Category Archives: shows and events

AAA – Independence Weekend Travel Forecast Flat

AAA projects 61.4 million people will travel by car over July 4th week, nearly the same number as last year when 61.3 million travelers took road trips. 85% of Americans traveling for Independence Day are expected to drive to their destinations, despite gas prices reaching four-year highs. Last year, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.15. This year, prices are higher but remain lower than 2022, when the national average was $4.80 on Independence Day. Despite higher gas prices, filling up the tank during a road trip is still cheaper than purchasing flights for many travelers, especially for families with kids. Continue reading

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Carry Over Pricing Planned on the 2027 Subara Solterra

Subaru of America* (Subaru Corp. NASDAQ: FUJHF) this week said that pricing for the new 2027 Subaru Solterra EV starts at $38,495 MSRP,** the same as the outgoing model. The 2027 Subaru Solterra EV arrives at retailers nationwide this fall. However, a lot can happen given the whims, wars and tariffs of the Trump mis-administration. The 2027 Subaru Solterra EV is assembled in Gunma, Japan. We will see if the announced pricing and model lineup hold.

“The 2027 Subaru Solterra EV continues with the same lineup as the 2026 model year: Premium, Limited, Limited XT, and Touring XT. Subaru Solterra XT models (Limited XT and Touring XT) carry over their upgraded dual-motor setup, compared to the rest of the lineup, producing 338 horsepower and supplying a zero-to-60-mph elapsed time of less than 5 seconds. Solterra Premium and Limited models are powered by dual electric motors with an output of 233 horsepower,” Subaru said in a release. Continue reading

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First Look – 2027 Porsche Taycan EV. Values Crisis?

Porsche (P911.DE) said yesterday that it is enhancing the driving experience of all Taycan models. Some of the changes arise from what AutoInformed thinks is an identity crisis caused by long-held Porsche technology and marketing values facing new-age electronics and … Continue reading

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June 2026 Light Vehicle Production Forecast So-So

S&P Global Mobility’s May forecast released today noted that Geopolitical risk around the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz keeps oil risks elevated, with “higher for longer” pricing still a base case and possible shipping/logistics hiccups. The biggest shift is a more constrained outlook for China light-vehicle demand, translating into lower sales and production. Continue reading

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Electrify America Opens Another Hyper-Fast Charging Station

“This large-format station showcases the next evolution of charging infrastructure, combining high-power charging with integrated battery energy storage to deliver reliable capacity at scale,” said Rob Barrosa, Electrify America President and CEO. “By incorporating advanced storage technology, we’re able to bring Hyper-Fast charging to locations that have traditionally been difficult to serve, while making it easy for customers to integrate charging into their daily routines in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara.” Continue reading

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UAW Local 2093 Members Ratify New American Axle Contract

“Not only did they take care of the legacy people that were here and made the tough decisions back in 2008 to keep the place open, they took care of the people working there today,” said UAW Region 1D Director Steve Dawes. “They also took care of all the future generations that will come to work here in Three Rivers, Michigan, at American Axle.”

Over the ten-day strike, UAW Local 2093 members attracted the interest and support of local community and political allies from across the state, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, State Senator Sean McCann, Three Rivers Mayor Angel Johnston, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, candidate for Michigan Attorney General Eli Savit, among others. Continue reading

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Mixed Results on Trump Auto Tariff, Policy Scorecards

Plante Moran shared its North American Production Outlook 2026 – 2033 forecast with the Society of Automotive Analysts this week. It is investigating at the mid-2026 point how electrification continues to influence auto industry direction as the year unfolds. The estimable mega-consulting firm that deals in audit, tax, consulting, and wealth management globally has a significant advisory presence in the auto industry.  It says changes are coming later this decade and into the early 2030s. 

“The North American production volume outlook for growth remains, but we’re seeing some geographic shifts, mostly to the US. And amount of this growth will be encountered in the later years of our projections,” said Dan Lee, principal at the Southfield, MI office. And that’s largely due to the delays in EV adoption that we’ve seen whether that’s planned to be paused or not.” Continue reading

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Striking UAW Reaches Tentative Agreement at American Axle

After walking out on strike at midnight on June 1, UAW Local 2093 members at American Axle/Dauch Corporation have reached a tentative agreement with the company, the UAW said last night. The as yet unratified contract gets the workers’ “topline demand” of $30 per hour by 2030, a more than 36% increase to the top wage rate over four years. The UAW claimed there are other “historic gains in a record contract” at the Tier 1 parts supplier to GM.

