I try not to be snarky about supercars because, in my heart of hearts, I enjoy most of them. When I’m at a place like Monterey Car Week I’m still excited by the sight of an F430 Spider, a Porsche 959, or even a newer Koenigsegg or Pagani. Having driven a few McLarens, though, I have to admit that it’s one of the few brands whose cars are better in practice than in theory.
The Morning Dump will be focused on plans that aren’t yet 100% successful. For all the talk of the power of China to move as one, the reality is that not everyone in the country is on board if it means that they’re left behind. In Illinois, Volkswagen tried to pass the buck on warranty repairs to its dealers, and that didn’t work either.
Not that Volkswagen doesn’t have bigger problems. Yesterday’s CEO news just goes to show that the company is having a hard time keeping smart leaders.
McLaren Gets A New Look While It Waits To Get New Cars
McLaren is always a hard automaker for me to read. The F1 is one of the most sought after and special cars ever built. Its Formula One team is popular and often successful. It has a great orange.
Being a smaller carmaker, it’s also been friendlier with press cars. I’ve probably driven more McLarens than Ferraris in my life, and about the same number of Lamborghinis. Every single McLaren I’ve driven has been great to drive, even if they had some shortcomings (the early infotainment screens were a little hard to read).
I also care a lot less about McLaren than those other brands. The cars all sort of look the same. Not bad. Just the same. The naming conventions are confusing. For all the amazing history the brand has for someone like me who appreciates the Can-Am racing series, I feel like it’s a bit lost when it comes to the cars. [Ed Note: I will mention that the P1 and 720S were amazing cars, but they came out a while ago. -DT].
This isn’t an opinion exclusive to me, and after an initial surge in interest for the brand, sales have dwindled and the company has floundered. So what’s the solution? The company is going to invest more in England, drop the Artura, and build an SUV. That’s a start, I guess.
The next move is identity, and there’s a new logo. Where does it come from? Here’s McLaren’s own explanation:
At the heart of the identity is a new McLaren wordmark, inspired by the sign above the family Service Station in Remuera, Auckland. Owned by Bruce’s parents, Les and Ruth McLaren, it was where Bruce built the car that would take him to his first racing victory. Recrafting that identity for today, it reconnects McLaren with its origins while giving the brand a confident visual language for the future.
The Speedmark, one of McLaren’s most recognisable symbols, remains at the heart of the brand. Its continued presence reflects the value of continuity and its enduring significance to fans around the world. Papaya also remains a defining element, now joined by an expanded colour palette inspired by pivotal moments in McLaren’s history. The identity also retains the Speedy Kiwi, honouring Bruce McLaren’s New Zealand roots and its longstanding place in McLaren’s history.
The reveal follows a series of storytelling moments throughout 2026 that have amplified McLaren’s origins and the ideas that continue to shape its future. These include a renewed focus on Bruce McLaren’s story, from the celebration of the M6GT as the earliest expression of his road car vision, to the reveal of McL 6GT as a contemporary signal of McLaren’s design and performance ambition.
I typically become cynical when I hear these sorts of marketing stories told in press releases or press conferences. While I think it’s absolutely important for a brand to tell its story, there’s something about showing your work that I find a little off putting.
In this case I get it. McLaren’s biggest problem is not technology or design, it’s interest. It really does need to build a brand that makes sense in an increasingly crowded space. The old logo was fine and I’m not sure this one is any better, but I appreciate the effort.
China’s Growth Comes At A Cost
For all the cheap cars that Chinese automakers bring to the world, for all the talk of expanding production, the laws of economics do still exist in China, and all its investments are having a real impact on consumers there who have gotten used to constantly improving economic conditions.
The Washington Post sets the stage as President Xi Jinping plans to arrive in Washington:
Xi has his own problems. The most notable: a split-screen economy that has the Chinese people settling for less in their daily lives while Xi invests in matching the U.S. in the advanced technologies — such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence — considered essential for global power.
This is a different kind of K-shaped economy, where the government is at the top and everyone else is at the bottom. It’s not just that investment is going up, it’s the structure of the Chinese economy itself:
Lacking a national retirement program, for example, the average Chinese household saves roughly half its earnings. But the government keeps interest rates low to ensure companies can get low-cost loans — which makes it hard for people to earn much on their savings. Household consumption accounts for just 40% of the economy, well below the global average of 64%, according to the World Bank.
