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Payne: (Off and on) road trippin’ in the Hyundai Palisade XRT Pro
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 25, 2025
Watkins Glen, New York — The 2026 Hyundai Palisade has an off-road-focused XRT Pro model because, well, you never know when Google Maps will navigate you off-road.
Heading east from Niagara Falls toward Watkins Glen International Raceway, Google sent me off Interstate 86 and onto a series of two-lane state roads — including dirt roads.
Had I been driving a sports car, I would have cursed Google (how dare you dirty my sleek stallion!). But my Palisade XRT Pro was in its element.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I punched the TERRAIN button on the dash, then selected SAND mode (MUD and SNOW are also on offer) and the Hyundai engaged all four Hankook all-terrain tires. I charged up the steep New York hills, leaving a rooster tail of dust behind me.
“Look at the fall colors!” I exclaimed as the V-6 engine roared past trees painted orange, red and yellow.
“Look out for farm trucks coming over these brows!” said my long-suffering wife riding shotgun.
Family road trips can be fun. Americans love three-row haulers and off-road bruisers, and Hyundai has combined the two flavors — like Reese’s peanut butter and jelly — to create a tasty recipe. With the Palisade XRT Pro, Hyundai follows in the footsteps of other models like the Ford Explorer (Timberline model), Chevy Traverse (Z71) and Honda Passport (TrailSport) — to marry its family hauler with the latest in off-road tech. It’s awesome.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Sitting atop my XRT Pro tester in Metro Detroit afternoon traffic, I marveled at how ga-ga we’ve gone for the adventure craze. In front of me was a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. To the left of me a Toyota 4Runner TRD, and to the right of me a Traverse ZR1. All armed to the teeth with all-terrain tires, jacked chassis, plastic fenders and off-road modes to … pick up the kiddies from school.
My weekend trip to the Glen (where I would be racing in an SCCA regional race), however, would show off the Palisade’s full arsenal in its natural habitat: an 18-hour road trip through international borders, interstates, service stations — and yes, even dirt roads.
The Palisade was separated at birth from the Hyundai Group’s other three-row ute, the Kia Telluride. They share the same bones, interior amenities, and even off-road capacities (the Telluride’s XRT Pro doppelganger is called the X-Pro). But let’s face it, the Telluride has overshadowed Palisade with its upscale, Cadillac-like styling: vertical lights cues, tidy grille, scalloped flanks. Kia has even applied these attributes to the K4 sedan to make one of the most upscale mainstream compacts in the market.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Palisade, meanwhile, went its own way with a typically funky sci-fi Hyundai design. Sometimes it works (ooooh, that Elantra is pretty) and other times, ahem Palisade, it looks a bit butch.
The XRT Pro model, however, allows Palisade to lean into macho design.
Check out the cool stacked headlights and chunky wheels married to a wardrobe of Cast Iron Brown paint, black body cladding, one-inch suspension raise and a front grille that looked like it came off, well, my barbecue grill. Butch becomes XRT Pro.
Hyundai derives the Palisade name from the steep “palisade” cliffs of California and the Hudson River — bold, natural features that inform the SUV’s bold, upright design style. My journey didn’t go as far as the Hudson, but it did take me across the natural wonders of Lake Erie, Niagara Falls and the Empire State’s Finger Lakes region. And with 418 miles of driving range, it could make the trip to Watkins Glen without a gas stop, unlike its $20K-more expensive, 320-mile-range electric sibling, the Hyundai Ioniq 9, which would require a 30-minute charging stop.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
For such long-distance duty, the Palisade is outfitted with an interior as funky — yet functional — as its exterior.
The design is a pleasant combination of rounded door handles amid a chunky horizontal console, dash and door pockets. The slavish adherence to horizontal design form restricts storage space in the doors as, say, a vertical door cut-out for a tall water bottle would fit the XRT Pro’s adventurous passengers.
But, as a whole, the cockpit has upscale character, particularly the steering wheel, which sports a unique blocky design and excellent ergonomics for adjusting cruise control speed and radio volume without taking your eyes off the road.
The dash is dominated by Hyundai’s familiar twin instrument and infotainment screens and complemented by clever ergonomics. Palisade moves drivetrain operations — including the START button — to a single stalk on the steering wheel, which opens cargo space in the center console. Sub-storage for my wife’s purse, cupholders, phone charger, the works.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Family reaction to this was mixed. My son Sam drove Palisade around the Glen and found the stalk annoying because he couldn’t see it behind the chunky wheel spokes. Be sure to bring your USB-C phone charging cables! Multiple ports are littered through the cabin — but none are USB.
On interstates like I-90, the Hyundai was smooth as silk, though I missed the hands-free Super Cruise and BlueCruise systems offered by, respectively, Chevy Traverse and Ford Explorer. The Hyundai’s adaptive cruise required a constant hand but it did prove smart at using GPS to navigate the road. For example, it slowed for I-90’s famed 35-mph, 90-degree turn through Cleveland. Smart car.
After Mrs. Payne and I grabbed Burger King to go, she took over cruise duties while I played third-row passenger.
Second-row captain’s chairs collapse forward with the touch of a button next to the headrest for access to the third row. My 6’5” giraffe legs were tight but there was room for my phone (another USB-C port), onion rings and drink.
Better still, I could flatten the seatback in front of me (using a lever on the second row seat’s base) to make an ottoman. With my legs stretched out, I checked email while sipping my beverage. So quiet was the cabin that when we made a call, I could join the conversation as if we were on speaker phone in our living room.
As the road hours dragged by, the Hyundai offered pleasant, voice-activated diversions.
Me: Hey, Hyundai, tell me a joke.
Palisade: How do robots eat guacamole? With computer chips.
Me: Hey, Hyundai, set the cabin temperature to 70 degrees.
Mrs. Payne: Hey, Hyundai, set the passenger temperature to 72 degrees.
A feature called SOUNDS OF NATURE is also available in the screen to soothe with, for example, forest sounds of tweeting birds and rustling leaves. Or I could just wait for Google to divert me onto a dirt road and experience the forest for myself.
Next week: 2026 Subaru Crosstrek and Forester
2026 Hyundai Palisade
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front and all-wheel-drive, three-row SUV
Price: $41,035, including $1,495 destination fee ($51,110 XRT Pro as tested)
Powerplant: 3.5-liter V-6; Hybrid 2.5-liter inline 4-cylinder mated to electric motor and 1.7 kWh battery
Power: 287 horsepower, 260 pound-feet of torque (V-6); 329 horsepower, 339 pound-feet of torque (Hybrid)
Transmission: 8-speed automatic (V-6); 6-speed automatic (Hybrid)
Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.6 seconds (Car and Driver); towing, 5,000 pounds (V-6), 4,000 pounds (Hybrid)
Weight: 4,420-4,872 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 19 mpg city/24 highway/20 combined (V-6 FWD); 16 mpg city/22 highway/19 combined (AWD XRT Pro); Hybrid TBD
Report card
Highs: Rugged presence; upscale cabin
Lows: Snug third row; some USB ports, please
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Best of 2026: Nominees for North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year unveiled
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 20, 2025
Detroit — Vehicles, take your marks.
The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards announced their “Best of 2026” candidates this week. The list of 30 vehicles will compete in three different categories — car (six nominees), truck (five nominees), and utility vehicle (19 nominees).
American brands make up 11 of the entries, while ten nominees are electric. The number of electric vehicle nominees is down from 50% for the 2025 awards to 30% this year as EV sales have stabilized at 8% of the market and may decline as $7,500 government purchase subsidies end.
Through August this year, the average transaction price of a new vehicle was about $49,000, and the average price of the NACTOY nominees is $52k. The most affordable offering? The $23k Nissan Sentra while the most expensive sticker belongs to the electric $130k Cadillac Escalade IQ.
The NACTOY award is one of the industry’s most prestigious. It’s given at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Culled from a list of 55 eligible new vehicles for the 2026 model year, the 30 nominees will be evaluated by NACTOY’s 50 jurors at their annual gathering in Ann Arbor October 21-23, after which three finalists in each category will be named at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The winners will be announced at the January 2026 Detroit Auto Show.
Car of the Year
The stylish Dodger Charger and affordable Kia K4 Hatchback and Nissan Sentra will be early front-runners for the car crown. The small number of nominees is evidence of a market dominated by SUVs, but the two Asian compacts are evidence that sedans are the market’s best value — especially when loaded with digital technology that could only be found on luxury vehicles a decade ago.
The front fascia is unique to SIXPACK-powered 2026 Dodge Charger models, with a larger, more pronounced grille area than all-electric Charger Daytona models to feed the turbo-6 beast behind. Stellantis, © 2025 Stellantis
Charger returns for the 2026 model year with an all-new lineup of coupes and four-door hatchbacks bearing gorgeous lines reminiscent of the classic, 1966 OG. The only Motown nominee in the category, the Dodge hopes to reboot brand sales with its visceral, gas-powered, inline-6 cylinder engine after sales of the 2025 Charger Daytona EV disappointed.
NACTOY awards are typically won by mainstream, volume brands, but the all-new Audi A5 gets major interior and exterior upgrades to go with its utilitarian hatchback. The sporty Honda Prelude returns to North America for the first time since 2001 — this time as a hybrid, and the Mercedes CLA is the lux maker’s entry-level offering at just over $40k.
2025 New York Auto Show: 2026 Kia K4 Hatchback. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Notable cars that did not make the Best list are the $329,000 Ford Mustang GTD and $167,000 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid, the German brand’s first hybrid sports car. While boasting state-of-the-art tech, both are exclusive, small-volume cyborgs.
Truck of the Year
Detroit brands dominate the pickup truck space, and Ford and Ram dominate the nominees for 2026.
Ford’s new Lobo badge brings street-rod cred to the truck space with the Maverick Lobo, the favorite here given its $38k starting price and twin-rear clutch pack drifting capabilities (yes, a pickup drifter). The Ram 1500, however, is the early front-runner as Stellantis’s truck brand brings back the revered Hemi V-8, the truck’s volume engine that faced extinction before new management took over Washington’s EPA this year.
The 2026 Ram 1500 eTorque V-8 boasts 395 horsepower. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Rivian R1T Quad Motor is new to the American EV maker’s lineup and boasts a hypercar-like 1,025 horsepower and 0-60 mph time to match — all while towing 11,000 pounds with lots of cargo capacity. However, its $117k price tag means few can afford it.
SUV of the Year
The SUV aisle is where the U.S. consumer comes to shop, and brands have flooded the space with everything from compacts to three-row family haulers to battery-powered chariots.
The 500-pound gorilla in the room is the all-new, sixth-generation Toyota RAV4, the best-selling non-pickup in America. Sitting atop the biggest volume SUV segment, the compact RAV4 lineup is now all-hybrid with trims ranging from base hybrid to the adventure-ready Woodland trim to a new GR Sport offering.
Designers said the new Jeep Cherokee has some boxy design elements that call back to the 1980s and ’90s-era models. Stellantis
The Volkswagen Tiguan, Jeep Cherokee, and Subaru Forester Hybrid are all nipping at the heels of the Toyota with significantly upgraded vehicles. In the mid-size segment, Toyota’s Tacoma pickup-based 4Runner is ready to rumble off-road, while Honda’s Passport has been recast as an off-roader with standard all-wheel-drive and rugged looks. Three-row SUVs are all the rage with high-tech to go with their people-moving talents. The Hyundai Palisade, Hyundai Ioniq 9 EV, Cadillac Vistiq EV, Cadillac Escalade IQ EV, and Ford Expedition all made the list.
There are luxury entrants galore including a new Audi Q5, Genesis GV70, Lucid Gravity EV, Volvo EX30 EV, and Volvo’s sister performance EV brand, Polestar 4. Cadillac’s transition to all-electric is well-represented with three electric vehicles in contention including the Escalade IQ, Vistiq, and Optiq.
The latter is a sleeper for best SUV given its entry-level price point and striking styling. Its primary market competitor, the Tesla Model Y, did not make the cut. Despite being the third-best-selling non-pickup in the United States in ‘24 and the best-selling EV in the United States, the refreshed Y won’t be in contention.
Not a Tesla: The distinctive, 2025 Cadillac Optiq takes on the best-selling Model 3/Y. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Other notables that did not make the list are the GMC Terrain and highly-anticipated, boldly-redesigned Subaru Outback which will likely be released in 2026 and be on the jury menu for 2027 Utility of the Year.
The NACTOY Best of 2026 was announced at the restored Michigan Central Station in Corktown. Judged by 50 independent journalists from across North America (instead of a single publication or outlet as with other auto contests), the NACTOY trophy is one of the industry’s most prestigious baubles.
Bay City: After failing to charge at Electrify America, the 2025 Volvo EX30 stopped to charge a mile away at a Blink charger at a Ford dealer. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The awards are intended to recognize vehicles that are benchmarks in their segments based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, user experience and value.
2026 North American Car of the Year candidates
Audi A5 $44,000
Dodge Charger $52,000
Honda Prelude $42,000
Kia K4 Hatchback $25,000
Mercedes-Benz CLA $43,000
Nissan Sentra $23,000
2026 North American Truck of the Year Candidates
Ford F-150 Lobo $60,000
Ford Maverick Lobo $38,000
Ram 1500 Hemi $46,000
Ram 2500 $48,000
Rivian R1T Quad Motor $117,000
2026 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year Candidates
Acura ADX $37,000
Audi Q5 $54,000
Cadillac Escalade IQ $130,000
Cadillac OPTIQ $52,000
Cadillac VISTIQ $79,000
Ford Expedition $65,000
Genesis GV70 $50,000
Honda Passport $46,000
Hyundai Ioniq 9 $61,000
Hyundai Palisade $41,000
Jeep Cherokee $38,000
Lucid Gravity $97,000
Nissan Leaf $26,000
Polestar 4 $58,000
Subaru Forester Hybrid $38,000
Toyota 4Runner $43,000
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid $34,000
Volkswagen Tiguan $31,000
Volvo EX30 $46,000
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
RADwood, concepts, e-bikes: Highlights of this weekend’s Cars at the Station at Michigan Central
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 18, 2025
Detroit — Cars at the Station roars into town this weekend, Sept. 19-20, taking over the Michigan Central Depot grounds in Corktown.
Part Detroit Auto Show, part Woodward Dream Cruise, part cars ‘n’ coffee, it is Detroit’s new fall auto spectacular now that the auto show has returned to its traditional January dates. Call it Motown’s auto-palooza.
The event will take across Roosevelt Park in front the station and surrounding thoroughfares between 14th and Vernor streets with manufacturer brand displays, Radwood ‘80s and ‘90s hot rods, private-owner vehicles, ride ‘n’ drives, AM General’s HUMVEE military concept, the works.
Ford, Ford
The station’s iconic front yard will host 175 private vehicles of every variety, from foreign sports cars to boulevard cruisers. They will be distributed around the park’s curving walkways. Prime real estate will be The Promenade walkway that rolls out of the front of the station like a carpet through the park.
Here are some highlights:
Cars At The Station 2024, Cars At The Station 2024
RADwood
A celebration of ’80s and ’90s lifestyle, RADwood is a time machine that takes attendees back to the late 20th century, complete with period-correct dress and memorable autos. The Hagerty-owned RADwood also displays at The Amelia, Greenwich Concours d’Elegance and Motorlux, and its sprawling CATS display will anchor the east side of the station celebrating “the essence of a bodacious era.” Among the toys on display:
Twin white Fox Mustangs. George and Megan Koussa of Chesterfield will showcase their matching his-and-hers albino Mustangs. Hers is a 1992 hatchback, his is a 1993 convertible. They share white wardrobes, white wheels, and Fox body design (the third-gen pony car was built on Ford’s Fox chassis) that is hot, hot, hot. How hot? Ford is making a special edition 2026 FX ‘Stang meant to evoke the Fox era, and modern Mustangs feature an optional Fox instrument display.
CATS
“It’s cool to see the enthusiasm for the Fox Mustang,” said George, who has shown his car at Detroit Autorama as well as Foxtoberfest in North Carolina. “This is the Mustang generation I grew up with and the one my wife and I always wanted to own.”
Nissan Silvia. Known as the “Baby GTR” (GTR is Nissan’s outrageous, six-figure supercar), Silvia was a rare coupe sold in Japan. Its sedan sibling was the Skyline.
George Koussa
Imported from Japan by Yunus Basheer of Detroit, this right-hand-drive, 1994 Silvia has been modified for track drifting and sports a roll cage, wicked wheels, black paint, and a big turbocharger that pushes out 320 horsepower.
Yunus Basheer
Manufacturer displays
Littered across the campus will be manufacturer displays similar to the Detroit Auto Show — as well as a healthy presence from the giant LaFontaine Auto Group.
