Hyundai’s $5.8B Mississippi River Mill Is a Tariff Hedge Wrapped in Direct-Reduced Iron
Carmakers usually treat steel the way most of us treat tap water. It shows up,...
Manufacturing
Today in Automotive History: September 25, 1926 — Henry Ford Announces the Five-Day, 40-Hour Workweek
Henry Ford announced the Ford five-day workweek on Sept. 25, 1926. The weekend it helped create still shapes how cars…
Mercedes-Benz Ties the Future of Two German Factories to Longer Hours Without Extra Pay
Mercedes-Benz has finally said the quiet part out loud. At a works meeting at its...
Tesla’s Optimus Robot Factory Depends on Car-Parts Suppliers, and the Math Is Brutal
Word coming out of China’s supply chain this week is that Tesla’s humanoid robot team...
Ford Has Paid Nearly $18 Million Over Harassment at Its Chicago Plants. The Lawsuits Are Back.
Ford settled harassment claims at its Chicago Assembly and Stamping plants with the EEOC in 1999 and 2017. In 2026,…
Today in Automotive History: September 24, 1948 — Honda Is Founded With 1 Million Yen and a Bicycle Engine
Honda was founded on Sept. 24, 1948, with 1 million yen and a bicycle engine. The company born that day…
Toyota’s ELEY Factory Robot: Wheels, Shoulder Blades and Soft Arms
Toyota wants a robot on the assembly line that is soft enough to bump into...
Detroit’s Chinese-Assembly Ban Push, 4,100 More Porsche Cuts, and What Else Moved
Four separate alerts landed on the same argument today, which usually means a policy fight...
Nissan Says The Rogue Hybrid Starts At $37,065. Good Luck Finding One That Cheap.
Nissan put numbers on the 2027 Rogue Hybrid this week, and the one it wants...
Today in Automotive History: September 22, 1985 – The Plaza Accord That Moved Japan’s Car Plants to America
On September 22, 1985, five finance ministers walked into New York’s Plaza Hotel and agreed...
Honda’s New Jet Just Slipped Three Years — and the Wing Isn’t Why
Honda pushed the HondaJet Echelon from a 2028 certification to a 2031 first delivery and blamed tier-one suppliers. That one…
Genesis Just Donated $65,000 to Georgia Youth Groups. The Real Payoff Is a Decade Away.
Genesis wants this to read as a warm local-news item: $65,000 split across five youth...
Hyundai and Kia Are Building Their Own Steel Mill. It Won’t Ship a Sheet Until 2029.
Hyundai and Kia don’t make steel. They buy it, like every other automaker, from mills...
Honda’s Rare-Earth-Free Magnet Bet Is Real. It’s Also the Smallest Check on the Table.
Honda did not just invest in a magnet company this month. It joined a line...
Recycled Carbon Fiber Is Growing Fast. New Carbon Fiber Is Growing Faster.
A new forecast puts recycled carbon fiber at $427 million by 2031. Virgin fiber is compounding faster, almost none of…