In today's issue:
Subaru confirmed three new manual cars by 2027, the same weekend VW dropped its last manual from the Jetta GLI
Antonelli took his fifth win of the season in a chaotic Monaco Grand Prix as both Verstappen and Norris retired, and Leclerc crashed blaming Ferrari's brakes
The US is demanding 50% American content in a renegotiated USMCA, a threshold most vehicles cannot currently meet
A TALE OF TWO GEARBOXES
The third car is a lighter BRZ, rounding out a manual offering across the performance range, per Carscoops.
This is a full-lineup manual commitment from a brand that discontinued the STI in 2022, unveiled at the same event where Akio Toyoda showed off Camry concepts, per Autoblog.
The contrast landed the same weekend: Volkswagen confirmed the 2027 Jetta GLI loses its manual and goes DSG-only, dropping one of the last manual options in VW's US lineup, per Jalopnik.
Two automakers spent the same weekend making opposite bets on the manual transmission. Subaru is wagering that the enthusiast loyalty it built around the WRX and BRZ is worth the cost of engineering a third pedal the rest of the industry is walking away from. VW just decided that math no longer works.
Also worth knowing
Antonelli Took His Fifth Win in a Chaotic Monaco as Verstappen and Norris Both Retired: Kimi Antonelli converted pole into his fifth win of the season and extended his championship lead in a Monaco Grand Prix that saw seven drivers retire, finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar, per Formula 1 and RaceFans. Both title contenders fell out: Max Verstappen retired at the start when his car went into anti-stall, and Lando Norris was ordered to stop with a power failure for his first non-score of the season, after McLaren had broken curfew Friday to repair an FP2 problem, per Formula 1 and The Race. Home favorite Charles Leclerc crashed out on the safety-car restart and blamed his Ferrari's brakes, ranting "I won't even take the blame" over team radio and telling Sky Sports F1 it was "like I had no rear brakes at all," per Formula 1 and MotorBiscuit. #enthusiast
The US Wants 50% American Content in a Renegotiated USMCA. That Number Is Impossible for Most Vehicles.: The Trump administration's opening position for USMCA talks, which begin next month, demands that 50% of vehicle content be US-made, per MotorBiscuit, a threshold most North American vehicles cannot currently meet. How embedded Chinese-sourced parts get treated could reshape the deal's final terms more than the headline percentage, per Automotive News. #analyst
GM's $900M Bet on Lithium-Manganese-Rich Batteries Could Cut EV Prices by 2028: GM's new 500,000-square-foot Battery Cell Development Centre in Warren, Michigan represents a $900 million commitment to LMR chemistry, which the company says no one has commercially deployed at scale, per The Next Web and CleanTechnica. GM is targeting meaningful EV cost cuts by 2028, the same year China's CATL plans to move its sodium-ion cells from pilot to commercial delivery, per Interesting Engineering. #analyst
New EVs Are Available at 0% Financing in June as Total Vehicle Sales Hit 16.5M SAAR: A broad range of EVs are now available with zero-percent financing this month, including the best-selling Tesla Model Y, per Electrek, as total vehicle sales in May hit 16.485 million SAAR, up 0.5% from April, per FRED data. New vehicle CPI fell 0.2% in April, meaning list prices are softening while zero-rate deals multiply: the effective cost of entry is declining faster than sticker prices alone suggest. #market
Reveals & culture
Subaru Is Considering Sending Its US-Built Ascent to Japan: Alongside the manual blitz, Subaru said it is weighing whether to export the US-built Ascent three-row SUV to Japan, per Carscoops. An aging left-hand-drive SUV headed to the country that invented the kei car is either a niche play or a creative way to use American plant capacity, and the optics are delightful either way. #culture
Ford Exec Hints a Four-Door Mustang Sedan Is Closer to Production Than Ever: An unnamed Ford executive's remarks prompted Car and Driver to report that a four-door Mustang, the subject of internal concept work for decades, may finally be inching toward production approval. Ford has built the concepts; what has changed is the internal political will. #enthusiast
Recalls & legal action
Honda Odyssey Class Action Argues Airbag Recall Doesn't Go Far Enough: Plaintiffs in 12 states filed a class action covering 2018-2022 Honda Odyssey minivans, arguing that Honda's side airbag recall does not adequately remedy the defect, per CarComplaints. The lawsuit is a direct challenge to the premise that an NHTSA-accepted recall closes the legal exposure. #news
Toyota Settled a Wrongful Death Suit Over a Smart Key That Left a Truck Running in a Garage: Toyota reached a settlement with the family of Lee Griffin, 55, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning after his 2017 Tacoma's keyless ignition left the engine running in an enclosed garage, per CarComplaints. Terms were not disclosed. #news
Toyota Still Has No Fix for a Tundra Engine Recall Open Since 2024: Two years after issuing the recall on third-generation Tundra engines, Toyota has yet to provide dealers with an actual remedy, leaving owners in limbo, per motorbiscuit.com. Toyota's reputation was built on the previous Tundra's indestructible 5.7-liter V8; the twin-turbo replacement is now the source of three separate unresolved reliability stories in a single news cycle. #news
Quick links
New Ford Fiesta ST Confirmed for 2028 Return: Ford executives told Auto Express UK that performance versions are "non-negotiable" for the 2028 Fiesta revival, with the ST confirmed and an RS still under consideration.
BYD Built a Navy of Eight Cargo Ships to Bypass Global Logistics: The BYD Zhengzhou, purpose-built to carry BYD vehicles, is one of eight ships the company has launched to control its own export supply chain end-to-end, per Autoblog.
Scout Terra Pickup Now Not Arriving Until March 2030: The Terra pickup slipped to March 2030 and the Traveler SUV to September 2028, per Jalopnik, adding nearly two years to the brand's relaunch timeline.
BMW Scored Belgium's Largest-Ever EV Fleet Order: 1,000 Vehicles to Katoen Natie: The Antwerp logistics firm placed the single largest EV fleet order in Belgian history with BMW Group Belux, per BMW Blog.
VW Drops the Last Manual From the Jetta GLI for 2027: Volkswagen confirmed the 2027 Jetta GLI will lose its manual option, per Jalopnik, making the GLI a DSG-only performance sedan.
Yesterday's picks
1,000 UAW Workers Just Shut Down the Only Axle Line for GM's HD Pickups: Strike threatens GM's highest-margin trucks; no backup axle source exists.
Dodge Raised the Charger Daytona EV's Price by $12,500 for 2027: Nearly 20% price hike on unchanged EV signals deeper market pressures.
Chrysler Finally Teased What Looks Like a Production Airflow: Chrysler's first new model in years could revive a brand down to two minivans.
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