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Payne: Subaru Trailseeker is an eOutback
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 5, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Laguna Beach, California — The Subaru Outback SUV is an icon. Now it has an electric sibling.
While the 2026 Outback has zigged to a square, truck-like ute design, the 2026 Trailseeker has zagged to Outback’s traditional wagon wardrobe with a side of off-road cladding and an infusion of high tech. I slipped into the driver seat, toggled the steering wheel paddles to medium regenerative braking and nailed the throttle. Trailseeker’s twin electric motors drove like liquid silver.
Determined to satisfy the needs of 37% of its customers who would consider an EV for their next vehicle, the tree-hugging, all-wheel-drive, pet-friendly brand has birthed eSubaru triplets: subcompact Uncharted (Crosstrek brother), compact Solterra (Forester sister), and midsize Trailseeker.
The big Trailseeker is the most Subaru-like of the three.
Payne: Stylish Subaru Uncharted EV a hard sell next to Crosstrek ICE
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 5, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Orange County, California — You know the popular subcompact Subaru Crosstrek. Now meet its electric doppelganger, the Uncharted.
I entered Interstate 5 North at San Juan Capistrano into dense, midday California traffic. ZOT! I merged with authority despite wet pavement. ZOT! I shot the gap between two cars into the middle lane. ZOT! I was in the left lane, adaptive cruise control set at 75 mph. It’s good to have instant electric torque in a 338-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Subaru.
The much-ballyhooed electric revolution of the 2020s has fizzled to a niche market, with EVs settling in at about 5-8% of U.S. sales. But for niche makers like Subie, the EV niche is opportunity.
The Japanese company’s off-road green brand has attracted a core of all-season, off-road tree-huggers who crave EVs at higher rates than mainstream mega-brands. We’re talking 37% of customers interested in buying an EV versus, say, Chevrolet at 23%.
So Subaru has invested in three EVs that parallel the brand’s most popular gas models: the $41,445 Trailseeker (across from gas Outback), $39,945 Solterra (boxy, gas Forester sibling), and the $36,445 Uncharted (gas Crosstrek hatchback sibling).
Cadillac F1, Ford earn R-E-S-P-E-C-T ahead of Australia debut
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 4, 2026
GM, GM
As Detroit’s Cadillac and Ford brands prepare for their debut at Formula One’s Melbourne Grand Prix in Australia this weekend, their theme song might be Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”
The Motown operations have gained a lot of R-E-S-P-E-C-T after a chaotic year of preparation and two closely watched preseason test sessions in Barcelona and Bahrain. It’s Cadillac’s maiden voyage into the globe’s premier motorsports series, while Ford’s partnership with the Oracle Red Bull team is Ford Racing’s first F1 powertrain partnership since 2004.
Expected to be a backmarker out of the gate, Cadillac nonetheless has won praise for methodically piecing together a world-class effort just one year after its approval by F1 Management as the 11th team on the grid. Ford, on the other hand, has brought its manufacturing know-how to help Red Bull and its elite Dutch driver, Max Verstappen, fight for a championship. Not to be overlooked, the third U.S.-vested team, North Carolina-based Haas, (with its partner Toyota, the best-selling auto brand in the United States), looks to be a podium points-contender this year.
Supercharge me: Ford kit boosts horsepower for F-150, Mustang V-8s
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 4, 2026
The Ford Mustang Dark Horse comes standard with 500 horsepower. Now you can add a dealer-delivered Supercharger Kit to reach 800 horsepower. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Ford Motor Co. is supercharging its F-150 and Mustang offerings for customers.
The Blue Oval joined the aftermarket horsepower wars this week by offering a factory-installed Whipple Supercharger Kit for purchase with a new pickup or muscle car.
That means a whopping power boost for the F-150’s 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 engine from 400 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque to a howling 700 horses and 590 pound-feet of torque. The earth-pawing, 480-horse/415-torque Mustang GT and 500-horsepower/418-torque Dark Horse 5.0-liter V-8s get even bigger gains — to 800 horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque. For context, that’s more ponies than the last-generation, supercharged, 760-horsepower, 5.2-liter Predator engine in the Shelby GT-500 track beast and rivals the top-drawer, 815-horsepower Mustang GTD supercar.
