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Mustang Challenge conquers Le Mans, with Ford’s CEO at the wheel
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 14, 2025
Le Mans, France — This historic track has seen three Ford GT-40s cross the finish line abreast when Ford beat Ferrari in 1966, but it has never seen 38 Ford Mustangs thunder down the pit straight and take the green flag.
With Ford Motor Co.’s CEO in the middle of the pack.
#17 Ford CEO Jim Farley drives for Competition Motors during the Ford Mustang Challenge Invitational Race 1 in Le Mans, France on June 13, 2025. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
Ford brought its Mustang Challenge Series featuring the 500-horsepower, V8-powered, race-prepped Dark Horse R across the pond for its European debut at Le Mans on Friday, with CEO Jim Farley among an accomplished field of Challenge drivers plus celebrities like Formula Drift legend Tanner Foust and Malcom in the Middle-turned pro NASCAR truck driver Frankie Muniz.
Farley acquitted himself well in Race One on Friday, jumping 10 places to finish 19th behind Muniz.
“We‘re an unapologetically American company racing in Le Mans like an American company should,” said Farley in an interview afterwards. “I won’t deny that when we’re all together on the pace lap warming up tires on the Mulsanne (Straight) going back and forth was really an emotional moment.”
That emotion was tempered with a touch of humility.
“All my competitors were customers, so I had to be really careful,” he laughed. “I don’t want to be that guy, you know? I picked up 10 spots, but I’m proud that I did it in a really clean way.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley stands by his #17 Competition Motors Mustang while he signs autographs and takes pictures with fans at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France on June 12, 2025 Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
The race was a triumph for a brand that has scored many at the famed French track, including overall wins with the GT40 from 1966-1969 and a 2016 GT3 class win in the Ford GT. The Mustang Challenge shared the spotlight with the Porsche Sprint Challenge, which featured Porsche 911 and 718 sportscars. Ford’s Mustang is the best-selling sportscar in the world with sales in over 100 countries.
“I was pinching myself getting ready for the race,” said Farley. “It was a really magical moment for the company and for me to have, frankly, I met all the families and the people here from all over the world just to have this experience being in a Mustang, hearing down-shifts into Arnage (corner) from fifth to second gear in a normally aspirated V-8 engine. Ford is probably the only company that could pull this off other than Porsche.”
There are few executives that could pull off competing with top drivers at Le Mans. Farley is an experienced race driver with racing experience on U.S. tracks — and Le Mans.
Indeed, he is one of the few drivers in the world who can claim to have raced Le Mans’ daunting, 8.5-mile, high-speed circuit in both a GT40 and a Mustang. Farley placed second at the Le Mans Classic in 2022 in his 1966 GT40.
Ford CEO Jim Farley drives #17 in the Ford Mustang Challenge during practice at the Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational in Le Mans, France on June 11, 2025. Ford has 40 entries in the invitational, including 15 Mustang Dark Horse R cars in the top Dark Horse class. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
“They’re totally different. The Mustang is a road car that’s converted for racing, and it’s fantastic. The GT40 was the prototype race car of its day,” he said. “It’s cramped, it’s hot, and when it rains, it’s really uncomfortable. The visibility is terrible. It’s 4 inches off the ground, so you feel everything.”
Much of Le Mans’ course is public roads — including the famed Mulsanne Straight where the GT40 was the first car in 1966 to hit 200 mph on what was then a continuous 3.7-mile straightaway. With cars cresting 240 mph decades later, Le Mans punctuates the straight with two changes to slow cars down. But Farley said his GT40 still reaches 180 mph.
“At 180 miles an hour, the front end lifts,” he said. “So you have to be very, very delicate in your input. The Mustang (Dark Horse R) is much more stable, but on braking, the GT40 is more nimble and can change direction faster, because it’s about half the weight.”
Farley will be back for Race 2 of the Mustang Challenge on Saturday morning, and he likes his chances.
“I picked up about six seconds, and I know there’s a couple people that I passed that are like, you know, pretty sure they want to pass me back,” he smiled. “It’s going to be a good duel tomorrow, starting 19th. I would love to move up a couple more spots as a 62-year-old Detroiter, try to put some points on the board for this ol’ Michigander.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Cadillac seeds its fashionable, electric brand in the heart of Paris
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 13, 2025
Paris — With beautiful, branded shop windows and broad boulevards punctuated by ornate architecture, downtown Paris is the intersection of new-world fashion and old-world grandeur. Hermes, the Louvre, Dior, Domaine National du Palais-Royal, Louis Vuitton, Eglise de la Madeleine, Chanel.
Cadillac’s flagship European showroom has found a home here.
Housed in a historic 1919 building across the street from Palais Garnier Opera House, the 122-year-old luxury brand’s Cadillac City Paris showroom is a showcase of state-of-the-art automotive fashion.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
This week, the fashion is motorsports as the automotive world has descended on France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A 690-horsepower, V8-powered Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar greeted shoppers, tourists and media this week as they streamed in and out of Cadillac’s huge two-story store on Rue Meyerbeer — one of five European stores for the brand, including Zurich, Switzerland; Stockholm, Sweden, and Hamburg and Frankfurt, Germany.
The race car is representative of Caddy’s four-car assault on Le Mans as the brand tries to win the historic race 75 years after it first competed there in the 1950s. It made a good start Thursday, locking out the front row in qualifying for the race that begins at 4 p.m. local time Saturday (10 a.m. in Detroit). If the V8-powered V-Series.R represents the current fashion in sportscar racing, then the electric Lyriq V-Series — also introduced into the store this week — represents the state of European auto fashion.
“We transformed the entire space in honor of the 24 hours of Le Mans, so we are expecting a lot of traffic to see the beautiful race car — and then watching the Le Mans race with us. We have grandstands, we have popcorn, we have big live viewing screens,’ said Cadillac France Communications Director Isabelle Weitz. “And the Lyriq-V is a big introduction for us. Obviously, the performance aspect, I think, is really going to be of interest.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Like the Apple Opera Store on the Rue Halevy just around the corner from Cadillac City Paris, the showroom gives off a high-tech vibe behind a historic façade. The modern, open space encircles a wrought-iron circular staircase that disappears into the ceiling on its way to the second floor. Instead of iPhones, laptops and tablets, the V-Series models are the product centerpieces. But the second floor feels very Apple Store-like with long tables full of tablets that customers can use to configure their new Cadillac — complete with colors, wheels, V-performance.
It’s a decidedly American high-tech feel, and the Cadilac store was filled with young families and young adults interacting with the tablets as well as the race car.
“The Paris showroom is ornate outside, but feels homey on the inside for families and kids who want to spend time with the products,” said popular model, social influencer and race car driver Lindsey Brewer as she conducted a photo shoot at the store.
Inside, passersby signed up for Lyriq test drives — the cars pulling up to the curb for a slow drive around Paris’s choked evening streets. Since the showroom opened last year, Cadillac has grown to the fourth best-selling EV maker in France. In a country where many owners (unlike in the United States) get their cars via company fleets, some of Cadillac’s biggest customers include telecom, food and postal companies.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Weitz said this new tech mixes nicely with a brand that — for all its years in the wilderness in the late 20th century — is integrated in European culture. Cadillacs inhabit the songs that Europeans listen to — Bruce Springsteen’s “Pink Cadillac,” “Cadillac Song” by Ariana Grande, Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love” — and the new models reinforce that image with cutting-edge Dolby Atmos tech. Cadillac even sponsors the EF Pro Cycling team — providing its Lyriq support vehicles for the Tour de France.
“Unlike Jaguar, for example, that is completely reinventing itself for the electric age, Cadillac is keeping a focus on its heritage while also moving forward,” said Brewer, who raced in the Indy NXT series at the Detroit Grand Prix in 2024. “It’s innovating in fashion and in music.”
Cadillac will follow up this year’s Le Mans-palooza with an even more audacious entry next year into Formula One, Europe’s most prestigious open-wheel racing series. Cadillac’s presence here is about more than performance, however.
The brand sees a unique opportunity to recast itself as the “Standard of the World” in Europe — leaning into its roots as an innovative luxury brand with a new generation of electric cars in a country that bears its namesake.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Cadillac is named after a small town in southwest France,” said Cadillac France Sales Chief Chahine Bouaiache. “We are selling our cars to Parisians who love the design of the car. The designer was a French woman,” referring to Magalie Debellis, former manager of Cadillac Advanced Design who led the Lyriq styling team.
Cadillac believes that its history of innovation positions itself to take advantage of new digital and electric automotive tech. The brand innovated the electric self-starter (1912), column-mounted shifter (1938), air suspension (1957), heated seats (1966), LED lighting (2000) and magnetic ride suspension (2022) — all of which the Lyriq, Optiq and Vistiq share.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Paris store leans into its history with a hallway decorated with features covering the brand’s achievements organized into four sections: Innovation, La Mode (fashion), La Cinema (Cadillac in movies), La Musique. One innovation that’s missing from the EVs? Super Cruise, Cadillac’s innovative, hands-free driving system that the European Union — lagging the United States — has not approved for use on its roads.
“I was born in France, grew up in Germany. Cadillac, for me, is a brand that you just know, and I think that’s I speak for the whole of Europe,” she said of the distinctive Lyriqs plying Paris streets. “It’s one that always had incredible design innovation, technology . . . it’s just one that turns heads. You want to look at it.”
It will be hard to miss Caddy’s four V8-powered Hypercars thundering around Le Mans at 200 mph on Saturday and Sunday as well.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Keep on street truckin’: Ford F-150 joins Maverick with hip Lobo model
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 13, 2025
Detroit — The street truck craze is back, and Ford is jumping in with both feet — or at least both its F-150 and Maverick models.
The F-150 Lobo joins the Maverick Lobo in the market with a modified, slammed and tricked truck. Where the Maverick’s signature trick is a dual rear clutch pack for tire-burning, sideways drifting, the F-150 Lobo brings an old-school trick: Ford’s raucous, 400-horsepower, 410-torque, 5.0-liter V-8 engine. Similar to Mav, the F-150 is lowered (by two inches) with painted rocker panels and signature, brooding fascia and grille lighting.
“The F-150 Lobo is the result of recognizing an under-served audience of potential F-150 customers,” said street truck enthusiast Josh Blundo, Maverick/F-150 Lobo lead exterior designer. “For years, they have been taking factory pickup trucks and lowering them. Adding more power. Leaning on street styling. From an automaker, this has been an untapped market for two decades.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Factory street pickups of yore — think the 1990 Chevy 454 SS, 1993 Ford SVT Lightning, and 2005 Dodge Rumble Bee — have been distinguished by aggressive front air dams, hood scoops, lowered chassis, painted rocker panels, sporty wheels and growly engines. Growly V-8s like the 345-horsepower 5.7-liter Hemi that was stuffed into the Dodge.
The F-150 Lobo delivers on many of those features while building the street rat in-house, complete with factory warranty. When Lobo goes on sale this fall, customers can enter the F-150 website configurator, choose the menacing, midnight-trimmed STX package starting at $42,015, then select Lobo. The Lobo starts at $59,995 and comes standard with a roomy Crew Cab and 5.5-foot pickup bed.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“When it came time to imagine an F-150 Lobo — on the heels of helping create the new Maverick Lobo last year — I didn’t have to look far to know what prospective customers would want,” said designer Blundo, a veteran street trucker. “Drop it. Give it V-8 sound and performance. Make dual exhaust tips standard. Add aggressive styling. And give it a face that looks … sinister.”
If the Maverick Lobo upgrades to a 238-horse turbo-4 from the standard hybrid, then the F-150 chooses one of the big pickup’s most menacing engines for its soundtrack.
Lobo gone loco. The 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo is a hoot on an autocross course with 250 horsepower, AWD and tail-drifting Lobo mode. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The F-150 Lobo gets its muscle from Ford’s 5.0-liter V-8, complete with dual exhaust out back under the painted bumper. Insert the key in the ignition, wake Lobo up and give it a couple of good BRAAAPS to wake the street. Ford then marries it to a standard 4×4 system to put that power to the ground.
In the case of Maverick Lobo, Ford added twin clutch packs in the rear to encourage drifts. Further enhancements include bigger brakes, enhanced cooling, stitched and Lobo-monogrammed seats, and a Lobo mode for truck-focused hooning.
Not F-150 Lobo.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The big Ford’s focuses on aesthetic enhancements like black trim, a light bar bisecting the front grille, hood vents, and its signature Lobo badge aft of the front fender. Beneath the skin is STX’s familiar cloth interior and V-8. No drifting kit, no special stitching – not even the dramatic Turbofan wheel option found on little brother Lobo. The big truck will tow 7,900 pounds, however.
For motorheads looking for more V-8 punch, they can option the $12,350 Performance 700 package on top of the Lobo model — which brings in the Mustang GT500’s fire-breathing, supercharged, 5.0-liter engine that pushes out a staggering 700 horsepower. Huzzah.
F-150 comes with one wheel option: gloss-black 22-inchers.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The new F-150 Lobo is available in five exterior colors: Agate Black Metallic, Atlas Blue Metallic, Carbonized Gray, Oxford White and Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Standard of the (Racing) World: Cadillac stuns Le Mans, sweeps front-row qualifying
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 13, 2025
Le Mans, France — For the first time since Ford accomplished the feat in 1967, a Detroit automaker will lead the field to the green flag Saturday for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most prestigious manufacturers’ endurance race.
Cadillac won its first Le Mans pole position as the #12 Team JOTA Cadillac Hypercar driven by Englishman Alex Lynn beat out a packed qualifying field that included Ferrari, Porche Penske, Aston Martin, BMW and French favorite Alpine.
In a show of Cadillac’s pace, the sister #38 Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar was second-fastest, locking down the front row for the Motown brand. And just to rub it in, a third Cadillac entry (of four) from Whelan Racing set a Hypercar course record around the legendary 8.5-mile circuit in an earlier qualifying heat — a mark two seconds under last year’s pole time. The hybrid-powered, 690-horsepower, winged Hypercars are the fastest sportscars in the world.
The #12 Cadillac V-Series.R of Alex Lynn led a front-row lockout of qualifying alongside the sister #38 car at Le Mans on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Michele Scudiero, Cadillac
“It’s an exciting moment when you put it all together,” said Vice President of Global Cadillac John Roth, who cheered on the results from the Cadillac box above the pits. “Looking forward to the race results on Sunday.”
Cadilac’s grandstand-rattling V-8 engines are a fan favorite here — their distinct sound roaring above the more muffled exhaust notes of competitors’ turbocharged V-8s. Le Mans’ so-called Hyperpole qualifying is designed like other IndyCar and Formula One racing series with an elimination shootout. Entries in each of the three classes — Hyper, LMP2 and LMGT3 — are whittled to 15 cars after one qualifying round, then eight in the final, Hyperpole 2 Round.
