2026 Durango Goes All-In on Hemi V8 Power

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The Durango Goes All-In on Hemi V8 Power

The Dodge Durango has weathered more than a decade on the market and seen its share of powertrain shifts. For 2026, Dodge has changed course in a big way. Following its reintroduction in the Ram 1500, the Hemi lives on in the Durango lineup as standard equipment across all trims. Whether in GT, R/T, or SRT Hellcat form, every model now gets a V8 under the hood.

This decision aligns with Dodge’s current push to keep combustion performance alive alongside electrification efforts elsewhere in the lineup. The shift also coincides with the debut of the most customizable Durango yet, the SRT Hellcat Jailbreak, which follows the previous Challenger and Charger in opening up its color and trim combinations far beyond the usual order-sheet limitations.

2026 Durango Lineup and Pricing

The 2026 Durango GT now uses the 5.7-liter Hemi V8, producing 65 more horsepower than last year’s V6 and starting at $42,495, making it the most affordable AWD V8 vehicle in the U.S. The R/T trim gets an even bigger boost, offering the 392-cubic-inch Hemi V8 for the first time, rated at 475 horsepower and still priced under $50,000.

At the top of the range, the SRT Hellcat continues with the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8 producing 710 hp and 645 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic and AWD. It can reach 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and tow up to 8,700 pounds, with a new starting price of $79,995.

Orders for the GT and Hellcat open August 13, with the R/T to follow later in the year. Deliveries begin in the fourth quarter of 2025.


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The SRT Hellcat Jailbreak Program

The 2026 Durango SRT Hellcat Jailbreak takes the standard Hellcat platform and applies Dodge’s unrestricted ordering philosophy. Apart from Mopar’s newest line, it offers more than six million possible configurations by mixing six wheel designs, six exterior colors, six badge finishes, five stripe options, four brake caliper colors, and multiple seating configurations and materials.

New for 2026 is the Green Machine exterior paint, joining Destroyer Gray, Diamond Black, Octane Red, Vapor Gray, and White Knuckle. Inside, options range from black Laguna leather and Alcantara to Laguna leather in gray, sepia, or red, as well as ebony red Nappa leather. Seat belts are available in four colors, and every Jailbreak gets a stamped interior badge on carbon-fiber trim.

Select customers will be invited to use Dodge’s Custom Color program to create a one-of-one paint finish with a dedicated concierge. The Jailbreak package adds $995 before any chosen options, and like the rest of the Hellcat range, it will arrive in dealerships in late 2025.


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Hyundai’s Next EV Could Be Its Cheapest Yet — Everything We Know So Far

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Will The U.S. Get It?

After super-sizing with the Hyundai Ioniq 9 three-row SUV, Hyundai Motor Group is heading in the opposite direction with its next Ioniq EV. The Korea Times reports that a smaller—and likely more affordable—model called the Hyundai Ioniq 2 will debut in September at the Munich Auto Show.

Likely to be a crossover smaller than the current HyundaiIoniq 5, the Ioniq 2 may be shown in concept form rather than as a production-ready model. But InsideEVs has rounded up spy shots and video from the YouTube channel HealerTV of prototypes out testing, indicating that a production version is on the way. Here’s what we know so far.

Kia EV2 Sibling

Just as other Hyundai Ioniq EVs have shared the automaker’s E-GMP platform with Kia models, the Ioniq 2 is expected to be a sibling to the Kia EV2, which was first shown in concept form earlier this year at Kia’s EV Day presentation in Tarragona, Spain, and is expected to reach production in 2026.

With its boxy styling, the EV2 almost looked like an heir to the Kia Soul EV that was sold in the U.S. in limited numbers during the 2015-2019 model years. But spy shots and video of camouflaged prototypes hint at a more curvaceous, hatchback-like shape for the Ioniq 2. We won’t know for sure until the covers come off in Munich, though.

If the Ioniq 2’s specs reflect those of the EV2, it’ll sit between the Hyundai Kona Electric and Volvo EX30 in size, which would make it pretty small by U.S. standards. To keep it affordable, the EV2 is expected to use an economy version of the E-GMP platform (also shared with the upcoming Kia EV3) with 400-volt charging instead of 800-volt, and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells. Expect the Ioniq 2 to do the same.

