Analysis · Jeep
Jeep's Independent-Front Wrangler Is a Concession to the Bronco
Jeep's first independent-front Wrangler arrives wrapped in SRT desert hardware. Read the sales numbers and it looks less like a stunt than a concession to the Bronco.
AuthorEditor-in-Chief
Boris Naumkin
Boris Naumkin is the editor-in-chief of CARINDUST. He has covered the auto industry since 2013 and runs a newsroom that tracks automakers across North America, Europe and Asia. His columns focus on the business behind the cars: pricing, product cycles, regulation and the shift to electric vehicles.
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Analysis · Ford
Ford's Privacy Promise Bans Selling Your Driving Data, Not Sharing It
Ford pledges never to sell how you drive. Its consent-based data pipes to insurers, open since 2020, are left untouched — and that's where GM's drivers got hurt.
Analysis · Tech
BMW's City Assistant Shows Level 3 Already Lost on Price
BMW's 2027 city assistant isn't a leap past Tesla. It's what replaced Level 3 after few buyers paid €6,000 to look away: supervised driving, factory hardware, a software unlock.
Analysis · Pricing
Used EVs Now Cost More Than Gas Cars — but Their Prices Peaked in June
Used EVs now list $579 above gas cars, but in dollars their prices peaked in June. With gas down 24 cents in a month, the premium is leaking, not building.
Analysis · Honda
Honda's Hotter Civic Type R Says the Gas Hot Hatch Isn't Dying — It's Thinning Out
Honda is developing a hotter Civic Type R for America as rivals retreat. The last gas hot hatches are gaining pricing power, and the hybrid-heavy Civic pays for the halo.
Analysis · Policy
Audi's Tariff Break Pays for a Factory That Won't Build a Car Until the 2030s
Federal tariff relief used to be paid per car built in America. Audi's reported deal pays for a promise, and Q5 and Q7 buyers shouldn't expect lower prices.
Analysis · Pricing
Dodge Is Quietly Pricing the Electric Charger Out of Existence
A 40% residual, a 12.5% lease rate and a $12,500 price hike are not accidents. Dodge is winding down the electric Charger without announcing it.
Analysis · EVs
Rivian's R2 Is a Hit. Its Car Business Still Loses Money
The R2 became Rivian's best-seller, yet the automotive gross loss more than doubled from the prior quarter, even with credits. Volkswagen-funded services carried the profit.
Analysis · Tech
Toyota Just Became Waymo's Factory — and America Isn't First in Line
Toyota isn't racing Tesla on self-driving. It's becoming the body shop for whoever owns the driver, and America waits only until Waymo's Chinese van runs into Washington's rules.
Analysis · Ford
Ford's Truck Buyers Aren't Ignoring $4 Gas. They're the Ones Who Can Afford It
Ford's CFO says $4 gas hasn't dented F-Series demand. She's right on volume, but the buyers left are the ones who can afford it, and Ford is pricing for them.
Analysis · Industry
Volkswagen Says EVs Earn Less. In America, It Already Stopped Betting on Them
VW's CFO now admits EVs earn less than gas cars. In America, the group acted on that months ago, and tariffs, not batteries, will shape what it sells here.
Analysis · Policy
GM Will Pay $220 Million for Selling Your Driving Data. You Get Nothing
Thirty-six attorneys general extracted about 11 times what GM earned selling driving data. The decree sends every dollar to the states and cannot touch the insurers who used the scores.
Analysis · EVs
Ford's $30,000 Fathom Is Really a Home Battery That Happens to Be a Truck
Ford's new home backup hardware only matches Tesla's price. The bargain is the $29,945 truck attached to it, the cheapest home battery on wheels in America.
Analysis · Pricing
The Canada Tariff Is Really a Tax on RAV4 and CR-V Buyers
If a 50% tariff on Canadian cars arrives January 1, the bill lands on America's best-selling crossovers, and the RAV4 buyer is first in line.
Analysis · Industry
GM Wants to Be a Tech Stock. Its Real Bet Is on Hybrids
GM is pitching itself to Nasdaq as a technology company. The same day, it put $1.25 billion into hybrids at Lansing. Only one of those tells you where it's headed.
Analysis · Safety
JLR's Real Recall Problem Isn't the Range Rover Camera. It's Recalling Before the Fix
Land Rover's 93,997-vehicle camera recall is minor. What isn't: half the vehicles JLR recalled in the U.S. this year came with a warning letter instead of a repair.
Analysis · Pricing
Mazda Froze the CX-5's $29,990 Price. Everything Above It Went Up
The base CX-5 still costs $29,990, but every trim people buy got pricier, and Mazda's own price sheet points to the US-built CX-50 Hybrid.
Analysis · Industry
Audi's First U.S. Plant Can Build More SUVs Than Audi Sells in America
Audi's first U.S. plant can build more SUVs than Audi sells in America. That makes it a growth bet, not a tariff fix, and sales point the wrong way.
Analysis · Safety
One Rating Keeps the 2026 RAV4 From IIHS's Top Award: The Back Seat
The 2026 RAV4 lost IIHS's top award on rear seat belts, not its body. Hyundai and Nissan fixed the same problem with running changes. Toyota hasn't said whether it will.
Analysis · Policy
Cyan Lights Are the Distraction. NHTSA Is Rewriting the Rules for Cars With No Wheel
The optional cyan lamps get the headlines. The same proposal is NHTSA's sixth rewrite this year for cars without wheels or pedals, easing them out of a capped exemption.