“Any time you have the opportunity to drive this kind of car at Le Mans with low fuel, new tires, is an honor,” Lynn told RACER.com after climbing out of the V-Series.R. “I’m proud to deliver for Cadillac. It’s a special feeling, a magical circuit and a place I like to perform my best. Now, just 24 hours. We will enjoy this tonight and get some rest.”
Le Mans, France – Alex Lynn (right) qualified the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R on pole. His teammates Will Stevens (left) and Norman Nato will co-pilot with him June 14-15 to try and win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Photo: Michele Scudiero / Drew Gibson Photography. Michele Scudiero, Cadillac
GM’s luxury brand is not alone in seeking Le Mans glory this weekend and is joined by a multitude of other Detroit-based racers.
Bloomfield Hills-based Team Penske qualified third and fifth behind the Cadillacs in Porsche 963s — the dominant car in North America’s IMSA Sportscar Series this year. Corvette also had a strong showing, with one of its three entries making it to the Fast Eight. The TF Sport Corvette will start sixth. Two Ford Mustang entries from Proton Racing will start 10th and 13th after making Hyperpole 1.
But the day belonged to Cadillac, which has raised its game this year with a class-leading four entries. Caddy is determined to re-establish itself as the “Standard of the World” with motorsports playing a big part. In another first, the brand has opened four showrooms across Europe this year — its flagship is in Paris, 130 miles southeast of Le Mans — and Cadillac will be entering the world’s most prestigious open-wheel series, Formula One, in 2026.
Le Mans, France – THough it won’t start on pole, the Whelan Racing Cadillac V-Series.R set a Le Mans lap record earlier in the day on June 12th qualifying. Photo: Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography. Nick Dungan, Cadillac
“Couldn’t be prouder of what’s happened here today,” said Roth. “After all that preparation, all that work by so many throughout the whole organization, from our engineers to our designers to the team members that put together the vehicle, all the way out to the customers to our dealerships who support the brand.”
When the green drops on the 62-car field Sunday at 4 p.m. Le Mans time (10 a.m. in Detroit), Lynn, Will Stevens and Norman Nato will share the lead #12 car with Earl Bamber, ex-Formula One ace Jenson Button and Sebastien Bourdais alongside in the #38.
Ferrari has won the race the last two years, and this year its 499P Hypercar entries will start 7th, 11th and 13th. Come Sunday at 4 p.m., after 24 hours of racing, it could be Cadillac v Ferrari.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: 1925 Chrysler Six vs. 2025 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 12, 2025
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Belle Isle — Happy 100th birthday, Chrysler, you’ve given us the gift of many memorable automobiles over the years.
Over a century not much — and yet everything — has changed.
As in 1925 with its Six (and sister Four) models, Chrysler today offers two 2025 vehicles for the U.S. market: the Pacifica and Voyager minivans. Following in the footsteps of its Six, Pacifica is an innovative family vehicle, bears a winged logo, rides on four air-tube tires and burns gasoline. Those fundamentals aside, a test drive of the two Chrysler icons reveals just how much autos have evolved after a century of innovation.
Speed
I tested the 2025 Pacifica plug-in Hybrid and the 1924 Six B-70 (the prototype for the ’25 production car) at the brand’s 100th birthday bash at the Detroit Yacht Club last week. I rode both at 35 mph around Belle Isle’s perimeter road (behind the wheel of the Pacifica; riding shotgun in the Six with an expert driver, Neal).
That’s slow by Pacifica standards, and just about right for the Six.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“You wouldn’t have wanted to go much faster than that on the roads they had back in the day,” laughed Chrysler historian Brandt Rosenbusch. No wonder the Six had a big, Jeep-like spare hanging out the back (the Pacifica comes standard with a tire repair kit). The Six wasn’t slow for its day. Indeed, its smooth, 3.3-liter inline-6 (thus the Six moniker. The Four was powered, natch, by a four-cylinder engine) was prized for its pace — so much so that Chrysler advertised its impressive-for-the-time 70 mph top speed with the B-70 badge.
Had that tradition continued, Chrysler’s fire-breathing, 173-mph, 435-horsepower, V8-powered 2005 sedan would have been called the B-173 instead of the 300C SRT8.
The Pacifica is a rocket ship compared to the Six B-70 with a top speed of 106 mph and a 0-60 mph dash of 7.3 seconds. Zero-to-60 mph in the Six?
“I don’t think anyone has ever asked that,” laughed Rosenbusch. “Probably a minute.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Operation
It takes a minute and several steps to start the Chrysler Six:
1) Depress the clutch pedal with your left foot.
2) Turn on the ignition to activate the six-volt battery.
3) Pull out the choke (if the engine is cold) to add fuel to the carburetor.
4) Push the starter button on the floor with your right foot.
5) If the Six struggles to fire, maintain pressure on the starter button with your right toes and goose the accelerator pedal (actually a button on the floor next to the starter button) with your right heel.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
VROOM! You’re ready to go. The 2025 Pacifica is as simple as pushing a dash button — its 12-volt battery turning over the starter motor.
Ah, how spoiled we’ve become. Remember clutch pedals?
Manual transmissions have largely been relegated (performance cars aside) to the ash heap of history. Since it first appeared as a three-row SUV from 2004-08 (evolving into a minivan in 2017), Pacifica has never been operated by a stick.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
But a three-speed manual is all you got in the ‘25 Six. Its steering wheel looks oddly modern with its center-mounted horn and what appear to be a pair of shift paddles hanging off the sides. They aren’t shift paddles, though. The right paddle acts as a sort of cruise control (“20 mph was a good speed,” smiled Rosenbusch). The left paddle? It was used to advance the spark plug timing if the engine ran rough.
As if mastering a stick wasn’t enough, drivers also had to adjust ignition timing.
Driver Neal expertly negotiated the H-pattern gearbox (REVERSE in the northwest corner) on our drive, but Pacifica’s nine-speed automatic was magical by comparison. And quiet. In fact, the hybrid could have made the trip around Belle Isle on electrons alone thanks to a 17-kWh battery (separate from the 12-volt) and electric motor that complements the 220-horsepower, 3.6-liter V-6.
Combine the battery, a 16.5-gallon gas tank and impressive 30 mpg fuel economy for the 5,000 pound minivan, and the e-minivan can go 520 miles. The lightweight 3,000-pound Six is no slouch in the gas tank department. With a healthy 20-gallon tank under the rear seat, it gets about 200 miles of range with 10 mpg fuel economy.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
It would have been an exhausting 200 miles, though.
Comfort
While Pacifica sails along on a modern, unibody chassis connected to the road via coil-over springs, shocks and multi-link suspension, the Six rode on a ladder-frame (truck) chassis with leaf springs.
Worse, every coupe and sedan model was a convertible (Chrysler preferred the fashionable term “Phaeton”) thanks to stamping technology limitations that made hard tops a challenge. A convertible was swell on my 80-degree June test day, but Michigan winters were a challenge with open sides.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Owners could option canvas cockpit curtains — complete with glass portholes — anchored to the doors. But the fit was imprecise, said Rosenbusch, and cold air rushed in. “For long trips, some owners would heat up bricks and bring them into the cabin to stay warm,” he said.
The Pacifica’s stamping, by contrast, is state-of-the-art with a panoramic roof overhead. Chrysler would gradually solve the stamping issue, beginning with the 1934 Airflow sedan.
Wind noise and climate control aside, the Six cabin is a lot like your average modern SUV: command-view leather seats (ground clearance an SUV-like nine inches) and lots of front and rear legroom. No seat belts, though. That safety innovation wouldn’t come standard until the late 20th century.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Not that Six was oblivious to safety in the early years of the personal transportation revolution. The Chrysler was equipped with innovative hydraulic (not mechanical) drum brakes. Pacifica, of course, is a fortress with hydraulic disc brakes, auto emergency braking, air bags, seat belts and much more.
The minivan is a Swiss Army knife on wheels with second- and third-row seats that can stow in the floor, fold flat or be removed altogether. And Pacifica has 32-square-feet of cargo room behind the third-row seats.
The Six has … none.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Passengers 100 years ago would lash their luggage to the huge side running boards — or store it in the cabin with them for long trips (leaving room for the heated bricks, of course).
Jetsons car
What really separates Pacifica from its forefather — and even Chryslers 20 years ago — is its electronics. A Six owner would stare in wonder at the minivan’s futuristic digital tricks.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
– Twin seven-inch instrument and 10-inch infotainment displays
– Sirius XM radio
– Amazon Fire TV integrated into the rear-seat Uconnect Theater System so passengers can stream their favorite shows
– 360-degree surround view camera
– Automatic, hands-free park assist
– Adaptive cruise control
– Side mirrors with blind-spot assist
Yes, side mirrors — absent on the 1925 Six. We’ve come along way, baby.
1925 Chrysler Six
Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $1,595-$3,725 ($29,288-$68,400 in 2025 dollars; 1924 Chrysler Six prototype as tested)
Power plant: 3.3-liter inline-6 cylinder
Power: 68 horsepower
Transmission: Three-speed manual
Performance: 0-60 mph, 1 minute (estimate) top speed, 70 mph
Curb weight: 3,000 pounds (est.)
Fuel economy: 10 mpg; 200-mile range
Report card
Highs: Roomy interior; speedy for its time
Lows: Poor cabin insulation from the elements; busy starting procedure
2025 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-in Hybrid
Vehicle type: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive, seven-passenger minivan
Price: $44,445 base, including $1,995 destination ($64,300 AWD Select model as tested)
Power plant: 3.6-liter V-6
Power: 287 horsepower
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.8 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 106 mph
Curb weight: 5,010 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA 82 MPGe; 500-mile range
Report card
Highs: Swiss Army knife interior; electronic controls/features
Lows: Minivan in an SUV world
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Le Mans preview: Motown brands descend on France for endurance race shootout
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 12, 2025
Le Mans, France — June 6 was D-Day. June 14 will be V-8 Day.
Some of Motown’s most renowned performance brands will descend on central France this weekend, June 14-15, with an army of V8-powered machines in an attempt to win the world’s most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Leading the pack will be Cadillac with a quartet of V-Series.R Hypercars competing in the globe’s fastest sportscar class. Team Penske will bring a triple threat of turbocharged V-8 Porsche 963 Hypercars as its Bloomfield Hills-based company’s chairman, Roger Penske, seeks to win his first Le Mans — and add to Porsche’s record 19 wins at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Following up its eye-opening 3rd and 4th place finish in its Le Mans LMGT3 class debut last year, Ford’s Mustang will be back with a trio of LMGT3 racers with an eye on taking the top step of the podium. And Corvette thunder will be heard around the 8.5-mile course for the 25th consecutive year as Chevy attempts to add to its nine Le Mans GT3 class wins.
Michele Scudiero, Cadillac
But wait, there’s more.
Ford is bringing its Mustang Challenge series to Le Mans from Thursday to Saturday as a support race to the main 24-hour event. The stampede of 40, race-prepared Mustang Dark Horse Rs will be piloted by pro drivers (Tanner Foust), celebrities (ex-“Malcolm in the Middle” actor-turned-pro racer Frankie Muniz) and even Ford CEO Jim Farley, an accomplished racer. Ford also has ambitions to join the Le Mans front-running prototype class in 2027 and will have news about its racing partner on Friday. Ford last competed in the top Le Mans class in the 1960s, when it won four straight Le Mans from 1966-1969 — inspiring the Oscar-winning movie “Ford v Ferrari.”
There will be plenty of eye candy off track as well. Cadillac’s bid for Le Mans glory dovetails with its entry into the European market as an all-electric brand with showrooms popping up across the continent. Caddy will have a display of its Lyriq and Optiq EVs for fans to peruse at The Village area just outside the pits.
Cadillac, Cadillac
Like the Indy 500 stateside, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is more than a race. It is a weeklong celebration of motorsports with over 325,000 fans descending on this small city (population 145,000) along with representatives from major international automakers. From June 7-13, activities include a public scrutineering of entries, track test days, and a sort of exotic car Dream Cruise through central city streets.
Come Saturday at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. in Detroit), another 100 million-plus viewers in 196 countries around the world will tune in to watch 62 entries across three classes — Hypercar, LMP2 prototypes and LMGT3 — slug it out for victory.
The field includes 21 Hypercars, hybrid-powered cyborgs with nearly 700 horsepower that top 200 mph for extended periods each lap.
The entry list is a who’s who of global performance icons. The Motor City contingent will take on competitors including Ferrari, Aston Martin, BMW, Peugeot, Porsche, Toyota, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG and McLaren.
Porsche
Ferrari has dominated the Hypercar class the last two years with Toyota close behind, but Cadillac put on a formidable effort in 2024. The #3 Cadillac Hypercar (one of three entries) qualified on the front row and led 61 of 311 laps in often appalling, wet-weather conditions. IndyCar ace Alex Palou, driving for Cadillac’s Chip Ganassi Racing team, did yeoman’s work before pit strategy shuffled the car back to 7th at the end.
Ganassi Racing signed a contract with Acura this year to race in North America, so Cadillac has new partners for Le Mans with U.S.-based Wayne Taylor Racing and Whelan Racing crossing the pond with entries from the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Series. Europe-based Team JOTA brings two more Caddies.
“Really cool to have our first session here at Le Mans behind us,” said American fan favorite Ricky Taylor, who will race the #101 Cadillac in a family affair — co-driving with his brother, Jordan, on a team owned by their father, Wayne. “We are just focused on getting laps and trying to get some experience here and then we will build as we get closer to the race.”
Penske’s Porsche team also showed impressive form in ‘24, qualifying a car on pole next to Cadillac. The highest team finisher was 4th. Porsche Penske 963s have dominated the IMSA Hypercar class so far this year, winning four of the first six races. The IMSA series-leading team of Felipe Nasr/Nick Tandy will pilot the #4 car alongside two Europe-based Penske Porsches.
Chevrolet, Chevrolet
“For the first time, we’ve prepped all three Porsche 963s at our facility in Mannheim (Porsche Penske European headquarters) — a big milestone,” said Jonathan Diuguid, managing director for Porsche Penske Motorsport. “We’re better prepared than ever before. The 963 is extremely reliable, the team is in perfect sync and our driver lineup is world-class.”
On Sunday’s test day, Toyota paced the field, but expectations are for a tight race.
Ford and Chevrolet have invested heavily in the GT3 class, offering production vehicles in racing trim that customers around the world can enter in international racing series. Mustang and Corvette teams will go head-to-head with GT3 racers from manufacturers including Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, McLaren and Porsche.