Europe Will Likely Be Its Main Market

The EV2 is expected to start at around 30,000 euros (roughly $34,000), meaning the Ioniq 2 should be in the same ballpark. That would be great for a U.S. market currently lacking in affordable vehicles, but both the EV2 and Ioniq 2 might be too small to work here, and Hyundai’s EV priorities may be elsewhere.

While Hyundai’s current Ioniq models have sold well, the loss of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and the Trump Administration’s new 15% tariff on Korean cars will weaken the business case for these smaller EVs, the Korea Times notes. It’s more likely that Hyundai will skip the U.S. and focus on the European market, where EVs—and small cars in general—are more welcome.

The Military Wants to Find the Best Ways To Destroy a Tesla Cybertruck

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk initially promised that the new Cybertruck would be bulletproof and apocalypse-ready, but he probably wasn’t planning for them to be used as target practice for the military. The U.S. Air Force is reportedly looking for two Cybertrucks to use as targets for precision guided weapons.

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The USAF chose Cybertrucks because it said there’s a possibility future adversaries could be driving one. The Tesla is one of 33 different vehicles being sought for use by the Air Force Testing Center at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. That said, the Cybertruck is the only model listed by name, with others being generic sedans, trucks, and SUVs.

The Air Force’s order documents state that the Cybertruck’s “aggressively angular and futuristic design, paired with its unpainted stainless steel exoskeleton, sets it apart from competitors typically using painted steel or aluminum bodies. Additionally, its 48V electrical architecture provides superior power and efficiency, a feature that rivals are only beginning to develop. Extensive internet searches and industry outreach by [redacted] found no vehicles with features comparable to those of the Cybertruck.”

While we don’t know if the military has some intelligence suggesting that insurgents are snapping up Tesla Cybertrucks, it makes sense that it would want to figure out the best ways to destroy one in case that did happen. Plus, Tesla likely won’t be unhappy to sell some Cybertrucks, even if it’s only two, and even if they’re only being purchased to be shot at.

After hearing claims that the truck was indestructible, the internet went to work proving that it wasn’t. Many YouTubers and other personalities tested the trucks with crossbows, rifles, and all manner of other firearms, and it stood up to most of the punishment surprisingly well. Of course, it’s not actually indestructible, as some have shown that doing “real” truck stuff causes problems in a hurry.

Revolutionary New Tech Increases EV and Hybrid Fire Safety via Identification

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A simple, lasting solution to pure EV and hybrid fire identification 

An expert in lithium-ion battery and hydrogen technology for land, sea, and air has spoken with Autoblog about his patent that helps first responders meet the unique challenges associated with suppressing hybrid and pure electric vehicle (EV) fires. The risk mitigation specialist, William S. Lerner, described his technology as a visual indicator identifying a vehicle’s make, model, and status. This identification is achieved through technology that can be placed on any part of a vehicle, blinking in a series of colors.

“There are those sun dots by your rearview mirror, and those sun dots are part of the windshield. The easiest way to implement my technology is to take those sun dots and to put a QR code there,” Lerner said. He explained that vehicle manufacturers could call a glass manufacturer and request an embedding of the QR code that stays with the car. A first responder then uses a scanner to scan the QR code and learn everything they need to know about the vehicle. The second phase is that there could be an LED illumination backing the QR code to flash patterns signaling emergencies, like a car being in failure mode. Ultimately, the blinking lights and QR code serve different, complementary purposes. Lerner emphasized that his technology is necessary today, as it provides first responders with “information in a second,” which can help them adapt emergency protocols to the evolving landscape of diverse powertrains.

William S. Lerner

William S. Lerner

How first responders are trained to use Lerner’s identification technology 

Regarding first responder education on using Lerner’s technology, the risk mitigation expert explained that workers like firefighters could receive this information through organizations, including but not limited to the International Association of Firefighters.

“If you see three flashing greens, you’ll know that’s going to be an EV. If you see flashing green, then flashing pink, then flashing red, that’s going to be a hybrid. There will be three different colors starting out,” Lerner said. He added that there would also be a mild hybrid signal, and clarified that he’s aiming for simplicity rather than an inundation of information.

