Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Huntsville, Alabama –— The second-generation, 2027 Volkswagen Atlas is big. How big? My 6-foot-5-inch frame and 6-foot-7-inch Atlas Product Manager Jim Burch both fit easily in the third row.

Together.

We make things big in America. Big people, big attractions, big cars. For years, Volkswagen sent too-small, too-expensive German-made vehicles like the Touareg to the U.S. In 2018, VW finally got the memo and produced the Made-in-America, three-row Atlas large SUV. Not just any large SUV, but one of the biggest in class. Big proportions, big interior, big V-6, big value. It sold big, instantly becoming the second-best-selling V-dub in the lineup after — you guessed it — another roomy SUV, the Tiguan.

For its gen-two sequel, Atlas goes even bigger. Complementing its proportions, it gains a bucket-list of tech, premium appointments and standard features.

This thing has every standard feature in the book.

Twin wireless chargers? Check.

Magnets to hold phones in place? Check.

Adaptive cruise control? Check.

Blind-spot assist? Check.

Wood trim? Check.

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GM

Braselton, Georgia — Detroit brands dominated the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar series Petit Le Mans finale over the weekend.

Bloomfield Hills-based Team Penske stood atop the podium with its Porsche partner at the end of a wild, crash-marred, 10-hour race. But it was General Motors Co.’s Cadillac GTP and Corvette GTD Pro teams that brought home the manufacturer’s championships in their respective categories.

For Cadillac, the win marked its 11th IMSA title and fifth since its entered the top prototype class in 2017. Cadillac made it a GTP class trifecta by winning the driver’s (Jack Aitken) and team (the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R) titles as well.

Pratt Miller Racing’s Tommy Milner and Nick Catsburg narrowly missed out on the driver’s title, but the manufacturer’s honor marked the 16th time Chevy has taken home the season trophy since the genesis of the Corvette Racing factory program in 1999.

In a Motown showdown, Corvette also defeated Mustang, which entered Petit Le Mans with a shot at the GTD Pro team title.

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LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA, AFP Via Getty Images

Braselton, Georgia — Red Bull Ford Powertrains won its first Formula One race Sunday, Oct. 4, in Sepang, Malaysia, just 16 races into their technical partnership. At Silverstone in England, the Ford Hypercar completed its second track test as the team aims to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time since GT40s dominated the French circuit 60 years ago.

And here at Petit Le Mans on Saturday, Oct. 3, two Mustang GT3 race cars (dressed in a special commemorative 1901 tribute livery to 125 years of Ford racing) battled for the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar series championship. But that’s still not enough to satisfy Ford’s global racing ambitions.

The Dearborn-based automaker declared over the weekend that it will enter the World Rally Championship for the first time since 2012. The bombshell announcement came as Ford plans to coordinate the WRC car with the launch of five new production models for Europe by 2026.

Read full article here.

Ford

Atlanta — The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar series roars into its season finale at Road Atlanta this weekend featuring the most-compelling mixed-class racing on the planet.

Detroit brands dominate the story lines.

It will be Cadillac vs. Porsche Penske for the title in the premier GTP prototype class. In the production-based GTD Pro class, Motown muscle-car rivals Mustang and Corvette square off for all the marbles. Mustang has unveiled a special livery for the event to celebrate both the 125^th anniversary of Ford racing and the 250^th birthday of the United States. To add to the North American drama, eyes will also be on the Meyer Chank Racing Acura GTP team as Los Angeles-based Honda Racing Corp. shoots for one last win before it exits the series.

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

NAPA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA — Before it ditched cars for a lineup of engaging SUVs and trucks like F-150 Raptors, Bronco Sport Sasquatches and Maverick Lobos, Ford made affordable hellions like the Focus RS that you could take big game-hunting with 300-plus turbo-4 horsepower, nimble handling, and drift mode. The Focus RS exited the market in 2018.

It’s been reincarnated in the 2027 Ford Mustang RTR.

Delivered by Formula Drift Racing legend Vaughn Gittin Jr. and his Ready to Rock team, Mustang RTR is the love child of the Focus RS and a Mustang GT. It is a tantalizing, teething, tempestuous, tail-wagging terror.

Over the heaving, 2.0-mile twists-and-turns of Thunderhill West race track (a desert version of Grattan Raceway near Grand Rapids), RTR was, to use Gittin’s favorite term, a fun-haver. In TRACK mode, I crested blind Turn 6 at 90 mph — managing throttle while the turbo stayed spooled up using anti-lag technology from the Ford GT (yeah, that 2016 GT). I stomped the Brembo brakes and flung RTR into Turn 7, a hard, 30-degree hairpin.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Napa Valley, California — On twisty, tight Sage Canyon Road, the Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC (for supercharged) is a revelation. With a 795-horsepower, supercharged-V8 boat anchor up front hauling over two tons of mass, my tester should be a heaving, understeering mess turning my hair white.

