One of my favorite uses of The Morning Dump is to make big predictions and, if they come true, to feign the appropriate level of modesty while also pointing out that I was correct. One of my least favorite uses of TMD is to eat crow.
A couple of years ago, I was skeptical that GM could balance a desire to keep its stock price up with all the other investments it was making. Unless the company does a surprise announcement of a new Cimarron today, it’s likely GM is going to have the best-performing major automotive stock this year.
Given how much crap GM takes for making short-term decisions that betray its own long-term hopes, it’s only fair to point out that GM made a lot of difficult moves the last couple of years that have made it, at least in the medium-term, a successful company.
Porsche? Anyone would have wanted to be Porsche just a few years ago. Now the company is on its back foot, which means there’s a lot of opportunity ahead for its new CEO. If you love cars as I do, I think you’re hoping Porsche figures it out in the coming years.
I love automotive as a topic because it’s both a part of our everyday lives, while also being this huge, ridiculous industry. To wit, I’m going to end on some great advice from an unusual source.
GM Was A Winner This Year
One of my favorite quotes on the Internet is:
The haters said we couldn’t do it. And they were correct. Honestly, great call from the haters.
I am not a GM hater. I quite like GM and agree with David that the company has the best engineers on the planet. Many of its products are among my favorites, including its big SUVs, hi-po Cadillac sedans, and affordable offerings (Envista/Trax). At the same time, I believe Bob Lutz when he lays the blame for some of the company’s lesser moments on short-sighted accounting decisions more designed to boost the stock price than to set the company up for long-term success.
It’s with this background that I mentioned, a couple of years ago, that GM CEO Mary Barra’s plan to shore up its stock price with dividends and other actions gave me a bit of agita. With all of its EV investments, Cruise AI, and everything else going on, was this really wise? Here’s what I wrote back in 2023:
The world is a complex place, and Barra deserves credit for winding her way through difficult times and restoring some faith in the company. But this is a huge step backward in my mind (and I‘m not the only one who thinks this is weird). Yes, the company’s truck and SUV business is very profitable and I also think their new EVs look very good, but if I were a GM shareholder I’d want them to invest as much as possible in hybrids and fixing their Ultium production. It’s nice that GM will be profitable this year and that the strike is only going to cost about a billion dollars, but in what universe does GM not need every cent to survive a future with Chinese automakers expanding in Mexico and Tesla showing no signs of slowing down?
GM did eventually fix its Ultium production issues, and China and Tesla seem like less of an immediate threat to a company that’s extremely focused on the United States. Would I have taken some of that money and invested it in hybrids? Yeah, 100%, and I’m sure with hindsight that GM execs might have done that as well.
Even in 2024, I was curious if GM could maintain both its climbing share price and everything else, writing:
The broad view is that 2025 may be a good year for sales if something weird doesn’t happen, but it’ll probably be tight for automaker profits. I don’t personally think GM is cooked, I think it’ll do well, but I don’t think if we fast forward another 10 months that GM will be up 80% again.
Year-to-date, GM is not up 80%, but it’s up about 59%, which is pretty damn good. Besides making profitable vehicles that people tend to like, GM has stuck with its investments in Ultium and is therefore able to–if not make a lot of money–at least not have to write down billions of dollars like Ford. Also, it’s good at cutting stuff! From absorbing its Cruise robotaxi business back into the borg to letting go of the Brightdrop dream, the General has been smart to reconsider its strategic investments. Plus, the upcoming Hyundai-GM deal will likely yield a good EV van.
How are other automakers doing? Tesla is up about 20%, although it has a crazy market cap of $1.4 trillion. Ford is up 37% YTD, while Stellantis is down 14%. Toyota is up about 11.4%, while Honda is only up about 4%. Ferrari stumbled with a nearly 11% decline, although it has a higher market cap than either Ford or Honda. BMW, impressively, is up nearly 37%, which is ahead of the 30% rise for Mercedes. Just as a fun point of comparison, Bitcoin is down 5.2%.
Could things go wrong next year? Absolutely. GM has been too slow on hybrids in North America, and it’ll need to close that gap soon. Would I make a bet on GM failing? I would not. By betting on herself, CEO Mary Barra took home roughly $73 million, according to CNBC. Not bad.
What Does The Next Porsche Look Like?
