Nutson's Weekly Auto News Wrapup February 15, 2026

AUTO CENTRAL – Louisville, KY: February 15, 2026; For almost 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 of February 8-14, 2026: Larry picked these as important, relevant, interesting and sometimes semi-secret stories you need to know—served up as 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.

* January new vehicle price data. Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book has January’s new-vehicle price data, and the challenges around vehicle affordability continue to be a leading headline. In January, the ATP for a new vehicle was $49,191—a slight decrease from December’s record but still an all-time high for the month of January with a 1.9% increase from year-earlier levels. The MSRP for new vehicles also climbed higher; at $51,288—and has been above $50K for 10 straight months. Automakers reduced sales incentives in January to help protect margins; the average last month was equal to 6.5% of ATP. As of January, consumers no longer have a new-vehicle option with an average MSRP below $20K, with the Mitsubishi Mirage all but gone. Car buyers chose the compact SUV segment the most in January, the best-selling segment where ATPs were $36,414. But, full-size pickup trucks are popular and continue to pull the industry average higher; the average MSRP last month was above $70K for the fifth consecutive month and more than 150K full-size pickups were sold. 

* Sedan comeback from Detroit? With drivers looking for more affordable options and softer rides, U.S. automakers are having second thoughts about abandoning the mass-market sedan. “I would kill to have a hybrid-electric sedan,” General Motors President Mark Reuss said during a recent company town hall. “The sedan market is very vibrant,” Ford CEO Jim Farley remarked to reporters on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show last month.  HERE

* The Fed's walkback. The Trump administration has announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is rescinding its 2016 finding that greenhouse gases present a threat to public health. But don't expect big changes in your next new car. Automakers are  reluctant to commit to removing emission control equipment from their U.S. models. State as well as non-US regulations still exist. The U.S. auto industry must continue to invest in fuel-efficient cars and EVs to remain competitive globally. This move by EPA will remove the incentive for Auto Start/Stop Systems. The unpopular fuel-saving feature will no longer provide regulatory MPG credits. And of course, who knows what the next years will bring in the White House. Let the legal challenges begin! 

* Canada pivots. Canada replaced its electric-vehicle sales mandate with stricter tailpipe-emissions standards, aiming for carbon reduction equal to 75% EV sales by 2035. The new strategy seeks to reduce Canada’s auto industry reliance on the U.S. and gas-powered vehicles, amid escalating trade tensions. Canada lowered tariffs on Chinese EVs from 100% to 6%, while Canadian-made cars face a 25% U.S. tariff, impacting over 90% of exports. Complete story HERE

* In other news. The Detroit News reports, the Ford Motor Co. employee who heckled President Donald Trump during a January visit to the company's Dearborn Truck Plant still has his job and "has no discipline on his record," a union official confirmed. "TJ, we got your back," United Auto Workers Vice President Laura Dickerson said during a Washington, D.C., speech. She was referencing TJ Sabula, a 40-year-old UAW Local 600 line worker at the factory who called Trump a "pedophile protector."

* Super Bowl ads. Super Bowl LX drew ~127M+ viewers, and a record-breaking price tag of $10M for a national 30-second TV ad spot. As vehicle ads continue to dwindle during the Super Bowl, are the big spends proving worthwhile for OEMs and driving viewers to car shop? Data from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader reveals that Super Bowl ads do spark major search and shopping surges. The automotive ads from Sunday’s Super Bowl show that when people see a car they want or want to know more about, they take direct action online.

* Goodbye Tremec. From "The Drive" we read: America’s Greatest Six-Speed Manual Transmission Is Dying. This gearbox made it into just about every American performance car of the past two decades. Now it's toast. Read more HERE

* World Car Person of the Year.  The WORLD CAR FINALS POWERED BY BREMBO has announced the three contenders for the prestigious 2026 World Car Person of the Year. In alphabetical order, the contenders are: David Craig, Staff Product Manager, General Motors; Tisha Johnson, Head of Design, Slate; and Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management, BMW. A jury of 98 distinguished international automotive journalists from 33 countries put forward nominations for the 2026 World Car Person of the Year based on their significant contributions to the global automotive industry during the previous calendar year. The World Car Steering Committee selected the final three contenders, and the World Car Awards’ jury will now vote, by secret ballot, on their choice for the 2026 World Car Person of the Year. The vote results will be verified by KPMG. Individual episodes on each of the three 2026 World Car Person of the Year contenders will be published on World Car TV over the next 2 weeks. The winner of the 2026 World Car Person of the Year will be announced virtually via World Car TV on Thursday, February 26, 2026.

