Honda can make either ICE or EV vehicles depending on consumer taste.
Honda is confident that customers will ultimately adopt EVs.
The 2024 Honda Prologue EV is the Japanese automaker’s first all-electric model, produced on GM’s Ultium platform. Honda plans forthcoming EVs to be built on its own “thin, light and wise” platform.. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Internally at Honda, we talk about the Second Founding of Honda as a reset — a switching of our mind about embracing electric vehicles and making sure every associate has an opportunity to contribute to a fundamental change in Honda from an engine company to an electrified company,” John Hwang, product development leader for the Prologue EV, told The Detroit News this spring.
It’s a significant change for a company synonymous with some of the world’s best internal combustion engines — including the Honda engine in Max Verstappen’s Formula One-dominating Red Bull race car.
As part of its EV Hub, Honda’s Anna, Ohio, plant — which makes internal combustion engines — will convert to producing the Intelligent Power Unit containing the EV battery module serving as the main frame structure for the floor of Honda EVs produced in Maryville and (eventually) East Liberty, Ohio. The East Liberty plant makes the brand’s most popular vehicle, the ICE-powered CR-V.
Honda Anna Plant retools to make the Intelligent Power Unit for EVs. Honda, Honda
Anna has been an ICE powerhouse for the company, producing everything from engines to transmissions, camshafts, crankshafts and other components.
While Honda is importing from Mexico its first EV, the Prologue (and sister Acura TDX), built on GM’s battery skateboard platform — the Japanese automaker has made it known it wants a lighter architecture. The Prologue weighs 5,500 pounds on a platform application meant for everything from small SUVs to 9,000-pound GMC Hummer pickups.
To that end, Anna is building a platform Honda calls “thin, light and wise.” It will be made with six, 6,000-ton high-pressure die cast machines standing over 31 feet tall — the biggest die-cast part Honda has ever made. To create space for IPU production, Anna transferred some ICE production to its Alabama Auto Plant.
Honda’s investment comes as the United Auto Workers union is ramping up a campaign to organize Honda workers — and other nonunion foreign transplants across the county. Honda emphasized that its Ohio EV Hub is an investment in American jobs as well at a time when many manufacturers are producing EVs in Mexico and China to cut costs.
“The establishment of our EV Hub is not simply an investment in retooling and equipment, we are investing in the Honda associates who will be taking on new responsibilities to lead us into the electrified future,” said Nelson.
A 2024 Honda Accord comes off the assembly line at the company’s Marysville, Ohio, plant, which is being retooled to accommodate EV as well as ICE production. Honda
Honda’s culture prides itself on meeting engineering challenges and the company says its all-EV goal is not influenced by California government mandates that ban gas car sales by 20235. Indeed, Honda has said the state’s goals are unrealistic and has stayed firm about its internal 2040 goal.
“Honda philosophically has always been about protecting the environment … with the products we make,” Hwang told The News. “Our timeline is 2040 in North America to be fully zero carbon.”
Governments may press that commitment, with Simon Stiell, chief of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, emphasizing this week that the world has only two years to meet zero-carbon emissions goals and “save the world.” With Honda EV production not ramping up until 2026, that goal is a challenge.
In addition to retooling Honda plants, the company with LG began construction this winter on the new, joint-venture, 2 million-square feet EV battery facility. That facility is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, with an annual capacity of about 40 GWh.
About two-thirds of Honda/Acuras sold in the United States are made here. The company employs 23,000 people across a dozen manufacturing plants.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Pontiac — Coming to your Metro Detroit neighborhood, Amazon.com Inc.’s Rivian electric delivery vans are the culmination of a five-year collaboration between the retail giant and the U.S.-based electric vehicle startup.
Michigan is among the major metropolitan areas receiving 100,000 Rivian Automotive Inc. vans that will both meet Amazon’s goal to fully electrify its delivery fleet and give a crucial shot in the arm to the young automaker. They’re also sci-fi chic.
“My family thinks it’s really cool that I’m driving a Rivian truck,” said Kayla Dudley, 24, of Pontiac, as she jumped from her van to make a delivery in a Lake Orion suburb. “It makes me want to get an electric car.”
Kayla Dudley, 24, Driver Associate at Amazon, unplug the electrical power cable from her new Amazon’s EV delivery trucks that is on Rivian’s truck platform at Pontiac Amazon Fulfillment Center. April 2, 2024, in Pontiac, MI. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
There’s no denying the cool factor of the sleek, head-turning trucks with their cartoonish, LED-rimmed circular headlights, splashy blue rear doors, Amazon smile logo, and Blade Runner-esque red LED light strip framing the rear. If Tesla Inc. took EVs from nerd-mobile to luxury fashion, then Amazon’s Rivian trucks have brought style to the delivery breadbox.
“I like the acceleration. The truck is so seamless to the driver,” said Dudley, who admitted it takes discipline to maintain the speed limit on her daily chores.
That sci-fi style continues inside the cab with twin, digital tablet displays — a hoodless instrument cluster and huge, 15.6-inch dash-mounted tablet. Beginning her shift on a cool, drizzling April morning in Pontiac, Dudley pulled the charger from her cyborg’s front left charger port, then placed it in the 240-volt charger holder. Where these parking spaces once hosted thousands of Detroit Lions fans at the Pontiac Silverdome, they now hold hundreds of Rivian vans to distribute packages from Amazon’s giant fulfillment center, which sits on a 127-acre site.