Car brands both in China and hoping to sell more cars in China are running into the reality that consumers are saving more and spending less, which is forcing automakers there to expand imports to other countries. Not like Chinese citizens can really complain that much given the nature of politics in that country, but eventually something will have to give.
VW And Audi Dealers Win In Illinois Court
The Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act was updated a few years ago to allow dealers to charge 1.5 the manufacturer rate for warranty work. Why? As warranty work increased, the dealers argued, they were being forced to do the work at a reduced rate (automakers often prescribe how long something is supposed to take) relative to consumer work. VW and Audi responded by passing on a surcharge to dealers.
VW and Audi dealers sued and, after a lot of back-and-forth, the automaker lost. Automotive News has the skinny:
The Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board found VW Group of America’s cost recovery fees violated the Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act, and the automaker is not permitted to seek or impose cost recovery fees against Illinois dealers via a quarterly surcharge, according to an April proposed decision made final Sept. 10.
“We thought it was a very black and white issue that they violated the Franchise Act by taking the surcharge, which has a prohibition in the warranty reimbursement section of exactly that,” said Ira Levin, a Chicago lawyer and lead counsel for the VW and Audi dealers.
VW has 35 days from the final order date to file an administrative appeal in state court, Levin said.
It’s possible that VW and Audi could just raise the wholesale price of its cars in the state, which could hurt its sales.
How Did VW Lose Zellmer?
Doesn’t new Volvo CEO Klaus Zellmer sort of look like a European version of Tom from Widow’s Bay? Maybe they’ll make a German version called Witwenbucht and give him the job.
Many of you wondered yesterday just how VW let a leader like Zellmer go, and now we’ve got a bit of an answer via Automotive News Europe:
Zellmer, 59, has long been regarded as a potential candidate for a bigger role within VW Group. But the group’s senior management structure has left little obvious room at the top.
Thomas Schaefer runs Brand Group Core, which oversees VW, Skoda, Seat/Cupra; former McLaren CEO Michael Leiters started as Porsche CEO in January; and Oliver Blume remains group CEO — leaving little room at the top. For Zellmer, another major step within VW Group increasingly appeared difficult to achieve.
A VW manager, who declined to be named, said Zellmer wants to prove his abilities to his counterparts at VW Group. Another insider said Zellmer had repeatedly argued internally for changes and improvements at the automaker but failed to get them through.
It’s possible that Zellmer considered it easier to get ahead at Volkswagen by going to Volvo, which is basically what Leiters did when he left for McLaren.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
My wife and I heard “Love on the Brain” blasting out of an F-150 while on a walk yesterday and we immediately started singing along. What a song!
The Big Question
What do you think of McLaren? Have you ever thought of McLaren?
Top graphic images: McLaren; DepositPhotos.com
McLaren is the supercar you buy when you don’t want to look like all the other supercar people with their Ferraris and Lambos.
But what do I know. I can’t afford any of them.
The cheapest new McLaren sold right now is 1/4 Million bucks.
Geez, I wonder why no ones gives a fuck about their road cars.
Release a car that is mildly attainable by well-to-do, but not stinking rich individuals and I guarantee you a lot more people would care about McLaren right about not. They need something priced in the $100k to 150k range.
Even used Mclarens are too much. Looks like $85k to 100k is too much for a used car that would probably need some expensive repairs and maintenance.
People care about Ferraris and they also start at $250k for an Amalfi. Price isn’t the issue.
Price is not an issue if you already have some kind of “it factor” that draws people’s attention to your brand. Regular people know the Ferrari brand. Even my mother has heard of Ferrari. Probably has heard of Lamborghini, but McLaren? No, definitely not. So if you don’t have that universal brand identity, you need something else to draw in customers. Ferraris have historically been seen as pure artwork. Lambos are pretty and sound amazing. Porsches are famously daily-drivable. What are Mclarens famous for? If they can’t figure that out, then they shouldn’t be playing in the price ranges that others are who have that little bit extra to give customers.