GMC Hummer EV battery pack

JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images

However, Lerner recognized that while his technology is straightforward, the nature of hybrid and pure EV fires isn’t completely understood. The inventor told Autoblog: “We don’t understand what’s released when these batteries burn. It’s a toxic mix of chemicals, of carcinogens, which include cyanide, formaldehyde, and many other chemicals we don’t understand. We don’t understand if cyanide is burning from the battery or how it mixes with the other chemicals to burn. We also have to understand that cars now have 400-500 pounds of plastic. Once you start to make a bonfire of lithium-ion and all these other chemicals, it becomes this toxic thing. We don’t have the tools to understand what the chemicals are; we don’t have the data to understand the long-term effects; we don’t have a diagnosis; we don’t have a treatment. So the most important thing you can do is to distance yourself from it until we have the data.”

Final thoughts 

In our discussion, Lerner shed light on how first responder gear isn’t impervious to many of the toxic chemicals associated with hybrid and EV fires. He added that the correct processes for cleaning fire residue left on firefighters’ turnout gear after these events are another unanswered question. In turn, Lerner’s visual indicator technology enables emergency workers to quickly identify situations, allowing them to apply current best practices and improve response times while increasing safety. Lerner doesn’t take any money from first responders for his technology’s training. He’s willing to license it royalty-free to certain fire departments and government agencies, and automakers won’t have to spend anything to perform a pilot program.

Next Ford Lightning Won’t Arrive Until 2028 as EV Strategy Shifts

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Even as Ford CEO Jim Farley prepares to reveal more about the automaker’s new “affordable” EV strategy on Monday, August 11, the automaker is moving to delay replacements for two of its three current battery-electric vehicles.

Ford factory assembly line

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The F-150 Lightning pickup and E-Transit commercial van now won’t receive major updates until at least 2028, the automaker confirmed. Replacement models originally were planned to start rolling out as early as this year.

Separately, several sources told Autoblog that Ford is rethinking plans for the massive Blue Oval City manufacturing complex it’s setting up near Memphis, Tennessee. Originally planned to produce a next-generation Lightning and at least one other EV, Ford may retool the still-under-construction facility to roll out a mix of EVs and hybrid-electric vehicles.

Another Delay

Ford received a flood of advance orders when it first unveiled the F-150 Lightning in 2021, leading the automaker to substantially increase the production capacity at its then-new Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. But demand just as quickly settled back closer to the automaker’s original forecast – though it is now the best-selling all-electric pickup in the U.S., topping competitors such as the Tesla Cybertruck, Rivian R1T and Chevrolet Silverado EV.

Related: Every Electric Pickup Truck Ranked By 2025 Sales So Far

A new version of the Ford F-150 Lightning won’t appear before 2028.

Ford

A next-generation Lightning, codenamed T3 was supposed to be built at Blue Oval City, production originally intended to start this year. The automaker has pushed that back several times, however, now setting a target date of 2028. The company has advised suppliers, according to a report first published by Automotive News – but now confirmed by a company statement. “We remain focused on delivering our Ford+ plan and will be nimble in adjusting our product launch timing to meet market needs and customer demand while targeting improved profitability,” it said.

As for the current version of the E-Transit van, Ford initially set a target for a new model to debut “mid-decade.” That has also been pushed back to 2028.

Starting Over

Those delays come at a time when Ford is all but starting over with its EV plans. Among other things, the automaker scrapped two all-electric 3-row SUVs, despite them being well along in the product development process.

Like several competitors, Farley and his team have determined that the best opportunities to make a dent in an EV market lately slowing down is to focus on “affordable,” rather than high-end product lines. “We think that that’s really what customers are going to want long term,” he said during a second-quarter earnings call last month.

Farly is expected to offer more insight into what that means during that August 11 briefing to be held at the automaker’s Louisville, Kentucky assembly plant. Ford clearly doesn’t want to be left behind as competitors like General Motors, Hyundai and others push into the low-$30,000 range or below with their own new entry models. The average transaction price for an EV sold in the U.S. was nearly twice that, around $57,000 in June, according to Kelley Blue Book. If anything, Farley has suggested his real focus is on Chinese automakers like Geeley and BYD which have pushed into the teens with some of their latest EVs, gaining significant market share in regions like Latin America and Europe, as well as in China.

