Photo courtesy of Lincoln
In today's issue:
Lincoln brings back the Corsair as a Chinese import, two weeks after Ford vowed to end Chinese imports
Tesla hikes Cybertruck prices while running the line at 10% of capacity
Two Mercedes-AMG owners sue after a hot metal badge burns skin left exposed by summer clothing
TWO WEEKS, ONE REVERSAL
Lincoln confirmed Aug. 25 that the facelifted 2027 Corsair will be imported from a Changan Ford joint-venture plant in Chongqing, China, Ford's second Chinese-built Lincoln after the Nautilus (built at a separate China plant), after ending U.S. Corsair production in Kentucky in late 2025 so Ford could retool the Louisville plant for a new EV lineup that includes the Fathom pickup, per Automotive News and Kelley Blue Book.
The announcement lands two weeks after Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company would end Chinese-built imports by 2030 over tariff policy, the same pledge that began with moving Nautilus production from China to the U.S., per Automotive News citing his Aug. 12 remarks to Reuters. Ford is still importing both the Corsair and the Nautilus from China "for now."
The Corsair starts at $48,790 with destination, about $7,300 more than the outgoing model, per Autoblog. A Ford spokesperson said the increase reflects added standard content, not tariffs, though the vehicle is expected to face the same 52.5% tariff Ford already pays on the Nautilus, per Automotive News.
The nameplate returning was Lincoln's No. 2 seller last year and the highest-ranked vehicle on the 2022 Kogod School of Business Made in America Auto Index; its yearlong absence is a chief reason Lincoln sales are down 13% this year, per Automotive News and Kogod School of Business.
Ford's 2030 promise to end Chinese imports already has two carve-outs, Nautilus and now Corsair, and what replaces them in Kentucky is still just two unnamed future models.
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Also worth knowing
Tesla Hikes Cybertruck Prices $5,000 as the Line Runs at 10% Capacity: Tesla raised Dual Motor AWD Cybertruck pricing to $74,990 and Premium AWD to $84,990, per Electrek and Motor1, while running the line at roughly 10% of capacity, as some near-$100k trucks now resell around $63,000, a loss of nearly 40%, per Motor1. Tesla hasn't explained the increase; the math says this protects margin on a slow-selling line, not a hot one. #market
Photo: Tesla
The Average Car Payment Just Hit a Record $812 a Month for August: The affordability squeeze behind Monday's $49,855 average transaction price now shows up in monthly payments too. August sales are holding at a 16.4 million SAAR, but retail sales fell 6.9% year over year and hybrid share jumped to 18.2% as EV share dropped to 7.2% after the federal tax credit ended, per CBT News citing a joint forecast from JD Power and GlobalData. #market
Honda Won't Build Its Eighth U.S. Plant Without a USMCA Extension: A senior Honda executive says the automaker may skip a new North American plant meant to meet surging hybrid demand unless Washington renews the trade pact, per Automotive News. The plant decision now hinges on a policy fight, not demand. #analyst
Hyundai Plans Its Biggest-Ever Product Blitz: 100+ Models, a 600-Mile Santa Fe, and Trucks It's Never Built Before: CEO Jose Munoz used Hyundai's Aug. 26 investor day to detail more than 100 new or refreshed models over four years, including the brand's first U.S. extended-range EV in a redesigned Santa Fe rated at 600 miles, a Genesis GV80 hybrid, and new body-on-frame trucks and commercial vans aimed at segments Hyundai has never competed in, per Automotive News. The N performance lineup is targeted to grow from 20,000 to 100,000 annual sales by 2030, and Hyundai wants operating margin above 9% by 2030, up from 6.2% in 2025. #analyst
Reveals & culture
Porsche's Cheapest Race Car Still Costs $275,000: The 911 Challenge strips a GT3 down to a 508-hp flat-six race car with a roll cage and air jacks, filling the gap left by the discontinued Cayman GT4 Clubsport, per Car and Driver and Road & Track.
The Vacuum Company That Promised a Bugatti Killer Quietly Folds: Dreame claimed a 0.9-second 0-62 mph time and a 450 Wh/kg solid-state battery for its "Starry Sky" supercar concept, but the showcased car had no chassis and was remote-controlled, per Motor1. Headcount dropped from nearly 1,000 to a few dozen before the automotive division shut down entirely, per Carscoops.
Audi's $701,000 Supercar Makes the Same Horsepower as a Bugatti Veyron: The 2028 Nuvolari shares its platform with the Lamborghini Temerario but adds three axial-flux electric motors for 987 hp total, exactly matching the Veyron's output, plus carbon-fiber body panels in place of the Temerario's aluminum, per MotorTrend. Audi is capping production at 499 units, about 225 bound for North America, with European deliveries starting in the second half of 2027.
Honda Will Keep Building Manuals, Even as Demand Keeps Shrinking: American Honda VP of Auto Sales Lance Woelfer says manual demand "continues to be a smaller and smaller portion of the market" and won't grow, but Honda will keep offering the Civic Si, Civic Type R, Integra A-Spec and Integra Type S with three pedals anyway, per The Drive. Honda paused Si and A-Spec manual production in July but says both return for the next-generation Civic in 2028.
Recalls & legal action
Toyota Recalls 48,280 Tacomas Over Shocks That Can Shed Parts While Driving: The 2024-2025 Tacoma TRD Off-Road, including hybrids, can suffer corrosion at a welded flange that lets the Bilstein shock's external oil reservoir separate, per Motor1. → If you own one: Check your VIN against NHTSA campaign 26V514000 now rather than waiting for a mailed notice, and get the shocks inspected free at any dealer.
Photo: Toyota
Mercedes Sued Over Hot Metal AMG Badges That Burned Two Drivers: Two Mercedes-AMG owners are suing after the raised metal AMG logo on the driver's seat burned skin left exposed by a tank top and a sleeveless top while their cars sat in the California sun, per Automotive News. One burn, on a left upper back, was called "AMG inscribed" by a board-certified dermatologist; the suit, filed Aug. 5, seeks class-action status and wants Mercedes to remove the logos.
Quick links
Chevy's New High Country Trim Goes After GMC's Denali: The 2027 Traverse High Country swaps chrome for black trim, Tritan Satin finish and standard 22-inch wheels, per Autoblog.
Land Rover Pushes the Electric Defender Into the 2030s: JLR delayed the next-gen Defender redesign by roughly two years amid weak premium-EV demand and U.S. tariffs, per Autoblog and Motor1.
Ford Adopts Apple's Mapping SDK for Its Next EV Platform: Ford will use Apple's MapKit for Automotive software kit, not Apple Maps itself, to build a customized map interface for its Universal EV Platform, and its Latitude AI team will use Apple's map data to develop the next generation of BlueCruise, per Automotive News. Ford keeps branding and design control over the interface.
Mitsubishi's Return to US Trucks Runs Through Nissan's Factory: Mitsubishi's Momentum 2030 plan brings back a US pickup for the first time in over a decade, almost certainly a badge-engineered Nissan Frontier, per The Drive.
China's EV Sales Keep Sliding Without the Incentives: Passenger NEV retail sales fell 12% year over year to 614,000 units in the first 23 days of August, per CnEVPost, even as penetration rose to 64.3% of the shrinking overall market.
Yesterday's picks
Trump's 50% Canada Tariff Would Tax Toyota and Honda Most of All: Trump said Aug. 24 that tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, parts and steel will rise to 50% on Jan. 1, 2027, after weekend trade talks collapsed over medium- and heavy-duty truck relief, per Automotive News.
Hyundai Ends Its Longest Strike in a Decade: Hyundai's South Korean union struck a tentative deal after its first full walkout in ten years, landing a 4.1% base-pay raise and 500 new technical hires from 2027-28, plus an AI and robotics job-security clause, per Automotive News and CBT News. That clause is the payoff of the binding-consent demand over robot deployment strikers raised when the walkout began.
Porsche Pays Tata $1.46 Billion to Fix Its Own Software: Porsche sold its MHP consulting arm to Tata Consultancy Services for $373 million (€320 million), then signed a separate five-year, $1.46 billion AI partnership with TCS to speed software fixes and telematics, per CBT News.
Worth a listen
One episode from Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform, picked out of everything the shows published in the last day.
Our Favorite Fuel-Efficient SUVs #68 (The Driveway): The hosts calculate the exact payback period for hybrid SUVs, showing that front-wheel drive models take four and a half years to recoup their premium over gas alternatives.
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