$5K W12 Phaeton, VW cuts 50,000 jobs, Cybercab probed
PLUS: 960-hp Jensen returns, $5.85 diesel, Scout concepts
Releases & Reviews
Ram 2500 Power Wagon Diesel Tested: They Said It Couldn’t Be Done
The optional Cummins inline-six makes 430 horsepower and 1075 lb-ft, raising maximum towing to nearly 19,600 pounds. Fitting it cost the factory winch and an inch of ground clearance. Car and Driver recorded 60 mph in 6.4 seconds and says the engineers who resisted the diesel had it right.
Who Makes the Best Entry-Level Sport Sedan? Lexus vs. Acura
Edmunds pits an Acura Integra Type S against a Lexus IS 350 F Sport, both about $56K. The Acura runs nearly a second quicker to 60 mph and pulls 1.05 g on the skidpad against 0.91 g. Edmunds calls the Lexus interior better in every way and picks the Acura.
Technology, Market Data & Analysis
VW Approves Plan to Reduce Lineup by 50 Percent and Cut 50,000 Jobs
Volkswagen's supervisory board unanimously approved the plan, targeting 9 million annual sales and a 9% operating margin by 2030. The company says European capacity exceeds demand by over 500,000 units. Four German plants building the ID.3, ID.4, ID.Buzz, and Audi A5 are unlikely to run regularly past 2034.
Tesla Cybercab Isn’t Just Missing a Steering Wheel. It Doesn’t Even Have Brake Lines
The Cybercab has no master cylinder and no hydraulic lines, using an electronically controlled actuator at each corner. The Drive names Brembo's Sensify as the likely supplier and notes the Chery Exeed EX7 reached production with fluidless brakes first. NHTSA has opened an investigation into how Tesla certified the car.
Car Culture
The Remarkable Long-Lost Winner of the First Pebble Beach Concours
The 1950 winner was the Edwards R-26 Special, a postwar one-off not on the program. Sterling Edwards hired Indianapolis 500 constructors to build its tube-steel chassis and aluminum body, which weighed about 2,380 pounds stripped. The original body sold for about $144,000 in 2024, and the chassis is still missing.
This Dirt-Cheap Volkswagen Phaeton W12 Is Your Ticket To Bargain Luxury, Financial Ruin, Or Both
A pair of 2004 Phaeton W12s are listed at $5,000 and $6,000, hand-built in Volkswagen's Dresden glass factory. Ferdinand Piëch specified that the 444-horsepower sedan sustain 186 mph in 120-degree heat. The Autopian's Mercedes Streeter has owned two and calls both disasters.
Miscellaneous
Let’s Hope This 1JZ-Powered Toyota Crown Hearse Has Tie-Downs for the Casket Because I Want the Driver to Whip It Into the Graveside
The 2001 Crown Athlete V pairs a turbocharged 1JZ-GTE inline-six with rear-wheel drive and a wood-paneled casket bay. It shows about 82,000 miles and became legal to import under the 25-year rule this year. The Washington State listing asks CA$19,995 (about $15K).
American Automakers Have Asked Congress To Ban Chinese-Made Cars; Is This Something We Want?
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which counts GM, Ford, and Toyota as members, asked Congress to permanently ban Chinese connected vehicles and software. The pending Connected Vehicle Security Act would bar automakers more than 15% Chinese-owned, catching Mercedes-Benz. The Autopian's Jason Torchinsky asks whether that is security policy or protectionism.
Quick Links
Scout Teases New Traveler Mountainside and Trail-Ready Concepts
The luxury-focused Mountainside adds 22-inch wheels and recycled walnut trim while the Trail-Ready gets metal bumpers, rock rails, and 35-inch tires, neither confirmed for production ahead of the Traveler's 2028 launch.
Diesel Prices Hit Record; Labor Day Gas Price Record Likely
AAA puts the national diesel average at $5.85 a gallon, up about 25 cents in a week, with analysts tying the spike to the Iran war and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.
Bentley Used To Outsell Rolls-Royce By 3 To 1. Not Anymore
Motor1 credits Rolls-Royce's move further upmarket and the Cullinan's success for closing a gap that stood at roughly two to one as recently as 2011.
This Is A New 960hp V8 British Muscle Car! | 4K
Top Gear looks over the Jensen Interceptor GTX, an all-new track car from the marque's official restorer, powered by a 6.8-liter V8 distantly related to a General Motors design.
Jeep’s Best Path to a V8 Wagoneer Is Hiding In Plain Sight
The Drive proposes rebadging the Dodge Durango as a Wagoneer Classic, since it already offers the Hemi V8 that the Grand Cherokee dropped in 2023 along with its 7,200-pound tow rating.
This Independent BMW Mechanic Built a Cooler Digital Dash Than BMW Itself
Jean of Usual Suspects garage in Naples, Florida taught himself to code to build plug-and-play digital clusters for the E28 5 Series and E30 3 Series, with a shippable product due next year.
These Are China’s Best-Selling $10,000 Cars
The list is led by the Geely Xingyuan, a $9,000 subcompact EV with up to about 300 miles of range that outsold the Tesla Model Y in 2025.