Cadillac is going all-electric by the end of the decade with its Celestiq, Optiq, Lyriq, Vistiq and Escalade IQ lineup, but gas-fired models aren’t going quietly. The updated, 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing will debut as the pace car for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sportscar race this weekend.
Hopefully, the field can keep up.
The updated, 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing boasts a beastly 668 horsepower.DIT, Cadillac
The ferocious, rear-wheel-drive Blackwing puts out a staggering 668 horsepower from its 6.2-liter V-8 engine — or about the same as the pair of Cadillac GTP Hybrid prototypes in the front row behind it.
General Motors Co. has long raced to advance technology in its production cars as well as market performance. The Blackwing’s pushrod V-8 engine is similar to the race car’s 5.5-liter V-8 that is paired with a 50 kW electric motor. In a bit of technology transfer from production to race car, the GTP features the same camera mirror as in the Blackwing. It’s nice to know who’s behind you at 215 mph on Daytona’s high bankings.
“The track is a proving ground that is then applied to production,” said Global Cadillac Vice President John Roth, who said 2024 celebrates the V-Series’ 20th anniversary as a competitor to Europe’s performance sedans.
Performance aside, the Blackwing’s biggest upgrades are shared with the Lyriq, Cadillac’s first electric car. The CT5-V Blackwing — and its sister V-series sedan, the CT5-V — upgrade to the same, curved, 33-inch screen that spans the Lyriq’s dash. The screen contains two digital displays for instrumentation and infotainment. The latter is run by Google Built-In for intuitive, smartphone-like commands and graphics. In back, the sedans maintain the same expanded legroom that has given the model a leg up versus tight European competitors.
The Cadillac CT5-V, left, and CT5-V Blackwing. The latter model will bow as the pace car for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona race this weekend. Cadillac, Cadillac
In addition to interior upgrades, the V-series beasts get new front and rear fascias.
The CT5 lineup has ridden the notoriety of the Blackwing model — which more than holds its own with cyborgs like the BMW M4 — to become the best-selling vehicles in Cadillac’s lineup worldwide. Not bad for a sedan in the SUV age.
“Cadillac sedans continue to drive positive brand momentum, year-over-year,” said Roth. “Last year, our sedans experienced their best sales since 2018 and CT5 is Cadillac’s best-selling vehicle, globally.”
The Blackwing is the badge’s halo, but for customers that don’t have $95k burning a hole in their pocket, the CT5-V bears similar styling cues (and two less cylinders) for a significant $40k less. A 360-horse, 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V-6 engine exhales through quad, trapezoid exhaust. The engine is mated to a 10-speed transmission and is available in all-wheel-drive as opposed to the more track-focused, rear-wheel-drive Blackwing.
The CT5-V’s interior features the same curved, 33-inch screen found in the Lyriq. It contains two digital displays for instrumentation and infotainment. DIT, Cadillac
Like Blackwing, CT5-V has an updated version of Caddy’s signature vertical lighting. The sedans gain three new colors: Drift Metallic, Deep Space Metallic, Typhoon Metallic.
The Blackwing’s front fascia update goes further with aero ground effects, including an optional carbon fiber front splitter. For performance junkies, Blackwing also contains launch control, Brembo brakes and an available 6-speed manual transmission.
For those who want to explore the Blackwing’s considerable performance envelope on track, an in-vehicle Performance Data Recorder is embedded in the center display. Its features include:
1) Speed Tips tool, which automatically highlights your best lap, including a sector analysis and side-by-side video playback
The 668-horsepower, V-8 monster that lies under the hood of the CT5-V Blackwing. DIT, Cadillac
2) Automatic summary of the CT5’s configuration ahead of track laps, including tire pressures.
3) Live data with on-track lap time details. Performance gauges read g-forces, tire temps and engine vitals.
4) Head-up display containing lap time details in driver’s line of sight.
5) AliveDrive mobile app for performance analysis off track.
V-series sedans also come standard with GM’s Super Cruise4 driver assistance technology, which includes features like auto lane change on divided highways.
In addition to its pace car duties, the CT5-V Blackwing (and CT5-V) will be on display Saturday and Sunday in the Cadillac midway display at Daytona International Speedway. This summer, they will roll off GM’s Lansing Grand River Assembly into a Caddy dealership near you.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Greenfield Village — On Memorial Day weekend last year, Josef Newgarden won the Indy 500 for Team Penske. On Tuesday night, Newgarden and team Roger Penske came to Detroit to accept their “Baby Borg” trophies to commemorate the triumph.
For Newgarden it was his first, for Penske — his 19th.
“To be at the Indy 500 and win the race For Roger is something I will cherish for the rest of my life,” said Newgarden, cradling the trophy in his hands at The Henry Ford Museum. “It took me 12 attempts to win, which is a lesson of never give up. You have to work as a team — you have to run the perfect race.”
Reigning Indianapolis 500 Champions team owner Roger Penske of Team Penske and driver Josef Newgarden, sitting on his Indycar, after receiving their Baby BorgWarner Trophies at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan on January 23, 2024 Daniel Mears, The Detroit News
With the museum’s “Driven to Win” exhibit — which includes such iconic Indy 500-winning cars as Jim Clark’s 1965 Lotus — as the backdrop, Newgarden and Penske celebrated the moment with sponsors, including engine supplier Chevrolet and Borg Warner (the turbocharger manufacturer). General Motors President Mark Reuss and Motorsports Chief Jim Campbell were among those in the audience.
“Think of the history in this museum going back to the start of the automobile,” said Penske when it was his turn at the podium. “Josef, I know how badly you wanted to win this. Indianapolis is not an easy place to commit to.”
Reigning Indianapolis 500 Champion driver Josef Newgarden buffs out a smudge after receiving his Baby BorgWarner Trophy at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan on January 23, 2024. Daniel Mears, The Detroit News
Along with the Stanley Cup, the Borg Warner is one of the most famous trophies in sport. The massive, sterling silver trophy stands just over 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds. Commissioned for the 1936 race, the trophy bears small busts of every driver to win the 500 (including retroactively to the 1911 winner). Only one non-race winner’s face is affixed to the trophy: Anton “Tony” Hulman, the owner of the International Motor Speedway from 1945 to 1977.
Newgarden sat for his likeness on the trophy shortly after his in last year with sculptor William Behrends in North Carolina. His likeness is fixed to the base of he trophy with the last Team Penske winner — Will Power in 2018 — nearby. Former Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves has won the 500 four times — and has four tiny busts on the trophy. The current trophy has space available for the race winners through 2033 at which time the base will likely be expanded.
Reigning Indianapolis 500 Champion driver Josef Newgarden’s face sculpted into the BorgWarner Trophy at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan on January 23, 2024. Daniel Mears, The Detroit News
Borg Warner CEO Fred Lissalde presented the inscribed, so-called Baby Borg trophies to the Team Penske duo. While the Borg Warner trophy resides at the Indy 500 museum, the smaller replicas are for the winners to keep in their trophy cases.
“I was with Josef the evening before the race,” Lissalde smiled. “I saw a strong-minded Josef.”
Newgarden’s win would be the fourth-closest Indy 500 finish in history, as he passed defending champ Marcus Ericsson going into the last lap and held him off at the finish line after a furious 500 miles and three hours of racing at average speeds of 220 mph.
Newgarden would finish the 2023 fifth in the points standings with wins at Indy, Texas, and Iowa. The 2024 season starts on March 10 in St. Petersburg, Fla. with the Indy 500 124 days away in May. The Detroit Grand Prix immediately follows Indy.
“I’m ready to win No. 2 at Indy and Roger his 20th,” smiled Newgarden, telling the crowd this was his first visit to The Henry Ford.
“Josef, I want to win No. 20 as bad as you do,” Penske replied.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Chevrolet has taken the wraps off the compact 2025 Equinox, the fourth generation of the mainstream brand’s best-selling SUV. The new Equinox faces formidable competition in the industry’s largest-volume segment and steps up its game with new connectivity, standard safety technology, and tough design inspired by the bowtie brand’s trucks.
The 2025 model marks 20 years since the Equinox was introduced, over which time it has sold about 3 million units. Expect it to hit dealerships in mid-2024 with pricing released close to arrival. While Equinox has traditionally eschewed hybrid engine upgrades and $40K high performance models compared to competitors, it has made its mark with an affordable machine in the $28K-$33K price range. The current model is manufactured in Mexico, which is where the next-generation Equinox will also be produced.
The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox LT goes on sale later this year along with other trims of the bowtie brand’s compact SUV. Chevrolet, Chevrolet
Even though General Motors Co. is pushing forward to have all-electric offerings, Chevy has continued to update its internal combustion engine lineup over the last 18 months. It’s unclear if this Equinox is the last gas-powered version of the top-selling SUV since GM is also launching this year an electrified version of the Equinox after pushing it back by a few months.
In 2023, the gas-powered Equinox’s market share in the segment was 7.3%, while the Honda CR-V led with 12.4%, followed by the Nissan Rogue with 9% and the Toyota RAV4 with 8.5%, according to data from Edmunds.com Inc., a vehicle information website.
“What you’re seeing for us is we’re elevating our game across the board with our SUVs, so now that we’ve had an opportunity to refresh the entire portfolio over the last 18 months, you’ll see every vehicle is notching up their game. … Equinox will be the same,” said Brad Franz, director of Chevrolet car and crossover marketing.
“We’re very aware that we are dealing with everyone’s top seller, so it’s incredibly important for us to be bringing a new Equinox to the market at this point. … We don’t see this segment slowing down.”
The 2025 Equinox Activ comes with a unique front fascia and style designed for an off-road look with 17-inch machine-faced aluminum wheels. Chevy
Whether or not Chevrolet develops another generation of the gas-powered Equinox will depend on what the customer wants.
“We are reacting to the market and the market needs,” Franz said.
New trim, new design
The new Equinox has strong body lines to align with the Chevy truck lineup and the 2024 Traverse large SUV. “Compared to the last generation of Equinox, it’s just a little tougher, more-capable looking,” said Sam Bell, Chevrolet’s lead designer. “Our goal was to really push it towards the strength side of our portfolio.”
The design aligns with industry trends as SUVs and trucks dominate sales, and customers express an interest in the outdoors. The Toyota RAV4 also toughened up its wardrobe to echo its Tacoma pickup trick.
The Equinox loses its base LS trim for the 2025 model, which means the SUV will likely start at just over $30,000 as an LT model rather then the current $27,995. The lineup gains an all-new trim with the 2025 Equinox called Activ — following Activ trims for Chevy’s entry-level Trax and Trailblazer models — that comes with a unique front fascia and style designed for an off-road look with 17-inch machine-faced aluminum wheels. The Activ trim has all-terrain tires and is available with a white roof.
The Equinox has aluminum wheel choices ranging from the standard 17-inch to available 20-inch wheels on RS, which is a first for the SUV.
The interior of the 2025 Chevy Equinox in Activ trim. Chevy
Following Chevy siblings from Trax to Blazer to Silverado, Equinox gains a broad dash display that includes an 11-inch-diagonal configurable driver information center and 11.3-inch-diagonal infotainment screen, which is 30% larger than the previous generation. The infotainment system will run on Google Built-In, an intuitive system that operates like a smartphone.
“We’ve really come leaps and bounds over the last generation,” Bell said.
The 175-horsepower, 1.5-liter turbo-4 cylinder engine carries over from the previous generation ute — but, to increase fuel economy, its ditches the six-speed automatic for a continuously variable transmission in front-wheel-drive configurations, and ads an eight-speed automatic transmission with available all-wheel drive.
For the first time, Equinox offers RS and Activ customers driver-selectable modes through a rotator on the center console where the driver can select between “normal” and “snow” on a front-wheel-drive equipped vehicle.
New safety features
Chevrolet had been light on standard safety features on previous models, but takes a big step up with the 2025 Equinox. The SUV now comes with a laundry list of popular safety tech, including:
∎ Chevy Safety Assist bundles automatic emergency braking, forward collision alert, front pedestrian braking, following distance indicator, lane keep assist with departure warning and IntelliBeam, a lighting technology that will turn the high beams on and of as needed. Additonal standard goo-gaws include side bicyclist alert, rear vision camera, lane change alert with side blind zone alert, enhanced automatic emergency braking, rear cross traffic alert with braking, rear seat reminder, adaptive cruise control, rear park assist, and enhanced lane keep assist.
∎ Teen Driver, which provides an in-vehicle report card and has customizable settings, like preventing shifting from park if the driver’s seat belt isn’t fastened.
∎ Intersection Automatic Emergency Braking, which provides alerts and can automatically use hard emergency braking or enhance the driver’s hard braking.
“They’re following the competitors in making those features standard,” said Sam Abuelsamid, principal e-mobility analyst at market research firm Guidehouse Inc. “Toyota was the first to go down that pathway with making things like adaptive cruise and a lot of the other features standard. … GM is finally starting to do that now with their mainstream models like the Equinox.”
But, Abuelsamid noted, Chevrolet hasn’t yet revealed the price of the new Equinox and “they’re certainly not going to be giving us those features for free. It’ll probably be a noticeable price increase on the new generation.”
khall@detroitnews.com
@bykaleahall
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Dearborn — Ryan Blaney won his first career NASCAR championship in November by passing contender Kyle Larson in the final laps at Phoenix Raceway to finish second, giving Team Penske back-to-back Cup titles.
Blaney, an Ohio native whose father is former Cup driver Dave Blaney, followed teammate Joey Logano in winning two straight titles for businessman and racing legend Roger Penske. Blaney won two of the final six playoff races in a big boost for Ford Performance. Blaney, who turned 30 on Dec. 31, sat down recently with Detroit News Auto Critic Henry Payne to talk about his championship season, his relationships with Penske and Ford, and what he drives off-track.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for clarity.
Ryan Blaney enjoys Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 29, 2023, in Concord, N.C. Matt Kelley, AP
Question: I am at Ford headquarters with Ryan Blaney, your new NASCAR 2023 champion. Ryan, a tremendous season, obviously, for you. (Detroit) is a big baseball, basketball town. They have long seasons — 100-plus games in baseball, and then a playoff season. You guys do something similar in NASCAR. NASCAR is the longest, most brutal season in motor racing, but then you’ve got a playoff at the end. How do you plan for a season? Do you have to be consistent through the whole season? Or do you have to peak for the playoffs?
Answer: It’s a little bit of both, right? You try to run well every week but yeah, obviously, the most important time is in the playoffs. You have to perform well through the year to get in the playoffs . . . that’s honestly what we did. We had a decent year, decent regular season. But when the playoffs came around, we just found great speed and stepped up our game and executed perfectly and were able to come away with a championship. So it’s a balancing act between the two.
Q: You’re like the Philadelphia Phillies in baseball — you’re good enough. You kind of hang around and then you peaked at the right time this year. You race for Roger Penske, for Penske Racing. Penske is a legend around here, It’s fun as the Detroit Grand Prix comes into this town – we spend a lot of time with (Penske drivers) like Josef Newgarden and some of his past drivers like Helio Castroneves. They’re impressive individuals. What do you think separates a Penske driver from the rest of the field? For folks who just saw your speech at the (NASCAR banquet), very eloquent speech, you guys seem like different cats.
A: Oh, I don’t know. I guess everyone’s different in their own way. I feel like when you drive for Roger, you act a certain way, right? You want to act like the atmosphere that you’re around, right? You become like the people around you, and you’re surrounded by good people. It rubs off on you for sure, especially when you’re a young kid getting in there, right? I was 19 when I came into the organization, and you kind of mold yourself after that. You want to be like those people, and be like RP. That’s the reason why . . . all the drivers are a little bit different and kind of all act like mini-Mr. Penskes of some kind – just because you want to be like that guy because he’s a special person . . . and a role model that you look up to.