King Corvette: ZR1 dethrones McLaren Senna at VIR Lightning Lap
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 28, 2026
U.S. feats of Olympian proportions are becoming a habit.
The U.S. hockey team upset Canada in Italy, and now the 2026 Chevy Corvette ZR1 has dethroned one of Europe’s premier supercars, the McLaren Senna, from Mt. Olympus with the fastest production car lap ever at legendary Virginia International Raceway. The Senna, introduced in 2019, held the record for seven years.
With 1,064 horsepower and tenacious downforce, the $216,380 ZR1 has cemented itself as one of the world’s premier supercars for a fraction of the price. The limited-production (only 500 were made) 789-horsepower Senna, for example, trades north of $1 million. Dubbed “America’s Nürburgring” for its challenging, undulating, 28-turn, 4.1-mile configuration, VIR’s Grand Course is the annual site for Car and Driver’s Lightning Lap — the U.S. benchmark for vehicle performance tests.
Chevrolet, Chevrolet
Read full article here.
Payne: Turbo Alfa Tonale proves less is more with Italian flair
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 26, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Oakland County — Unburdened of its mission as the standard-bearer of an electric Alfa Romeo brand, the subcompact Tonale SUV can finally live la dolce vita.
For 2026, Alfa’s tasty, turbocharged, gas-fired appetizer is lighter, cheaper, more fun. Less is more.
Gone is Alfa’s dream to be an Italian Tesla. Gone, too, is Tonale’s plug-in hybrid drivetrain with 30 miles of battery-only range that I flogged across Italy at the SUV’s introduction in 2023. I thought I might miss the hybrid’s electric motor and instant, 347 pound-feet of torque to complement a healthy 285 hp.
I was wrong.
Subaru’s parallel gas/electric SUV lines: ‘Still going hard on EVs’
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 26, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Laguna Beach, California — Automakers have collectively announced $50 billion in electric vehicles write-offs this year in North America from $26.5 billion by Stellantis NV to $1.7 billion from Honda Motor Co. Ford Motor Co. is dropping its once highly-anticipated F-150 Lighting EV entirely. The losses come in the wake of weak consumer demand and the rollback of government EV sales mandates.
But Subaru Corp. is forging ahead with two new electric SUVs for its 2026 lineup — the subcompact Uncharted and midsize Trailseeker — that join the compact Solterra EV.
Four years in planning, the Japanese brand’s EVs were intended to address curiosity among its core green customers (37% expressed interest in an EV) as well as looming California mandates that required 35% EV sales by this model year. With California’s regulatory authority derailed by Congress last year, automakers like Subaru have been given breathing room to determine market demand.
Ford Raptor T1, Red Bull F1 take over streets of San Francisco
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 20, 2026
Ford Racing’s global ambitions in 2026 take it to the deserts of Saudi Arabia for the World Rally Championship and epic race tracks like Italy’s Monza for the Formula One Championship.
But this week, the two series shared the streets of San Francisco.
Ford, Ford
The Ford Raptor T1 Ultimate off-road racer and Ford-partnered Red Bull F1 car danced an improbable duet Wednesday at the intersection of Broadway and Divisadero — the T1 vaulting over a spinning F1 car in a maneuver that would have made Olympic pair skaters proud. The F1-T1 due was a prelude to their dash Saturday down Marina Boulevard on San Francisco Bay.
The event is the first stop on the Red Bull Showrun’s national tour to showcase Ford’s racing efforts. The second stop is in Atlanta on March 28, with more stops to be announced.
Payne: Floggin’ the Nissan Versa, last of the $20k cars
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 19, 2026
Naples, Florida — And then there were none.
My subcompact 2025 Nissan Versa sedan tester was the last of its breed: a new car that starts under $20,000. The $18,350 Versa ceased production for sale in the United States at the end of 2025. The subcompact Kia Soul SUV takes over as the most affordable new 2026 vehicle on the market at $21,935.
