Nutson's Weekly Auto News Wrapup May 31-June 6, 2026

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AUTO CENTRAL – Louisville, KY: June 7, 2026; Every Sunday for over 30 years, 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 May 31-June 6, 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.

* Surge in Hybrid Sales. Elevated gas prices, sparked by the U.S.-Israel conflict in Iran, helped drive a 33% jump in hybrid sales in May. Hybrid sales increased 17% in 2026 so far, contrasting with a 4.4% decline in overall new-vehicle sales through May. Automakers like Toyota and Jeep are expanding hybrid offerings, while new electric-vehicle sales fell 25% this year. More here from WSJ. HERE

* Robotaxi backlash. Robotaxi companies like Waymo and Tesla face mounting criticism and scrutiny from the public and local governments as problems appear in police report and viral social-media posts. Waymo vehicles have been involved in incidents like getting stuck in flooded streets, impeding traffic and briefly blocking an ambulance responding to a mass shooting. Waymo recalled 3,800 vehicles for a software update, and both the NTSB and NHTSA are investigating the company. More on this HERE

* Right to repair. Reuters reports President Donald Trump said he met with senior leaders in the auto industry to discuss the ongoing debate over "right-to-repair" legislation. Trump met with GM CEO Mary Barra, Ford Motor senior executive Andrew Frick and ‌top officials with the National Automobile Dealers Association and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation along with Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, a former auto dealer. The auto industry has sparred with independent repair shops and other groups for years over the ability to repair new vehicles. The U.S. auto service market is worth about $200 billion annually.

* About Lotus cars. A Chinese-Owned British Car Legend Pitches a Complicated U.S. Comeback. Lotus’s U.S. expansion faces challenges as tariffs increased the price of its Chinese-made Eletre electric SUV from $107,000 to $230,000. Backed by Chinese parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Lotus plans to build new hybrid and electric SUVs and sedans. Eletre deliveries began in the U.S. in April 2025, with sales of roughly one per month, according to Motor Intelligence data. Get the news HERE

* Honda and Acura recall. Honda Motor is recalling 98,892 vehicles in the United States over a defect ‌involving unintentional deployment of air bags, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The recall is due to faulty front passenger-seat weight sensors and includescertain Honda Acura TLX, Accord Hybrid, and 2022 Accord vehicles

* Jeep recall. Stellantis NA is recalling 419,035 ‌vehicles in the U.S. as a software error could delay the side air bags from deploying ⁠during a crash, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. This would leave the vehicles non-compliant with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, NHTSA ‌added. The ⁠recall affects models including the 2022-2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the 2023-2025 Jeep Grand ⁠Cherokee L, the auto regulator said.

* Ford recall. Ford is telling owners of certain 2021–26 Bronco Sport and Maverick models not to drive their vehicles and to contact dealers immediately to schedule repairs. Ford said some of these vehicles may have had their front lower ball joints installed incorrectly. If that happens, the joint could fail and raise the risk of a crash. Ford has not said whether the issue has been linked to any incidents but urges owners of 4,653 Bronco Sports and Mavericks to have their vehicles towed to a dealer.

* Illinois gas tax. Illinois drivers will get a little break at the pump, with a planned hike in the gas tax suspended temporarily. The state tax was set to increase July 1 to 49.6 cents per gallon—up 1.3 cents from the previous year—because of the automatic annual inflation increase built into the 2019 “Rebuild Illinois” infrastructure program signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, according to Illinoispolicy.org. The newly passed budget for FY2027, though, delays that increase for six months, according to Governor JB Pritzker's office. In July 2025, the tax was 48.3 cents per gallon, which was up from 47 cents per gallon in July 2024. The increases are automatically built into the program. Illinoisans are currently seeing an average gas price of $4.69 per gallon as of June 3, up from about $3.36 a year ago, according to the AAA.

* Mille Miglia. The 2026 Mille Miglia takes place from June 9 to 13. With 400 cars expected to participate, the Mille starts and finishes in the original race’s hometown of Brescia in Northern Italy. That course will wind in a big figure 8 over the vast middle of the country, heading east from Brescia to Padua, then southwest to Siena and Rome, before turning north again through Assisi, up the Back of the Boot through Rimini, and home to Brescia. The modern Mille is a series of time-speed-distance runs nothing like the reckless 1,000-mile cross-country banzai of the original, the latter which was held annually from 1927 to 1957. Learn more HERE

* 2026 Greenwich Concours. At the 30th Annual Greenwich Concours, the Concours de Sport winner was Nick Soprano’s Maserati 450S, driven by Carroll Shelby. The Concours d’Elegance winner was Tazio Nuvolari's personal Alfa Romeo 8C2300 by Zagato owned now by Peter Sachs.

* NASCAR Chicago return. Sources confirm to NBC Chicago that NASCAR officials and the city are in active discussions to bring back the Street Race in 2027, though no agreement has officially been reached. hose sources also reported the event would not be held over the Fourth of July weekend, as the previous iterations of the race had been. Instead, it would be moved earlier in the calendar, potentially into late May, according to the sources.

* RIP. Ned Jarrett, twice a NASCAR premier-series champion as well as a second-year inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and one of the first competitors to make a successful transition from the race car to the television booth, has died. He was 93. More on Ned HERE

Stay safe. Be Well.

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