Q: You also have a very special relationship with your father. You look across sports . . . Michael Jordan talks a lot about his father. Coco Gauff talks a lot about her family. Lewis Hamilton talks a lot about his father. How important was that relationship with your family growing up and becoming the racer you are today?
A: I think it’s huge. You know, I think family makes you. Growing up at the racetrack — seeing Dad race for a long time — I just wanted to be like that and do what he did. He taught me everything I know, (and I) trusted him because he’s been through the wringer, right? (He) was easily accessible for me to ask him about these things — or him to tell me about these things, no matter what it was. My mother and two sisters were amazing, supporting me growing up and lucky to have a good relationship with them to this very day.
Q: You have a very good relationship with Ford. We’re in the spectacular Ford headquarters — an iconic place for those of us who live in Detroit. It has to be special for you to be here and celebrate your (championship) What does that mean to represent a brand like Ford on a stage like NASCAR?
A: Well, it’s been fantastic. We’ve been with Ford for 10 years now, pretty much my whole professional life. (People) talk about the Ford family — they’re not joking, you know. You’re part of their family and I’ve been able to have lunch with Mr. Farley in the morning. Who gets to have breakfast with the head of your manufacturer company? It shows what what kind of a great group this is, what a great person Mr. Farley is to his racers. It’s not just me, it’s me and Cole Custer, Ben Rhodes, the off-road champions. It’s just amazing to know his passion — and really, all of Ford’s passion for racing and building cars. You understand the history behind Ford, right? You know what you’re racing for — who you’re representing — and you want to do well for them.
Q: Win on Sunday, sell on Monday. You’ve been in motorsports for a long time. Ford is one of those companies that really defines itself by motorsports, going all the way back to Le Mans in the 1960s. Now, Ford is going to Formula One. As you go out and talk to regular folks — which you do a lot in the course of a racing season — do you feel like that performance on track translates to the showroom?
A: I think it does. I think people . . . are very passionate about the brand of vehicle that they drive. That matters. There’s so many people who I meet who say: ‘I’ve been a Ford fan ever since I was so-and-so years old watching my favorite driver grow up driving a Ford. I’ll never root for another manufacturer.’ The hate for other manufacturers is huge (chuckles). Everybody’s like, ‘I can’t stand Toyotas’ or ‘I can’t stand Chevys, I’m a Ford guy my whole life.’ Meeting people like that (is) hilarious to me, and it just shows how passionate they are about motorsports. Whether it’s NASCAR, IndyCar, F1, they’re very, very protective of their manufacturer. I think it resonates like you said: ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.'”
Q: You also walk the walk. You own Fords, you own a Ford Mustang. Talk about that experience: what’s a Ford like on road when you’re not racing cars?
A: I have a bunch of different Ford vehicles. I have a new Bronco. I have a Raptor R, I’m getting a Ranger Raptor, which I’m really excited about. I love those trucks, I have a Mustang, I have an ’85 Bronco. I had an ’88 F 150 for a while, that I finally had to sell. It was a junker.
Q: We need to get you off road with Loren Healy (Baja 1000 class winner) and do some truck racing. What kind of Mustang do you have and what do you like about it?
A: I have a GT350 R and I do love it. Ford’s always coming up with new and exciting things with any vehicle, right? But all the Mustang stuff they have going on right now is spectacular for me to see personally. That GT 350 R is a spectacular machine, and I don’t drive very often just because I don’t want to ruin it. It’s probably got 10,000 miles on it. It’s like a mini racecar. I need to take (it) on a track day, to see what it will do. I’m sure it’ll set some records.
Q: With you behind the wheel, I think it’d be great. There’s nothing like a flat-plane crank V-8 on a racetrack. Ryan, congratulations on a great year. And thanks for joining us.
Charlotte, N.C. — The stars were out at the Ford Performance Season Launch in Charlotte this week. Fifty racing luminaries from Red Bull Formula One driver Sergio Perez to NASCAR champ Ryan Blaney to off-road wizard Vaughn Gittin Jr. to Funny Car drag racer Bob Tasca III showed off the breadth of the Blue Oval’s international racing ambitions as it embarks on the 2024 racing season.
On the doorstep of the racing world’s epic season openers at Daytona — the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona on Jan. 27 and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 on Feb. 18 — the event was an opportunity to digest the historic announcements Ford Motor Co. made over the last year as it embeds motorsports into its core, production business model in ways that performance icons like Porsche and Ferrari have done.
Leading the parade is the thundering, V-8-powered Mustang, the world’s best-selling sportscar, and an icon as important to Ford’s future as the screaming, flat-6 cylinder Porsche 911 is to the German automaker.
Ford CEO Jim Farley with the new Mustang GT3 at Multimatic, the race shop building the track beasts for the Dearborn automaker. Griffith Bean, Endurance Photography
Mustang flies the Ford flag in multiple race series: International Motor Sports Association, FIA World Endurance Challenge, NASCAR, Xfinity, NHRA drag racing, Mustang Challenge, Australian Supercar, GT4 and Formula Drift. This year, the Mustang GT3 race car will debut at IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Racing’s Rolex 24, taking on Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette, McLaren, Lamborghini, BMW, Aston Martin, Mercedes, Lexus and Acura in the world’s most watched sportscar series.
Sold as a customer racing car, the GT3 program is a break from Ford’s past as a factory-only team that won Le Mans in 1966 and 2016 (with, respectively, the Ford GT40 and GT).
“Why do we race? To perfect the machine. We want to move our racing beyond a marketing expense and shift from a factory orientation to a customer orientation,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley at a media tour at Mutimatic, the race shop building GT3 race cars for Ford in Charlotte. “We have shrink-wrapped our company around iconic models like the Mustang. From Aussie Supercar to drift racing to WEC to IMSA, Mustang is at every race track in every corner of the world. What other nameplate does that?”
Ford Performance Season Launch – Farley and Henry Ford racing history. Wes Duenkel, Ford
Racing is in Ford’s blood going back to its founding when Henry Ford secured investors by winning a 1901 race in his Sweepstakes racer. That DNA has been passed on to his great grandson, Ford executive chair Bill Ford Jr. — a passionate race fan who attended the Charlotte celebration — as well as Farley, an accomplished sportscar racer who has competed in his 1968 GT40 at the vintage Le Mans classic in France.
At a time when government regulations are forcing automakers to make electric vehicles, Ford sees racing as a way to separate itself from the homogenization of the industry around self-driving, battery-powered models.
Ford Performance Season Launch – F1 driver Sergio Perez and Farley. Wes Duenkel, Ford
“We don’t make commoditized vehicles!” said Farley before extolling the virtues of the Mustang’s V-8. “If we are the only ones on the planet making a V-8, then so be it. We will continue to invest.”
The comment brought a roar from the hundreds of Ford enthusiasts and employees at the Season Launch event.
NASCAR star Blaney followed Farley on stage to underscore the point. Motorsports put a premium on high-horsepower gas engines that can withstand long, open-throttle runs, complete efficient pit stops, and entertain fans. Blaney drove a 5.7-liter, 670-horsepower Team Penske Mustang V-8 to his first title in 2023.
Ford Racing Season Launch 2024 – the Mustang GT3 uses a 5.4-liter V-8 engine derived from the production Mustang GT. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“There aren’t a lot of people making V-8s anymore, but at Ford that’s what we’re all about,” he said to more huzzahs.
The event’s other big cheer came for F1 Red Bull star Perez. Ford and Red Bull, the premier team in the world’s premier motorsport, have partnered for the 2026 F1 season when the sport goes to a 50-50 gas-electric hybrid powertrain. Ford will supply the battery technology for the powerplant in the early stages of development at Red Bull’s headquarters in England.
Multimatic engineers outfit the Mustang tub with a rollbar. Bob Chapman, Ford
Unlike the global Mustang GT3 and GT4 customer cars that will ring Ford’s cash register, the F1 partnership has a traditional, marketing-and-technology-transfer focus.
“Formula One has blown up across the U.S.,” said Farley, standing next to the Mexican driver, in reference to the unprecedented three U.S. Grand Prix events now on the F1 calendar. “We can offer battery technology to them, and we get aerodynamic and digital telemetry learning from them.”
At Multimatic’s state-of-the-art race shop in Charlotte’s Mooresville suburb, Farley elaborated on the Red Bull-Ford team’s impact on Ford’s nascent EV product lines.
“Going Formula One racing with Red Bull is a very specific bet. It’s a technology transfer,” said the 61-year old CEO. “We get aerodynamic technology from the partnership, and we need the best aero people in the world to shrink the battery size of EVs. This is old-school tech transfer.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley lays out his vision for Ford’s racing future at Multimatic in Mooresville, N.C., discussing the automaker’s partnership in F1 with Red Bull: “We can offer battery technology to them, and we get aerodynamic and digital telemetry learning from them. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Farley’s motorsports vision is also self-aware — a way to “executive-proof” racing from the personal whims of changing leadership. “We don’t want racing to be a particular avocation of our executives,” said Farley, who plans to race a GT4 Mustang in the SRO series this year. “We want motorsports to be self-sustaining, not episodic. Porsche has done that. That means on- and off-road racing, driver’s schools, merchandise. We want to do this for a long time.”
Off-road racing is the fourth leg of the performance table along with open-wheel, sportscar, and drag racing and has big potential given the production market’s shift to SUV and truck products.
“We want to dominate off-road,” Farley said.
Ford won the Baja 1000 stock classes last year with Bronco and F-150 Raptors as well as the King of the Hammers 4600 class in a Bronco. In 2024, it expands that effort to the Dakar Rally, a brutal, two-week event through Saudi Arabian desert.
Ford Racing Season Launch 2024 – Vaughn Gittin, Jr. gives off-road rides in the Ford Lightning Switchgear EV. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Hammers 4600 class champ Gittin (who also won the Formula Drift championship in a busy year) took the Season Launch stage to celebrate another Ford off-road endeavor: its first, trail-focused F-150 Lightning Switchgear EV pickup.
“This is the most capable EV on the planet,” Gittin said of the 580-horspower, four-wheel-drive beast developed by his race shop, RTR Vehicles, for Ford. “We are super pumped about the ultimate fun-haver machine.”
Gittin and teammate Loren Healy were also super pumped about the upcoming Hammers season opener in Johnson Valley, California, from Jan. 28-Feb. 3. With an eye on off-road customer racing, Ford has made 50 Bronco DR racers for the Baja/Hammers series.
Ford Performance Season Launch – Farley (second from right) with Mustang GT3 drivers and Multimatic’s Holt (far right). Griffith Bean, Endurance Photography
But all eyes that weekend will be on the East Coast when Ford’s long-awaited Mustang GT3 goes for Daytona endurance glory in the competitive GTD class.
The Ford flag will wave over three entries — two factory cars from Ford Multimatic Motorsports and one from privateer Proton Competition.
Multimatic Chief Technical Officer Larry Holt is the mad genius behind the firm’s ascension to the pinnacle of motorsports development, where it crafts race cars for Porsche as well as Ford. He gave media a tour of the Mustang GT3 production process, from the raw, steel chassis made at Ford’s Flat Rock plant to the winged cyborg that will compete at the Daytona 24-hour.
At a cost of $700,000-$800,000 per car, GT3 production can spit out 40 cars a year for global customers, said Holt. The carbon-fiber skinned monster develops an impressive 2,600 pounds of downforce (about 50% of an IndyCar) and has gone through rigorous endurance testing ahead of its Rolex 24 debut.
Proton Competition is the first privateer team racing the Mustang GT3 at Daytona, evidence of Ford’s increasing investment in racing. Ford, Ford
At its core, of course is a bored-out, 5.4-liter, normally-aspirated V-8 — a close cousin of the production 5.0-liter V-8 Mustang GT.
“We’re really excited about the race,” said Ford Performacne chief Mark Rushbrook. “We think we’ve done all our homework but the ultimate test is when we get on track. We’re looking forward to competing against the best in the world.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Charlotte, N.C. — Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley has a need for speed. He races a 1965 Shelby Cobra, 1978 Lola T298 sports racer, Mustang GT4 in the 2024 SRO Series, and has even competed at Le Mans in his historic 1968 GT40.
But perhaps the fastest car he has driven is a Ford Transit van.
Not just any Transit van, but a heavily modified, 2,000-horsepower, four-motor, all-wheel-drive electric hellion developed by the Ford Performance division called the SuperVan 4.0.
Ford CEO Jim Farley and his new toy, the Ford SuperVan 4.0. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Crazy isn’t it?!” grinned Farley through his helmet visor after he had just destroyed the 1.5-mile infield track at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the SuperVan with your humble scribe riding shotgun. “This thing really shows what electric power can do.”
The SuperVan 4.0 is part of stable-full of electric Ford Demonstrator projects designed to explore the envelope of electric performance as the Blue Oval invests big bucks in electric vehicles. Demonstrator toys include the 1,400-horsepower, seven-motor Mustang Mach-E 1400, the CobraJet 14000 dragster, and F-150 Lightning SwitchGear off-road beast. But the SuperVan may be the most jaw-dropping of the lot.
Ready to rumble. Ford CEO Jim Farley at the controls of the Ford SuperVan 4.0.Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Built on the same chassis as Ford’s commercial, electric Transit van, SuperVan looks like a breadbox on wheels. Under the breadbox’s Ford Performance logos, SuperVan is packed with some serious meat. A 50 kWh battery feeds juice to four high performance motors developed by STARD, an Austrian-base motorsports shop.
Where cargo would normally be housed, the van is crisscrossed with a tabular frame for chassis stiffening. Up front are race seats and five-point seatbelts to hold passengers in place through excruciating corner g-force loads. And the whole package is slammed to the ground for maximum downforce on 12.8-inch-wide, slick racing tires.
Put the CEO of one of the world’s largest automakers behind the wheel, and it’s a treat.
Ford SuperVan 4.0 is a 2,000-horsepower, track-focused breadbox. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Hold on!” Farley says and then jammed the gas — er throttle — pedal to the floor. SuperVan laid rubber down CMS’s pit lane, leaving a cloud of black dust in its wake. Tires dust, not exhaust dust. The acceleration crushed our spines into the seatbacks, the electric motors screaming under duress like an overgrown slot car.
Zero-60 mph went by in a blistering 1.8 seconds — on par with a Formula One car — before Farley hauled the 4,000-pound van back to earth for a lefthander onto the infield course. A skilled race driver who has competed on some of the world’s greatest tracks, Farley attacked the nine-turn course with gusto in the flying shoebox.
“It definitely pushes into the corners because of the weight,” Farley said afterwards of the SuperVan which sports a 186 mph top speed, “but it has good weight transfer so you can really go deep on the brakes. Then you can rotate the car on throttle.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley completes a lap at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Ford SuperVan 4.0. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Over the infield course’s diabolical Turn 6 — a fast, uphill, blind, off-camber corner — Farley used quick hands to keep the SueprVan on line, then — ZOT! — exploded off the exit into the long, 180-degree Turn 7.
Back into pit lane at the end of the run, Farley yanked the “Hoon stick” parking brake and the van did an instant, 180-degre U-turn into the pit box. Every 10 laps, Farley would return to the infield paddock garage for a fast charge of the battery and a change of tires. The ferocious acceleration and g-loads from the two-ton van are hell on tire wear.