Instead, I am defying physics.

With magnetic shocks mapping the road, the beast stuck like glue through a series of ess turns. The Predator V-8 devoured straight stretches before massive, 16-inch rotors brought the Ford back to earth, its quad exhaust pipes spitting fire as the cat-quick seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox downshifted from 4^th to 2^nd. Back to throttle. Remarkable.

Merriam Webster’s defines “dark horse” as a “usually little known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing.”

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Watkins Glen, New York — Atop the hills overlooking Seneca Lake, Watkins Glen International Raceway is one of America’s greatest racetracks with a history of hosting everything from Formula One to endurance sportscar to NASCAR races.

But before the dedicated, 3.5-mile track opened in 1956, sportscars raced on an epic, 6.6-mile road course crafted from local public roads. The road course is now a historic landmark — its byways still traversed by daily commuters. Anyone can take laps in their vehicle, which I did on a recent road trip from Detroit.

In a 2026 Mazda CX-70 SUV.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Riding record sales through July, Sierra will simplify its 2027 trims to six with all models getting a revised fascia with mid-mounted headlights. The new look freed designers to craft a more expressive, C-clamp-shaped daytime running light. The light signature forms a question mark when the headlight is illuminated.

For 2027, Sierra introduces two segment-exclusive features to Detroit’s truck wars:

1) The articulated screen flips up with the push of a button, revealing a hidden compartment behind for storing valuables.

2) Hands-free Super Cruise while towing on divided highways.

All AT4s and Denalis come standard with the MultiPro tailgate that GMC innovated on the last-gen truck. The 2027 Sierras upgrade the MultiPro tailgate with a ruler and cup holder.

Boasting a new, so-called “motor cradle” grille, the AT4 arrives standard with 34-inch all-terrain tires while the AT4X gains 35-inch all-terrains, a two-inch lift, three underbody skid plates for more serious dirt-kicking, segment-exclusive underbody cameras, and a new BAJA drive mode.

Also standard on AT4/AT4X are electronic-locking differentials front and rear and Multimatic dampers.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Peering out over the Terrain Brown hood of my loaded, $37k Seltos tester, it looked a lot like the hood of the Terrain Brown Matte-colored, $60k Telluride X-Pro SX-Prestige I took to the Detroit Grand Prix earlier this summer. Similar Mad Max grille, black trim, shard-like wheels, chiseled fenders.

Walk up to my X-line and the door handles popped out to greet me. Just like Telluride.

The steering wheel in my hands was square to better frame the 12.3-inch instrument display in front of me. Just like Telluride.

The instrument display is paired with a 12.3-inch infotainment display and 5-inch climate control panel and housed in a hoodless 30-inch screen that is both stylish and practical. Its high dash placement kept my eyes on the road. Just like Telluride.

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards judges announced their nominees for 2027 this week amid a drought of new product.

Dubbed the Best of 2027, the 25 new vehicles set the field for NACTOY’s 2027 awards season.

Five cars, four trucks, and 16 utility vehicles will vie for the prestigious trophy, the only award presented by an independent jury of auto journalists. The list boasts eight models from Detroit-based brands, including all four in the truck category (including newcomer Troy-based Slate) and four in the SUV category.

The 2027 NACTOY awards come against a backdrop of industry disruption after state and federal government efforts to force automakers to sell electric vehicles and sunset their internal-combustion-engine lineups. Automakers are retooling to meet market demand as consumers haven’t warmed to EVs, government mandates were withdrawn, and federal subsidies subsided.

“Automakers (are) tearing up product plans built for an EV future that has not arrived,” reported the Murphy Automotive Product Pipeline this week, authored by respected ex-Bank of America “Car Wars” analyst John Murphy. “Automakers face the worst three-year new-product drought on record and intensifying global competition and policy uncertainty are raising questions about which brands ultimately survive.”

The NACTOY Best of 2027 represents shifting industry trends. Just 10 years after NACTOY expanded its categories from car and truck to include sport utility vehicles, SUVs dominate the list. A decade ago, Best of 2017 included 15 cars, 12 SUVs and four trucks.

While Detroit automakers still rule the U.S. truck market, no Motown makers are represented in the car category for 2027 — a segment they have largely exited. About 30% of nominees are from U.S brands, consistent with 2017 — though best-selling EV automaker Tesla is conspicuously missing despite offering a new three-row version of the Model Y, the seventh best-selling vehicle in market. Tesla does not offer vehicles for NACTOY testing.

Read full article here.