It’s not the first time a delivery service has made its vans icons. UPS has for decades featured its big brown step vans in marketing campaigns. “The Amazon trucks are popping up on social media everywhere,” said auto analyst Sam Fiorani, vice president of vehicle forecasting for Autoforecast Solutions. “UPS designed a truck that was uniquely UPS and that made their service welcome in neighborhoods.”
Rivian’s operating system seamlessly controls the RDV-700 model van (just as in an R1S SUV), which recognized the key fob in Dudley’s pocket and instantly turned on as she stepped into the airy cabin, the gigantic front windscreen a window to the world. With her delivery route already downloaded on her company phone, she scanned a QR code and the Rivian’s screens wirelessly mirrored the route — just as Apple CarPlay would in a passenger car. Ready to rumble.
Kayla Dudley, a driver associate at Amazon, says she enjoys the “seamless” performance of her Rivian electric delivery van. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
“Every QR code is a digital (organizer) for packages, vehicles — to make everything easy to sort in the vans,” Dudley said.
The former Silverdome site is dominated by two massive Amazon buildings: an 823,000-square-foot fulfillment center and 174,000-square-foot delivery center. The fulfillment center — thousands of robots scurrying across its multiple stories — accesses product inventory which is then sent across the street to the delivery center. Their sheer scale also reminds of a sci-fi movie — the Rivian trucks pouring into the giant structure. Or they might be worker ants scurrying to and from a giant anthill.
At 10 a.m., waves of trucks — including Dudley’s — decoupled from their chargers to collect their orders. They filed three wide into the delivery center’s west side. Yellow-vested Amazon employees emerged from the building — garage doors zipping automatically upwards as they approached — to help the blue-vested drivers load up. Dudley disappeared inside the enormous facility, re-emerging with a cart full of zip-boxes engorged with 100 packages for delivery this day. On a full day, she’ll deliver 200-300 packages to some 200 homes.
Amazon’s fleet model is designed to take range anxiety out of the equation with short, routine routes. This routine accommodates the Rivians’ limited, 141-mile range. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
She loaded them into the back of the Rivian’s cargo bay, which is larger than the comparable Dodge Pro Master that she drove when she arrived here three years ago.
Auto fleets have been a target of EV production. Fleets for delivery vans, pickup trucks, ride-share services, rental cars.
Rivian Automotive Inc. saw the opportunity in 2019, securing an exclusive 100,000-unit order with Amazon for delivery by 2024 — a timeline since extended to 2030. The giant order (Rivian has since begun taking orders from other customers), coupled with Amazon capital, gave the EV startup security that has been lacking at peers like Lucid Group Inc. and Fisker Inc.
“The initial startup cost for Amazon is enormous,” said analyst Fiorani, citing the Seattle company’s $1 billion investment and 17% stake in Rivian. “They are not likely to make up that money in the near term. It has the dual purpose of reducing costs and positioning themselves as a green company. And if Rivian is successful in the long term, their investment could pay off financially, too.”
Drivers sync their phone delivery routes to the Amazon Rivian van with a QR code. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
It’s a big bet, as even Tesla has struggled to make fleets work. Hertz has sold off much of its Tesla fleet as promises of cheaper maintenance costs didn’t materialize and customers were turned off the EVs’ inherent range and charging challenges. Despite an aggressive push by Uber to get its drivers into Teslas, ride-share services have also struggled with EV adoption due to high lease rates and long charging times.
Fiorani says that delivery fleets are a better use case for EVs. “The Hertz issue was different because they were trying to make money by renting vehicles to customers,” he said. “But Amazon is developing their service around the van. They are training their employees on how to use it and how to maintain it.”
Amazon’s fleet model is designed to take range anxiety out of the equation with short, routine routes. This routine accommodates the Rivians’ limited, 141-mile range while taking advantage of the inherent strengths of its twin-motor, battery-powered drivetrain: no gas-burning idle time and limited maintenance.
Dudley’s daily route is well within the Rivian’s range. When she’s done, she returns the truck to the delivery center, where it is recharged overnight. Drivers are trained to drive the speed limit — not just for safety, but also to limit battery degradation as highway speeds over 70 mph in a van with all the aerodynamics of a brick can quickly suck range.
Kayla Dudley, 24, Driver Associate at Amazon, talks about the cargo space inside her new Amazon’s EV delivery trucks that is on Rivian’s truck platform at Pontiac Amazon Fulfillment Center. April 2, 2024, in Pontiac, MI. Clarence Tabb Jr., The Detroit News
By noon, Amazon’s worker ants are spread across Oakland County, satisfying Michiganians’ insatiable product needs. Amazon vans often pass each other in the same neighborhood as their pre-planned routes overlap.
Dudley drops her packages from house to house, the Rivian’s motors working silently. In reverse, the Rivian let off a low hum — “it’s like a science fiction movie,” said Dudley — to alert nearby pedestrians.
Her mobile office is posh compared to traditional vans. Not only is it much less cramped, but Dudley has a heated/cooled seat, heated steering wheel, wireless charging pad for her phone and regenerative electric braking. She’s surrounded by a cocoon of safety features, including adaptive cruise control, auto-emergency brake assist, blind-spot assist, three air bags, lane-keep assist and a 360-degree camera view of her surroundings on the screen.
EV FYI. Amazon Rivian vans cruise neighborhoods with shelves full of packages. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Without an engine up front, the Rivian benefits from EVs’ safe frontal impact dynamics — and the Rivian is designed to shut down and lock its doors whenever she walks away to guard against theft.
Amazon says it has 10,000 vans on the road in 1,800 U.S. sites nationwide, including Midwest cities Detroit, Grand Rapids, Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and more.