Ready to launch 0-60 mph in under 2 seconds with Jim Farley in the 2,000-horse Ford SuperVan 4.0. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
How does Ford top the SuperVan 4,0? Well, with the SuperVan 4.2, of course. With a bespoke chassis and giant rear wing out back like Superman’s cape, the 4.2 model generates an IndyCar-like 4,000 pounds of downforce with an eye on setting track records. Look for it at the famed Pike’s Peak, Colorado, hill climb event in June.
Maybe you’ll find Ford’s CEO behind the wheel.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Hell — At a time when electric vehicle mandates are forcing a commoditization of auto products, the Type S dynamic duo of the Acura Integra and TLX are welcome rebels.
I fell hard for the Integra Type S when it debuted last year, and now the TLX Type S gets a healthy mid-cycle update for 2024. Dressed in Urban Grey Peal, body stampings you could slice paper with and quad tailpipes the size of ship cannons, the TLX Type S isn’t shy.
I took it out on Hell’s asphalt dance floor this January to tango. When I turned the fat DRIVE MODE knob to SPORT+, the Acura suspension noticeably stiffened. The 10-speed transmission dropped a gear. The engine growled. We danced across Hadley Road, the big sedan’s turbo V-6 delivering effortless power while the neutral chassis rotated beautifully through corners.
With a 355 horses and a liquid-smooth, 10-speed transmission, the 2024 Acura TLX Type S was a joy in Hell’s winding roads. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Born in 2020, TLX is still cursed by inherent flaws of a mouse pad-controlled console screen and cramped rear seats in a brutally competitive luxury muscle space. Those flaws were corrected on its Integra stablemate.
The pair make for an intriguing choice. But first, let’s hear it for muscle.
Performance auto fans are blue as the auto industry struggles with a government-forced transition to electrics. Mandating battery-powered drivetrains is inevitably breeding homogeneity: quiet, smooth soap bars focused on maximizing range.
The 2024 Acura TLX Type S goes 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds with its turbo V-6 engine. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
That’s the opposite of highly individualized, multi-cylinder hellions aimed at enthusiasts. Recent years have seen low-volume standouts of the breed — Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, Kia Stinger, Hyundai Veloster, Audi TT, Ford Focus/Fiesta ST, Alfa Romeo 4C — sacrificed for low-volume EVs aimed at meeting government regs.
Increasingly enthusiasts must seek refuge — not in bespoke models like Camaro and Challenger, but in performance sub-brands of existing models like Cadillac CT5-V, BMW M340i, Audi S5. Type S is Acura’s sub-brand that endows TLX with a special 355-horsepower six that immediately got me thinking of Hell.
Hell, Michigan, that is, where the roads are curved and people scarce — a playground for Type S, which is aimed at enthusiasts, but not track rats. For the hardcore motorhead, there are steroid-fed 500-plus-horsepower cyborgs like the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, BMW M3 and Audi RS5. The Type S is a middle ground between beauty and beast — a sedan upgraded to thrill without a supercar bill (my favorite CT5-V Blackwing, for example, rings the register at $100K).
The interior of the 2024 Acura TLX Type S shows off the latest wireless tech. Its mousepad controller, however, is out of date. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
My $58K TLX Type S tester, meanwhile, boasts a sticker not far from some of our dearly departed favorites: the $53K Dodge Charger Scat Pack and $53K Kia Stinger GT2, for example. It does this while providing luxurious red leather confines, rad styling handed down from the NSX supercar and an array of standard safety features, including blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control and Brembo brakes.
For the new model year, Acura also gifted TLX standard jewelry like a fashionable, frameless front grille, new wheel designs, digital instrument cluster, 12.3-inch dash screen, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, 360-degree camera and 10.5-inch head-up display. That’s a lotta goodies under the Christmas tree.
The ergonomics complementing these tech goodies are typically excellent for a Honda product, including NSX supercar hand-me-downs like a compact trigger shifter and meaty Drive Mode knob. Notably, the head-up display is operated by a button on the left dash so 5’5” Mrs. Payne and her 6’5” husband don’t have to fish around in the infotainment screen every time we swap seats.
The 2024 Acura TLX Type S was at home on Hell’s challenging roads. . Henry Payne, The Detroit News
So it’s a surprise the Type S’s two big negatives are ergonomic: remote-controlled screen and small back seat. Even Lexus has abandoned its mouse-pad screen controller — joining Bimmer, Audi, Mercedes and Cadillac with touchscreens (ooooh, check out the 2025 CT5’s new Lyriq-like 33-inch screen).
It’s a smartphone world, and touchscreens rule. The TLX rear seats? Too small for a sedan this size.
Walk across the Acura showroom and TLX’s new little brother, Integra Type S, gets it. Indeed, little brother has a significant 2.5 more inches of legroom in back, courtesy of its shared Civic chassis. Also shared with Civic is a touchscreen with similar standard goodies as TLX: wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, HUD, adaptive cruise control, blind spot-assist, digital instrument display and those comfy red-leather thrones.
Integra’s touchscreen is a major improvement and also opens up console space. My Gen X son is a hot-hatch fan and loves his Mazda3 Turbo but wishes it had a touchscreen. Were he to enter Acura’s showroom, he would run to the Integra Type S.
The rear seats of the 2024 Acura TLX Type S are cramped for six-footers despite its status as a mid-size sedan. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
At $5K less than big brother, the $52K 320-horse, turbo-4-powered Integra Type S also gains a hatchback for better utility and loses a whopping 1,000 pounds over TLX. As fun as the TLX Type S is in Hell’s twisties, the lighter Integra is even sharper. The Integra Type S even gains Dodge Widebody-style blistered fenders for added visual menace.
No wonder I wrote “the Integra Type S is as good as it gets” last year after shredding California Route 150. No wonder Car and Driver elevated Integra Type S to its coveted “10 Best List.”
And yet.
Before you turn your back on the TLX and write that Integra check, consider the white powder that buried my driveway as I returned from Hell. The TLX’s all-wheel-drive system drove up my steep driveway like snow wasn’t even there.
It’s an asset Acura didn’t bestow on Integra Type S — unlike its $50,000 AWD competitive set of Audi S3, BMW M235i XDrive and Mercedes CLA AMG 35. Also unlike those beasts, Integra Type S is only available in a stick. Whoooooaaaa! My son just stopped in his tracks.
As much as we motorheads like manual shifters, they can be a turn-off for daily driving — and distasteful to other members of the family who don’t share our passion. As modern as Integra Type S is for a new generation of buyer, the stick shift is a throwback.
Especially when you consider TLX Type S’s delicious 10-speed manual. As I stomped on the gas through Hell, the tranny was smooth as silk, swapping gears like a pro. No jerks, no confusion. To satisfy my Neanderthal manual-mode needs, I used the steering column paddles. They are as crisp as any I’ve driven. Through Hadley Road’s undulating sweepers, I flicked easily between 4th, 5th and 6th gears — the gearbox, engine and AWD system dancing as one.
Quad pipes like ship cannons. You’ll know the 2024 Acura TLX Type S by its four exhaust pipes out back. . Henry Payne, The Detroit News
So rejoice that Acura offers not one — but two — compact mid-sized performance cars: TLX and Integra Type S. Do you like a manual and touchscreen? Or automatic and all-wheel drive?
The choice is yours.
Next week: 2024 Lexus TX
2024 Acura TLX Type S
Vehicle type: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive five-passenger sports sedan
Price: $53,325, including $1,025 destination fee ($58,825 as tested)
Powerplant: 3.0-liter turbocharged 6-cylinder
Power: 355 horsepower, 354 pound-feet of torque
Transmissions: 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph (4.9 seconds, Car and Driver); top speed, 155 mph
Charlotte, N.C. — Auto racing and Ford Motor Co. have been synonymous since Henry Ford first secured investors with his wining Sweepstakes car in 1901. Today, the Blue Oval competes in multiple racing classes across the world with the Ford Mustang, F-150, Bronco, Puma and Bronco Sport.
Now, as the auto industry moves towards a battery-powered future, Ford is prepping its electric vehicles for racing as well.
On Thursday, Ford unveiled the F-150 Lightning SwitchGear, an off-road, performance-focused pickup based on the brand’s first electric truck. While the production Lightning doesn’t lack for on-road acceleration (its extended-range, 131-kWh battery pack model dashes from 0-60 mph in just 4.5 seconds — on par with a Ford Focus RS), the Switchgear outfits the truck for off-road adventure. The 580-horsepower, 775-torque electric powertrain remains the same as in extended-range production trucks.
Ford F-150 Lightning SwitchGear has 13 inches of suspension travel with its Fox shocks. Ford, Ford
The SwitchGear comes with a SuperCrew cab and features such performance goodies as 37-inch off-road tires for added grip and body clearance, a lightweight carbon-fiber body, rear spoiler and wider, 80-inch track for better stability off road.
The Lightning SwitchGear joins the Ford Demonstrator stable that includes electric hellions like the seven-motor, all-wheel-drive, 1,400-horsepower Mustang Mach-E 1400, the Mustang CobraJet 1400 dragster, F-100 Eliminator, and Pike Pike-conquering SuperVan 4.0 and 4.2. Built under the Ford Performance umbrella — which also races the brand’s gas-fired cars — Demonstrator is aptly named as a demonstration program to explore the full potential of EVs. The program is also an opportunity for EV technology transfer between competitive and production engineering.
Electric vehicles have been challenged in competitive environments by their battery weight and range limitations compared to gas cars. Formula One racing — where Ford has partnered with Red Bull — has its eye on an all-electric future, but the series is currently running hybrid gas-electric powertrains. IMSA sportscar racing, too, has gone hybrid with its prototype class, while IndyCar is due to switch to hybrid powerplants later this year.
The F-150 Lightning SwitchGear has the 580-horsepower, 775-torque electric powertrain used in extended-range production trucks. Ford, Ford
Beyond these big-money series, however, battery-powered racing has proven expensive and difficult to market. Formula E — which runs under the same FIA sanctioning body as Formula One — has failed to stimulate public interest even as it multiple manufacturers have entered to advance battery engineering.
Competitive off-road series are an even steeper climb given their long distances and extreme weather conditions like Baja deserts or frigid winter forests.
Ford Performance partnered with RTR Vehicles to build the Lightning Switchgear. RTR and Ford have combined on numerous racing endeavors as well as the F-150 RTR Ultimate Fun-Haver project vehicle from 2016.
The Lightning SwitchGear interior includes a hoon stick for drifting. Ford, Ford
The SwitchGear’s exterior carbon bodywork is wrapped in Ford Performance 2024 livery. Under its lightweight skin are numerous upgrades for taking the Lighting deep off road.
To manage rough terrain, SwitchGear upgrades to beefy, Fox internal bypass shock absorbers to increase suspension travel and ground clearance to 13 inches. They are complemented by custom-built, front independent double-wishbone suspension and multilink independent suspension with coil-over rear shocks. Unique front and rear bumpers improve approach and departure angles, and SwitchGear adds steel-fabricated rock rails and a front skid plate to help absorb bruising off-road moguls.
If the 37-inch Nitto Ridge Grappler tires wear out, the Lightning features two spare tires held by a unique chase rack. Inside the cockpit, drivers are secured by six-point seatbelts, Recaro seats, and have fun toys to play with like a drift brake.
Ford developed the Ford F-150 Lightning SwitchGear with RTR racer Vaughn Gittin Jr. Ford, Ford
The SwitchGear off-road beast will make its public debut in Johnson Valley, California, at the King of the Hammers race starting Jan. 25.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Oakland County — The auto industry’s emerging electric car segment begs the question: how do you differentiate brands if everything sounds like a quiet, electric motor-driven Tesla? Porsche’s answer is Porsche-like handling. The Mustang Mach-E pipes in an artificial growl. Dodge says its Daytona Banshee’s electronic Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust will roar like, well, a banshee.
Actually, luxury automakers have been struggling with this issue for a while. As electronics democratize auto tech and nanny mpg laws forced drivetrains to downsize to 4-cylinders and CVT transmissions, premium brands have had to hone their brand identities.
Take the Lexus UX 250h F Sport sitting in my driveway. You can see it from space.
With big grille, lots of body cuts, and flashy wheels, the 2023 Lexus UX 250h stands out. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Lexus’s entry-level ute wears a wild wardrobe that would make Gene Simmons proud. Yuuuuge front grille. Angular peepers with L-shaped eyebrow running lights. L-shaped gills. Dramatic swept flanks that look like the sheet metal was shaped by desert winds. Narrow greenhouse that finishes with three-dimensional taillights arching across the rear.
It’s polarizing. Outrageous. A design statement. At $47,930, my hybrid F Sport Handling tester added a moonroof, power-folding mirrors and a kick-open rear hatch. This is a brand you won’t confuse with any other.
Open the front doors and the drama continues. The front seats wrap me in red leather. A Cyclops-eye instrument gauge slides back and forth, depending on how you like your drive data displayed. Drive modes are selected using one of the devil’s horns that sprout from the instrument hoodie. Tweak the horn to SPORT or SPORT PLUS and the instrument gauge glows (appropriately) red.
The 2023 Lexus UX 250h offers lush, red leather seats. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Loud mouth. Red leather. Hoodie. Devil’s horns. Oh, this bad boy wants to misbehave. Grab the shifter, yank it into DRIVE and the Lexus’s bark … is worse than its bite.
Stomp the throttle and the 181-horsepower engine drones. Never mind that similarly priced luxury competitors like the Audi Q3 and BMW X2 boast much more powerful turbo-4s — the Lexus will be eaten for lunch by mainstream brands like the 250-horse Mazda CX-30 or 210-horse Kia Soul Turbo.
The latter pair cost less than 35 grand while also offering all-wheel drive and distinctive styling.
Indeed, for a grand less than my 250h tester, you could buy my coveted all-wheel-drive hot hatch VW Golf R with 315 horsepower, digital tech, two more inches of rear legroom/two more cubic feet of cargo space and be the envy of every motorhead on your block. Heck, for the same coin, the BMW X1 has 60 more horsepower, four more inches of rear legroom, and eight more cubic feet of cargo space.
But they don’t carry Lexus badges.
The 2023 Lexus UX 250h offers front or all-wheel-drive with the latter preferred for Michigan winters. . Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The auto industry talks about the Cult of Tesla and its hordes of fans who worship the brand’s pioneering, risk-taking, high-tech EV cars. Never mind the, ahem, quality issues. Lexus owners are no less cultish — they just prioritize.
Lexus vehicles are bone reliable, winning so many quality trophies that Tokyo HQ long ago ran out of shelf space. That quality is backed by Disney-quality dealer service, which lavishes customers with attention. I’ve met Lexus owners who love their dealer contact more than their dog.
Tesla fans marinate in sex appeal but, um would like a little show of quality every once in a while. Over on the Lexus side of the dance floor, they are at home in the trusty arms of their brand, but, um, would it kill them just to take me out on the dance floor and do the swing?
Just once?
The 2023 Lexus UX 250h isn’t quick on the open road, but its AWD system is useful in slippery conditions. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Tesla quality is improving and so is Lexus sex appeal. Beneath the UX 250h’s wardrobe is a good ol’ conservative, reliable appliance.
While autos like the $35K Chevy Bolt EUV (Super Cruise) and $50K Tesla Model 3 (Autopilot) push cutting-edge driver-assistance features, my Lexus offered adaptive cruise control. Cruising down Telegraph Road toward stopped cars at a traffic light, the Lexus’s average system would only brake hard once it was nearly on top of the traffic. Um, better to intervene.
BMW and Cadillac sport superb interior ergonomics like tactile steering-wheel controls that you can locate easily with your thumbs so you never have to take your eyes off the road — or squint at the controls in the dark. UX’s average control buttons, however, are flat and hard to locate by touch alone.
