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Durango Hellcat back, Kill-switch scare, Versa manual dies

Durango Hellcat back, Kill-switch scare, Versa manual dies

PLUS: Cherokee is back, GM $888M V8 push, BMW i4 M60 rockets

May 30, 2025

2025-05-30

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Releases & Reviews

Tested: 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Goes to Extremes (10 minute read)

Porsche’s record-hunting Taycan Turbo GT shaves up to 165 pounds (75 kg) with a Weissach pack, adds sticky P Zero Trofeo RS tires and a 900-amp inverter for 1,019 hp (760 kW). It claws to 60 mph in 1.9 s and tops 190 mph (306 km/h) while maintaining uncanny ride refinement.

2026 Dodge Durango Keeps the Hellcat Alive (3 minute read)

Dodge stretches its aging Durango to 2026, keeping the 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 Hellcat alive at 710 hp (531 kW) for 3.5-second 0–60 runs. Mainstream R/T models retain the 5.7-liter Hemi’s 360 hp (268 kW), with pricing from $51,990, plus blackout and tow-centric option packs.

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Technology, Market Data & Analysis

Amazon and Stellantis abandon project to create a digital “SmartCockpit” (1 minute read)

Stellantis and Amazon quietly shelved their 2022 plan to co-develop the STLA SmartCockpit OS after missing the 2024 launch window. Alexa-based infotainment, AI navigation and in-car payments are off the roadmap, though Stellantis still uses AWS and will supply Ram ProMaster EVs to Amazon.

Carmakers Can Just Disconnect Your ‘Connected’ Car Whenever They Feel Like It (3 minute read)

A July 21 cutoff will strip AcuraLink remote-services from every 2014–2022 Acura, including the halo NSX, as Honda discontinues support without a hardware upgrade. The move highlights ownership risks as cellular sunsets and automakers retain switch-flipping power over features buyers assumed were permanent.

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Car Culture

Dusty Alfa Romeo, BMW, & Porsches hidden inside an Abandoned Mine | Barn Find Hunter (13 minute watch)

For Hagerty’s Barn Find Hunter, host Tom Cotter explores a Depression-era Alabama coal town turned personal workshop packed with dormant treasures: a 1972 Alfa GTV, Porsche 911T, BMW 3.0 CS and a $1 Jaguar Mk II. Anecdotes of union skirmishes and machine-gun fire give the dusty haul real outlaw flavor.

Here’s How Much Damage A Police ‘Hood Slide’ Really Does To A Car (10 minute read)

An analysis shows that TV-style police hood slides are brutal in reality, gouging paint and denting a Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet after just a few clumsy leaps. Half the hood protected by XPEL film survives largely unscathed, underscoring how low-speed stunts and high-tech films can reshape classic car-culture myths.

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Miscellaneous

Xiaomi's Tesla Y rival YU7 hits showrooms in Beijing (3 minute read)

Smartphone giant Xiaomi expanded its fledgling EV lineup with the YU7 SUV, now displayed in 13 Beijing stores ahead of July orders. Analysts expect a 230,000–330,000 yuan ($31,989–$45,898) sticker to challenge Tesla’s Model Y, with projections of 100,000 deliveries this year despite ongoing crash-investigation headwinds.

Report: Nissan Stops Production of the Manual-Transmission Versa (4 minute read)

Nissan quietly ended production of the five-speed Versa S, the last new sub-$20,000 car and one of few budget manuals in the U.S. Fewer than 5 percent of buyers chose it, and a 25 percent import tariff eroded margins, nudging base prices up to roughly $20,130.

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Quick Links

2026 Dodge Charger Daytona EV Sedan First Look: Now With 4 Doors (6 minute read)

Packing dual motors for 670 hp (500 kW) and 627 lb-ft (850 Nm), the 100.5-kWh Charger EV sedan promises 241 miles (388 km) range, 3.3-second launches and, with its now-optional Track Package, a lower starting price.

The new 593bhp BMW i4 M60 xDrive will do 0-62mph in 3.7s (1 minute read)

BMW’s new i4 M60 xDrive ups output to 593 hp (442 kW) for a 3.7-second sprint, while silicon-carbide tweaks add 14 miles (23 km) to entry models, reaching 316 miles (509 km) and 377 miles (607 km) respectively.

This Unknown Supercar Just Broke a Top Gear Lap Record (2 minute read)

Czech-built Praga Bohema’s 700 hp (522 kW) twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-6, 2,300 lb (1,043 kg) curb weight and 1,984 lb (900 kg) of downforce let ex-Stig Ben Collins lap Top Gear’s track in 1:09.8, eclipsing every pure-ICE rival.

The Jeep Cherokee Is Back (2 minute read)

Riding on Stellantis’ STLA Large platform, the 2026 Cherokee will offer hybrid, gasoline and full-EV variants—potentially including a 510 hp (380 kW) twin-turbo “Hurricane”—and targets U.S. showrooms in 2026 between Compass and Grand Cherokee.

General Motors is investing $888m in a factory to build its sixth-gen V8 engine (2 minute read)

GM’s record $888 million upgrade at Tonawanda will build a sixth-gen small-block V8 for Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe and Corvette, promising stronger output, improved fuel burn and cleaner emissions through revamped combustion and thermal management.

Porsche Teases the 963 RSP, a Roadgoing Endurance Racer (3 minute read)

Porsche’s handcrafted one-off 963 RSP—expected to debut before the June 14 Le Mans start—converts its hybrid twin-turbo V-8 LMDh racer into a street-legal special, complete with real crest and a nod to Roger Penske.

Study: 46% Say Tariffs Could Push Them Into Car Subscription (2 minute read)

In an Extreme Terrain survey of 1,005 U.S. shoppers, 46 percent said looming import tariffs could nudge them toward car-subscription plans—jumping to 56 percent if insurance and maintenance are bundled—yet most won’t pay above today’s $739 average payment.

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