Nearly two months ago, Polestar announced that it’s been banned from selling new cars in America from the 2027 model year onwards. This news came shortly after Volvo was granted an exemption under the ICTS Connected Vehicles Rule, and it came as a bit of a shock. Polestar makes cars in America; why pull the rug out from under the brand? Understandably, this has left some dealers unhappy. The first reported lawsuit has officially rolled in, and it’s looking like it’s going to be a messy one.
Meanwhile, Lincoln has an end date for the American-spec made-in-China Nautilus, we might now know when Porsche Taycan production wraps up, and the Rivian R1S gets a welcome addition. All this in The Morning Dump.
More Problems For Polestar
If anything was certain following Polestar being banned in America, it’s that dealers were going to be furious. As Automotive News reports, one New Jersey Polestar franchise holder, Prestige Imports, has filed suit against the brand, claiming the lack of new 2027 model-year cars to sell is a violation of New Jersey’s Franchise Practices Act.
The suit follows Polestar’s June 25 announcement that the Commerce Department had denied its request for authorization to sell 2027 models and beyond.
Two weeks later, according to the complaint, Polestar sent Prestige a formal “force majeure” letter declaring the restriction outside its control.
Prestige argued the letter constitutes a constructive termination of its franchise. It says the move is unlawful because Polestar failed to provide the required 60-day notice and offered no “good cause.”
Is being banned by the United States government not a valid reason for not sending dealerships 2027 models? As things stand, even if 2027 model-year Polestar vehicles made it to America, they couldn’t legally be sold by dealers anyway. You can blame the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for that roadblock. It’s worth noting that a significant part of this lawsuit hinges on statements made by former car dealer, current U.S. Senator, and person who “shredded documents as he faced a lawsuit accusing him of wage theft“, Bernie Moreno.
“Polestar was screwed by Polestar. It wasn’t screwed by the U.S. government,” Moreno, an Ohio Republican, told CBT News in July.
“Volvo was given a list of items that they needed to follow in order to comply,” he said. “It was a very exhaustive and tough list that Volvo had to follow. Volvo chose to follow it.”
Polestar, on the other hand, used the restrictions as “a convenient excuse” after losing $30,000 to $35,000 on each vehicle sold in the U.S., the senator said.
“By blaming the Department of Commerce, they think they can bypass lawsuits from dealers and call it a force majeure clause,” Moreno said. “That’s obviously just a scam on dealers.”
There are a couple of things to note here. Firstly, that “list” is completely opaque. There’s no public transparency of the federal government’s demands on Polestar in order to keep vehicles flowing, so at this point, it’s one party’s word against another’s. Generally, that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny without supporting evidence, so something substantial will likely need to come to light during discovery in order to support Moreno’s claims.
Secondly, the allegation of the BIS ban being a convenient exit ramp doesn’t make an enormous deal of sense given how Polestar’s carrying on in Canada, and Canadian-spec cars are far closer to U.S.-spec cars than European-spec cars. Canadian cars require U.S.-style side markers, standard backup cameras, and DOT lighting just like American cars, and even efficiency testing’s equivalent across the two markets. Many Canadian-spec cars are so similar to American-spec cars that they even come stamped saying they meet FMVSS and EPA requirements and can be imported well before they turn 25 years of age. Canada is a tiny market compared to the United States, so it only makes sense for a manufacturer to spread out some of the costs of homologation across both markets if feasible.
While much of this case is yet to unfold, it reads as a huge deterrent to car brands looking to enter America. Depending on corporate ownership, marques could themselves be locked into a franchising model, banned seemingly arbitrarily from the market, and then subject to civil suits from angry franchise-holders. Now that it’s already happened once, why would anyone sane voluntarily sign up for that?
Lincoln Up
Speaking of Chinese-built cars, Lincoln has a sunset date for the current Chinese-built U.S.-market Nautilus midsize crossover. You know, the two-row one that’s bigger than an Escape and comes with a pillar-to-pillar screen setup. As Bloomberg reports:
Ford Motor Co. will stop importing the one model it ships into the US from China, with the automaker shifting production of Lincoln sport utility vehicles to its home market.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said Wednesday it will expand Lincoln output in the US beginning in 2030. It has imported the Lincoln Nautilus SUV from China since 2024.
Talk about a 180-degree turn. The previous-generation Nautilus was built in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, alongside the Ford Edge. However, Oakville Assembly’s gone through some twists and turns in recent history. Initially, it was set to be retooled for a forthcoming large electric SUV that never really materialized. Since then, it’s actually been reworked for truck production, with Super Duty trucks set to roll off the line later this year. This all meant that the comparatively lower-volume Nautilus needed to be sourced from somewhere, and that somewhere is Hangzhou for now.