Lexus steps it up when it comes to infotainment.
Long a laggard in tech like voice command software and Apple CarPlay, Lexus offers an “Intelligent Assistant” system with a native navi system on par with Google Maps. On the way to the airport with Mrs. Payne, I barked our destination — Hey Lexus! Navigate to QuikPark, Romeo, Michigan — and the system understood my West Virginia accent like we’d grown up together.
Still, Mrs. Payne prefers Apple CarPlay (and Android Auto) so she can play her Spotify music lists and pre-set a destination on her phone in the house (that then translates to Apple CarPlay in the car). It’s a wireless world (except, ironically, for government edicts forcing automakers on the electric car cord), and the Lexus hybrid is in sync.
Though not on par with competitors, the ergonomics of the 2023 Lexus UX 250h are much improved over past, mouse-pad operated screens. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
As the car rotated onto Telegraph, my wife instantly grabbed for the ceiling handle to brace herself. But the Lexus is no Mazda CX-30 Turbo, so I took the corner at a moderate pace.
The F Sport trim offers paddle shifters, but I never touched them. Indeed, the AWD system is hardly necessary for burning rubber out of stoplights — Lexus clocked an 8.4 second run from 0-60 mph — but owners will find it useful in Michigan snow. Indeed, the most interesting drivetrain feature was to gauge how long I could maintain electric power at low speeds before the gas engine kicked in.
True to the commoditization of vehicles today, the UX 250h has the same CVT automatic transmission found in a Toyota Corolla Cross. But unlike the UX Darth Vader-mobile dressed in red leather, Gene Simmons would never give the Toyota a second look.
Next week:
2023 Lexus UX 250h
Vehicle type: Front engine, front- and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger hybrid SUV
Price: $36,490, including $1,150 destination fee ($47,930 F Sport as tested)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder mated to twin electric motors (as tested)
Power: 181 horsepower
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.4 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 110 mph
Weight: 3,604 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA est. mpg 41 city/38 highway/39 combined (AWD as tested)
Report card
Highs: Much improved interior displays; lots of personality
Lows: Tight rear seat; personality ends when you press the pedal
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Las Vegas — The 2024 Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center is a sprawling electronics buffet. There are giant TV and computer screens. The latest cameras, gaming consoles, and wireless headphones. And so much more, including voice recognition software, 3D printing, autonomous robots, artificial intelligence and massaging chairs.
And, naturally, electric vehicles.
Naturally, because the modern car contains all of the electronic products listed above. Stick a battery in its belly instead of a combustion engine, and it’s a rolling smartphone. No wonder, then, that CES, the world’s biggest trade show covered by a swarm of media, has become the show for EV news, presenting more competition for traditional shows such as Detroit’s, where automaker attendance has shrunk in recent years. Even with the Detroit Three missing this year because of the UAW strike, CES 2024 was stuffed with vehicle debuts.
Sony and Honda showed an updated version of their joint Afeela EV sedan at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, just one sign of the show’s growing importance as the industry pivots to electrification. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Honda Motor Co. introduced its 0 Series line of electrics, Volkswagen AG showcased its ID.7 EV — the first mainstream vehicle using ChatGPT, Sony and Honda rolled out an updated version of their joint Afeela EV sedan, Mercedes-Benz Group unveiled its electric CLA Concept, Kia Motors Corp. showed off a new line of electric vans, and Bugatti showcased its electric scooters (no, they don’t go 200 mph). Hyundai Motor Co. even debuted a vertical-takeoff airplane. Past Detroit Three debuts here have included the Chevy Silverado EV and Ram 1500 Revolution electric pickups.
The auto industry is hosting the most startups in 100 years, and CES was a showcase for their wares. Electric startups Fisker Inc., VinFast LLC, Turkish-based Togg and Mullen Automotive Inc. all were on hand, with the latter employing a staged introduction once common at the Detroit Auto Show.
California-based EV startup Mullen Automotive Inc. debuted the Five RS, a fire-breathing model with 1,000 horsepower. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Today’s electric cars are not the traditional vehicles like we used to make,” Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said in an interview. “They are not quite electronic appliances, but vehicles are moving in that direction with the pace of software development.”
Indeed, the Honda Saloon and Space-Hub EVs that Honda rolled out here might as well be electronic devices were they not on four wheels. Their yoke, e-steering wheels — like something off a game console — recede into the dash if passengers want to ride autonomously. Anticipating a self-driving future, the 0 Series vehicles are essentially smartphone extensions — a space where passengers can make phone calls and play games.
“Given the technological changes in the industry, CES is a natural event for automakers,” said Stephanie Brinley, S&P Global associate director of auto intelligence. “Auto brands are increasingly tech-based, which integrates well into a technology show.”
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe introduces the Saloon EV concept at CES. He said electric cars are “not quite electronic appliances, but vehicles are moving in that direction with the pace of software development. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Afeela concept (which a Sony pr—senter remotely drove on stage using a PlayStation 5 controller) is the first in a series of cars from a Sony-Honda joint partnership that explores, for example, connecting Sony’s millions of PlayStation users or streaming Sony-owned Columbia Pictures like “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse” and “Bullet Train.”
Volkswagen’s ID.7 sedan is sleek as a smartphone and integrates the latest smartphone craze — Open AI’s ChatGPT Chatbot — into the vehicle.
Volkswagen’s ChatGPT is integrated into the ID.7 sedan in yet another demonstration of how technology and autos are becoming increasingly inseparable. Updates will be done over the air. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Hey, Ida,” I queried the car using its ChatGPT voice recognition prompt. “Set the temperature to 70 degrees.”
The car complied. Then. . .
“Hey, Ida, I’m feeling hungry,” and the car responded to my offhand question (not the usual stilted command) with a list of nearby restaurants.
VW’s system competes with Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Siri and has lots of room to improve. Like a smartphone, those updates will come OTA. And the feature is only approved for Europe, for now.
Mercedes-Benz took the wraps off the CLA EV concept at the Las Vegas show, joining the large number of automakers using the tech-focused show to spotlight their battery-powered efforts. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Traditionally, CES’s auto displays have been consigned to the LVCC’s West Hall, but so integrated are electronics and autos that vehicles displays now bleed into all three of the center’s halls. Electronic giants like Sony, Samsung and LG dominate CES just as the Detroit Three dominate NAIAS, but Afeela was adjacent to Sony’s display in Central Hall and Fisker joined Panasonic. Honda and Mullen were in the North Hall near displays for wireless tech and pool-cleaning robots.
“CES is a trade show — not a consumer show like Detroit — and it’s an opportunity for industries to see what the others are doing,” said auto analyst Brinley. “You may be a tech company that gets inspired by what an auto company is doing — and visa versa. It’s a way for businesses to build partnerships.”
CES Has Big Screens. Henry Payne The Detroit News
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of Tesla, which made the first smartphones on wheels, auto startups made a big splash.
Los Angeles-based Mullen’s display was stuffed with its array of brands including Oak Park-based Bollinger Motors, an electric truck-maker of which it is now a majority stakeholder. Key to the company’s future success is its Mullen Five SUV — a competitor to the Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E.
VinFast, the Vietnamese EV maker, is going small with the VF 3, which it showed at CES this week. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Mullen leapfrogged them both with a Five RS performance model that boasts a staggering 1,000 horsepower, 900 pound-feet of torque, a sub-2.0 second 0-60 mph dash and a drone that activates out of the rear hatch to videotape you in the act. The challenge? The Five RS will debut in 2025 for $295,000 — well above the cost of a $55k Model Y Performance or even a $110k, 1,020-horsepower Model S Plaid. Like VW’s ChatGPT, Europe will be its first market.
Vietnamese EV-maker VinFast continued its determined bid to break into the U.S. auto market following Asian pioneers like Hyundai and Toyota Motor Corp. Following the three-row VF 9’s introduction last year, VinFast rolled out the wee, two-door VF 3 and mid-size VF Wild pickup concept — complete with a midgate like the Chevy Silverado EV.
Fisker Inc. CEO Henrik Fisker thinks government aid to encourage EV adoption would be better spent on charging infrastructure than purchase and leasing incentives. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
For all their electronic synergies, EVs remain niche products in the U.S. market. Rush-hour traffic outside the LVCC on the Las Vegas strip featured few non-Tesla EVs.
“Electrification is here to stay, but it is clear we are now at an inflection point (beyond) early adopters,” said Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker, in an interview. His plug-in Fisker Karma helped pioneer battery-powered cars in 2012. “We are now getting normal consumers into the vehicles and there is a different mindset. I don’t think (the $7,500 government incentive to buy an EV) is the right way to do it. I think we should spend money on infrastructure — the new consumer wants to know that they can find a charger.”
The real-world challenges of the electronic auto are right under the LVCC.
Tesla is known for its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving autonomous technology but the underground "Loop" it built to ferry visitors between the Las Vegas Convention Center and nearby hotels relies on old-fashioned human drivers. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Elon Musk’s Boring Company has built a 1.7-mile, three-station, underground “Loop” that shuttles passengers from the convention center to nearby hotels. Even though the Loop is a closed environment, the service’s Tesla Model Y and Model X utes do not use the brand’s autonomous Autopilot software. They are still driven by human pilots.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Las Vegas — Honda Motor Co., the U.S. market’s sixth best-selling automaker, has made its Civic, Accord and CR-V models household names.
Now, as it embarks on an all-electric future, the Japanese automaker hopes that “0 Series” will resonate as well.
Honda unveiled its new, battery-powered model line Tuesday at Las Vegas’s sprawling Consumer Electronics Show with two futuristic-looking concepts, the Saloon and Space-Hub. In contrast to the internal combustion engines in its existing lineup of cars, trucks and SUVs, the “0” (zero) is meant to represent zero emissions. Sitting on Honda’s in-house, skateboard battery platform, the two models share design elements like illuminated, cube-like front-and-rear fascias and cutting-edge steer-by-wire yoke steering wheels (debuted on the Tesla Cybertruck last year).
The Honda Saloon shows off a sleek form with lots of interior room. HIROSHIAOKI, Honda
The 0 Series line appears to follow the EV offerings from other mainstream auto competitors like Hyundai Motor Co.’s Ioniq models, Kia Motors Corp.’s EV models and Volkswagen AG’s ID lineup of cars. Honda is bullish on an EV future (if not as bullish as General Motors Co.’s promise to sell only EVs by 2035). Come 2040, Honda says its sales will be EV and hydrogen alone. Honda established itself in the U.S. market as an affordable, enthusiasts’ brand, but the sustainability-focused 0 Series appears to be an attempt to follow Tesla as an electric brand with a social conscience.
Like its main Japanese competitor, Toyota Motor Corp., Honda has not rushed into EVs as quickly as other automakers in part due to its sale of fuel-efficient models. Hybrids and sales of high-mpg models like Civic have helped it weather strict carbon dioxide emissions regulations that are becoming increasingly expensive for some automakers.
The American Automotive Policy Council, an industry trade group, predicts that U.S. emissions rules through 2032 will cost GM $6.5 billion in government fines, Stellantis $3 billion and Ford $1 billion due in part to their truck-heavy lineups. Volkswagen faces upwards of $1 billion in penalties, the most among foreign carmakers. As its electric lineup of ID.4, ID.7, and ID. Buzz come to the U.S., their sales should help reduce those fines.
The Honda Saloon concept features steer-by-wire, a feature found on Tesla Inc.’s Cybertruck. HIROSHIAOKI, Honda
While Tesla has dominated the EV market, sales of other electric model lines have been modest. The Ioniq 5 last year sold 33,918 units compared to 209,624 units by its gas-powered ICE counterpart, the Tucson. The electric VW ID.4 sold 28,031 units last year compared to 76,227 by its ICE Tiguan doppelganger. As regulatory agencies from D.C. to California increase penalties on gas car sales over the next decade, manufacturers expect EV sales numbers to increase.
Honda’s first EV, the Prologue, hits showrooms this spring and is a departure for a brand that has traditionally targeted budget conscious buyers with $25,000 Civics and $30,000 Accords. The Prologue is a $50k SUV aimed at upscale EV customers.
The Prologue is also a departure in that it is built on another automaker’s architecture — GM’s Ultium battery platform. The 0 Series will be built on all-new Honda battery platform that that Japanese automaker calls “thin, light and wise.” That mantra runs counter to the industry trend of heavy EVs. The GMC Hummer, for example, weighs nearly five tons, while the Chevy Blazer EV — with which the Prologue (and its sister Acura ZDX EV) shares its chassis — tips the scales at a porky 5,500 pounds.
The sci-fi design of the Honda Space-Hub is right out of the movies. HIROSHIAOKI, Honda
“The mobility we dream of is not an extension of the trend of ‘thick, heavy, but smart’ EVs,” said Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe. “We will create a completely new value from zero based on thin, light and wise as the foundation for our new Honda 0 EV series to further advance the joy and freedom of mobility to the next level.”
The first 0 Series model will launch in the U.S. in 2026 and will be based on the Saloon concept, which looks like a Lamborghini supercar married a vehicle from the movie “Tron.” A global model line, 0 Series will also be sold in Japan, other Asian countries, Africa and the Middle East. The vehicle will also bear a new Honda logo which the brand calls its “H mark” and signals its U-turn to an all-electric future.
“We have gone back to basics and formulated the Honda 0 Series with a design for the new era,” said Global Executive Vice President Shinji Aoyama. “A bold and pure proportion that from the first glance is overwhelmingly different from other EVs to evoke a new perspective for people.”
For all the 0 Series’ newness, Honda says it wants EVs that carry on the brand’s tradition of nimble, fun-to-drive vehicles — a tradition rooted in its successful motorsports history. That principle will endure in a dedicated “thin” EV platform that creates a low center of gravity for aerodynamic performance, and in powerful, lightweight “e-Axles.”
The Honda Saloon looks like something out of a Blade Runner movie. HIROSHIAOKI, Honda
Sensitive to Americans’ resistance to EVs due to their inferior range, refueling time and long-term battery degradation, Honda promises battery advancements on all fronts. It asserts its 0 Series cars will have high-density, long-range batteries able to fast-charge from 15% to 80% of battery capacity in 15 minutes while minimizing battery degradation to 10% after a decade of use.
The Saloon flagship aims to be sporty to drive while also sporting a roomy interior with its battery stored below the cabin. The Saloon appeals to green customers with environmentally-friendly materials while a video of the Saloon indicates rocket-like acceleration.
The Space-Hub appears to be a different animal designed for an autonomous age. Developed under the theme of “augmenting people’s daily lives,” Space-Hub looks like a living room on wheels with bench seats facing each other in the second row. Thus the “hub” name, as the boxy vehicle accommodates multiple passengers similar to GM’s Origin autonomous vehicle.
The Honda Space-Hub is like a living room on wheels with autonomous driving capability. HIROSHIAOKI, Honda
The new Honda logo — which symbolizes two outstretched hands — is meant to represent the brand’s historic transition to a self-driving, electric future realizing “the possibilities of mobility.”
Similar to autonomous systems like Tesla’s Autopilot and GM’s Super Cruise, Honda’s next-gen autonomous system will integrate artificial intelligence software, sensors and driver-monitoring cameras with a goal of safe, hands-free driving on both highways and city streets.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Pontiac — In Hollywood, January means Oscar nomination time. In Detroit, it’s NACTOY season.
NACTOY as in the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards, which crowned the 2024 model year winners Thursday at the fancy M1 Concourse car club. While the MotorTrend Car of the Year awards are the industry’s glitziest prize, NACTOY is its most democratic, bringing together 50 independent automotive journalists from across North America — including your Detroit News scribe.