Porsche and BMW beat Ford to the checkered flag in 2024, but Ford has continued to improve in only its second season in class. Two weekends ago in Detroit, it won IMSA’s comparable GT3 class with a strong run, its V-8 power proving formidable on Detroit’s long 3/4-mile straightaway — an advantage that should translate to Le Mans’ famed 3.7-mile Mulsanne straight (interrupted by two chicanes) where cars really stretch their legs.
Drew Gibson Photography, Cadillac
Chevrolet has sold 17 Corvette C8.R race cars to private customers and three of them will be in the fray, entered by AWA Racing (two) and TF Sport (one). AWA won the GTD class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January.
“Our program goal in 2025 was to continue the development and fine-tuning of the Corvette in order to provide our teams with a fast and reliable car that would enable them to compete for race wins and championships,” said Mark Stielow, GM Motorsports competition programs director.
Detroit automakers have been coming to Le Mans for decades, including efforts by Cadillac in the 1950s and Ford’s historic streak in the late 1960s. But the French event has never seen such a sustained period of Detroit involvement as the last three years, with automakers jockeying for engineering prestige, market penetration and brand identity.
Cadillac, for example, uses the V badge that adorns its V8-powered Hypercars to distinguish the performance V-Series versions of, for example, the 519-horsepower electric 2026 Optiq-V crossover that was just introduced this week. Should Cadillac claim Sunday’s prize, expect to see the Optiq-V waving the American flag in the Paris showroom.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Porsche 963 for the street: Penske to take delivery on road version of 200 mph race car
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 7, 2025
Bloomfield Hills-based Roger Penske will take delivery this summer on a street-focused version of the Daytona 24 Hour-winning Porsche 963, the race car that Team Penske and Porsche campaign in international Hypercar prototype racing, the fastest sportscar class in the world.
Modified at Porsche’s North American headquarters in Atlanta from a carbon-fiber chassis made at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen, Germany, racing production facility, the 200-mph-plus, hybrid Hypercar is a one-off — its powertrain and aerodynamics matching the race car, but upgraded with a luxurious leather and Alcantara interior complete with turn signals and a cupholder.
Porsche, Porsche
Badged the 963 RSP (in honor of Penske’s initials, Roger Searle Penske), it is effectively the fastest car ever made for the street. The 963 race car costs $2.9 million and Penske’s unique street cruiser is likely valued at much more.
In an interview, Penske said he had seen his new wheels being made at Porsche Classic, the brand’s Atlanta restoration facility: “It certainly looks and feels like a true Porsche sportscar. I am so honored that Porsche produced this special 963 RSP — I think I will always have a special connection to this vehicle, and certainly to everyone at Porsche.”
He said he looks forward to bringing the car to the Motor City as part of his family’s private car collection.
Roger Penske with a Porsche Hypercar after a Porsche Penske Motorsport press conference at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France on June 14, 2024. Penske is getting a a street-focused version of the Porsche 963 to add to his collection. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
“I’m not sure I would drive the 963 RSP as a daily commuter, though that certainly would be a fun drive to the office,” he smiled.
Penske is scheduled to take delivery stateside this summer at the Monterey Historics in California. Following its unveiling Friday, the 963 RSP will be on public display at Le Mans’ Circuit de la Sarthe during the 24 Hours of Le Mans before it returns to Stuttgart to be shown at the Porsche Museum. In July, the car will appear alongside the 917 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England, before crossing the pond.
The Hypercar marks the second time Porsche has created a road version of its ultimate race car. The first was in 1975 when the German performance maker produced a street-legal Porsche 917 (which dominated international racing of that era) that was bought by Count Rossi, heir of the Martini & Rossi liquor fortune.
The eccentric Count then hit the road, driving from Zuffenhausen to Paris in the 580-horsepower, 12-cylinder 917.
In a brief street drive Friday near Le Mans, France, the 963 RSP debuted alongside that legendary 917 — just as the endurance racing world gathers for the week-long lead-up to the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, June 14-15.
Notably, the 963 race car competed on the downtown streets of Detroit May 31 as part of the Detroit Grand Prix. Hitting speeds of over 180-mph on Jefferson Avenue, the Porsche threw up sparks as it bottomed repeatedly down the bumpy, ¾-mile-long straightaway.
Richard Pardon, Porsche
“It’s banging the skid plate through there at nearly 200 mph,” said British race driver Nick Tandy, who co-piloted the #7 963 with Brazilian Felipe Nasr to fourth place in a thrilling race. “You can feel it coming up through the cabin. It’s rough.”
Together with Porsche, Team Penske is seeking to bring “The Captain” (as employees fondly refer to their chairman) his first Le Mans win, one of the few baubles that has eluded him in an illustrious racing career that includes 20 Indy 500 wins (Porsche has won almost as many Le Mans races — 19). It is the third Le Mans attempt by Porsche Penske — an event won by Ferrari the last two years.
“We have enjoyed a terrific relationship with Porsche dating back to 1972,” said Penske, recalling the dynamic duo’s first collaboration on the legendary 917/30 Can Am championship car. “With such a remarkable partnership continuing to this day, we felt it was time to create the most exciting car we could imagine.”
The Porsche 963 RSP is a street version of the 963 race car (shown) that competed in the May 31 Detroit GP. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The 963 RSP will be on public display at Le Mans’ Circuit de la Sarthe during the 24 Hours of Le Mans before it returns to Stuttgart to be shown at the Porsche Museum. In July, the car will appear alongside the 917 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England, before heading stateside.
Penske is scheduled to take delivery stateside this summer at the Monterey Historics in California and add the 963 RSP to his private collection of over 100 cars.
Managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, Jonathan Diuguid, has overseen the 963 racing program that competes in both North America’s IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Series here and the World Endurance Championship overseas. He said Penske his boss has been a big supporter of the 963 program from the start.
“He also got an opportunity to drive the Spyder (the Porsche RS Spyder, the last championship-winning sportscar on which Porsche-Penske collaborated from 2006-2008) at Goodwood a few years back,” said Diuguid. “So when the team planted the seed that there might be an opportunity for him to drive a 963, I think the flower started to grow.”
Richard Pardon, Porsche
The 963 won the IMSA series last year and has dominated so far in 2025, winning five of the first six races — including Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Porsche Penske is bringing three 963s to compete in next week’s Le Mans.
“Just like the 917, I wanted this car to be authentic to its origin and have as few changes to it as possible,” continued Penske. “When we got into the project, the differences in the two generations of race cars provided a great challenge. What emerged is a car that has lost none of its edge and is exciting whether on the track or on the road.”
While retaining most of the mid-engine race car’s dynamics – including the ferocious, 670-horspower, 4.6-liter, twin-turbo V-8 hybrid powertrain – the street car boasts significant changes to make it more comfortable.
Porsche, Porsche
The 963 RSP will not be started by a key to to the left of the steering wheel like Porsche production cars such as the 911 supercar and Macan SUV. That tradition started with left-hand-drive, 1960s Porsche race cars, which strategically located the key on the left so drivers could more quickly fire up the car upon entering the cabin in the pits.
Not only is the modern 963 RSP not started by a left-hand key, it is started from a laptop — just like the race car.
While 963 racers are wrapped in red-and-white trim, the 963 RSP is painted the same Martini Silver as its 917 forebear — a tricky process given the car’s thin, lightweight carbon fiber shell. The car has been lifted slightly — and its Multimatic spool-valve shocks softened — for a more compliant street drive. Tires? The same Michelin rain tires as the race car. Also missing from the 963 RSP are the race car’s fender cutouts — necessary on track to mitigate high-speed flips — but which take away from its aesthetic appearance on the road.
In a nod to tradition, an enamel Porsche badge is added to the nose, a detailed shared with the 1975 917.
Complete with headlight and taillight modifications to suit public roads — as well as turn signals, a horn, and front/rear license plates — the 963 RSP met permissions criteria from French authorities to ply public roads for its reveal today.
“An experience that will stay with me for a lifetime,” said Le Mans winner and Porsche racer Timo Bernhard, who was at the wheel of the 963 RSP for its first road miles. “Driving down a public road with a 917 beside me — it felt unreal. The car behaved perfectly — it felt a little friendlier and more forgiving than the normal 963 — and felt super special and a lot more comfortable, especially as I was not needing all my safety gear.”
Jordan Lenssen
The comfortable cockpit is a mix of luxurious appointments and raw race features.
Like the race car the 963 RSP features a single piece, air-conditioned carbon seat — but it is trimmed in leather with a fixed headrest mounted on the bulkhead behind the seat. The steering wheel — bristling with operating functions — is true to the racer but has been finished in leather. The aforementioned cupholder is 3D-printed and capable of holding a Porsche travel mug.
“This really started out as a ‘what if?’ — a passion project by a small team of enthusiasts at Penske and at Porsche who together imagined a version of the 963 that really resembled as closely as possible the spirit and appearance of the Count Rossi 917,” said Porsche Cars North America President and CEO Timo Resch, who conceived of the 963 RSP. “The 917 was every inch a race car — albeit one driven on the road — and we took the same approach with the 963 RSP.”
No word on whether Penske intends to cruise on Woodward this August.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Drag-racing the Chevy Blazer EV SS (SS for Super Stylish)
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 5, 2025
Oakland County — The last Chevy SS (Super Sport) I drove in 2016 was a stealthy muscle car. Modest looks, sedan shape, growling V-8 under the hood waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting Bimmers. SS for Sneaky Sport.
The 2025 Chevy Blazer EV SS is not that car.
Wrapped in Habanero Orange with a black roof and sinister black fascia bracketed by orange wasp-like mandibles, you can see my Blazer SS from space. Big 22-inch wheels, big teardrop taillights, big black greenhouse, big 615 horsepower. But you can’t hear it.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
At a Telegraph Road stoplight, I flattened the accelerator pedal with my Size 15 shoes and the SS’s twin electric motors silently sucked the doors off a BMW M340i. FOOOOM! My eyes flattened, the landscape blurred, and 60 mph went by in less than four seconds. That would leave the ’16, 465-horse SS (0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds) in the dust as well, though it wouldn’t keep up with a Tesal Model S Plaid at 1.99 seconds.
My Blazer SS is, however, less than half the price of the $134,490 Tesla.
Chevy’s latest iteration of its Super Sport badge is a welcome addition to its diverse history. SS has adorned everything from the OG 1961, 408-cubic-inch, V8-powered Impala SS coupe to the 1969, double-dome-hooded El Camino SS to the lowered, fire-breathing 2003 Silverado SS pickup. With its super-sized straight-line speed (an SS badge record 3.4-second 0-60 mph), girth (a whopping 5,730 pounds thanks to a 102-kWh battery) and flamboyant wardrobe (hey, Chevy, how about a dual-stripe option?), this SS takes its place alongside other SS Dream Cruise rocket ships. This is an Impala SS for the electric age.
But addictive acceleration aside, what I like best about this SS is its interior integration of state-of-the-art GM technology with retro-Camaro SS design. SS for Super Styled.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Oh, how I miss the Camaro muscle car.
The porky, all-wheel-drive Blazer SS won’t remind you of the rear-wheel-drive Camaro’s deft handling, planted chassis and rib-rattling V-8. But it (along with the standard Blazer) honors the ‘Maro with one of the coolest interiors in this business.
Yuge grapefruit-shaped, aviator-style climate controls bracket the dash with three more anchoring the base of the console. They not only look awesome, but are easy to use (in keeping with GM’s best-in-biz cabin ergonomics). I climbed into the cabin with key in pocket, pressed the brake pedal and the SS came to life. I nudged the grapefruits back-and-forth to adjust air position, then adjusted the rim to turn it on or off.
Chevy marries this retro style with modern Google Built-in controlled digital screens. A head-up display complements the 11.0-inch instrument and 17.7-inch dash displays.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Adjust driver temperature to 70 degrees,” I barked on a chilly, rainy May evening, and the cabin temperature instantly adjusted.
A blizzard of other vocal and physical controls are at your fingertips. I’m particularly fond of the volume and radio station buttons located on the backside of the steering wheel so I could easily cycle through my Sirius XM radio favorites.
Even in the wet, Blazer SS was fun to drive thanks to its upgraded, stiffened suspension and sophisticated electronics. Combined with all-wheel drive, they kept the beast’s 650 pound-feet of torque (nearly 100 more than the last, 2024 Camaro SS V-8) in line as I barreled around the county.
Those electronics also enable non-performance features. Like when you don’t want to steer at all.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
On I-94, I set the speed to 75 mph, engaged Super Cruise and went hands-free to the airport, the Blazer SS navigating traffic beautifully — even moving automatically into the left-hand lane when slower traffic deterred my progress. SS is for Super Smooth.
I kept my hands on my knees, sipped my Grape Snapple and set Sirius XM stations using Chevy’s superb infotainment interface on the big (there’s that word again) infotainment display.
When I exited the freeway, Blazer SS handed the controls back to me and I eased into a stoplight without touching the brake — regenerative braking using the electric motors to bring the sled to a halt.
Afraid that you’ll miss the sound of an internal combustion engine? MY MODE allows you to select a growl (NORMAL or SPORT) to accompany its beastly acceleration. I preferred OFF, content with the silent hammer of the electric motors.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Those motors — and their battery fuel — come at a price. My Blazer SS tester tipped the scales at the same price as a Cadillac Lyriq EV I recently piloted that sits on the same Ultium platform. The Chevy plays in the same space as other mainstream electric hellions like the 601-horsepower Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and 576-horse Kia EV6 GT — but paying Caddy money for a Chevy could be a hard sell.
Blazer SS is also harder to refuel on trips north than, say, a BMW M340i.
Even if you manage to avoid tempting 0-60 launch control dashes, a 75-mph jaunt up I-75 will suck 25% of charger from the battery resulting in a real-world range of 225 miles instead of the EPA-approved 303. And that’s in modest, 70-degree weather. Chevy’s Google-based navigation system is good at navigating to chargers on the route (though the complicated, sliding charging door gives me the reliability willies), but expect a 250-mile trip to, say, Charlevoix to add two stops and a half hour to your travel. SS for Slow Stops.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The SS’s cargo and seating room, however, is easy on the legs — and luggage space — for extended trips. If most of your travel is local (say, over to the Woodward Dream Cruise and back this summer), then there are few cars that stand out — and explode out of stoplights — like the Chevy.
Super Sport. Give it an orange cape.
