Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Charlevoix — Pocket rocket is my favorite auto segment. From $33,000-$51,000, buyers are served a choice of fun, utilitarian, affordable cars spiced with goodies like turbocharged engines, manual transmissions, all-wheel drive, hatchbacks, summer tires and head-up displays. Rockets like the Honda Civic Si, Subaru WRX, Mazda3 Turbo, Civic Type R, VW Golf R and OG Golf GTI.

Add to this delicious assortment the stylish, high-tech Hyundai Elantra N.

N for Namyang, the South Korea R&D center where Hyundai’s N performance division was born. N for the famed Nürburgring race track in Germany where the model’s skills were honed. N for Not Boring.

Dressed in a similar, head-turning sky blue and red trim wardrobe as Hyundai’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge-winning car, my $37,095, 276-horsepower tester channels premium supercars costing five times more. Entering the M-32 twisties in Otsego County west of Gaylord, I pressed the red NGS button (for N Grin Shift) in the middle of the steering wheel and the rocket tensed.

Maximum turbocharger overboost added 10 horsepower. The gearbox automatically downshifted to fourth gear for optimal torque at 5,000 RPM. The driveline primed for quick shifts for 20 seconds.

Just like the $150,000 Porsche 911’s Sport Response button.

FOOM! I blew by a Ford Mustang in a two-lane passing zone and disappeared though a series of S-curves, the stiff, adaptive shocks gluing the Elantra N to the road.

Adaptive shocks in a $37k car? That’s right. The better to offer multiple modes (including N Mode) for when the twisties rise before you — or a track day beckons. Like a six-figure Porsche, McLaren or Lamborghini.

Read full article here.

Ford

The Classic will benefit six nonprofits: Blue Star Families, Camp Southern Ground, DAV (Disabled American Veterans), Team Rubicon, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and The Travis Manion Foundation.

The first-of-its-kind motorsports-palooza at Daytona unites racing, music, charity and service in honor of the nation’s military community. But like an Army-Navy game, competition is at its heart — pitting Ford’s finest drivers representing each military service.

The driver teams:

U.S. Army: NASCAR Cup Series’ driver Brad Keselowski and sports car expert Joey Hand. The car’s livery is inspired by the Abrams tank.

U.S. Marine Corps: Ryan Blaney, NASCAR Cup Series, and Ben Hobson, RTR Drift Team driver. Livery: inspired by the Assault Amphibious Vehicle.

Read full article here.

Toyota

Toyota is bringing Scion back to the United States. Don’t expect to see the reborn badge on public roads, though.

Limited to 25 mph, the wee Scion KEI-01 pickup truck will be sold to fleet companies.

The KEI name is inspired by the tiny Kei-class trucks that are ubiquitous in Japan, where streets are densely packed and utility fleet vehicles need to slot into tight spaces. Expect to see them on similarly-tight environments here like college campuses, farms and cities. Like their Japanese counterparts that operate in Japan’s left lanes, the KEI-01 will be right-hand drive and arrive in the second half of 2027.

Aimed at millennial buyers in its initial run, the youth brand produced eight affordable models from 2003-16 in the North American market. Its distinctive Detroit Auto Show displays looked like giant bookshelves with cars slotted into shelves. Similar to General Motors’ 1991-2010 Saturn brand, Scion aimed to redefine the customer experience for young buyers with no haggle dealerships, single-trim models and unique styling.

Read full article here.

The 2027 Chevy Silverado has two new v-8 engines – and the only diesel offering in the segment.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

“We really wanted to appeal to the customers and provide them what they wanted,” Ryan Harrington, Chevy trucks senior marketing manager, said here. “We heard from our customers that they wanted to keep V-8s … so it was important for us to continue to evolve and come up with powertrains that resonate with truck customers. The diesel is one of the most efficient full-size pickups on the road — especially when paired with the (optional) 34-gallon fuel tank, those customers are getting over 900 miles of range on one tank of fuel.”

The Silverado EV sold 5,327 units through the third quarter of 2026, a 43% decline from a year ago as consumer demand plateaued and government subsidies dried up. The electric pickup accounts for just 1% of Silverado’s 418,710 unit sales so far this year. Had it maintained 2025 sales, the EV pickup would only be 2% of Silverado sales.

The Detroit Three have all recorded big losses in their EV-related businesses. GM booked about $7.6 billion in losses for 2025, Ford Motor Co. recorded $19.5 billion in write-downs while nixing  F-150 Lightning EV production, and Stellantis NV booked a $26 billion write-down while scaling back all-electric products in favor of gas models. An electric Ram truck prototype never made it to market.

“The reality of the sales potential of electric-powered trucks was clearly driven home to both Ford and General Motors over the past four years,” said Senior Auto Analyst Karl Brauer of iSeeCars.com. “They’ve decided to pivot away from all-electric vehicles back to vehicles they knew people would buy.”

GM has backed off on its plans to go all EV by 2035, now pledging a full lineup of gas and battery-powered vehicles from its Chevy, GMC, Buick and Cadillac brands. Harrington said Chevrolet is not giving up on light-duty electric pickup sales.