Ford and Lincoln. Front and center will be the brands from the Dearborn automaker that restored the station. A highlight will be the first Detroit appearance of the Bronco Roadster Concept that Ford dropped at Pebble Beach, California’s Monterey Car Week last month. The concept is a throwback to the OG, the 1966 U13 roadster in celebration of Bronc’s 60th anniversary.
Ford
Future Driven HUMVEE Concept. Speaking of OGs, AM General is still making Hummers for the battlefield even as GMC sells it as a six-figure EV. AMG will showcase its latest Hummer military concept at CATS. “We’re excited for how we will improve the warfighter’s safety with a cutting-edge restraint system and increased vehicle capabilities for mission success,” said AMG CEO Jim Cannon.
AM General
Check out its Kongsberg Remote Weapon Station and its vehicle-mounted counter drone protection system. Who knows, could be future options for GMC Hummer EVs as well.
Genesis. Bucking the industry trend away from auto shows, Hyundai has embraced them. The South Korean manufacturer has been a major presence in New York and Los Angeles in recent years, and for the 2025 CATS it will showcase the full lineup of its Genesis luxury brand. With their signature, dual-strip headlights/taillights and posh interiors, Genesis vehicles stand apart in the lux space.
Lucid
Lucid. The Silicon Valley electric brand wowed with its first model, the Air sedan, in 2022, and for 2025 it has brought its first SUV to market, the Gravity. In addition to its neck-snapping acceleration and gorgeous, twin-screen dash display, you can sit in its huge frunk.
Lotus. The famed English sports-car maker is now, along with Volvo, part of the Chinese Geely auto conglomerate. That means it is moving towards electric vehicles, but for Detroit the brand is showcasing its bread and butter: the mid-engine Emira supercar complete with Toyota-sourced V-6 engine putting out 400 ponies.
Lucid
Toyota. Speaking of Toyota performance, the Japanese brand will show off two of its hellions. For the road, the sensational, all-wheel-drive, 300-horse GR Corolla hot hatch will be on display. For off-road, check out the AWD, all-terrain-tired Toyota 4-Runner SUV — essentially a Tacoma pickup with a hatchback.
Polestar. Volvo’s all-electric performance brand, Polestar, is taking aim at Tesla with a lineup of stylish, quick models called simply: the 2, 3, and 4. The 4, due in showrooms later this fall, is the most radical, as it eliminates the rear window to prioritize aerodynamics and interior space. An interior camera mirror gives a full field of view out back.
JAROWAN POWER, Lotus
Aston Martin. La Fontaine will showcase the beautiful, bespoke Brit brand’s lineup including the Vantage sportscar and DBX SUV.
Ride ‘n’ Drive
Ogle the vehicles in their static displays — then shuffle over to 14th street and try them on the road. In addition to display vehicles like Polestar, Genesis, and Ford, LaFontaine will have vehicles from its stores to ride, including Cadillac, Nissan, Infiniti, and more.
The 2024 Toyota GR Corolla rotated through M1 Concourse’s corners well thanks to a limited slip front differential and sticky Cup 2 rubber. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Shandoka e-bikes
Located in Newlab next door to Michigan Central, Shandoka retro-fits motorcycles with electric drivetrains. CEO Ernest Eich will show off two examples at the display: a 1982 Yamaha Maxim and a 2003 Ninja 250 Sport bike. With 24-34 horsepower from the e-motors and instant torque, these ol’ bikes can fly.
Shandoka E-bike
Superlap Porsche Cayman Racing Simulator
Royal Oak’s racing simulator shop brings its Porsche sim to CATS. The rig features three full screens wrapped around the cockpit of a mid-engine Cayman S sportscar that moves with the sim.
Superlap
When you’re not ogling cars (or the stunning station which will be open for walk throughs), the CATS campus has plenty of other activities, including Food Trucks on 14th Street, a Big Boy restaurant in the park, music courtesy of WCSX 94.7 and The Bounce 105.1 radio DJs, and a Boys and Girls Club of Michigan display.
Cars at the Station runs from 4 PM-9PM Friday, and 9 AM-4 PM Saturday.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Payne: 911 GTS goes hybrid the Porsche way. Fast.
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 18, 2025
Phelps — Two years ago at M1 Concourse’s American Speed Festival, I took my 1964 Porsche 904 GTS on track. The OG.
The first GTS (aka, Gran Turismo Sport) performance trim made by the German automaker, the wee, 1,450-pound 904 was one of 108 street-legal models built in 1964-65 to homologate Porsche for international racing. With my head stuffed in the ceiling and my knees in the Spartan dash, I rowed the five-speed manual gearbox around M1 — the glorious, normally aspirated, 3.0-liter flat-6 engine wailing in my ears at 7,000 rpm. Before me, my father used the 904 GTS as a daily driver for four decades in West Virginia.
Sixty years later, the legendary GTS badge lives in the roomy, 2025 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid tester in my driveway: an automatic, turbocharged, gas-electric hybrid with Android Auto, 11-inch infotainment screen, 18-way heated/cooled seats, and launch control.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Toto, we’re not in 1964 anymore.
In SPORT PLUS MODE, I pushed the brake pedal and accelerator pedals to the floor. The tachometer stabilized at 4,000 rpm. The instrument gauge flashed LAUNCH CONTROL SET. I released the brake and released the Kraken. BWAAAWRR!
The T-Hybrid shot past 60 mph like it has been launched from a cannon. It’s a Porsche worthy of the GTS badge. Solid as oak. Stunning performance. Flat-six engine note from the gods. 911 has been a sports-car icon since it was introduced in 1963 for eight model generations. It’s maintained its place with elite engineering, timeless design, incremental change, and obsessive dedication to its brand.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Like the resurrection of the GTS badge from the 904.
Representing extra performance paired with excellent trip qualities, GTS reappeared on Porsche production models like the front-engine 928 and Cayenne SUV models at the turn of the 21st century before becoming a fixture on the 911 in 2010.
The eighth-gen car (the so-called 992 series) has taken big, risky leaps at a time when technological advancements and regulatory hammers present historic challenges to the industry. My 911 992.2 (translation: the second evolution of the 992 generation) tester maintains GTS thrills by integrating new tech, resulting in a supercar that — while not the most spectacular firecracker in the market — sits at the sweet-spot of supercar speed, price, and ergonomic refinement.
The compromises? Weight gain, price gain, complexity, and more robotic performance.
Henry Payne
911 T-Hybrid — short for Turbo Hybrid — redefines the popular conception of hybrid. For example, Porsche uses the electric motor wedged between the gearbox and engine for “torque fill.” Like the $109,795 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, Porsche introduces electrification into its lineup a step above standard Carrera/Carrera S models, but below the track-focused GT3. Unlike E-Ray, which uses its front e-motor to create an all-wheel-drive, all-season daily driver, GTS is pure hellion.
“Oh, this is nice and stiff!” said my son as we carved corners on M-66. WAPPA! WAPPPA! went the auto downshifts as I quickly slowed into a left-hander courtesy of massive, 16.5-inch ceramic brakes.
Where the first, 1960’s sportscar Golden Age set the tone for brands from Porsche to Ford, our second Golden Era has to contend with the Fun Police. The 2019 model of the 992 generation (992.1) introduced turbochargers to augment performance while also reducing CO2 emissions.
My 992.2 tester adds an e-motor (wedged between the 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox and engine) to increase power from 470 ponies to a stout 533 — while also meeting Europe’s draconian emissions regs. Porsche faces a watershed moment over the next decade as the European Union gradually bans internal combustion engine sales — a game-changer for the flat-6-powered 911.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Chevy and Ford have decided not to sell Corvettes and Mustangs in Europe because European regulations make it prohibitively expensive to offer V-8s. That’s not an option for Stuttgart-based Porsche, so it’s meeting the challenge with a turbocharged-electrified-flat-6.
If that sounds complicated, it is. And a concern for long-term durability compared to, say, the 904’s pure, normally-aspirated, 3.0-liter flat-6 screaming behind my ear at M1.
The 911 GTS’s hybrid works seamlessly. WHAP! The Porsche lights like a firecracker because the e-motor doubles as starter motor. There’s no turbo lag on acceleration thanks to electric torque fill. And that famed launch control? Car and Driver recorded a staggering 2.6-second 0-60 mph — a gain over 992.1’s 3.2 seconds.
In northern Michigan I gave friends launch control thrill rides. Who needs Cedar Point?
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
For all its tech savvy, 911’s fundamentals — rear-wheel-drive, rear-engine, unibody constructions — are unchanged. It’s not as nimble as the lightweight, carbon-fiber-monocoque chassis McLaren 750S I tested this summer. At 3,590 pounds, the German’s girth is evident compared to the 3,200-pound Brit. In 2001, 911 weighed just 3,000 pounds, but years of tech and regulation have taken their toll. McLaren’s lightweight carbon-fiber solution means, ahem, a $450,000 sticker compared to my $182,895 GTS tester which in turn is nearly twice the price of the Corvette E-Ray.
Where the 911 GTS really impresses is its dexterity.
Porsche and good ergonomics are not words you would have seen in the same article a decade ago. This is a brand, after all, that denied customers a console cupholder until the 992 generation.
But ergonomics matter in a GTS that promises good track and trip manners. New-gen 992 comes with: 1) center console cup-holder, 2) (still problematic) glovebox passenger cupholder, 3) door pocket holders for bottles (like my favorite Snapple). Also fitting nicely was my 6-foot-5-inch noggin — an advance from my ol’ 904 shoebox.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The cockpit is also state-of-the-art with a similar digital tach and infotainment display to other Porsches. 911 purists will note — heresy! — that the traditional, five-gauge layout is gone, replaced with a more conventional three-gauge layout. The digital gauges are stuffed with good content — like tire temperature before engaging launch control.
The logical console is anchored by a compact “chicklet” shifter — and the steering wheel is an ergonomic gem. My hands never left the wheel. On Interstate 75 North I turned on Adaptive Cruise Control (lower left stalk) and adjusted radio volume with a roller on the wheel spoke. A rotary knob engaged SPORT PLUS mode before I ripped through the M-32 twisties.
This modernity is wrapped in timeless 911 design sitting on big, gummy, Goodyear summer tires. You’ll know 992.2 by its center-locking wheels and front shutters that open in SPORT PLUS mode to feed air to the hungry beast within.
Enjoy your sixties, GTS.
Next week: 2025 Hyundai Palisade
2025 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid
Vehicle type: Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-passenger sportscar
Price: $166,895, including $1,995 destination fee ($182,895 as tested)
Powerplant: 3.6-liter flat-6 cylinder mated to electric motor and 1.9 kWh battery
Power: 533 horsepower, 450 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 8-speed, dual-clutch automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 2.6 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 194 mph
Weight: 3,590 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 17 mpg city/24 highway/20 combined
Report card
Highs: Big ergonomic improvements; launch control all day long
Lows: Getting’ porky; increased drivetrain complexity
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Three-row throwdown — Chevy Traverse vs. Ford Explorer vs. Honda Pilot
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 11, 2025
Beaver, Pennsylvania — After a weekend of racing sportscars across the plunging twists and turns of Pittsburgh International Raceway, my son and I crawled — exhausted — into our Honda Pilot SUV for the long five-hour ride home.
“Man, this car is so easy to drive,” said my 34-year-old son. “It’s so easy, a kid could drive it.”
With the comfortable front thrones cradling his sore bones, he pressed the cool seats button, put his tall drink bottle in the side pocket, then pressed the steering wheel voice recognition button. “Go home,” he said, and wireless Apple CarPlay app charted our course on Google Maps for the duration of our journey.
Midsize SUVs, you’ve come a long way, baby.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Utes have their origins in the early 1990s as Ford put an Explorer top hat on a truck chassis to satisfy families looking for a new breed of family station wagon. The idea took off along with other boxy, jacked wagons like the Grand Cherokee and Nissan Pathfinder and Chevy Trailblazer. Fast forward to today and the three-row SUV is in its prime.
I’ve driven the Pilot, Ford Explorer and Chevy Traverse — all Made in America — in recent months and they are three of the most capable Swiss Army knives in the U.S. market. No longer vanilla family haulers, these three-row limos are stuffed with style, character, power and tech. Crave a luxury SUV? Save $20K and buy one of these chariots instead.
They represent a segment teeming with talent, including the Mazda CX-90, Kia Telluride and Dodge Durango. How do Pilot, Explorer, Traverse stack up?
Looks
Mrs. Payne shies from minivans and rightly so — who would settle for a dorky van when you have these three SUV lookers on the lot?
My chiseled Pilot Black Edition, new for 2025, wore its black-trimmed, Sonic Gray Pearl trim like a tuxedo for the Oscars. Gloss black 20-inch wheels, black rocker panels, black mirror caps, Black Edition badging. Dude, you’re from the same family that birthed the homely Fit?
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Traverse turns up the heat even further by taking its styling cues from the Silverado truck line. Tough grille, bold stance and a Z71 off-road package that leans into our obsession with America’s natural wonders.
But it’s the Explorer that wins the beauty contest. Draped over a longitudinal-engine, rear-wheel-drive-based platform (the Pilot and Traverse are on front-drive platforms), the athletic-looking Explorer pushes its wheels to the corners like a German SUV. Then it digs into sibling Mustang’s wardrobe with dramatic scalloped flanks. Add the ST-Line’s blacked-out wardrobe and it’s no wonder Explorer is at the top of the sales board.
Drivability
All three utes have excellent ergonomics that make them more intuitive to drive than their luxury peers. Control buttons on the steering wheel are raised, so I could easily adjust radio volume and cruise control without taking my eyes off the road. The Chevy is the most ingenious as it adds a set of buttons on the back of the steering wheel so I could adjust volume (right hand) and toggle between radio station favorites (left hand).
The Traverse has also opened space on its console (for phones, storage) by moving the shifter to the steering column. This is no clunky ol’ column stalk, but a compact electronic shifter shared with the Blazer EV. That said, the Honda’s console-mounted, compact “trigger shifter” is the most intuitive of the three since it offers buttons for DRIVE, REVERSE, NEUTRAL. Place your fingers in the “trigger” slots and you can easily find your way through a tight parking lot. The Ford’s rotary shifter may be compact, but it’s also the busiest, given that you have to rotate it all-way-‘round the horn to get from PARK to DRIVE and back again.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Pilot extends its excellent ergonomics to lots of storage cubbies (prized by families carrying electronics, candy bars, pacifiers, etc.) and the segment’s easiest third-row access seat solution.
No one will buy a midsize ute for fun through the twisties, but Traverse shows off GM’s top-drawer chassis and engine development. The three-row ute is not only the tightest of the three, but its crisp chassis and stonkin’ 328-horsepower turbo-4 will give you added confidence on two-lane roads. Explorer also sports an impressive, throaty turbo-4, meaning that the Honda — despite possessing the only throaty V-6 of the group — is the least powerful at 285 horsepower.
Technology
This is where the game has really changed in three-row family land.
Traverse and Explorer sport first-class digital displays and tech goo-gaws. Both systems are run by Google Built-In — essentially the same operating system that powers Android phones — so that the big dash-mounted displays bear familiar, phone-like icons.
Honda is moving to Google Built-in as well, but for now, Pilot’s graphics appear a generation behind even as they are easy to negotiate. Speaking of easy, Explorer oddly does not offer a head-up display like Pilot and Traverse — a driver-friendly feature that is indispensable once you’ve experienced it.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Where Explorer and Traverse really stretch their legs over the Honda, however, is with semi-autonomous driving systems. Chevy’s Super Cruise and Ford’s Blue Cruise are state-of-the-art systems that compete with luxury chariot-makers Tesla and Mercedes. Not only will these systems wow your kids, but they make long-distance road trips easier — not just reducing fatigue but also freeing your hands to, say, eat a Quarter Pounder.
Ford practically gives Blue Cruise away, but Chevy’s $3,250 system is the segment leader. The Traverse system is the most consistent on highways, and will even work on some two-lane roads.
Conclusion
Our terrific trio of SUVs are not only packed with tech — wireless smartphone apps, blind spot-assist, adaptive cruise control, backup assist — but it all comes standard. Add attractive trims and extras like panoramic roofs, and these utes can be had for just over $50K.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
My pick is the Chevy Multiverse — er, Traverse — by a nose, given its attention to detail. Deservingly, it received The Detroit News 2024 Vehicle of the Year award.
That attention to detail is also important given that new tech has eroded reliability in vehicles for the first time in JD Power’s 40-year history of polling consumers. Chevy excels in JD Power’s ratings with an 83 score over three years of ownership, outpacing Pilot’s 71 and Explorer’s 60.
Because when you plan a road trip to Beaver, Pennsylvania, the last place you want your SUV is in the shop.