Ford CEO Farley wants to bring the same dramatic changes to EVs that founder Henry Ford I pulled off a century ago with the Model T.

“A Model T Moment”

During the Ford earnings call, Farley suggested his company is readying “A Model T Moment,” referencing the original “Tin Lizzy” roadster that put the company on the map more than a century ago. To make that happen, the CEO last year set up a “skunkworks” product team moved out to Long Beach, California, a distance, he felt, that would allow it to work outside the established Ford order.

The first product to emerge from that project is expected to be a compact pickup, with a small SUV among other EVs in development. Farley recently hinted the products will be a “marvel of simplification,” and sources have hinted at new manufacturing processes that could yield significant cost reductions. That is likely to include the use of large-scale aluminum “gigacastings,” each replacing dozens of conventional steel part, possible a hundred or more. That’s already part of Tesla’s manufacturing process.

Rethinking Blue Oval City

When Ford announced its $5.6 billion Blue Oval City project, it was envisioned to be the largest manufacturing complex in the company’s history, at about 3,600 acres. There were also three battery plants intended to support the venture, one on the Tennessee campus, two others in nearby Kentucky. As of now, only one of these, in Kentucky, has an actual target date, set to open later this year.

A rendering of Ford’s Blue Oval City manufacturing complex.

Work on Blue Oval City, in general, has been slowed down, no surprise with the delay planned for the next F-150 Lightning. But there are likely to be other changes in the manufacturing plans. Even were it to open in 2028, it would be an “underutilized facility for years unless they find some non-EV products to go in there,” Sam Fiorani, lead analyst with AutoForecast Solutions told Autoblog. “We’re hearing that possibility,” he added, with his own sources indicating Ford plans to retool Blue Oval City to handle “either hybrids or extended-range models,” possibly both, along with all-electric models. Several other sources confirmed that topic is under discussion within Ford.

The automaker wouldn’t be alone in taking that approach. Companies like Stellantis, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Honda have all adopted “multi-energy” strategies as EV sales slip, allowing them to flow with customer demand by offering various powertrain technologies off a single model. Dodge this past week revealed a gas-powered version of the Dodge Charger which will be offered alongside the all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona. For its part, The Hyundai Motor Group original set up its Georgia Metaplant solely for EV production. By the time it began operations late last year it was retooled to include hybrids and plug-in hybrids, a move meant to keep it operating profitably whatever buyers demand.

VW’s Coupe-Styled EV Could Be Dead in Two Years

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The first half of 2025 has been kind to Volkswagen’s EVs, with the automaker seeing an increase of around 47 percent in sales. Despite that, the automaker is reportedly considering cutting one of its longer-running electric models due to unimpressive sales numbers.

VW is reportedly looking to cut the ID.5 as soon as 2027, which would mark the seven-year point in its lifespan. The coupe-styled electric SUV never made it to the U.S., and in Europe, buyers have favored the larger, more practical ID.4. Volkswagen is not considering a follow-up for the ID.5.

The ID.5 also forms the basis for the Ford Capri, which went on sale last year and immediately had its production numbers cut back due to “rapidly deteriorating market conditions for electric vehicles,” according to a Ford spokesperson.

Volkswagen combines ID.4 and ID.5 sales, so it can be difficult to get solid sales numbers. That said, the two combined to become VW’s best-selling EVs in the first half of 2025, followed by the ID.3. Audi’s Q4 e-tron variants landed in a distant third place.

Volkswagen is targeting and discontinuing slower-selling models, starting with the Passat a few years back and the Arteon more recently. The newer ID. Buzz electric minivan was slated to replace the Touran in other countries, but those plans were ditched due to lackluster demand.

Like others in the industry, the German automaker has been forced to adapt as buyers’ on-again, off-again EV demand makes it difficult to plan. Volkswagen also has headaches in China, where buyers are shifting toward domestic brands in high numbers. The company has seen strikes and other challenges in its European workforce as it looks to cut costs, with the auto workers’ union saying the company “set fire to our collective agreements.”