“No other delivery service is converting to EVs at the scale of Amazon,” analyst Fiorani said. “I’m sure UPS, FedEx and the Postal Service are all looking at this to see if Amazon makes it work.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Miami — The circus is in town. My 6’9” media colleague Brian Armstead and I emerged from our wee Fiat 500e to stares in downtown Miami.
Dude, you’re 6’5”, how do you two fit in a Flea-at?
Quite comfortably, thanks for asking. With a tall roof, peppy electric motor and plenty of room to splay our legs where the driveline used to be, the 500e is a modern clown car. Fiat has it right. Big brands are falling all over themselves these days to sell mainstream buyers on electric cars. But electrics are niche vehicles for premium shoppers. Tesla Model 3/Y is for techies, Mustang Mach-E for pony car enthusiasts, Hummer EV for off-roaders.
Fiat 500e is for fun.
The 2024 Fiat 500e is all-electric with all-iconic styling. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The wee hatchback might as well have a key chain link on it. This is one adorable accessory. Dressed in red, the cheerful clown scurried through the streets with big LED eyes and a fashionable electric motor under the hood. What, no red nose?
Of course, fashion these days attracts politics, and the Fiat is perfumed with a marketing campaign promising to save the world. Cloying climate celebrities Bono and Jennifer Lopez have added their names to the circus, and I can’t think of anything more tiresome than dinner with jet-setting millionaire musicians lecturing Americans on how to save polar bears.
Ditch them at their private airport and take the 500e for a spin around the Big Top. This clown car is a treat.
Designed for metropolitan streets, our red 500e tester squirted out of stoplights in downtown Miami, its electric motor smooth as an Atlantic breeze. At 20 mph, external music composed by Italian composers Flavio Ibba and Marco Gualdi played to alert pedestrians it was coming. Seriously! Back up, and an electronic safety alert hums. Miami Nice.
The 2024 Fiat 500e has the latest Stellantis Uconnect 5 system for infotainment. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
With a single-speed electric transmission, the Italian is easy to drive. Heck, you don’t even need to use your left foot. Select SHERPA mode and use the motor for regenerative braking.
At an A1A intersection on South Beach, I executed a U-turn on a dime. Zoot! Thirty miles an hour went by in 3 seconds, making intersections a breeze to cross. Refreshingly, Fiat doesn’t strain to advertise the car’s long distance driving abilities (ICEs embarrass EVs on refueling time). The pup will scamper around metro neighborhoods for up to 160 miles in SHERPA mode (149 miles in RANGE mode) before its tongue hangs out.
“Put it in the garage next to your Jeep Grand Cherokee gas car,” says Fiat North American Chief Aamir Ahmed (nice plug for another Stellantis brand there). I drove 140 miles from Naples to Miami and back this year in a gas sedan, a task that would be painful in a 500e. Ditto Detroit to Grand Rapids. Take the Jeep, not the Fiat.
This is a toy like a sportscar or an off-road Wrangler. Niches are nice — why does every vehicle have to be a commodity? An electric toaster?
The iconic shape of the 2024 Fiat 500e. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The 500 earns its distinction thanks to decades of brand polishing. Sure, the Italian is a healthy 10 grand north of a comparable subcompact Hyundai Venue, but the Fiat oozes la dolce vita with its big peepers, 17-inch wheels and Easter egg shape. There are few cars as recognizable as the 500. Think VW Bug, Ford Mustang, Porsche 911, Land Rover Defender, Mazda Miata. Icons all — and all aimed at niche buyers.
The Fiat is one of a handful starting at $40K-or-below in an EV class with its natural competitor being another icon, the $32K Mini Cooper Electric. Others to consider: Tesla’s 40-grand Model 3 and Volvo’s $36K Tesla-esque EX30 EV.
Tesla is king given its superior range (for that Naples or Grand Rapids trip) and superior tech (it can park itself as well as do neat Summon tricks). But the Fiat’s happy clown face always seems to be smiling compared to the Tesla’s smartphone vibe.
For $37,595, the 500e Beauty and Music models also match the Tesla with adaptive cruise control and blind-spot assist. Tellingly, my entry level $34K Red tester (in addition to its hard plastic interior) is not equipped with these urban essentials so Fiat can remain in the black. Yet another EV challenge, though the feds aim to make the Fiat more affordable with a whopping $7,500 tax credit if leased (the Fiat’s Italian assembly makes it ineligible for the $7,500 purchase subsidy. Go figure).
Detroit News columnist Henry Payne towers over the 2024 Fiat 500e. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Red’s cabin is otherwise state-of-the-art with wireless charging, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, volume/radio station controls on the back of the steering wheel, Alexa connectivity and Stellantis’s best-in-biz Uconnect 5 infotainment software. The rear seats will fit small adults and the hatchback makes for usable cargo storage, especially with the rear seats collapsed.
Buyers in big cities will, of course, enjoy maneuvering their 500e in tight apartment garages. For those folks, Fiat’s $600 credit for a 240-volt wall charger makes little sense (especially as apartment buildings balk at the expense of installing their own chargers), so use the credit on Stellantis’s Free2Move app, locate area fast chargers, and plan a meal each week around charging the car. The Fiat will drink a quick 30 miles of electrons in 5 minutes when needed.
The front seats of the 2024 Fiat 500e easily fit six-footers. The back seats? Not so much. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Not your thing? It’s a niche, not a necessity.