Next week: 2026 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid
2025 Chevrolet Traverse
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger SUV
Powerplant: 2.5-liter turbocharged, inline-4 cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Price: $42,195 base, including $1,495 destination fee ($56,100 RS as tested)
Power: 328 horsepower, 326 pound-feet torque
Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.3 seconds (Car and Driver); towing capacity: 5,000 pounds
Weight: 4,793 pounds (AWD Traverse as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 19 city/24 highway/21 combined (AWD Traverse as tested)
Report card
Highs: Handsome styling; Super Cruise
Lows: Coarse four-banger engine sound
Overall: 4 stars
2025 Ford Explorer
Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear- and all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger SUV
Price: $41,745 base, including $1,595 destination fee ($50,865 ST Line as tested)
Powerplant: 2.3-liter, turbocharged inline-4 cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 300 horsepower, 310 pound-feet torque (turbo-4)
Performance: 0-60 mph, NA; towing capacity: 5,000 pounds
Weight: 4,565 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 20 city/27 highway/23 combined (turbo-4 AWD)
Report card
Highs: High-tech interior; Blue Cruise
Lows: Clunky rotary shifter
Overall: 4 stars
2025 Honda Pilot
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive seven-to-eight-passenger SUV
Price: $41,695, including $1,495 destination fee ($57,055 Black Edition as tested)
Powerplant: 3.5-liter V-6
Power: 285 horsepower, 262 pound-feet torque
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.2 seconds (Car and Driver est.); towing, 5,000 pounds
Weight: 4,660 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. mpg 19 city/27 highway/22 combined (FWD); 19 city/25 highway/21 combined (AWD)
Report card
Highs: Good third-row access, interior ergonomics; throaty V-6
Lows: Screen tech trails rivals; no hands-free driving option
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Dirt in the D: Detroit 4fest off-road-palooza descends on Holly Oaks
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 5, 2025
Detroit transitions from summer to fall dream cruisin’ this weekend. The seasons change, but Motown automobile events continue.
First up, the seventh annual Detroit 4fest at Holly Oaks ORV Park sponsored by Jeep on Friday and Saturday.
If the Dream Cruise celebrates boulevard hot rods then 4fest embraces off-road dirt kickers. Some 1,000 vehicles and 5,000 people will descend on southeast Michigan’s premier off-road vehicle park for two days of driving, food, music and ogling across the property’s 235 acres of hills, dunes, dirt and rock quarries. Highlights include the Notch Challenge, Bilstein’s 850-horsepower Jeep off-roader built by America’s Most Wanted, Off-Road 101 and Chrysler’s Pacifica Grizzly Peak Concept.
Ross Batchelder, Detroit 4fest
“This is year seven for Detroit 4fest at Holly Oaks ORV Park. Can you believe it?” said Detroit-based 4fest President Tom Zielinski, who also runs 4fest events in Texas and West Virginia. “We start Friday afternoon, and then we do something that’s really unique to Detroit 4fest: it’s the only time you can come to Holly Oaks and go off-roading at night. We call it Nightfest, it’s sponsored by TYRI Off-Road Lighting, and it’s amazing to see hundreds of vehicles out there with their super-bright lights on going up and down the hills.”
When the sun rises Saturday, the park — designed by Zielinski’s company, Z-Performance, on the site of an old gravel mine — becomes a giant adult sandbox crawling with four-wheel vehicles of all makes and sizes from Jeep Wranglers and Ford Broncos to side-by-sides and modified dune buggies.
Off-road veterans and rookies alike are welcome.
Detroit 4fest hosts Off-Road 101 all day to teach attendees the fine points of trail driving over Holly’s 40 miles of trails. Participants can also jump into Jeeps for tours with product specialists. And Chaos Motorsports will be at the ready to take attendees on thrill rides in their off-road race vehicles.
Ross Batchelder, Detroit 4fest
“We want to encourage people to go off-roading in their vehicles and to do it in a safe manner,” said Zielinski, a former bike racer who is a fixture in the U.S. off-road community. “Off-roading is different and our Off-Road 101 lead-follows teach the finer points.”
A sprawling 4fest show paddock overlooking the park welcomes attendees. Jeep anchors the outdoor vendor display with four concept vehicles (JT Convoy, JL Blueprint, JL Rewind, JL Bug Out) and six production models, including the Wrangler Rubicon 392, Gladiator Rubicon, Grand Cherokee 4xe, Grand Wagoneer, new 2026 Cherokee Overland and Compass Trailhawk.
The display is an indication of how manufacturers have expanded their interaction with customers beyond traditional auto shows to events such as 4fest, where participants can take the vehicle for guided tours while interacting with Jeep trivia, play a Duck Tank game, Gladiator “Guess How Many Ducks,” and enter a $100,000 vehicle sweepstakes.
4Fest Events, Detroit 4fest
English off-road automaker Ineos will have a display showcasing its rugged Grenadier SUV and Quartermaster pickup. The luxury automaker has taken aim at Land Rover in the U.S. market with its ladder-frame-based dirt-kickers.
“Our vendor count grew by over 25% this year,” said Zielinski. “It’s really a testament to how people feel about the event, and frankly, how much fun it is.”
Other vendor displays include Dana, Easton, TYRI Off-Road Lights, Magna, LaFontaine Automotive Group, Tread Lightly, Bilstein and America’s Most Wanted.
The latter pair have collaborated on an 850-horsepower, off-road Jeep monster with 43-inch all-terrain tires.
Speaking of new vehicles, expect Chrysler to be part of the mix with the new off-road-focused Pacifica Grizzly Peak minivan concept. The Grizzly features a Rhino-Rack roof rack with auxiliary lights, roll-out awning, 3-inch suspension lift and 31-inch all-terrain tires so it can take on Holly’s trails.
Thomas Patterson, Detroit 4fest
When not ogling the latest hardware, participants are welcome to cruise the park’s multiple obstacles in their own vehicles, from Darlene‘s Ridge to Mount Magna.
For serious off-roaders, 4fest hosts the Notch Challenge through a Holly Oaks rock valley.
“It is arguably the hardest rock climb the side of the Mississippi,” smiled Zielinski.” We do a time trial competition up the Notch. There are 1,000 people lining the sides of the Notch while these guys try to navigate it. Not just navigate it, but navigate it for time.”
Detroit 4fest, Detroit 4fest
Modeled on the famed “Back Door” rock crawl at the King of the Hammers off-road-palooza in Johnson Valley, California, the Notch Challenge will feature three classes: 1) Rock Crawler, 2) Street and 3) Side-by-Side.
“We’ll have some pretty wild-looking vehicles going up in the Notch in the Rock Crawler bouncer buggy vehicles with unlimited horsepower,” said Zielinski. “Then if your vehicle has a license plate and it’s currently registered, it qualifies for the Street class. And there’ll be some folks in side-by-sides that just have to have a go at it. I don’t know if any of them can actually do it, though.”d
The off-roading ends at 5 p.m. Saturday, but that doesn’t mean the end of 4fest. Fenton-based band Itchycoo Park will headline an evening of music, food and fun at the Mount Holly ski park next door.
“We’ll have food and festivities and bands and all kinds of amazing things,” said Zielinski. “And we’ll go until, well, until everybody’s too tired and they have to go home.”
After which there are more auto events on the horizon, including Cars at the Station in Detroit Sept. 19-20 and the American Speed Festival at M1 Concourse in Pontiac Oct. 3-5.
Detroit 4fest
Website: https://4festevents.com/detroit-4fest-detroit-mi-off-roading-event/WHEN: 3-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 59 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6
WHERE: Holly Oaks ORV Park, 14551 Shields Road, Holly, MI 48442
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
New Ford Racing division establishes motorsports as key brand pillar
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 5, 2025
Since its inception, Ford Motor Co. has been fueled by racing. Henry Ford won the 1901 Sweepstakes race to secure investors for his fledgling company. Ford v Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans became movie legend. And Mustang is one of the most recognized GT racers in the world.
So it’s only fitting that, on the 125th anniversary of Henry’s Sweepstakes feat, the company is reorganizing its Ford Performance operation as Ford Racing.
At a time when the Ford brand has organized the company around what it calls its icons — Bronco, Mustang, F-150 pickup — the new department is recognition that racing has made Ford an icon. Ford Racing will oversee the Dearborn automaker’s portfolio of race cars across 22 motorsports series that Ford competes in, including Formula One, NASCAR, IMSA Weathertech, GT3 racing, Mustang Challenge. While integrating learnings from these race cars into its production vehicles, attracting top-shelf engineers, and winning races, Ford Racing also intends to be a moneymaker for the Blue Oval.
Ford Racing logo. Ford, Ford
“It’s a unique moment for racing,” said Ford Racing General Manager Will Ford who, along with Global Director Mark Rushbrook, will run the new division. “We’re racing in more places than ever before, across every terrain imaginable, and maintaining an incredible lineup of performance products.”
In January, the new entity — a division under the Ford Blue internal combustion-engine unit — will kick off the 2026 racing season with logos and naming convention to signal a profit-driving enterprise enveloping racing programs, performance cars, customer experiences and merchandise. Will Ford likened the Blue Oval’s racing identity to Porsche, another brand whose track success has helped elevate its product offerings.
“Motorsport is really infused into everything (Porsche does) and everything they stand for as a brand. There are certainly other examples of great performance brands across our industry (like) Mercedes-AMG and what BMW has built,” said Ford, the great-great grandson of Henry Ford and who has been an architect of the new division since joining Ford Performance two years ago. “But we have a really unique message: our breadth of where we race and the products that those racing efforts influence our customers to buy. There’s no one else doing it across sports cars, pickup trucks and SUVs at such a global scale.”
Ford’s partnership with Red Bull Racing in F1 and NASCAR teams like Team Penske and RFK Racing are the headliners of Ford motorsport, but the brand’s off-road models have become a growing part of the mix in recent years.
At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, CEO Jim Farley highlighted Ford’s off-road potential even as he announced Ford’s entry into Le Mans’ top prototype class for the first time since 1969.
At the 2025 Ford Performance Season Launch in Charlotte, N.C., Executive Chair Bill Ford (left) and Will Ford, general manager of Ford Performance (now Ford Racing), talk about the automaker’s racing plans. Behind them is the Ford Raptor T1+ Dakar Rally race car. Ford
“We want to sell Raptors and Broncos and then race the King of the Hammers,” said Farley referring to Ford’s truck/SUV lineup and the epic, off-road California event Ford has dominated. The Ford CEO said the goal is to “have people exited about the technology of their off-road vehicles — the same vehicles that we race at Baja and at Dakar (Saudi off-road race).”
Will Ford underlined the company’s commitment to off-road motorsports — competition that has grown in visibility as the buying public has increasingly turned to rugged, four-wheel-drive SUVs and pickups as daily drivers.
“Owning off-road is our mission,” he said. “That’s not to say we’re going to take our foot off the gas on Mustang and on-track performance, but we’ve developed something really special with Raptor. You can’t extract Baja from Raptor’s DNA. It’s perhaps the truest example of race to road.”
Ford Raptor T1 at Dakar Rally, Saudi Arabia. “Owning off-road is our mission,” Ford Racing General Manager Will Ford says. Robert Gray, Ford
Ford’s Raptor off-road badge now appears on everything from F-150s in the Baja 1000 in Mexico to the Bronco in Hammers all the way to the T1 prototype in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
The new division’s unveiling is intentionally timed with the 125th anniversary of Henry’s Sweepstakes victory as Ford embarks on a new century of motorsports. “This was the moment . . . (to create) an extension brand with a straightforward and visceral name to go along with it as we enter into this new phase,” Will Ford said.
Key to that new phase is profitability.
The Mustang Challenge is another prominent racing vehicle for Ford. Wes Duenkel, Ford
Where past Ford racing efforts have been aimed at specific achievements (winning Le Mans from 1966-1969 or in building bullet-fast electric EV Demonstrator rockets like the SuperTruck that has set Pikes Peak and Bathurst records), Ford Racing aims to build sustainable progress across race series.
“We’ve done a lot of lean-in — and lean-out — as a company. This is a full lean-in,” said Will Ford. “We’re committed to these series. This new organization that we formed underneath the Ford Racing banner is going to make sure that all that racing we’re committed to is continually utilized to make our production vehicles better.”
The company sees consistent success in motorsport aiding the deployment of productions models.
At the 2025 Ford Performance Season Launch in Charlotte, Red Bull Formula One boss Christian Horner (middle) talks with Ford CEO Jim Farley. Red Bull and Ford are teaming on the F1 drivetrain for the 2026 season. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Race-to-road and road-to-race is our primary mission,” he said. “The name change is not the primary story here. It’s a reflection of the future that we’re headed down in the motorsport and performance world.”
Key to that business model is the Mustang sportscar, which fronts race series from NASCAR to international GT3 racing to the Mustang Challenge. The series offer solid revenue as Ford provides cars and engineering support to customer teams globally.
Ford Racing General Manager Will Ford: “Passion needs to be infused into every product that we put on the road” Bob Chapman, Ford
As with Mustang, Bronco, and F-150 icons, Ford Racing aims to elevate the Blue Oval to more than a household appliance-maker.
“Passion needs to be infused into every product that we put on the road, and passion doesn’t doesn’t come to life any more strongly than here in Ford Racing,” said Will Ford. “The thrill is a huge part of our brand DNA. With this rebrand, Ford Racing plays a more prominent role in the master brand, more than any variation of our name has in the past.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: With a rebel’s yell, the Ram V-8 is back
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 5, 2025
Chelsea — Corporate branding fails are legend. Coca Cola’s New Coke debacle. Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney detour. Cracker Barrel’s generic logo remake.
Ram and Dodge ditching V-8s.
The Stellantis brands’ epic, head-scratching decision has been the poster child of a bizarre few years in which automakers, reeling from billions in Nanny State fines, scrambled product offerings regardless of customer taste. After the implosion of their V8-focused muscle brands, Stellantis is working to right the ship.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Just as Cracker Barrel restored its traditional logo, Ram has stamped every V-8 model’s fender with the “Symbol of Protest” badge featuring a ram’s head on an aggressive V-8 Hemi engine. If the six-cylinder lineup felt like surrender to The Man, the protest symbol is a rebel’s yell against the Establishment. Take that, nannies!
RAWWWWR! I buried the throttle of the 2026 Ram 1500 V-8 out of Stellantis’s Chelsea Proving Grounds on to Chelsea-Manchester Road, the rear tires squealing with delight as I sailed through the pickup’s natural habitat: farms, small businesses, rural homes.
The majority of Ram 1500 truck sales are V8-powered, and, according to Sales Chief Brant Coombs, 40% of those buyers won’t consider anything else. Detroit automakers have been under assault from their own government for making the engines Americans love, with Stellantis alone suffering $773 million in fines since 2016. Ram had been on a roll until those fines hit, surpassing Chevrolet as the #2 best-selling truckmaker in early 2019.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Battered from federal haymakers, Ram’s new European owners deep-sixed the eight for the ‘25 model year, and sales sunk as buyers delayed new purchases of the brand’s six-cylinder-only lineup. You could’ve seen it coming a mile away.
Heads rolled at Stellantis, and, when the smoke cleared, company legend Tim Kuniskis — mastermind of Dodge-Ram’s strategy a decade ago — had been installed as chief of North American product. That dovetailed with new management in Washington, D.C. that was favorable to consumer choice. In December 2024 — note the post-election timing — Kuniskis & Co. convened a corporate pep rally to bring back the V-8.
“We heard loud and clear from consumers: there is no replacement for the iconic Hemi V-8. At the end of each month, we count sales to customers, not to statisticians or ideologues,” roared Kuniskis. “We raise our flag and let the Hemi ring free again!”
To paraphrase John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd, the Bruise Brothers are getting the band back together.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“It was reminiscent of a few years ago when we were kicking butts and naming names,” smiled engineer Marty Jagoda, vice president of special projects. “We put together F-15, a top secret team to get the people and the parts to bring the Hemi back. Hemi is not just an engine, it is the engine.”
The first reunion concert was Aug. 26 at Chelsea as Ram invited auto media to hear — and test — the resuscitated 5.7-liter hemi V-8. Like a Heavy Metal ‘lectric guitar, the V-8 was everywhere on the Chelsea stage.
RAWWWWR! went a Ram V-8 down a Chelsea straightaway.
RAWWWWR! Went V-8s off-road.
RAWWWWR! Went V-8s around an autocross course. Yes, an autocross course — so eager was the Ram team to show off its signature sound. For this racer, few things are more fun than auto-crossing a pickup.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
But the real test was on-road, and the eight felt right at home inside one of the market’s most refined trucks. Stellantis is rightly proud of its twin-turbo, inline six-cylinder Hurricane engine that sits under the domed hood of the rampaging RHO (pronounced Rhino) performance truck that I destroyed Holly Oaks with last year. Can the return of the V8-powered TRX (pronounced T-Rex) be far behind?