Granted, this reported end-of-decade shift back to American production likely lines up with the end of the current Nautilus’ model cycle, which kicked off for the 2024 model year. Will it be replaced by something of roughly similar size? Almost certainly, but all signs point to the next U.S.-built midsize Lincoln SUV looking markedly different from the current Nautilus.
Taycan Away
The quickest Porsche you can buy right now runs on batteries, and it’s amazing. The Taycan Turbo GT is absolutely mind-bending, and more affordable Taycan variants maintain a great deal of its cornering composure. However, with the model having received a major update in 2024, its days are allegedly numbered. Germany’s Wirtschaftswoche newspaper reports that Porsche is ending Taycan production by 2030. As translated by Google:
Because electric cars are selling even worse at Porsche than combustion engine vehicles, Leiters is putting an end to the “Swabian Tesla” project. He is selling the business of Croatian electric car pioneer Mate Rimac and trying to divest Porsche’s stake in the Californian AI company Applied Intuition. According to insiders, the flagship electric vehicle, the Taycan, is to be discontinued in 2030. A corresponding agreement with the works council simply needs to be put in writing. Porsche declined to comment, but confirmed that Taycan variants are to be dropped.
While no successor’s announced at this time, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Porsche just chooses to focus on other electric models. Last year, only 16,339 Taycans were delivered globally. That didn’t even beat the 718 sports car, which was partially discontinued in Europe in 2024 due to GSR2 regulations and then completely phased out of production in October. Still, if you want to buy a mind-bogglingly quick electric German sedan, you have a bit of time.
Crunch, Picard, Morgan
It’s common for automakers to make minor changes to a car when a new model year rolls around, and now that the Rivian R2 is out, that’s exactly what’s happening to the R1S and R1T for 2027. Kicking things off, you can finally get a Rivian R1S with one of the most desired features in the three-row SUV world: second-row captain’s chairs. That ought to stop the kids from fighting. These new thrones come with individual armrests, heating, and deployable cup holders, although pricing varies based on trim and upholstery. You could be looking at as little as $1,500 or as much as $4,500.
Otherwise, the R1T gets a new 20-inch wheel-and-tire package, and trim levels have been simplified to “Premium” for dual-motor models, “Performance” for tri-motor models, and “Quad” for quad-motor models. That’s about it as far as rolling changes go, expect the R1T to start at $81,885 for the R1T and the R1S at $85,885.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
The beauty of digital crate-digging is that sometimes you find something that’s slid completely under the radar, yet scratches an itch perfectly. This is “Council Estates” by kaiork3y, and it probably ought to have more than 94 views on YouTube. Airy soundscapes meet a smooth flow, creating something sonically compelling.
The Big Question:
With Polestar set to exit America’s new car market, have you ever bought a car from a brand that doesn’t exist in America anymore? How was it?
Top graphic image: Polestar
I had a couple of Peugeots and a Saab (not at the same time), but I sold all three prior to their parent companies shutting down US operations
Polestar has already jumped through hoops to comply with the US. Polestar 3 made in SC, and they moved 4 production to South Korea. We were only 6% of their market, so how much re-engineering should we expect them to do to accommodate that when the vehicles are unfortunately not that popular here?
I just got a 4 on firesale, and it is an extremely nice EV. Real shame they didnt take hold here and are leaving the market.
1971 AMC Hornet Sportabout, bought new and eventually handed down to me. It was a useful thing and didn’t give any trouble except the water pump towards the end of my ownership. It was even in this lime gold metallic color.
https://live.staticflickr.com/6208/6125229731_a6048d668b_z.jpg
I enjoyed it so much that when I finally bought a car again many years later, I bought a 5 door hatch.
I also owned a Fiat 128SL. The car was an absolute blast, but took no time to rust away. That’s when I got the Hornet.
https://www.mad4wheels.com/img/free-car-images/mobile/6744/fiat-128-coupe-sl-1971-508412.jpg
Karma. Cars with no rear windows are asshole cars.
I mostly agree, but doesn’t the lack of rear window mean they are missing a hole in the ass of the car?
Wasn’t Polestar banned for not complying with the connected vehicle restrictions on equipment from China? Maybe Volvo bent the knee/paid the bribes and Polestar didn’t? Or maybe the ban was capricious and arbitrary, which wouldn’t be surprising.
Have you ever bought a car from a brand that doesn’t exist in America anymore? How was it?