No company has great years every year. GM, for instance, declared bankruptcy in the not-too-distant past. Porsche has had a mostly good 21st century, although an over-investment in electric cars and an underestimation of China have combined to tank the company’s profits.
Current VW CEO/Porsche CEO Oliver Blume is about to shed his Porsche role and hand it to ex-Porsche engineer/McLaren CEO Michael Leiters–who kind of looks like a Statham brother who went to business school instead of joining the SAS.
Automotive News Europe has a long read on what Porsche is going to have to do to get out of the runoff and back onto the straight. Besides the product pivots, there will eventually have to be some restructuring:
To restore stable double-digit margins with lower volumes, Porsche will need to cut costs by several billion euros over the coming years.
Negotiations over what is known as “Structure Package II” have already begun. An initial list of potential measures was presented to the works council and subsequently leaked. Proposals include cutting bonuses and long-service awards, reducing white-collar staff, tightening home-office rules and eliminating additional rest breaks on the assembly line.
The list also mentions reducing the number of apprentices and trimming employer contributions to pension plans.
Hear me out: A new 944.
Chinese Sales Continue To Rise In Europe
While Europe has levied tariffs against Chinese automakers, those levies were not as insurmountable as the ones from the United States. To wit, China likely grew a lot in Europe this quarter, according to analysis provided to Bloomberg:
Chinese carmakers captured a record 12.8% of Europe’s electric-vehicle market in November, building on gains made this year despite the cost of European Union tariffs.
In the fast-growing hybrid-car categories, Chinese brands resumed their rise, surpassing 13% across the EU, EFTA countries and the UK, according to researcher Dataforce.
One of the big winners has been the BYD Seal U, which is a PHEV that costs about €9,000 (or $10,500) less than the comparable Volkswagen Tiguan, as Automotive News Europe reports from the same data:
The two SUVs have been in a tight race all year to be Europe’s No. 1-selling PHEV, with the Tiguan behind the Seal U by 2,363 sales after 11 months, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce.
When comparing the SUVs, the compact-sized Tiguan has an electric-only range of up to 126 km (78 miles) while the midsize Seal U’s range is between 70 km and 98 km, according to WLTP tests.
The Tiguan’s lithium-ion battery is 25.7 kilowatt hours while the Seal U’s lithium iron phosphate battery is 18.3 kWh. But the combined power of the base version of the Seal U is slightly ahead of a comparable Tiguan, 160 kW (215 hp) vs. 150 kW (204 hp).
While the Tiguan might better it in many ways, it’s smaller and more expensive, which isn’t a great recipe for sales.
Let’s All Take Some Advice From Carlos Ghosn
It may not have ended well for ex-Nissan Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn, but the longtime auto exec was quite successful as a manager right up to the point that his subordinates had him arrested and he had to flee the country in a crate.
In an interesting shift, Ghosn has become a LinkedIn guru, dispensing advice like:
As we close 2025, remember: Performance Above All.
In a world that changes faster than most companies can adapt, one truth remains constant. The companies that hashtag#win execute relentlessly while others strategize endlessly. Every decision, every initiative, every day should be measured against one criterion: does it drive hashtag#performance?
Ghosn is a hashtag guy! Based on this ANE article, it seems to be working out just fine for him:
“I had a life full of events. There are a lot of things that I can share with the public,” Ghosn said in a December 11 online interview from Lebanon. He remains grounded in his ancestral homeland by an Interpol Red Notice seeking his return to Japan to stand trial on financial misconduct charges he denies.
“It’s a win-win situation, because I’m sharing my own life experience, not only limited to Lebanon, but globally, and from the other side, I’m receiving a lot of solicitation, requests.”
I put this out there on LinkedIn, but if anyone knows Ghosn, I think he’d be a great columnist. Right?
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s the incredible Chuck Mangione with “Feels So Good” live from 1979.
The Big Question
Which voices would you like to hear on The Autopian in 2026? Anyone you’d like to hear more of next year?
Top photo: GM
I for one would certainly read Ghosn from an industry insights perspective. But I don’t like the idea of paying someone who is on an Interpol Red notice. I do wonder how comfortable that box was though. Did he have snacks? Was there a tablet in there? What about a urinal? How long was he in there? Has this not been made a movie yet with brad pitt and the oceans 17 team?
I love the idea that someone could have a long career with all sorts of insight gained, yet still the only thing anyone cares about is “what was it like in that box????”.