With model names like Warlock, Rebel, Lone Star and Big Horn, the raucous V-8 is signature Ram. Assured that the federal government won’t bury Stellantis in fines for making eight-holers, Ram has dialed up the assembly line to offer the Hemi in most trims.
Nanny shaming makes everyone glum, and the Ram’s team energy at Chelsea was palpable now that they no longer have a finger wagging in their face.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“We brought back this engine because our customers demanded it,” said Ram 1500 Product Chief Amy Augustine. “They were asking: Where is the V-8? After taking it out of the lineup we could really feel the customers getting upset and not understanding why we took it out.”
To make sure everyone hears it, the loud performance exhaust comes standard when you order the V-8 along with a massive 33-gallon fuel tank and best-in-the-industry 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. If your toffee-nosed neighbors sniff, tell ‘em about eTorque, the 48-volt, belt-drive generator that replaces the alternator for smoother, fuel-efficient startups and an increase of 130 pound-feet of torque to help tow up to 11,320 pounds.
The V-8 package is a $2,895 addition over the standard V-6 eTorque on Tradesman, Express, Warlock and Big Horn/Lone Star trims ($1,200 over the inline six-cylinder on Laramie and Rebel models).
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
RAWWWWR! My $63,380 Big Horn tester is in the sweet spot of the Ram lineup. It’s easy on the eyes, and easy on the behind as well with its coil-spring rear suspension. Bed flutter that you get with most leaf-spring pickups? Not that I noticed.
With tall-sidewall rubber mounted on 20-inch wheels, I rode Big Horn as comfortably on dirt trails as on blacktop.
The interior is as classy as it is massive. Leather steering wheel, eight-way power seats, superb steering wheel ergonomics with everything at your fingertips: cruise control, drive modes, volume/station control. A 12-inch infotainment screen anchors the console run by the award-winning Uconnect 5 software. No wonder trucks have replaced large sedans as the new luxury vehicles.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The rear seats of the Ram have more space than many living rooms, and the 5’7” bed options a must-have tonneau cover so you can throw cargo back there without fear of it getting soggy in a summer thunderstorm.
For $1,000, my tester gained bed utility goodies like a box light, tie-downs, sprayed bedliner and deployable bed step. I don’t know why every truck maker doesn’t adopt GM’s solution of corner bumper steps, but, in the fight-to-the-death Detroit Three truck grudge match, every brand has signature features.
For Ram, that includes Hemi. The band is back together. You’ll know it by the Symbol of Protest. Long live the V-8.
Next week: Chevy Traverse vs. Ford Explorer vs. Honda Pilot
2026 Ram 1500 V-8
Vehicle type: Rear- and four-wheel drive, four-door, five-passenger pickup
Price: $46,115, including $2,095 destination charge (est. $63,380 Big Horn Crew Cab as tested)
Powerplant: 5.7-liter Hemi V-8
Power: 395 horsepower, 410 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph (NA); maximum towing, 11,320 pounds; payload, 1,650 pounds
Weight: 5,712 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 17 mpg city/23 mpg highway/19 mpg combined
Report card
Highs: V-8 soundtrack is back; premium ride
Lows: Nightmare to park in an urban garage; no TRX yet
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s SuperTruck: Ford F-150 EV track monster rips Nürburgring
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 29, 2025
Give this pickup a cape.
Ford Performance took its electric Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck EV Demonstrator to the Nürburgring, the world’s most daunting race track, and set the fifth-fastest time ever recorded. Based on a similar platform to Ford’s Transit SuperVan 4.2 that recently set the seventh-fastest time, SuperTruck is nearly 10 seconds faster than Ford’s fastest production car, the Mustang GTD.
The 6:43.5-minute lap around the so-called Green Hell’s 12.9-mile circuit was nearly on par with the Porsche GT2 RS (6.43.3 minutes), the second-fastest production car to circle the track behind the Mercedes-AMG One at 6:29.1 minutes. The SuperTruck is one of three cyborgs, including the SuperVan and Super Mustang Mach-E, developed in Ford’s EV Demonsrator program to push the limits of electrification.
Driver Romain Dumas with the Ford SuperVan 4.2 (left) and the F-150 Lightning SuperVan EV demonstrators at the Nürburgring. Ford
“That time represents something bigger than speed. It’s proof that when we go electric, we’re bringing everything Ford stands for with us,” said Ford Performance Global Director Mark Rushbrook. “We build the future by testing it at the limit. It’s called the ‘Green Hell’ for a reason. When our systems survive this punishment, they’re ready for whatever you throw at them.”
Like SuperVan, SuperTruck was piloted by Romain Dumas, a two-time Le Mans 24-Hour winner. Dumas had already won the 2024 Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado and the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb in the bespoke, track-focused truck. It has also set the Car and Diver Lightning Lap record at Virginia International Raceway.
Despite weighting a hefty 4,000 pounds (estimated) and pushing a lot of air with its boxy truck proportions, SuperTruck achieved these feats with a staggering 2,200 horsepower, instant torque off corners, and 6,000 pounds of downforce — more than an IndyCar — at 150 mph from its giant rear wing and front splitter.
SuperTruck also demonstrates the limitations of electric technology (in addition to its hefty curb weight, courtesy of a large battery). In its Lightning Lap VIR configuration, for example, the SuperTruck sucked down 60% of a charge in one 4.2-mile lap and required a stream of dry-ice-cooled air to quickly chill its heat exchangers between runs. Though Ford didn’t provide details, even more robust measures would have been needed for the over three-times-longer Nürburgring lap.
The Ford F-150 Lightning SuperVan EV demonstrator set a record up Pikes Peak in 2024. Ford
Competitions like the 24 Hours of Nürburgring are a long way off. But Rushbrook said SuperTruck is focused on engineering learnings.
The production Ford F-150 Lightning, which shares little with the carbon-fiber-body, tube-frame, winged Lightning SuperTruck, is the first electric version of Ford’s best-selling pickup. Ford said racing SuperTruck helps accelerate aerodynamic and battery learnings crucial to the Lightning’s development.
“These crazy fast laps teach us things you can’t learn anywhere else. Our engineers get to work with real data from real extremes,” he said. “We’ve been doing this forever — Daytona, Le Mans, now the ‘Ring. The track teaches you things a conference room never could. Every breakthrough we’ve made, from the flathead V-8 to EcoBoost to these electric beasts, started with someone saying, ‘Let’s see what this thing can really do.'”
The Ford SuperVan puts down 2,950 pound-feet of torque through all-wheel-drive (Picture from SuperVan’s record closed-wheel car lap at Bathurst track at New South Wales, Australia, 2024). EDGE Photographics/Mark Horsburgh
Nürburgring is the benchmark for single-lap speed and has been the focus of Ford and Chevrolet this year for their latest performance programs. The 1,250-horse Corvette ZR1X hypercar set the fastest American production car record around the ‘Ring this summer at 6:49.3 minutes — nipping the Mustang GTD’s 6:52.1.
The fastest electric prototype lap around the Nürburgring was set by the Volkswagen ID.R at 6:05.3 minutes. The absolute record is held by the hybrid Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo race car at 5:19.5 minutes.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: My date with a McLaren 750S supermodel supercar
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 28, 2025
Charlevoix — Mat the brake pedal. Press LAUNCH control. Mat the accelerator pedal. Wait for RPM to level at 3,000. Dump the brake.
Foom!
My 2025 McLaren 750S rocketed past 60 mph in 2.3 seconds. 100 mph? Just 4.8 seconds. At which point the mighty 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V-8 behind my ear was just clearing its throat. WAAUUUGGGGHH! You probably heard the blood-curdling howl all the way down in Detroit. For relevance, you have to delve into the realm of motorsport. Launching the 750S nearly approximates a McLaren Formula One car, which hits 60 mph in 1.6 seconds and 100 in 2.6. (OK, that last figure is just insane. But the 750S hits 100 mph in the same amount of time it takes a Porsche Cayman to get to, ahem, 60.)
And thanks to the Netflix “Drive to Survive” series, everyone knows McLaren.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Like the 750S in Launch mode, Formula One has rocketed to prominence in the United States, making the British company and its ace drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, household names. This is McLaren’s U.S. moment. For decades one of the top teams in international motorsport, it has produced exceptional production cars: the P1, MP4, even the 750S’s predecessor, the 720S. Now as F1’s best team, McLaren’s V8-powered 750S, Artura and GTS production lineup gets to share the American spotlight.
Think Ferrari in the 1960s as its motorsports dominance made legends of the V12-powered 250 GTO, 275 GTB and 400 Superamerica sports cars.
The 750S is every bit as deserving.
Powered by a 740-horse (the 750 number comes from the metric, so-called “Pferdestärke” or “PS,” calculation of horsepower) V-8 strapped to a carbon-fiber, monocoque chassis, the McLaren is a race car in drag.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
An evolution of the 720S I reviewed in 2018, 750S has made significant gains, including 30 more horsepower, 30% new parts, 20% more rear wing, center-mounted exhaust, 66 less pounds of body fat. You’ll know it by its aggressive front spoiler. Previous McLarens I’ve tested (720S, 570S, Artura) turned heads, but with McLaren’s new-found U.S. fame, my drive up I-75 was like a trip down the red carpet.
Supercar supermodel.
Camera phones popped out of windows to record it. Vehicles lingered beside me at 80 mph. A trucker trailering a dirt-track racer waved me down and we exchanged thumbs-up. Parked with its batwing doors up, the 750S attracted passersby who snapped photos, asked questions, gawked.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
That’s a McLaren!
It’s the 750!
McLaren is my son’s favorite F1 team! Can I take a picture in the driver’s seat for him?
Good lord, it’s beautiful!
I’m selling my house and buying one.
Dressed in yellow with a black greenhouse and headlight sockets, my tester 750S looked like a wasp. Underneath, it packs serious sting.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Its carbon chassis construction mirrors that of F1, IndyCar and IMSA hypercars. Only a few production cars — the Alfa Romeo 4C, Ford GT, Maserati MC20 — boast similar construction. The exotic material makes for stiff, lightweight body construction.
Weighing just 3,206 pounds, the 750S posts a power-to-weight ratio of 1:4. Replace the massive, show-car scissor doors and 750S would be lighter still. Corvettes’ 3,666-pound rear-wheel drive ZR1 supercar (an engineering marvel in its own right) requires 1,064 horsepower to record a better, 1:3.6 power-to-weight ratio.
The Mac feels like an oversized slot car.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Exiting the I-75 red carpet at Gaylord, I headed west on M-32, one of the state’s best driver’s roads. With little body roll, my steed changed directions instantly through S turns and diving sweepers — not unlike my monocoque-chassis, 1,350-pound Lola race car.
Unlike my small-displacement 2.0-liter Lola (power to weight ratio 1:9), the McLaren explodes off corners. The car’s unique shoulder line (sweeping back from those headlight sockets that double as oil coolers) is functional, feeding a river of air to the hungry mill behind me. Between turns, the 750S inhaled M-32’s straightaways, punctuated by massive brakes hauling the missile back to earth. Race car-like brakes for race-car like speeds.
Give this car a cape. With Superman in theaters, the 750S supercar begs the comparison. Its otherworldly capabilities quickly outgrow mortal roads, even on P-Zero summer tires. If Superman needs the sky, then the McLaren needs a racetrack to explore its envelope.
For all its superpowers, 750S is as normal as Clark Kent in daily driving (gawkers aside). The same hydraulic, lightweight adaptive suspension that firms the 750S in TRACK mode makes COMFORT mode smooth. The seven-speed gearbox shifts like butter. Ergonomics are superb with easy-to-reach stalks sprouting from the steering wheel. Even DRIVE modes are controlled by rocker switches just above the steering wheel on either side of the motorcycle-like digital instrument display.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
At 6’5”, I had plenty of headroom in the supportive Alcantara seats, with Honda CR-V-like visibility. Other mid-engine cars require camera mirrors, given their thick C-pillars. Like a Porsche, 750S had a frunk for my laptop case and a rear-cabin shelf for a clothes bag. Got golf clubs? Buy a Corvette.
McLaren has kept the console simple, which should help avoid electronic glitches. But who needs an infotainment system when you have McLaren’s glorious V-8 choir behind you?
I never turned on the radio.
The race car cabin’s biggest sacrifice is footwell space. I have to stuff my size 15 feet into 11½ racing boots in my race car. In the McLaren, I needed narrow race boots or tennis shoes to operate the pedals. Drivers with normal dogs will be fine.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
With its F1 success and hot production models, could McLaren become legend? In the late ‘60s, as Ferrari was gaining notoriety in the United States, the 275 GTB sold for $12,000. Some 25 years later, they auction for $3 million. Will McLarens be similarly coveted some day? A few driver titles by Lando Norris wouldn’t hurt.
One thing the 750S has that F1 cars don’t is a V-8 soundtrack. As F1 has moved toward a 50/50, gas-electric hybrid era, its V-6 engines have underwhelmed. There’s talk of moving away from costly, heavy batteries toward synthetic fuels. Should synfuels become viable, F1 teams like Cadillac and McLaren could use V-8 engines like those found in their production cars.
Imagine the howl. WAAAUUGGHGHR! We can only dream.
Next week: 2026 Ram 1500 V-8
2025 McLaren 750S
Vehicle type: Rear-wheel-drive, two-door, two-passenger supercar
Price: $349,500, including $5,500 destination charge ($420,280 as tested)
Powerplant: 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V-8
Power: 740 horsepower, 590 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 2.3 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 206 mph
Weight: 3,206 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA estimated 15 mpg city/19 mpg highway/17 combined
Report card
Highs: Supercar supermodel; carbon chassis
Lows: No Android Auto; costs as much as a house
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Electric Ford SuperVan laps Nürburgring faster than Mustang GTD, Corvette ZR1X
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 25, 2025
Ford Motor Co.’s Transit van has sold over 13 million copies worldwide. Ten million of those sales have been in Europe, where 1 in 5 vans are Transits. They are used by utility companies, delivery shops, landscapers. So, naturally, Ford took it to Germany’s 12.9-mile, 154-turn Nürburgring, the world’s most demanding race track, to set a lap time.
Not just any Ford Transit van. The electric, 2,000-horsepower, winged, four-motor SuperVan 4.2 track monster.
Fresh off obliterating the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado with the second-fastest time recorded, SuperVan set a blistering Nürburgring lap of 6.48.4 minutes. That’s faster than the Mustang GTD, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X or Porsche 911 GT2 RS supercars. It’s the ninth fastest lap ever recorded at Nürburgring in any kind of vehicle.
EDGE Photographics/Mark Horsburgh
Though admittedly a winged race car with fat, slick tires, as much downforce as an IndyCar, and driven by pro racer Romain Dumas — the breadbox-shaped panel van is still a brick on wheels. With SuperVan 4.2, Ford has set out to prove that — when equipped with its state-of-the-art electric tech — even a Transit van can compete with Ford’s best gas-powered production supercars.
The carbon-fiber-body, tube-frame Frankenstein’s-chassis van shares its DNA with other so-called “electric demonstrators,” including the Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck and Super Mustang Mach-E prototypes. SuperTruck also made a Pikes Peak run last year clocking a lap time just shy of SuperVan’s achievement. EVs thrive up the 14,000-foot-high mountain where the lack of air starves internal combustion engines.
“Our electric vehicle demonstrator program has become an integral part of our broader Ford Performance racing portfolio,” Ford said in a press release. “It is here that we can give our engineers, designers and aerodynamicists a clean sheet of paper and tell them to dream big. Here, we can explore the boundaries of what is possible, all with the aim of bringing these learnings back in to both our race programs and our road programs.”
Mark Horsburgh/EDGE Photographics
What makes the SuperVan’s Nürburgring time impressive is that it was accomplished at normal altitudes. Though heavy for a race car at about 4,000 pounds, its weight is on par with the production Corvette ZR1X. SuperVan’s 2,950 pound-feet of torque translates into brutal, instant acceleration off corners.
As seen on a video of SuperVan’s lap, the EV racer is then able to maintain 163 miles an hour over long straightaway sections — though that speed is well shy of, say, the Corvette’s 200 mph or the Mustang GTD’s 187 mph. ICE cars grow stronger at high speeds as they breathe in more air and their sleek aerodynamics work better than square vans. Even a caped SuperVan.
The 1,250-horse Corvette ZR1X set the fastest American production car record around the ‘Ring this summer at 6:49.3 minutes just nipping the Mustang GTD at 6:52.1. A Porsche 911 GT2 RS set a 6:43.3-minute lap with the rare, $2.7 million Mercedes-AMG One (only 275 built) holding the production record at 6:29.1 minutes.
