They’re some of the smallest cars in the world and make up 40% of the Japanese domestic market. But could “Kei cars” find a niche here in the United States? That’s something Pres. Don Trump suggested this week as he announced a rollback of federal fuel economy standards. More from Headlight.News.
The Trump administration moved ahead with plans to gut fuel economy standards set by former Pres. Joe Biden – effectively eliminating any significant role for EVs. But the proposal is expected to face stiff challenges and may have little impact on the price of new vehicles, as Headlight.News reports.
The Trump administration has invited executives from the three Detroit automakers to be on hand at the White House today as details on the rollback of current corporate average fuel economy standards are announced. It’s the latest move by the president to back off of automotive emissions and safety standards set during the prior Biden administration. More from Headlight.News.
A few years back, BMW toyed with the idea of charging car owners a subscription fee to use seat warmers. It was a monstrous flop. As automakers look for more ways to get a few more bucks out of owners, New York is considering a law that would prevent in-car subscriptions like what BMW tried. Get details at Headlight.News.
The field to perfect robotaxis inched closer to getting crowded as Tesla secured a permit for a ride-hailing service in Arizona while Amazon-sponsored Zoox opened up for free robotaxi rides in San Francisco. Details at Headlight.News.
In this week’s podcast, we talk the state of automotive tariffs, price hikes, electric vehicle cuts, U.S. investments, robo taxis as well as reviewing the new 2026 Nissan Sentra and looking back at this week in automotive history.
Waymo says it knows the way to San Jose as it puts driverless taxis on the freeway in Silicon Valley. The initiative beat out arch-rival Tesla, which just promised to pay Elon Musk billions to expand its robotaxi business. Headlight.News has more.
The Headlight News podcast this week covers the Japan Mobility Show, Elon’s big payday and more. Check it out at Headlight.News.
“Hands-free” driving systems, like General Motors’ Super Cruise, are becoming increasingly common, but Lucid today announced a new partnership with tech giant NVIDIA aimed at bringing next-level technology to the highway. The Level 4 system would permit a Lucid vehicle to operate virtually anywhere, anytime with no input from a motorist who could even take a nap while driving from Point A to Point B. Headlight.News has more.
General Motors looked to be the leader in the electric vehicle market by investing heavily in the segment, and that push crimped its Q3 earnings numbers as it took a $1.6 billion charge to offset investments in its EV operations during the period. However, the company still reported a profit, and investors are happy. Get details at Headlight.News.
Just as new car prices are starting to rise due to tariffs applied by the Trump administration, automakers may be getting a break on some of them. The move may not ease prices short term, but it would prevent them from rising in the future. Get details at Headlight.News.
Ferrari on Thursday revealed details about its first battery-powered model, the Elettrica. But the Italian automaker is delaying a second EV. And it’s not alone. Ford has scrapped several all-electric models, while Nissan pulled the plug on the 2026 Ariya. Acura just ended production of the ZDX and Stellantis has abandoned the all-electric Ram REV. Those are among a growing list of planned EVs that no longer will make it into production — or will be substantially delayed. Here are some of the others.