To be honest, it’s similar to what Don Cheadle has to deal with every day.
He can be in the most amazing movies and TV shows but all anyone will ask is his interview with Mark Ruffalo for Avengers Infinity War.
I’d like to watch Matt’s disappointment live, every time Tesla or Musk has something good happen to it.
In all seriousness though, I want to see you guys start calling out OEM’s for not making changes to cars people want. I want see you guys ask uncomfortable questions to people in charge, not just press-release level stuff, I know there is a line where you would not get any more interviews, but I find some of the stuff put out this year is really just an ad. I want to know how car companies are going to stop adding massive amounts of weight to cars. I want to know the math on how that is destroying roads faster. I want to see articles about affordable cars, not fancy ones (you guys do good with this I think).
I do NOT want to read a single article about a record ‘ring time. I don’t want to hear 0-60 times and all this other meaningless crap companies want to brag about, but have no real meaning to a regular driver of the car.
TLDR: I want hard hitting, scrappy and real, car journalism. Not just press releases.
edit: I also feel like there is some sort of “don’t talk about the slate” going on, it seems to be an ideal car for folks here, but all it gets is hate and silence! You can update us on all sorts of crap, but nothing from Slate!
Greg, I can’t disagree. But can we agree that capitalism wins and that the sites current focus is on survival?
The automakers don’t give a hoot about enthusiasts but for toyota maybe? And thats just because they nailed hybrids YEARS ago.
We’ve covered the Slate quite extensively, and now we’re in that period between announcement and release, where there’s not much to report while they’re developing the truck.
i’d be interested to know how you think weight can be taken out of cars – OEMs don’t fill what little empty space there is with lead you know.
Slate reminds me of The Great Pumpkin.
Maybe the question is, what is the lightest vehicle ever produced that can transport 4 adults comfortable and is also considered safe at our current standards? Appeasing safety standards is difficult while also reducing weight. However, the fact 40,000 plus people still die every year in cars begs that question if devoting resources to “safer” vehicles is actually addressing the issue of unnecessary deaths.
The slate deserves to be a hybrid now. Hybrid pickups and motorcycles for all!
In the US the issue is driving standards.
It’s not about how light can cars be made, it’s what refinement and purchase price customers will accept for lighter vehicles. The reality is most new cars are now economical enough – so reducing weight is a case of diminishing returns because there will be refinement compromises and an increase in purchase price because more exotic materials and construction process will need to be used.
I think you are generally correct – but a 5,390 pound M5 is a bit ridiculous! BMWs have gotten fat, even though they have remove all the heavy buttons and knobs 😉
Completely agree on the driving standards as the issue. However, the idea of economical enough. Are we talking fuel economy? Or economically viable from a business perspective? Its always easy to point to the bean counters as the business issue. I think car ownership is becoming less economically viable due to insane insurance costs for new vehicles.
What happened to Government Motors? Shouldn’t they be the ones producing a new age model T?
Fuel economy.
Will engine development stall? With all of the “electric cars only in 20xx” going away, will we see more efficiency increases in ICE technology?
As long as they remain viable for the market I don’t think so. There’s always gains to be made even if they’re increasingly marginal.
I’d read a super car review … From Fancy Kristen.
There is no Fancy Kristen. Only Fancy Adrian.
I’d read that too!
“globally, and from the other side, I’m receiving a lot of solicitation, requests.”
Yeah Gohsen we all get those emails. Spoiler alert: The Nigerian banker/prince/widow is a lie, there are no hot, horny local women who want to date you and those pills do nothing for your junk.
I’d love more technical articles, though I know that they are a lto of work, and probably not the highest-trafficked articles, so I’m a realist on that.
I’ve mentioned this in another comment, but I also feel there are too many Editor notes, esp from David. Many times they are just a little extra info sure, but too many times they feel like a small screed and don’t need to be interjected in the article.
Otherwise hey, another great year in the books and I hope The Autopian can continue to grow and be sustainable! You have the best collection of voices in this space imo, and everyone really synergizes so well.
I like the little editor comments.
The editor comments are unneeded and often deflate the author.
If an editor had a comment they can put it down in the comments like the rest of us plebs.
If the editor thinks the author is out to lunch and needs correcting them why are they publishing it?
I’m getting PTSD from this comment…..
There was nothing you said in the original version of that article that needed editing.
That was made clear to me by the appropriate person after the event, which I was satisfied with.