Ford isn’t the only manufacturer with track-focused EV demonstrator programs. China’s Xiaomi brand took a SU7 Ultra Prototype around the so-called Green Hell at 6:22.1 minutes, while the Volkswagen ID.R set a lap of 6:05.33 minute (the ID.R is also the only racer faster up Pikes Peak than SuperVan). The V-dub is the second fastest time behind the absolute record set by the hybrid Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo race car at 5:19.5.
SuperVan has also set a record at Bathurst Speedway in Australia, Southeast Asia’s most legendary track.
Ford, Ford
CEO Jim Farley, a skilled amateur race who competed in the Le Mans Mustang Challenge in France this summer, demonstrated the SuperVan’s track capabilities for media at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2024.
The Ford Nürburgring achievement is a cheeky bookend to another famed Transit lap around the Green Hell.
In 2009, professional German race driver and ‘Ring specialist Sabine Schmitz took up a challenge from Top Gear’s Jeremey Clarkson that she could lap the Nürburgring in under 10 minutes in a regular, 136-horsepower Transit van. A sub-10 minute lap is an impressive feat in a performance sedan — much less an ungainly panel truck — and Clarkson had recently crowed on the popular TV show about lapping a Jaguar S-Type (Ford owned Jaguar in 2000, incidentally) just under the 10-minute mark.
Ford, Ford
“I can go faster than that in a Ford Transit,” Schmitz bet Clarkson and nearly succeeded with a mighty 10.08-second lap that was the Transit lap record.
Until the 2,000-horsepower SuperVan blew it away.
“It wasn’t until now that we had the right Transit, the right driver and the right conditions to see what might be possible,” Ford said in its release.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Cruisin’ with the amusin’ Ford Maverick Lobo pickup
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 22, 2025
Woodward Avenue — Lobo is Spanish for wolf, but the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo is more like a puppy dog. It wants to play everywhere.
At an autocross course in California, I toggled LOBO mode and drifted the puppy — er, pickup — through pylons. At an offroad area in Charlevoix, I slung gravel across dirty trails. Taking Michigan turns on Woodward, I wagged its tail.
Say hello to Lobo, Dream Cruisers. A new classic is born.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Maverick, of course, is already a huge success as Ford’s entry-level vehicle (not just entry pickup). It sold over 157,000 units in just its third year in the market in 2024 and is on pace to beat that in ‘25 despite a 20% price increase. It’s already won two Detroit News Vehicle of the Year Awards and Americans can’t get enough of them.
Ford knows how to broaden a product’s demographic, and it already offers a 38-mpg Maverick hybrid (2021 News Vehicle of the Year) and dirt-kicking, all-terrain tire Tremor model (2022 winner). Now comes Lobo, a howl-at-the-moon treat.
From the West Coast to Western Michigan to a week at the Dream Cruise, this puppy is man’s best friend. Fun, utilitarian and high-tech, it has few equals. It’s the performance pickup you never saw coming, But then, Ford has experience at — not just trucks — but hot-hatch hellions as well.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Remember the Focus ST and RS? They left the U.S. market in 2018, but their DNA lives on in, of all things, a truck. Lobo is a hot hatch in pickup clothing.
Armed with a similar 250-horsepower, turbo-4 engine found in the ol’ Focus ST, Lobo also adopts the driftin’, misbehavin’, torque-slingin’ twin rear clutch packs from Focus RS. Press the starter button and you’ll want to hang on to the leash of this puppy!
ROOWWRRRRR! growled the 4-banger as I put my size 15 into it. With sport shocks, lowered suspension and a steering wheel that feels rooted to the ground, Lobo has legitimate street cred. Call it Lo’ boy. Over the roller-coaster twists and turns of M-32 east of Gaylord, the truck jumped from turn to turn with surprising agility. Yeah, it’s still an SUV-based pickup and the pup skitters around on its four paws more than the Focus twins ever did. But everything is responsive, including the engine growl which gets lower in SPORT and LOBO modes.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
That playfulness is even more pronounced on an autocross where you can take advantage of all-wheel drive and let the front wheels pull you out of lurid slides in LOBO mode (which moves torque between the rear wheels for maximum drifting).
First rule of performance pickups: buy a tonneau cover ($600-$1,280) for the rear bed. Because you’ll wind up slinging dirt into the 4.5-foot box and ruining whatever you’ve stored back there — which, in the wee Maverick, is a lot given its small back seat (more on that later).
Maverick doesn’t have to drift to get attention. Check out those Turbofan wheels.
Cruising Woodward, my white tester got lots of looks.
“I thought that was the Lobo,” said Rob, a Mustang owner, in Royal Oak. “Love those wheels.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Black, painted 19-inch Turbofan wheels are standard. A classic supercar wheel that has adorned such cyborgs as the Porsche 959 and Ford GT Mk IV, the black Turbofans are a bold statement on Lobo. Ford gives you the build option of black aluminum spoke wheels, but Turbofans signal it’s not your average pup.
That attitude extends inside with monogrammed seats and blue accents on the climate controls, console and door handles.
The latter highlights the thoughtful ergonomic features. Door handles are shortened to allow vertical space in the doors for tall bottles — perfect for Saturday’s 90-degree Dream Cruise scorcher.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The roomy console includes a wireless charging pad. The Ford relies on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for navigation duties that can drain your phone. On my four-hour trip north, the phone stayed charged while navigating me through summer construction detours. Atop the giant 13.2-inch infotainment screen is a cubby — handy for suntan lotion bottles, sunglasses and other road-trip accessories.
Speaking of the screen, the $35K Maverick offers state-of-the art graphics that debuted on the $100K Lincoln Navigator not long ago. Colorful graphics introduce the variety of DRIVE modes — LOBO, SPORT, SLIPPERY, ECO, STANDARD, TOW — and a 360-degree camera is standard as well.
The compact size and 360-degree camera were a big help with Cruise coverage when I often had to fit in tight, off-Woodward parking spots and garages. Try that in your full-size F-150 pickup.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Yet the pup is also useful when it comes to fetching sticks — er, large cargo — thanks to its 2,000-pound towing capacity. Lobo is outfitted with Ford’s clever Pro Trailer Backup Assist knob and rear camera so you can maneuver a trailer.
All this, and Ford is just scratching the surface of Lobo potential.
The color palette is bland: White, Black, Gray, Velocity Blue. Seriously? Focus ST colors included Race Red, Tangerine Scream, Performance Blue, Kona Blue, Triple Yellow and Hot Pepper Red. That’s more like it.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Until those colors become available, make mine Velocity Blue to match interior trim.
And be sure you get the tonneau cover because if you take a road trip, there isn’t much room behind the front seats. At 6’5”, I had to take my legs off to sit behind myself. And, with heavy rains in the Charlevoix forecast — my son and I had to stuff all our gear into the back seat: two suitcases, tennis bag, cooler and other bags.
Were it a family trip for four, the bed would have been a cargo must.
After a day of hooliganism across Metro Detroit, I pulled into the driveway of friend Kevin. “I heard you coming,” he smiled. “That’s the new Lobo? Love it. Love the wheels.”
“I was doing some doughnuts up in Pontiac,” I said.
“Got video?” he asked.
Next week: 2025 McLaren 750S
2025 Ford Maverick Lobo
Vehicle type: Front engine, all-wheel-drive, five-passenger compact pickup
Price: $37,625, including $1,695 destination fee ($42,345 as tested)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder
Power: 250 horsepower, 277 pound-feet torque
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.1 seconds (Motor Trend); towing capacity, 2,000 pounds
Weight: 3,814 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA est. 21 mpg city/30 highway/24 combined
Report card
Highs: Hot hatch in pickup clothing; fun + utility
Lows: Small back seat; more Skittle colors, please
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Dream Cruiser engines roar over the purr of daily commuters on Woodward
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 16, 2025
Ferndale – The sun rose with a roar on Saturday morning.
The sounds of engines slowly filled the air at 6.30 a.m. as a cornucopia of Cruisers came onto Woodward at Eight Mile to begin the Woodward Dream Cruise. The rumble of push-rod Chevy V-8s, the menacing gurgle of Mustang V-8s, the high-pitched wail of Subaru WRX 4-bangers, the snap-crackle-pop of modified exhaust systems layered over the purr of daily commuter traffic.
Lang Ware and his friend Steve Daniels sat on the sidewalk in front of the Magic Bag music venue on the east side of Woodward soaking it all in with their Mustang GTs.
David Guralnick, The Detroit News
“We’ve been coming here every year for about 10 years,” said Ware next to his 2014 Ford Mustang GT with the license plate BDPENNY hung out the back. “We eat breakfast at the Hambol Coney and then watch the sun rise before cruising up Woodward.
BDPENNY is a reference to his unique, “Bad Penny” modified Mustang that debuted at the 2014 SEMA car show in Las Vegas. The unique build was screwed together by CDC in Milford and includes engine, suspension and body mods – including a pair of copper penny medallions aft of each front wheel. “I always liked custom cars and this is my second Mustang,” said Ware who wore a Woodward T-shirt emblazoned with prototype race car.
Not to be outdone, Daniels’ 2018 Mustang GT is as orange as the rising sun.
“I first saw this car at a Mustang Alley Dream Cruise display – flipped sideways,” said Daniels of the Ford display that anchors this end of Woodward every year. “I told myself that I was going to get that car. Now it has 230,000 miles on it.”
The muscle car looks brand new despite its miles of use – including with winter tires thrown on to weather Detroit’s brutal winters.
English beauty returns
Royal Oak — Kevin Livingston of Farmington Hills made sure British autos were also represented at the Dream Cruise.
At a park on the corner of Woodward and 13 Mile — in a sea of angular, mean-looking American classics — sat a comparatively petite 1958 Austin-Healey. The curvaceous coupe was a two-tone: the majority of the body “Florida Green,” with creamy “Old English White” on the sides.
No big fan of car shows, Livingston said the Dream Cruise is the only one he routinely attends.“This show, you get so many different people, it’s fun chatting,” he said.
Kevin Livingston showed off his 1958 Austin-Healey at the Woodward Dream Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. Owen McCarthy / The Detroit News
As passersby marveled at the machine, Livingston noted it wasn’t always in such pristine shape. When he bought it in 2011, it had been sitting in a garage for 44 years, largely dissembled and stripped of its paint.
He never knew the original owner, but bought it off their son.
His best guess is the original owner was one of a group of World War II veterans who bought “sportier” European cars while stationed overseas after the war, and had them shipped back for “basically free” to the U.S.
Livingston said cars like his were seen as exotic in the U.S., and sought for their smooth handling when the American cars of the era “handled like a brick.”
After finishing a meticulous restoration job in 2014, Livingston debuted his English beauty at the Dream Cruise. He happened to run into the original owner’s son, and took both of them for a cruise on Woodward.
The owner’s son “had never rode in the car,” Livingston said, but was “thrilled” when he got the opportunity more than five decades after the car was built, and an ocean away from its birthplace.
Katy Kildee, The Detroit News
Mustang Alley a feast for the eyes
Ferndale – Three gigantic activations on the Woodard route anchor the Dream Cruise like giant chain stores in a mall: M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Memorial Park at 13 Mile, and Mustang Alley at Como’s Restaurant and Nine Mile. You could just walk these displays all day and get fat on eye candy.
The latter consolidated Ford’s forces from Kruse & Muer at Catalpa Road into one mega-show this year and it. Is. Awesome.
Ferndale – Mustang Super Mach-E Pike Peak attack machine. In Mustang Alley. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Dogleg east on Nine Mile from Woodward and you’d better take a case of water as the display sprawls all the way to Canada. Check out Ford’s array of production and performance vehicles including the gazillion-horsepower Mustang Super Mach-E Pikes Peak assault vehicle that boasts a Formula One-like 6,900 pound pf downforce.
Also notable is the RTR display that shows off some of drifter champ Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s Mustang creations including the first RTR-branded production car. It’s still in camouflage, but we think it’s the next-gen turbo-4 performance model. The RTR badge has enthusiasts buzzing that Gittin is the new Carrol Shelby – a racing genius who will be supercharging Ford cars for years to come.
Speaking of Shelby, the most powerful Shelby ever made – the 760-horsepower GT500 – is represented, and nowhere more spectacularly than Chris Willis’ yellow, carbon-trimmed beat. He trailered it in from Chicago were does track days at Road America and Autobahn race tracks.
“We raise money for the ‘Cruise with a Cause’ charity that RTR helps with also,” he said. His GT500 will fetch classic money someday: it’s the pre-production VIN #1 model for the 2021 production year.
Ferndale – Chris Willis, Chicago, with his 2021 Ford Mustang GT500. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Dodge Hellcat shows Lions pride
Royal Oak – A Dodge Hellcat turned heads for a brief spell on Woodward in Royal Oak in the early afternoon for a couple reasons.
It announced its presence before it was in sight for some with heavy bass pumping out of its speaker. With the car windows down, passerby were treated to a taste of V.I.C’s 2008 club hit “Wobble Baby.”
While the blaring music was attention-grabbing enough, it was the car’s paint job that really stole the show.
A Honolulu blue Detroit Lions logo and graphic of the city’s skyline were emblazoned on the side of a Dodge Hellcat at the Woodward Dream Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. Owen McCarthy / The Detroit News
A Honolulu blue Detroit Lions logo and graphic of the city’s skyline were emblazoned on its side, offsetting a darker shade of blue covering the rest of the car’s exterior.
Silver rims and cursive flourishes further accented the bold vehicle.
It’s hard to imagine a Detroit Lions Dodge would have rolled down the Woodward Dream Cruise so unabashedly during the majority of years in its three decade history.
Gateway to racing
Royal Oak – Gary Godola brought his 1987 Reynard Formula Ford open-wheel race car to Woodward.
Parked in front of the Superlap SIM racing store just south of the Vinsetta Garage and Catalpa Road, the FF recently competed at the SCCA Nationals on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and was a constant source of conversation for Cruise attendees, especially young fans.
“We use the Dream Cruise to gain awareness for the world of racing,” said the board member of Waterford Hills Raceway. “Not just people looking to get into driving, but also corner workers and mechanics.”
Royal Oak – Gary Godola (left) with Alex Della Torre at the Waterford Hills exhibit on Woodward. Godola races the Reynard Formula Ford (foreground). Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Godola and racer friends Andrew Mallory and Alex Della Torre have worked the Detroit Grand Prix as corner workers, one of many ways entrees into the sprawling motorsports world. Superlap is part of that world as well with Tuesday and Thursday iRacing SIM leagues.
Godola races his car all over Michigan at tracks like Waterford, Gingerman, and Grattan along with fellow Board member Del Torre who is a Waterford Hills instructor.
“We want to show people that they can get into racing affordably with a $20,000 race car,” said Godola, “and Waterford Hills is a great local place to start.”
One of the banners on the Waterford Hills/Superlap display shows off the SCCA Spec Racer Ford class. “You can get a second-generation Spec Race Ford for just $14,000,” said Della Torre who organizes SRF events that will attract as many as 20 cars with drivers like Ford Performance Chief Mark Roshbrook and Hagerty editor Larry Webster. “I’ll invite people out to Waterford Hills and have them drive a Spec Race Ford around the paddock. They love it. Then I’ll sign them up to do a test session n track. Then they are hooked.”
Larry Santavicca the manager for the AAA office in Birmingham, gets into the spirit of the Woodward Dream Cruise, August 16, 2025.David Guralnick, The Detroit News
Dodge Challenger Scat Pack a Cruise staple.
Ferndale – It’s Halloween in August.
One of the Captains of the Cruise is (still) the Dodge Challenger Scat Pack coupe with V-8 engine, 392 cubic inches, 485 horsepower, and wide body fenders. Discontinued in 2023 due to federal regulatory pressure, it is a Cruise staple. One of the best examples on the strip is Rodney Tillman’s 2022 model painted in orange and black Halloween colors.
Tillman comes by his Bengal colors naturally as a Cincinnati resident, but the car was painted in Kalamazoo. The paint treats include scary pumpkins decorating the engine bay and a giant bumblebee (the Scat Pack symbol) wrapping the rear fenders. “Trick or Treat” is stamped across the front bumper.
Ferndale – Rodney Tillman, 2022 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack with Halloween theme and Bumblebee fenders. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Tillman has no interest in the current, 6-cylinder replacement for the Challenger – the Charger coupe – and instead is hoping for the rumored, V-8-powered Dodge Cuda rumored for 2026 now that the feds are backing off.
‘The car in the movie’
Royal Oak – Dan Fletcher, of Metamora Township, brought out an icon of both Detroit’s automotive history and Hollywood’s: a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am.
You know, the car that Burt Reynolds drove in “Smokey and the Bandit.”
Dan Fletcher of Metamora Township with a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am that look like the one Burt Reynolds drove in “Smokey and the Bandit” at the Woodward Dream Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. Owen McCarthy / The Detroit News
It was the summer of that year, shortly before the blockbuster released when Fletcher’s Dad — a General Motors employee — brought the black and gold beauty home.