“Tonight, after 10 days on strike, I am proud to announce that UAW Local 2093 has reached a tentative agreement at American Axle,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “And tonight, after 18 years of sacrifice, these workers are finally winning back a big chunk of what was taken from them.” Continue reading

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Harley‑Davidson On-Shoring Motorcycle Production

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) said this week that it is bringing production of the Revolution® Max platform for North America back to the United States as part of the Company’s so-called Back to the Bricks strategy. [The venerable company has been clobbered by Trump Administration economic policies – AutoCrat.]. The move returns machining, powertrain assembly, painting, and final vehicle assembly work back to Harley-Davidson facilities in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with union jobs. The motorcycles are Pan America, Sportster® S, and Nightster models. The production transition is expected to be completed ahead of the start of Model Year 2028 production in 2027. Harley-Davidson expects to manufacture more than 100,000 motorcycles out of the Company’s York, Pennsylvania facility in 2027. Continue reading

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Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri Speaking on Decisions That Will Shape the Next Decade of Automotive Manufacturing

“There is no single future. We are no longer moving towards one predictable outcome. We are navigating in multiple plausible futures or paths at a time, and you see that in the different adoption curves. Across regions, you see different investment logic across companies and obviously different policy priorities by margin. Electrification is a good example. The direction is clear for the long term. But the pace and the path are not uniform, and that creates fragmentation. Product mix evolves differently by region. We are seeing that investment timing varies. Industrial policies influence footprint decisions in real time.

“Historically, success came from getting the forecast right. Today’s success comes from staying effective when the forecast is wrong. So the shift is pretty fundamental from optimizing for one expected future to building systems that can perform across several realities. So that’s a different capability and increasingly a competitive one,” said Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri. Continue reading

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FuelFest – 2027 Toyota GR86 Sports Car Debuts

“Track testing played a key role in shaping these updates, with every lap helping engineers further refine the vehicle’s response and feel. To improve control, engineers refined the relationship between accelerator input and torque delivery to help create a smoother, more linear response. They also widened the chamfer of the shifter interlock between 4th and 5th gear by approximately 0.02 inches to help deliver a smoother shift feel,” Toyota said. Continue reading

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UAW Members at American Axle’s Three Rivers Plant on Strike

“After the company now known as Dauch Corporation failed to offer a fair deal after weeks of negotiations, nearly 1000 UAW Local 2093 members walked out on strike in Three Rivers, MI starting Monday 1 June at 12:01 am. Mass picket lines started at 6:00 am,” the UAW said. Continue reading

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Milestones – Volkswagen Chattanooga at 15 Years

Volkswagen Group of America’s Chattanooga Plant is celebrating 15 years since its grand opening in May 2011 (VOW3.DE or OTC VOW3.DE). Volkswagen Chattanooga has assembled more than 1.85 million vehicles, invested $4.3 billion in its operations, and now employs more than 4,000 team members. Today, the plant is home to the Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport. The models together composed about 30% of Volkswagen’s U.S. sales in 2025. The plant is also noteworthy as becoming UAW organized despite VW’s long opposition to a union in North America. Tennessee is a Right to Work state [right to work for less? – AutoCrat] since 1947. Continue reading

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Indianapolis 500 Purse at Record $30,906,400

The purse for the 110th Indianapolis 500 totaled a record $30,906,400. First-time winner Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian earned a record-high $4.34 million. That translates to $21,700 per lap for the 200 lap race presented by Gainbridge. The announcement came at the Victory Celebration, held this year at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis on Monday night. [The Indianapolis 500 purse consists of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NTT IndyCar Series awards, plus other designated and special awards. – AutoCrat]* Continue reading

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Indianapolis 500 in 2026 – Closet Finish in 110 Years!

The final lap of wheel-to-wheel racing to take the checkered flag at the Indianapolis 500 culminated in the closest finish in the 110-year history at the Brickyard. However, it was only one of the “500” or more heart-throbbing moments that inarguably supports the claim that the 500 is the “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Felix Rosenqvist drove the high line against the concrete wall exiting Turn 4 on Lap 200 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian and powered past the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet of David Malukas to triumph by .0233 of a second. The previous closest finish in “500” history came in 1992, when Al Unser Jr. held off a charging Scott Goodyear by .043 of a second. Continue reading

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