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Cartoon: Tiger Woods New Golf Bag
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 15, 2026
Cartoon: Friedman NYT Iran War Winners
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 14, 2026
Cartoon: Nuns New York Regulation
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 13, 2026
Cartoon: USA Versus Iran March Madness
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 10, 2026
Cartoon: Iran Bombing Spring Break
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 9, 2026
Cartoon: Artemis Space Distance Record
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 9, 2026
Payne: Corolla FX Hatch brings affordable Toyota X-citement
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 9, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Oakland County — After a couple of somnolent performance decades while it nerded out on hybrid hegemony, Toyota has awakened from its slumber. Formula One partnership with Haas, GR86 sportscar, GR Corolla hot hatch. Huzzah.
The latest espresso shot is the 2026 Corolla Hatchback FX Editon burning a hole in my driveway.
You can see it from space. Orange paint, white wheels, giant aerofoil hanging off the rear hatchback. The FX Edition hatch follows on the limited-edition FX sedan introduced last year and is a more direct homage to the 1986-88 Corolla FX16 hot hatch from a hot decade of ‘80s culture: Top Gun, DeLorean DMC-12, ZZ Top, Audi Quattro, Pac-Man, Ferrari F40. But whereas FX16 was a sleeper hellion to take on the Volkswagen Golf GTI, FX Edition flips the script with its gym bod, and … standard 169-horse Corolla 2-liter under the muscle shirt.
Cartoon: Dark Side of the Moon Artemis
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 7, 2026
Cartoon: Iran Rescue Superchopper
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 6, 2026
Payne: NY Auto Show touts muscle, off-road challenge to Detroit icons
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 4, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
New York — The New York International Auto Show opened in 1900 at Madison Square Garden and it’s still going strong in the Javits Convention Center 126 years later.
This week the Big Apple’s big show kicked off featuring 32 brands, 10 new model reveals, two outdoor test tracks, an indoor EV track, and the World Car of the Year Awards.
The BMW iX3 won World Car of the Year, the Chinese-made Firefly won Urban Car, and the Corvette E-Ray was a World Luxury Car finalist even as Chevy announced last month it is ceasing the hybrid’s production. The show floor is littered with everything from $3 million Koenigsegg Regera to electric Lucids to a Mustang v Corvette muscle war. In addition to the sheet metal, there’s a Subaru dog pen, racing simulators, and the United States Marine Band.
Here are the new model highlights.
Payne: In Mustang v ‘Vette, Detroit muscle car war rages at NYC Show
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 3, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
New York — The New York International Auto Show has an international vibe with its exotic European car display, melting pot of attendees, and World Car of the Year awards to kick thigs off.
So, it’s fun to see a good ol’ American muscle fight break out on the show floor.
Located in the adjacent Chevrolet and Ford exhibits on Level 3 of the Javits Convention Center, Corvette and Mustang have brought more firepower to the show than the deck of the USS Nimitz.
Though the industry has been under fire by emissions regulations targeting multi-cylinder engines, the brands have remained committed to their howling, V8-powered icons. Indeed, for the eight-generation ‘Vette and seventh-gen Mustang, the two sub-brands have raised their profiles by expanding sales overseas, introducing new models, and going head-to-head on the global GT3 racing circuit from the streets of Detroit to the 200-mph Mulsanne Straight at France’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Payne: Hyundai Boulder Concept targets Bronco, Wrangler at NY show
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 2, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
New York — Off-road parks are gonna get crowded.
Hyundai stunned the New York Auto Show Wednesday with its brawny Boulder SUV concept. It’s the first body-on-frame, truck-based SUV from the South Korean brand, going after Detroit icons Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco in the off-road space.
With General Motors Co. taking a pass on the affordable, mid-size, off-road SUV space to make the Chevrolet Blazer and six-figure GMC Hummer SUV electric vehicles, Asian makers have rushed in. Toyota has added body-on-frame competitors like the Land Cruiser and Lexus GX in the space where they already sold the popular 4Runner, and now here comes Hyundai which will also offer a U.S.-made pickup on the same platform by 2030.
Cartoon: Easter Bunny Chocolate Eggs
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 2, 2026
Payne: Subaru Outback battleship is a nimble, high-tech SUV below decks
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 2, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Mt. Holly — The 2026 Subaru Outback looks like the Chevy Colorado pickup and Jeep Cherokee had a love child.
Bold, boxy, aggressive vertical grille, mid-mounted headlights. Welcome to Truck Nation, Subaru.
The iconic Outback, of course, was one of the last of the wagons. The fetching 2025 Onyx model’s streamlined roof and scalloped flanks were the last vestiges of a sleek station wagon look shared with Eurowagons. No more. “We sell fashion,” an auto engineer once told me, and trucks are all the rage. Check out Outback competitor Honda Passport, which is flying off the shelves with its new truck-like wardrobe.
Subaru, which makes Outback in the USA and sells 70% of its global product here, has dutifully followed American fashion with one tough-looking cowboy. All that’s missing is beard stubble.
But the seventh-gen, Made-in-Indiana Outback is more than just a muscled all-American fullback. This is a comprehensively remade SUV over the outgoing generation in tech, interior layout — even hands-free driving capability.
I saddled up my Outback Touring XT for a road trip.
Cartoon: No Kings Slogans
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 1, 2026
Cartoon: Tiger Woods Highway Lane
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 30, 2026
Cartoon: Left Celebrates Women’s History Month
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 27, 2026
Cartoon: US War Dictator Victims
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 25, 2026
Q&A: Subaru product lead explains how new EV trio meets buyer needs
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 25, 2026
Henry Payne, The Detroit News
Laguna Beach, California — Subaru Corp. has established a loyal following in the United States making rugged, go-anywhere, dog-friendly, gas-powered hatchbacks and SUVs.
Though its wanderlusting customer base leans green, Subaru has struggled to sell electric vehicles because of range and charging limitations. For 2026, Subaru thinks it has cracked the code and is offering three EVs in its lineup.
Sharing a battery platform with similar Toyota EVs, the electron-powered Subies are made in Japan, while assembly of its gas-fired vehicles is split between Japan and Lafayette, Indiana. At the media test for the all-new Uncharted and Trailseeker EVs (which join the Solterra EV in the Subaru lineup), Detroit News Auto Critic Henry Payne sat down with Trailseeker product planning manager Garrick Goh.
Cartoon: TSA Travel Hell Democrats
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 24, 2026
