In today's issue:

Mercedes sold the first Level 3 system in the US in 2023. Three years on, it is buying a learned driver from a startup that also supplies Nissan and Stellantis, while its own Nvidia-based system has yet to ship.

VW's EV Orders Now Outnumber Gas Orders in Germany: Sales chief Martin Sander called it a "turning point in the transformation of the automotive market," and VW is cancelling planned extra shifts at its combustion-only Wolfsburg plant (about 580,000 cars this year instead of 600,000-plus) while adding two shifts at Emden for the ID7, per Automotive News Europe and Motor1. VW still earns less per EV than per comparable combustion car, per Automotive News Europe. #analyst

Nissan Is Dropping Piano-Black Trim and Chrome Because Owners Hate the Fingerprints: Nissan North America chief planning officer Ponz Pandikuthira called the change "definitely consumer driven," starting with the 2027 Rogue Hybrid, which has no piano-black trim and no chrome grille, per The Drive. #enthusiast

CarMax Cuts 145 Corporate Jobs, Its Third Round in 12 Months: CarMax cut 145 corporate positions, about 4% of its corporate staff, per CBT News. Auto Finance News says the cuts are "in line with planned and announced cost-cutting efforts," the retailer's third round in 12 months. #market

Canada's Tariffs Cut U.S.-Built Cars to 28.4% of Canadian Sales: U.S.-built vehicles fell to 28.4% of Canadian sales in the first half of 2026, from 35.4% a year earlier, as Mexico climbed to 22.2%, according to JD Power Canada data reported by Automotive News and Motor Illustrated. #analyst

The 2027 GMC Sierra Starts at $51,295, Tops Out Near $88K: Pricing runs $51,295 to $87,895 across six trims, per Carscoops, with Super Cruise standard on four of six trims and adaptive cruise control standard lineup-wide, per Pickup Truck Talk. #market

Monaco's Forgotten Lamborghini-Powered Supercar Heads to Auction: One of only five MCA Centenaires, built in Monaco around a carbon-fiber monocoque with the Countach 5000 QV's 5.2-liter V12 and a ZF six-speed manual, goes to Broad Arrow's Zoute auction on Oct. 9 with an estimate of €900,000 to €1.2 million (about $967,000 to $1.29 million), per Motor1 and Autoweek. This 1990 car was the project's development car, kept at Lamborghini's Sant'Agata factory for roughly a decade, per Motor1.

McLaren's New Logo Comes From a 1950s Gas Station: McLaren's redesigned wordmark draws on founder Bruce McLaren's parents' service station in Auckland, per Carscoops.

Nissan Revives the Pixo as a Twingo in Different Clothes: The electric Pixo returns after a 12-year absence, sharing its platform with the Renault Twingo and new Dacia Spring and building alongside them in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, per Electrive. UK pricing starts around £18,000, per AutoCar UK, with an 81-hp motor and 161-mile WLTP range, per Carscoops.

Subaru Teases Track-Focused WRX and BRZ Specials: Both 2027 limited editions, based on the tS trims, debut at Boxerfest on September 27, per Car and Driver.

Hyundai's Ioniq 6 N and BMW's iX3 Split Categories at German Car of the Year: Ioniq 6 N won Performance and iX3 won Best Interior Design and Infotainment at the GCOTY Awards 2027, per Hyundai and BMWBLOG.

Alpine Brings Two New Special Trims to Paris: The A290 Collection and A390 Atelier Alpine trims debut at the Mondial de l'Auto, emphasizing "sporting and upscale character," per autoevolution.

Lexus Turns a Gallery Into a Design Exhibit at the Armory Show: Lexus debuts an installation called "Where Art Meets Energy" at New York's Armory Show on Sept. 24, per Lexus.

Rivian Recalls Nearly 99,000 Vehicles Because a Notification Can Cover the Backup Camera: NHTSA says a notification can block the rearview camera image when the vehicle is in reverse, raising crash risk. The recall covers certain 2022-2027 R1S, 2022-2026 R1T and 2027 R2 models, and Rivian has released a free over-the-air software update as the remedy, per Reuters.

Tesla Goes to Trial Over Alleged Racial Discrimination at Fremont: California's Civil Rights Department alleges Tesla ignored racial slurs against Black workers at its Fremont plant and steered them into the lowest-paying jobs, per Autoblog and Carscoops; the case, filed in 2022, carries no damages cap.

Yesterday's picks

The FTC Just Published Real Guidance on What "Advertised Price" Means: The FTC's new FAQs, published Sept. 15, say an advertised car price must be the total a customer actually pays, excluding only government-required charges like taxes, and that figure must be the most prominent number in the ad, per the FTC and its press release. It's staff interpretation of the FTC Act, not a new rule: the agency's last attempt at a formal dealer-pricing rule, the CARS Rule, was vacated by the Fifth Circuit in January 2025 and formally withdrawn this February.

Europe's New-Car Market Just Went Majority Electrified: European registrations rose 4.6% to 835,409 units in August, with battery-electric sales up 52% to help electrified powertrains cross 50% of the market for the first time, per Automotive News Europe. Chinese brands grew 111% in the same window, the month before Brussels asked Beijing to voluntarily cap hybrid exports over a more-than-tenfold surge in imports.

US EV Registrations Fell 31% in July, the 10th Straight Month of Decline: EV registrations slid 31% to 85,714 and their share of the market fell to 6.2% from 8.9% a year earlier, even as Tesla held its share steady at 57.7%, per Automotive 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.

The Cars That Got Us Hooked, with Mike McNessor (Between Two Pumps, also at hemmings.com): Guest Mike McNessor traces his car obsession to his first car, a 1969 Camaro with a 307 and a Turbo 350, and to a 1970 Chevelle SS454 project that came with no engine or transmission.

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