In today's issue:

Restructuring is now the headline. The next test is Porsche's capital markets day on Oct. 7, where it is expected to set out updated medium-term targets, per Automotive News.

The 2027 Silverado's New V8s Make Up to 481 HP and Ditch the Dipstick: Following up on GM redesigning the trucks' screens, GM's sixth-generation small-block V8s make 402 hp and 428 lb-ft in the 5.7-liter and 481 hp and 501 lb-ft in the 6.6-liter, up 47 and 61 hp on the engines they replace, per Motor1. Edmunds calls the 6.6 the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 in the segment, ahead of Ram's 395-hp Hemi and Ford's 400-hp 5.0-liter, per Edmunds. Ford's 2027 F-150 added its 400-hp 5.0-liter V8 to the King Ranch and Platinum on Sept. 15, so it is now offered on every trim, per Motor1. Both GM V8s drop the oil dipstick for a digital gauge in the dash, per Motor1. The truck starts at $41,395 with destination and climbs to $79,995 for the off-road ZR2, per MotorTrend, Pickup Truck Talk and Edmunds. #enthusiast

Automakers, Suppliers, Dealers and Former Military Leaders Push Washington to Keep Chinese Cars Out: Following up on Trump saying he would accept Chinese car plants in America, a coalition of automakers, suppliers and dealers sent him a letter urging him to block Chinese cars ahead of a summit with China that could involve BYD, per Automotive News. Retired military commanders and business executives are asking Congress for the same, per Transport Topics, backing the Connected Vehicle Security Act, which The Autopian says a bipartisan group of lawmakers is close to passing. Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz argued Thursday: "The U.K., which in the past was a very profitable, very strong market, has become like China. All the top sellers are Chinese because there are no barriers," he said, per Automotive News. #news

Stellantis Sees No "Long-Term Business Case" for Vehicles at Brampton: Following up on Stellantis lining up a Brampton buyer while Unifor walked out, Stellantis has told employees it doesn't see a "long-term business case" for making vehicles at the idled plant, per Driving.ca. Unifor is asking Ottawa to block the sale to armored-vehicle maker Roshel and says members could be in a strike position within weeks, per CBT News. #analyst

Tesla's Cheapest Model Y in the World Is in Tokyo: A weak yen stacked with Japan's national EV subsidy and a Tokyo zero-emission grant pushes the Model Y under $23,000 there, per Automotive News. The same car runs about $40,000 in the US, where the $7,500 federal EV credit expired in September 2025, per Autoblog. #market

Toyota's Final Supra Beats the Nissan Z NISMO for the Third Time: MotorTrend put the manual Supra Final Edition up against the manual Z NISMO as the MkV Supra nears the end of production, and the Supra won again, per MotorTrend. The Z has more power, 420 hp against 382, but the Supra was quicker in the magazine's testing, reaching 60 mph in 4.1 seconds against 4.7 and covering the quarter mile in 12.5 seconds against 13.2. It also costs about $2,000 more to start, $70,645 against $68,555. #enthusiast

Ford's Six-Year Truck of the Year Streak Ends: Ford has no entrant in the 2027 North American Truck of the Year field, the first time in six years it won't win, per Motor1. The Slate Truck, Ram 1500 TRX SRT, and GM's Silverado and Sierra will meet when jurors gather in October. Motor1 calls it "an eligibility gap more than a quality verdict": the F-150 launched for 2021 and nothing else in Ford's lineup counts as new or substantially changed.

Rolls-Royce's Newest One-Off Is Trimmed in Sea Snail Shells: The Phantom Hummingbird brings abalone shell into Rolls-Royce's wood marquetry for the first time, per Autoblog and Jalopnik. Abalone is thinner and more fragile than anything the craftspeople had used, so they spent more than nine months and six methods developing a process for it. Each hummingbird on the rear picnic tables is 53 pieces of mother-of-pearl and abalone, and the three marquetry panels took over 45 hours of finishing, per Autoblog.

Alfa Romeo Teases a Paris Concept: Alfa Romeo will unveil a "vision for the future" concept at the Paris Motor Show on October 12, previewing its next design language, per AutoGuide and Carscoops.

Nearly Half of World Car of the Year Contenders Are Chinese: The 2027 World Car of the Year field is now close to half Chinese-brand entrants, per Autoblog.

Aston Martin's Open-Top Valhalla Could Land in November: The Valhalla Spider may debut as soon as November 2026, under a year after the coupe's first deliveries, per The Supercar Blog.

Yesterday's picks

The Fed Hikes for the First Time Since 2023. It Can't Touch Gas Prices.: The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point on Sept. 16, to a 3.75% to 4% target range, its first increase since 2023, as policymakers grapple with stubborn inflation made worse by a rebound in oil prices, per CBT News and Automotive News.

The House Votes to Require AM Radio in Every New Car: The House passed the bipartisan AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act by voice vote on Sept. 15, requiring AM receivers as standard equipment with no option package or subscription fee, per Road & Track. A Senate companion bill has already cleared the Commerce Committee with 60 cosponsors. Even if it becomes law, the Transportation Department gets a year to write the rule and up to two more before it binds major automakers. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation opposes it, arguing that EV high-voltage components interfere with AM reception and that shielding them could cost billions.

Wholesale Used Prices Slip 1% in Early September: The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index fell 1% from August to 206.2 in the first half of September, per Cox Automotive.

Worth a listen

One episode from Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform, picked out of everything the shows published in the last day.

Saying Goodbye to Filippo. THIS CAR POD! EP129 (THIS CAR POD! with Doug DeMuro & Friends!): Doug DeMuro and the crew say goodbye to Filippo, who is leaving Cars & Bids after about six years to be a director of EV strategy at Ford.

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