This year, my NACTOY picks came up short — though my car and truck favorites missed by a hair. It’s the SUV category where I have a beef with my fellow jurors.
The auto industry is in the midst of a historic, government-forced transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, and EVs are all the rage. But electrics are often at cross purposes with America’s largest auto segment, SUVs, where families depend on affordable, utilitarian, efficient vehicles.
EVs have largely catered to luxury buyers and motorheads — like, well, me and my $60k Tesla Model 3 Performance — who have multi-vehicle garages and only use EVs for local transit. I love to rocket from 0-60 mph in 3 seconds and drive hands-free, but when it comes to road trips, Mrs. Payne wants to take a gas car. EVs are generally much more expensive that their ICE stablemates and are less practical.
Find new roads. The 2024 Chevy Trax Activ top trim is meant to look more rugged with its black highlights and higher-profile tires – all for under $25k. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
My Detroit News SUVs of 2024 are the gas-powered Chevy Trax and Buick Envista — sibling GM utes that are an impressive value at under $30k, yet still offer state-of-the-art tech and roomy interiors to accommodate the Payne family of four. Yet, those vehicles — along with other practical ICE chariots like the affordable Dodge Hornet, stylish Mazda CX-90 and rock-chewing Jeep Wrangler — were passed over as finalists for three niche electric SUVs: the $68,000 Genesis Electrified GV70, $56k Kia EV9 and $34k Hyundai Kona EV (and sister $25k Kona ICE).
Staring at the finalists, I felt like the Oscar fan scratching his head as to how small-release “CODA” beat out blockbusters “Dune,” “Free Guy” and “Spiderman: No Way Home” to win the 2021 Oscar for Best Picture.
The Kia EV9 won in a landslide with 320 points over the Genesis (98 points) and Hyundai (82) points. My fellow jurors took to heart the NACTOY mantra that the “awards honor vehicles that have raised the standards and have become new benchmarks in their class” — and the edgy EV9 is certainly noteworthy for its tech-tastic interior and being the first mainstream, three-row electric SUV.
In front of Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line shows off its sculpted, sci-fi looks. Detroit News auto columnist Henry Payne took the mainstream segment’s first, three-row SUV through the snow to northern Michigan. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
But it’s also a whopping 20 grand more expensive than its ICE brother, the Telluride (which I voted for as 2020 SUV of Year), while offering similar space and way less practically for family road trips (as I documented in a Detroit News review). Affluent folks in Malibu will buy it.
I gave all 10 of my points to the Kona, which impressed with upscale style and digital screens for just $25k (and an EV version, if you prefer, costing almost 40% more).
The car and truck classes were more to my liking.
Car of the Year was an epic battle between two successful movie — er, auto — franchises: Honda Accord and Toyota Prius. I gave seven of my 10 allotted points to Accord and three to Prius given the Honda’s massive appeal (almost 200,00 sales in 2023) and ability to reinvent itself over 11 generations to maintain its relevance even in an SUV-obsessed marketplace. The 2024 model is its best-looking yet with a roomy cabin that shrinks around you when you want to have fun in the twisties.
Prius has suffered mightily from the SUV-to-sedan transformation, with sales cratering from 236,000 to 31,000 over the past 10 years. But that’s also because the Prius made hybrids cool and hybrids are standard issue in the Toyota SUV lineup, rather than the Prius standing alone. With its improved looks and handling, Prius is likely to remain a brand halo for some time.
The ugly duckling Prius has been remade into a 2023 Toyota Prius Prime swan. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Prius notched 192 points from the jury with the Accord second at 159 points — just edging out the lovely Hyundai Ioniq 6, a worthy electric competitor to the Tesla Model 3.
American automakers were shut out of the car and SUV categories, but they dominate in trucks. The 2024 awards were notable, however, for what wasn’t eligible.
Speaking of movies, the Tesla Cybertruck looked like it rolled off a “Blade Runner” set in 2023 and debuted as the world’s most talked about vehicle. Alas, Tesla doesn’t play ball with NACTOY and didn’t make the sci-fi pickup available for media testing. Jurors expected a mid-size truck battle between the Chevy Colorado, Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma — but only the Chevy was eligible given that sales of the new Ranger and Taco were pushed back into 2024.
The Colorado is representative of the trio’s comprehensive upgrades in liveability, technology and exterior styling and it got all 10 of my votes. I judged its much pricier competitors — $47,000-$100,00 Ford F-250 Super Duty and $75,000 Chevy Silverado EV Work Truck — to be less-attainable, more work-place focused than the everyday Colorado
But my fellow jurors split into competing pickup, heavy duty and EV camps with the Ford winning by a nose with 189 points over Colorado (163) and Silverado EV (148).
2024 NACTOY finalists, trucks. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I defer to fellow juror Jack Nerad to explain: “The Ford Super Duty retains its leadership in the heavy-duty pickup truck category with impressive towing, payload, torque and horsepower figures. Its four engine choices are highlighted by the new standard 6.8-liter gasoline V-8 and 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V-8.”
We jurors began this process — the 30th year of the prestigious award — with 52 nominees covering 17 new nameplates, multiple drivetrains and everything from electric trucks to sportscars.
The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray is the first hybrid, all-wheel-drive super car from Corvette. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Maybe NACTOY should have more categories, like the Oscars. What if, for example, we had a Performance Car of the Year category featuring 2024 nominees Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, Ford Mustang, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Porsche 911 Dakar and Toyota GR Corolla?
Huzzah. Now that would add a little Hollywood sex appeal.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Gaylord — Early electric vehicle adopters have lots of questions: What’s the 0-60 mph acceleration time? How big is the screen? Does it have a frunk? Does it have one-pedal driving?
But as manufacturers broaden their EV selections beyond enthusiasts and toward family vehicles to satisfy looming government mandates eliminating gas-powered chariots, the question on buyers’ minds is:
Are we there yet?
As the market’s first electric three-row SUV, the 2024 Kia EV9 begs the question as families size up its handsome exterior, sci-fi wheels and lush interior. It’s a compelling ute, but is it road trip-friendly like its gas-powered 2024 Telluride sibling costing $20,000 less but featuring nearly 200 miles more range?
In front of Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line shows off its sculpted, sci-fi looks. Detroit News auto columnist Henry Payne took the mainstream segment’s first, three-row SUV through the snow to northern Michigan. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I took the top-trim $77,395 EV9 GT-line on an overnight Payne Christmas shopping trip up I-75 to test its family-friendly capabilities.
The big SUV is certainly friendly to the eyes. With its sculpted body stampings, sci-fi “X” wheels and vertical LED lights, my gunmetal gray Kia looks like it just rolled off a “Blade Runner” movie set. Snow-and-salt-blasted after my 470-mile trip north, it looked like it had been through a windswept dystopian landscape to boot.
The interior is state of the art, its layout rivaling luxury automakers. A pair of crisp 12.3-inch digital displays are housed in a continuous dash-top screen. A useful head-up display complemented them on my GT-Line model, and the screen responded quickly to my touch. Interior room is plentiful like the Telluride, including a big third-row seat and healthy 82 cubic-feet of cargo space with the second row folded (perfect for a big chair at Gardner White furniture that we had our eyes on).
At 75 mph in freezing temp, the 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line sucked battery power on I-75, delivering just 55% of predicted range. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Mrs. Payne and I packed our overnight bags beneath the hatchback, and we were off at 11 a.m. Well, not quite.
With over 400 miles of range and dozens of quick-fill gas stations everywhere, fueling a gas Telluride is an afterthought. EVs, on the other hand, require extensive trip planning. Are there chargers on the route? Are they fast chargers? Are they 350 kW fast chargers? Are they near food/restroom facilities? Chargers at the destination? What’s the weather forecast?
Happily, Kia Connect will not only route you to your destination, but plan your charger stops along the way (like Tesla and its proprietary charging network). Alas, I had difficulties connecting with Kia Connect (problem solved later in the drive), but — no worries — the ABRP phone app (A Better Route Planner) came to the rescue.
The EV route planner is excellent, and ABRP scheduled us for two fast-charger stops on our route in Bay City and Waters. Why two charging stops when the Kia’s 243-mile range (we started with 90% of the full, 270-mile range) should have gotten us the 230 miles to Gaylord? ABRP knew that cold and highway speed — both the bane of batteries — would reduce range. The stops added 47 minutes of travel time compared to, say, a Telluride trip.
Are we there yet?
With a twist of the column steering shifter to DRIVE, we were off into the blowing snow. Like other electrics (Chevy, Hyundai, Tesla, VW), Kia EVs have made the column shifter hip again thanks to their single-speed transmissions. No clunky shifts through multiple gears like the ol’ truck column shifters. And no gas driveline tunnel down the center of the car, opening console space for my knobby knees, wireless phone charger and Mrs. Payne’s purse.
North Pole, Michigan. The 2024 Kia EV9 enters Frankenmuth, home of the Midwest’s most famous Christmas store: Bronner’s. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
First stop: Gardner White in Auburn Hills. The furniture store gave us plenty of chair ideas — and we also began to understand why ABRP’s navi had scheduled a two-stopper: EV9 was sucking battery range at 75 mph in 33-degree temps. With range degradation of 45%, the Kia’s realistic range was 134 miles rather than the 243 we had started with. Whoa.
A recent Car and Driver article came to mind: “A trend has become clear: most EVs fall notably short of their EPA-estimated range figure. On the flip side, we found most cars with ICEs either met or exceeded their EPA fuel-economy ratings.”
After Birch Run, we headed to Bronner’s Christmas smorgasbord in Frankenmuth. Despite its 16½-foot length, the EV9 land yacht was easy to maneuver in Bronner’s stuffed parking lot, thanks to its 360-degree camera and periphery of sensors.
We added gift bags to the cargo bay and headed for our first Electrify America fast-charging stop in Bay City — in a Meijer parking lot. ABRP app indicated 18 minutes to charge to 85% battery, but electric charging is rarely that efficient.
In Bay City, the 350 kWh hour fast chargers were unavailable – one taken, the other out of order – so Payne settled for a 150 kWh hour fast charger in the 2024 Kia EV9. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
First there are the heavy CCS connectors. Unlike light, standardized fuel pumps, CCSs are unwieldy even for your 6’5” reviewer to connect. Then there are balky card readers. It took me two tries in the bitter cold to get it right. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait in line for a charger. Unfortunately, only one of the two 350-kW ultra-fast chargers was in working order — and it was occupied.
I plugged into a slower, 150-kW port, which took 32 minutes to charge instead of the expected 18.
Are we there yet?
I got work done while charging, and Mrs. Payne shopped Meijer. After a total stop of 52 minutes, we unplugged with 200 miles of range — and range anxiety creeping in.
The Kia’s onboard computer had recalculated to predict 25% range degradation in current conditions — but we had actually experienced 45% degradation while taking 176 miles off the battery to go 96 miles to Meijer. ABRP’s next stop? A ChargePoint fast-charger in Waters, 108 miles away.
CCS charging cords are the standard of non-Tesla chargers and can be bulky to operate on vehicles like the 2024 Kia EV9 in tight charger spaces. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
With the temperature dropping to 24 degrees in Gaylord and heavy snow predicted (where is global warming when you need it?), we feared we may not make it. So we charged just 54 miles later in West Branch to assure we’d get to Gaylord.
Are we there yet?
Despite its 5,714-pound girth — 1,300 pounds more than the gas-powered Telluride — the EV9’s low center of gravity and all-wheel drive make for good driving dynamics, and I nailed the throttle back onto I-75. Zot! The Kia merged with a burst of liquid-smooth power.
The speed limit jumps to 75 mph north of Bay City, but I backed off to 70 mph to help range. Range degradation decreased to 25% from the 45% I’d been experiencing.
Boasting an outlet mall, West Branch is peppered with 10 gas stations — but only two fast-charge stalls in the back of an out-of-the-way Ford dealership. After another frustrating few minutes coaxing the Shell charger app to sync with my Kia, I filled to 80% of range in 30 minutes before our last 70-mile leg to Gaylord.
At 10:45 p.m., Payne leaves the hotel to charge for an hour to 100% of battery capacity in the 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line at Gaylord’s Electrify America charger in preparation for the trip home the next morning. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
In Gaylord, our dinner hosts admired the Kia’s lush interior. Not being motorheads, though, they were more interested as to why it had taken 4¼ hours to make a trip they usually do in three in their gas-powered Ford Edge.
The EV9 would make one more demand before I retired for the night.
Are we there yet?
My wife had a business appointment the next morning in Oakland County, and we needed to be as efficient as possible going south. I dropped her off at our hotel at 10:30 p.m. for a good night’s rest and headed to Gaylord’s Electrify American charger (another Meijer parking lot) so the Kia battery would be at 100% charge when we took off in the early a.m.
In northern Michigan chargers are few and far between for EVs like the 2024 Kia EV9. Gas infrastructure is a different story – as is energy-dense gasoline’s much quicker fill-up time. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Gaylord chargers were empty at 10:40 p.m. Kia claims its 800-volt platform can charge quickly on 350 kW chargers, but I never saw a charging rate better than 141 kW. It took an hour to charge from 40% to 100% battery capacity. Exiting Meijer at midnight, I did a few doughnuts in a snowy lot nearby — a big kid enjoying the Kia’s all-wheel-drive system.
The next morning, EV9 was wiser for the previous day’s travel experience.
It calculated the SUV’s range at 214 miles on a full charge (not the full 270 as advertised) — or only 80% of advertised range to account for the subfreezing temperatures. Still, the Kia would lose another 20% of range going south on I-75 — for a total range degradation of 40%, similar to the previous day.
Our biggest worry was that the Bay City chargers might be occupied at 7:15 a.m. on a work-week Tuesday. They were empty. I refueled from 33% to 88% in 35 minutes on a 350-kW charger and we arrived home in 3.4 hours. I immediately plugged in to my 240-volt garage charger.
The 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line is the SUV’s plushest model starting at just over $75k. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
An EV trip is more complicated than travel in a gas vehicle — and at greater cost. EA’s 48 cents/per kWh rate meant that filling up the EV9 cost me $74 for the trip compared to $58 for a 24-mpg Telluride.
I recommend doing small road trips (like our Gaylord shopping jaunt) if you get a battery-powered family SUV. Most folks will buy the cheaper Telluride for its convenience — until Kia retires its gas vehicles to meet government rules, and the EV lineup is all that’s left in the showroom.
Are we there yet? In about 10 years.
Next week:2023 Lexus UX 250h
2024 Kia EV9
Vehicle type: Battery-powered rear- and all-wheel-drive six-passenger SUV
Price: $56,395, including $1,495 destination ($77,395 GT-Line e-AWD as tested)
Powerplant: 76.1 kWh or 99.8 kWh lithium-ion battery mated to electric motor(s)
Power: 215 horsepower, 258 pound-feet of torque (Light RWD model); 201 horsepower, 258 pound-feet of torque (Light LR RWD); 379 horsepower, 443 pound-feet of torque (Wind and Land e-AWD); 379 horsepower, 516 pound-feet of torque (GT-Line e-AWD)
The North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards kicked off the 2024 award season at M1 Concourse club Thursday with the Toyota Prius, Ford Super Duty pickup truck and Kia EV9 taking home trophies.
The NACTOY awards are one of the auto industry’s most prestigious, with an independent jury of 50 journalists from North America judging the results. “The jury looks for vehicles that raised the standard in their segment and are destined to be new benchmark,” said Jack Nerad, vice president of NACTOY.