Back in the day I had a Sunbeam (Alpine Mk V) after Sunbeam ceased to exist in North America, and a SAAB 96 V4 long before SAAB went away. Both of those count, I suppose. The Alpine was a critical lifestyle choice in high school since the 12 year old Volvo PV544 I was driving wasn’t a very effective chick magnet. The SAAB – it just did what it needed to do in a very effective manner…
Well there are several Mercurys in the family. One was purchased after they ceased to exist. Then there are the Internationals. Yes Navistar still exists but the Light Line vehicles like I own were discontinued decades ago, so I’d say that counts. Now the Scouts themselves is an interesting question. VW says they are going to reintroduce vehicles under the Scout brand, while what I have were models.
Merkur Scorpio, Triumph TR-6 and 7, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Pontiac, Mini – the OG UK one.
IDK about Polestar. I liked the Volvo 850 I owned, excepting the seats.
Saw my first Rivian today, quite nice.
Porsche don’t care, actually like the Nautilus.
Not in America, the brand still exists, but I have an old 2006 Mazda2 which is the facelifted one. For reasons unknown, the headlights are maddeningly expensive. Pre-facelift? $250ea, multiple options. Post facelift? $650ea, OEM only.
I have a 2020 Buick Regal Tourx aka Opel Insignia Estate.
Built in Russelheim Germany, GM sold Opel to Stellantis. So 2020 killed the car.
Thankfully, a “world.” Car, so consumable parts are not a big issue yet.
Body panels are becoming scarce.
I have a Saab. It’s great.
As I understand it, Volvo’s software engineering and management are run predominately out of Sweden, with Geely acting as a fairly hands off majority shareholder because Volvo is independently profitable from its operations in NA and Europe and can afford to do its engineering there.
As that story goes, when Volvo and Polestar separated, Polestar’s engineering really reverted back to its chinese ownership, and its money-losing existence started to be heavily subsidized by Geely’s billionaire owner who exerts much more direct operational control. So supposedly the older Polestar 2 is all Volvo, but the newer post-split models – while they still share tons of Volvo hardware and an infotainment front-end because of their initial shared development (so the technology looks the same), the back end software development has become more and more chinese.
I’m not sure that any of this really makes Volvo technically more compliant with the “ownership” portion of the law than Polestar, but I kind of understand how they could make an argument for being treated differently. If the chinese wanted to exert control over Volvo vehicles or spy on their owners through connected software they would need to sneak it by their European and North American software development teams. Or so is the argument.
Senator Moreno of Ohio, the one who won’t defend his own daughter against her alleged abuser of an ex-husband, who is a sitting Congressman from Ohio from the same political party, who is under investigation for potentially breaking the Senator’s two year old granddaughter’s collarbone among other domestic violence accusations? That Senator? Yeah, don’t take anything he says seriously. He’s showing how seriously he should be taken by not even defending his own daughter when it’s politically inconvenient to do so. Ick. Ick. Ick!
As of the beginning of this month that is no longer the case, still not a great guy by any means. Sen. Bernie Moreno calls on Rep. Max Miller to resign over abuse claims | Fox News
Good. Glad the Senator grew a spine on this issue.
TBQ : I still have a Scion, and I’ve got two kids arguing over who gets to take it away from me.
They don’t realize I’m never letting go of my FR-S.
Tell them they can go buy a beaten-up tC and kick rocks. At least they wouldn’t have to deal with boxer head gasket woes.
I drove a 2005 Saab 9-2x Aero that every Subaru dealership I ever asked about it turned away, and all dealer support from Saab when they went tits up in 2011.
Had the car through 2017, supported only by RockAuto and eBay.
TBQ: I recently bought a 1980 Fiat Spider, and Fiat doesn’t exist in the US anymore, right? It’s been a rough experience because every time I go to fix something I find a cascade of other things that need to be fixed. Since there’s no dealer support, I have to source all the parts from specialty importers and prices can be high, if you can even find what you’re looking for. Free shipping? Hah!
Surprisingly, FIAT does still exist in the US.
I had to check myself, and yes – there are two electric models for 2026; the 500e (curiously $5200 more than last year), and the Topolino golf cart thing.
So yeah, maybe you were right…
Yeah, I guess my joke didn’t really land.
“1980 Fiat Spider”
Fix It Yourself Tony
Exactly! The nice thing is it’s about as simple as it gets. With tools and the service manual, you can fix pretty much anything, if you can source the parts you need.
You probably don’t need a manual either. Just a short list of torques and timings. The rest can be done by staring at it for a bit.