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

TUCSON, ARIZONA — The Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson look like something out of a Coyote vs. Road Runner episode: orange colors, giant boulders parched on rock spires, twisted roads. Beep, beep!

I stomped on the throttle of my ride with my size 15s and the V-8 roared. Hard into a downhill S-turn, the adaptive dampers stiffened to reduce body roll. I flicked my steed left, then right, then went hard on the brakes before exiting the turn on full throttle. Exiting the state park into Tucson’s suburbs, I engaged hands-free driving and let my leather-lathered chariot drive me through thickening weekday traffic.

“Hey, Gemini, change driver temperature to 70 degrees,” I barked to the 16-inch digital display.

Was I driving a Mercedes? Cadillac? Tesla Model S?

Nope. I was behind the wheel of the 2027 Chevy Silverado 1500 truck, the new standard for American luxury.

With up to 60 inches of digital displays in front, tasteful interior materials, and more rear-seat room than a limousine, pickup trucks like Silverado have been slowly encroaching on the traditional luxury market for years.

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Southfield — The autonomous rideshare wars are heating up just in time for the cold Michigan winter.

A fleet of gold, butterfly-door Tesla Cybercabs has joined Waymo driverless vehicles in Detroit, expanding the competitive playing field from Austin, Texas, to Michigan’s more complicated, multi-season environment. Two dozen Cybercabs are operating out of Tesla Inc.’s Southfield collision repair facility on 12 Mile and have been seen on major roads, including I-696, M-10, Telegraph and Eight Mile.

The distinctive, electric Cybercabs have test drivers using temporary steering wheels. The two-seat Cybercab is designed to have no steering wheel once the service becomes fully operational.

Cybercab is part of Tesla’s larger Robotaxi ridesharing service that also uses Model Y electric vehicles. Cybercab is currently only accessible to the public in Austin; the Robotaxi service operates with Model Ys in Tampa and Miami in Florida and Austin, Dallas and Houston in Texas, with plans to expand. Cybercabs have been spotted at Miami International Airport and outside Philadelphia, according to teslarati.com.

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Richmond, Michigan — America’s’ most versatile, three-row vehicle finally has an exterior to match its interior talents.

The 2027 Chrysler Pacifica minivan has a new face, and it’s a looker.

Designed by Tajikistan immigrant Irina Zavatski, the original 2017 Pacifica redefined the dowdy minivan segment. Then the minivan took an unfortunate detour to boring in 2021 with an ill-advised nose job. For ‘27, Chrysler is back on the cutting edge.

Behold its embrace of modern lighting tech with headlights moved mid-fascia — freeing designers to frame the front end with a dazzling LED signature that would make a Caddy proud. The rear end? Stylish as ever with a sci-fi rear window (now underlined by a red, horizontal taillight) right out of a Blade Runner movie.

Gone for the 2027 model year is the entry-level Voyager minivan (with throwback 2017 design and only offered in front-wheel-drive), now rebadged as a Pacifica LX staring at $43,590. Confusing, I know. The remade Pacifica is offered in Select, Limited and Pinnacle trims starting at $45,460 and my Select, black-trimmed, red all-wheel-drive model (wrapped in patriotic 250^th American birthday stars) is the one to have.

Pacifica, strut your stuff.

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

At the end of the third quarter, the 2026 Auto Sales Super Bowl is full of story lines.

Entering the fourth, sales are off 2% from a year ago but Cox Automotive sees strength and predicts 2026 will come out ahead 2%, to 16.1 million units. This despite devastation in the electric-vehicle market, which is off 30% from a year ago.

Average gas prices are up 40%, but that couldn’t overcome the absence of $7,500 federal EV subsidies and California sales mandates. EV sales now account for just 6.4% of new vehicle sales versus a record 10% a year ago as buyers rushed to buy EVs before the government gravy ended. The beneficiary of high gas prices appears to be gas-electric hybrid vehicles, with sales up 23% year over year. As in 2008, when gas prices first crested $4 a gallon (inflation-adjusted $6.40 today) buyers are looking to fuel-efficient rides.

On a macro level, that means General Motors Co. — which bet on EVs — lost 0.7 percentage points of U.S. market share. That put Toyota — which bet on hybrids — within 129,194 units of becoming America’s sales champ.

Enough of the macro, on to the micro. Here are our Top 10 highlights of Q3 winners and losers:

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Richmond, Virginia — Before Tesla made the flying Roadster or autonomous Robotaxi or sci-fi Cybertruck, there was the three-row Model X.

With Falcon (gull-wing) doors, self-driving software, Model Xmas dance feature, and Ludicrous Mode acceleration, Tesla’s first SUV was a fun, innovative sensation.

And then it was gone.

As Tesla retools to build Optimus robots in its Fremont, California, factory, the OG Model X and sister Model S sedan have handed in their brand halos to the rad Roadster and gold Robotaxi. But X is still X-traordinary.

And cheap. Really cheap. At $145K new in 2017, my top-trim P100D Turo tester has 92,000 miles and can be found on used car sites for just $25K-35K. With a red key fob in my pocket, I walked up to the red Tesla at Richmond International Airport, and the driver’s door swung open to greet me.

Read full article here.