Next week: 2025 Nissan Murano and Titan
2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS
Vehicle type: Battery-powered, rear- and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger hatchback
Price: $61,995, including $1,395 destination fee ($64,180 as tested)
Powerplant: 102 kWh lithium-ion battery with dual-electric-motor drive
Power: 615 horsepower, 650 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.4 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 120 mph
Weight: 5,730 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA range: 303 miles
Report card
Highs: Sporty, ergonomically superior interior; good ol’ SS acceleration
Lows: Pricey; your trip-mileage may vary
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
How track-licensed GM President Reuss helped develop the 233-mph Corvette ZR1
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 4, 2025
Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas — General Motors Co. President Mark Reuss has seen the King’s moods both high and low.
Licensed to test on the world’s greatest race tracks, the engineer-cum-product chief has been intimately involved in the development of multiple generations of the King of Corvettes, the ZR1 — the mightiest sportscar GM has ever made. On the 3.4-mile Circuit of the Americas Formula One track here, Reuss put the eighth-generation Chevy C8 supercar’s improved grip to the test — a direct consequence of its mid-engine layout, a first for Corvette and a significant evolution from the seventh-generation car.
“I can tell you firsthand the C7 was a little light in the rear end. Really light,” laughed Reuss in a presentation to media here — a reference to his infamous looping of the seventh-generation ZR1 pace car into the Turn Two wall in front of the IndyCar field at the 2018 Detroit Grand Prix.
GM President Mark Reuss is a track-licensed test driver who clocked a record 233 mph in the 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1in Germany. He recently tested the 1,064-horsepower beast at Circuit of the Americas. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Now, with the mass of the engine pushed rearwards, traction has improved. As has engine packaging. Without the weight limitations of the front-engine, seventh-generation car, Chevy engineers wrapped the $174,995 C8’s engine with the biggest twin turbochargers in the industry, producing an astonishing 1,064 horsepower — over 300 more than C7.
With such ballistic power on tap, Reuss piloted the King to 233 mph — a record for a sub-$1 million production car — last fall on the high ovals of the 7.6-mile Papenberg test track in Germany.
“This is something we targeted from day one with the C8 architecture,” Reuss said in an interview in COTA’s paddock while a squadron of ZR1s thundered around the track. “The day (we) pulled over 1,000 horsepower . . . was a big day for the whole company. It’s a miracle engine.”
At 233 mph, the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is now the fastest car ever built by an American auto manufacturer. It achieved the feat on the 50-degree banking of Papenberg, Germany. Matt Beard, Chevrolet
Reuss is one of a few suits in the industry licensed to test his products to the limits. He holds a so-called Level 6 driving license (an internal GM designation that connotes a high-level of race track skill) that allows him to test, for example, Corvettes on tracks like 20-turn COTA — or the 12.9-mile, 73-turn Nürburgring in Germany, considered the most daunting circuit in the world.
Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley is an active race driver who recently competed in IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge with a Mustang GT4. Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda has competed at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring endurance race, and former Stellantis NV executives — ex-CEO Carlos Tavares and ex-Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato — shared a car at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
“It’s an honor, and I take that certification and use very seriously,” Reuss said. “I love to do it, but it’s not for me personally. It’s for being part of the development team and giving direction to our engineers. Doing that is highly satisfying, but also I think we get the best out of our engineers for our customers with that approach.”
A lineup of 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1s at Circuit of the Americas. The supercar makes 1,200 pounds of downforce at COTA with an aero package that includes a huge rear wing. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Those engineers include four Level 6 drivers — lead performance engineer Bill Wise, lead vehicle dynamics engineer Brain Wallace, lead development engineer Chris Barber and global vehicle performance manager Aaron Link — who, along with Reuss, hosted media at COTA for a first test drive of King Corvette. Link piloted the C8 ZR1 pace car for Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix (Reuss did the honors in the 670-horse Corvette Z06 sister car for the 2023 race).
In a testament to their skill, engineers not only traveled with Reuss to Nürburgring and Papenberg to test the ZR1, but set production car lap records at five U.S. tracks where Chevrolet tests. Those records include:
– Watkins Glen, New York: 1:52.6 minute lap (Wise)
– Road America, Wisonsin: 2:08.6 lap (Wallace)
– Road Atlanta, Georgia: 1:22.8 (Barber)
– Virginia International Raceway, Full Course: 1:47.7 (Link)
– Virginia International Raceway Grand Course: 2:32.3 (Link)
Global vehicle performance manager Aaron Link tests the 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 at Circuit of the Americas. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The times are notable for how close they are to times set by pro drivers who race the Corvette Z06 GT3.R race car in the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar series. Barber’s Road Atlanta time, for example, was just 0.7 seconds off GT3.R race laps at last fall’s Petit Le Mans race. Also notable: Wallace’s 188 mph top speed on Road America’s front straight eclipsed that of IndyCar’s 185 mph.
“To really show the product that we have, this is the place to do it — COTA or the Nürburgring,” said Ken Morris, a GM engineer and senior vice president of product Programs, Product Safety and Motorsports. “A place that has a lot of different conditions that you’re going to exercise the car.”
Morris credits the C8’s mid-engine layout for better weight distribution, which enables better front corner turn-in and better rear traction.
“Putting turbochargers on was a big reason for doing the mid-engine car,” said Reuss, who also lauded the magnetic shock-equipped supercar’s dexterity as a daily driver on Michigan roads. “I drive one every day.”
Reuss redeemed. After his 2018 pace car incident on Belle Isle, GM President Mark Reuss returned to lead the IndyCar field to green in a Corvette Z06 in 2023. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The Circuit of the Americas test was a first for the GM president.
“I’ve never been here, but I watch it on TV — whatever series it is at this track,” Reuss said. “The elevation piece of this is way different in person than you see on the track on TV. That’s been pretty spectacular.”
“We’re getting right around 1,200 pounds (of downforce) off the rear wing,” he continued, noting how COTA’s fast corners complement the ZR1’s aerodynamics. “How hard you can accelerate out of a corner (and get) top speed on a straightaway is one thing. But where you really make hay . . . is in these corners, and that wing helps you.”
Circuit of the Americas also holds special meaning as GM gears up for entry into Formula One racing with its Cadillac brand in 2026.
“I’m really excited when we bring Formula One and Cadillac (here) next year,” Reuss said. “To be in America at this track is a huge deal. It’ll be sort of our home track.”
Maybe Reuss will take the F1 car for a few laps around COTA as well.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Corvette ZR1: How Chevy makes an exotic 1,064-horse supercar for 1/5th the price
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 31, 2025
Austin, Texas — All hail the members of the world’s elite club of 1,000-horsepower-plus supercars: Ferrari, Bugatti, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Chevrolet.
Chevrolet?
The 1,064 Chevy Corvette ZR1 has joined European exotics despite a sticker price that is a fraction of its storied competitors. While the $174,995 ZR1, which Chevy made available for media testing at America’s formidable Circuit of the Americas Formula One course outside of Austin, is hardly affordable, it’s a bargain compared to, say, the 1,018-horspower, $850,00 Ferrari SF90 XX or 1,160-horse, $3.5 million Aston Valkyrie
Chevy’s secret sauce, GM executives say, is leveraging in-house engineering, a strong supplier base, and the General’s formidable army of manufacturing resources.
“First off, you might ask why the others are charging so much money,” smiled Vice President for Global Chevrolet Scott Bell in an interview here. “(This is) in our DNA. Corvette from the very beginning has been about having something that’s aspirational, but also attainable. And our engineers just continue to push to places I never dreamed.”
Unlike small volume production cars like the SF90 XX — of which only 1,398 are planned — the Corvette is built on a dedicated, automated assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
European exotics’ small numbers guarantee exclusivity and high resale residuals for wealthy collectors, whereas Chevrolet has long prioritized volume production, company insiders say, to make it an attainable supercar.
Henry Payne
The in-house production is a point of particular pride for GM. When crosstown rival Ford, for example, set its sights on the supercar class with its mid-engine, carbon fiber-tub Ford GT, it followed the European exotic model. The limited production, $500,000-plus model was produced from 2017-2022 for a total of 1,350 units by specialty performance manufacturer Multimatic in Toronto (Multimatic is also producing Ford’s front-engine 2025 Mustang GTD supercar that’s estimated to start at $350k).
“(The ZR1) is made in Bowling Green, Kentucky, by all of our team members. It’s engineered in Detroit. So this is a big American story,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “It’s not farmed out. It’s not made somewhere else, and the starting price is something that we’re all very proud of.”
While the move to a mid-engine platform opened a bigger envelope for track-focused performance, program managers also anticipated a broader demographic of customers who had not shopped Corvette when it was a front-engine car. The mid-engine layout screamed sophistication.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Corvette is based on a different business model than the exotics, because they are going for a bigger market,” said Steven Cole Smith, special projects editor for Hagerty. “Corvette has outperformed again with the ZR1. They are punching way above their weight with this car.”
Significantly, the Corvette eschews exotic, expensive, lightweight materials like a carbon-fiber chassis used by some if its peers to maintain the ZR1’s accessibility. At 3,800 pounds, the aluminum-chassis ZR1 is a thousand pounds heavier than, for example, the all-carbon Aston.
Chevy’s Bell said the scale of GM is key to the ZR1’s unique story.
“We do this car in some volume, which is pretty significant in this space,” he said. “When we went to the mid-engine, the aspiration grew, and we saw some new customers come into the Corvette family. The volume has helped us continue to invest in how far can we take it.”
In recent generations, the Bowling Green plant has pumped out 35,000 vehicles per year and the C8 has consistently hit that mark since 2021 with the ZR1 model now coming on line.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“We leverage the scale of this great company, General Motors, and everything we do with the brand Chevrolet allows us some things that are very efficient, very effective,” Bell said. “(We’ve got) a lot of variants of this car: Stingray, E-Ray, Z06 and now ZR1. “(In) Bowling Green, we learn from all of our facilities across the U.S.”
General Motors Co.’s sprawling manufacturing footprint brings with it a deep bench of efficient suppliers who help pump out over 2.5 million vehicles per year. With volume comes efficiency.
“It’s engineered into the car,” Reuss said. “Our supply base is really good. We get that relationship — that advantage — that’s gone on for many years. They know what we’re trying to do. They give us their best, we give it our best, and that’s pretty magical.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
That includes a comfortable, state-of-the-art interior that wouldn’t be out of place in a luxury European sedan. Stitched leather thrones in multiple colors including red, orange, and two-tone. Big digital screens that include high-tech features like a Performance Data Recorder, camera mirror and crisp graphics.
“That scale gives us permission to go after the ultimate in performance,” Bell said.
Similar features are found in other GM vehicles like the Silverado LT, High Country and electric trucks as well as Cadillacs. That interior grows more sophisticated for the ‘26 model year (ZR1 has a short tun as a 2025 model before adopting 2026 upgrades).
“The 2026 model year has an all-new interior . . . that’s even a step up from when we started (C8) five years ago,” Bell said. “The evolution is from learnings that we have across many platforms within our company.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
At the heart of Corvette models is an LT family of V-8 engines, from the pushrod, 6.2-liter LT2 in the base Stingray to the insane, overhead-cam, twin-turbo 5.5-liter mill in the ZR1. LT2 is an evolution of the pushrod engine that has powered millions of Chevy trucks over the years as well.
“Pulling this kind of horsepower out of a V-8 in a Corvette helps us in the truck world,” Bell said. “We are in a unique position.”
The ZR1 brings a race-developed, 5.5-liter engine — its sophisticated, high-revving, flat-plane crank design shared with Ferrari — that competes against the world’s best sportscar brands week-in and week-out on tracks across the globe.
“It’s a very proud moment (for) just the engine itself: 5.5-liter, flat-plane crank, twin-turbos,” Reuss said. “Those are the biggest (turbos) on a production car, period. Our front-engine cars were all supercharged, because we couldn’t fit the turbos. This is . . . one of the big reasons we went to mid-engine.”
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Hagerty’s Cole Smith credits GM manufacturing with ZR1’s otherworldly performance numbers: “The turbos have a lot to do with the ZR1 capability. They had to have a base engine that was capable of holding up to that kind of stress.”
In addition to competing with the C8.R race car in the IMSA Weathertech (at the Detroit Grand Prix this weekend) and World Endurance Championship (the 24 Hours of Le Mans runs next month) series, Chevy has been torching track lap records with the ZR1 across North America this year — at the hands of its own engineers.
“The engineers that set the track records are the ones that work on these cars day in and day out,” Bell smiled. “All the racing we do, we can transfer that skill set into manufacturing.”
It may not cost seven figures, but the $175,000 ZR1 (along with its $100k Z06 and E-Ray siblings) looks like a million bucks and is attracting high-end customers. Bell says Corvette has responded with a more premium experience.
“The Bowling Green facility uses the best of the best of what we produce at GM, but we also ring in some of that hand-crafted culture as well,” he said. “For our upper-end customers there’s a museum there, there’s (track-testing) at Spring Mountain (Nevada), so we bring that exclusivity to people who are going to spend this kind of money.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Flat out on Circuit of the Americas in the 1,064-horsepower Corvette ZR1
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 31, 2025
Circuit of the Americas, Texas — RAAAAAWWWWWWRGH! At 155 mph, the glorious sound of my 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1’s V-8 echoed off Circuit of the Americas’ pit straight grandstands before climbing 13 stories into the Formula One race track’s iconic Turn 1. At the 150-foot marker, I buried the left pedal, and massive brakes slowed my rocket ship to a crawl for the 90-degree hairpin — the automatic gearbox downshifting rapidly from 5th to 4th to 3rd to 2nd – WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!
At the turn’s 133-foot summit, the King of Corvettes seemed to pause, as if surveying its domain, before plunging down to Turn 2.
This is rare air.
With an astounding 1,064 horsepower, ZR1 is the most powerful ‘Vette ever and the latest member of an elite club of quadruple-digit-horsepower supercars. Down the slope through Turn 2, the ‘Vette’s acceleration was ballistic. With the V-8 howling behind my ears, I stormed towards the technical Turn 3-4-5-6 esses complex like a four-wheeled tsunami. Powerplant engineer Dustin Gardner says it “feels like you’re strapped to an aircraft carrier. You’re getting fired off in a jet plane.” I’ve never been launched off a carrier, but ZR1 feels like it must be close.
Credit the addition of the largest pair of turbochargers on the planet to the screaming, 5.5-liter, flat-plane crank engine out of the Corvette Z06/C8.R GT3 race car. But this is no stoplight drag queen.
At $174,995, King ZR1 goes toe-to-toe on the world’s greatest tracks (like COTA) with $1 million-plus cyborgs like the 1,063-horsepower, $2.7-million Mercedes-AMG One and 1,160-horse, $3.5 million Aston Martin Valkyrie.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The ‘Vette’s secret sauce? The same mid-engine chassis that undergirds the standard, $70,195, Corvette C8 — the first ‘Vette in eight generations to move the engine from front to rear. Then Corvette engineers weaponized it.