Engine Teardown Reveals A Simple Error That Destroys The Reliable M257 Engine

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One Of Mercedes’ Most Prolific Engines

No engine is perfect, but some are so well engineered that they’re close enough, and the Mercedes M276 DE 35, a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6, is one of them. The engine has its minor common faults, like oil leaks and problematic camshaft adjusters/cam followers, but it was so good that, with the exception of front-wheel-drive-based vehicles like the A-Class and B-Class, Mercedes put it in everything it could between 2010-2017 – ML 350, C 350, E 350, S 350, GLE 350 (ML 350 replacement), and GLK 350. However, as YouTube channel I Do Cars shows in a teardown of a core exchange M276 (embedded at the bottom of this article), ignoring the small issues can lead to massive ones. With no VIN plate, mileage history, or other information, the only way to determine what killed this typically reliable engine is one step at a time.

Deceiving Deconstruction

Mercedes-Benz


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Before anything is done, we can see a hole in the oil pan, and combined with the fact that the crankshaft refuses to turn over, this is worrying. However, with no evidence of a connecting rod escaping the black, and since this is a non-running core exchange engine, it’s clear that the oil pan has simply been swapped from another broken motor. A good sign for the parts reseller is that no part of the electrical harness appears to have been torn, so whoever removed the engine (from a 2014 or 2015 ML 350) did it carefully. Moving on, this direct injection motor shows plenty of evidence of carbon buildup and some minor oil seepage in the head, but the valvetrain seems nearly perfect. At least, it did until the valve cover was pulled, showing a worn cam follower with scoring on the camshaft, too. Cam lobes also show some evidence of wear, but not enough to affect the journal bearings. Without complete timing failure, these factors are not to blame for this particular motor’s failure. That becomes apparent under the timing cover, once the head is removed.

The Cause Of The M257’s Failure And How To Avoid It

Mercedes-Benz

After removing the water pump, oil pump, and tensioners, and loosening the end caps, the crankshaft finally turns, allowing the removal of the main bearings (one of which was badly scored, though journal bearings were okay). The block looks good, with only some minor scoring on the cylinder walls, and there’s no shrapnel in the oil filter or even the residual lubricant in the head. Thus, the diagnosis is this: an unaddressed minor oil leak spilled onto the serpentine belt. Over time, the belt became saturated and lost its tension, allowing it to move slightly backward and forward. Unfortunately for the original owner of this engine, this time, the belt moved toward the back of the engine, being sucked behind the crank pulley (N54 owners can relate). A loose belt is already bad for timing, but bits of the devoured belt then knocked the oil pump chain off its gear and onto the crank, where it got compressed.

This, along with pieces of the crank seal and serpentine belt being in a tight space where they don’t belong, led to an overextension of one of the oil pump tensioners, causing the oil pump to seize. The moment that happened, the engine died, and as the car coasted to the side of the road, the crank had already made its last rotation under power. This explains the lack of metal debris in the oil filter and other areas; the oil pump had no time to circulate any more oil once the first main bearing was scored.

So what can you do? First, don’t ignore oil leaks, even if minor. Even if they don’t lead to this specific issue, this engine is notorious for dripping oil onto harness connectors, and if some of it gets into the ECU plug, that ECU is toast. Second, ensure that oil services and top-ups are performed with a funnel to avoid unnecessary drips on finicky components. And finally, don’t just replace fluids and filters – tensioners have a limited lifespan, too. The M257 is one of the most reliable modern Mercedes engines ever, but it needs care and maintenance nonetheless.

Alpina’s Next Chapter: BMW Plans To Reinvent Its Most Elegant Performance Brand

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Alpina And BMW: Always Aligned

Ever heard of Alpina? If you’re not a BMW fan, the name may not mean much, but it’s been around for more than half a century, and it’s preparing for a new future under BMW ownership. Similarly to how RUF is a manufacturer of its own vehicles with their own chassis and powertrain designs and not a tuner of Porsche 911s, Alpina is a manufacturer of cars. But while RUF comprehensively reengineers the few components it doesn’t design and develop in-house, and although Alpina is a separate entity from BMW, its line of high-performance luxury cars is very closely related to the Bimmers that underpin them.