The Toyota Prius is the North American Car of the Year award winner. Henry Payne Detroit News
The Toyota Prius and Honda Accord — both previous NACTOY winners — went neck-and-neck for Car of the Year with the handsome, redesigned Prius pulling it out. The Prius was a pioneer in hybrids 25 years ago, and the Accord has followed suit by offering a hybrid powertrain as well. The third finalist was the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 6.
“We are excited about the future of hybridization,” said Scott Neiheisel, Toyota general manager for Midwest operations, in accepting the award. Toyota has pushed back on the trend toward battery-only cars as customers continue to prefer gas and gas-hybrid drivetrains.
The Ford Super Duty is the North American Truck of the Year. Ford Motor Co.
In a demonstration of why the F-series is America’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford Super Duty beat out the Chevy Silverado EV and Chevy Colorado for Truck of the Year. Though the turbo-4 cylinder Chevy Colorado mid-size truck was the most affordable competitor, the Ford F-250 Super Duty wowed with its customer-friendly high tech.
“The Ford Super Duty is intended to be ultimate Built Ford Tough vehicle,” said Andrew Kernahan, Super Duty chief program engineer, in accepting the NACTOY bauble.
Detroit brands dominated the truck category but were shut out of the car and SUV nominees. The finalists track industry trends as five of the nine were all-electric and two gas-electric hybrids. Governments led by California are ratcheting up fines on automakers beginning in 2026 to produce only EVs by 2035.
The Kia EV9 is the winner of the North American Utility of the Year Award. Henry Payne The Detroit News
Toward that end, three electric SUVs headlined the utility nominees with the luxurious Genesis Electrified GV 70, three-row Kia EV9 and Hyundai Kona EV/gas the finalists. The Kia EV9 won the award, marking the third year in a row the Korean brand has taken the SUV of the Year honor. The Kia Telluride and EV6 won the past two years.
“The EV9 is part of our leap to becoming a sustainable utility provider,” said Kia Chief Operating Officer of North America Steven Center in celebrating the award.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, NACTOY has honored automakers who have made substantial innovations in design, performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value.
NACTOY finalists
Car of the YearToyota Prius/Prius Prime(other finalists: Honda Accord, Hyundai Ioniq 6
Truck of the YearFord Super Duty(other finalists: Chevy Silverado EV, Chevy Colorado)Utility of the YearKia EV9(other finalists: Genesis Electrified GV 70, Hyundai Kona/Kona EV)
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Oakland County — For those of us on the 2024 North American Car, Truck & Utility jury, the expected mid-size truck showdown between Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma and Chevy Colorado for Best Truck fizzled this year. Colorado will likely win the class as the Taco and Ranger arrived too late for jury testing.
But there is another intriguing showdown over in the Best Car class: Honda Accord Hybrid vs. Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV.
The Accord, of course, has been one of the best-selling sedans in America over the last five decades and is a three-time finalist and one-time NACTOY winner (2018) over the award’s 30 years. The all-electric Hyundai is a newcomer and a contender to take over the class lead should government bureaucrats have their way and ban gas-fired vehicles like the Accord in coming years.
The 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid is all new with sharp handling, new digital displays , and a hybrid gas engine with a range of nearly 600 miles. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
In short, it is a mano a mano test between the king and the contender. Between gas and electric. Consumer favorite and government favorite.
Despite vastly different powertrains and styling — and 4.5 inches of wheelbase difference (116.1 for I6 and 111.4 for Accord) — the two mid-size sedans share interior dimensions (including palatial rear seats), all-digital displays, generous standard safety equipment, even regeneration paddles (more on that later). And the Accord mimics many of the electric features of the Hyundai as Honda sees its hybrid as a bridge to a government-compliant EV lineup.
But the differences are where it gets interesting.
My sleek, soap bar-shaped Hyundai tester got a lot of attention. “Oooooh, it’s very attractive,” said my Tesla-owning friend Janice. Tesla designers have led the way in crafting new grille-less fascias on EVs that don’t need grilles to feed petrol engines under the hood. Other EV makes like Ford (Mustang Mach-E) and Genesis (G80 EV) have kept faux grilles. But Hyundai (and sister brand Kia) and Porsche have made the obvious leap to mid-engine sportscar-like front ends with attractive tapered noses.
It’s a sporty — and minimalist look — that Hyundai replicates in the tapered tail (think design icon Audi TT). The clever design includes hiding the car’s sonar in a black strip beneath the headlights. Determined to break with tradition, the I6 completes the mod look with sci-fi wheels.
The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV is the brand’s first electric sedan with handsome looks, rear-wheel-drive (AWD optional) and up to 361 miles of range.
The Accord is hardly a wallflower — “That’s a lovely car, I especially like the color!” — said the security guard at my 910 AM radio station. But Honda achieves its looks the conventional way — by evolving the last-gen Accord’s head-swiveling, coupe-like shape with a more pleasing mouth.
Both cars are effortless to drive.
The rear-wheel-drive Ioniq 6 won’t flatten your face like my all-wheel-drive Tesla Model 3, but its instant 248 pound-feet of torque still gives you the kick in the pants you expect from an EV. I merged with authority onto metro interstates, instantly shot gaps in traffic and ruled stoplight getaways.
My top-line front-wheel-drive $39K Accord Touring model has similar features (plus a sunroof) to the well-equipped Ioniq 6’s SE trim — and is nearly as quick from 0-60 mph with its hybrid 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder/1.3 kWh battery. It’s cheaper than the Ioniq 6 without all that battery pack to pay for — and then uses those savings to try to re-create an EV-like experience with an internal-combustion-engine married to twin electric motors.
Pulling out of my driveway, the Accord ran on battery power alone under 20 mph until I put my boot into it off a stoplight, where its direct-drive transmission showed how it’s carefully engineered to shift like butter through gear changes. Toggle SPORT mode on the console, and the engine’s voice lowers an octave to a satisfying growl (eat your heart out, EVs!). Side note: Accord ergonomics are excellent, with raised toggle switches and tactile rollers that my fingers found without my eyes leaving the road.
The 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid features a remade cabin with digital displays and wireless Android Auto.
But wait, there’s more. The Accord also comes with steering wheel paddles like the Ioniq (pioneered by the Chevy Bolt) that enable regeneration for single-pedal driving. Like instant torque, single-pedal driving is one of the signature features of the EV experience. It’s gimmicky compared to full-electric regen experiences like the Hyundai and Tesla, but it’s fun to try.
Speaking of fun, the Honda ran circles around the Hyundai in the twisties. Maybe it’s the I6’s porkier (by 20%) 4,225-pound curb weight. Maybe it’s Honda’s decades of experience on the racetrack. Whatever, the front-wheel driver is effortless to drive quickly.
But where the Honda is most effortless is on long journeys. With a healthy 583 miles of driving range from its 46-mpg hybrid powertrain, I could go to Mackinaw City and back without visiting a gas pump. When refueling is necessary, I could refill in three minutes at a nearby service station.
The cockpit of the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV feature twin digital screens and easy-to-use controls. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Conventional wisdom says that EVs just need to match gas-filling infrastructure in order to be competitive. But in truth, driving EVs requires a change in mindset, similar to switching from a wireless mobile phone to a landline. EVs simply aren’t as convenient as gas cars.
The Ioniq 6 Long Range model I tested has an advertised 361 miles of range — but that’s in perfect, 70-degree, 55 mph conditions. At a more realistic 75 mph (and before you get into the subject of cold weather) up I-75, our pals at Car and Driver put the range at 260 miles, meaning you’d need to stop three times to refill from 10%-to-80% of charge. Try to charge to a full 100%, and you’re going to be at the charger awhile.
At an optimal 350 kW charger (if you can find one), Ioniq will charge from 10%-80% (190 miles added) in 20 minutes — compared to the Accord’s 589 miles in three minutes. Cries of “Are we there yet?” from the kiddies might start to get on your nerves.
While on the journey, the Hyundai exhibited superior adaptive cruise (one of the industry’s best this side of Tesla Autopilot or GM’s Super Cruise) to the Honda, which tends to “bowling ball” from side to side in its lane. Both cars exhibit state-of-the-art, wireless Android Auto, wireless charging and head-up displays.
The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 EV charged overnight on a 240-volt charger in Detroit News Auto Critic Henry Payne’s garage. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Ioniq 6 or Accord? The question comes down to the usual EV vs. gas stereotype. If you have deep enough pockets for a multi-car garage, $10K more to spend and another two grand (that’s a lotta green) to wire your garage with a 240-volt home charger, then the Hyundai is your show horse.
If you need a roomy sedan that can do it all effortlessly, then the gas-fired hybrid Accord is Car of the Year.
Next week: Road trippin’ in the 2024 Kia EV9 family SUV
2024 Honda Accord
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel drive five-passenger sedan
Price: $28,990, including $1,095 destination ($38,985 Touring Hybrid as tested)
Powerplant: 1.5-liter turbocharged, inline-4 cylinder; gas-electric hybrid with 2.5-liter inline-4 cylinder and two electric motors (as tested)
The shelves will be overflowing with new vehicles next year.
Automakers are introducing a flood of electric vehicles to gauge customer demand and meet onerous government regulations forcing electrification. But they aren’t taking their foot off the gas pedal in producing parallel, profitable, petrol-powered products. Start-up EV automakers also are elbowing into the new landscape, resulting in more brands as well as more models for you to shop.
America is the world’s richest consumer market and there is something for everyone from off-road trucks and on-track hellions to luxury chariots. New car prices have soared in recent years, so get out your checkbook because 65% of new models start at more than $40K. Depending on your budget, you can buy anything from a $21,745 Nissan Sentra to a $34,995 Chevy Equinox EV to an $80,000 Ram 1500 Ramcharger pickup to a $340,000 Cadillac Celestiq EV and a seven-figure Alfa 33 Stradale supercar.
A look at what’s coming in 2024:
2024 Acura ZDX
Price: $60,000 est.
The first electric SUV from Honda’s luxury brand, ZDX will be built on GM’s Ultium platform alongside the Cadillac Lyriq in Tennessee. Acura promises the Type S performance model will be the brand’s most powerful ute yet.
2024 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
Price: $1,000,000 est.
Alfa resurrects the legendary 33 Stradale name to pen a new supercar for a new, electrified era. Just 33 will be made, and they are already spoken for.
2024 Aston Martin Valhalla
Price: $800,000 est.
Marry the famed English automaker with Norse mythology and you get a stunning, $800,000 mid-engine, hybrid supercar. Power comes from a twin-turbo Mercedes V-8 driving the rear wheels and a twin electric motors up front.
2025 Audi Q6 e-tron
Price: $66,000 est.
The midsize EV debuts the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) battery platform shared by Audi and Porsche. The Q6 E-tron parallels the brand’s popular, gas-powered Q5 crossover.
2024 BMW i5/5-series/2025 M5
Price: $58,895 5-series/ $67,795 i5
The iconic 5 Series sedan will be joined by an all-electric i5. Expect bold designs complete with dramatic kidneys and layers of gloss black plastic. A plugin-hybrid, all-wheel-drive BMW M5 performance model will soon join the party with an estimated 738 horsepower. Gott im Himmel.
2024 BMW X2
Price: $42,995
The second generation of Bimmer’s fastback SUV gets bolder styling, bigger dimensions and a beefer, 2.0-liter, turbo four-cylinder engine drivetrain. More aggressively packaged, the X2 is the boxier X1’s sexier twin.
2024 Cadillac Celestiq
Price: $340,000 est.
Cadillac is going all-EV and Celestiq is the flagship. Taking a page from exotic European brands like Rolls and Bentley, Celestiq will be hand-built, with each model customized to its buyer’s taste. The AWD looker will feature state-of-the-art tech and a $300,000 price tag to match.
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ
Price: $99,000 est.
The truck-based Escalade gets an Ultium-based electric sibling. The hulking IQ will have an enormous, 200 kWh battery below ships making 750 horses and 450 miles of range. Inside the six-figure land yacht are acres of screens and leather.
2024 Cadillac XT4
Price: $39,090
Caddy’s entry-level SUV gets a major facelift with dramatic exterior styling to match big brother Escalade. The interior imports the yuge, 33-inch screen from Lyriq.
2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV and ICE
Price: $34,995 EV/ $27,995 ICE
The bowtie brand’s best-selling SUV gets an electric brother for 2024. The Ultium-based Equinox EV essentially replaces the outgoing Bolt as the cheapest GM EV. The Equinox comes in FWD and AWD models with a range of 250-300 miles. It will be assembled in Mexico alongside the more affordable, updated ICE ‘Nox.
2025 Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban
Price: $59,000 est. Tahoe/ $62,000 Suburban
The truck-based, three-row, V8-powered mega-utes add exterior lighting and tech updates, including big screens and optional Super Cruise driver assist. The popular, off-road Z71 trim adds a diesel inline-6 engine to its toolbox.
2024 Chevrolet Traverse
Price: $39,000 est.
Just below the mega-utes, the unibody-based, three-row Traverse also receives a handsome exterior makeover, 17.7-inch infotainment screen, and Z71 trim.
2025 Dodge Charger EV/Daytona SRT Banshee
Price: $50,000 est. EV/ $90,000 Banshee
The Daytona SRT Banshee concept gave a glimpse at Dodge’s electric future. Production models should retain Banshee’s retro styling and clever aerodynamics while packing electric muscle ranging from a standard 455 ponies all the way to the Banshee’s Hellcat-beating specs.
2024 Fiat 500e
Price: $34,095
The wee, electric 500e takes a second crack at the U.S. market with a more upscale model sitting on a dedicated battery platform. Its 149-mile range is small compared to most EVs but a step above the previous gen’s 84.
2024 Fisker Ocean
Price: $38,000 est.
Fisker made headlines in 2012 with its outrageous, plug-in hybrid Karma coupe. Now it’s back with an electric SUV — complete with 360-mile range and a trendy, rear “doggie window” for canines.
2025 Ford Bronco Sport
Price: $32,825
With design DNA shared with the truck-based Bronco, the unibody Bronco Sport has been a hit. Expect a refreshed model for ‘24, complete with hybrid option.
2024 Ford Ranger
Price: $34,160
The popular mid-size pickup has been rummaging in big brother F-150’s closet and now wears a more aggressive exterior. The digital interior is more upscale, too. And, like F-150, a powerful Ranger Raptor variant arrives powered by turbo-V6 shared with Bronco Raptor.
2025 Genesis GV90
Price: $100,000 est.
Genesis complements its flagship, G90 sedan with a flagship, three-row, AWD GV90 electric SUV. Featuring Genesis unique styling cues and a range of 250 miles.
2024 GMC Acadia
Price: $39,000 est.
Honey, I blew up the Acadia. After shrinking GMC’s three-row offering for the current generation, the 2024 model is big again like platform mates Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave. Following regulatory trends, the GMC will be powered by a turbo-4 with a mountain of torque. A lifted AT4 model will climb mountains.
2024 GMC Sierra EV
Price: $108,695
The Hummer EV pickup introduced GMC’s electric future, now the volume-selling Sierra goes EV. The Ultium-based pickup brings big power (754 horses), big range (400 miles) and a big price tag ($108,695) for its inaugural Denali Edition 1 model.
2024 Honda Prologue
Price: $48,000 est.
The first Honda EV, Prologue is pro-space with a claimed most interior room in class. Honda customers may cringe at its nearly $50K sticker price — but Prologue is Made in the USA on GM’s ubiquitous Ultium platform and should qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit.
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
Price: $33,000 est.
Hyundai has made a habit of cool designs, and the LEGO-block Santa Fe continues the trend. The mid-size SUV grows in size and adds a third row.