I like the McLaren M1A and its logo:
https://live.staticflickr.com/874/26231049147_c6f20c0c91_b.jpg
TBQ: The 12C and P1 were hype that the company never could reach again. Maybe if less attention was paid to the F1 and Indycar efforts – I don’t think Zak Brown needs to be at every race – and they let models be as they are and didn’t add the super hyper extra ultra LT models to every model ever – and, to be fair, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche do this too – and also didn’t come up with yet another new car that’s slightly faster or more expensive or different every year, maybe I could keep up with them. McLaren naming scheme of using roughly the power output doesn’t help either, as it becomes muddled, with all the different models, which car is a version of what…
Supercars were more fun when there wasn’t a bajillion different models and limited production fomo generators to sift through.
McLaren feels to me like supercar brand focused on actual performance with little regard to “status”. I think that’s a bit rare in the supercar space these days. The problem to me is that people in the market for a supercar ARE looking for status and aren’t much interested in actual performance, just the perception of it. The status is usually built on a long history of racing and fast road cars, and I honestly have no idea what McLaren’s history is. Pushing their story and racing heritage is the right move to build some of that up. Tell us about the time Bruce trounced a Ferrari at Mille Miglia or something. Make people care about the brand. The cars themselves aren’t the problem.
One of them was parked at a small restaurant we visited in southern Germany over the summer. It looked and sounded great, but I couldn’t tell you the model. That was the first time I thought about a Mclaren in years, and I forgot about it a few minutes after it drove away. It’s been 4 months now and I haven’t thought about Mclarens until this article.
I really like McLarens. I love the swoopy aero on the bodies. They sound great. I frequently see 1 at C&C.
I would never own one. Cost, maintenance, sacrifices of an exotic with lesser cachet. I would stretch to Ferrari money on the used market.
As an engineer, I like McLaren because they make cars that objectively appeal the those of us who nerd out on details and specifications. BUT, I don’t think that translates very well into desirability or making the brand into a lifestyle brand like Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Porsche. I’ve known a few folks who have owned McLarens, mostly 12Cs and 570s, and they were either engineer nerds like me or they wanted bang-for-the-buck performance that a heavily depreciated used McLaren gives you. I want McLaren to survive, but they really need to work on having an identity beyond “we really, really care about the really tiny details” that evokes some kind of passion within the well-heeled car world.
Here in Metro New York, McLarens are usually driven by (predominantly Asian) guys in the overlap of tech and finance. They seem to appeal to those who would do a spreadsheet when deciding which car to buy.
Oh, McLaren. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I know McLaren. Hey, you! She’s got a little hard-boiled going there?
I’m imagining the McLaren SUV, and trying to come up with something not ugly, and it’s not working. I am assuming they’re going to integrate their standard look because “we must keep our design DNA.” So, take a RAV4 box and apply those swoops and scoops? Accch! Maybe on Pilot-type body? Dopey. On a otterboxy thing? Oh god no. It all looks like Mansory-ification.
I did the same thing, and taking the Urus as an example of plopping the Aventador styling onto an SUV chassis, a McLaren SUV ends up looking way too much like a 4th gen Ford Escape in my mind. I wait in fear of what they actually design, because I can’t imagine anything that looks good.
I mean… the best possibility would be that they come up with something that is unique and identifiable and also looks good, while being different from the sportscars. A bit of which could be blended back to the next sportscar. But how likely is that? I do wish them the best, though.
That would be nice, but I am skeptical it can happen. The Cayenne still looks like an overinflated 911. The Urus looks like a life-sized Micro Machine Aventador. The Purosongue isn’t terrible looking, but even as the best case example, it looks more like my Kia EV6 than a Ferrari. Then there’s the Luce…
I would love to have a McLaren, but I am just several tax brackets below what is needed to buy one.
McLaren is like first growth Bordeaux. A luxury item that still has the performance of its heritage but sits in an awkward place. If you have big money to spend and you want someone to know it you’re getting the Petrus (Lamborghini). If you really want someone to know you’re a big spender and have connections because of it, you buy enough DRC to get allocated a Bâtard-Montrachet (Ferarri). If you actually don’t care about labels at all and are just interested in the experience you know a small family owned right bank chateau that meets or exceeds grand cru quality but has no marketing (the kind of sports cars this audience gets excited about).
So who’s paying $1500 for a bottle of Lafite at a restaurant? Honestly, I can’t tell you the last time I even saw a first growth on a wine list. It’s still great stuff, but is not good enough for the price premium, nor special enough to make face, nor rare enough to impress people and that’s what I think of McLaren.