Fiat would do the 500e a favor by offering a soft-top version at some point (that way seven-footers could stick their necks out the top). The soft top has been a signature of the Italian meatball over its 63-year history and would fill a disappearing market in the United States. Open-air models like the Camaro convertible, Toyota Solara and Buick Cascada have all disappeared in recent years.
Cruising with the windows down on Route 1 — the East Coast’s Woodward Avenue — on the way back into Miami, Brian cranked up his Pandora playlist through the car’s speakers. Miami is a car town like Motown, and we mingled with other icons on the route: Mustang convertible, Lamborghini Huracan, door-less Wrangler.
The interior of the 2024 Fiat 500e has no driveline interruption — so it’s easy for big drivers to splay their legs. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The 500e follows in the footsteps of 1957-vintage grandfather 500, a clown car with its engine hanging out the back and a similar urban mission. Take it on the highways and its 13 horsepower would take a week to reach its 53-mph top speed — if it didn’t get stomped by a truck first.
Today’s 94-mph 500e is not meant for road trips, either. But if you’re looking for a daily smile, it might be the fashion fit for your keychain.
Next week: 2024 Genesis G90
2024 Fiat 500e
Vehicle type: Electric, front-wheel drive, four-passenger coupe
Price: $34,095, including $1,595 destination charge (as tested)
Powerplant: 40-kWh lithium-ion battery with front electric motor drive
Transmission: Single-speed transmission
Weight: 2,952 pounds
Power: 117 horsepower, 162 pound-feet of torque
Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.5 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 94 mph
Fuel economy: EPA est. range, 149 miles
Report card
Highs: Iconic looks; fun day at the circus
Lows: Specific metro use case; pricey for a subcompact
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne
Chevrolet confirmed Wednesday that the King of Corvettes will arrive this summer. As The Detroit News first reported in April 2020, the ZR1 will be the ultimate track-focused version of the eighth-generation, mid-engine C8 Corvette. The ZR1 will the third of four performance variants of the C8.
The C8 supercar debuted as a 2020 model, followed by the 670-horsepower 2023 Z06 packing Corvette’s first dual-overhead cam V-8 ripped from the C8.R race car that competes in international sportscar racing. Chevrolet also introduced a more grand-touring-focused version of the C8 — the 2024, all-wheel-drive hybrid E-Ray, which is the first Corvette to be electrified.
The 2025 ZR1 is expected to carry the same screaming flat-plane crank 5.5-liter engine as the Z06 — but with added twin turbochargers to juice the rear-wheel-driver track monster to over 800 horsepower. The Z06 engine’s internal GM designation is LT6, while the ZR1’s turbocharged version is designated LT7.
But wait, there’s more.
The Detroit News expects a fourth, mega-performance version called the Zora, which will incorporate the LT7 engine and the electric motors from the front axle of the E-Ray for an insane, Ferrari-eating, 1,000-horsepower, all-wheel-drive hypercar.
The 2025 ZR1 is expected to carry the same flat-plane crank 5.5-liter engine as the C8.R race car that competes in international sportscar racing. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The last front-engine ZR1 ended production after the 2019 model year. Despite making a staggering, supercharged, 755 horsepower, the last ZR1’s LT5 mill was literally bursting at the seams — a Hulk ripping through its shirt with a tall supercharger peaking through the tall hood that drivers could barely see around. It was an impetus to develop Corvette’s first mid-engine car that would give engineers more flexibility with powertrains, better rear-wheel traction — and, ultimately, the ability to bring in the latest battery tech to the legendary supercar.
True to its traditional track purpose, the ZR1 is expected to be rear-wheel-driven. It was pushed back to a 2025 model from a 2024 due to COVID delays.
Its capabilities will outstrip the already capable Z06, which has the most-powerful, naturally-aspirated engine ever built for a Corvette. The engine was developed for the C8.R race car — “it’s been hiding in plain sight,” said Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter of the much-anticipated DOHC engine — and then put into production for the Z06.
Big brakes help bring the 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 down to speed from long straightaway runs. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
With twin turbochargers on its back, the 5.5-liter LT7 engine should propel the 2025 ZR1 to sub-2.5 second 0-60 sprints with perhaps 850 horsepower and 825 pound-feet of torque. Expect the ZR1 to dress up with a huge rear wing and front spoiler to suck the beast to the ground around high-speed bends.
The standard, $69,995, 495-horsepower C8 has an old-school, normally-aspirated LT2, 6.2-liter, pushrod V-8. The last-generation, front-engine ZR1 started at $122,000 — expect the new model to push $150,000.
After the ZR1, the C8 Corvette is expected to get a special Zora model as a bridge to the supercar’s electric future.
The model is named after Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, who came into the ‘Vette fold in the 1950s and was pivotal in transitioning Corvette to the legend we know today — an affordable supercar blending high-tech features with red-blooded Yankee V-8 power.
Thus the 1,000-horse Zora — an electrified $200,000 hypercar that will realize the full potential of new electric motor tech to take the Corvette into European hypercar territory (think Ferrari SF90 Stradale, McLaren P1, Koenigsegg Regera) with zero-60 times below 2 seconds.
ZR1 production at Corvette’s Bowling Green, Kentucky, assembly plant should begin this summer.
Kalea Hall contributed.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Naples, Florida — My Chevy Malibu is roomy, techy and easy on the eyes. And, most importantly, it’s a used bargain at under 20 grand.
Let’s go used car reviewing.
