Photo: Elise240SX / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
In today's issue:
GM books $10.9B in EV charges, then brings gas Cadillacs back anyway
Polestar won't fight its US ban, and dealers are stuck holding inventory
A Senate bill could knock Mercedes out of American showrooms entirely
THE GREAT UN-ELECTRIFICATION
The reversal adds to $10.9 billion in EV-related charges GM has booked since mid-2025, per CBT News.
Full-size SUV production is shifting to a Michigan plant once slated for EVs, per CBT News.
Despite the write-offs, GM raised full-year guidance for the second time this year after North American profit jumped 43% in Q2, per Automotive News.
Net income still fell 31.1% to $1.30 billion on $48.02 billion revenue, per Just Auto, meaning gas and hybrid volume is now funding the EV cleanup.
GM's own numbers say the electric-only Cadillac was a bet the market didn't take. The new gas models will sell alongside the EVs Cadillac already builds, a hedge rather than a full retreat, but the company is raising guidance by selling the same combustion engines it once swore off.
Also worth knowing
Polestar won't appeal its US ban, dealers left exposed: Volvo fought the same Chinese-ownership ban and won an exemption; Polestar isn't trying, ending US sales after the 2027 model year, per Carscoops. The US was just 6% of Polestar's global sales last year, per Carscoops, but dealers built out showrooms on the assumption it would stay, per WSJ. #news
Mercedes lobbies against bill that could ban it outright: The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the Connected Vehicle Security Act, which caps foreign ownership at 15% for automakers selling connected vehicles in the US, per CBT News. Mercedes-Benz's Chinese ownership stake sits at 20%, over the line, per CBT News, and Mercedes is now lobbying senators Moreno and Slotkin directly, per Autoblog. #news
California hybrids hit record share as EV registrations sink: Hybrids reached a record 22.1% of California's new-vehicle market in the first half of 2026 while EV registrations fell 24.8% as the federal tax credit expired and gas prices climbed, per CBT News. The state's counter is the $3,500 point-of-sale rebate for first-time buyers it rolled out last week, per Wards Auto. #market
Dreyer & Reinbold buys its way back into IndyCar: DRR purchased a charter from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in a rumored $13 million deal, per americancarsandracing.com, marking the series' first charter sale and letting DRR run full-time for the first time since 2012, per Motorsport Week. Autoweek notes the sale price implies a valuation floor for the 23 other charters nobody's tested yet. #analyst
Reveals & culture
Range Rover GT is a fifth, all-electric family member: Built on JLR's new EMA platform, the GT is lower than an Evoque but as long as a Range Rover Sport, with a minimalist 2+2 cabin and textile-wrapped dash instead of leather, per Autoblog and Automotive News. Hybrids follow later; pricing waits until prototypes finish testing.
Aston Martin marks 25 years of the V12 Vanquish: The limited Vanquish 25, built by Aston's Q personalization division, honors the Ian Callum-designed original that debuted at Geneva in 2001, per AutoGuide and Motoring Research.
A storage locker auction just sold a dead startup's prototype EV motorcycle: Defunct Damon Motors' prototype electric motorcycle turned up in an abandoned storage unit and went to a buyer with no idea what they'd won, per RideApart.
Recalls & legal action
Tesla recalls 15 vehicles for a reason nobody's seen before: Canadian-market Model 3s and Model Ys were mistakenly certified as US-legal and sold stateside, per MotorTrend. → If you own one: If you bought a Tesla Model 3 or Y with Canadian build history, check with your dealer or NHTSA.gov for VIN-specific recall status.
NHTSA subpoenas Tesla's "Radar Saves Us" document in FSD probe: The regulator's 24-part information demand targets Tesla's decision to drop radar from its sensor stack, per Electrek, as Tesla reported 207 Autopilot/FSD crashes in May 2026, the highest single-month total in its own NHTSA filings, per AutoGuide. The probe now centers on a specific engineering call Tesla made, not just aggregate crash counts.
Quick links
Nissan Z NISMO gets a six-speed manual, and a price hike: All 2027 Z trims rise $1,460, per Car and Driver, but the NISMO manual now starts under $69,000 with GT-R-derived brakes.
VW Atlas pricing jumps 5.8% for the redesign: The 2027 Atlas SE starts at $43,135, up $2,350 from the outgoing model, per Automotive News.
Toyota's 2027 Tundra adds Trailhunter, skips the snorkel: The overlanding trim brings a standard 14-inch touchscreen and Toyota Safety Sense 4.0, per CBT News, though The Drive notes it lacks the Tacoma Trailhunter's signature snorkel intake.
Canada's 2035 EV mandate is quietly dying: A J.D. Power study shows EV uptake stalling well short of Ottawa's 75% adoption target as the government preps tailpipe rules to replace the mothballed mandate, per Automotive News.
The Car Curious Weekly for July 19: The week in car podcasts, from Cybercab's geofenced debut to VW's board gridlock, recapped on Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform.
Yesterday's picks
EV Registrations Just Had Their Best Month in 8. The 2026 Forecast Still Says Retreat.: May's best showing in 8 months was incentive-driven, not organic, and the forecaster still expects EV share to shrink for a third straight year.
Ford Recalls 288,000+ Explorers Over Flying Roof Trim: 288,314 Explorers recalled because roof rail covers can detach at speed, Ford's second flying-parts recall in months.
VW's Cheap EV Racks Up 25,000 Orders in Weeks: Europe's appetite for a genuinely cheap EV looks organic, unlike the US rebound that needed incentives to post a good month.
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