BMW and Alpina have always worked hand in hand, with the latter’s B7 today being produced on the same Dingolfing assembly line as the former’s 7 Series. The two have become so cosy that BMW now owns the brand, and it has big plans for 2026 and beyond. But before we get there, we need to understand where Alpina came from.

Born From The Desire For Higher Performance

Noah Joseph/AOL

The original Alpina brand produced typewriters, but it disappeared by the end of the 1960s after attempting to move into textiles. Alpina as we know it was founded in 1965 by Burkard Bovensiepen in an outbuilding of the original typewriter factory, though its true genesis began in 1962 when the man developed a Weber dual carburetor for the BMW 1500. BMW itself was impressed, and in 1964, it certified the quality of the Alpina component by providing a full factory guarantee, leading to more revised carburetor, crankshaft, and cylinder head products. Come 1967, the current Alpina logo was created, incorporating a dual carburetor and a camshaft. By 1970, with nearly ten times the workforce, Alpina relocated to its current location in Buchloe, a town in Bavaria roughly 45 miles from Munich. That year, Alpina cars won the European Touring Car Championship, the Spa 24 Hours, the German Hillclimb Championship, and other track and rally racing championships. The company withdrew from racing in 1988. Its reason? Capacity restrictions were limiting its competitive chances, but just as importantly, the company was preparing a new line of BMW Alpina road cars after becoming recognized as an automobile manufacturer by the German Federal Ministry of Transport five years earlier.

What Alpina Does Now

Alpina

It’s worth noting at this point that the E30 BMW M3 arrived in 1986 and became the most successful racecar in history, despite only having a four-cylinder engine. Not the most successful BMW – the most successful racecar. With roadgoing Alpina cars being hand-manufactured in lower volumes and BMW M cars now in existence to cater to performance enthusiasts, Alpina leaned further into its luxury image, and while many Alpinas can be more powerful and faster in a straight line than some similar Bimmers, they’re intentionally never as sharp.

Examples of its creations include the B3, a G20 3 Series-based sedan that uses the S58 engine from the M3 but with less power (456 hp versus 503) and more torque (516 lb-ft versus 479). Basically, if you see a B3 badge, you’re looking at a more powerful, more luxurious 3 Series; if you see a B5, you’re looking at a more powerful, more luxurious 5 Series. Alpinas with a D instead of a B in their name are modified versions of diesel-powered Bimmers. Tell-tale signs of Alpina fettling are the multi-spoke wheels, pinstripe body detailing, and additional vanes on bodywork, particularly on the front spoiler and rear fascia. Green and blue are its preferred paint colors, though more are available.

With that close relationship with BMW, Alpina cars (both diesel and gasoline-powered) continue to be serviced and covered by BMW dealerships and warranties, despite being sold and registered without any mention of BMW. The differentiation will become less clear soon, however.

How Alpina Is Preparing To Evolve

BMW


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In 2022, the BMW Group announced that it had acquired the rights to the Alpina brand in full, a year after Alpina had achieved the most successful year in its history. At the time, the pair said that the existing “long-standing cooperation agreement” that was extended by five years in 2020 would expire on 31 December 2025. The reason for the change in ownership was described as follows:

“The transformation towards electromobility and increasing regulation worldwide – particularly emissions legislation, software validation, and requirements for driver assistance and monitoring systems – results in significantly higher risks for small-series manufacturers. The management of Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG is addressing this with a strategic realignment that will secure the long-term viability of the Buchloe operations.”

Basically, Alpina builds too many cars to dodge emissions in the same way that ultra-low-volume manufacturers like Pagani and Koenigsegg might, but too few to have the engineering might and software expertise to be adequately prepared for an uncertain future. The gas-powered Porsche Macan crossover and 718 sports car were discontinued in Europe because their architecture could not accommodate new cybersecurity regulations, so the threat is real. And although emissions targets in Europe have been mildly relaxed and those in the U.S. have been all but eliminated, reducing carbon emissions remains an important goal for all automakers, and having the financial might of BMW fully behind the brand will surely lead to other opportunities.

