AutoGuide Hot Takes: The Hemi Chronicles

It’s just about warm enough to take the winter tires off, but Murphy’s law dictates one last snowstorm as soon as you make the swap—as always, AutoGuide is here for it. We don’t always cover every piece of news, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have thoughts and opinions—many of them.

Managing Editor Mike Schlee, Road Test Editor Kyle Patrick, Site Coordinator Michael Accardi, and Editorial Director Greg Migliore weigh in on the hot topics of the week. If you disagree, please get in the comments and tell us why we’re wrong.

1) Kia’s cheeky “I bought this after Elon went Crazy” social media post in Norway and Finland has the Teslarati and loyal stockholders in a fit. Unfortunately, Kia HQ made the Norweigen division remove the post as it does not reflect the official views of the company. It’s not very often you get to watch the demographics of an automotive brand change in real time, but that’s absolutely what’s happened with Tesla over the last 12 months as Elon Musk has become inseparable from the President of the United States. The White House has even become Tesla's newest showroom.

2) F1 kicks off this week for the 75th time. The popular consensus has both championship fights coming down to McLaren vs Ferrari. I’m not sure you can ever reasonably count Max Verstappen out of it, but we’ll see what kind of ill effects Red Bull feels following the departure of Adrian Newey. The aerodynamicist has been integral to the car’s excellent performance under the current aero regulations—everything he touches usually turns to gold. Let’s see if the magic follows him to Aston Martin.

3) It’s also the Sebring 12 hr, one of sportscar racing’s greatest parties. If you’ve never been down to Sebring, make sure you go at least once. Surrounded by orange groves in rural, inland, Florida, there’s nothing to do but get drunk and watch race cars and roast marshmallows and hotdogs over a burning sofa. When I’m not sweating in nomex waiting for the next pit stop one of my favorite places to watch is the outside of turn 17 as cars come rocking down the Ullman straight, watching the speed differential and line selectoin on entry is breathtaking—it’s easy to tell who’s paid to drive and who’s paying for seat time.

4) Jaguar is expecting roughly 85 percent of its current clientele to ditch the brand (per Auto Express), which is in the midst of a massive makeover. That might seem dramatic, but with the recent discontinuation of every model bar the F-Pace, the brand only sold 33,000 cars globally for 2024—a dip of around 80 percent from 2018. Most of us in the office agree a change was necessary, but can the troubled brand get back in the black by selling small quantities of high-priced EVs? The car made its first real-world appearance during Paris Fashion Week, where it really just looked like a superimposed computer simulation.

5) In this week’s episode of “The Hemi Chronicles,” a photo shared on Snapchat of an email from a guy who works at a dealership who went to a meeting is the latest proof the Hemi will rejoin the Ram 1500’s repertoire. Rumor has it a very high-horsepower TRX version could also make its return, either supplementing or replacing the RHO. No mention of the Charger, though, which is super strange.

6) Nissan named a new CEO, Ivan Espinosa, a 20-year veteran of the company, in hopes of a turnaround. Nissan’s boom-or-bust cycles over the last three decades parallel some of the ups and downs of Chrysler, and perhaps a similar fate of being swallowed up by a global partnership awaits Nissan if it’s lucky. Unfortunately, just prior to Espinosa’s appointment, all the major credit rating agencies downgraded Nissan to junk status. He's supposed to be a real cool guy, a car guy who wants to resurrect classic names like the Silvia—sorry that's just not going to move the needle.

7) Rumors of the Audi R8’s return is spectacular news for enthusiasts and a savvy move for Audi. Few supercars captured an era like the R8, which arrived in 2006 and exuded a sophisticated yet brash confidence for a German brand often overshadowed by Mercedes and BMW. No one cared that it was a Lambo, and in fact, that probably added to its cred. Here’s hoping the Temerario is just as suitable a donor.

8) A mid-month top 10 update from our data partners at AutoFinder regarding consumer sales interest. The Honda CR-V jumped to 5th from 9th, and the Ram 1500 slipped to 7th from 4th. I wonder if the Ram is slipping as potential buyers wait on the sidelines in anticipation of a Hemi return. Most of the Honda CR-Vs sold in America are produced in Alliston, Ontario, it’s possible it’s climb is due to the looming threat of permanent tariffs on auto imports from Canada—the president has vowed to cripple the automotive industry in Canada after all.

9) BMW says it will absorb the costs of U.S. tariffs on vehicles it produces in Mexico until May 1. BMW’s vehicles produced in both the U.S and Mexico are not compliant with USMCA requirements that at least 75% of a vehicle's parts originate from North America. It’s likely BMW believes the auto industry will be out of the woods by that time and hopes that maintaining price stability will build goodwill with shoppers.

10) As everyone else makes overtures about electric performance cars, Ferrari is quietly out here doing God’s work. The company’s recently published patent application for a V12 engine with pill-shaped pistons could absolutely revolutionize how Ferrari and others use the V12 engine. Through some clever engineering, Ferrari looks to be able to significantly shrink the length of its V12 engine, offering up all kinds of new avenues from shorter wheelbases to adding an MGU to support mild electrification to potentially being able to maximize displacement limits under certain motorsport regulations.

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