The affordable end of the U.S. market has been squeezed for some time as strict federal emissions regulations were more difficult for small cars to make, while must-have technology like digital screens added cost, and safety regulations piled on new mandated features like backup cameras, anti-lock brakes, airbag safety systems. That, and cars have become so doggone reliable that high-mileage used cars are a serious alternative. Heck, Ford — which doesn’t sell a new vehicle under $29,990 (once you include destination, title and other fees) — axed its Versa competitor, the Fiesta, waaaay back in 2019.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Payne: Dodge Charger Sixpack is a hot hatch for all seasons
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 12, 2026
Detroit — In the midst of another Michigan snowstorm, I slid my 2026 550-horsepower Dodge Charger onto Woodard Avenue, toggled WET/SNOW mode and churned toward Huntington Place for the Detroit Auto Show, the adaptive-cruise control system helping maintain distance to traffic ahead.
Payne, have you gone mad? Driving a Charger muscle car in the snow?
Reset everything you know about the Charger. The 2025 Detroit News Vehicle of the Year picked up 2026 North American Car of the Year to open the Detroit Auto Show, and earned its praise as I flogged it all over town during show week.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Tesla 2.0: What customers think of Model S demise, Optimus robot rise
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 6, 2026
At the Detroit Auto Show in 2011, the Tesla stand was mobbed. With its 17-inch screen, staggering acceleration and sleek looks, the Model S sedan wowed a new generation of tech-savvy buyers and redefined electric vehicles as performance cars.
Just 15 years later and the Model S is finished, along with its equally dramatic, gull-wing-door SUV doppelganger, the Model X. Cue the Optimus robot.
In Tesla Inc.’s January earnings call, CEO Elon Musk shocked the auto world in announcing the wind-down of Model S/X production. Manufacturing capacity in Fremont, California, will be converted to robot assembly — consistent with the company’s trillion-dollar market valuation based on expectations it will transform the U.S. market with autonomous humanoid and auto robots.
The new guy. An Optimus robot at the Tesla store in the Somerset Collection in Troy shares floor space with Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Payne: Slinky Crown Signia is the cure for the common Toyota SUV
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 5, 2026
Oakland County — The station wagon is back. And from an unlikely source.
My Toyota Crown Signia is long, sleek and roomy. Remove the badge and you might mistake the profile for the Volvo V90 Cross Country or Audi A6 Allroad, European stalwarts in the midsize wagon business. While wagons are common across the Atlantic pond, we Yanks prefer boxy, lifted SUVs — thus the limited offerings from the likes of Volvo and Audi.
Now comes Signia, the midsize cure for the common Toyota SUV.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
How Stellantis got back into NASCAR truck, with an eye on the Cup
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 5, 2026
Motorsports mania has hit Detroit, and everyone is jumping in the pool.
Cadillac, Chevrolet and Ford are competing across the globe in everything from Formula One to Le Mans GT racing, and now here comes Ram. The Stellantis truck brand is back in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the first time since 2012 and is starting the season with a bang as racing legend (and current NHRA Top Fuel dragster racer) Tony Stewart takes the wheel at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 13.
And American Brands chief and gearhead Tim Kuniskis is not ruling out a Dodge entry in the premier NASCAR Cup Series down the road.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
How Cadillac and Acura are using motorsports to sell V-8s and EVs
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 30, 2026
Daytona Beach, Florida — At the Cadillac display here at Daytona International Speedway, racing fans mobbed the collection of battery and gas-powered cars. Rolex 24 attendees told The Detroit News they disagreed with government electric vehicle mandates and said the market should offer a choice of gas, electric, hybrid, etc.
With an assist from motorsports, luxury brands see opportunity to sell all of the above.
The highly-touted electric revolution has hit a pothole as U.S. buyers have shied from electrics’ high prices and limited range. As high-powered, high-cost hybrid Cadillac and Acura race cars thundered around the 3.6-mile track, Cadillac and Acura wooed upscale buyers with multi-car garages.
Samuel Hope, 61, of Jacksonville, Florida, left, and Darin Schroyer, 59, of Daytona Beach at the Cadillac stand. Neither was interested in the GM brand’s EV offerings. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Rolex 24: Life in the fast lane with Ford CEO Jim Farley
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 30, 2026
Daytona Beach, Florida — CEO Jim Farley was at Daytona International Raceway last weekend as Ford Motor Co. kicked off the North American sportscar season at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. January begins a historic 2026 assault on motorsports as Ford Racing competes across five continents in everything from Raptor T1 off-roaders to Mustang GT3 racers to Formula One rocket ships.