* Ultra-fast charging effects on EV batteries. Electric-vehicle batteries degrade twice as fast when subjected to frequent charging above 100 kilowatts, according to a study by Geotab. The study, which analyzed data from over 22,000 vehicles, notes that batteries charged primarily with high-power options lose up to 2.5% of capacity annually, compared with 1.5% for those using lower-power chargers. Details here. HERE

* Electric door handle safety. U.S. lawmakers agreed to advance an automotive safety bill that would require manual releases in new vehicles with electrically powered door handles, bringing the measure that could impact designs popularized by Tesla Inc. a step closer to becoming law. The Securing Accessible Functional Emergency Exit Act, or SAFE Exit Act, was forwarded to full committee during a markup session by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. It still has to pass a number of legislative hurdles and may not be ultimately signed into law.

* Hands-free driving issues. Automating driving has proven challenging for many companies. NHTSA is probing Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system and the driverless robotaxis operated by Alphabet-owned Waymo. After two cars using Ford’s BlueCruise hit stopped cars in 2024, NHTSA began investigating fatal crashes involving the system. HERE

* Recall news. Carfax has released its Recall Tracker for February 2026. The biggest recall of the month involves more than half a million of Hyundai’s popular 3-row SUV, the Palisade. The recall warns that airbags situated in the way back may not deploy correctly in the event of a crash, something no family wants to experience. But as occasionally happens, Hyundai says a remedy for this problem has not been found yet. Why does that happen? It can be complicated. Learn more HERE

* BMW recall. BMW North America is recalling 87,394 vehicles in the U.S. as the engine starter may overheat, causing a fire risk, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The recall affects BMW 2 Series Coupé (2022–2023), BMW 3 Series (330i, 330i xDrive, 2021–2024), BMW 4 Series (Coupé, Convertible, Gran Coupé, 2021–2024), BMW 5 Series (530i, 530i xDrive, 2021–2024), BMW X3 & X4 (sDrive30i, xDrive30i, 2021–2024), BMW Z4 sDrive30i (2021–2022) and Toyota Supra (2021–2023, built by BMW). 

* Toyota recall. Toyota is recalling over 142,000 Prius and Prius Prime vehicles from the 2023 to 2026 model years due to a defect where water can enter rear door switches, causing short circuits and potentially allowing doors to open while driving.

* Jeep recall. Jeep is recalling 80,620 of its 2022-2023 Grand Cherokees and 2021-2023 Grand Cherokee L SUVs. The rear coil springs may be incorrectly installed and detach from the vehicle while driving. 

* Jaguar recall. Jaguar is recalling 2,278 I-PACE 2020 & 2021 model year electric vehicles due to high-voltage battery overheating, which poses a fire risk. Owners are advised to park vehicles outdoors. Affected users will receive software updates (via dealer or OTA) to limit charges to 90%, with notifications starting April 3, 2026. 

* Do-not-drive with Takata air bags. The Takata airbag saga continues, with Stellantis issuing a warning Feb. 11 to stop driving your car if it still has not had those devices fixed. After repairing nearly 7 million vehicles with faulty airbag inflators over the last 10 years, Stellantis is issuing a "stop-drive" directive for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles that have gone unrepaired. The company estimates that about 225,000 such vehicles remain on the road. More than 5 million vehicles in the U.S. still have Takata airbags, according to Carfax data. Other vehicles that have a Takata airbag recall with a “Do Not Drive” order are listed in this Carfax report. HERE

* The Classic Motorsports concours guide for 2026. Where and when you can find a concours. It's all HERE

* NASCAR Daytona. The 2026 Daytona 500 is happening. Kyle Busch took the pole position driving the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) No. 8 Chevrolet, marking his first-ever pole for the "Great American Race". Joining on the front row is Chase Briscoe. For the 2026 Daytona 500, 45 entries competed for 41 starting spots, driving Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota race cars. The 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season kicked off with the Fresh From Florida 250. NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart made his first Truck Series start since 2005, driving the No. 25 Kaulig Racing Ram. Ram returned to NASCAR for the first time since 2012.

Stay safe. Be Well.

Kind regards, 
Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy
The Auto Channel