Stellantis will reopen a now-shuttered assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, the company’s U.S. chief operating officer told employees in an e-mail. The factory will produce a new midsize Ram pickup, however, rather than the EV originally planned for the facility....
The Chrysler brand reportedly has halted work on a midsize electric crossover based on the Airflow concept vehicle. The move comes late in development as the EV was to have reached market later this year. The decision echoes one made by rival Ford which has also responded to slowing growth in the EV market by killing off a planned 3-row crossover.
Chinese automotive exports hit an all-time record last year – even while being effectively locked out of the U.S. market. But despite incoming Pres. Donald Trump’s threat to put still more tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles, the doors may not be locked forever. And anyone who checked out the new Zeekr brand’s news conference and display at the Consumer Electronics Show is likely to understand why that worries other manufacturers.
Once one of the most important auto shows in North America, if not the world, the annual Motor City event returned to its original January schedule after a brief summer run. But what has been renamed the Detroit Auto Show is a mere fraction of the size of what it was during its glory days. Headlight.News looks at what has happened — and why.
If you’ve got the floor all to yourself, why not do things with flair? That’s what Ford clearly had in mind when it crafted the Mustang GTD Spirit of American prototype that it unveiled ahead of the annual Detroit Auto Show on Thursday night. The red-white-and-blue exotic celebrates the achievement of Craig Breedlove, the one-time aerospace engineer who set an array of land speed records in a series of jet-powered racers.
If you want job security, it seems, you might hope to land the role as General Motors’ head of design. There’ve only been seven people to hold that position over the last century. But that exclusive club will soon grow to eight as Michael Simcoe steps down and hands his pens to GM veteran Bryan Nesbitt. Here’s more on the transition.
Honda rolled out a pair of all-electric concept vehicles at CES this week, updating the two prototypes it brought to Las Vegas a year ago. And, it says, the 0 Series Saloon and SUV are close to the final production models that will roll into U.S. showrooms in 2026. Beyond the edgy styling, buyers will be offered a digital operating system borrowed from Honda’s ASIMO robot – and the ability to drive hands-free while texting or even watching videos.
Computers, TVs, drones, “smart” appliances, digital cameras. If those are the things you think of when someone mentions “consumer electronics,” you’re not alone. But you should add automobiles to the list as, these days, they’re starting to look more like smartphones on wheels. Indeed, high-tech “mobility” is one of the big topics at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. To get a sense of what we can expect at CES 2025, Headlight.News spoke to Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, the trade group sponsoring the annual event.
Oh, what a year it was. 2024 took saw a number of predictable stories top our coverage on Headlight.News, but the year also saw some surprising twists and turns — like the planned merger between Honda and Nissan – that no one likely would, or could, have predicted 12 months ago. There was some good news for consumers, and some bad. Some automakers made out like bandits, while others are now struggling with an uncertain future. Here are the 2024 stories that our editorial team found most compelling.
A conversation on the future of Lamborghini in the face of electrification and troubles at parent company Volkswagen Group with the sports car brand’s CEO Stephan Winkelmann.
It’s been a big year for Korean carmaker Kia, U.S. sales set to reach a new record. To keep momentum going it’s launching plenty of new products in 2025 and looking to enter still more “white space” beyond – a pickup one opportunity under study. But planning ahead is on hold until at least “January 21,” said the brand’s U.S. marketing chief, with the incoming Trump administration poised to address such issues as EV sale mandates and incentives, as well as tariffs on foreign-made vehicles.
If you’re a muscle car fan, is there life without a big V-8? That’s the question a lot of Dodge loyalists have been wondering since the performance brand ended production of the Charger and Challenger models a year ago. The Charger is about to stage its return – but for now, at least, it will be available in just two all-electric packages. The 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack package pumps out a tire-spinning 670 horsepower. But is it a suitable replacement for the legendary Hemi-powered model it replaces? Headlight.News had a chance to check out the all-electric beast and here’s our review.