2025 Infiniti QX80
Price: $70,000 est.
Infiniti has faded to the background compared to its luxury peers, and QX80’s hot design wants to fix that. Based on the QX Monograph concept shown at Pebble Beach, the three-row ute has a striking waterfall grille and horizontal running lights.
2024 Jeep Recon
Price: $60,000 est.
Jeep tiptoed into the electrification game with the plugin 4xe. Recon is all in. True to its Wrangler forefather, the EV has a spare tire out back, removable doors, and locking differentials. You’ll know it by its illuminated, seven-slot grille.
2024 Jeep Wagoneer EV
Price: $80,000 est.
Another lit grille. Jeep charges into the three-row electric SUV class with the Wagoneer EV. It headlines a 400-mile range, 600 horsepower, and a likely hefty sticker price.
2025 Kia K3
Price: $21,000 est.
In a sea of pricey EVs, the affordable, compact, gas-powered Forte is expecting a new gen. Like the mid-sized Optima sedan — now called the K5 — Forte may be renamed K3.
2024 Lamborghini Revuelto
Price: $608,358
Lambo drops its first hybrid supercar to replace the iconic Aventador. This is no tree-hugger. The plug-in hybrid combines three electric motors with a V-12 engine to produce gob-smacking numbers: 1,015 horsepower, sub-2.5 second 0-60, and a 200-plus mph top speed. Mama mia! A hybrid, V10-powered Huracan is expected, too.
2024 Lexus TX
Price: $55,050
Sharing its bones with the three-row Toyota Grand Highlander, TX offers a plug-in powertrain good for 406 horses and 33 miles of electric range.
2024 Lincoln Nautilus
Price: $51,810
The hybrid Nautilus debuted at the 2023 Detroit Auto Show, and it’s a spa on wheels. The “Lincoln Rejuvenate” feature surrounds passengers with ambient lighting, speakers, massaging seats, and personalized scents while you poke at twin, 25-inch screens that span the entire front dashboard. It’s the first Lincoln Made-in-China and Sold-in-USA.
2024 Lotus Eletra
Price: $115,000 est.
Goodbye whip-quick Lotus sportscars, hello electric Lotus SUVs. The battery-lit Brit makes its performance claims with 603 horses courtesy of twin electric motors and fat, 112-kWh battery.
2025 Lucid Gravity
Price: $80,000 est.
The Silicon Valley startup follows up its stunning Air sedan with a similarly styled SUV. CEO Peter Rawlinson targets his former boss’s Tesla Model X with a three-row SUV offering 440-mile range, and 34-inch curved screen. You might be most impressed with a frunk so big it sits two.
2024 Mazda CX-70
Price: $38,000 est.
The Zoom! Zoom! brand bucks the trend with an all-new, silky-smooth, inline-6 cylinder ICE. Introduced in the three-row, CX-90 SUV, the ICE will also appear in the mid-size CX-70, which slots above the popular CX-50. A hybrid will also be on offer.
Mercedes models
After introducing a blizzard of EVs — EQB SUV, EQB sedan, EQE sedan, and EQS sedan and SUV — the German lux-maker shores up the parallel, gas-powered side of the house with a blizzard of ICEs. Expect a turbo-4 C-Class sedan, high-horsepower, hybrid AMG C-Class models, CLE Coupe, and all-new E-Class.
2025 Mini Countryman
Price: $39,895
Mini is now a BMW property and makes SUVs. The stylish (if still unmistakably Mini-fied) Countryman will be built on the same platform as the BMW X1 and have EV and ICE variants.
2024 Nissan Kicks/Sentra
Price: $22,155 Kicks/ $21,745 Sentra
Nissan offers a $40K-something EV SUV like everyone else, but it’s a value brand at its core. Its entry-level, gas-powered, subcompact crossover and sedan get remade with Kicks getting the most attention with a taller ride, bigger grille, and AWD option.
2024 Polestar 3, 4
Price: $85,300 for 3/ $60,000 est. for 4
Volvo’s sister EV brand adds two SUVs. Both feature simple, attractive Scandinavian design and smooth performance. The aero-minded 4 dares to eliminate the rear window. How do you see out? Camera mirror.
2024 Porsche Macan EV
Price: $80,000 est.
Like the Audi Q6 e-tron, Macan EV is the first Porsche built on the PPE battery platform. Like the lightning-quick Taycan SUV, Macan aims to set the bar for SUV EV handling.
2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger
Price: $80,000 est.
Trying to solve the puzzle of range anxiety while towing, the 1500 Ramcharger innovates an EV with an onboard, gas-engine generator to charge the battery. With 145 miles of battery range — 690 miles total range — Ram claims Ramcharger is a pure EV because there is no direct mechanical path from the V-6 engine to the wheels.
2025 Ram 1500 REV
Price: $58,000 est.
If it’s a pure Ram EV truck you want, then REV will be offered on the same STLA battery platform as the Ramcharger. Unlike the Tesla Cybertruck, REV is conservatively styled like crosstown rivals Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevy Silverado EV.
2024 Subaru Forester
Price: $29,000 est.
The boxy Forester follows its Crosstrek and Impreza relatives with the latest big screen and wireless smartphone connectivity. A hybrid model will follow later in the year.
2024 Tesla Cybertruck
Price: $79,990
The EV maker’s most ambitious vehicle since the gull-winged Model X. The sci-fi Cybertruck features a stainless steel “exoskeleton,” drive-by-wire steering, four-wheel-steer, and insane, tri-motor acceleration. It’s the product of Tesla’s new Texas assembly plant.
2024 Toyota Camry
Price: $30,000 est.
America’s perennially best-selling sedan takes styling cues from the Prius, with a bigger greenhouse for better visibility. All Camrys are hybrids with AWD, a bonus for Michigan winters.
2024 Toyota Crown Signia
Price: $45,000 est.
Stuffed with a similar hybrid powertrain as Camry, Crown Signia is the SUV version of the large Crown sedan. As the fancy name suggests, Insignia comes with a more upscale interior than the typical Toyota.
2024 Toyota Land Cruiser
Price: $55,000 est.
The bruiser is back with LEGO-block styling and a rugged TNGA-F truck platform. Following its truck-based stablemates — Tundra, Sequa, Tacoma — Land Cruiser will get high-tech screens and optional hybrid.
2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro
Price: $65,000 est.
Taco has been upgraded for the digital age and is on sale now. But the highly-anticipated, trim-topping, differential-locking, all-terrain-tire-wearing TRD Pro and Trailhunter trims will come standard with the truck’s new, stump-pulling hybrid system.
2024 Vinfast VF6/VF7/VF9
Price: $30,000 est. VF6/ $37,000 est. VF7/ $84,000 est. VF9
Vietnam’s ambitious Vinfast EV brand is moving fast in the U.S. market. After introducing the VF8 SUV in 2023, the compact VF6/7 and three-row VF9 model round out the lineup. Vinfast hopes to move production to its North Carolina plant as early as 2025 to qualify for the $7,500 EV tax credit.
2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz
Price: $40,000 est.
The retro-styled ID.Buzz hopes to recapture the romance of the ‘60s VW microbus. Aimed at a richer demographic than the ol’ V-dub, the battery-powered ID.Buzz arrives with a long wheelbase version and up to 282 horsepower.
2024 VW ID.7
Price: $50,000 est.
Like ID.Buzz, the Passat-sized ID.7 is an indication of the VW brand’s up-market ambitions. The battery-powered ID.7 will likely start around $50,000 and show off a 15-inch touchscreen, augmented reality head-up display, and electrochromatic glass roof.
2024 Volvo EX30
Price: $36,245
At an affordable $36K for a lux-EV, the Made-in-China EX30 combines Tesla and Scandinavian design. A single console screen controls the interior, and the ute is full of typically clever Volvo storage options for phones and purses.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Hell, Michigan — If I can’t have a Formula One car under the tree for Christmas, I’ll settle for a McLaren Artura. And at $300K — just 2% the cost of a $15 million F1 machine — it’s a steal.
Artura, the latest creation from the elves in Woking, England, has a carbon fiber monocoque similar to the company’s Formula One car. And a hybrid twin-turbo V-6 engine like its F1 car. And similar rear-wheel drive.
Take this combination onto Hadley Road here and it’s Christmas in Hell.
On a lonely stretch of Hadley, I put my right foot to the floor in launch control and Artura exploded forward, blowing past 60 mph in less than three seconds on my way to the moon. But first, a blind right-hander. The McLaren sliced it perfectly, the steering wheel a knife in my hands. With a chassis wrapped as tightly as — well, carbon-fiber threads — Artura exhibited no body roll, its summer Pirelli P-Zero tires responding instantly to my small steering inputs.
Auto racing and manufacturing have been intertwined for decades going back to Henry Ford’s Sweepstakes triumph. Nearly every major manufacturer today is invested in motorsport for its marketing and tech-transfer benefits. Then there are manufacturers who started as race teams. Ferrari, Lotus and the latest to cross over into production cars: McLaren.
Arturo is a case study in a how a brand’s enormous investment in Formula One hybrid tech translates to production. The English company is determined to explore the technology’s envelope to also deliver a luxury touring-car experience. Thus the name Artura — a fusion of “art” and future.”
Arturo is a hybrid in more than one sense of the word. It’s a car with multiple personalities — a country-club tourer for Dr. Jekyll, a track weapon for Mr. Hyde.
McLaren has nailed the “art” piece. Before my descent into Hell (when hair sprouts, Hyde-like, from my knuckles and back), I took a detour through Ann Arbor to pick up my favorite Reuben sandwich at Zingerman’s. I might as well have been Brad Pitt.
At a stoplight, backpack-carrying school kids saw the Serpentine Blue McLaren and erupted into cheers, jumping up and down. Couples on the sidewalk stared and pointed at the rolling sculpture. Arriving at Zingerman’s, the McLaren’s scissor doors opened upward and brought a basketball game to a standstill in the adjacent park.
From stem to stern, McLaren has mid-engine proportions down cold. Artura is the love child of the lean McLaren 570 and iconic 720s — the latter one of the most distinctive mid-engine cars ever made. Scalloped side intakes feed huge radiators located fore of the rear wheels. It’s sensual, simple, yet boasts remarkable outward visibility (compared to, say, the pillbox quarters of a Corvette C8).
The simplicity continues inside where McLaren has taken learnings from previous models and consolidated the drive setting and engine mode buttons on either side of the motorcycle-like gauge cluster behind the steering wheel. Only the steering wheel defies the spare theme with more stalks protruding from it than a buck has antlers.
There are shift paddles, wiper stalk, cruise control stalk, light stalk and instrument control stalk. What, no column shifter? No, DRIVE, NEUTRAL and REVERSE are still selected by console buttons mounted below the flame-red START button.
Push START and “future” kicks in. Where Artura’s design and chassis are familiar, the drivetrain is a new animal.
Unlike its forebears, Artura starts in silence. In ELECTRIC mode. On battery power. Like a Prius.
I silently crept out of Zingerman’s parking lot without offending neighbors’ ears — or anti-fossil fuel UM academics. Exiting Main Street onto the M-23 four-lane headed for Hell, I toggled to COMFORT drive mode and squeezed the throttle. The powertrain increased the pace on full electric power before finally engaging the other half of the hybrid performance team: the twin-turbo V-6. Artura was now in full stride, yet the hybrid powertrain only emitted the sound of an angry vacuum cleaner.
Engage SPORT and the character of the V-6 emerges — Porsche six-like in its urgency — as it took advantage of McLaren’s lightning-quick eight-speed automatic gear set. That’s quite a show of the hybrid powertrain’s dexterity with the best yet to come.
TRACK mode, counter-intuitively, is the most ambidextrous of them all.
In the hands of heathens like me, TRACK mode will drink 2/3rd more fuel than COMFORT mode thanks to its prodigious power, short-gear ratio and neck-snapping launch control. But select TRACK mode for your interstate ride home from, say, Hell, and it will efficiently use the motor to replenish the 19 miles of battery-only range you exhausted while being stealthy in Ann Arbor. Gas guzzler and battery charger all in one mode.
Of course, gas guzzling is always more fun, and the howl of the V-6 across Hell’s twisted country roads is irresistible. But choosing the TRACK chassis setting? Not so much.
So stiff is Artura in TRACK setting that the car was frenetic over bumpy Patterson Lake Road. That’s a lotta bumps. This must be what a Formula One car feels like on public byways. I found myself constantly fighting the wheel to stay on course. Leave TRACK for smooth race tracks.
The Artura’s sweet spot is SPORT. The suspension keeps the supercar planted, but not harsh so the chassis and drivetrain can work their magic. While I find Porsche 911s to be the most balanced cars in the supercar library, carbon-fiber wonders like the Artura are like nimble go-karts. A go-kart with a rocket strapped to its back.
Despite giving up 1,000 cc and 2-cylinders to the glorious twin-turbo V-8 found in predecessor 570/600 supercars, Artura healthily beats them in horsepower (671) and torque (531). McLaren points to the electric motor which (overcoming the hybrid system’s additional 300 pounds of weight) serves as “torque fill” to give the six-holer added oomph at the low end to help it fill its lungs on the way to a screaming 8,500 RPM.
“Holy crap!” yelled my friend Anthony over the V-6 as we shot off an interstate on-ramp like a sidewinder missile. Arturo boasts an upgraded infotainment system but we never touched the dial, so engaging is the V-6 audio. Zero-60 blows by in just 2.6 seconds (quicker than the 710 horsepower, V8-powered 720S) and 100 mph in 5.5 seconds (matching 720S).
Just in time for Christmas, Ford Motor Co. announced that its V8-powered off-road beast, the F-150 Raptor R, will up its output to 720 horsepower for the 2024 model year. That puts the Raptor R firmly at the head of the gas-powered super-truck class, eclipsing its rival, 702-horsepower Ram TRX.
However, that’s still shy of new electric-power pickups on the market including the 1,000-horsepower GMC Hummer EV, the 835-horse Cybertruck, and 835-horse Rivian R1T.
The Raptor R is an upgrade over the standard Raptor supertruck with “only” 450 horsepower from its twin-turbo V-6 engine. Otherwise, the super trucks share SuperCrew cabs, 5.5-foot boxes, 10-speed transmissions and enough off-road artillery to make a small army jealous. Giant 37-inch tires, Fox Dual Live Valve dampers, and 13-inch suspension lift help propel the Raptor R across desert dunes at over 100 mph. A factory-sponsored, competition-equipped Raptor R won the Stock Mid-Size class at this year’s Baja 1000.
The Ford Raptor is considered the first “super truck” given its prodigious off-road abilities compliments of racing-proven shocks, tuned chassis, and high-output engine. But after Ford swapped out the first-generation, 2010-2014 truck’s throaty V-8 engine for a more emissions-compliant, twin-turbo V-6 in the second-generation, 2017-2020 truck, the brand heard grumbles from enthusiasts over its lack of rumble.
With canny product management, Ford’s introduction of a battery-powered Lightning pickup opened up regulatory wiggle room for the brand to re-introduce the V-8 engine in the Raptor R for the 2023 model year. The Raptor R’s supercharged, 5.2-liter V-8 is shared with the recent Mustang GT500 coupe and not only beats the Ram TRX horsepower number but crushes the first-gen, 6.2-liter V8-powered Raptors’ 411 horsepower.
The Raptor R was met with huzzahs from enthusiasts and was snapped up by buyers despite its $109,145 sticker price — a healthy premium over the “base” $78,770 model.