I’m a big fan of affordable cars whether new or used, but it’s a tough hoe for consumers these days in a market buffeted by a perfect storm of electric vehicle mandates, low post-pandemic inventories, and high manufacturing costs. The average price paid for a new vehicle has ballooned from $37,577 in 2019 to $47,338 now. Worse, the number of new cars under $20,000 has shrunk as manufacturers buffeted by rising regulation, labor costs and electronic tech find it hard to make margin on entry-level cars — driving customers into the used market, where inventories have been hammered by the lack of production during the pandemic.
The 2023 Chevy Malibu 1LT isn’t sporty, but it is easy to use, park, and has high quality ratings from JD Power. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“We need more used cars,” Roger Penske lamented to me in a recent interview as he listed the challenges to his dealer network.
The average price of a used vehicle — $27,297 as of last month — is up even more than new cars (33% vs. 26%) from $20,398 in 2019. Ouch. Meanwhile, affordable new cars like the Honda Fit, Chevy Sonic and Ford Focus have left the market. Manufacturers are flooding the zone instead with EVs to both meet onerous government sales mandates and to test consumer taste for battery-power. Most of the new cars I test these days are pricey electrics like the $50K Chevy Blazer EV. To make up for big losses on EVs (Ford lost $4.7 billion in its EV division last year), brands are making higher-trim models to capture profit.
Meanwhile, customers want gas-powered Swiss Army knives — affordable vehicles that can do it all from road trips to urban parking to loading in a family of four.
The handsome profile of the 2023 Chevy Malibu 1LT includes optional, 18-inch wheels. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
As I travel the country, I’ll try to report on good finds from time to time. The Chevy Malibu is one.
Sneak up behind my Malibu 1LT tester in a parking lot and you might mistake its sleek lines for a luxury chariot. Coupe-like roof, scalloped side panels, fashionably-spoked wheels. Walk ‘round to the front and the mood is ruined by a dog’s breakfast of twin grilles and competing surfaces. Give me a simple, European grille any day.
I have a friend who’s a big Lexus fan but recoils at their Darth Vader grilles. So she just parks the car head-first into her garage or downtown parking spot so she never has to look at it. Happily, when you’re behind the wheel of the Malibu, you never have to look it in the face.
Instead, you get a handsome, ergonomically-superior interior. Easy-to-read tablet screen, well-organized, bezeled climate controls, fat knobs for controlling climate and sound, intuitive automotive shifter. Alas, the steering wheel of my 2023 tester didn’t have Chevy’s newer roller button for volume and cruise control — but I could still find the raised control buttons with my fingers so I never had to take my eyes off the road.
The 2023 Chevy Malibu 1LT is easy to learn with big knobs, a bezeled climate menu and big digital screen. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Better yet, Malibu allowed me to control the radio from the back of the steering wheel. Volume buttons on the wheel’s right backside. Station controls on the left.
I rented my ‘bu tester in Naples, Florida — which is hardly New York City — but is still jammed with traffic in the winter months with everything from spring breakers to senior citizens to hot rodders with more horsepower than sense.
Navigating this morass in the Malibu is also easy thanks to wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto — a significant upgrade to the Chevy since its 2016 debut — which mirrors your phone’s navi system for seamless, familiar operation. I gave voice commands without ever taking my phone out of my pocket.
“Hey, Google, navigate to Miami!”
The direction dutifully followed on screen.
The rear seats of the 2023 Chevy Malibu 1LT offer good legroom for tall folks. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Add to this convenience a lack of range anxiety. I love electric vehicles, but you need to be conscious of range at all times. Recharging takes time, and could make you late for an appointment — or take you out of your way, especially in unfamiliar territory (to me) like South Florida. Gas power = peace of mind.
After a morning of errands, Mrs. Payne and I set off for Miami (to look at buying a used Alfa Romeo 4C — a used car for another column), at which point I finally took a look at my fuel gauge: just 118 miles left for the 240-mile round trip. We’d need fuel to get there and back. No worries.
I drove into one of the numerous service stations on Naples’ perimeter, added 328 miles in a minute and was set for the day. Try that in a $100,000, 800-volt, Porsche Taycan Turbo and you’ll get 245 miles in 16 minutes at an Electrify America fast charger (according to a recent Inside EVs test). Who would think a Malibu costing 1/5th that of a Taycan would be faster at anything?
Merging onto I-75 east to Miami, I floored the 1.5-liter turbo-4 under the hood, which let out a nice growl. Then I set cruise control at 80 mph. I’d prefer adaptive cruise, but that’s not available on ’23 1LTs. Preferences vary depending on automaker — but I’d recommend a used car today with at least two of three electronic advances: wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, adaptive cruise, and … blind-spot assist.
The big trunk of the 2023 Chevy Malibu 1LT will swallow the family suitcases. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The latter is standard on the ’23 Malibu, so I didn’t have to crane my neck to check traffic every time I wanted to pass a slower car. Were I alone, I might have listened to a Spotify on Android Auto, but Mrs. Payne and I passed the time chatting in the quiet cabin.
Had we been passengers in the backseat, we’d have been comfortable. The advantage of a midsizer like Malibu is its good rear legroom. Also excellent is the Chevy’s JD Power quality rating, a key consideration of any buyer.
Malibu scores an 85, beating competitors like the much-loved Subaru Legacy (81).
With front-wheel drive, the Malibu won’t tempt you to conquer Mt. Rushmore in a snowstorm like the AWD Legacy. But the Chevy sedan will do just fine in all seasons, deliver an easy-on-the-wallet 32 mpg and 540 miles of highway range — and won’t beg the premium price of a comparable Subie.
