“The party’s over,” said one key analyst. While domestic carmakers reported a modest upturn boost in sales for June, the U.S. auto market largely stalled out as buyers began pulling back due to price increases caused by the Trump tariffs on imported autos and auto parts. Headlight.News has more on the winners and losers.
Chinese domestic automakers are becoming a major threat as they gain acceptance around the world with new, low-cost products, Ford CEO Jim Farley warns. But that’s not the only challenge facing Ford and other traditional manufacturers – particularly those in the U.S. There are Trump’s tariffs, for one thing, as well as a shortage of the skilled workers automakers depend on. More from Headlight.News.
It’s been nearly three decades since the Honda CR-V made its U.S. debut. Back then, folks derisively dubbed it a “soft-roader,” capable of handling not much more than a bit of gravel – if anyone ever chose to take it off pavement. Now, however, Honda is rolling out a new CR-V TrailSport package that, it claims, adds more off-road capabilities. Just how much more? Headlight.News headed into the San Jacinto Mountains near San Diego to find out. Here’s our review.
Between heat waves and major storms, the number of blackouts and brownouts has increased sharply in recent years, but a start-up launched by a former Tesla exec plans to use as many as 100,000 old EV batteries in “second-like” backup energy storage systems to minimize the risk of grid outages. More from Headlight.News.
Looking for the brands delivering the highest levels of initial quality? Lexus and Nissan rose to the top in this year’s J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, while General Motors had more top-ranked models than any other manufacturer. There were some surprises in this year’s IQS by Jaguar and Ram. But, yet again, motorists pointed to onboard technology as the biggest source of trouble. More from Headlight.News.
When Ford launched an all-new version of the Explorer last year it sharply reduced the number of trim packages available, among other things, culling the rugged Timberline edition. The good number for off-roaders is that there’s a new Explorer Tremor coming to replace it for the 2026 model year. Headlight.News takes a closer look.
Expect to spend nearly $2,000 more for your next vehicle due to the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, automakers expected to pass on most of the $30 billion in higher costs they’ll face, according to a new study, But that could result in 1 million fewer sales this year, while some foreign-made vehicles will likely vanish from U.S. showrooms because they’ll be priced out of reach, reports Headlight.News.
Ford has ordered the recall of more than 300,000 Mustang Mach-E battery-electric vehicles – while telling dealers to halt sales and deliveries. A software glitch could cause the electric SUVs to lock owners out of the vehicles or, in some situations, keep them locked inside.
This year’s annual American-Made Index from Cars.com saw the Tesla Model 3 rise to the top of the list, followed by the rest of the Tesla lineup. Last year’s winner was the Model Y so this is getting to be old hat for the brand. However, the big surprise was what company didn’t have a vehicle in the top 20. Go to Headlight.News to find out which Red, White and Blue touting company didn’t make the grade.
Ford rolls out a sporty new take on F-150 pickup specifically designed for the street. Lowered and offered only with a 400-hp V-8, it becomes the second Ford truck to adopt the Lobo badge. Here’s more on the new Ford F-150 Lobo.
Few automakers are making more of a commitment to battery-electric vehicles than General Motors – and, at least from a sales standpoint, it appears to be paying off. The automaker has more than doubled both its EV sales and market share this year in the U.S. – and it is now outselling Tesla in neighboring Canada. Headlight.News has the story.
The number of all-new models coming to market over the next four years is predicted to drop sharply as manufacturers around the world cut back on investments. That will be particularly obvious in the EV market as the industry shifts back to internal combustion, according to the latest annual “Car Wars” study.