In today's issue:

Farley is unusually plain about the cause: the policy was set, and Ford did the math. A 52.5% surcharge makes onshoring cheaper eventually, but a four-year runway to 2030 buys planning time rather than urgency, and the Nautilus keeps arriving from Hangzhou until then.

Record Loans, Worst Late Payments Since 2010: Auto loan originations hit a nominal record of $211 billion in Q2 2026, up from $182 billion in Q1, per CBT News citing New York Fed data. New York Fed researchers noted the record holds only in nominal dollars, not after inflation, and that rising vehicle prices explain much of it. Serious delinquency, 90 days or more past due, hit its highest level since 2010 in the same quarter, even as overall household delinquency eased, per CBT News. #market

Cadillac's F1 Boss Didn't See It Coming: Graeme Lowdon was removed as Cadillac's F1 team principal effective immediately and replaced by ex-Alpine executive Marcin Budkowski, per Road & Track. Cadillac confirmed the exit "wasn't a mutual decision," with Lowdon told the morning of the announcement, per Autosport. #analyst

Nissan Raised Incentives 14% While the Industry Cut Them 10%: Nissan's average incentive reached $4,005 per vehicle in July, up 14% year over year, while the industry average fell 10% to $3,202, per Automotive News citing Motor Intelligence data. Nissan's total incentive spend rose 15% to $284 million as the industry's dropped 11% to $4.4 billion, against cutbacks of 35% at Toyota, 14% at Honda and 8% at Hyundai. US sales chief Tiago Castro tied the spending to a shift toward pricier US-built crossovers and pickups, now 60% of Nissan's sales versus 50% a year ago, and told Automotive News that interest-free financing on a $60,000 vehicle costs more than on a $30,000 one. Retail sales are up 8.8% through July while rental-fleet volume fell 32%. #market

The Best Charging Experience in America Isn't Tesla's: J.D. Power's 2026 EV Experience Public Charging Study puts IONNA first, with Mercedes-Benz and Rivian second and third, while Tesla's Supercharger network came in "only slightly above average," per Carscoops and GM Authority. The industry "non-charge visit rate," a stop that ends without a charge, fell to an all-time low of 12% from 14% last quarter, with the newer OEM-backed networks posting the lowest failure rates, per Carscoops. Satisfaction with slower Level 2 public chargers went the other way, down 12 points year over year, also per Carscoops. #market

Rivian Finally Gives the R1S Its Most-Requested Feature: The 2027 Rivian R1S gets second-row captain's chairs for the first time, and base R1T and R1S models can now be optioned with the 140-kWh Max battery pack, per Kelley Blue Book. The R1T also picks up standard 20-inch wheels, per InsideEVs.

Kia's EV3 Starts at $31,385. The Range Costs $5,100 More.: The 2027 Kia EV3 starts at $31,385 with 221 miles of range, while the $36,485 Wind trim jumps to 321 miles, per Car and Driver. Kia puts the base price at $29,890 plus $1,495 destination, confirms 321 miles on the Wind and Land front-drive trims, and bills the EV3 as the most affordable EV in its own lineup, per Kia.

Cadillac's One-Off Celestiq Is an Homage to the Night Shift: The Celestiq Night Test wears a Caspia Metallic exterior with dark-finished 23-inch wheels and Jade accents around the lighting, over a cabin in Backen Black and Sheer Gray leather with carbon fibre and brushed-metal trim, per Motor Illustrated. The name comes from the after-hours development sessions run "away from the spotlight," and the car was hand-built at Cadillac's Artisan Center in Warren, Michigan. The 655-hp EV isn't for sale, it exists to show off Cadillac's bespoke program, per Edmunds.

Rivian's Turn Signal Recall Won't Stay Fixed: Rivian is widening a turn-signal recall first announced in June, adding 3,204 R1S and 625 R1T units after supplier Myotek failed to contain the same faulty part, per Carscoops. → If you own one: Watch for a warning message on the instrument cluster and contact Rivian service if turn signals fail intermittently.

GM Builds a $4.5 Billion Hedge Against the Next Shortage: GM has secured up to $4.5 billion of critical parts inventory to insulate itself from disruptions caused by geopolitical tension, natural disasters and cyberattacks, per Automotive News. Inventory firm Procura buys the components and fronts the cash, with suppliers storing them; GM pays when it needs the parts, or by 2029, per CBT News.

Nissan's Cheapest SUV Gets an Off-Road Trim: The 2027 Nissan Kicks Rock Creek adds standard AWD and an off-road drive mode starting at $30,385 including shipping, per Automotive News.

Spain Waves Through a Chinese Plant Near a Naval Base: Spain's Defense Ministry will approve SAIC's plan to build an MG plant in Galicia despite reported security concerns over its proximity to a naval base, per Automotive News.

Carvana Prices a $1.66 Billion Loan: Carvana upsized and priced a Senior Secured Term Loan B Facility at $1.66 billion, per CBT News.

Yesterday's picks

A $20,000 Budget Used to Buy Half the Used Market. Now It Buys 11.5% of It.: Cars under $20,000 made up 11.5% of three-year-old used vehicles in 2025, down from 49.3% in 2019, per an iSeeCars study of more than 2.6 million cars cited by CBT News. The average three-year-old used car now runs $32,635, up 40.9% from $23,159. The share of three-year-old Honda Civics under $20,000 fell from 97.6% to 5.7%, and Toyota Camrys from 96.7% to 8.3%. "The pandemic may be a fading memory, but the lack of new car production five years ago has created a 'pandemic hangover' effect for today's used car market," iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer said in the study.

GM Signed 20 More Years in China. Chevrolet Won't Be Part of It.: GM and SAIC extended their joint venture through 2047, with at least 30 new energy vehicles planned by 2030, per CBT News. Days later, Chevrolet is reportedly ending sales in China after nearly 21 years, its volume down from more than 767,000 units in 2014 to under 9,000 last year, per Carscoops citing Automobilwoche. GM-SAIC will keep building Chevrolets there, but for export markets.

Toyota Recalls 508,354 Camrys Over Clusters That Boot Up Blank: The 7-inch instrument cluster in 2025-2026 Camrys can come up completely blank at startup, taking turn signals and warning buzzers with it, per Car and Driver and Carscoops. Reports first reached Toyota in July 2024, so the fix arrives roughly two years after the company first heard about it. Canada adds another 11,159 cars, per Driving.ca. → If you own one: Only the LE, SE and Nightshade trims use the 7-inch display; XLE and XSE run the 12.3-inch unit and are not affected, per Autoblog. The remedy is a free software update, per CBT News.

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