One night, Fletcher had a date at the Beltline drive-in theater in Grand Rapids. His dad let him take the impressive new wheels.
At the theater, there were two screens. Fletcher and his companion opted for the one showing “Star Wars: Episode 4 – A New Hope.”
As they watched, Fletcher noticed his car attracting lots of attention. He knew it was a sweet ride, but this was a lot.
“Why is there so much interest in the car?” he recalls asking.
As it turned out, Smokey and the Bandit was playing on the other screen at the theater.
“I turn around and look, and there’s the car in the movie!” Fletcher said.
He and his date kept their attention mostly focused on “Star Wars,” but Fletcher naturally went to see “Smokey and the Bandit” the next day.
Today, it’s among his favorite movies. Fletcher’s wife chimed in that he “can recite every line” in the film, adding that fellow Dream Cruisers will go back and forth with him exchanging quotes from it.
‘Never missed a year’
Royal Oak – For 30 years, former Grosse Pointe North High School mates Rob Binge of Sterling Heights, Alan Srodawa of Grosse Pointe, and Bill Turgeon of Troy have been coming to the Cruise with a variety of cars.
This year they brought, respectively, a 1987 Ford Mustang GT Convertible, 1987 Pontiac Fiero GT, and 2007 Ferrari 599. It’s a microcosm of the eclectic mix of cars that now cruises Woodward.
“We’ve never missed a year,” said Binge who has also brought a 1965 Pontiac GTO, 1966 Chevrolet Nova, and 1967 Nova to Woodward over the years. “The Cruise has really changed. In the beginning it was mostly older cars and Detroit muscle, but now you see newer cars and all kinds of variety. It’s become much more of a show.”
Royal Oak – Grosse Pointe High classmates Bill Turgeon (right) with his Ferrari 599 and Rob Binge with his 1987 Ford Mustang GT. The Pontiac Fiero GT (foreground) is ownd by Alan Srodawa (not pictured).. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Right on cue, a six-door DeLorean limousine – its six gull-wing doors high in the air – cruised by.
“I saw a trailer pulling a truck on Woodward this year,” smiled Turgeon who sometimes brings a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda to the Cruise. “Driving like it was in reverse! Completely backward from what you’re used to.”
Also strange is seeing a mid-engine Pontiac sitting next to a front-engine Ferrari. Usually it’s the other way around. “They only built the Fiero from 1984 to 1988,” said Srodawa. “The GT was the hot rod with a V-6 engine and special body kit.”
David Guralnick, The Detroit News
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
Corvette CX concept: Get a peek at the supercar’s electrified future
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 16, 2025
Chevrolet unveiled a glimpse at its supercar future Friday with the electric Corvette CX and hybrid CX.R Vision Gran Turismo race car concepts.
The dynamic duo are the first Corvette concepts since 2009 and introduce both radical and evolutionary features to America’s longest-running supercar. The pair represent the continued close collaboration between Corvette’s production and motorsports arms in formulating next-generation cars. Like the current-gen C8 (In Chevy-speak, C8 marks the eighth-generation car), General Motors Co.’s Charlotte-based motorsports engineers were intimately involved in the CX’s development.
Also like C8, the sleek CX concept has a mid-engine design, though its layout is (like Stellantis’s STLA Large platform that underpins the Charger muscle car) flexible to accommodate both battery-powered and internal combustion engine designs. Penned by Corvette’s Warren design studio, the winged CX concept is the winner of a design competition between GM’s Detroit, England and California studios.
Nick Dimbleby, GM
“GM designers across the studios were asked to imagine where we could take Corvette. Now it’s time to reveal the ultimate concept in the series, the Corvette CX concept, a vision of what Corvette can be in the future,” said Executive Design Director for Chevrolet Phil Zak at a media preview ahead of Friday’s unveiling at the exclusive Quail Motorsports Gathering at Monterey Car Week in California. “The CX is the future of where we’re going with the car. The CX.R Vision … was designed exclusively for racetrack and is a look into the future of Corvette GT racing.”
The Quail event is an indication of the brand’s elevated direction. The CX follows the introduction of another X-factor vehicle — the all-wheel-drive, hybrid ZR1X, Corvette’s first $200,000-plus hypercar — that also appeared at Quail with a Quail Silver special edition production model. Both CX concepts will be available to drive on the Gran Turismo 7 gaming platform later this month.
Veteran auto analyst and supercar expert Karl Brauer of ISeeCars.com recently returned from the Longtail Rally, an exclusive, cross-country celebration of supercar performance, and applauded the CX concept’s upscale aspirations.
Nick Dimbleby, GM
“I’ve done the Longtail Rally for the last five years,” said Brauer, who has owned multiple supercars, including a Ford GT. “Every year there’s between 20 and 30 supercars — Porsches, Lamborghinis, McLarens, Ferraris. I’ve never seen a Corvette and I don’t think they ever will make the cut, as long as they keep putting two golf clubs in the trunk and making it heavy and over-styled.”
There is no mention of space for golf clubs in the CX press release. The concepts’ lofty ambition is apparent in their lightweight, carbon-fiber tub — an exotic construction common in race cars like the Cadillac V-Series.R and Chevrolet-powered IndyCars. While stiffening the chassis for better handling, the lightweight carbon tub should help offset the heavy electrified drivelines. The concepts continue the ZR1X’s hypercar direction with all-wheel-drive powertrains and over 2,000 horsepower.
They get there in different ways.
Nick Dimbleby, GM
The silver CX is all-electric with four motors, one powering each wheel for torque-vectoring all-wheel drive. A big 90-kWh battery is mounted low in the chassis. In a world where many Corvettes don’t drive further than the country club — or race track — battery range won’t be an issue. The CX dovetails with GM’s determination to be a zero-emission manufacturer in the not-too-distant future.
The race car concept, on the other hand, is a bow to the realities of endurance racing and the inherent drawbacks of a heavy, low-range battery. Powered by synthetic fuel, a high-revving V-8 engine drives the rear wheels through an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. Three electric motors — one for each front wheel and the third incorporated into gearbox — assist the engine for low-end torque.
The CX.R hybrid system is an echo of the hybrid, gas-electric, V8-powered system in GM’s Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar, which currently races in global sportscar series (the current Corvette C8.R is V-8 only). Synfuels are reportedly under consideration for Cadillac’s Formula One program. Currently under international political pressure to produce a heavy, 50-50 hybrid gas-electric powertrain, F1 could change the game with synfuels, allowing for a more visceral, V8-focused drivetrain like that in the Corvette.
Nick Dimbleby, GM
Analyst Brauer warned of going all-in on an electric drivetrain, however, pointing to the sales struggles of the Dodge Charger Daytona EV that kicked the brand’s traditional V-8 to the curb in favor of battery power.
“A pure electric Corvette production lineup will be a flop,” he said. “You’ll get some core electric fans (but) the rest of the performance world won’t be interested.”
Both concept cars have a glass window behind the cockpit to view their different drivetrains. The window also shows off the cars’ sophisticated suspension geometry with wing-shaped A-arms co-developed with GM’s Charlotte race shop.
GM
The CX’s futuristic red interior features seats fixed to the carbon tub and steering and pedal box controls that automatically conform to the driver presets. A racing-style steering wheel cups a digital control screen, but the big digital innovation is a next generation head-up display where the pixels are embedded into the entire windscreen.
More innovation below decks includes a so-called Vacuum Fan System with fans that draw air through the open-channel bodywork. The aerodynamic system produces downforce by directing airflow over a rear diffuser that works with a high rear wing.
This state-of-the-art tech is wrapped in a sleek, athletic exterior — complete with a fighter-jet-inspired canopy that lifts for easy access to the cockpit and front suspension. Radical as it is, the design still bears signature ‘Vette touches like a lunging nose, horizontal “chine” line delineating upper-and-lower bodywork, and dual-element taillights.
GM
“While the shape of a Corvette has always been expressive and forward-looking, it is the reason people want to come and work at Chevrolet,” said design chief Zak. “The CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo demonstrate our design teams stepping away from the constraints of production vehicles and unleashing their creativity. Through this exercise, we’ve added to Corvette and defined the design direction for Corvette moving forward.”
Concept does not always determine future, however.
The last 2009 Corvette concept, after all, was a front-engine design just two years after the first mid-engine Corvette had been approved internally for production (and then delayed due to GM’s 2009 bankruptcy), and a decade before the 2020 C8 would debut as Corvette’s first mid-engine supercar.
“Maybe GM and the Corvette are evolving in the right direction with the CX,” said Brauer. “Go upscale, go carbon-fiber, but make sure there’s a V-8 in there.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
The new Cruise classics: Class of 1999
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 14, 2025
All hail the great Class of 1999.
New auto models from 1999 will celebrate their 26th year at the Woodward Dream Cruise’s giant auto reunion this weekend — and their official coronation as antique cars under Michigan law. The Secretary of State bucks convention by declaring cars antiques after 26 years — not a quarter century — which makes them eligible for historic plates at a flat fee of $30 for 10 years and (likely) reduced insurance costs.
In ‘99 the Tigers played their last season at Michigan and Trumbull, the archrival Colorado Avalanche denied the Red Wings a shot at their third straight Stanley Cup, the post-Barry Sanders Lions made the playoffs, and the Pistons endured a season-shorting NBA lockout. The Dow crested 10,000 for the first time, the first Matrix movie thrilled, Legoland opened in California, Y2K doomsayers predicted Armageddon, and future NBA star Luka Doncic was born.
Thousands of classic cars roll down Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak during the Woodward Dream Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. Katy Kildee, The Detroit News
Automakers birthed their own future classics from mega-utes to sedans (remember them?) to wee sports cars. Here’s a look at the new antiques …
Mazda MX-5 Miata
They don’t get any more wee than Miata.
Mazda introduced the MX-5 in 1992 as a 2,200-pound, stick-shift throwback to 1960s European sportscars like the Lotus Elan and Fiat 124 Spider. MX-5 was an instant hit and became an enduring halo for Mazda’s performance brand. After skipping the ‘98 model year, 1999 brought Miata’s much-anticipated second-gen. Would it suffer a sophomore slump? Nope.
The new Mazda got a 24-horsepower bump over the original to 140 from its four-cylinder engine (while only gaining 100 pounds). Designers added more curves while removing the pop-up headlights. The rarest of the ‘99s are 10th Anniversary Edition models, which came equipped with unique wheels, a two-tone blue and black interior and Sapphire Blue Mica paint.
Ford SVT F-150 Lightning
Before there was an electron-guzzling F-150 Lightning pickup, there was a gas-guzzling SVT F-150 Lightning V-8.
For 1999, Ford introduced the fire-breathing SVT F-150 Lightning, powered by a supercharged V-8 that pumped out 360 horsepower. Ford Motor Company, Ford Motor Company
It was a beast with 348 cubes, 360 supercharged ponies and 139 mph top speed. And when it wasn’t towing 5,000 pounds, it could launch from 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds. It stood out from its sibling F-150s with dual exhaust tailpipes and SVT-badged seats.
Along with late 20th-century pickups like the Dodge Lil’ Red Truck, Chevrolet 454 SS and GMC Syclone, SVT Lightning helped establish a niche of muscle-bound trucks that continues to this day.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The OG SUV received major upgrades for its second-generation, including a 4.7-liter V-8 engine to complement the standard 4.0-liter V-6. Owners had fussed about the spare tire’s location in the cargo wall, so engineers hid it underneath.
The second-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee that bowed for 1999 offered a V-8 engine option. Stellantis, Stellantis
Unchanged was the Jeep’s signature off-road capability with standard all-wheel drive (Quadra-Drive full-time AWD optional) and Wrangler-like solid axles front and rear. The classic seven-slot grille and boxy shape signal Jeep from a mile away on Woodward.
BMW 3-Series (E46)
The fourth-gen Bimmer 3-series still ranks as a purist favorite for its sleek styling, high-revving M performance model (more on that come 2027 when it turns 26 years young), unflappable road manners and a multitude of body styles, including convertible and wagon.
1999 BMW 3-series Hardy Mutschler, BMW
The so-called E46 generation also debuted electronic bits foreshadowing innovations that have transformed today’s vehicles: satellite navigation, electronic brake-force display, rain-sensing wipers and LED taillights.
At its heart beat a signature 2.5-liter, inline six-cylinder engine that, while smooth, lacked the ponies of the Infiniti G35’s 260-horsepower 3.5 liter V-6 — and therefore finished second in a Car and Driver comparison test. The G35? Gone from the market, as are other competitors from 1999, including the Acura TL, Saab 9-3 and Jaguar X-Type 3.0.
Chrysler 300M
One of three sedans based on the LH platform (including the Dodge Intrepid and Chrysler Concorde), the 300M was a peach. It featured upscale styling, taut handling and easy power from its 254-horse V-6. Enthusiast publication Motor Trend crowned it Car of the Year.
1999 Chrysler 300M Stellantis, Stellantis
In naming the Chrysler to its annual Ten Best list alongside classics like the Porsche Boxster and BMW Z3, Car and Driver wrote: “the 300M can be hurled through sporting roads with a surety and enthusiasm that will make you forget you’re transporting three passengers and their luggage. We rarely encounter such capabilities in luxury sedans priced near $30,000. That value is perhaps the 300M’s greatest achievement.”
Alas, 300M had a short shelf life and production ended after the 2004 model year. The good news? It was succeeded by another future classic, the V8-powered 300 gangster-mobile in 2005. Huzzah.
Volkswagen Beetle
Sales of VW’s iconic, rear-engine Bug were discontinued in the United States after 1976, and the compact was replaced by the front-engine Rabbit/Golf.
Volkswagen AG Chairman Ferdinand Piech with the revived Beetle at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 4, 1999. The new-gen Bug enjoyed a 20-year run. CARLOS OSORIO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two decades later, boomers went ga-ga for retro, so V-dub brought Beetle back to life based on the Golf’s front-wheel-drive chassis. Complete with a built-in flower vase, the Beetle legend was rebooted for another 20 years.
Bug Part Two was awarded Motor Trend Import Car of Year and North American Car of the Year.
Cadillac Escalade
Have the words “humble” and “Escalade” ever been used in the same sentence?
In response to the popular pickup-based Lincoln Navigator, GM rushed the Escalade to market in 1999 as a humble, rebadged GMC Yukon Denali mega-ute. The exterior was little changed from the Yukon (wheel caps were changed to Cadillac from GMC), but the real difference was inside, where Escalade introduced real wood trim on the doors and the same leather found in Caddy cars.
The first Cadillac Escalade was sold in 1999 (right). It took 24 years to make the first V-series model – the 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V (left). Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Based on the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra ladder frame, the humble ’99 was only a two-row but capable of towing up to 6,500 pounds. Come 2001, the Caddy would be redesigned with three rows and its now-signature, bling-tastic crest grille and Fox Theatre-like vertical taillights so rappers, pro athletes and other celebs could party inside like it was 1999.
Lotus Exige
Not to be outdone by Michigan’s curious 26-year antique law, the feds have their own historic eccentricity: after 25 years you can import cars that weren’t legal on U.S. roads in 2000. My favorite not-legal-now-legal car for ‘25 is the track-focused 2000 Lotus Exige complete with rear wing, front splitter and wide bodywork. This race car for the street weighed a mere 1,750 pounds and was dynamite to drive with its four-banger making a healthy 177 horsepower.
More on its Class of 2000 peers next year.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Corvettes on Woodward: King ‘Vette fires up the Dream Cruise
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 14, 2025
Pontiac — It’s good to be king.
If the Woodward Dream Cruise were the Pride Lands, then Chevrolet Corvette would be its lion king. For eight generations and 72 years, America’s longest-running sportscar badge has ruled Woodward Avenue with its roaring V-8 engines and muscled bodywork. And for over 20 years, the Corvettes on Woodward event has been a focus of Woodward Dream Cruise week with its massive gathering of muscle.
This year’s Pride Rock is Michigan’s premier motorsports club, M1 Concourse in Pontiac, where over 500 Corvettes gathered Wednesday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. for pictures, exhibits, panel discussions, camaraderie, and, of course, cruising.
M1 Concourse
“There’s nothing like a Corvette with the top down on Woodward,” said Andre Walker, 60, of Detroit as he rolled onto Woodward at Rapid Street, rowing the gearbox of his red, fifth-generation 2002 Corvette C5. “They only made 178 of this particular trim because the manual was rare for that model year.”
Passion for the Corvette runs deep and brought not only generations of cars but generations of owners here to celebrate the marque. Larry Courtney, 78, of Warren and his wife, Vern, started Corvettes on Woodward over 20 years ago to benefit the Open Hands Food Pantry in Royal Oak. It’s grown into the largest Corvette gathering in Michigan, attracting owners from all over the country — and spectators with a $20 gate charge.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“The urban legend is there were 40 of us hanging around with our Corvettes having ice cream, and someone said: ‘we can do a lot better than this,’ because we have Michigan’s largest Corvette Club,’” smiled Courtney, then a member of America Corvette Club who now runs Michigan Corvette Events.