The manual and You-tube have helped me a lot, but I had little wrenching experience prior to buying this car.
I’ve always lusted after a Taycan. I think they’re cool and they proved that an EV other than the Model S could be sexy during a time when that was very much in doubt. They’re also apparently quite good dynamically, although I’ve never driven one. I have driven a Panamera though and I enjoyed it very much.
That being said between the lousy range and prohibitive cost of ownership I understand why Porsche wants to wash their hands of the project. The forums are absolutely overflowing with horror stories about Taycan ownership and unlike other Porsches they depreciate massively. I’d imagine most are leased, but anyone who bought one for $150,000 or whatever has taken an absolute bath.
I assume they think the Macan and Cayenne EVs will sell better, although the Macan EV is not exactly soul stirring in the way a Frozen Blue or Frozen Berry Metallic Taycan is. My neighbor has one and it’s a totally anonymous blob…not to mention they’re obscenely expensive for what they are. The Porsche tax is being stretched to its absolute limit and the leases are hilariously bad…so hopefully the Cayenne EV is better.
The depreciation was so steep that it’s the only vehicle with less than 3 pedals I’ve bothered to get an insurance quote on in more than a decade.
The quote buried that idea. Deeply.
Oh I’ve seen certified ones for like 50 and briefly entertained the idea due to the warranty.
…until I read the forums. Holy shit. You might actually be better off rolling the dice on a used German flagship gas car, and that’s not because those are a good idea.
My Taycan CT 4S was flawless for 2 1/2 years. I did get rid of it though, after the 3rd HV Battery recall when I was told not to park or charge it inside my garage. Loved that car ‘23 was Mamba Green, had all the suspension upgrades, paid $140k for it, sold it for $100k so not as bad as it could have been. One thing to note on the forums, about half of us had zero issues, the other half had concerning to major issues.
I’m also a huge fan of the Taycan, particularly the CT. But for the price (even used) I want something that isn’t orphaned by its own manufacturer.
Maybe some day, if money loses meaning 😉
““Polestar was screwed by Polestar. It wasn’t screwed by the U.S. government,” Moreno, an Ohio Republican”
LIAR. Moreno is one giant fucking FULL OF SHIT LIAR.
It’s him and his deplorable fellow Republicans that Polestar and its dealers should be suing.
“With Polestar set to exit America’s new car market, have you ever bought a car from a brand that doesn’t exist in America anymore?”
Yes… I once owned a Suzuki Aerio. And I also once owned a Saab 9-3.
The capitalist elite thought that the “end of history” not only meant that all future competitions between nations would be purely economic but that only Western nations would compete successfully. Things didn’t turn out that way and now they’re pissed about it.
Fukuyama has a LOT to answer for.
That’s why we need to ban certain words or create new ones. Those “capitalist elites” didn’t really rely on capitalism. They relied on government’s thumb on the scale to create profit that in the end hollowed out American industry. “Capitalism” fails the country because it’s not true capitalism.
They bought out the correct government officials, so that they could remove as many impediments to profit as possible, and decided to steal some of everyone else’s money through ‘grants’ and ‘loans’ while they were at it. Sounds pretty capitalist to me.
Neo-Capitalism? Capitalism is simple, private ownership of the means of production and the market sets prices. So the opposite of your description. I mean you’re describing how “business” works, but it’s not capitalism.
That’s the simple, happy, uplifting definition of it that neoliberals like to spout, and pretend that the US in its current state is some sort of aberration – ‘It’s not capitalism anymore, it’s corporatism!’ No. We’re just getting towards the logical end of capitalism – a few people have all of the capital, and they control everything – the markets, the news, the governments, the labor.
As we learned a century ago, the fairytale of ‘true capitalism’ requires extremely strong boundaries set by an entity with a lot of power – typically, the government. But, as we’ve learned in the ensuing 100 years, the government can be corrupted – quite easily – if you have enough capital. The current hell that we’re in is inextricably tied to capitalism. There’s no separating it, it is the root cause of the shit we’re in. Playing silly little word games is just a waste of time.
And they LOVE quoting Ayn Rand and boast how much of a creator they are.
Little did they realize Rand hated these crony capitalists more than she hated “takers.”
Hot Take: Anyone who quotes Rand after high school isn’t to be trusted.
I had a Suzuki Grand Vitara for a bit, while it was still under warranty. It had a recall or two. I ended up taking it to a place that stopped selling new cars but had been a Suzuki dealer. They did a decent job didn’t try to sell anything. I think the other options were a Kia or a Mitsubishi dealer that used to have a franchise. Might have been a Chevy dealer doing it too. Other then that it was fine. I have a Samurai that was sort of punted to me.