What We Might Expect

German Patent and Trademark Office

The 2022 announcement confirmed that the sale of Alpina trademark rights would result in the discontinuation of the current Alpina vehicle program at the end of 2025, affecting jobs at the Buchloe site. This could imply that either Alpina-branded vehicles will eventually be made at BMW factories exclusively or that overall Alpina production volumes will be significantly reduced, potentially to produce even rarer, more profitable BMW-based creations. BMW has been expanding access to its Individual color palette and launching M Performance kits for just about every car with an M badge, indicating that more and more buyers are happy to spend a few thousand extra on customization. At the same time, the sold-out 3.0 CSL, Skytop, and Speedtop prove that there’s a strong appetite for high-end Bimmers that cost six figures, so long as they’re produced in low volumes.

With the BMW Group also owning Rolls-Royce, it looks like a logical move to position Buchloe’s products between Munich’s and Goodwood’s. If the Speedtop could be a success despite being based on the slow-selling 8 Series, perhaps Alpina could be just as successful in presenting some bespoke creations of its own at the annual BMW-backed Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance.

A recent Autocar interview with BMW Group Head of Design Adrian van Hooydonk did not reveal anything about a bespoke Alpina model just yet, but he did say that while Maximillian Misoni’s styling of future Alpinas will share “one design language” with BMW, each brand would have distinct identities. Whatever the future holds, a new logo discovered by CarBuzz suggests that the changes from next year will be evident throughout the company. The revised imagery does away with the traditional shield shape that houses the Alpina brand marks, now enclosing them in a roundel that aligns the Alpina corporate identity even more closely with BMW’s. This follows a new wordmark discovered by the BMW i5Talk forum in 2023, so BMW is certainly evaluating multiple ways of representing the brand from 2026. Keep an eye on the shores of Lake Como next year – we have a sneaking suspicion BMW will relaunch the brand at Villa d’Este.

Ohio Lets Tesla Sell Cars Direct—Rivian Wants the Same

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Automaker Claims Franchise Law Harms Consumers

When Tesla bypassed traditional franchised dealerships over a decade ago and started selling its electric vehicles directly to customers it started a legal battle with the car-dealer lobby that continues to this day. This time it’s Rivian’s turn to skirmish.

On Monday, Rivian filed a lawsuit against the registrar of Ohio’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) in federal court in order to be able to sell its EVs directly to consumers in that state. The lawsuit argues that the Ohio BMV is harming consumers by blocking direct sales, according to TechCrunch.

Like Tesla, Rivian has been selling cars directly to its customers from the beginning. It’s never used franchised dealerships, so it is not competing against its own franchisees, which is the argument behind franchise laws that prevent established automakers from engaging in direct sales. Rivian is currently able to sell cars in 25 states and the District of Columbia, but not Ohio.

‘Irrational In The Extreme’

Rivian

“Ohio’s prohibition of Rivian’s direct-sales-only business model is irrational in the extreme: it reduces competition, decreases consumer choice, and drives up consumer cost and inconvenience—all of which harms consumers—with literally no countervailing benefit,” Rivian’s lawyers wrote in the suit.

Rivian customers in Ohio currently have to buy their cars in other states that allow direct sales, after which they’re shipped to a Rivian service center in the Buckeye State for delivery. Rivian is asking the court to grant it a dealership license so it can sell vehicles in the state. Such a license was previously granted to Tesla, which has been selling cars directly to customers in Ohio since 2013.

The obstacle Rivian faces is a 2014 law, which the automaker says came after intense lobbying by the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association (OADA) that essentially shut the door behind Tesla, allowing that firm to keep its dealer license but blocking other manufacturers from obtaining one.

The Fight Continues

Rivian

Tesla’s Ohio situation is a result of the state-by-state legal battles the automaker fought in the its early days of volume sales. It was able to win concessions for itself, in some cases, but state dealership lobbies were too entrenched to achieve any broad concessions in favor of direct sales. That leaves Rivian and other upstart automakers to re-fight these battles.

Rivian, along with Lucid, was granted a dealership license in Illinois in 2021, and the automakers successfully fended off a legal challenge from that state’s dealer association to block direct sales. In 2022, Lucid also filed a lawsuit in Texas challenging that state’s direct-sales ban. That suit was unsuccessful, but Lucid has appealed, according to federal court records.