Corvettes on Woodward first gathered at the Kingsley Hotel in Birmingham, where it eventually burst at the seams. Over 500 Corvettes were crammed into a hotel lot with 180 parking spaces. When the group spilled out on to Woodward for a lap of the Cruise route, the chain would run for seven miles.
“The police said we couldn’t all go out at the same time anymore,” said Courtney. “It was just too many cars.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
So Corvettes on Woodward has found a new home here in Pontiac on M1’s 87-acre campus where ‘Vettes can sprawl across two paddocks, a skid pad and 1.5-mile race track.
“It’s logical for Corvettes on Woodward to be here,” said M1 CEO Paul Zlotoff, who teased that Corvettes on Woodward will move to Thursday in 2026 as part of a three-day M1 Dream Festival. “We’re set up for this kind of event because we celebrate motorsports in an organized way. We could bring 2,000 Corvettes in here.”
On Wednesday, dozens of red, white and blue Corvettes gathered in front of M1’s event center to form an American flag for a drone-snapped photograph. Corvettes like a white, first-generation, front-V6-engine 1954 C1 convertible owned by Tom Gamache, 85, from Canton Township — and a red, eighth-generation, mid-V8-engine 2023 C8 Stingray owned by Aldrin Santiago, 53, of Sterling Heights.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“I was 12 years old in 1953 when General Motors showed the first Corvette at Motorama in New York,” said Gamache, who bought his car in 1999. “And I thought it was the most beautiful car I had seen and I would own it someday.”
How does he think the first-mid-engine Corvette C8 looks?
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“It’s great. That’s the Corvette that Zora (Arkus-Duntov, Corvette’s influential first engineer) always wanted to do,” he said, standing next to his new friend Santiago, who he had just met at the flag photo. “The handling of those things is unbelievable.”
Corvettes on Woodward founder Courtney likes all generations but settled on a 1999 Corvette C5 for himself wrapped in an American flag color scheme. “I like the C5 because I can fit and we do a lot of road trips,” he said. “We travel all over the country doing events.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Bobby Keyes, 69, of Lake Orion enjoys so many generations of Corvette (he owns a 1969 and 1982) that for his third Corvette he bought a rare custom model with a 1957-style, C1 coupe body on top of a C5 chassis.
“I liked it because it was different, custom, and they only built five of them,” he said of the Stewart, Florida-made ‘Vette built in 2017. Colored blue, his car formed the top left corner of the American flag photo.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
M1’s Event Center offered relief from the day’s blazing sun — and activities like sim racing, a slot car track, and Corvette jewelry for sale. Cindy Pronze, 50, of Canton Township showed off a white bracelet she bought featuring the Corvette flag logo.
“It will go nicely with the 1976 Corvette that I’m restoring,” she said.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
How Chinese-owned, Volvo-inspired, foreign-made Polestar startup is navigating the EV market, tariffs
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 12, 2025
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Montreal — Volvo Cars created its performance-focused Polestar electric vehicle brand to go head-to-head against Tesla. A subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, it is also the first Chinese-owned EV brand for sale in the United States and sits at the intersection of swift industry currents, including import tariffs, electrification and government subsidies.
Made in South Korea and coming to the North American market this fall, the Swedish-designed, compact Polestar 4 SUV is the brand’s most important product in the industry’s biggest segment, taking on the best-selling Tesla Model Y.
The 4, built on the same platform as China’s Zeekr 001, is at the heart of a model lineup that includes a Polestar 2 (Model 3 sedan competitor), Polestar 3 (midsize SUV), Polestar 7 (due in 2026) and Polestar 1 sports coupe. When it goes on sale this fall, Polestar 4 will face ill feelings toward China post-COVID, the stagnation of the EV market and 25% import tariffs at a time when Canadian and U.S. EV government subsidies are going away.
Nevertheless, Polestar says it is full speed ahead for the North American luxury market.
“Since Polestar was created, it was always designed, engineered and managed from Sweden. It was very important that we had independence,” Dean Shaw, Polestar’s chief of public relations and communications, said in an interview here. “We have many shareholders (and) a very large shareholder, of course, that’s based (in China). We don’t see any concerns around this. We’ve got a lot of independence, we’re free to do what we need to do, and we are overseen by regulations in the U.S.”
Owned by Ford Motor Co. from 1999-2010, Volvo was sold to Geely, which today owns about 80% of the company. Polestar earned early notoriety for modifying Volvos as race cars and ultimately evolved to Volvo’s official performance partner (think AMG for Mercedes). Volvo bought Polestar in 2015 and repurposed it as an EV brand in 2017 to attract investment — and engineering learnings — at a time when EV startups were red hot amid soaring Tesla evaluations.
“I don’t think people know that Polestar is owned by the Chinese,” said auto analyst Rebecca Lindland, managing director for Allison Worldwide. “I don’t think people know Volvo is owned by Geely, either.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Lindland said that there was a “lot of tension” in Gothenburg (Volvo’s Swedish headquarters) when Geely bought Volvo. “But (the Chinese) have basically taken the Warren Buffett approach: if you’re doing things well, I’m going to leave you alone,” she said.
Unlike EV startups Rivian Automotive Inc., Lucid Motors, Fisker Inc., and Bollinger Motors that have struggled to build sustainable capital and manufacturing models, Polestar has access to Geely’s deep capital resources and international manufacturing footprint. Its four EVs have been built in Chengdu, China (Polestar 1 alongside the Zeekr X EV small SUV), Luqiao, China (Polestar 2 alongside the Volvo XC40), Ridgeville, South Carolina (Polestar 3 alongside Volvo S60 sedan, XC60 and EX90 EV SUVs), and Busan, South Korea (Polestar 4 alongside Geely and Renault models).
“We have access to all of the technologies within the broader Geely group — and from a manufacturing perspective as well,” said Shaw, who has had multiple roles with Volvo over four decades in the United States and Europe. “Rather than trying to build our own factory — and the heavy investment needed from that — we can be very nimble. (We) build our cars at other existing factories within the greater infrastructure that gives us a really competitive advantage, I think, against other EV startups.”
Being part of an industrial colossus like Geely is a huge capital benefit (see Hyundai/Kia), said Los Angeles-based analyst Lindland, who was communications chief for EV startup Fisker before it went bankrupt last year. She said it also gives Geely a foothold in the U.S. market by building a subsidiary production here.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Polestar built its brand identity slowly. In 2020, it introduced the six-figure Polestar 1 coupe to signal the brand’s performance intent. That was followed in 2022 by Polestar 2, a fastback competitor to the Tesla Model 3 with similar sleek proportions and power. Polestar has since stopped selling new Polestar 2s in the United States.
Since the introduction of the 2 hatchback in the United States, Polestar has sold 33,262 units here as of July 31, including the introduction of its second U.S. model, the 3 SUV, for 2025. The Polestar 3 starts at $67,500 and has up to 350 miles of range.
Now come Polestar’s core electric SUV products, and none too soon as global Polestar sales slumped in 2024. The compact 4 SUV joins the midsize 3 (the brand names its vehicles, not by size, but in chronological order as to when they are introduced) in the U.S. market. The Polestar 3’s 2,396 unit sales in the United States in the first half of 2025 placed it eighth (of 14) in the luxury midsize EV SUV segment.
Globally, Polestar retail sales grew to 30,319 units in the first half of this year, up 51% year over year. “Volume growth of 38% in the second quarter and 51% in the first half of the year is a clear sign that our retail expansion is delivering and that more customers are choosing Polestar,” said CEO Michael Lohscheller.
Like their 1 and 2 predecessors, the 3 and 4 SUVs are quick and bear simple, Scandinavian designs. The 4 starts at $56,400 and offers up to 300 miles of range.
“What Polestar wanted to do was (take) a slightly different direction, a performance direction,” said Shaw. It enabled “Volvo to stay true to Volvo’s heritage. (Polestar) wanted to be the performance electric car brand, and that is very clearly our point of differentiation.”
Analyst Lindland is less convinced a new brand is worth the effort. “You do a lot of marketing, and it’s very capital intensive to establish a brand in any market,” she said. “A brand like Volvo has such a clear message of safety, reliability. Polestar should just be an alternative powertrain.”
Polestar reported a first-quarter net loss of $190 million.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The South Carolina plant is an important asset for Polestar as the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported vehicles take hold. The Chinese-assembled Polestar 2 has already been discontinued in part due to a 100% tariff on Chinese-sourced products, and the Polestar 4 faces a 25% tariff coming from South Korea.
“At the moment, the pricing that we’ve launched for Polestar 4 is set up with the current level of tariffs in mind,” Shaw said. The luxury SUV starts at $57,800.
With multiple manufacturing plants around the world feeding 28 markets, Shaw said that Polestar and Volvo are hoping for stability from governments.
“The situation at the moment is probably more complex than ever, but everybody’s facing the same situation,” he said “It’s a global business. We can’t put plants in 28 markets in the world, so we have to distribute that in the smartest way. How do we optimize our manufacturing footprint?”
Henry Payne
Shaw said the rich U.S. market — the world’s second-largest after China — has always been a manufacturing focus and Polestar/Volvo are expanding production here just as transplant manufacturers like Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., BMW AG, and Mercedes-Benz Group AG did in the 1980s in the face of that era’s tariff threats. Today, foreign plants anchor communities from Ohio to Georgia to Alabama.
The South Carolina plant also opens the possibility of other Chinese brands being built here.
Zeekr, for example, showed its Mix electric minivan at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year and is making platforms for self-driving Waymo vehicles destined for the streets in San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities.
“It’s really a conundrum, right? Normally, we encourage production by foreign entities,” said analyst Lindland. “That’s always been a great hedge against tariffs, so we want local production. But the Trump administration has also been quite critical of Chinese ownership of landmarks and properties. At the same time, Chinese-owned brands are bringing automobile production here. Is it a loophole for production of Chinese vehicles here in the U.S.?”
Whatever the political currents may bring, Polestar products like the 4 will be hard to miss on U.S. streets with their distinctive, dual-blade headlights, fastback designs and quick acceleration.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“The Polestar 4 will be our volume driver, both in the U.S. and Canada,” said Shaw. “We’re expecting more than half our sales to be this product. It opens up a whole big market for us.”
Like Tesla, the 4 boasts a minimalist, screen-centric interior and daring design innovations like a deleted rear window. For $62,900 the all-wheel-drive 4 model puts out 544 horsepower and will go 0-60 mph in just 3.7 seconds.
“It’s more than a gimmick,” Shaw said of the window-less rear. “It’s about how can we look at progressive solutions that really challenge the industry? Our engineers found that, if they deleted the rear window and replaced it with a high-definition camera, they could lower the rear roof line, but grow interior space for passengers.”
Allison Worldwide’s Lindland said Polestar products are gaining traction in the EV-mad, upscale California market.
“The product is head-turning,” she said. “They really represent Swedish design. They’re different than Tesla (which are) a dime a dozen out here. If you want an EV with a great brand standing behind it, Polestar is a good choice.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Tesla-fighting Volvo EX30 is cute, quick, and range-challenged
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 7, 2025
Henry Payne
Midland — Cubism in the 1910s, surrealism in the 1930s, pop art in the 1960s, installation art in the ‘80s. The art world has seen multiple movements over the last 100 years. So too has the art of the automobile. The post-WW2 jet-inspired tailfin era, muscle cars of the ‘60s, mid-engine ‘80s sportscars, 1990s jelly bean sedans.
Digital age electric vehicles have given designers a new canvas to paint on. One of my favorites is the 2025 Volvo EX30 that I recently piloted to Charlevoix and back.
Like its Tesla, Rivian and Cadillac peers, the EX30 has embraced the grille-less fascia and simple, screen-centric interior. And, just as installation art is limited to a specific place, so are EVs best admired as urban vehicles — as my trip’s charging follies demonstrate.
My two-tone yellow and black EX30 cutie welcomed me with a smile.
That is to say, the mouth-like diagonal line through the circular Volvo logo that anchors the fascia. No internal combustion engine, no grille. The fascia is anchored by signature “Thor’s hammer” headlights inside a black frame (a theme repeated on the rear facia). EX30 reminded me of one of the colorful characters from the 2005 flick “Robots.”
Sensing the card key in my pocket, the door unlocked. As its nomenclature implies, the subcompact EX30 is Volvo’s gateway to its EX40 and EX90 EVs lineup — though you’ll need to adjust your pricing expectations. Stylish subcompact, affordable, premium, internal-combustion-engine SUVs are a thing, including sub-$40K cuties like the Buick Envista, Mazda CX-30 and Acura ADX.
My all-wheel-drive, $48K EX30 Performance Ultra tester is priced more in line with premium EV compacts like the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Lexus RZ450. All-wheel-drive, panoramic roof, 19-inch wheels, posh materials. Unlike those machines, however, the EX30 has little rear legroom (32 inches) compared to, say, the Tesla at 40 inches. A six-footer can’t sit behind himself. Starting at $54K, the EX40 will buy you four more inches of legroom.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Under the airy, panoramic roof, the cabin is beautifully spare. Like Scandinavian furniture.
Like a Tesla, the interior is anchored by a big screen. Doors are scrubbed of buttons, and essential controls (mirrors, glovebox) are accessed through the screen. Unlike a Tesla, the 12.3-ich display is vertical and the cabin trimmed with classic Volvo touches like silver vertical air vents and door handles — and a floating console that offers plenty of space underneath for a handbag.
Volvo (and sister Polestar EV performance brand) were first to market with the Google Built-in operating system (now ubiquitous on GM products and coming to Honda), which makes navigation easy — especially in a low-range electric car that needs to find chargers on trips. To keep costs down, EX30 has a small (69 kWh) battery with just 253 miles of range compared to, say, Model Y’s 311 miles of range.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Hey, Google, navigate to Charlevoix, Michigan.
The Swede scheduled two stops to make the 250-mile trip and still have 25% of charge left at destination (in case I have to make another trip on arrival). Why two stops for a 250-mile trip, you say? Because EPA estimate range numbers appear calculated for a perfect, 70-degree day traveling at 55 mph.
This July summer’s day, however, was running hot at 95 degrees with rain in the forecast on a 75 mph interstate. My range would be more like 200 miles. That, and you only charge to 80% at fast chargers because that last 80-100 % is (like filling a beer) sloooow. Actual range? 160 miles.
ZOT! The peppy 400-torque EX30 merged with authority onto I-75 North.
Henry Payne
Like its electric peers, the Volvo is smooth as silk. But for the price, it’s lacking hands-free driving like Model Y/Chevy Equinox. Volvo telegraphs the feature is coming, however, as a steering wheel-mounted camera watched me constantly. This being a Volvo, it nagged me incessantly to keep my eyes on the road, my hands on the steering wheel, and my teeth brushed (kidding about that last part).
EX30 navigated to the first fast charging stop in the parking lot of a Bay City Meijer store, an Electrify America station that … was shut down. Oh.
“OUT OF ORDER” read the charger screens, the stalls wrapped in yellow tape with a line of blue shopping carts blocking access just in case customers didn’t get the message. Unlike Tesla, which integrates its charging network with its car’s navi system, the Volvo is dependent on third-party companies. EX30 had no idea the EA charger was down.
Henry Payne
Plan B. Right next to the EA chargers was a bank of eight Tesla chargers, seven of them available. Volvo has signed an agreement to use Tesla chargers, so I plugged in and opened the Tesla app to connect.
“No chargers within range,” read the app. Huh?
According to Clean Technica, 150 kW Tesla V2 chargers like those at Bay City are un-accessible to non-Tesla users.
Plan C. I asked the Google navigation to find fast chargers nearby. Success: Blink and ChargePoint stations were available within two miles. I chose Blink because the map indicated all four stalls were available — and because it was in a Ford dealership and (presumably) well maintained.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
At the Ford dealer, I plugged in at 56 cents per kWh and walked across the street for a Tim Horton’s doughnut while EX30’s battery charged for 20 minutes from 50-90%. Note to self: at 56 cents per kWh, the 500-mile round trip would cost $93 versus $73 for a comparable, gas-powered Volvo XC40 at $4.10-per-gallon premium fuel.
Back on the road, Volvo navigated me to a second Electrify America charging stop in Gaylord, but (fearing EA unreliability) I chose a ChargePoint in Waters instead and arrived in Charlevoix with 36% of charge left (72 miles). All told, the trip had taken 6.23 hours to complete — longer than the 4.37 hours Google Built-in promised (which was already longer than the 3.52 hours in a gas XC40).