I took a Saturn Vue in for the ignition switch recall. To basically a brand new Chevy dealer because the two I had dealt with had closed to be developed. Not that I had any confidence in either. But it was a fight and they tried to charge a diagnosis fee. When I showed them they went oh. Didn’t apologize just glazed over the massive incompetence. They had a Saturn blank and everything. Just pure laziness. I ended up reporting them to the local GM training center and the state ag. I’m sure they were charging people and not fixing their cars for an actual serious recall.
My 2007 Saturn Aura’s antenna/GPS puck died (it was a combo unit) under warranty, and at the time there was still an operating Saturn dealer in my area while the division was being wound down. The service tech told me that Chevy dealers were not accepting Saturns for service while Saturn was still technically operating — even though the Aura and Malibu were built on the same line at Kansas City Assembly and shared about 95% of parts.
Even more unbelievable, the antenna part was the same on both cars, but since each had a different part number, a Chevy dealer would not let anyone replace a failed Saturn part with a Chevy counterpart.
But like I said, I did have a Saturn dealer to go to, so happy ending all around, right? Well, one step in the replacement process was that the part had to be flashed with a software update from GM. And right when the tech was in the process of doing that, there was a power outage that took out several blocks including the dealership. It was out for at least an hour, and when it finally came back on, the tech said that the part was basically fried — it wouldn’t accept another flash because the previous one had failed in the middle of the process.
And then the tech told me that it had been the last part of its kind in their inventory, and he wasn’t seeing any more in the Saturn database for the western US. At that point I gave up and made it the next dealer’s problem when I traded that car in a year later.
I’ve seen Saturns and Pontiacs get “GM” stamped keys more recently sort of like the old days. This was not long after the recall maybe 6 months to a year but several years after Saturn shut down. They acted like they didn’t want to do warranty or recall work. But were right there listed as one of the closest places to get the recall done. And had the parts on the shelf. I that point i think the key cylinder was just a gm part. But they obviously had a box of Saturn key blanks. I bet they had Pontiac and maybe GMC too. They weren’t even busy. You can’t help stupid I guess.
I thought about taking it to a gmc Buick dealer that had also had Pontiac but the one close closed during all that too. They sold mainly Pontiac and some Buicks not many gmcs couldn’t make it work I guess. Later on one of the Chevy dealers not so far got a Buick GMC franchise. GM turned into a confusing mess with dealers closing and opening.
We just bought a P4 on Saturday, leaving our leased P2 behind.
NJ franchise laws meanns they have to offer parts and service for 5 years (supposedly).
But you know what? There’s plenty of Volvo in these cars, our local dealer is Volvo/Polestar and is phenomenal to work with. Volvo has also announced new sedan and wagon BEV’s and I find it interesting the P4 will have a wagon in short oder overseas. It’s would take ZERO effort to rebadge these as a Volvo, and move on. Even the software is the same!
I have owned several Eagle Talons, along with a few Pontiacs. the Pontiac GTO is sort of a double brand hit as its a Pontiac but its really a Holden (had the Holden sticker on the inside door jam). I do miss Holden…
I loved my GTO (bought used not long after Pontiac vanished). I loved my Eagle Talons (bought many years after Eagle was gone). Both of these had other brands in America that meant parts/knowledge was not scarce so it wasn’t a big risk.
They stopped importing Minis into Canada in the 70s, but I bought one and I love it.
Well I own a Polestar 2 so yes and well umm Firebird haha
Why is this the default name for white collar criminals
Bernie Madoff
Bernie Ebbers
Bernie Moreno
Bernie Ecclestone
You forgot the worst Bernie….
Bernie Lomax!
I bought a 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth Feb 2014 with a big discount to make room for 2014’s.
I kept it seven years, put about 140-150k miles on it, and except for some front axles and a ball joint (possibly because of the used coil overs I tried), it was flawless. Autocross, multiple 6hr trips to the Dragon, couple track days…
I only sold it to try other platforms while healthy enough and after 3-4-5 other cars the Abarth is still the most fun I’ve had.
I sorely miss mine. I had a pretty aggressive tune on it (189hp/210lb/ft. at the wheel) and flogged it pretty mercilessly and it never really gave my any issues. The guy I sold it to kept my updated on it for a few years. He put a front mount intercooler and a bigger turbo on it, shooting for 250hp. Oddly I stopped getting updates on the car shortly after that. But yeah, that car was ridiculously fun.