Not every automaker has gone the direct-sales route. Polestar adopted a hybrid approach, with company-owned showrooms and online sales, but servicing handled by Volvo dealers. Vinfast initially planned for direct sales only, but later pivoted and signed up some franchised dealers. The Volkswagen Group’s new Scout Motors brand has discussed direct sales, but is already facing legal challenges from the VW Group’s franchised dealers.

A Former GM and Lordstown Motors Factory Might Become an AI Data Center

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A former GM facility may be the catalyst for the Stargate AI project

A recent Bloomberg report has revealed the identity of the mystery buyer who purchased the former General Motors and Lordstown Motors factory in Lordstown, Ohio, in a series of multimillion-dollar transactions involving the acquisition of the factory’s buildings, land, equipment, and machinery.

According to unnamed sources who spoke with the business publication, the Japanese investment firm SoftBank is the party responsible for acquiring the vehicle plant in Lordstown, Ohio. SoftBank is primarily known for its investments in the technology sector, and the acquisition is said to be in support of its Stargate data center project.

Cars sit outside the GM Lordstown Plant

Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

The Stargate project, initiated in collaboration with OpenAI and Oracle, aims to invest $500 billion by 2029 toward building infrastructure that supports artificial intelligence (AI) models like ChatGPT. A major backbone of this project is the construction of a large data center in Texas, which is currently underway. However, the companies involved have expressed that they’re interested in building similar facilities in other states and countries.

However, in May, Bloomberg reported that SoftBank was struggling to line up funding for the project and was already hampered by the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade levies. The source noted that although SoftBank has not yet developed a financial plan for Stargate, it has approached Foxconn to collaborate on building AI data centers and related infrastructure across the United States. The sale of the EV plant is said to be a part of these efforts by the Japanese investment firm.

Lordstown Electric Motors Corporation Factory

Getty Images

Earlier this week, Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, the contract manufacturer known for building notable consumer favorites like the Nintendo Switch game console and the Apple iPhone, sold the former General Motors car factory in Lordstown, Ohio, to “Crescent Dune LLC” for a total of $375 million. Crescent Dune is a two-week-old Delaware LLC; however, Foxconn spokesperson Matt Dewine stated that the buyer is an “existing business partner.”

Per Taiwan stock exchange filings, the site itself, including the land and buildings, was sold for around $88 million, while manufacturing equipment from Foxconn’s EV subsidiaries fetched around $287 million. In a statement to Automotive News, Foxconn said that Lordstown is an “integral part of the company’s footprint” in the U.S., adding that the decision to sell it “is part of the company’s plan to expand into new business areas.”

Though they also stated that they plan to continue operations at the Lordstown site and are still committed to the auto industry, a previous report from The Wall Street Journal said that Foxconn intends to repurpose the EV factory to build AI hardware and equipment at the site. Already, Foxconn has a manufacturing facility in Houston for AI servers and has partnered with electronics giants like Apple and Nvidia to establish AI-related facilities in the U.S.

GM operated the Lordstown facility from 1966 to 2019, where it made a variety of different cars, including Chevy full-size cars, as well as compact cars like the Vega, Monza, Cavalier, Cobalt, and Cruze. In 2019, Lordstown Motors purchased the facility to manufacture the Lordstown Endurance electric pickup. In 2022, Foxconn acquired the facility after the EV company encountered financial difficulties and managed to assemble a small number of electric pickups before Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy in June 2023.

Several other startups, including Fisker, considered partnering with Foxconn to manufacture electric vehicles at Lordstown; however, those plans ultimately fell through. Currently, Foxconn is using the Lordstown plant to assemble electric tractors for Monarch, a California-based startup.

Final thoughts

As I have said before, Foxconn’s Lordstown factory can be a crucial asset for automakers who want to reduce their tariff impact, as in its GM days, it produced nearly 16 million vehicles between 1966 and 2019 and peaked at 290,000 cars in 2014. The fact that this AI avenue is something that is seriously being considered for the Lordstown plant, with significant backing from a firm as powerful as SoftBank, really solidifies my belief that this was a wasted opportunity to possibly onshore a car company that exclusively manufactures overseas.