Aurelia Butler

After declaring tariffs would go into effect this week, the Trump administration has now placed a 30-day hold on tariffs for goods that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), including cars made by the Big Three domestic automakers.While the administration hopes the tariffs will incentivize automakers and suppliers to bring more production to the United States, industry analysts suggest that strategy may not work.A report cited by Automotive News suggests that many automotive parts suppliers would move production outside the U.S in the event of tariffs and, if the tax remains in effect for six months, could cut U.S. jobs.The Trump administration has placed a 30-day moratorium on tariffs for USMCA-compliant goods coming from Canada and Mexico, which will end on April 2. The further delay raises questions as to how Ford, GM, and Stellantis will respond to the federal government’s goal of moving production to the United States, which some industry analysts think may not work. A report by Automotive News shows that roughly one-third of U.S. auto parts suppliers said they would move production outside of the U.S. if 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico stay in place for six months. The AN report cites a February survey conducted by MEMA Original Equipment Suppliers, a company that represents U.S. auto parts manufacturers.Michael Simari|Car and DriverIn the study, more than 80 percent of American suppliers surveyed said tariffs on Mexico would negatively impact their business while more than two-thirds said the same about tariffs on Canada, according to AN. Nearly a quarter of surveyed suppliers said they would cut or delay investments if tariffs lasted just a month. If the tariffs were to last for six months, nearly half of the surveyed suppliers said, they would cut U.S. jobs. Given the short time frame offered by the new moratorium and the huge amounts of capital needed to move production, don’t expect to see the automakers taking concrete steps on that one in the next few weeks. However, we can expect some to make announcements about their investments in the U.S., said Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst for the Telemetry market-research firm.ChryslerAbuelsamid pointed to an investment plan outlined by Apple in 2021 that included a $5 billion data center in North Carolina. “Most of that money was already planned for the normal course of business anyway and would have been spent regardless,” said Abuelsamid. The playbook will likely be the same for automakers whose business outlook tends to be years down the road, rather than weeks or months. MEMA president Collin Shaw expressed similar sentiments to AN, saying it would be “categorically false” to suggest automakers could move production in a matter of months. “It’s a multiyear journey, at least two years to move production from location to location,” Shaw said. More on the Tariff SituationCar and Driver reached out to Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis for comment on the exemption and we have listed their responses below. GM’s statement on the exemption: “We thank President Trump for his approach, which enables American automakers like GM to compete and invest domestically. With more vehicle assembly plants in the U.S. than any other automaker, GM has invested over $60 billion since the USMCA took effect, and we continue to invest billions of dollars every year in our manufacturing base, supply chain, and U.S. jobs. We are committed to continued growth and delivering winning vehicles to American consumers.”Ford’s statement:”As America’s top auto producer, we appreciate President Trump’s work to support our industry and exempt auto companies complying with USMCA. Since President Trump’s successful USMCA was signed, Ford has invested billions in the United States and committed to billions more in the future to both invest in American workers and ensure all of our vehicles comply with USMCA. We will continue to have a healthy and candid dialogue with the Administration to help achieve a bright future for our industry and U.S. manufacturing.”Stellantis’s statement:”We thank President Trump for the decision to grant a one-month exemption from tariffs to USMCA-compliant products. We strongly support his determination to enable the American automotive sector to thrive, and in the first 100 hours of his new Administration we announced major investments to grow our business in America. Since the USMCA was enacted in his first term, we invested billions in our U.S. activities and U.S. suppliers. We share the President’s objective to build more American cars and create lasting American jobs. We look forward to working with him and his team.” Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

The 2025 Nissan Z’s prices are the same as last year, making it a bargain compared with the Toyota GR Supra, which costs about $13K more to start.The Z offers three new exterior color options, including a pair of two-tone choices and the iconic Bayside Blue from the R34 Nissan GT-R. The base-model Z still starts at $44,110, with the Performance and NISMO trims starting at $54,110 and $66,890, respectively.While you can no longer order a new GT-R, Nissan will still sell you another sports car, and it’s not more expensive than last year’s model. Along with pricing details, we’ve learned the 2025 Nissan Z is now available with a trio of fresh color options, including a truly iconic shade. No Price Hikes, Hooray!For 2025, the Z still starts at $44,110. That’s a helluva deal compared with its chief rival, the 2025 Toyota GR Supra, which dropped the standard turbo four that previously had a $47,575 initial ask. Now, the GR Supra 3.0 with the 382-hp turbocharged straight-six starts at $57,385. For about $13K less, the entry-level Nissan Z comes with rear-wheel drive and a 400-hp twin-turbo six, not to mention an optional six-speed manual. The Z’s mid-tier Performance trim, which starts at $54,110, comes with additional go-fast bits such as a limited-slip rear differential, Bridgestone Potenza S007 high-performance tires, and upgraded brakes. Even the most expensive track-focused Z NISMO, which ups output to 420 horsepower, features a sportier suspension and wears racier bodywork. It starts at $66,890, just like last year. While the Supra has been the mainstream choice and the winner of our comparison test between the two models, it is also now the far more expensive option.NissanNissanThree new exterior color options have also been added to the Z’s seven existing hues. Two of them are split-tone options, including one that pairs a Pearl White tri-coat with a Super Black roof, and the other couples a Solid Red shade with the same blacked-out canopy. The third new exterior paint color should excite any longtime Nissan fans, as it isn’t a new color at all. The Z can now be ordered in Bayside Blue, one of the most iconic Nissan paint colors of all time, which first appeared on the R34-generation GT-R before also being made available on the most recent R35 GT-R. With the GT-R now cruising the great Bayshore Route in the sky, the not-so-subtle tribute is a nice gesture by Nissan. And between its performance-to-price quotient and new paint options, the latest Z looks more attractive than before.More for Your Z FixAustin’s car fixation began at a young age and at 1:64 scale. Eventually, Hot Wheels weren’t cutting it anymore, so he developed an obsession with his father’s full-sized 1965 Ford Mustang instead. Desperate to break into the automotive industry, he bartered his way into a job at a local BMW dealership by promising to stop hurling nerdy technical facts at the salesmen who came into the neighboring coffee shop where he worked.