This thing has more artillery hanging off it than an F-15 fighter jet.
Sticky 10.8-inch wide front/13.6-inch rear Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires (Pilot Sport 4S standard). 15.6-inch carbon-ceramic brakes (the largest in Corvette history). Towering rear wing, dive planes and a wing-shaped front splitter for sucking the beast to the ground. Then there’s the LT7 engine — turbos wrapped around its sides like a pair of pythons.
The result is the ‘Vette changes direction through COTA’s esses like Cade Cunningham doing a dribble cut down the lane for a slam dunk. This dexterity of power and nimbleness enables inane performance (not unlike 6’6” guard Cunningham).
The ZR1, driven by its own engineers, has clobbered production-car lap records from coast to coast.
Road America, Wisconsin: 2.08.6 minutes. That’s seven seconds quicker than the Sports 2000 SCCA race class I compete in with 1,350-pound, bespoke race cars that weigh nearly a third less than the 3,950-pound ‘Vette (but ZR1 has seven times the horsepower).
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Watkins Glen, New York: 1:52.7 minutes
Virginia International Raceway: 1:47.7
Road Atlanta, Georgia: 1:22.8. To put that in perspective, Lead Development Engineer Chris Barber’s lap time was just shy of the fastest race lap of 1.22.1 recorded last October at the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Series Petit Le Mans race by the 2,700-pound Corvette C8.R race car on racing slicks driven by pro factory drivers Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia. I’m not making this up.
Want more numbers?
I hit 176 mph on the back straight at Circuit of the Americas. That is 40 mph faster than both my Lola S2000 racer and the standard, 495-horse ‘Vette Stingray.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
It’s 20 mph faster than the Corvette Z06 equipped with similar tires and 670-horsepower V-8 engine revving to 8,600 RPM.
At Road America, the ZR1 hit 188 mph on the front straight, faster than an IndyCar’s 185 mph. Lucky the ZR1 pace car pulled off after its pace laps at this year’s Indy 500 — or it might have won the race.
Yet, thanks to its 1,200 pounds of downforce, magnetic ride shocks, electronic limited slip differential (eLSD for short) and other performance toys, the ZR1’s ballistic power was surprisingly easy to drive fast around this high-speed F1 circuit. It’s predictable and well balanced, with linear acceleration courtesy of no discernible turbo lag.
Just respect the 828 pound-feet of torque.
Unlike my, ahem, Lola’s normally-aspirated 2.0-liter engine, the beast behind your ear in the ZR1 must be let loose progressively, not all at once (or be prepared for lurid slides).
Take it to a track day, and ZR1 won’t wear you out. Neither will it wear out — a key competitive advantage of Corvette’s development by one of the world’s best manufacturers.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
This is a point of pride to Porsche GT2 and GT3 owners as well. Those cars run like trains, which is why you find so many at race clubs. Porsche (and Corvette) put their cars through extensive, grueling 24-hour, high-speed durability tests. There’s nothing worse than buying your expensive, exotic dream car and taking it to the shop all the time.
After finishing a track day on America’s premier F1 circuit (or M1 Concourse in Pontiac), King Corvette is comfortable commuting home with the rest of the peasants.
The interior houses the same luxurious stitched leather and digital screens that you’ll find in the base Stingray. It’s a personal favorite (only to get better with a 2026 update) with its square steering wheel for better viewing of the instrument display, thoughtful ergonomics, and camera mirror to see out of the narrow greenhouse. Magnetic ride shocks come with a variety of drive modes for everything from track performance to comfort on the street.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
That’s a contrast to Porsche GT3 cars — my benchmark for the best handling supercars — but that come with compromises like harsh suspensions, stiff rides, uncomfortable sets. Corvette engineers call them “20-minute cars”: they’re supreme for 20 minutes on track, but drive them any longer than that on street and you’ll be black and blue.
Corvettes are big cars made for big folks. Like me. The rear hatch will swallow my big tennis bag — or your golf bag. Need more storage? There’s a frunk like a Porsche 911.
Purchase a ZR1 and you gotta track it. Allow me some suggestions: 1) Buy the coupe for better headroom (over the convertible); 2) set aside money for tires (Cup 2 Rs don’t last long channeling 1,064 horses); and 3) sign up for the Corvette Racing school in Pahrump, Nevada (free for ZR1 buyers).
Because you’ll never know the envelope of quadruple-digit horsepower until you’re at triple-digit speed on a racetrack.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Vehicle type: Mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-passenger supercar
Price: $174,995 base including $1,395 destination ($189,680 LT1 coupe and $200,180 convertible models with ZTK Package as tested)
Power plant: 5.5-liter, twin-turbo V-8
Power: 1,064 horsepower, 828 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 2.3 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 233 mph
Curb weight: 3,800 pounds (Coupe est.)
Fuel economy: EPA 12 mpg city/18 mpg highway/14 mpg combined
Report card
Highs: Ballistic acceleration; state-of-the-art interior
Lows: Will drink the Permian Basin oil field dry for a track day
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Midwest-friendly Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT sports all-terrain tires, NACS charging
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 30, 2025
Franklin — With its raccoon-like black details, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT is instantly recognizable as a new, 2025 off-road trim for the brand’s electric hatchback. It sports a black mask, black wheels, black wheel arches etched with “digital camouflage” graphic, and black mirrors. XRT for Xtra Raccoon Trim.
But what Michiganians will really appreciate about the latest member of the I5 family is its Tesla-like NACS charging port and all-terrain tires.
“WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMPA! WHUMP WHUMP!” we went across 14 Mile’s pothole-pocked dirt road, one of many across Metro Detroit. These dirt roads are bad enough in summer but come spring they are really fraught after a harsh winter, particularly in premium vehicles with low-profile tires like the standard 19-inch-wheel Ioniq 5.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Residents along these roads are best served by rugged mules like pickups, Jeeps, Broncos and other off-roaders. For EV fans, the I5 XRT allows them to pair battery and brawn. Just choose the ALL-TERRAIN button on the steering wheel spoke to soften the ride. “WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMPA! WHUMP!” The high-profile Continental CrossContact ATR tires cushioned the blows as I weaved my way west …
… toward a Tesla Supercharger station.
Tesla, of course, has won the charging wars, defeating the industry-favored standard for bulky, five-prong CCS charging ports with its leaner, two-prong so-called North American Standard (NACS for short) plug. Combined with the Texas automaker’s ubiquitous reliable network of fast chargers, it has forced competitors to reluctantly succumb to consumer preference. NACS it is.
With customers screaming about fickle third-party DC chargers, EV makers have rushed to buy access to Tesla’s reliable network and Hyundai is one of the first automakers to — not just enable access to Superchargers for its clients — but also to equip their cars with NACS ports just like a Tesla.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Hyundai NACS has its hiccups, however. I was unable to connect to the 240-volt Tesla charger in my garage (I own a Model 3) because it was a 2018 NACS, which doesn’t sync with the Hyundai’s 2025 NACS plug. Something about software.
Neither could the Hyundai charge on my 240-volt, J1772 Juicebox garage charger that I use to charge non-Tesla EVs with CCS/J1772 ports. If this sounds complicated to folks used to simply stuffing a nozzle into a fuel filler, it is. And it is a reason EVs have proved to be niche vehicles in the U.S. market.
Stymied at home, I used I5’s native navigation system to locate the nearest Tesla Supercharger in Northville 12 miles away. I’d been before, the last time in June 2024 with a Ford Mustang Mach-E (Ford being the first automaker to gain access to Tesla’s network).
The Ioniq 5 was much easier to fill. And not just because it has a NACS port that the Tesla cable slipped into as easily as, well, a Tesla.
Hyundai also had the good sense to locate its NACS charging port on the rear corner of the vehicle like Tesla (right rear for I5, left rear for Tesla), meaning I simply backed the XRT up to the charger and connected the port. The Mach-E, like most EVs, locates its charging port behind the left front wheel, meaning I had to park the ‘Stang against the curb for the cord to reach. Combined with the bulky CCS/NACS adapter required for the Ford, it takes effort.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
You don’t need an adapter to charge the 2025 Hyundai, but you need a Tesla app. Download it. Add the Hyundai to its vehicle list. Then locate the Supercharger where you want to charge. Not all Tesla chargers are available to non-Tesla customers, but the Northville charger was, happily.
I plugged in, and my steed slurped electrons.
Northville is one of the busiest chargers in Metro Detroit, evidence that Tesla’s open-charger policy is catching on. Eight of the nine stalls were occupied on a Tuesday afternoon, with EVs including a Mustang Mach-E and Rivian R1S as well as the usual assortment of Tesla Cybertrucks, Model 3s, Ys and Ss.
Hyundai has upped the range on AWD models for 2025 to 290 miles (XRT clocks in at 259 with its all-terrain tires). That’s plenty for metro travel, but having the option of more chargers (like more gas stations for an internal combustion-vehicle) makes road trips less stressful.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
On a recent road trip to two-hours-from-anywhere — Sebring, Florida, for example — the only charging station in town was a Tesla Supercharger.
Hyundai, of course, does not have the cachet of the Tesla brand, and two friends recently opted to buy Model 3s as their first EVs. If you’re shelling out $50K for a car, brand matters.
But for those who want something different, my $56K XRT tester is a shockingly sophisticated (pun intended) EV. It’s roomy, utilitarian … and quick. (For $10K less, its I5 siblings begin at $46K and offer many of the same attributes.)
Merging onto I-696 on my way home, I dialed the steering wheel drive button (like a Porsche) to SPORT and buried my right foot. ZOT!
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Acceleration is, well, bioniq. Car and Driver clocks its 0-60 mph sprint at 4 seconds. Settling into the drive, I told the Ioniq to detour to Popeyes for lunch, and directions quickly appeared on the big, hoodless 24.6-inch jumbotron in front of me.
Where Hyundai comes up short is in hands-free driving, where Tesla and General Motors lead the way. Set a destination on a Tesla and it will self-drive there. It’s a feature prized by my pals. A Caddy EV, too, will go hands-free on most divided highways. Not Ioniq 5.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
My XRT’s adaptive cruise control system automatically changed lanes (like its EV competitors) when I tugged on the turn stalk — but otherwise required I keep a hand on the wheel. Worse, it nannied me constantly to watch the road even when my eyes had never left it. Sheesh, take a valium.
But that camera watching me suggests Hyundai plans over-the-air updates and Ioniq 5 should get more capable with time. High 5.
Next week: 2025 Nissan Murano and Titan
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5
Vehicle type: Battery-powered, rear- and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger hatchback
Price: $44,075, including $1,495 destination fee ($56,875 XRT as tested)
Powerplant: 63 kWh or 84 kWh lithium-ion battery with single or dual-electric-motor drive
Power: 225 horsepower, 258 pound-feet of torque (RWD); 325 horsepower, 446 pound-feet of torque (AWD)
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.5 seconds (Car and Driver, AWD as tested); top speed, 115 mph
Weight: 4,707 pounds (XRT as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA range: 245-318 miles (259 miles, XRT as tested)
Report card
Highs: NACS charge port; Michigan-friendly XRT trim
Lows: Pricey; hands-free driving, please
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Detroit Grand Prix: Motown automakers integrate racing and production
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 30, 2025
Detroit — The 2025 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix will take place Friday to Sunday on a 1.7-mile street track circling General Motors Co.’s Renaissance Center headquarters in downtown Detroit.
Lauren Heinrich driving the Porsche 911GT3 R (992) along side the Detroit River, goes on to win the IMSA WeatherTech Sportswear Championship at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix weekend in downtown Detroit, Michigan on June 1, 2024. Daniel Mears, The Detroit News
Chevrolet isn’t the only Detroit-based manufacturer featured in this year’s race.
Motorsports has become a key marketing, engineering, and sales tool for the auto industry today and Motown brands in particular have accelerated their involvement in recent years from international Formula One and GT3 Racing to the IndyCar and IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship Series on display in Detroit this weekend.
Forty percent of the 27 IndyCar racers will be powered by Chevrolet engines while 40% of IMSA Weathertech’s 22 entries will be represented by home brands (if you include Bloomfield Hills-based Team Penske, which runs the Porsche GTP team). In addition to Penske’s two Porsche entries, Detroit car brands include three Cadillac GTP racers, a pair of Corvettes, and two Ford Mustangs.
IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Series Corvette GT3 racers will be at Detroit GP (here shown at Long Beach).Chevrolet, Chevrolet
“Since we got into GT racing in 1999, we believed in the continuity and the messaging to expand our customer base and embrace technology – and the IMSA series is really representative of that,” said Corvette Racing Brand Ambassador Doug Fehan, who, as Corvette Racing program manager, established Chevy’s presence in international motorsports three decades ago. “When you look at the things we try and accomplish in racing — whether it be materials or fuel mileage or aerodynamics or light-weighting — all those things were always important in racing and now have become extraordinarily important in production. Corvette set the bar for technology transfer.”
The Detroit brands are joined by a who’s who of international brand,s including Honda (which will power the other 16 IndyCars on the Detroit GP grid), Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, BMW, Acura, Lexus and Mazda (whose engines power the weekend’s third competition, Indy NXT, IndyCar’s feeder series).
That’s an elite club.
Will Power takes turn 3 during NTT Indycar series qualifying at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix weekend in downtown Detroit on June 1, 2024. Daniel Mears, The Detroit News
Like Porsche, Ferrari, and Honda, which built their brands on motorsports success in the mid-20th century, Team Penske founder Roger Penske made competitive success the foundation of a business brand that covers rental trucks and auto dealerships. That model increasingly speaks to other brands.
“Racing is more than a checkered flag and a trophy. Racing can be internalized,” said Fehan. “Racing can be used to attract young, bright personnel with the excitement that racing — and the level of technology — generates. People want to be part of something they can be proud of.”
Whether the hybrid technology in IndyCar and IMSA GTP powertrains, or the chassis that are the backbone of GT race cars, racing informs production technology by testing at extreme track conditions.
“On the (mid-engine Corvette) C8, we had a clay model in the design studio of the street car, and — for the first time in history — right next to it, we had a clay model of the race car,” said Fehan. “And we’re transferring stuff back and forth. Those production engineers were wearing Corvette Racing hats. On the walls were Corvette Racing posters. They were embracing the fact that they were part of racing as well as part of production.”
IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Series Cadillac GTP racers will be at the Detroit GP (here shown in Long Beach). Cadillac, Cadillac
Manufacturers in the GT race class now include Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche. In the top GTP prototype class, there will be nine brands represented by 2027 including: BMW, Cadillac, Acura, Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, McLaren, Ford and Genesis.