Good to know. That overreaction was a low point for an otherwise great site.
I’m with Jay Mcleod’s view on it. The author is writing the article, not the editor. The editor can tell them to put a bit of info in, or drop it in the comments, if they want it in there that bad. Or they could write the article themselves if it’s so important. It just feels like being interrupted from what I’m reading.
Counterpoint: I love it when DT and Torch toss a little something into the other’s pieces.
Proves why it’s so hard for site creators to know what to do! Plenty of people on either side of it. And the people that like them probably don’t love them enough to say as much (or that they want more), but people who dislike them are just more vocal?
Still love the site and the way it’s run. It might be one of those “bad with the good” things for me; as a fellow mechanical engineer, I love DT for the giant nerd that he is and his love of the technical side. So if I have to deal with too many Editor notes to get all the stuff I love, I’ll take that trade any day.
I feel the editor notes can give the articles a bit of a more ‘personal’ vs corporate feel….like some guys hanging out, one’s talking and other guy throws in his 2 cents occasionally while listening.
Now the company is on its back foot, which means there’s a lot of opportunity ahead for its new CEO.
Sure as long as that opportunity is to make an affordable flat six, MT sports car. Without that what’s the point of Porsche?
Two things.
I learned yesterday that Glen Campbell sang w The Beach Boys before going solo. And I was alive then!
He was on a LOT of songs with a wide variety of artist as a member of the legendary Wrecking Crew in LA. They were a group of incredible studio musicians that elevated many an artist’s album in the studio. In some cases, they actually played instruments in place of members of bands because they were better and more efficient at getting it on tape.
You should have articles from me on the site. It’ll drive
awaytraffic! We can talk about workplace safety! Hey, where are you all going?We’re safety third, what more do you want.
Given that the other Autopian staff were willing to entrust themselves to you after saddling you with the Rodius, I’d say personal safety doesn’t even make the top ten priorities.
Well I kinda need Beau, Jason is my twin brother and Levi is a marine so not taking my chances there. And Thomas didn’t really have anything to do with the Rodius decision. So they’re all safe. For now.
But Hardigree….
It would be interesting to see you re-design the Rodius to make it appear according to your tastes. It’s such a hideous, woeful thing to gaze upon, and my intuition suggests that because of this trait that it should appeal to you as a goth, yet it’s so damned hideous and woeful that it simply does not. It must have been a miserable driving experience as well.
I did not envy you for being forced to keep it.
Yeah I might do that for a future article. I’ve not done a redesign for a while.
Things I would like to read next year:
1. More wrenching. . .(also what happened to SWG? Have not seen anything in a while)
2. Technical Engineering articles are always good.
3. Car Reviews. . .but only affordable stuff. Base model vehicles if possible.
Also, waht is with the actual picture of Ghosn?
I think it probably can’t happen because she’s at Motortrend now, but I would love to see Kristen Lee do Fancy Kristen articles here
IMO they should be working hard to get her, I think her articles get a lot more views then a few of the others on here they’ve added. I’m sure her price is higher though too. Kristen’s attitude and tone would fit right in here. I think her and Jason could do some really great stuff contrasting each other, along with her usual articles.
*Checks motortrend*
I just did, and well…the autopian did not lose a subscriber today. TA is still King.
Speaking of, Alanis King would be a great add too, even if both of these writers were just occasional guest spots.
Alanis already does articles here. Just infrequently. IMO, she should post up her “bobs guy” yearly wrapups. They fit our type of weird.
Bobs Guy is a true poet. We are all in his shadow.
The Nietzsche of Knockers, a Hemmingway of Hooters, a Mozart of Mammary Mentions.
The Tolstoy of tits.
Same. But yea, I hadn’t looked at motortrend since they got rid of Roadkill.
She’s afraid that Matt will eat her lunch again. Buy your own food, Matt!
It’s usually Torch eating our lunches.
Figures. That’s what happens when you have to keep repairing that VW
I was thinking that too. Stef would be a good guest columnist as well.
You’ll get fancy me and fucking like it.
I have to admit that I can easily see you burning a Countach to the ground because someone dared to clad parts of the interior with 14 karat gold.
So Gauche.
I’d just have it trailered (because I wouldn’t be seen dead driving it) to Galpin Auto Sport and ask the good people there to deal with it.
