Nutson's Weekly Auto News Wrapup September 28-October 4, 2025

AUTO CENTRAL – Louisville, KY – October 5, 2025: For more than 30 years, every Sunday, Larry Nutson — The Chicago Car Guy and Executive Producer of The Auto Channel — has delivered his weekly take on the automotive world. Each report distills the week’s top stories into sharp, easy-to-digest News Nuggets.

The full version of today’s News Nuggets — along with hundreds of thousands of additional articles, reviews, and editorial insights — can be found in The Auto Channel’s Million-Page Automotive Library, built and indexed over three decades. To dive deeper, simply copy any headline and paste it into this or any Site Search box on The Auto Channel.

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Here are Larry’s Top Auto Story Picks of the Week September 28-October 4, 2025: Larry picked these as the most important, relevant, Interesting and sometimes semi-secret stories you need to know—served up snappy, opinionated, and insider-sharp. These are expertly crafted, easy-to-understand news nuggets that cut through the noise and get right to what matters to you in the automotive world.

New car sales. A sales surge in battery electric and hybrid vehicles pumped up GM, Ford, Hyundai, Kia and Tesla sales as the U.S. EV tax credit expires. Stellantis’ U.S. sales rose 6.2 percent in the third quarter, ending an eight-quarter slump, with Jeep recording its second consecutive quarterly gain. U.S. light-vehicle sales were forecast to rise 4.5 to 7.5 percent in September. And a record 410,000 EVs were expected to be sold in the third quarter, Cox Automotive predicted.

Gas prices. According to Gas Buddy, gas prices declined in most states with the national average seeing its largest weekly drop in months as seasonal factors weigh on prices. The most commonly encountered gas price in the U.S. is now $2.89/gal with the median price down to $2.92/gal and the national average at $3.09/gal. We may see the national average below $3 in mid-October but continue to watch the tropics, according to Gas Buddy.

Back to buttons. Automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi, are reintroducing physical buttons and dials in vehicles, moving away from touch screens in response to safety concerns and customer preference. Safety standards from Euro NCAP are driving this shift, as physical controls are deemed less distracting. More details HERE

EV Sales Plunge. After the September 30 expiration of a $7,500 tax credit, automakers still have about 134,000 unsold new electric vehicles. Ford’s CEO predicts EV market share will fall to 4% to 5% of total sales by year-end, down by more than half from September. Automakers like Ford and GM are offering incentives to mitigate the impact of the tax credit’s expiration on EV sales. See next item and more info HERE

Working the system on EV tax credits. Ford and General Motors are racing to sign up car dealers for programs that would effectively extend the use of a $7,500 U.S. tax credit on leases of electric vehicles beyond the expiration of the federal subsidy, according to dealers and documents. The automaker's financing arm would initiate the purchase of EVs in dealers’ inventory by making down payments on them. Those down payments will qualify the lending arms for the federal $7,500 tax credit on those vehicles, according to the documents and dealers. More HERE

GM hits the brakes on EVs. Falling consumer demand and shriveling government support are undermining GM’s all-electric plans. (Ahem, not only GM's.) GM CEO Mary Barra said in May that consumer demand and a lack of charging stations nationwide has stalled the EV industry, but she believes the clean-running vehicles will one day replace gas-powered vehicles. EV pundits have recently said that the slow-down in EV sales will allow the charging infrastructure to catch up (perhaps the horse will finally be pulling the cart.) Read more HERE and thisHERE

EV charging is catching up...finally. Yes, the horse is moving in front of the cart! The number of fast-charging ports in the U.S. increased by more than 80% in two years, reaching over 60,300 by August. EV sales are projected to decrease to about 300,000 in the current quarter following the expiration of a $7,500 federal tax credit. The percentage of EV owners unable to charge dropped to 14% in the second quarter, down from around 20% in recent years. HERE

Editor's note: One EV charging station has multiple EV charging ports. Similar to a gasoline station having multiple gas pumps.

Jeep recall. Stellantis is recalling 123,396 of its 2024 Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer vehicles in the U.S. due to window trim pieces that might detach, NHTSA said.

Kia recall. Kia is recalling 39,536 of its 2023 Kia Sorento vehicles because of an issue with the HVAC system that may lead to overheating, increasing the risk of a fire, NHTSA said.

Air-cooled Porsche meetup. Luftgekühlt 11 held at the American Tobacco Campus (ATC) in Durham, NC opened on October 4. It is the first ever East Coast event for the ground-breaking air-cooled Porsche event series. Embedded in the historic location, visitors can experience 400 air-cooled Porsches displayed throughout the venue, including a celebration of the US anniversary for the type-993 Porsche 911, plus celebrated racing vehicles such as the 917/30, 962, 934, Supercup, RSR, 550 Coupe and more from names such as Rahal, Holbert, Penske, Alex Job Racing and others.More info HERE

Stay safe. Be Well.