Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Memphis, Michigan — Tesla wowed the automotive word in January with news it was abandoning its Model S/X models and putting the pedal to the metal on robots. Robot rideshare cars. Humanoid robots. Humanoid robots driving robot cars. Bots bots bots.

Happily, there are still manual driver’s toys out there to cope with the dystopian robot future. Like the six-speed, 2.5-liter Mazda3 S Premium hatchback in my driveway.

WAUUUUGH! I escaped the robot headlines and headed north to rural Memphis, Michigan, for a quick road trip. This is manual country. Wide open space and empty roads where you can really row the gearbox. Can a rideshare robot do that?

Like in Mazda’s halo MX-5 Miata, the Mazda3’s six-speed is a joy. No rubbery gates here (looking at you, BMW). I never missed a shift despite flogging the Mazda3 unmercifully.

Indeed, the compact Mazda3 S Premium model (the only Mazda3 trim accessorized with a stick) is best understood as an alternative to the similarly priced Miata roadster.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Park City, Utah — The view of snow-dusted, 11,750-foot Mt. Timpanogos from the trails of Wasatch National Park in the Wasatch Mountains is breathtaking. It’s a trail for hardcore, compact off-roaders — Jeep Wranglers, Ford Broncos, Chevy Colorado ZR2s. If you’re into electric vehicles, few dare venture there.

Say hello to the rugged, daring Rivian R2.

Last decade, two startup EV companies wowed us with their automotive innovation. In 2012, Tesla Inc. introduced the lightning-quick Model S and Model X SUVs oozing with tech, style and eyeball-flattening speed. In 2017, Rivian Automotive Inc. introduced off-road doppelgangers — the stylish R1T pickup and R1S SUV with room, vroom and more cargo space than a Norwegian Cruise liner.

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Brandon Badraoui, Lumen Digital Agency

General Motors brands are on the cutting edge of hands-free driving. The General also has a feet-free success story to tell.

Using an innovative hand-control system, paraplegic Chevrolet Corvette race driver Robert Wickens is one of the fastest drivers in IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar GTD-class racing.

The so-called Bosch electronic braking system, developed in conjunction with GM and Corvette Racing team Pratt Miller in New Hudson, is an evolution of what Wickens has used since returning to motorsports in 2022 after a horrific IndyCar crash at Pocono Raceway in 2018. Wickens and his engineers — with physical assist from ex-Saginaw Valley State football standout Josh Gibbs — have developed a system that works seamlessly with teammates and offers potential for the broader consumer marketplace in an age when electronic systems make foot pedals redundant.

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Miami — Sleek, roomy and high-tech, today’s mainstream sedans are proof that affordability still exists in a U.S. market where average vehicle purchases have soared over $50K.

Take the terrific $30,945 Hyundai Sonata Blue Hybrid and $27,890 Honda Civic Sport I just flogged around Miami and Detroit.

Who needs a luxury badge?

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GM

Detroit — The motorsports world came to the Motor City for the Detroit Grand Prix last weekend for the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship.

And the home teams dominated.

Cadillac swept the front row of Friday qualifying in the GTP class and then won Saturday’s race over an elite field of Porsche, BMW, Acura and Aston Martin cars. Corvette did the same in the GT class — sweeping the front row, then controlling the race over European rivals with Ford Mustang not far behind. Only Lamborghini spoiled a Detroit muscle car one-two.

Detroit automakers have invested billions to become players in international motorsports, and the Detroit GP was a proof point of the momentum they’ve built. While competitors Porsche and Honda are cutting back on their motorsports programs after disastrous corporate decisions on electrification, General Motors and Ford are well-positioned this year to make a mark across the globe — including in the premier international endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France later this month.

“What a special day for General Motors and the Cadillac and Corvette Racing teams in Detroit,” said GM President Mark Reuss after the Saturday afternoon IMSA result. “Winning both classes of the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic on the streets of the Motor City is a tremendous achievement for our motorsports, design and engineering teams.”

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Detroit – What’s a lap like in an IndyCar around the Detroit Grand Prix street circuit?

It’s a rollercoaster on ‘roids.

Sandwiched between ex-IndyCar driver Spencer Pigot and a howling, twin-turbo V-6 engine in a two-seat, Arrow McLaren Dallara DW12 IndyCar, we stormed up Rivard Street, hung a left onto Jefferson in 2nd gear and then exploded down Jefferson Avenue hitting 155 mph as we passed “Speed Limit 35” signs.

No sirens. None of Detroit’s finest pulling us over. Pedal to the metal.

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Detroit — Exiting Turn 2 onto the long, Jefferson Avenue straight, Detroit Grand Prix racers row their steeds through six gears, their howling, 12,000-RPM engines hitting 185 mph as they reverberate off the canyon of Detroit buildings.

The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear feeds our need for speed. It also feeds the homeless.

One of the buildings that lines the ¾-mile long straight is Detroit’s oldest church, St. Peter and Paul at 438 St. Antoine, which houses the Pope Francis Day Center for the homeless. It’s one of four charities (Belle Isle Conservancy, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Detroit, and the Detroit Public Safety Foundation are the others) that the Grand Prix, now in its fourth year downtown, prioritizes.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Mark Rushbrook, Ford Racing boss, agreed. “We are racing in front of friends, family and our co-workers from across Michigan. While we continue to expand Ford’s racing footprint globally—competing in 35 series around the world—our home is here in Detroit.”

The Detroit GP, said Campbell, stands to gain from the Memorial Day weekend’s epic Indianapolis 500 — where the Honda-powered Meyer Shank IndyCar of Felix Rosenqvist beat the Chevrolet-powered Team Penske entry of David Malukas in the closest finish in Indy history.

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Sterling Heights — With 420 horsepower and a satisfying roar, the 6.2-liter pushrod V-8 engine under the hood of my 2026 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Sport tester would usually be my obsession.

But eight is a trivial number in the Platinum Sport model.

What has my attention in the Platinum Sport are the dozens of buttons that operate a cornucopia of automatic functions on this rolling condominium: auto doors, seats, tailgate, drawers, TV screens and Super Cruise hands-free driving. At $131K, Platinum Sport is an expensive automobile — but an affordable condo.

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