The 2023 Chevy Malibu 1LT averages 32 mpg — not bad for a midsized sedan. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
My rule of thumb is to buy used vehicles with 50,000 miles or less on them, and that have a good service history. There’ll be a Malibu for you there — though you may have to go to Florida to find it.
As the industry goes all-electric, used gas vehicles could be in more demand than ever.
Next week: 2025 Fiat 500e
2023 Used Chevy Malibu
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, four-door sedan
Price: $27,895 when new, including $1,500 destination charge (under $20,000 used 1LT)
Buick hopes to continue its streak as General Motors Co.’s hottest brand with the introduction of the remade, 2024 Envision compact SUV.
The Envision adopts familiar family design cues inspired by the Buick Wildcat concept and builds on the brand’s popular Envista and Encore GX entry-level models. Inside, the Buick introduces a cinematic, largest-in-class, 30-inch wide screen, available Super Cruise driver assist, and standard all-wheel-drive.
2024 Buick Envision. Buick, Buick
Since its reinvention as an SUV brand a decade ago, Buick has been on a roll in sales as well as JD Power quality ratings. Also credit the affordable, $22k Envista and snappy naming strategy (all Buick models start with “En-“ including the three-row, flagship Enclave), which has helped attract younger buyers. The combo has culminated in a sales increase of over 60% in 2023, the best in the General’s brand lineup.
“Buick owners expect beautiful design, purposeful technology and safe, efficient vehicles,” said Buick chief Duncan Aldred. “Envision follows in the footsteps of the wildly popular Envista that launched last year and continues to build on Buick’s momentum.”
Envision leads with Buick’s distinctive front fascia with hood-mounted logo, “checkmark” LED headlamps and big lower grille to feed air to its 2.0-liter, turbo-4 cylinder engine. Standard all-wheel-drive comes across a simplified, three-trim lineup — Preferred, ST and Avenir.
A 30-inch wide digital screen is the center of Envision’s interior and runs on Google Built-in. GM-DESIGN, Buick
Also standard are 18-inch wheels, adaptive cruise control, intersection automatic emergency braking, pedestrian and bicycle braking, rear cross-traffic braking, HD Surround Vision, blind-spot assist and auto high beams. But wait, there’s more. A nine-speaker Bose Premium audio system and head-up display are also standard.
The Chinese-made Envision’s interior, however, is where the most striking changes have been made. The big, digital display, consistent with wide displays found in the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevy Blazer EV, stretches from the center console to the gauge cluster under one sheet of glass.
Google Built-in runs Envision’s touchscreen infotainment system for a familiar, smartphone-like experience. Consistent with a premium brand, interior trim choices include multicolor ambient lighting and Garnet/Ebony accents or Cool Gray/Slate Blue accents.
The Envision offers 18-inch wheels and all-wheel drive standard and comes in three trim levels: Preferred, ST and Avenir. GM-DESIGN, Buick
Envision’s drivetrain boasts a healthy 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque coupled to a sophisticated, rear, twin-clutch AWD system to push aside Michigan snows.
Look for the 2024 Envision at dealerships this summer starting at $37,295 for the Preferred model and topping out with the $48,395 Avenir.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
New York — The heyday of the mega-media auto show has passed. But the show must go on.
In recent decades, auto shows were theme parks — each year showcasing more spectacular displays than the last. Manufacturers packed in media to introduce their latest toys. At the 2019 New York International Auto Show, automakers trucked in media for major reveals like the Cadillac CT5, 300-mph Koenigsegg Jesko, Ford Escape, Hyundai Sonata, Ford Mustang Ecoboost High Performance, Mercedes GLS, Porsche 911 Speedster, Subaru Outback, VW Tarok pickup concept, Chinese start-up Qiantu K50, and more. This year, there was the Genesis Neolun concept, Genesis GV60 Magma and a smattering of practical SUVs.
New York Auto Show. Genesis GV60 Magma, X Berlinetta Turismo, GV80 Magma. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Reveals have moved elsewhere in this new media age and shows have returned to their original purpose: get customers in seats. With that spirit in mind, here are my favorite cars and attractions inside New York’s Javits Convention Center.
Tedson Daydream Porsche 911 restomod delivered to Michael Strahan. Hey, it’s New York and there is a lot competing for your entertainment dollar. The Big Apple is stuffed with ginormous towers, wealth and celebrity. Sometimes all in one. Strahan is the towering, ex-All-Pro New York Giants defensive end who has made good as a TV host in his post-football career. Good thing, because he has an automotive sweet tooth to feed.
New York Auto Show. Michael Strahan recieves his Porsche Tedson Daydream. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The latest addition to his collection was delivered at the Javits Center: a Tedson Daydream restomod, 600-horsepower, hybrid, 1995 Porsche 911. You have our attention, Michael. Croatian physicist Goran Turkic created Tedson to satisfy the insatiable thirst for upgraded, air-cooled-engine 911 supercars.
Tedson not only beats factory Porsche to a hybrid 911 powertrain (Porsche’s hybrid will reportedly arrive later this year) but does so with a manual transmission — something Stuttgart rarely offers anymore. Strahan was good enough to leave his car in the exotics section of the NYIAS for the week next to other goodies like the 1986, V12-powered “Rambo Lambo” Lamborghini LM002 and the 1,813-horsepower, 258-mph electric Rimac Nevera supercar that can hit 60 mph in a face-flattening 1.74 seconds.
New York Auto Show. Tedson founder and CEO Goran Turkic. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Toyota sportscars. If those cyborgs are too rich for your blood, wander down the aisle to the Toyota display, which features (God bless them) three sportscars under $60k. The $47,535 Supra, $37,595 GR Corolla and $30,395 GR86. Yes, I’m calling the four-door GR Corolla a sportscar.