That was also around the time when he started writing automotive reviews, news articles, and technical guides for a number of local and international publications. Now at Car and Driver, Austin brings more than 10 years of experience in the automotive industry and an all-so-common love-hate relationship with German engineering to the table. More

On this week’s Window Shop, we embark on a mission to find the best cars for Uber Black. This challenge came from a viewer and proved to be somewhat difficult, given a budget of $20,000 and the rather tight restrictions of Uber’s vehicle requirements for this premium service. Eligible vehicles have to have a black exterior and a black leather interior and be less than five years old (though some 2019 model vehicles are eligible).As usual, our contestants took a wide variety of strategies for this task, and the resulting range of vehicles proved to be entertaining. Yours truly started off with a subdued long-wheelbase Swedish luxury sedan. Then, senior editor Elana Scherr took a sharp left turn with her sporty Italian SUV, which may not have a very big back seat but would no doubt impress riders with its fancy-sounding name. Executive editor K.C. Colwell was up next and found an impressively trimmed flagship sedan from an unlikely source. Contributor Jonathon Ramsey went the more traditional route with a rather anonymous SUV that nonetheless boasted both a luxury badge and a third row of seats, possibly opening it up for UberXL duty as well. And editor-in-chief Tony Quiroga presented a self-described “cynical” choice that was quite literally a former livery vehicle.We don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but this episode did feature a fun twist ending with a tiebreaker and an impromptu special guest. So we implore you to stick around until the bitter end and share your thoughts on which vehicle you thought was the winner.More Window ShoppingDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

The order books on the R35-generation Nissan GT-R have officially closed in Japan.With no replacement in sight and Nissan’s shaky financials, this might be it for the sports car also known as “Godzilla.”It also wouldn’t be the first time the GT-R has had a long pause between generations.The thump you just heard was the closing of the order book for the Nissan GT-R, and it sounds worryingly authoritative. According to a statement posted on Nissan’s Japanese home website, no more orders are being taken for the production of the R35-generation GT-R. Either you already have your name on the list, or you can’t get one.Given that Nissan brought back the Z after a short hiatus, there might be a tendency not to worry about it. Plenty of nameplates go away and then return a few years later. In fact, such a situation happened with the Skyline GT-R between the “Kenmeri” GT-R of 1973 and the R32-chassis GT-R of 1989. (Side note: if you’re a real GT-R otaku, only the R32 is supposed to get the Godzilla nickname.)However, with that particular 13-year pause, some other hot Skylines filled the gap, whereas the R35-chassis GT-R is a standalone car. And, while Nissan has previously confirmed that there will be a next generation of both the GT-R and the Z, it did so at last year’s New York auto show, when the financial picture for the company was not so dire. The current situation, including ending merger talks with Honda, does not look so good. What precious R&D dollars are available need to go towards keeping mainline products competitive rather than an expensive performance flagship.The R35 chassis is so old that JDM versions actually now qualify to be imported into Canada under the country’s 15-year rules (we have to wait 25 years in the United States). Nissan tweaked the car here and there over its production run, including many special editions, but it’s worth noting that there were only three years of the previous R34. When the R35 first debuted, it was a monster. In its last years, it was starting to look like something of an atomic-breath dinosaur, still very fast but also faded. Beyond concepts, Nissan doesn’t seem to have an heir waiting in the wings.Still, there’s hope to be found. At the heart of the Z’s rebirth was none other than Hiroshi Tamura, who shepherded the R35 into existence. Tamura-san is such a huge fan of the GT-R that he still has the R32 Skyline GT-R that he’s owned since he was in his 20s. Even when the accounting department turns off the faucet, the enthusiasts working at a company can manage to keep things moving.For now, at least, the Nissan GT-R is officially dormant, if not indeed dead. Nissan will continue to build the cars that have been ordered, and then it’s curtains for the iconic sports car. Here’s hoping it’s not goodbye forever.More GT-R ReadingBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More