“The R is about 40 percent more expensive than the base price for the ‘regular’ Raptor. However, the R also puts out about 55 percent more horsepower,” wrote enthusiast journal Car and Driver. “If you’re after frightening acceleration and peak performance, then the choice is a no-brainer. The glorious wail of that supercharged V-8 is the cherry on top.”
Still, grumbles persisted that the R was shy of the TRX by 2 horses. For 2024, problem solved. Ford elves credit the 20 horsepower increase to “reduced air inlet losses coupled with an optimized calibration that also results in a wider torque curve.”
Opting for the Raptor R also includes unique graphics and badging, and options for the stocking like a Raptor Carbon Fiber Package. You’ll know the R by its larger hood vent, revised grille and standard, 37-inch all-terrain tires. The R also bests its V-6 stablemate with an 8,700-pound tow capability (8,200 for regular Raptor) — though both numbers pale compared to the more Santa toy bag-friendly F-150 and its 14,000-pound max towing.
Those who want to improve the audio experience on the way to grandma’s house can option an 18-speaker B&O sound system. Or you can just turn up the V-8.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
The final models of the Dodge Challenger and Charger muscle cars and the Chrysler 300 as they’ve been known are expected to roll off the assembly line this week, ushering in a new era for the storied nameplates through electrification.
The hiatus will be short-lived for at least one of the vehicles. The new Dodge Charger, an all-electric muscle car whose concept model pays homage to the vehicle’s history while offering a fresh take, will launch in mid-2024. Brand CEOs have suggested the other two nameplates will return, too.
By industry standards, the next generation of these vehicles is long overdue. Their platform is rooted in ’90s Mercedes-Benz underpinnings from the DaimlerChrysler-era. Including the Dodge Magnum, the vehicle architecture supported 4.3 million vehicles — roughly the same number as the population of Metro Detroit.
The Challenger and Charger have been the flagships of the slimmed Dodge brand defined by performance and a focus on the driver. That identity is unlike anything else in the market, experts say, growing a staunch following. The vehicles’ transition to the new STLA Large multi-energy platform to support EVs, though, creates a cloud of uncertainty as hazy as burning rubber.
“That remains to be seen” if Dodge’s “brotherhood of muscle” will come along in the transition, said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at automotive search engine iSeeCars.com. “The market still wants these cars. There’s not a sign that it’s losing its demand in the market. It’s 100% government requirements and fines that are causing the death of these cars.”
Special edition buzz models, refreshes and ever-improved engine calibrations to produce more horsepower helped continue to make the vehicles desirable in showrooms. Despite launching its third generation in 2008, Challenger coupe sales last year outpaced the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, whose production ended last week.
The Challenger just eked out No. 1 through the third quarter of 2023, even though sales were down 16% year-over-year. The four-door Charger, though, holds the top market share of 33% among the four muscle cars, according to auto information site Edmunds.com Inc. Sales were up 2% through September.
With car clubs for the vehicles in every state, passion remains fervent even as these cars in their current form head to the automotive graveyard in the face of increasing demands from fuel-economy standards and emissions limits. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Challenger produces 389 grams of greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions per mile up to 708 on the 1,025-horsepower Demon 170 that marked the vehicle’s last hoorah.
“I don’t think this is an end of an era,” said Ralph Gilles, Stellantis’ chief design officer. “I just think of it as a transition as normal. This has happened before where people call it the end of a time, or the good days are over and all that stuff, and the new part is even more fun and more captivating and more exhilarating. That’s all I look at: the exhilaration factor. We’re trying to create not just a car, but a part of your life, part of your assets that you really, really are proud of, and you wear it on your sleeve.”
Some people literally do, with Gilles noting he’s seeing tattoos devoted to the Mopar brands and vehicles and garages full of paraphernalia. From the “Fast and Furious” franchise to “Talladega Nights,” the vehicles are icons on the racetrack and in popular culture.
Randy Dye, owner of a dealership in Daytona, Florida, is thinking about hosting a party when he has just one of the muscle cars left. The 38 on his lot won’t last him until spring.
“It hurts my heart,” he said about the end of their production. “My gosh, it’s like losing a friend. You’ve had such a wonderful relationship with a car. We’ve really enjoyed that car. The public has enjoyed those cars. The good news is we have all the confidence in the world in the Dodge brand team and what’s coming behind it.”
EV future
Dodge last year gave a glimpse of that future with the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept, a two-door all-electric muscle car with a hatchback trunk, R-wing over a nose-cone hood to provide the look of a Charger with improved aerodynamics and a Fratzonic chamber designed to move air in the same way a Hellcat’s engine does to produce a roar. Base model 400-volt systems would offer 455 horsepower with Direct Connection kits able to boost that up to 535 horsepower, while details of the top-of-the-line Banshee 800-volt system haven’t been shared.
That Charger concept has excited some interested buyers of a production model, while others are “flat-out frustrated” by the end of the engine-run muscle cars, Dye said.
“Have faith,” he said. “The Dodge brand actually unlike any other OEM to the extent I’ve experienced really, really connects with the customer. They listen.”
Marc Flamer of Houston, Texas, has been a fan of cars built on the LX platform since his father bought a Chrysler 300 in 2005. He was saddened by the news that the 300 and Dodge Challenger-Charger have been discontinued.
“It felt like losing my best friend. The people I’ve met through these cars have been like family,” said the 29-year-old who has his own LX-based muscle car — a manual 2016 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack. “These cars are very special. The Challenger is a tremendous value with the performance as well as a roomy back seat.”
A member of the Space City LX community, he’ll continue to take his Challenger — “I’m not selling it anytime soon,” he insists — to events like the Lone Star Mopar Fest. He hasn’t given up on Stellantis brands.
“Tim Kuniskis and Ralph Gilles haven’t steered us wrong yet,” Flamer said of, respectively, Dodge’s CEO and Stellantis chief designer. “Whatever they come up with, I’m open to as long as it has a gas engine in it. They know what sells, but I’m not ready for an EV.”
Gilles said attending events devoted to these Mopar vehicles and speaking with enthusiasts supercharges him and his team. The Mopar DNA, he says, is about being “giant killers” with attitude, while still being accessible and practical. That all went into the creation of the next generation.
“They’re going to come along,” Gilles said of the customers. “If you’re an enthusiast, you can sense immediately the dedication of the team that built the car that you love. You really can tell. It comes through in every touchpoint, every detail, the performance attributes, the minute you turn the wheel. You just know, and that’s what makes a great car.
“When you have a good team, and they pour their soul into it, and I know how we roll, and that’s what happened. I would be very surprised if the Mopar faithful, the current customers in smiling even if they didn’t want to will be like, ‘Dammit, I think I love this thing.’”
Jeff Laethem, owner of the Ray Laethem Motor Village in Detroit, said Dodge’s performance focus has driven some excitement around the EV application.
“It’s a perfect spot for something like that,” he said, noting the vehicles are often secondary cars. “Most of that range anxiety is very limited to times people are using them to go Up North or down to Florida. That’s not a problem in the case of a performance car like this. Most of the time, you’re driving your SUV up there.”
A future Chrysler 300 also likely would be electrified with Chrysler planning to go all-electric by 2028. Brand CEO Christine Feuell has said it’s not done with sedans, though Chrysler’s first EV launch in 2025 will be a crossover.
The 300 was reborn in 2005 to be different from other sedans available, Gilles said, with a focus on high performance and luxury. The company honored the final model year with a Hemi-powered 300C edition. Sales in the first nine months of this year were down 5%.
Bryan Minhinnett, 60, of Toronto bought the first-generation, 2006 Chrysler 300 SRT on power and style. He bought his second-gen 2012 on the interior.
“The 2006 car was different than everything else,” he said. “It was upscale looking; it was fast. The second generation was such a departure in the quality of the interior. I call it the gentleman’s hot rod.”
Minhinnett hosts a Mopar charitable event every June that is attended by a cornucopia of Chrysler cars, including Dodges, Plymouths and Jeeps. He isn’t ready to buy an electric car and laments that there is nothing else on the market that has the swagger of his dearly departing 300 and its meaty V-8 engine.
“I hope that Chrysler brings back the 300 and puts a twin-turbo Hurricane inline-6 in it,” he smiles.
‘Emotional’ end of production
The end of production of these vehicles not only represents a change for customers, but workers manufacturing the vehicles, too. Gilles noted the company threw a lot at the autoworkers at Ontario’s Brampton Assembly Plant outside Toronto with different hoods, wheel options and caliper colors, but “they never flinched.”
“It’s going to be emotional,” Ardis Snow, unit chairperson of Unifor Local 1285, the labor union that represents workers at the plant, said of the end of production. “It’s been a long, fruitful run for us. These are exciting vehicles, to see the pleasure on our customers’ face, their anticipation, their baby — that’s what a lot of them call it. The excitement of this vehicle is now going to be gone.”
The next generation of Dodge muscle cars will be built at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, according to Unifor’s latest agreement with Stellantis that secures $3.24 billion (CAD) in investments in Canada. Brampton will be retooled for the Jeep Compass crossover, which is now produced in Mexico.
“How are these new products going to sell?” Snow said. “Those vehicles provided for those plants. There are a lot of unanswered questions at this point in time.”
What is unquestioned, though, is the passion there will be for these vehicles for years to come. Patrick Rall, 45, from Milford has been a Mopar fan all his life and owns a pair of classic, V-8-powered beasts: a 1972 Dodge Demon and a 1983 Dodge Mirada. The modern Dodge Challenger didn’t interest him until they made an SRT Hellcat model.
“I was watching to see how they would compete against Mustang and Camaro. Then they were the first to break the 700 horsepower barrier with the Hellcat,” he said. “And I thought: ‘The time has come.’”
He drives a 2017 Challenger SRT Hellcat making 707 horsepower from its supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 mill. He’s drag-raced it at Lapeer International Dragway and recorded a quick, 10.9-second quarter-mile time.
“It wasn’t just the performance — I also prefer the overall interior of the Hellcat over the Camaro ZL1 and Mustang GT500,” he said, citing the high-horsepower muscle car competitive set. “It can comfortably seat my wife and my parents.”
Automobiles are mobile consumer products at the intersection of multiple industries, including rubber, metallurgy, design, fuel and electronics. As a result, they are in constant innovative ferment.
That ferment has accelerated in recent years as the 21st-century electronics revolution — led by the smartphone — has entered the car.
A Silicon Valley tech startup, Tesla, has led the way, but change is coming at a breakneck pace across all brands, bringing not just new toys for consumers, but new headaches to manufacturers. The average number of problems per 100 vehicles rose a record 30 to 192 in the 2023 JD Power Initial Quality Study, the highest number in its 37-year history as cars have become more complicated.
With their skateboard chassis, electric cars are also driving innovation as designers re-imagine cabins and drivetrains. Here are the top features of 2023:
Google Built-in
Android OS (Operating System) operates your phone, and now it’s in your car. After years of building their own software, some automakers are throwing in the towel and conceding those smartphone guys are best at this sort of stuff. Android Automotive Operating System (officially Google Built-In) is now running new GM vehicles as well as those from Honda, Volvo and Polestar.
The system allows a vehicle to instantly integrate your phone with the car on entry — a significant advance for EV owners, allowing them to plan a trip with charging stops. Honda’s version enables you to continue connecting via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto if you prefer — whereas GM considers them soooo 15 minutes ago.
Column shifter
The column shifter is back! Clunky column shifters used to be synonymous with pickup trucks, but they have been reborn on EVs. Without a drivetrain tunnel running through the middle of the cabin, EVs like the Kia EVs, Volkswagen ID.4 and Tesla Choose-Your-Model have opted for column shifters to free up console space.
And since single-speed automatic EVs only have REVERSE, NEUTRAL and DRIVE, their stalks aren’t as clunky to operate as ol’ multi-gear trucks.
Steer-by-wire
Electronics are even changing steering systems. Steer-by-wire eliminates the mechanical connection of wheel-to-steering rack. Where the typical steering wheel rotates 540 degrees — nearly two turns lock-to-lock — variable steer means you only turn about 150 degrees.
On-road inputs are small, which makes it a bit weird. Naturally, the Tesla Cybertruck is all in, while Lexus is teasing it on the RZ EV.
Camera mirror
Not a new concept, but you better have one if you drive a mid-engine Corvette (can’t see out the back), Ferrari 812 Competizione or Polestar 4 (the latter two have no rear window, to assist aerodynamics).
No rear window? We’ll see if that becomes a trend.
Auto emergency braking
Driver assistance systems are hip at a time when autonomous driving is on everyone’s lips. But short of full self-driving, systems like Ford CoPilot360, Honda Sensing and Toyota Safety Sense offer two notable automatic features that will save you a lot of pain: 1) emergency front braking for when you are, say, fishing for something in your purse and take your eyes off the road, and 2) rear brake assist for when you’re backing out of a parking space between two mega-SUVs.
Car-2-car chargers
Electric vehicles are all the rage, but they cause rage when a driver runs out of charge. Can’t just run down the road and fill up a gallon of electrons. But if you see a Hummer EV, Ford F-150 Lightning or Hyundai EV, flag them down.
These new EVs are capable of car-2-car charging to get you on your way again. At 12 miles-per-hour charge rate or worse, however, you’ll need to be patient.
2X hood pull
Most folks don’t know what’s under their hood, but if you’re curious, it can be a pain finding the hood latch. I’ve nearly lost fingers trying to pry a Jeep Wrangler’s hood open.
Happily, Ford and the Chevy Blazer EV have followed BMW’s tradition of installing 2X hood openers under the dash. Just pull it twice (yank, yank) and the hood pops open.
One-pedal driving
Regenerative braking using the electric motor is one of the coolest features EVs offer (almost as cool as a manual transmission in an ICE vehicle).
Hyundai and Audi use steering-wheel-mounted regen paddles, while Tesla and Volvos have in-screen settings. Even the gas-fired 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid is getting in on the act with its onboard motor.
Multi-link suspensions
Multi-link suspension are traditionally associated with nimble sports cars, but now they’re popping up in pickup trucks.
The Truck Wars continue to escalate with high-tech accessories like magnetic shocks and 360-degree trailer views, so it’s only natural that customers now want their trucks to ride like cars.
Digital key
Who needs a door key? Tesla innovated a digital key system that allows access to your car with a phone app, and many other brands have followed suit.
You can also open the car remotely or just cool it down before you re-enter on a hot summer day.
Third-row seat access
Third-row seats used to be clumsy to get into, thanks to their multi-step folding process. Heck with that, most folks just climbed through the gap between captain’s chairs.
Then, the Honda Pilot innovated the one-button seat collapse, and many competitors followed.
All-terrain tires
Motorheads have always sung the praises of sticky tires on sports cars. Michelin Cup 2 gummies, for example, make a big difference if you want to explore the limits of a modern, 500-horespower cyborg.
The SUV revolution has brought us a rash of off-road mountain goats, and they come with their own tire advantages. Whether a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon or Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness or Honda Pilot Trailsport, all-terrain tires are grippier off-road — and on-road in Michigan blizzards.
Engine audio
Emissions mandates are changing automotive sounds. V-6s and V-8s are being sacrificed to the regulatory gods, but customers still crave an appealing engine soundtrack, so, for example, the turbo-4s roar in 2024 Mustangs and Tacoma trucks. Not all EV buyers want peace and quiet either.
The BMW iX comes with a symphony of sounds created by Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer (EXPRESSIVE, SPORT, EFFICIENT) depending on what mood you’re in. And we can’t wait for what the pipe organ hanging out the back of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee sounds like in 2024.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
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Automobiles are mobile consumer products at the intersection of multiple industries, including rubber, metallurgy, design, fuel and electronics. As a result, they are in constant innovative ferment.