New York Auto Show. Toyotoa performance cars, GR Corolla, Supra, GR86. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The all-wheel-drive hot hatch is one of the most entertaining rides in autodom. Somehow, Toyota engineers squeezed 300 horses into its three-cylinder engine. The GR86 is as quick as it is good-looking, and the Supra shares its smooth, inline-six-cylinder mill with a BMW Z4.
Chevy Trax. Speaking of affordability, Chevrolet leads its exhibit this year with the terrific second-generation $21k Trax. That’s a welcome change from escalating prices across the industry that have driven the average new-car transaction price to (cough) $48k. The attractive, high-tech Trax is especially welcome from a brand that is going all-electric with pricey EVs like the $50k Blazer EV.
The bow-tie brand usually fronts its show space with King Corvette — affordable as supercars go, but still pricey. Trax is an entry-level hatchback that will get first-time buyers into the brand for when they might one day afford a ‘Vette.
Other easy-on-the-wallet, stylish new entries at the show include the ‘24 Nissan Kicks and the Kia K4, which replaces the ol’ Forte.1949 VW Beetle. Bring grandpa to the show and he’ll remember this gem. On Jan. 17, 1949, the first VW Type 1 — aka, the Beetle — set wheel on U.S. shores. Costing $1,268 ($16,000 in today’s dollars), it was the bargain Bug that launched VW to global prominence. By the mid-1960s it was selling over 300,000 units a year in the United States. It’s a reminder of how different the EV transition is on the wallet. Next to the Beetle is the electric VW ID.Buzz, an electric throwback to another cheap ‘60s V-dub, the Microbus. ID.Buzz costs a whopping $50k (compared to $21k for the Microbus in today’s dollars).
New York Auto Show. 1940 VW Beetle and 2025 VW ID. Buzz. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
VW has said its electric ID.4 SUV is the most important vehicle since Beetle as the brand transforms. But ID.4’s $41,000 price tag helps explain why it hasn’t flown off the shelves.Mustang 60th birthday. Another ’60s icon celebrates its birthday in New York. Like the Bug, the Mustang helped define American car culture, offering an affordable sportscar to the masses. Mustang, too, no longer sells for the price ($32k today versus $24k in 1964, inflation adjusted) nor the volumes (500,000 unit sales in the ‘60s, 60,000 today) — but it remains true to its brand: an affordable, head-turning, gas-fired kick in the pants.
New York Auto Show. Mustang 60th birthday. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
At NYIAC, Ford debuts a matte finish for its seventh-generation pony (universally hailed as one of the best-looking ‘Stangs ever) that is available for $5,995 on any model. Try that on a Ferrari. “Mustang has been about freedom of expression for 60 years, and our new Matte Clear Film provides a whole new way for customers to make Mustang their own,” said Chief Engineer Laurie Transou.
New York Auto Show. Mustang Mach-E Rally. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Mustang has expanded as a sub-brand with the electric Mach-E SUV to both broaden demographic appeal (think Porsche SUVs) and gain government emissions credits so Dearborn can keep producing the V8-powered Mustangs the faithful want. The latest Mach-E model — the lifted, off-road Rally — is on display in New York.EV test track. Big Auto and Big Government want you to go electric and NYIAS offers — like Detroit and LA — an indoor test track to try out what will be your only powertrain choice in 10 years.
It also affords showgoers the chance to jump in some pretty fancy machines since EVs are largely a premium niche. Test bots include the Cadillac Lyriq, Chevy Blazer EV, Silverado EV Work Truck, Kia EV6, VW ID.4, Nissan Ariya, Lexus RZ 450e and Lucid Air.
New York Auto Show. EV test track, Lucid Air and Cadillac Lyriq. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The $80k Lucid Touring is my favorite with gorgeous styling and an interior that could fit a marching band. “Put your heads in the headrest because this thing accelerates fast,” warns the test driver. Zot! That’s fun. And the track is short enough that you don’t have to worry about range anxiety.
The New York International Auto Show is open to the public through April 7.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Holly — The steep descent into Holly Oaks ORV Park’s boggy Big Valley via Electric Slide Trail is no picnic. The crest above me, depending on Mother Nature’s mood, alternates sending mudslides or sand runoff onto the trail. The dirt path is rocky, uneven, with a habit of opening up holes that will swallow a vehicle’s front corner. Survive the descent and you’ll still have to navigate the steep ascent up The Troubles on Big Valley’s backside.
Good thing I was driving a Lexus GX. That’s right, a Lexus.
The brand known for its pampered dealer service, sippy hybrids and posh rides has long had a gas-guzzling, off-road model hiding in plain sight. But with the 2024 model year, GX gets a proper muscle-shirt wardrobe to match the gym-toned bod underneath. Off-roading is in, and GX embraces Lexus’s inner rock warrior much as the V8-powered Lexus LC 500 gives life to the brand’s sportscar ambitions.
The 2024 Lexus GX 550 4WD shows off its impressive suspension articulation as it navigates Holly Oaks ORV Park. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
My GX shares its rugged ladder-frame truck bones with Toyota’s forthcoming, similarly priced Land Cruiser off-road bruiser, and both look the part for ‘24. From its square corners to its round headlights, Land Cruiser is a Land Rover with a Japanese accent, and the Lexus looks butch as well. With its squared-off fenders and tear-drop grille, the GX might be the love child of a Lexus and GMC Canyon.