The boss had time to take to the track himself and pick up one of racing’s most prestigious driver awards.
“I’m driving a Ford-powered 2002 Riley & Scott prototype in the HSR IMSA Classic,” Farley said Friday. Two nights earlier, he had received the Bob Akin Award, coveted as the top prize for amateur drivers. “We have qualifying tonight for our Saturday race. But right now, I’ve got to go congratulate my Mustang drivers for taking pole.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley buckles into his 2002 Riley & Scott racer in Daytona Beach. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Payne: Get the Griswolds a Honda Pilot road-warrior
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 29, 2026
San Diego — Honda makes sensational hot hatches for gearheads with the ferocious, corner-carving Civic Type R at the front of the parade
The Honda Pilot is not that car.
The three-row SUV is Honda’s band leader for a different hatchback parade: ergonomically brilliant hatchback for families. If the driver-centric Civic Type R is built for adrenaline-pumping short sprints, Pilot is made for the long haul — a rolling living room for 4-7 passengers.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
How Corvette’s 2001 Daytona win launched a new era of Detroit motorsport
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 27, 2026
Daytona Beach, Fla. — Before Cadillac and Red-Bull Ford F1, before Cadillac and Ford hybrid Hypercars, before Ford Mustang GT3 racers — there was the OG Corvette.
Twenty-five years ago, Chevy’s sportscar won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time, launching a new era of Motown motorsports that has blossomed into a second Golden Era (after the 1960s) with multiple brands competing across the globe.
Corvette brought an army of five cars to the Rolex 24 this year (two in the GT Pro class, three in GTD) on its anniversary — and nearly won again. After the #3 and #4 Pratt Miller Corvettes dominated the early going in GTP Pro, misfortune struck in the late stages to spoil the party. The #4 Corvette finished fourth in GT Pro while the #13 Corvette finished fourth in GTD class.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Rolex 24 thriller: Motown icons Penske and Cadillac put on a show
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 27, 2026
Daytona Beach, Fla. — Twelve manufacturers, 47 race teams and 232 drivers from all over the world came to Daytona Beach over the weekend for North America’s most prestigious 24-hour sportscar race, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
But in the end, all eyes were on two Detroit icons battling it out for the win.
In a repeat of the 2024 result, Porsche Penske Motorsports beat Whelen Cadillac Racing to the finish line by a scant 1.5 seconds. Capping an epic race across 24 hours, a six-hour fog delay and Daytona’s 30-degree bankings, the Team Penske Porsche 963 and Cadillac V-Series.R went hammer and tongs over the final hour at speeds up to 200 mph.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Payne: Toyota Prius Nightshade looks hot, drives easy
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 27, 2026
Charlevoix — The Toyota Prius is really getting cheeky.
America’s favorite green nerd car underwent a fourth-generation transformation in 2025 from ugly duckling to swan. Sleek fascia. Scalloped flanks. Horizontal rear taillight. I saw your head swivel when I sailed by.
For 2025-26 it got a hot Nightshade edition. Take a look at my hot hatch tester (also being featured at the Detroit Auto Show) with yellow paint, black wheels, black mirror caps. It’s a look familiar to enthusiast hellions like the Honda Civic Si and Ford Mustang that offer look-at-me Skittle colors.
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Racing Day at the auto show: Stars, race cars and Corvette E-Ray rides
Posted by Talbot Payne on January 21, 2026
Detroit — The Detroit Grand Prix street circuit doesn’t go hot until June, but IndyCar and IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship drivers gave fans hot laps inside Huntington Place on Tuesday as part of the Detroit Auto Show’s Racing Day.
In Chevrolet Corvette E-Rays.
VROOM! VROOM! VROOM! Driver of the #12 Team Penske IndyCar David Malukas, Dutchman Rinus VeeKay of the Junkos Hollinger IndyCar team, and IMSA Corvette ace Alex Sims peeled out one after another on the show’s Detroit GP-sponsored gas-car track — the rear tires breaking loose on the slippery concrete surface.