I’m trying to wrap my head around idead of fancy goth. It’s a bit of an oxymoron. Something on the tune of Liberace but darker palette perhaps. All goths I know are rather scrappy fellows, even ones that have rather lot of money 😀 so hard to visualise.
I’ve got boots that cost nearly £1000, leather gloves that cost £200, all manner of expensive avant garde jackets and coats going well into hundreds of pounds. The is nothing scrappy about me.
Fancy Kristen wouldn’t be caught dead in such cheap clothing. Be fancier
David’s hot takes don’t help anything. “All EVs need a range extender” and “Cars with service intervals are unreliable” are just deliberate trolling.
I am excited to see the Jeep build. Still not sure if it’s worth renewing my membership if the site is going to go out of its way to piss me off.
When Chinese vehicles are finally let loose upon the American public the Big 2 will be “Dead Men Walking…”
For cars, crossovers, and some SUVs, yes but for full size pickups, forget about it. There’s no one more loyal than a full size pickup owner.
Despite the 1,000,000+ of shit engines you are probably right.
Did Nissan sell that many Titan XDs with the Cummins diesel? >)
Chuck Mangione 🙂 🙂 🙂
The mix is fine the way it is. Keep up the great writing, periodic reviews, eccentric left field curve balls and diverse subjects and views. Love the site and most of the comments too.
I predict 26 will be more if the same with a possible cloud of recession.
Hire a vocal member to pair up with a site author to write a joint review. I would love to read a Toecutter rant-review of a Escalade, or (in reference to their comment below) Nsane review the latest McLaren or 911 turbo blah blah, or any number of Jeep enthusiasts here drive a 392 on the Rubicon trail.
ok, this is fun!
The V10nomynous review of the new Nissan Leaf
I would love to read that
I have mentioned this before in comments, but I would write reviews for the site for free, either of rental cars or something I go test drive at a dealership.
I totally get if there’s some kind of legal/liability restrictions around giving members access to press fleet cars.
Dibs moped/scooter reviews with Mercedes!
Is Toecutter also the one who talks about his recombinant bicycle? Can’t get enough of that content! (In all seriousness, whoever that is seems like a kindred spirit to Micah Toll at Electrek.)
Oh I’m down for that. Pair me with Mercedes so we can talk ad nauseam about buses, trucks, and any manner of large vehicles.
Also, since I no longer wrench professionally, I’d love to do a revival/road trip. Can I be inflicted upon Hundal, since we already live in the same province?
I agree with most people here, I would love more new car reviews, and preferably reviews of attainable cars. I always try to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s good and what isn’t and an enormous quantity of reviews are simultaneously bloated and filled with nothing of substance. I can’t even tell you how many times I try to watch a YouTube video on a car or read an article on one and find multiple errors with regard to basic information that’s a Google or visit to the manufacturer’s site away.
A lot of sources also have a transparent agenda. JD Power is pay to play. Motortrend wants everyone in EVs. The vast majority of YouTube car reviewers are so far up Honda and Toyota’s asses they can see daylight. Most of the time when I consume a vehicle review I feel like I’m being advertised to and enthusiast groupthink can be hard to sift through.
I also really, genuinely do not care about any car that’s worth $200,000 or higher. 99% of people will never own one, most of us will never even see one (yet they get a disproportionate amount of coverage), and the people that these products cater to are actively destroying the world as we speak. There are so many boutique supercars at this point that many of us have fatigue and outside of something truly iconic like a Bugatti, Carrera GT, McLaren F1, etc. I’m not even confident that I could correctly ID a random supercar in the wild.
I recently saw a modern McLaren and when I was asked what model it was I didn’t even know. It’s a McLaren! There are 1,274 different ones and they all do the same shit. Artura, 570, P1, GT, I have no fucking idea. It’s mind bogglingly expensive and it goes fast. Who cares?
I don’t even care if the new car reviews are of like, new things being revealed. I’d read the hell out of someone here reviewing a Corolla Hatch even though it’s been around for like, 6+ years.
Right on.
Sort of like the 40,000 mile long term test car stories.
From like back in the days when there were real auto magazines.
This summer I saw a McLaren curb-parked in Montreal outside of a Curry Hut (or somesuch). I marveled at it for a minute until other people started to notice me marveling and when they started to gather, I moved on.
I didn’t note the model, so when I told somebody about it later, I had to look it up–and I couldn’t pick it out of their lineup. Talk about interchangeable!