“That’s a lot of manufacturers across the board,” said Fehan, who has been part of Corvette’s nine victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most prestigious endurance race, from 2001-2023. “They’re now involved in IMSA, which is like twice what it ever was in the history of the sport.”
The benefits of racing translate beyond the workplace and into the showroom. Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.
“It’s undeniable the effectiveness of a marketing program that takes place on a racetrack,” said Fehan. “Watch what we’ve done from a sales perspective. Almost 50% of Corvette C8 sales are to people who have never owned a Chevrolet product.”
Team Penske’s Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor celebrate in victory lane after winning the GTP class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963 in January 2025.Brandon Badraoui, Courtesy Of IMSA
Fehan expects the interest in motorsports to grow as a new generation of buyers raised on Netflix series like “Drive to Survive” and online gaming gain disposable income to buy cars.
“Just look at the Netflix series with Formula One. America is awakening to the high-tech side of what we’re doing in racing,” continued Fehan. “That has opened the door to the gaming side of it, and that’s a whole different perspective of how you market and sell cars. Racing is becoming more imperative if you want to sell vehicles.”
IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Series fans enjoy some Cadillac swag (here shown at Long Beach). Cadillac, Cadillac
In addition to its success in sportscar racing, Cadillac (IMSA manufacturer titles in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2023) is now pursuing Netflix and international markets by entering Formula One in 2026. Brad Pitt’s “F1” movie opens June 27 and hopes to replicates the success of Oscar winner “Ford v Ferrari” in 2019.
Sensing the moment, Fox Sports became the sole broadcaster of IndyCar for 2025. It will televise the NTT IndyCar race at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Peacock will carry the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar race at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Hands-free in the Caddy ‘Baby Escalade’ Vistiq
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 22, 2025
Chelsea — The Baby Escalade is Cadillac’s most mature electric vehicle.
The Vistiq is the fifth and final piece in the GM luxury brand’s EV squadron and, at $79,290, its combination of size, speed and tech make it the best value of the quintet. That value is relative as Caddy’s EV lineup makes a big move to the ultra-luxury EV market (led by its $340K Celestiq flagship) over its outgoing internal combustion models. Expect the EVs to cost $20,000-$40,000 more than their ICE peers.
My all-wheel-drive Luxury model asks a 30-grand premium over the comparable $50K gas-powered XT6 Luxury model, which is retiring after this year.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
On Patterson Lake Road’s rollercoaster in Livingston County, I confidently leapt from turn to turn in the three-ton, three-row, three-story Vistiq despite its girth. Thanks to the 102-kWh battery’s location in the basement, my tester sported a low center of gravity to stay planted through the twisties.
That low CG is an EV trait — but in the smaller Optiq and Lyriq crossovers, it’s, um, outweighed by a lack of nimbleness compared to their 1,000-pound-lighter internal-combustion engine peers. In a three-row SUV class where everything tips the scales over two tons, however, the low CG stands out. Add rear-wheel steer in upper Premium Luxury and Platinum trims, and this is a rhinoceros in tennis shoes.
The rear-drive feature is shared with Papa Escalade IQ, but the electric family’s patron will set you back another (cough) 40 grand. ZOT! I buried my right foot and Vistiq hit 60 mph in a fantast-iq 3.9 seconds merging onto I-94 West. Baby Escalade coming through!
Vistiq is also a technology showpiece. Without taking my eyes off the road, I toggled the raised adaptive cruise switch on the steering wheel and set my speed at 75 mph, then fingered a nearby braille pad for Super Cruise. The steering wheel lit green for hands-free driving.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
While Baby Escalade took over driving duties, I rearranged icons on the 33-inch curved dash screen as I would my phone. I dragged icons for DRIVE MODES, CHARGING and SELF PARK ASSIST (features I used frequently) to the left side of the screen.
GM pioneered hands-free driving in 2017, and has been neck-and-neck with Tesla ever since. Tesla’s Full-Self-Driving system leap-frogged GM cars last year when it went hands-free with navigation, enabling its cars to take you door-to-door across secondary roads and divided highways. Super Cruise is slowly adding secondary roads to its network of mapped, divided highways — but it won’t navigate.
What it will do, like Tesla, is automatically change lanes. At 75 mph, Vistiq sensed slower traffic, automatically applied its turn signal, moved into the fast lane and swept by a line of cars. Safely clear, it automatically pulled back into the slower lane. Terrif-iq.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Approaching my off ramp, Tesla FSD would automatically transition to the slower secondary road. The Caddy? It handed driving duties back to me, the steering wheel light turning red.
Super Cruise comes standard on Vistiq for three years, plenty of time for owners to learn the system. You won’t want to go back. Not standard is an augmented reality head-up display available on Premium Luxury and Platinum trims. Caddy’s been a HUD pioneer, and AR advances the game by placing directions over the road ahead. Alas, my standard Luxury version did not option even a regular head-up display. Neither did it have a frunk for storage like the Escalade IQ — or Rivian and Tesla models.
Baby Escalade doesn’t have big brother’s curved, A-pillar-to-A-pillar 55-inch jumbotron, but the 33-incher does just fine, thank you very much. Especially as the touchscreen is paired with the same console climate touchscreen found in Escalade. Like a scarf and mittens, they make a nice pair.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Not that I touched them much. Vistiq is powered by Google Built-in, so I could talk to the car for many of my needs.
Hey, Google, turn the driver’s side temperature to 68 degrees.
Hey, Google, tune to Sirius XM Comedy Greats.
Hey, Google, Tell, me a joke.
Google: How do trees access the Internet? They log in.
Hey, Google, what was the score of the Tigers game?
Google: The Tigers won on Wednesday, 6-5 against the Red Sox.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Pick up the kids from school in my Luxury tester and it will fit seven passengers across three rows including bench, second-row seats (captain’s chairs optional). Even the third row is comfortable, accommodating my long 6’5” frame. If the second row is empty, I encourage taking a seat in the third row. I dropped the second-row bench seat and used it like an ottoman — stretching my legs so I could work on my laptop.Longer trips, however, are three-row EVs’ kryptonite. The Escalade IQ is so expensive because it packs a mighty 202-kWh battery with 460 miles of range. Vistiq keeps its cost below $100K with a 102-kWh battery that makes similar range (302 miles) as little brothers Lyriq and Optiq.Navigate to your cottage up north (in perfect 70-degree weather) going 75 mph on I-75 and real range is 225 miles — or 75% of EPA estimates. In truth, your range will be 181 miles because charging to over 80% of battery range at a fast charger slows to a crawl.Are we there yet?
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
To prevent hearing those infamous words from your kids, a 250-mile trip north (to, say, Charlevoix) is best done with one charging stop in Bay City for 20 minutes so the kids can tinkle and stretch their legs. In less ideal temperatures, your range could crater to 50% as it did in a brutal three-stop, subfreezing December trip I took in one of Vistiq’s competitors, the $78K Kia EV9 GT-Line, a couple of years back.
If you have a second home, install a 240-volt charger to ease end-to-end range anxiety. Staying in a hotel? Find lodgings with 240-volt charger so you can charge your battery to 100% overnight for a fresh a.m. start.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Faced with these restrictions, GM buyers may prefer a comparably priced family-sized Chevy Tahoe with Google Built-in, 456 miles of range and more third-row seat and cargo room. Or (horrors) you might cross the road to a Lincoln dealer and pick up a $62K three-row Aviator ICE with Blue Cruise hands-free driving and 505 miles of range.But if you want a three-row EV that can drive you hands-free across Michigan, then Baby Escalade has a leg up on peers from Rivian, Volvo, Hyundai and Kia.
Next week: 2025 Nissan Murano and Nissan Titan
2026 Cadillac Vistiq
Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger SUV
Price: $79,090, including $1,395 destination fee ($79,890 Luxury as tested)
Powerplant: 102 kWh lithium-ion battery with dual electric-motor drive
Power: 615 horsepower, 650 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Single-speed direct drive
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.7 seconds (mfr.); towing, 5,000 pounds
Weight: 6,326 pounds
Range: 302 miles
Report card
Highs: Livable interior; Super Cruise
Lows: No frunk; limited range for a family hauler
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Stylish, techy VW Tiguan packs it all in
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 22, 2025
Clyde Park, Montana — In this small cattle town east of Bozeman between the Bridger and Crazy Mountains, I pulled up in my Cactus Green, 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan SUV tester in front of Glenn’s grocery. A grizzled dude in a cowboy hat and jeans strolled by and I nodded hello.
“Howdy,” he said.
“How do you like my Volkswagen?” I asked.
“It’s nice,” he said before turning into Glenn’s.
In this rural ‘burg in America’s Big Sky west, the VW Tiguan fits right in. Big screens, big back seats, big wheels, big hatchback, big mirrors, big panoramic roof, big massaging seats. It’s been a long time comin’.
Volkswagen came to America to build cars in Pennsylvania in 1978 but the plant closed less than a decade later. In the 2000s, as Japanese Toyota and Honda SUVs soared, VW lagged. In 2008 Dieselgate buried the brand’s signature, diesel-powered fuel economy calling card. In 2020, VW’s first ID.4 electric vehicle landed with a thud.
But behind these headlines, a rose has been blooming.
In 2024, Volkswagen’s SUV sales hit 77% of the automaker’s product portfolio as the entry-level Taos and yuuuuge Atlas three-row made friends with a new generation of American consumers. Like my sister, who (along with her two dogs) adores her Atlas Sport.
Now comes the third-generation Tiguan in America’s biggest-volume, midize SUV segment and Tiggy is Terrific. Three is the charm.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I cruised State Route 819’s two lane with its 70 mph speed limit (love these western states) with adaptive cruise set to 75 mph. Coming up on a truck burdened with cargo, I punched the 214-horsepower turbo-4 and the eight-speed automatic transmission smoothly selected a lower gear and I sped by my prey. Once past, I looked for a red blind-spot warning in the left mirror and — seeing none — merged back into the right lane.
Impressive. And all standard on this $30,920 SUV.
Compare that to the Honda CR-V, which at $31,495 offers 190 horsepower, no standard blind spot-assist and a continuously variable transmission. With its solid build, the Honda deserves its reliable reputation. But the V-dub seizes on its sporty reputation to offer a more stylish experience.
Credit Tiggy’s ID.4 and Golf R DNA. Though the electric ID.4 has struggled to keep pace with Tesla in the U.S. market, it forced VW to reinvent itself as a high-tech brand. Tiguan is refreshingly modern with clean exterior styling that echoes the ID.4’s lean lines — a design that is echoed inside with simple horizontal lines, tasteful dash materials and big digital displays that would make a Silicon Valley computer engineer proud.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Golf R would also be proud. The lean, digital look in Tiggy complements Brother R’s all-wheel-drive corner carving — so much so that the SUV has adopted a top-trim R-Line. That trim line will be further extended later this year by a 268-horse Tiguan Turbo model aimed squarely at the Mazda CX-5 Turbo — the best performance SUV in the segment (and a brand that also leans into its sporty, Miata-inspired DNA).
I look forward to flogging that beast — but, at the affordable end of the segment, the Tiguan also echoes the Mazda for value. Mazda wows with lush materials and standard features. So too, Tiggy. The standard, 12.9-inch touchscreen is easier to navigate than the Mazda’s remote-rotary controlled screen.
Not that the VW shies from rotary dials. Again cribbing from ID.4, Tiguan has moved its shifter to the steering wheel column to free up console storage for an optional phone charger and rotary dial. That dial enables the driver to quickly access drive modes as well as a palette of ambient lighting colors.
Also per its American training, the VW’s ergonomics are solid. Like GM and Ford, Tiggy has placed raised volume, radio and speed controls on the steering spokes so you can easily access these functions without taking your eyes off the road or hunting for them in the computer screen.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The V-dub does not follow GM’s lead on a Google Built-in operating system, which adds another clever voice recognition system to the cabin. Chevy’s elves have their act together these days.
But where Chevy’s Equinox takes its styling cues from big brother Silverado pickup, Tiguan looks to Golf R. In SPORT mode, I hit the gas and the playful two-liter engine awoke with a pleasing burble. Interested in towing a go-kart to the track for a weekend? The all-wheel-drive V-dub will tow 1,800 pounds, enough for a small trailer.
My kids go-karted at a young age and they would appreciate the roomy rear bench seat — optioned with heated seats for chilly winter months. VW says 60% of buyers option all-wheel drive, which will add $1,000 to a Michigan buyer’s bill. Volkswagen kept the price steady at just over $30K for the 2025 model year, and, with all the standard gear, AWD is all the upcharge you really need.
For consumers looking for a bit more pizzazz to match the Tiguan’s wardrobe, may I SE-ggest the SE model, which adds leatherette seats and 19-inch wheels to the equation. My SE tester struts out the door for $35,220.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Those with more coin in their pocket may look toward an Audi Q5. But like the Audi, Tiggy now brings a lot of character to the dance floor, thanks to its high-tech, ID.4 wardrobe. Outfit the VW in Monterrey Blue with black package, head-up display and 20-inch wheels (like my $39,230 R-Line Black Edition model), and I wouldn’t shy from parking next to a $50K Q5.
Heck, with $50K in my pocket, I’ll get the Golf R, which will outhustle most Audis on track.
Ahem.
Mrs. Payne is giving me the sharp elbow. Oh yes, we were talking midsize SUVs, not track cars. “How does it compare to a Subaru?” she asks. Quite well. Subie can’t match the VW’s performance with 184 horses and CVT — though the Crosstrek brings plenty of off-road character.
The Japanese brand has made itself at home in the United States by staying true to its formula and asking Americans what they want. The 2025 Tiguan does the same and I expect to see a lot more hanging out in front of Glenn’s grocery in the years to come.
2025 Volkswagen Tiguan
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $30,920, including $1,425 destination fee ($35,220 SE and $39,230 R-Line Black Edition as tested)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter turbo-4 cylinder
Power: 201 horsepower, 207 pound-feet of torque (FWD); 201 horsepower, 227 pound-feet of torque (AWD)
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.7-8.7 seconds (Car and Driver est.); towing, 1,500-1,800 pounds
Weight: 3,563 pounds (FWD); 3,801 pounds (AWD)
Fuel economy: EPA, 26 mpg city/34 highway/29 combined (FWD); 22 mpg city/30 highway/25 combined (AWD)
Report card
Highs: Upscale styling and tech; loaded with standard features
Lows: No mute button; slider volume controls take getting used to
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Cadillac delivers on EV promises (with a side of ICE)
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 22, 2025
Chelsea — Media reviews of the three-row Vistiq SUV are out this week as the final player in Cadillac’s electric vehicle lineup goes on sale. It’s a feather in the cap for General Motors Co. as it completes an electric model line seeded at its EV Day just five years ago — central to its plan to re-establish Cadillac as the “standard of the world” above EV startup brands like Tesla, Rivian and Lucid.