That is an excellent analogy!
Wowzers. I’m going to go ahead and assume you’re a bit of a wine connoisseur. I learn so much here.
It’s only a Supercar if it comes from the Maranello region of Italy, otherwise it’s just Sparkling Opulence.
Wine neeeeerrrrrrdddddd!
McLaren has no personality. How many of their cars have names? How many look different? What’s their signature design? What’s their signature emblem?
No waxes poetically about 720S, 675LT or W1
They need to change their logo to the Woking coat of arms and start calling their cars things like “Terminator” “Commando” and “Predator” and get a signature style that people can get an opinion (good or bad) on
675LT is a McLaren model? Wouldn’t have known, or cared. Sounds like a trim package on a Chevy.
Dealers will still try to upsell you to the 675TrailBoss or 675Denali instead
It’s a 720Denali thankyouverymuch
You can get only the 720Denali as a GMC.
But it’s also available as a 900Escalade trim. We do the numbers differently for Escalate buyer to help differentiate those premium models.
That’s funny, looks like you just found the solution to McLaren’s problems, they’ve been selling cheap LT trims when they could have been selling expensive Denalis and making more profit
That’s the new logo? Alrighty. I know of them through TG/GT and F1 Drive to Survive. I saw one or two a few weeks ago at a local parade with my Star Wars group. Someone asked me if those were my friends, I said wrong tax bracket. No Miatas or Subarus were seen.
I walk past a few at our local C&C to go see the old MR2 and 240Z at the end.
It would be easier to care about McLaren if 2/3 of their models weren’t some variation of 3 digit numbers with no clear indication of what those numbers mean. They’ve released 30-ish cars in their modern era of production, and 18 of them are like, 650, 570, 720… Okay? There’s no identity to them besides McLaren.
McLaren has never really appealed to me outside of the P1.
I know technically they have a long heritage of racing, and all that, so I should care… But the cars seem sterile compared to the Italians. Technically competent, just not for me.
McLaren? Really peaked in 2007, was everywhere for a while, then we just got sick of seeing…
Oh. Wait. I thought you said McLovin.
When did I think of McLaren? I guess just now.
I see more McLarens than Lamborghinis. The only thing I’ve heard about them anecdotally is that their build quality and reliability is not so great which I suppose is to be expected with an emerging supercar company. Personally, they’d be toward the top of my list. Aside from the Senna, I also have no idea which model is which in their line, I’m sure there’s a “cheap” one with one combination of letters and numbers and an expensive one with a different combination of letters and numbers.
I’m curious why you’ve been lately unimpressed by McLaren’s cars. When I do think about them (which is only when I see one on the road), my perception is that they are the most useable, daily-able supercars. Not true?
McLaren? Is that something new on the McDonald’s value menu?
I think about them never. But soon they’ll have a crossover blob for me to also not think about.
My impression of McLaren (fair or not)is that they are building for a customer who doesn’t really exist, namely the supercar buyer who truly cares about supercar performance more than a name or a social media impression.
By all accounts they are great to drive, their focus on weight savings vs the competition is admirable, and the capabilities of the cars are class leading or close to it.
But for years they’ve been relatively unloved; in a world where you need to buy a shitty Ferrari EV to get an allocation for the one you really want, or when you are paying $100K over for a GT3RS or even a Corvette ZR1X (!!!) allocation, word on the street is new McLarens sell for MSRP or less.
I don’t know if it’s the spartan interior design, the styling, the generic names, or what, but for some reason they don’t resonate in the same way as Ferraris and Lambos.
This feels pretty close to how I feel.
McLaren?? Is that an F1 team? Did they make engines for F1? Did I hear about them on Top Gear/ Grand Tour? I have peripheral knowledge of their existence.
Of course I think of McLaren, they made some of the coolest versions of Mustangs and Pontiac Grand Prixs in the 80s/90s.
But the modern ones don’t interest me much. They seem to be one step up from Maserati, the “exotic” you buy when you don’t actually know much about cars and just want to chase clout.
Completely flat sans-serif font with just one letter having a slight semblance of design. Yep, looks like the work of an overpaid marketing firm ruining yet another brand.
New logo looks like a law firm logo. And they probably paid 1.4 million for an agency to come up with that too.