I won’t say no to a Cylindri, but I’m less interested in that than a Sienna (which, review coming!)
I’m trying to sell my wife on a Sienna so hopefully your review helps me make my case!
Great comment.
100% Real, relatable car reviews are now less common than hen’s teeth. I review my own cars every time I rent anymore. I have always bought used.
And yet I pull up YouTube and there are 3 new videos about the GT3 Touring, which has existed for years. I mean yeah it’s cool and all but I’m never going to be able to drop $300,000 on a car so why should I care?
That was always my problem with most of the automotive magazines. I dearly loved reading about cars, but supercars and ultra-luxe cars never interested me. So, I had to wade through a lot of that stuff just to read about “normal” cars.
I actually used to read Consumer Reports as a kid in the 70s/80s, and that taught me a lot about the automotive industry early on. But they lost me by the early 2000s, when they basically became “Toyota Reports”, and their rating methodology was gamed by confirmation bias.
In the internet era I became a fan of Allpar, Autoblog, Inside Line, and Autoweek — again, because they covered attainable vehicles. (I despised TTAC and their edgelord writers.) But those all diminished or disappeared, so I was left floundering until The Autopian came to the rescue.
When does GM correct it’s mistake and bring out a Maverick competitor?
Even more importantly, a Bronco and Wrangler competitor, or a 4Runner competitor? The BOF SUV market refuses to calm down, while the current Blazer is a Rental Car company special.
are any of their SUVs built on the Colorado frame? They already have an off-road platform in the form of a truck!
I’ve been begging for an SUV based on the Colorado.
Hummer H4!
Call me skeptical on GM. They sold a bunch of (good) EVs in a market that isn’t going to keep growing the same way next year. They’ve laid off a ton of engineers in the last year or two. The short term plays to cut costs have driven up the stock values, but (in my eyes) at the cost of the long term.
Would I feel differently if they had a hybrid Equinox on the road and a hybrid Traverse on the way? Probably. But right now I think we’re staring down the barrel of a recession (or worse) and at the other end is GM asking for a bailout.
I wonder if GM will regret dropping (ahem) BrightDrop. It was the correct form-factor for last-mile delivery and trade use.
It wasn’t good for trade use. I’ve said this elsewhere, but we actively avoided Brightdrop for our tradesmen work vehicles (welders, pipefitters, electricians, and millwrights) after we test drove them. We got excited about them when prices started tumbling earlier this year and were pretty intent on getting at least one to try it out, but the test drive killed it for us. The 4 biggest issues are that the passenger jump seat is an absolute joke, there is no side cargo door, there are no good exterior racks for long items like pipe sections, and no auxiliary power for bigger stuff like welding equipment, benders, threaders, etc. Our electricians are way better off with Express/Transit type vans and our welders and pipefitters are better off with box trucks, flatbeds, or pickups. The Brightdrop was singularly focused on last-mile delivery and nothing else and it showed.
Thanks, an insightful comment. GM swung and missed for trade use in an unrecoverable manner.
The platform seemed good, just that the cab/cargo area would need a redesign. We ended up getting another Express (lol, the 2025 is exactly like the 2012 it replaced) and had to pay a markup because they are kinda hard to get on short notice. We are also looking at a Silverado EV more as a people mover and could carry some smaller items. We get quite a few requests from clients about why we don’t have an EV – which is fair because we regularly end up running power and installing quite a few EV chargers for different industrial clients as well as do a lot of work for other green energy type clients that obviously like to see like minded suppliers.
Jeez, makes you wonder if they ever spoke with someone who actually does this stuff for a living.
It’s GM. Why would they do that?
Love the Autopian comments for insight like this. Thank you!
Rumors of the demise of EVs are greatly exaggerated and mostly right wing propaganda. GM will continue to sell lots of BEVs because their offerings are competitive and span every price point. They have an electric vehicle in most major classes that’s comparable in price to its ICE competitors.
Thats what GM understands that a lot of other companies don’t. Their EVs don’t come with a learning curve. They’re more or less regular cars that happen to be electric, and people will organically gravitate towards them. Would you rather have an agricultural 4 popper or the smoothness of a BEV? The Equinox EV is the same price as a CRV or RAV4 or whatever. Would you rather pay $55,000 for a German car with a repurposed economy turbo 4 that’s unreliable or get a Cadillac Lyric or Vistiq or whatever?
They’re all getting NACS ports too. You all are welcome to flame me for this take or come back in the next year or so and say TOLD YOU SO NSANE, but with second gen EVs rolling out they’re going to continue to see their market share grow even without the incentives, and due to economies of scale manufacturers like GM won’t have to charge premiums for them for much longer.
People should remember that only GM and Tesla sold a meaningful number of EVs without the original tax credit.
I agree that their EVs are very competitive – well, the crossovers anyway. I just don’t see significant growth in the segment with the federal tax credits gone. But who knows, if everyone keeps eating into Tesla’s piece of the pie that might keep the growth going well enough through conquests to weather the storm.
My bigger gripe is their long-term planning. Those EVs mainly launched last year and they’ve since been cutting headcount. Do they have a plan for remodels and next gen? Rehire at a higher pay then they laid people off at? That seems like the GM and Chrysler way. But maybe I’m just being cynical – cutting headcount “because of economic conditions” and reporting massive profits is the hip thing to do across industries.
The Equinox EV seems genuinely good, and they’re starting to multiply around here (in an extremely cold and EV skeptical place). I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up being a real success within a couple of years.
We leased one for my wife. It was the right amount more EV capability than a Bolt EUV to get her onboard. It’s a pretty good car and a pretty good EV. I think they will continue to be a popular “entry level” sort of EV despite the new Bolt coming out.
I see them everywhere now. To be fair, I live in DC where charging isn’t much of a concern and the political leanings are pretty much all different shades of blue until you get into the exurbs…but pretty much every time I drive somewhere I see them.
Would I buy one? Probably not, but if someone told me the were conscious of their carbon footprint, had a 35k budget, and wanted a spacious commuter I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend one.
This is a good take. For EVs to make a larger share of the market, car companies have to transition more to transportation companies. When self-transportation was exploding the oil companies stepped in to fill the need for fuel stations, so car companies could just build cars. Things are different now. As much as I hate to admit it, Tesla did an amazing thing for their company by establishing a charging network.
Transportation company investment in charging infrastructure and development of fast-charging tech would speed the transition. It could also establish a lower level steady revenue stream if done right. Many will point to VWs failure with charging and they would not be wrong, but that would be a better argument if VW weren’t struggling with so many other aspects of their business.
The adoption of a single plug standard will speed things up with adoption.
“They’re more or less regular cars that happen to be electric, and people will organically gravitate towards them.”
Nailed it. Welcome to why I’m probably getting a Bolt when the lease on my Ioniq 6 is up.
Concerning The Carlos Ethos, didn’t the guys moving the crate end up in jail? So I guess the fact that they got him out is all that matters?
Toxic leadership at its finest.
I’m guessing that “hashtag#accountability” isn’t going to be the next topic of discussion.
“Hashtag#CrateLife”?
For all my Gen Xers
They put him in a box de-de
De-de
De-de
De-de
They put him in a box
Goshn and they put him in a box
Big dreams now they’re all lost
Goshn and they put him in a box….
More new car reviews, more in-depth engineering articles, more Adrian styling reviews.
Fewer gullible Chinese vehicle articles, fewer snarky class-war headlines, fewer campers and motorcycles.
Happy New Year to the staff, commenters, and especially to all the haters and losers!
Agreed, more Adrian, and more engineering articles. I generally enjoy the RV and motorcycle articles, but I could go for more newer car and truck articles and reviews to balance it out. I’d also love more Bishop oddball takes, but I recognize that the stuff he does takes time, even if I wish it didn’t.
You had me until motorcycles
Mercedes is a great writer, but so much of her content is in those two areas I could care less about.
Yes! Agree completely.
Agreed, but I love her road trip grind articles.
Dont forget about the ones about planes, trains to go with the automobiles!
I enjoy all of her content…
Oh, I’ve got no complaints about trains and planes.
What about articles about common/regular cars with content such as pro/cons of the different years. I’m sure Comments would generate additional opinions both ways.
At the risk of unintentionally offending Mercedes.
We could also use more of her writing that does not include a dozen redundant paragraphs from previous articles.
I realize this may not be a popular opinion, as well as the previously offered explanation that other readers may not have seen or read the prior articles yet.
It’s not that hard to touch on important points or info briefly for context without it feeling like a “cut and paste” effort.
No offense intended here.