It’s quite a contrast from the softer, more familiar Lexus bod found on GX’s mid-sized stablemate — the unibody three-row TX that I used to move furniture over the winter holidays.
Sure, my Overtrail + tester cost an eye-watering 80 grand (like the TX500h F Sport), but the GX’s ripped pecs and biceps beg to be exercised off-road — especially in its clingy new wardrobe. My tester was dressed in Earth and Black Onyx that matched its natural Holly Oak habitat. Like Jeep Wranglers, Jeep Gladiators, Ford Broncos, GMC Canyons, Chevy Colorados and other native beasts, the GX’s ladder frame is tough as nails.
WHUMP! WHUMP! The GX’s frame rails — lifted 9.7 inches in the air by 33-inch all-terrain Toyo tires — absorbed the deep ruts of Holly Oaks winter-torn landscape. Not a shudder, not a groan. Fat skid plates under the Lexus’s nose also help absorb impacts.
The 2024 Lexus GX 550 4WD shows off its 24-plus inch wheel articulation over Holly Oaks moguls. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“That’s impressive,” said my driving mate Tom Zielinski, who designed Holly Oaks off-road Hellscape and has piloted every vehicle under the sun through here.
True to its luxury badge, the Lexus brings premium technology to the off-road experience (OK, the rugged Toyota 4Runner has it, too). Dirt-kickers like the Wrangler Rubicon and Bronco Badlands offer (respectively) manual and electronic disconnecting, button-actuated front sway bars for when you want to increase suspension articulation and keep both wheels on the ground over sketchy terrain.
The Lexus front and rear sway bars disconnect automatically. Dude.
At the bottom of Electric Slide, the broken terrain looked like it had been bombed by B52s, but GX rode it beautifully, all four wheels increasing travel up to two feet to help the Toyo tires keep close to terra firma.
The 2024 Lexus GX 550 4WD gives drivers information on the traction of all four tires. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Lexus calls its system Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System — or e-KDSS for short. Rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? It’s part of a laundry list of acronyms that Lexus pilots will find in the cockpit of the Overtrail model — the halo model for the new GX line signaling its rugged aspirations.
Under the center console’s DRIVE MODE selector are standard drive modes — NORMAL, ECO, SPORT, SPORT PLUS — and then a MTS button which stands for Multi-Terrain Select. That opens up still more drive modes — AUTO, DIRT, SAND, MUD, DEEP SNOW, ROCK.
Below that is another button: DAC. Short for Downhill Assist Control. FYI. LOL.
The roomy cabin of the 2024 Lexus GX 550 4WD. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
These acronyms are part of a blizzard of buttons that make an airline cockpit look simple. I tested a 2024 Tesla Model 3 Highland the day before the Lexus, and they’re from different planets. Elon Musk’s smartphone-on-wheels is obsessive about removing buttons (not a single one on the console), while Lexus is determined to have everything at your fingertips. There’s even a COOL BOX button under the console storage lid so you can keep your drink chilled. And a camera button to peer 360-degrees around the car for obstacles.
But wait, there’s more. In addition to Drive modes and gear shifter, the console includes more buttons for the transfer case that allows you to select H4 (4-wheel-drive high), L4 (4-wheel low), rear differential lock, or four-wheel lock for off-roading.
Charging out of Big Valley, the rear locker did its job maintaining traction while I straddled ruts deeper than the Grand Canyon. At The Troubles’ summit, the landscape got even more ill-tempered and I laid my foot into the 349-horsepower twin-turbo V6 (the same mill that motivates the terrific Toyota Tundra pickup) and powered my way back onto level ground. When in doubt, power out.
Mission accomplished. The GX Overtrail is one tough ute. If I had wanted to bring more toys to the sandbox, GX will tow a mighty 9,063 pounds of side-by-sides, motor bikes, whatever.
The 2024 Lexus GX 550 4WD is tough off-road, and easy to drive on-road with 33-inch off-road tires and a compliant suspension. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Customers will buy GX for its macho looks and cred, but most will spend their time on asphalt. For a stiff, truck-framed SUV, GX excels there, too, thanks to its adaptive suspension.
Once you, um, come to terms with the ergonomics.
Like the console, the steering wheel and dash are choked with buttons and menus you’ll need to sort out. The (recommended) head-up display isn’t adjusted via the left-quarter dash like a Cadillac, for example, but under the VEHICLE CUSTOMIZE menu under the SETTINGS menu in the center screen. Took me a while to find that one.
The generous 14-inch touchscreen is a big advance over remote-touch-operated screens of Lexus past that made Mrs. Payne’s head explode. Fat Camaro-like dials are also helpful for climate control.
The 2024 Lexus GX 550 4WD mug gets a bit of GMC Canyon toughness. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Lexus has been slow to update drive-assist systems and wireless smartphone apps, but my GX was on par with competitors with a good adaptive cruise system and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
This being a Tundra-based SUV, rear seat room was generous, and a third seat is available in non-Overtrail models starting at $64,250. But, if you have more cash, I’d recommend the Overtrail for its all-terrain bandwidth.
Just make sure to get the rubber floor mats option to absorb the dirt you track in.
Next week: 2023 Chevrolet Malibu
2024 Lexus GX
Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive four-door SUV
Price: $64,250, including $1,350 destination charge ($80,915 GX 550 Overtrail + 4WD as tested)
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The team from the Technology University of Munich won the inaugural Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League. A2RL
Lingenfelter Collection: Ferrari 812 Competizione, Henry Payne, The Detroit News
New York Auto Show. Mustang 60th birthday. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