Yet even Cadillac is hedging its bet on an electric future.
The brand that has been the boldest legacy luxury voice for battery-power is retaining its internal-combustion-powered XT5 SUV while updating its ICE Escalade mega-ute and CT5 sedan with the same digital technology as its EVs.
Chelsea – The 2026 Cadillac Vistiq EV is a three-row SUV that slots below the $130k Escalade IQ EV. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“We’re shifting now to meet market demand,” Global Cadillac Marketing Director Brad Franz said in an interview. “We’re going to continue to listen to the needs of customers and adjust as appropriate.”
That’s a hard turn from four years ago when Rory Harvey, then vice president of Global Cadillac, told media that “we will be leaving this decade as an EV brand, as things stand today, which means that we will not be selling ICE vehicles by 2030.”
Electrification is one leg in a broader brand reinvention that includes performance (a commitment to global motorsports like Formula One) and technology (led by GM’s pioneering, hands-free Super Cruise technology).
As its parent company ditched gas-engine development at the start of this decade and went all-in on EVs by 2035 in anticipation of market and regulatory demands, Cadillac took the lead. It now boasts five EV models — topped by the brand-redefining, $300,000-plus Celestiq sedan and including the Vistiq, Optiq, Lyriq and Escalade IQ SUVs.
Cadillac is leaning into electrification with the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq (background) the fifth EV in its stable. ICE cars like the CT5 sedan (foreground) remain in the lineup. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“Cadillac wants to be the ‘standard of the world’ again,” said auto analyst Rebecca Lindland with Allison Worldwide Communications & Marketing. “They are interested in being the premier American luxury brand. So if (GM) positions Cadillac as the EV innovator — the technology brand — they appeal to people with more disposable income who are more interested in being seen in the very latest technology.”
Spurred by Tesla’s sky-high market evaluation and an incoming Biden administration’s EV regulations backed by massive subsidies, multiple legacy automakers in 2020 made bullish predictions about battery-powered portfolios — only to pull back as the EV market stalled. According to Cox Automotive data, EV sales have stabilized at about 8% of the market with political headwinds on the way as the Republican-controlled federal government prepares to nix the $7,500 federal EV credit and claw back industry subsidies.
Cadillac plans to stay the course on EVs while being careful not to alienate its traditional ICE buyers.
The United States’ four best-selling luxury brands — BMW (371,346 units sold in 2024), Lexus (345,669), Mercedes (324,528) and Audi (196,576) — have pursued a strategy of parallel EV-ICE model lines. Audi’s electric Q4 e-tron/Q6 e-tron/Q8 e-tron lineup, for example, parallels its Q3/Q5/Q7 ICE lineup.
Cadillac (2024 sales: 160,204), by contrast, has begun to pare its ICE lineup. It is discontinuing its entry-level, gas-powered XT4 and three-row XT6 SUVs after this model year. Franz said the brand will continue to manufacture the midsize XT5 and Escalade ICE SUVs “to meet strong customer demand.”
The EV strategy has begun to bear fruit.
In Park City, Utah, the Cadillac Lyriq EV shows off its athletic proportions. The car weighs a whopping 5,610 pounds, but that weight is low in the belly for a good center of gravity. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
In 2024 the Lyriq became the No. 2-selling Caddy after the iconic Escalade (41,001 units sold) with 28,410 in sales — a healthy 210% increase over 2023.
The XT5 was the brand’s No. 3-selling model in 2024 with 26,432 sales while the XT6 moved 20,225 units, a 5.8% increase over the prior year.
“What we’re seeing right now, especially on Lyriq, is 80% conquest,” said Franz. “We are bringing in new customers, and those customers tend to be from a higher income (and) education perspective. We’re encouraged by the fact that our products are driving new business . . . but also (we’re) making sure that we take care of customers that have been with us for a long time.”
The 2026 Cadillac Vistiq EV features hands-free Super Cruise driver-assist technology. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Franz estimates that EV sales will account for 30-35% of Cadillac U.S. sales this year — key as GM faces mandates from California and other zero-emission states requiring electrics to make up 35% of sales for the 2026 model year or face steep penalties. Those mandates, however, could be overturned by a vote in the U.S. Senate this week.
Significantly, EVs accounted for 37% of Caddy’s California retail sales in the first quarter of 2025.
“From a corporate standpoint, Cadillac helps GM to meet regulatory requirements, so they can still sell highly profitable pickup trucks,” said analyst Lindland. “Positioning Cadillac as a full EV brand gives the other (GM) brands more leeway and more freedom to continue to sell highly profitable gas engine models.”
In addition to replacing ICE models with EV equivalents, Cadillac is moving its EVs upscale with price increases of $20,000-$40,000 over equivalent ICE vehicles. The $79,090 Vistiq, for example, is priced $28,000 above the three-row XT6 ICE that it replaces. The compact, $54,390 Optiq EV starts over $12,00 above the outgoing XT4 ICE; the $60,090 Lyriq starts $14k north of the XT5; and the $130,090 Escalade IQ EV is 40 grand more expensive than the gas Escalade.
Cadillac’s EV price premium is consistent with that of European competitors.
“I don’t think it’s a brand shift,” Franz said about Caddy’s pricing. “It’s just when you think about the technology, the design, the product speaks for itself. When you start to bring in things like four-wheel-steer, augmented reality, different levels of refinement in third row . . . folks will see that.”
Cadillac Lyriq starts at $60,090 – or about $14k north of the XT5 ICE SUV. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Analyst Lindland said that premium luxury pricing is the new normal.
“This is the reality that we’re in nowadays,” she said. “Luxury vehicles are, for the most part, $60,000 and up . . . with all the technology that we are demanding of manufacturers. Not just battery technology, but all the safety equipment, all the infotainment equipment.”
Technology is a big part of Cadillac’s new brand message along with the EV transition. Electric SUVs get substantial tech upgrades over most of their ICE peers with 33-inch, curved screens and standard Super Cruise hands-free driving. In a nod to their staying power, Escalade and CT5 sedan ICE models share those tech upgrades.
Super Cruise is an important selling point for Cadillac. The hands-free system competes head-to-head with Tesla’s Full Self Driving system while also pointing toward GM’s corporate mantra: zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion.
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“You’ll see us really leaning into that as a differentiator. And it’s beyond EV,” Franz said. “We have that capability in Escalade, we have it on the CT5. Once (the customer) experiences it, it’s hard to not have.”
Cadillac is also pushing the envelope in racing, including the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula One. Cadillac will enter the series next year and plans to develop its own electrified powertrain by 2029 to burnish the brand’s image as a technology leader. But here, too, gas-power remans a key player — the CT5 sedan’s V8-powered V-Series Blackwing model echoes the V8-powered Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar that competes in international endurance racing.
Vistiq will push the EV envelope. Three-row vehicles are typically used for family travel and Vistiq offers significantly cheaper transport than the $130k Escalade IQ EV. Its 300-mile range, however, could be a challenge relative to 550-mile XT6 ICE.
The Platinum version of the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq EV tops the lineup with rear-wheel-steer and Augmented Reality HUD display. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
“We get excited thinking about the competitive space (Vistiq) is playing in right now,” Franz said. “You’re talking about Lucid Gravity, Rivian R1S and Tesla Model X. Here comes Vistiq . . . that, I think, stacks up very well. There is considerable demand for a three row EV SUV, and there’s not a lot of choice out there.”
That choice includes a three-row gas-powered XT6. For now.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Full steam ahead in the 2025 Ford Expedition land yacht
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 17, 2025
Louisville, Kentucky — I usually review cars from bow to stern. But since this sumptuous 2025 Ford Expedition is a rolling land yacht, let’s start with stern.
Like the rear deck of a ski boat, the Expedition’s stern is a cool place to hang out. New for ‘25, the Ford offers a rear split gate — the upper portion a hatchback for loading, the lower a tailgate. So you can lay out a picnic spread at a Kentucky Derby tailgate party here, or relax out back (complete with seatback) on the sidelines of your kid’s soccer game.
Speaking of kids, they’ll want dibs on the third-row seat.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Third row
On a morning journey into Indiana, I opted for the third row, which easily accommodated my 6’5” frame. I slipped my Pure Leaf iced tea into a cupholder (there are three back here). If I had been carrying an Egg McMuffin and hash browns, I could have popped them on a side tray. A yuge panoramic roof flooded the cabin with sunlight — and if it got too toasty on this May day; I could have removed my sweatshirt and hung it on one of four third-row coat hooks.
I had work to do, so I booted up my laptop, connected it to the boat’s — er, SUV’s — WiFi hotspot (it can support 10 devices), and plugged it into the 110-volt outlet behind me in the cargo bay. Speaking of cargo, the Expedition comes in a stretched Max version (for an extra $3,000) for more luggage space.
For a little extra comfort, I reclined my third-row seat, then depressed the latch on the side of the second-row chair (since no one was sitting in front of me) — collapsing it into an Ottoman for my legs. When I needed a break from work, I took a sip from my tea and chatted with my media colleague, Mike, driving up front (more on driving later) thanks to the quiet, insulated cabin.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Expedition rolls off the same Kentucky Truck Plant line as its luxury sibling Lincoln Navigator, which I tested earlier this year in San Diego. For another $30K, Navigator floats on smooth adaptive shocks, but you’d never know the Expedition was built on a ladder track frame either, thanks to its independent rear suspension.
Sit in the bed of a Ford F-250 truck and you’ll know — WHUMP! — that it sits on a leaf-frame suspension. But in the third row of the Expedition and Navigator, the giant SUV was smooth as silk. No wonder Detroit automakers dominate this mega-ute space and American families order them by the thousands.
Navigator is posh with second-row heated, cooled, massaging seats — but they can’t turtle into Ottomans like the ones in my Expedition tester. Score one for the $63K Ford.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Row two
Expedition options a second-row bench seat so you can sit a ridiculous eight people in the cruise liner if needed. Maybe Ford will offer a pool deck next. Our $72K Activ tester was equipped with second-row captain’s chairs that were roomier than Delta coach seats, with a center aisle wider than an airliner for easy access to the third row. I could comfortably sit behind myself sitting behind myself in the cabin.
The second row also had a 110 outlet strategically placed in the back of the center console for second- and first-row passengers. USB and USB-C ports are littered around all three rows, including a pair in the back of the front seats.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Why? Because, coming for the 2026 model year is a clever phone holder incorporated into the back of the headrests so you can watch movies or play games with your head in an upright position to prevent motion sickness (I felt a little woozy after working on my laptop in the third row).
The cockpit
Up front in the captain and co-captain’s quarters, Expedition has leaned into the Navigator’s cool digital experience. The last-gen Expedition deployed the F-series’ familiar digital screens, with the option of a vertical center console tablet.
The ‘25 model offers the Ford Digital Experience with a 24-inch jumbotron (the Lincoln gets an A-pillar-to-A-pillar, 48-inch display) sprawling across the base of the windshield — containing three screens for instruments, navigation and other information (your choice of tire pressures, radio info, fuel mileage and so on).
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The jumbotron is controlled by a smaller console screen, which I rarely consulted. Instead, I operated the land yacht with the modern square steering wheel and Google Built-in voice commands.
Hey, Google, set driver temperature to 68 degrees.
Hey Google, navigate to Louisville Slugger Field.
Hey, Google, tell me a joke.
Google: “OK. Why was the student’s report card wet? Because it was below C level.”
Haw. The kids will love that feature. And families will enjoy the mega-digital displays as well as a sliding center console that can either open space for a large purse up front — or bring cupholders closer to rear passengers. Kids can play movies or download game apps, including one called Shuffleboard played by up to four players after scanning a QR code with their phones.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The square steering wheel will take some getting used to, however.
Shared with the Navigator, it’s right out of Tesla Cybertruck with its minimalist interface. Blue Cruise hands-free driving also takes getting used to, but once you’ve tried it there is no going back. Ford makes it easy to try with one-month subscriptions (or you can buy it outright). I drove for hours across Bluegrass interstates hands-free. It’s a great companion for checking email and eating meals on long trips.
Exterior
Wrap this rec room on wheels in any of the Expedition trims (Activ, Platinum, King Ranch and Tremor — my favorite with its 33-inch all-terrain tires and orange accents) and this is a good lookin’ yacht. Put your foot down and the mega-ute will create serious bow waves.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
BWAAUUUUGH! The Tremor’s 440-horse (a jump of 40 horses over base Activ), twin-turbo V-6 roared as I punched it around a slower car on a two-lane road — the 10-speed transmission expertly choosing the right gear for smooth acceleration.
Drop the tailgate, throw out a rope, and I bet you can water ski behind it.
Next week: 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan
2025 Ford Expedition
Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear- and four-wheel-drive, six- to eight-passenger mega-ute
Price: $63,995, including $1,995 destination fee ($93,490 Platinum Max, $83,025 Tremor and $74,905 Activ Max as tested)
Powerplant: 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6
Power: 400-440 horsepower, 480-510 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.9 seconds (Car and Driver); towing, 6,100-6,300 pounds (RWD) and 9,000-9,600 pounds (4×4)
Weight: 5,404-5,794 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 15 mpg city/22 highway/18 combined
Report card
Highs: Screen-tastic family yacht; three-row comfort
Lows: Steering wheel ergonomics take getting used to; gets pricey
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
William Porter, 1931-2025: Influential designer of 1970s Pontiac muscle cars
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 17, 2025
GM, GM
Auto designer William Porter has died, long live William Porter.
The celebrated General Motors draftsman penned some of the most iconic muscle cars that will ply the Woodward Dream Cruise this summer including the 1968 Pontiac GTO, 1970-73 Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am, and 1971 Bonneville. The academically-trained artist and industrial designer is credited with the long, muscular styling that helped define a Golden Era of 1960s and 1970s American automobiles.
A resident of Whitmore Lake, Porter died at home on April 23 at the age of 93. In his 39 years as a designer with GM, Porter oversaw the Buick design studio as well as Pontiac, retiring from the company in 1996.
“I have always respected and admired Bill for his design track record but even more so for his personality and his design discretion and expertise,” wrote Jon Albert, who worked alongside Porter as Buick interior chief designer in 1995. “I am extremely privileged to have worked with a guy who knew the history of design in general (not just auto design) and who possessed such a keen sense for good design as well as what makes sense for compelling styling.”