But it often feels like the efforts of a 7th grader who is desperately trying to reach the “word count” required by their English teacher.
I tend to read at least 95% of the stuff posted here. Yet the sense of deja vu feels a bit tiresome over and over. At the risk of hurt feelings, it can also be a drag to see the same stories reposted over and over again as if they are “new” offerings.
As always YMMV.
That would be my preference as well. And while I often enjoy the history deep dives, I’d like the coverage of the actual headline vehicle at the beginning of the article. Old newspaper dictum: “Don’t bury the lede!
Like the deep dives as well.
DT does the same as Mercedes a lot of the time as well.
Please note that an offering of brevity (with a short reference to previously posted articles) may also incite the the reader to search-look up the prior stuff without being subjected to what feels like hearing my Grandpa tell how he defeated the Germans singlehandedly for the 1,00th time.
A click is a click after all.
Class warfare is pretty much why I get out bed in the morning, was it one of mine?
No, it was a couple headlines that distracted from the thesis of their stories with Jalopnik-style snark for its own sake.
It’s a tricky balance because we have to catch people with the headline and make them want to click, but we can’t be disingenuous. But also we want to avoid the usual ridiculous headline tropes. We do discuss headlines a lot – they’re not just chucked up with no thought whatsoever.
Alright, heard you guys loud and clear. I guess I should add some New Years resolutions to change myself as a writer and an enthusiast. Be less of a hoarder, be less obsessed with what you guys don’t like.
Can’t ask someone to change what they love!
I enjoy reading anything the writers are passionate about, I’m only opining on my own preferences.
I do like that you’ve used a modifier in front of “Chinese vehicle articles”, even if gullible wouldn’t have been my choice of word. Covering the car market should include their vehicles and for those of us in the Foreign Legion they are important because I see them every day (there’s one sitting in the street outside my house now) and my last rental car was a BYD.
Buuuut, for all the huge advances they’ve made, there are issues with the Chinese market, what underpins them and some product developments that don’t seem to make sense. I think taking a fair and balanced approach to the product is appropriate whilst also acknowledging the politics behind them (much as is already done with every other car maker in the articles here).
I will confess I find Tycho’s articles a bit long and a little too much like they’ve been written by a fan rather than a reviewer.
“One of the big winners has been the BYD Seal U, which is a PHEV that costs about €9,000 (or $10,500) less than the comparable Volkswagen Tiguan”
In my mind, “Seal U” is the sequel to “Sammy the Way-Out Seal” where Sammy goes to college. Fred MacMurray plays Dean Flipper.
“Other than that, how did you enjoy the play, Mrs. Lincoln?”
In the (hopefully) slow slide to (hopefully) reality in market value, those large leaps in stock performance will be shed and shown to be just bits of the big deflating bubble.
I’ve been trying for months to come up with a Chuck Mangione/Luigi Mangione joke, but I just can’t tie it together. Feels so not good.
Something about blowing people away….
“Which voices would you like to hear on The Autopian in 2026? Anyone you’d like to hear more of next year?”
How about someone who regularly drives and reviews new vehicles available for sale?
Because we can go for weeks here with zero actual new car reviews.
It’s a crazy idea, but it just might work!
Matt, this can be your Mary Barra moment!
ADRIAN!
Honestly, Adrian’s reviews of cars we don’t get over here are some of my favorites. For the most part every kernel of information is news to me. Also, the humor.
Thank you for that. It really does mean a lot to me.
Adrian doing reviews of boring, normal cars would be fantastic. They could even be split into multiple articles, like one covering the driving experience and utility while another covers the interior and exterior styling and materials. It would be hilarious to have him come to the US to review some of the US-only vehicles, but even reviews of the Euro-spec stuff would be fun.
Star in a Reasonably Priced Car! The star is always Adrian, and the car is only occasionally a Ssanyong Rodius!
I don’t know why but this almost made me spit out my tea with laughter.
Here comes the Hyundai Cee’d…
Well of course I’m always the star, darling. If they ever fly me over I’ll hold court at Galpin handing out autographed 6×9 glossies while wearing sunglasses.
The trouble is press fleet cars are usually specced up the wazoo.
True, but I still have confidence you could make some informative and entertaining articles out of them!
You guys should hire that Ghosn guy. All his articles are accessible by opening a large box on the homepage.
Only available with the “Music Box” level of membership.