No wonder EV sales have stalled.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Back in its natural habitat (that is, an urban environment) in Charlevoix, the Swede was happy as Bjorn Borg on a clay tennis court. On two-lane M-32, it squirted from 0-60 mph in a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS-like 3.3 seconds — quicker than an all-wheel-drive Model Y’s 4.8.
I’m a fan of Tesla and Rivian spare interiors, and EX30 was a pleasing place to spend time. Clever details abounded like a fashionable square steering wheel, storage cubbies and Google Built-in, which was always ready with a joke. “Hey, Google, tell me joke,” I said.
Why can’t a bicycle stand up on its own? Because it’s two tired.
You have to have a sense of humor to survive the charging follies. More were in store for the trip home.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
After a Traverse City airport detour to drop off family, EX30 navigated to Midland to recharge at a “very fast 240-kW fast charger.” Wrong.
The charger was actually a very slow 240-volt charger in the parking lot of the H Hotel on Main Street. Sigh. Fortunately, Midland wasn’t far (20 miles) from the same Bay City Blink charger that saved me on the way up. Though this time, the first Blink charging stall I tried was out of order. Hey, Google, tell me a joke!
Henry Payne
I had 70 miles (33%) of charge left when I arrived home. Which is where EVs belong. Close to home.
With its peppy acceleration, cute looks and iPhone interior, EX30 is an artistic statement. Need a trip car? Allow me to suggest the midsize, gas-powered XC60 SUV with 38 inches of rear legroom and 564 miles of range. For the same price as a subcompact EX30.
2025 Volvo EX30
Vehicle type: All-wheel drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: Base $46,295, including $1,295 destination charge ($48,395 Performance Ultra as tested)
Powerplant: 64 kWh lithium-ion battery pack mated to dual electric motors
Power: 422 horsepower, 400 pound-feet torque
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.3 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 114 mph
Weight: 4,189 pounds
Range: EPA est. 109 MPGe; 253 miles on full charge
Report card
Highs: Stylish Scandinavian design; sportscar acceleration
Lows: Small back seat; pricey
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
100 years young: How Model Ts keep on T-icking in northern Michigan
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 2, 2025
Charlevoix — In the 1920s, the Ford Model T transformed America.
Bringing affordable, personal transportation to the masses, “Tin Lizzies” — as Model Ts were fondly nicknamed — established Detroit as a manufacturing colossus, made farming more efficient, replaced the train as the primary means of long-distance transport, and opened rural areas like northern Michigan to tourist travel.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
A century later, Ford Motor Co.’s Model Ts are still plying the roads — and turning heads — here thanks to its durable design, dedicated repair infrastructure and passionate owners.
Mary Carr Leatherman is celebrating the 100th birthday of her family’s 1925 T this year by going on long country drives with her sister, Irene, and husband, John Dean. With its two-speed transmission and 40-mph top speed, the four-cylinder Ford can be seen chugging along Charlevoix County’s two-lane roads in daily traffic.
“It’s a special feeling, because I like antique things,” said Dean, 78, decked out in 1920s-style goggles, flat cap and elbow-length leather gloves. Mary and Irene sit behind him, resplendent in full period white skirts. “I keep thinking about what (the Model T) was like then, what the people were like, and what they experienced when they were driving it. It’s a bit of a reverse time machine.”
Made from 1908 to 1927, Model T production revved up after 1910 when it moved to Ford’s Highland Park facility, reaching more than 2 million units a year by 1925. Prices dropped from $850 in 1909 (about $30,000 in today’s dollars) to $260 in 1925 (about $5,000 today), making it widely affordable with 10,000 cars a day rolling off the line. Henry Ford and his son drove the last Model T — the 15 millionth — off the line in May 1927.
Henry Payne
Leatherman’s grandfather Richard Sr. purchased the T in 1925 in Commerce, Mississippi, where he used it as a daily driver on his cotton farm. Two generations later, his grandson, Richard Jr., moved the car to Memphis, Tennessee, where it made cameo appearances — like transporting Mary and Irene to their weddings.
“I remember as a child my brother and first cousin, Ted, playing around with it — and my grandfather teaching them how to drive it,” said Leatherman, 71. “They loved cars.”
One hundred years on, the Model T’s revolutionary design is still remarkably relevant. Its left-side drive makes it easy for passengers to exit curbside (legend has it Henry Ford designed it that way so his wife, Clara, could safely exit to the curb). Its Model T nomenclature has been copied by Tesla Inc., which fancies its popular electric vehicles (Model X, Model 3, etc.) as Ford’s 21st-century successor. And its high-riding, good-visibility seating position dovetails with the current craze for high-riding SUVs.
In the 1920s, that tall wheelbase was essential to navigating rutted, muddy, horse-and-buggy roads that were suddenly busy with thousands of Fords. It is hard to understate how the T changed life here.
Reliable, durable and powerful, Model T proliferated on farms.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“It was called ‘the farmer’s friend,’” Ford Heritage and Brand Manager Ted Ryan said in an interview. “Its tall wheelbase was essential to navigating rutted roads, and its versatility made it a tremendous farm tool. Like an F-series platform toy, you could put different top hats on it, from a four-door to a pickup bed.”
Farmers used the T for a variety of farm chores, including hooking up wheat thrashers, running grist mills and transporting goods to market. “The only thing that limited the Model T was the imagination of the owner,” Ryan said.
Leatherman and Dean brought their Model T to Charlevoix because their extended family reunions are here each summer. And because it felt like home.
“When my father died, he sent (the T) back to the farm in Mississippi … and no one was caring for it,” Leatherman said. “My sister and I decided we would put this project in (John’s) hands, because he loves a challenge. And Michigan, of course, is the car state.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
They follow in the tire tracks of scores of Model T owners who headed north a century ago with their new contraptions. Before the T, northern Michigan had mostly been accessible only to upper-income families who would load their families on trains for long hotel stays.
Charlevoix, for example, had some 1,000 hotel rooms in 1920 — and just 350 today. The move away from trains toward automobiles was signified by the closure of Charlevoix’s massive, 250-room hotel, The Inn, in 1937.
“The effect of reduced train ridership due to the continued rise of the automobile sealed its fate after 43 seasons,” records a Charlevoix Historical Society documentary. “It has no room for parking for the large number of cars.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Dean took the Model T to Ed Baudoux, one of Northern Michigan’s “Model T whisperers,” who restored the car to its original mechanical condition.
“People look at these cars and think they are worth a million dollars,” said Baudoux, who works from a barn behind his Grayling home. “But Ford made 15 million of them. The Model T is the poor man’s collector car.”
Model Ts today can fetch anywhere from $5,000-$20,000 with good restorations somewhere in between, said Baudoux. Rare models like a two-door Runabout might push $50K. Along with help from Jeff Humble, president of the Northern Michigan Ts (the local Model T club), Dean trained himself to drive the Model T using an original owner’s manual as thick as Manhattan’s phone book. A Ford poster on his wall prescribes regular maintenance.
“I’ve driven a modern stick car for a good part of my life, and you have to unlearn that, because the Model T methodology (of) levers, pedals and the tools of the car are not common sense. They’re not what you’re used to,” Dean said. “My new best friends Ed and Jeff were very patient with me.”
Courtesy Of The Leatherman Family
Dean juggles the controls as he drives — an art that he has passed on to Richard Leatherman Sr.’s 16-year-old great-great grandson, Richard.
For all its accessibility to average drivers, the Model T required owners to pay attention to mechanical detail. A six-volt battery under the rear seat powers the flywheel magneto ignition system. The nine-gallon gas tank is under the driver’s seat, requiring a careful fill lest fuel drip on the hot exhaust running beneath the car. A single carburetor delivers fuel to four pistons, and Dean closes the fuel line valve when the car is not in operation.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Allow the fuel to run low, and the Model T might stall on an incline due to its gravity-fed fuel line from tank to carburetor,” Humble, who owns three Ts, said in an interview. Should that happen, he explained, drivers would turn the car around, put the T in reverse gear (thus allowing fuel to flow downhill into the carburetor) and drive it backwards up the hill.
Sideboards make for easy access to the driver’s seat (via the right passenger door only), where operators encountered a blizzard of controls, including a parking brake, three floor pedals (left clutch/first gear, center clutch/reverse gear, right engine brake), floor-mounted starter button, dash key and choke, steering wheel-mounted accelerator stalk and spark plug advance.
“It was a unique system that Ford designed for the Model T,” said Baudoux, 59, who learned to work on Ts at Saginaw’s Douglas MacArthur High School at the foot of shop teacher — and renowned Model T whisperer — Robert Scherzer. Scherzer’s class built a 1923 Model T pickup that is one of two Ts Baudoux owns today.
“By the time the Model T went into mass production, it was obsolete,” said the Grayling mechanic, citing the relentless pace of automotive development in the early 20th century. “But Henry Ford was a manufacturing genius and kept making the T more affordable.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The T’s successor, the Model A (one of which Baudoux also owns), in 1927, adopted the three-pedal clutch system familiar to stick-shift cars today. But the T was simply designed and repeatable to make — a feature demonstrated by the Model T Club of Greater St. Louis, which publicly assembles a T in 10 minutes every year. With so many Ts still alive today, a global supply chain has grown to support it: tires made in Vietnam, axle shafts from Taiwan, radiators by Brassworks in California.
“The Model T was brilliantly designed,” Humble said. “It could be put together quickly and reliably. For a public that had never driven a car before, it was a clever, easy introduction into automobiles.”
In northern Michigan, the T phenomenon brought a flood of visitors onto an antiquated road system. Among them was Henry Ford himself.
“He loved walking the walk,” said archivist Ryan. “He loved his Ts and making people’s lives easier.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Paved roads were largely exclusive to Metro Detroit in the early 20th century (the first concrete road was built in Motown in 1909) with out-state roads mostly dirt or gravel, co-traveled by horse-and-buggy. The American Automobile Association was formed in 1902 as 23,000 cars joined 17 million horses on the roads.
By 1916, Model Ts were transforming travel, and AAA instituted roadside assistance for stranded travelers. Fuel? Travelers carried their own cans, buying petrol at general stores where kerosene was also sold (for lighting and cooking). AAA spearheaded a campaign for better roads, including federal funding for highways. Gas stations began to pop up on heavily-trafficked routes and, by 1919, gas had surpassed kerosene as the best-selling U.S. petroleum product.
Each year, Humble said, the northern Michigan Ts get together to make a trip around the region’s roads, including through the Tunnel of Trees and over the mighty Mackinac Bridge.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
It’s a trip that Dean and Leatherman want to do someday with their new friends Jeff, Ed … and more.
“Once you start talking about (old) cars in this part of Michigan … it’s very different,” Dean smiled.“ There’s a gentleman in Petoskey that specializes in replacement carburetors. There’s this network that just goes all over the place, and every time you turn around, you end up with yet another new friend.”
One of Henry Ford’s favorite destinations was Lovells Township, just 23 miles northeast of Baudoux’s Grayling shop, where the Ford founder enjoyed fishing on the Au Sable River beginning in 1916. The Lovells Township Historical Society recounted to promotemichigan.com how Ford once met a local, frustrated Model T owner who had stalled his Model T on an incline.
Ford turned the car around, put it in reverse, then backed it up the hill.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Hyperlap: Corvette ZR1X sets American record at Nürburgring
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 1, 2025
Chevrolet’s Corvette ZR1X is the fastest American production sports car made and now it’s taken its place among the world’s elite sportscars around the world’s premier race track, Germany’s Nürburgring.
The all-wheel-drive, 1,250-horsepower ZR1X recorded the fourth fastest production time ever around the epic, 12.9-mile track — and the fastest by a U.S. brand and non-professional driver — at a blistering 6.49.3 minutes.
Only the 1,063-horsepower Mercedes AMG ONE (6:29.09 minutes), 700-horsepower Porsche GT2 RS MR (6:43.30 minutes), and 730-horse Mercedes AMG GT Black Series (6:48.04) have lapped the so-called “Green Hell” in the Eifel Mountains quicker. All three were piloted by professional drivers.
GM
Not far behind in sixth place was the ZR1X’s sister, 1,064-horse, rear-wheel-drive ZR1 at 6.50.7 minutes. Chevrolet brought its trio of Corvette performance models — the ZR1X, ZR1, and Z06 — to the ‘Ring this summer in a historic bid to become the fastest U.S. brand. The Z06 recorded a time of 7.11.8 minutes.
“No auto manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before,” said GM President Mark Reuss, himself a Level 6 driver and trained engineer. “From development through production, and now at the Nürburgring, we have clearly shown there is no limit to what our GM engineers and vehicles can accomplish. These are the best Corvettes in history, period.”
All three ‘Vettes were driven by Corvette engineers who are licensed (so-called Level 6 drivers in GM-speak) to drive Nürburgring and have a combined 1,825 development laps around the 154-turn circuit.
GM
The so-called Nürburgring Nordschliefe has long been the benchmark for performance for its high-speed rollercoaster turns and 200 mph straightaways. The Corvette team has tested there extensively, but has resisted setting an official time, in part due to the complexity and expense that an official lap time entails.
Nevertheless, as home-team German automakers continued to top the charts and the Nürburgring’s fame spread across social media, Detroit automakers have ramped up their efforts. What’s more, Corvette and fellow Motown muscle-car Mustang are no longer parochial, North American sub-brands as Chevy and Ford market them for sale internationally and in GT3 racing series where their chief competition is Mercedes, Porsche, BMW, and other international performance brands.
Ford threw down the gauntlet earlier this year when its (estimated) $325k Mustang GTD — a winged, production pony produced alongside the Mustang GT3 racer by Canadian partner Multimatic — became the first U.S. sports car to shatter Nürburgring’s seven-minute market (6.52.0 minutes), and become the fastest car around the ‘Ring not named Mercedes or Porsche.
Game on.
The 2025 Ford Mustang GTD lifts a wheel on its sub-7 minute lap around the ‘Ring. GILES JENKYN, Ford
“We’re at the Nürburgring right now with our Corvette,” Reuss told reporters at the 24 Hours of Le Mans June 14 when asked about plans for Corvette marketing in Europe.
Like Merc and Porsche, the Mustang’s lap was set by a pro driver (IMSA ace Dirk Muller). But Corvette has taken a different tack in headlining its supercar (the ZR1 starts at just over $178K), which retails for much less than competitors.
“We’ve created a different kind of relationship between our cars, iconic tracks, and our engineers, it is how we develop our vehicles,” said Senior Vice President of Product Programs, Safety, Integration and Motorsports Ken Morris. “These Corvettes weren’t piloted by pro racecar drivers. They were driven by the same engineers who designed, engineered and tuned them.”
GM
Last year, in a preview of its ‘Ring run, Corvette engineers took the ZR1 on a U.S. road tour, obliterating records at America’s major tracks including Road America (Wisconsin), Watkins Glen (New York), Road Atlanta (Georgia), and Virginia International Raceway Full Course.
Some of the same characters were back in Germany with Global Vehicle Performance Manager (and VIR record holder) Aaron Link setting the Z06 time, and ZR1 Vehicles Dynamics Engineer Brian Wallace (Road America record holder) clocking the ZR1 fast lap.
ZR1X vehicle dynamics engineer Drew Cattell (not among the U.S. record holders, indicating the depth of driving talent in GM’s engineering ranks) was the headliner with the Nürburgring ZR1X lap. In so doing, he put down the fastest time of any non-professional driver around the ‘Ring.
in the Chevy Corvette ZR1.
GM
Cattell’s time just pipped other notable laps recorded by the Porsche 911 GT3 RS (06:49.3 minutes), Lamborghini Aventador SVJ (6:49.4), and Radical SR8 (6:52.7).
Reuss had previewed the ZR1X’s capabilities earlier this year after taking his own Nürburgring laps. “Driving this car will change your life,” he said.
The all-wheel-drive, electrified cyborg puts up bigger horsepower numbers than sibling ZR1 by adding an electric motor up front to power the front wheels while a twin-turbo, 5.5-liter, twin-turbo V-8 spin the rears. The combination makes for Corvette’s first hypercar to compete against the likes of million-dollar exotics like the AMG ONE.
GM
ZR1 models were equipped with track-focused ZTK Performance Package including sticky, Michelin Cup 2R tires and high-downforce wing and spoilers.
The ‘Ring ‘Vettes were U.S. production-spec vehicles with only safety equipment modifications (roll hoop, fire extinguisher, six-point safety harness) added at Nürburgring’s suggestion. Sadly for drooling Germans, the ZR1 twins are not available in Europe because they don’t meet draconian emissions regulations.
The ZR1s go on sale this fall. The $116,995 Z06 is available everywhere. Chevrolet produced a documentary, “Homegrown Speed: A Corvette Story,” that chronicles the ‘Vette gang’s Nürburgring assault.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne