Photo: Porsche Cars North America
In today's issue:
McLaren and Porsche both walked back "no more manuals" in the same 24 hours
China is exporting cars faster than the world has ships to move them
A Polestar dealer sues for $25 million, saying the brand faked its own US exit
STICK SHIFT COMEBACK
McLaren's McL 6GT pairs a mechanical manual gearbox with a V8, rear-wheel drive and a carbon-fiber monocoque, the brand's first stick shift since the 1992 F1 and a real gearbox rather than the gated dual-clutch Ferrari has been calling a manual, with a production version due in the second half of 2028, per Carscoops and Automotive News Europe.
Less than a day earlier, Porsche brought a six-speed manual back to the 911 Carrera S through a new MT Package, pairing it with the 473-hp twin-turbo flat-six, rear-drive only, exclusive to North America, with deliveries from late 2026, per AutoGuide.
Porsche had pulled the manual from the base Carrera, the Carrera S and the GTS in the 992.2 refresh, leaving three-pedal cars boxed into the Carrera T on one end and the GT3 on the other, per The Drive.
The production McLaren, codenamed P50, is expected to run to about 500 cars starting near $1.5 million, per Automotive News Europe, citing people familiar with the plans. Power, performance and weight figures have not been released.
Both reversals land at Monterey Car Week, but the direction of travel has not changed: 26 manual models are on sale in the US and three more end their run with the 2026 model year, while EPA data puts manuals at 0.6% of 2025 production, an all-time low. Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform, tracks every car still sold new in the US with a manual transmission.
Two supercar brands spent the past decade insisting three pedals were a packaging and emissions liability. Both just proved it was reversible for buyers who could pay. Nothing about it moves a number that sits at 0.6%.
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Also worth knowing
China is exporting cars faster than there are ships to carry them: Chartering a large car carrier hit $70,000 a day in June, up from $42,500 at the end of last year, as China's exports run toward a forecast 10 million vehicles this year against just under 600,000 in 2019, per the Wall Street Journal, citing shipbroker Clarksons and research group Mobility Global. The global carrier fleet has grown about 40% and still cannot absorb the volume, so up to 4 million vehicles a year now leave China inside shipping containers, and BYD has built its own fleet of eight carriers. #analyst
A car carrier at berth. Chartering one hit $70,000 a day in June. Photo: Ruff tuff cream puff / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
New-vehicle inventory keeps shrinking even as sales climb: Inventory fell to 75 days' supply in July even as sales climbed 8.5%, with Toyota, Lexus and Honda running the tightest lots while Stellantis still works through excess stock, per CBT News. #market
Acura's next RDX design language debuted on a car it won't sell you: The Nexera Vision concept's lighting signature will carry over to the next-generation RDX Hybrid arriving in 2028, per The Drive and Automotive News Europe. #enthusiast
Reveals & culture
Ford drops the roof on its 795-hp Mustang: The 2027 Mustang Dark Horse SC Convertible keeps the supercharged 5.2-liter V8's full 795 hp and pairs it with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, arriving spring 2027, per CBT News and Motor Trend.
The Mustang Dark Horse. The new SC Convertible adds a supercharged 795-hp V8 and a folding roof. Photo: Charles from Port Chester, New York / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Lucid's family SUV now outmuscles the Escalade-V: The Gravity GT-S makes 1,070 hp and starts at $125,900 before delivery, supercar output in a three-row seven-seater, per Car and Driver and Carscoops.
Lucid Gravity. Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Recalls & legal action
A Polestar dealer says the automaker faked its own exit: New Jersey retailer Prestige Imports is seeking at least $25 million, alleging Polestar used a federal sales ban as cover for a withdrawal it had already planned, per Automotive News Europe and CBT News. If the suit succeeds, every Polestar dealer left holding unsellable inventory gains a template for its own claim.
Polestar 3. Photo: JustAnotherCarDesigner / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick links
Thousands of Chinese robotaxis are headed for European streets: Uber and Pony.ai are expanding their partnership to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across five European cities, starting with Zagreb, per Carscoops and chinaevhome.
Bosch's new CEO moves fast against Chinese rivals: Christian Fischer, who succeeded Stefan Hartung on July 1, is restructuring the world's largest auto supplier to counter slowing production and intensifying Chinese competition, per Automotive News Europe.
Mercedes loses the software chief who built its new OS: Magnus Östberg will leave Mercedes-Benz at the end of August just as MB.OS deployment accelerates across the lineup, per Automotive News Europe.
California enlists automakers to help pay for its EV rebate: More than a dozen automakers are contributing matching funds to a state EV incentive designed to replace the expired $7,500 federal tax credit, per Automotive News Europe.
Global EV sales grew in July everywhere except North America: Europe offset weakness in China and North America to keep worldwide EV sales climbing in July, per Reuters.
Yesterday's picks
Ford Moves Lincoln Production Home, and Says the Tariff Decided It: Ford will move Lincoln Nautilus production from China to the U.S. starting in 2030, CEO Jim Farley told Reuters, per Automotive News.
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.
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.
More from Suspension
Earlier: Polestar's U.S. Exit Leaves 32 Dealers With No Brand to Sell, in the Jun 30 issue
Earlier: Acura teases the design language that will reshape the next RDX, in the Aug 8 issue
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