Photo: Weed Army Community Hospital / Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
In today's issue:
California signed "Leno's Law," but the version that passed is a fixed decade-long phase-in with separate insurance and mileage paths, not the rolling exemption Leno originally wanted
The EU is pressing China to cap hybrid exports after imports rose more than tenfold since tariffs targeted only pure EVs
A pickup with a Land Rover badge is about to be built by Jeep's parent company
THE COUNTEROFFER
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1392, "Leno's Law," at Jay Leno's Burbank garage, phasing in smog-check exemptions for qualifying collector cars built 1976 through 1985, per Road & Track.
Starting January 1, 2028, collector vehicles built before the 1981 model year qualify if insured as a collector vehicle; the exemption then advances one model year annually, reaching 1985-model-year cars by January 1, 2033, per The Auto Wire.
A second path, exempting vehicles driven under 1,000 miles a year, doesn't take effect until January 1, 2030, two years after the insurance path, per The Auto Wire. Either way, qualifying cars must also be preserved primarily for shows, parades and exhibitions rather than daily driving, per The Drive.
Leno originally backed SB 712 in 2025, a permanent rolling 35-years-or-older exemption with no mileage test; it died in the Senate Appropriations Committee, per Road & Track. SB 1392, authored by Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) and Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), is the fixed-band compromise that replaced it.
Newsom also signed AB 2541, creating a lowrider license plate program, and SB 1069, which speeds state review of aftermarket parts, per Road & Track.
Leno spent two legislative sessions asking for a permanent, rolling exemption. Sacramento gave him a fixed decade-long phase-in with insurance and mileage conditions attached instead. That's still a win. It's just the kind you get when the other side writes the fine print.
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Also worth knowing
EU Presses China to Cap Hybrid Exports as Imports Surge More Than Tenfold: Brussels wants China to voluntarily hold its hybrid market share in the EU near 15%, down from more than a third today, per Just Auto. The request follows a run-up in Chinese hybrid imports, which face a flat 10% tariff against up to 45% on pure EVs: from 3,800 units in October 2024, when the EV duties took effect, to 50,000 in July 2026, per Just Auto. "If they will not limit their exports to our market then we will. This is about stopping deindustrialisation. We have to act. It's about managed trade," an EU official told the Financial Times, per Automotive News Europe. #analyst
Volvo Calls It Its Biggest Product Blitz Ever: Volvo will launch 13 new vehicles by 2030, seven for Western markets and six built specifically for China, in what it calls the largest product offensive in its 99-year history, per Automotive News Europe and Motor1. The lineup mixes EVs with third-generation hybrids, a retreat from Volvo's earlier EV-only pledge. #analyst
Photo: Alexander Migl / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Land Rover's Pickup Gets Built by Jeep's Parent: JLR and Stellantis plan to build a Defender-badged pickup in the US, likely at Stellantis' underused Warren Truck plant in Michigan, per Kelley Blue Book and Autoblog. The arrangement fills idle capacity for Stellantis and lets JLR dodge import tariffs. #analyst
Chevy and GMC Quietly Raise Full-Size SUV Prices: The 2027 Tahoe and Suburban start $500 higher across most trims, but the High Country jumps $3,500, per GM-Trucks. The Yukon Denali climbs $2,700 while base trims add just $300, per GM-Trucks. #market
BYD Wants Three Car Plants in Europe, and a Battery Plant: Chinese automakers are racing to buy European assembly plants ahead of expected local-content rules, with BYD alone eventually needing three car plants and a battery factory, per Automotive News Europe and Automotive World. #analyst
Recalls & legal action
GM's Recall Escalates to Full-Size Trucks: A GM fuel pump module recall that covered four 2022 crossovers and the Camaro in July added 18 more vehicle rows on September 16, pulling in Silverado, Sierra and full-size SUVs, per GM-Trucks. → If you own one: Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov, this campaign has grown twice since July.
Photo: Deathpallie325 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Reveals & culture
Porsche and Hedley Studios Reimagine the 550 Spyder as an EV: The Porsche 550 J is an officially licensed reimagining of the 550 Spyder that won its class at the 1954 Carrera Panamericana, built at roughly 80% scale with a 48-volt electric powertrain (8 kW standard, 16 kW with the RS Package), a steel space-frame chassis and a carbon-fibre body, limited to 250 examples and handcrafted in the UK, per Porsche. It's not road legal, but it can be driven on private estates and racetracks, per Robb Report. #enthusiast
Photo: Porsche
Quick links
Waymo Adds Japan to Its Robotaxi Map: Waymo will launch commercial Level 4 robotaxi service in Japan in 2027, partnering with taxi operator Nihon Kotsu and ride-hailing platform Go, per Just Auto.
Photo: Dllu / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Nissan Weighs an Australian Return for the Kicks: Nissan says it's "examining the business case" for bringing the redesigned Kicks to Australia, leaving it among the last major markets without the model, per CarExpert.
Photo: Alexander Migl / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Daimler Truck Wants In on the Defense Boom: Daimler Truck's new defense unit aims to exceed $1 billion in revenue by 2028 with a US expansion push, per Automotive News Europe.
Photo: Boevaya mashina / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lexus Raises the GX Price for a Few Extra Sensors: The 2027 Lexus GX adds ventilated rear outboard seats on Luxury, Luxury+ and Overtrail+ grades, per Lexus, but prices rise $600 to $1,565 over last year with no mechanical changes, per Carscoops.
Photo: Lexus
Yesterday's picks
Renault and Geely Add $388M to Their Brazil Bet: The partners pledged a further 2 billion reais to Renault Geely do Brasil, lifting committed investment to 5.8 billion reais through 2027, per Just Auto and Bloomberg. The money goes to an electrified Renault on Geely's GEA platform starting in 2027, with Geely's EX2 hatchback entering production in December.
Nissan's UK Factory Investment Comes With a Condition: Nissan will invest £170 million to build the Kicks hybrid at its Sunderland plant, per Nissan, but Europe boss Max Messina said, "A large part of this is subject to the ZEV mandate amendment," and wants the UK's 2030 requirement that 80% of new cars sold be electric cut to 50% or lower, per Autocar. He also said the UK may need to match EU tariffs on China-built EVs to join the EU's proposed "Made in Europe" rules, because "they cannot have a Trojan horse in the UK," per Autocar and the Financial Times.
Worth a listen
One episode from Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform, picked out of everything the shows published in the last day.
Pebble Beach Docent Tour | Automotive History Comes Alive (The Collector Car Podcast, also at YouTube): A tour through Pebble Beach's rarest cars, including why the Bugatti Atlantic's body panels are riveted rather than welded: its magnesium-alloy skin couldn't take a weld at all.
The Collector Car Podcast
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