Porter joined the company in 1957 as an intern while working on his master’s degree at New York’s Pratt Institute, then was hired full-time in 1958. He began sketching Pontiac designs in 1962 as well as other work with the Advanced Design studio, then was transferred to Pontiac in 1968 as chief designer, where he really began to make his mark.
In the early 1970s, he directed the design of the brand’s GTO, Firebird, LeMans, Catalina and Bonneville coupes and sedans.
“My first assignment at GM Design was in Mr. Porter’s Advanced Pontiac Studio,” wrote John Manoogian II in a tribute to his former boss. “I was in awe of the talent in that studio, with the maestro himself, Bill Porter, running the place. To this day, I can’t believe how fortunate I was.”
GM, GM
Porter’s signature was the uniquely American design of Coke bottle-shaped cars with mile-long scooped hoods and aggressive grilles. With fire-breathing V-8 engines under their hoods, these thoroughbreds became symbols of American individualism and the call of the open road.
“(My contribution to the ’68 GTO) was the basic body theme, the monocoque shell form with elliptical pressure bulges over the wheels,” Porter said in an interview with High Performance Pontiac in 2000. But when it came to naming his favorite car, Porter singled out the second-generation 1970-73 Pontiac Firebird.
“I was absolutely crazy about that car from day one and really threw myself into it,” he said. “I put the best designers I had on it and we were consciously trying to create an important American sports car.”
GM, GM
The 1960-70s Pontiacs were groundbreaking in foreshadowing today’s “bumperless” integrated fascias — and also with their interior design.
“One of the design approaches pioneered in the ’70-1/2 F-car and that’s coming into the industry in a more widespread way now, is the integration of the interior and the exterior,” Porter said in the 2000 interview. “When you open the door of the Firebird … there is a subliminal sense of the unity of the interior and exterior. That had never been done before that I know of.”
The designer’s keen sense of art — he was a collector of Tiffany glass and Arts and Crafts furniture — extended to the famous Firebird “screaming chicken” hood graphic. The graphic almost didn’t make it to production after then-GM Vice President for Design Bill Mitchell went into a fury over its design.
“He called me up and I had to hold the phone away from my ear,” remembered Porter. “That was the end of that! Then a couple of years later, (colleague) John Schinelle talked him into taking another look at it. And so it finally saw the light of day on the ’73 cars. Mitchell was a real hair-trigger.”
GM, GM
Porter moved on from Pontiac to work on the Chevrolet Camaro before taking on Buick’s chief design position, where he oversaw design development for the Park Avenue and Riviera.
Porter was born in Louisville and received a B.A. in painting and art history from the University of Louisville in 1953. He served in the Army before pursuing his industrial design master’s at Pratt.
In addition to his son, Porter is survived by his wife, Patsy Jane, his son Adam, two daughters, Sarah Wilding Porter and Lydia Porter Latocki; a brother, Thomas Hampton Porter; and three grandchildren.
Porter gathered his favorite design sketches, which are preserved at his website: http://williamlporter.com/index.html
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Corvette update elevates C8 interior: More screens, grab handles, new colors
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 9, 2025
America’s mid-engine supercar is getting a mid-cycle refresh.
Since Chevrolet dropped the mic six years ago with the stunning, first-ever mid-engine Corvette Stingray, the eighth-generation rocket has maintained sales momentum with a series of performance models: the high-revving, 670-horsepower 2022 Corvette Z06; all-wheel-drive, gas-electric hybrid 2023 E-Ray; and 1,064-hp, 233-mph, twin-turbo-V8-powered 2025 ZR1.
For the 2026 model year, the focus moves from engine bay to cockpit.
Chevrolet, Chevrolet
Already one of the most luxurious supercars on the planet at a fraction of the price of its European peers, Corvette generation 8 1/2 introduces a refined interior that pushes the envelope of sports car comfort and technology. The driver-centric cockpit wraps the pilot in three screens with upgraded graphics and enhanced tech — drawing from a deep well of General Motors Co. engineering that smaller exotic brands can only dream about.
The ‘Vette’s signature center console gets reordered with climate control buttons moved from the signature center spine to sub-screen buttons like other Chevrolets. The spine is now a dedicated “Oh-Crap!” handle for passengers.
The console itself is more ordered with drive mode selector in line with the trigger shifter, while the cockpit’s wardrobe is expanded with a wealth of color options — including an asymmetrical seat option. The reimagined interior is applied to all Corvette models.
“The design team considered every element — from materials, to stitching, to layout of the interior — for the 2026 Corvette,” said Global Chevrolet Executive Design Director Phil Zak. “Paired with the new screens and technology, the refreshed interior enables a refined experience for the driver and the passenger.”
Chevrolet, Chevrolet
The three-screen layout includes a larger 12.7-inch diagonal center console display — a significant expansion over the last model’s 8-inch display that is now run by the same Google Built-in operating system as other GM products. When drivers aren’t gritting their teeth around high g-force corners, they can bark voice commands at the supercar to, say, navigate to a destination or change the cabin temp.
The digital instrument display also grows — from 12 to 14 inches behind the innovative, square-shaped steering wheel that allows for better viewing of the screen’s information. The instrument display’s hood can now be optioned in carbon fiber. To the driver’s left is an all-new, 6.6-inch diagonal touchscreen that houses goodies like traction management, trip mileage, and head-up display controls.
Ergonomically, Chevy has resisted the industry move away from control buttons, and the display volume knob is not only bigger than before but also lit for better visibility.
The console itself has been cleaned up to offer more room. The Drive Mode selector, for example, is now a simple toggle switch rather than a rotary dial. That opens space for a charging pad so you don’t drain your phone when navigating to Bowling Green, Kentucky on Google Maps — and the pad is thoughtfully equipped with a cover so that your phone doesn’t become a UFO when carving corners.
Chevrolet
In addition to the grab-handle, passengers gain a USB-C port in the console. Further amenities include fancy, exposed cupholders with ambient lighting and Corvette crossed -flag logos in the bottom.
Fancier graphics also light up the larger instrument display as drivers toggle though Drive Mode options.
“There’s an intentional balance of physical and virtual controls,” said Dusty Smith, performance driving product manager. “The technology in the new Corvette is as strong and capable as the engine behind you.”
More new digital toys include a Performance App (previously exclusive to the E-Ray model) — the app displays live horsepower and torque flow, acceleration timer, G-force gauge, tire pressure/temp, engine oil temperature/pressure and more.
Complementing the app is an available, enhanced Performance Data Recorder that, like a race car’s AIM system, records in-car performance data and video so drivers can analyze track laps for better performance.
In addition to its voice command capability, Google Built-in brings apps Google Chrome, GameSnacks, HBO Max, Prime Video and more so you can stream videos or play games when parked between track sessions.
All this tech is wrapped in the C8’s first-class seats that add four new color schemes: Sky Cool and Medium Ash Gray with Habanero accents; Santorini Blue; Very Dark Atmosphere, which pairs chocolate brown with Jet Black and Natural Tan accents; and Ultimate Suede, a Jet Black interior customizable with Adrenaline Red, Santorini Blue and Competition Yellow colors and matching seatbelts.
The latter is the headliner as Corvette’s first so-called asymmetrical interior. For example, customers can spec a mixed seating option with Asymmetrical Adrenaline Red on the driver’s side and Jet Black for the passenger side.
Chevrolet
The C8’s exterior gets some love too.
The top-drawer ZR1’s ZTK performance package options a new ceramic-disc brake package with 10-piston front and 6-piston rear calipers to bring it back to earth from 200-mph-plus speeds. Blue brake calipers, currently available only on ZR1, will be available on E-Ray and Z06 performance models too. The C8 coupe gets an electrochromic roof so customers can select a tint level. Two new skin colors are available across the lineup: Roswell Green Metallic and Blade Silver Metallic.
Pricing for 2026 models will be released closer to production, with the 2025 Stingray model’s $70,195 now over 10 grand higher than the 2020 model’s $59,995 debut.
“Corvette is the ultimate American sports car, which is why it has remained the luxury sport segment leader for more than 20 years — with the next competitor a distant second in terms of market share,” said Scott Bell, vice president of Global Chevrolet. “With these updates, the mid-engine Corvette will continue to cement its leadership for years to come.”
Chevrolet
The update should carry the eighth-gen model through the end of the decade with expectations that a fourth performance model called Zora is forthcoming. The hypercar is expected to combine the E-Ray’s electrified, AWD system and the ZR1’s twin-turbo V-8 for a 1,500-horsepower Ferrari-killing monster.
The C8’s run comes amid speculation that the ninth-gen Corvette will get an electric model with GM’s new London design studio recently showcasing an electric concept.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Payne: Toyota Corolla FX is X-tra fun, until you put your boot into it
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 8, 2025
Romulus — The FX is back. And so is Toyota attitude.
The Toyota Corolla FX is low, dark and mean. I circled my Midnight Black Metallic tester like Hiccup assessing his Night Fury dragon. Chocolate mirror caps, wheels with machined accents crouched on shortened springs with a chocolate spoiler out back that would make a Corvette proud. This is a Corolla? The vanilla ice cream of compact cars?
The FX is a throwback to the Corolla FX16 hatchback of 1987, when hot hatches were the new, new thing (my first car was the hot-hatch, segment-busting, FX16 competitor, 1984 VW Rabbit GTI). The U.S. was in a trade war with Japan, and Toyota (in the words of enthusiast mag Car and Driver) was “run by a bunch of gonzo back-yard tinkerers.”
The ‘80s are back, baby.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The rowdy FX16 was assembled in California to avoid the threat of steep Washington tariffs (and get around the Reagan administration-negotiated Japanese import quotas), and Toyota was tinkering with fun toys like the FX16, Supra coupe and innovative engines like dual-overhead-cam hellions. Sound familiar?
Supra came back in 2019, and Toyota’s elves have introduced mills like the 100-plus-horsepower-per-liter, 1.6-liter turbo-three.
As for the FX16, it has actually been reborn as the GR Corolla hot hatch. Like the FX16 and its high-revving, innovative DOHC engine, the all-wheel-drive GR gets a different engine from the standard Corolla — that Godzilla-in-a-briefcase, 300-horse turbo-3. And, like the ‘80s FX, the GR is laugh-out-loud fun — one of the most entertaining cars introduced in the last decade. Period.
The FX is no GR, but it’s plenty OK.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
At just $27,635 — a four-grand bump from the base vanilla model — FX is the bargain of the Corolla family. That crouched stance isn’t just for looks. Approaching a series of twisties in Oakland County, I gripped the heavy steering wheel in SPORT mode, which made FX feel rooted to the asphalt.
I flung my steed into a righthander, and it went right where FXpected. Minimal body roll, minimal push. Sharing an independent suspension with its more expensive GR and XSE siblings, the short-sprung FX rotated beautifully. In sedan form, FX has a roomier cabin than the GX hatch, so I could take three friends to the Sign of the Beefcarver for dinner after I was done carving corners.
Of course, at 10 grand cheaper than the stick-shift GR hot hatch, something is missing, and that’s the drivetrain.
Under the hood is the standard 169-horsepower, 4-cylinder gerbil wheel controlled by the dreaded CVT transmission. Sliding across a corner apex, I nailed the throttle. My Night Fury Dragon was toothless:
DROOOOOOOOOOOONE!
My ears bled. Make it stop. I reached for the stick shift, but that’s only available on GR. I reached for shift paddles on the back of the steering wheel. Same.
DROOOOOOOOOOOONE!
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The CVT is why six-speed automatic transmissions in, say, the Mazda3, are prized in the compact performance segment. And why Honda and Hyundai worked hard to implement shift points in their, respectively, Civic Sport and Elantra CVTs. Toyota is content for the CVT to prioritize fuel efficiency.
Add 34 mpg to FX’s long list of standard features: Bullet-proof reliability, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, adaptive cruise control with lane-keep-assist, rear-cross traffic alert, blind-sport assist and 10.5-inch tablet touchscreen display.
The latter is new to Corolla and will be an option on other trims. Positioning is excellent — high on the dash like a Mazda for good visibility, but — unlike Mazda — a touchscreen for easy access. Upon entry, the infotainment system mirrored my smartphone on the screen. Google Maps popped up complete with my pre-loaded destination, and the Sirius XM app played Comedy Greats.
Alas, the new FX is plagued by Toyota’s ol’ ergonomics issues.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
I reached for the volume knob to turn up the volume on a Brian Regan bit, and — um, volume knob?
Curiously, Toyota has chosen a volume slider at the base of the screen instead of a simple knob. Honda and Cadillac tried similar solutions and returned to knobs after owners judged them hard to operate when driving.
I ignored it for the volume controls on the steering wheel, but here too Toyota ergonomics come up short. Where competitors like Hyundai, Honda and Mazda use lifted buttons to select volume and adaptive cruise controls, Corolla’s wheel buttons are flat, necessitating that you take your eyes off the road to find them. The good news is the adaptive cruise features lane-keep assist, so I could afford to look away while adjusting volume on I-275.
Typical of Toyota, the nannies are always close by if you remove your hands from the wheel for too long (Hyundai, for example, will allow you about a minute hands-free) on long hauls.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
It was short trips that I really enjoyed — made shorter by the fun-to-drive FX. For Corolla, GR and FX are a needed shot of adrenaline in a segment boiling with performance. In addition to VW’s Teutonic threesome of Jetta GLI sedan and Golf GTI/R hatchbacks, Toyota’s Asian competitors have also stepped up their game.
Most formidable is the roomier Honda Civic with its full range of sedans, hatches and hybrids, starting with the base Civic sedan all the way to the rowdy Type R hot hatch. Hyundai, too, sweetens the deal with a 100,000-mile drivetrain warranty — and is coming on strong with variations of the Elantra sedan, which include a compelling N-line performance line. N for Nürburgring, a nod to the legendary German race track.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda is an auto enthusiast, has raced the ‘Ring several times, and has been on a mission to push the brand toward more performance. He’s established a Le Mans-winning Toyota racing team, Supra and GR86 sports cars, and GR Corolla. Now he is resurrecting the FX badge.
It’s affordable, stylish, nimble, with — ahem — droooooooning CVT. Keep pushing, Akio!
Next week: 2025 Ford Expedition
2025 Toyota Corolla FX
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger sedan
Price: $27,635, including $1,335 destination fee ($28,144 as tested)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter inline-4 cylinder
Power: 169 horsepower, 151 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Continuously-variable automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.1 seconds (Motor Trend)
Weight: 3,070 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 31 mpg city/40 highway/34 combined
Report card
Highs: Balanced, fun-to-drive chassis; new, big screen
Lows: The curse of the CVT; poor screen ergonomics
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.