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Today’s Issue TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2026
Chris Harris rides along with Ferrari test chief Raffaele De Simone, who says the manual 12Cilindri was never in the original plan and fit only because the dual-clutch layout left room for a shifter. Software blocks first gear above about 43 mph. Harris calls the car much better than he expected.
The base model holds at about $31,000 and higher trims rise modestly. Power is unchanged at 187 horsepower from the 2.5-liter four-cylinder, and Mazda says more powertrain options arrive in 2027, which MotorTrend expects to mean a hybrid. Every trim but the Premium Plus gets a 12.9-inch screen with Gemini standard.
The plant in Macon, Georgia, breaks ground in 2027 and begins production in the early 2030s, building up to 200,000 SUVs a year. Reuters reports the Q7, Q8 and Q9 are planned for the site. Audi imports every US model today, and tariffs cost it about $1.4 billion in 2025.
The average new car sold for about $51,000 last month, near a record. Cox Automotive puts the average brand at an 82-day supply against a 75-day target. Toyota and Lexus sit near 40 days while Jeep, Dodge and Ram hold at least 149, where Kelley Blue Book sees the most buyer leverage.
Actor Jerry O'Connell sits down with Jay Leno to tell the story of his stolen 1979 Cadillac Seville. The first-generation Seville was Cadillac's smallest car when it arrived for 1976, priced above the DeVille and aimed at Mercedes buyers. The Jay Leno's Garage episode runs 48 minutes.
Eddie Bloom, then working at his father's Pontiac dealership in Queens, traded a Grand Prix for an unsold black 1978 Trans Am with the W72 400 V8 and a four-speed. The 220-horsepower car listed at about $7,000. He still drives it, now showing about 29,000 miles.
Automotive News reports Porsche is working on 15 one-off commissions priced from about $1.8 million to $15 million, the top one already sold. The auction record for a Porsche is the $14.08 million Le Mans 917K. Porsche's Alexander Fabig says future projects could exceed a 200% premium over the base model.
The filing describes a parked car that detects someone repeatedly peering in or a vehicle circling the lot and relocates itself to a spot it deems safer. It could also park between walls or on an incline to deter wheel theft, or back against a wall to block the tailgate.
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