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:

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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.

Tesla, Via REUTERS

After the introduction of the second-generation Tesla Roadster prototype in 2017, the world had to wait nine years for the production version.

Tesla didn’t disappoint.

In a typically wild, nerdy stage show, Elon Musk introduced Roadster 2.0 hypercar Thursday night, Oct. 15, showing off signature features including rocket-propelled flight, sub-1.0-second 0-60 mph acceleration, and stick-to-the-wall downforce.

“You’re going to see some crazy stuff tonight,” said Musk before a cheering live audience. “We need an audience to prove that it’s not AI or SI, so you guys can tell people you saw it with your eyes. What you see with your eyes you will not believe. This is the culmination of incredible work by Tesla and SpaceX engineers working closely together to make something that you haven’t seen in any movie. (It’s) better than any James Bond car.”

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Henry Payne, The Detroit News

HELL — Destroying Hell’s twisted roads then cruising topless through Ann Arbor to pick up lunch. Blitzing the back straight at M1 Concourse at 130 mph. Schlepping to the airport on adaptive cruise control in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Just a typical 24 hours in the King of Supercars, the 2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S.

But it’s not easy being king.

Setting the engineering standard for decades, the 911 model lineup is now under siege from competitors and governments alike. Half-the-price Motown missiles like the mid-engine Corvette C8 and Ford Mustang Dark Horse — armored with lightning-quick transmissions and eyeball-flattening launch control that the 911 made famous — are now playing in the six-figure supercar space along with international makes McLaren 750S, Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes GT.

On the left flank is the European Union mandating electric vehicles by 2035 with a steady tightening of electrified regulations. The wailing, gas-drinking, flat-6-cylinder 911 engine can’t hide (even as it prays to the Archangel of Synthetic Fuels for rescue).

To beat back this horde of invaders, King Porsche has called on Stuttgart palace engineers to conjure the latest in electronic sorcery.

Read full article here.

Stellantis, © 2026 Stellantis

The Dirty Dozen is complete.

To cap its 85^th anniversary year, Jeep introduced the 2027 Wrangler Switchback on Monday, Oct. 12 — the last of twelve unique builds of the brand’s iconic dirt-kicker. While previous “Twelve 4 Twelve” designs were throwbacks to Wrangler heritage encompassing military vehicles, off-road adventure and retro design, the finale looks forward with Switchback drawing inspiration from modern gaming and digital culture.

Trimmed with eye-burning Gecko accents on the grille, hood, tailgate decal and bead-lock wheel rings, Switchback boasts contrasting hood-and-door colors for a uniquely dissonant take. Like its 11 predecessors, Wrangler Switchback can be ordered through authorized dealers for a limited time. The $2,870 Switchback trim is available in two and four-door versions of the Rubicon X model.

“Twelve 4 Twelve unleashed creativity across the Jeep brand, bringing teams together to reimagine an icon through different perspectives while staying true to what has always defined Wrangler,” said Jeep brand CEO Branden Coté. “Switchback is the perfect finale. It takes Wrangler’s inherent spirit of personalization somewhere unexpected, pairing bold contrasts and interchangeable elements with the legendary 4×4 capability at the heart of every Wrangler.”

The Switchback name echoes modern gaming successes like the Nintendo Switch.

Read full article here.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

“We’ve helped the Pink Fund by doing an open house here for 13 years,” said Lingenfelter, 73, in an interview. “The Pink Fund was established to help patients who have gotten breast cancer cover their expenses while being treated. I lost my sister to breast cancer and watched her go through all the things that she needed to do, so this is near and dear to my heart.”

The Detroit News got a sneak peak of the collection to whet your appetite.

Ferraris, EVs, ‘Vette appetizers

Pink is the only color missing from the rainbow of liveries in the sprawling collection. Purchase a pink sweatshirt from Lingenfelter’s merchandise shop in Bay No. 1 to benefit cancer victims, then jump into the collection. A blood-red 1990 Ferrari Testarossa welcomes you, a shrieking V12 engine asleep amidships.

It is flanked by a 1972 Chevy El Camino converted to electric power (Lingenfelter Engineering has an exclusive contract with GM to convert old vehicles) and wife Kristen Lingenfelter’s wicked, flat-back, 670-horsepower Corvette Z06 SCCA autocross car. Speed runs in the family.

Along the bay’s left wall is a summation of the progress that Covette has made in just one generation between the front-engine C7 and mid-engine C8 Corvette supercar. Both models are top-shelf, rear-wheel-drive, track-focused ZR1s with white skins, black rear wings like scorpion tails, and sticky Michelin tires.

Read full article here.

Ford, Ford

Ford Motor Co. has made it all the way back in Formula One.

Twenty-three years after it last won an F1 race, the Blue Oval was on the top step of the podium in Sepang, Malaysia, on Oct. 4 with its partner, Red Bull. The winningest F1 engine maker of all time with the famed Cosworth DFV from 1967-84, Ford faded from the world’s biggest motorsport in the early 2000s.

The win — with “The Flying Dutchman” Max Verstappen at the wheel — energized Ford’s Dearborn headquarters on Oct. 5, with race highlights playing on video screens and Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, CEO Jim Farley and COO Kumar Galhotra holding a conference call with Ford Racing division employees.

“What a weekend!” wrote Bill Ford on LinkedIn. “Building an entirely new power unit from scratch to compete at the pinnacle of motorsport was an extraordinary challenge. So many talented people worked tirelessly to deliver this result. I hope you all enjoy this moment.”

Read full article here.

Waymo

If you see Chinese cars rolling on Detroit roads without anyone behind the wheel, don’t freak out. It’s a Waymo.

Waymo LLC’s rideshare service began full autonomous testing in Detroit this week without a human specialist at the wheel as the rideshare company inches closer to public service. The Alphabet Inc.-owned company has been a fixture in Metro Detroit since last November with its Chinese-made Zeekr Ojai vehicles plying the roads. Waymo also uses white Jaguar iPace models.

Waymo Product Communications Manager Chris Bonelli said there is still no timeline for the so-called Waymo Driver service deployment in Detroit. But Waymo is testing in the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, including Corktown, Midtown, Hamtramck and Indian Village, with plans to expand. It will publish a map of its service area before it opens rides to the public via its phone app (similar to the Uber app).

Waymo operates in cities from San Francisco to Atlanta. Detroit, along with Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago and Montreal, is one of the first northern cities that Waymo is exploring as it seeks to expand its service to states with variable climates.

Read full article here.

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.

Read full article here.

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.

Read full article here.

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.