In today's issue:
Rivian quietly killed its entry-level R1 configs, raising the floor price by $7,000
Nissan built its 1 millionth Frontier in Mississippi as Q1 retail sales run 48% above last year
A 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO stars in Bring a Trailer's milestone 250,000th auction
Rivian's stated reason: very few customers were selecting the Dual Motor Standard Pack, making it uneconomical to keep in the lineup.
That framing holds on its face but obscures the outcome: every buyer who now configures an R1T or R1S starts $7,000 higher than they did a week ago, regardless of whether they wanted the discontinued trim.
The Large battery pack, now the entry-level option for both models, raises EPA-estimated range from 270 miles to as much as 329 miles, so the $7,000 floor increase comes with 59 more miles and creates separation between the premium R1 lineup and the lower-priced R2 Rivian is preparing to launch.
Rivian still needs volume on its path to profitability, and a higher price floor narrows the pool of buyers who can stretch to get in.
Rivian's "low-demand" rationale and the R2 separation strategy are not competing explanations. The cheapest R1 config going away clears space below for the R2, and buyers who remain get more range. But the cheaper way in is gone, and the window it closes is exactly when a lower-priced Rivian is supposed to arrive.
Also worth knowing
Porsche Plans to Move Cayenne Production From Slovakia to Germany: Porsche intends to shift Cayenne production from Bratislava, Slovakia to its Leipzig factory to fill excess German capacity, per Automotive News Europe, citing Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. All three powertrain variants would move. The decision sits inside the broader VW Group restructuring targeting 100,000 job cuts, per Reuters. #analyst
Carvana Bought Seven Stellantis Franchises for $171M and Is Testing a Dealership Without Salespeople: Carvana acquired seven Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram franchises for $171 million and is running a no-salesperson retail experiment at one of those locations, per Autoblog. Dealership buy-sell activity was up 21% year-over-year in Q1 2026 per CBT News, suggesting consolidators have plenty of runway to keep acquiring. #market
A VW Shareholder Wants to Fill German Plants With Chinese-Designed Cars: Lower Saxony premier Olaf Lies, whose state holds a major VW stake, is pitching building China-developed VW models in German factories to fill excess plant capacity, per Reuters. CEO Oliver Blume backed the idea, calling joint EU-China plant utilization "a very intelligent solution." The proposal would repurpose some of the 30-plus electrified models VW unveiled at Auto China 2026 for European buyers and potentially stabilize the same German plants the 100,000-job restructuring targets for closure. #analyst
Nissan Celebrated Its 1 Millionth Frontier Built in the U.S. While Q1 Retail Sales Ran 48% Above Last Year: Nissan's Canton, Mississippi plant assembled its millionth Frontier, per Autoblog and the Nissan pressroom, as the model's Q1 2026 retail sales ran 47.9% year-over-year and May was the Frontier's best month since 2010. The Canton plant's domestic-content rate rose from 44% to 65% last fiscal year, making the Frontier one of the more locally built midsize trucks on sale. #news
Reveals & culture
A 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO Is Bring a Trailer's 250,000th Auction, With Bidding Already Into the Millions: BaT selected a 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO for its 250,000th auction listing, and bidding has already crossed into seven figures, per Car and Driver. The 288 GTO was the direct predecessor to the F40 and effectively launched the modern Ferrari supercar lineage, making it a fitting choice for a platform milestone. #enthusiast
One of Just 80 Guards Red Porsche Carrera GTs Could Fetch $3 Million: Of the roughly 1,270 Carrera GTs ever produced, only 80 were finished in Guards Red, and one of those is heading to auction with a $3 million estimate, per Autoblog. The Carrera GT's analog V10 character and its rarity in this specific color make it among the most coveted early-2000s supercars on the current market. #enthusiast
Recalls & legal action
96,000 Hyundai Tucsons Recalled Over a Software Bug: Hyundai recalled approximately 96,000 Tucson SUVs over a software defect, per Autoblog. The Tucson is Hyundai's top-selling U.S. model, with more than 230,000 units sold in 2025 alone, meaning this recall covers a substantial slice of very recent production. → If you own one: Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov and contact your Hyundai dealer to schedule the software update. #news
Quick links
Nissan's Electric Qashqai Has Been Axed: Reports indicate Nissan has cancelled the all-electric version of the Qashqai, its best-selling European SUV and a key model for its British Sunderland plant, per Auto Express, leaving the model as a hybrid-only line.
The BMW M3 Is Getting a Full-Electric Successor Called the M3 ZA0: BMW M's first true EV without any combustion engine, the M3 ZA0, is confirmed for next year's production, and BMW says the production design will closely follow the M Vision Neue Klasse concept, per BMWBLOG.
A $41K Mini-Sized Electric Pickup Wants to Charge at 400 kW: Telo Trucks' MT1, a Mini Cooper-sized electric pickup priced at $41,000, is targeting 400 kW DC fast charging, per Autoblog: a charging spec typically reserved for six-figure EVs, in a vehicle that would fit in a standard parking space crossways.
Suspension is the daily email that makes you the most informed car person in the room.
Yesterday's picks
Ford Killed the V8 in Its Most-Loaded F-150 Trims: No announcement, no transition period: the Coyote V8 is gone from King Ranch and Platinum trim levels, discoverable only through the configurator, while Ram and GMC lean harder into displacement.
CarGurus Gives Dealers Until July 14 to Disclose All Fees: Beginning July 14, listings without fee disclosure get pushed lower in search results and Deal Ratings shift to real all-in prices; buyers on CarGurus will see the actual contract number for the first time.
Commerce Secretary Lutnick Delayed the Gordie Howe Bridge to Grab a Bigger Toll Cut: Lutnick intervened to block the scheduled opening of the new Detroit-Windsor crossing and is renegotiating for a larger U.S. toll-revenue share, keeping overflow traffic on the Ambassador Bridge, which runs at maximum capacity.