Photo: LA Auto Show
The month of November was pretty busy for all US automotive enthusiasts because we had both the 2024 SEMA Show in Las Vegas and the latest edition of the LA Auto Show to survey.
While the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, is usually the fief of the aftermarket realm, the OEMs love to intrude – even more so in recent years. As such, everyone that was somebody across the US automotive market wanted to catch a stand at the Specialty Equipment Market Association's annual event. That included the big automakers, and everyone was present and accounted for, from Toyota to Infiniti and from Jeep to Ford.
However, the abundance of custom presentations and vehicle concepts (as well as parts and accessories) meant that everyone – including the carmakers – needed to catch their breath after the show ended. As such, it is no wonder that many novelties haven't popped up afterward. Alas, some companies didn't mind working extra to also put on a good appearance at the 2024 Los Angeles Auto Show in California.
It wasn't many of them, but they say quality always trumps quantity. As such, this week, we had to keep our eyes wide open for the regular novelties as well as anything associated with the 2024 LA Auto Show. We started with the Dutch carmaker Donkervoort announcing that, sadly, it will stop using the iconic Audi five-cylinder engine that was tucked under the hood of the F22 sports car. The vehicle with the name of a fighter jet also ended production with the F22 Final Five special edition – but luckily, work is already underway on an all-new project.
In America, the start of the week came with pricing news across the high-riding sector. The 2025 Lexus TX three-row premium crossover SUV (the luxury counterpart of the Toyota Grand Highlander) gained a new F Sport Handling trim but also became pricier, starting from $56,490 – a slight increase compared to the 2024 model year. If you needed an alternative, Nissan also announced the pricing details related to its full-size 2025 Armada, which is coming to dealerships all-new but with the same base MSRP as its predecessor – the 2025 Armada SV starts from $56,520 for the 4x2 and $59,520 for the SL 4x4 grade.
On the other hand, all other trims got pricier to compensate. Speaking of compensation, Mercedes-Benz is about to reveal the next CLA, and the little sedan is gaining hybrid and all-electric powertrains to go along with the current fashion. Let's move across the seas and oceans for a moment. In Australia, Ford dropped a veritable bombshell on top of all mid-size pickup truck rivals – the 2026 Ranger will arrive soon with the first-ever Super Duty variant. Many would say they want that in America 'ASAP,' and another car that we'd love to have across the other great pond (aka the Atlantic Ocean) is the reborn 2025 Renault 5 E-Tech, which has started arriving in various European markets like the United Kingdom.
Back in America, the new STLA Frame platform from Stellantis was also detailed – it promises best-in-class everything, and it will first arrive on the all-electric 2025 Ram 1500 REV and the range-extended Ram 1500 Ramcharger. Don't be too giddy about it – the rumor mill also reported a delay in the start of sales with no apparent reason from the company. Two more novelties were also announced before the 2024 LA Auto Show stars came strolling in – the 2025 Chrysler Pacifica welcomed a FAV Edition complete with a Thule cargo box, and the refreshed 2026 Genesis GV70 and electric GV70 were announced for North America, along with an expansion of the retail network to 60 dealers.
After that, all eyes were on the 2024 LA Auto Show, where Volkswagen, for example, brought its entire roster to the event alongside 'Mr. Popular,' the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan debuted with bolder looks, upgraded performance, and a better interior, among other stuff. Hyundai – just like Honda with its 2026 Passport TrailSport – didn't even have the patience to lift the curtain of its new Ioniq 9 three-row crossover SUV at the Los Angeles Convention Center and staged an early arrival at the Goldstein House in LA a day prior to the press day. As for the main event, it seems that Kia took the icing on the cake, with no less than five novelties – of which three are of major importance.
First off, the updated 2025 Kia EV6 landed in Los Angeles with a more refined exterior styling, better technology across the board, as well as increased battery capacity – the standard pack has 63 kWh, but the optional 84-kWh setup targets a good range of 319 miles on a single charge. Electric soccer mums and hockey dads who were thinking about buying the all-electric three-row Kia EV9 instead of a model from the dying breed of minivans now have something cool to await – the 2026 Kia EV9 GT is a hulking six-seat performance vehicle that can do 501 electric ponies and sprint to 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds.
It will land in dealerships during the second half of next year, but it probably won't be a star attraction there – despite its good looks and better practicality. Instead, the 2026 Kia Sportage will take the crown in terms of hype – it's refreshed to align with the styling of the Sorento and Carnival MPV and has a bag full of upgrades that promise to make the popular compact crossover SUV even more desirable. It's a nice move as the Honda CR-V grows older and the Toyota RAV4's next generation hasn't been announced just yet.
However, the abundance of custom presentations and vehicle concepts (as well as parts and accessories) meant that everyone – including the carmakers – needed to catch their breath after the show ended. As such, it is no wonder that many novelties haven't popped up afterward. Alas, some companies didn't mind working extra to also put on a good appearance at the 2024 Los Angeles Auto Show in California.
It wasn't many of them, but they say quality always trumps quantity. As such, this week, we had to keep our eyes wide open for the regular novelties as well as anything associated with the 2024 LA Auto Show. We started with the Dutch carmaker Donkervoort announcing that, sadly, it will stop using the iconic Audi five-cylinder engine that was tucked under the hood of the F22 sports car. The vehicle with the name of a fighter jet also ended production with the F22 Final Five special edition – but luckily, work is already underway on an all-new project.
In America, the start of the week came with pricing news across the high-riding sector. The 2025 Lexus TX three-row premium crossover SUV (the luxury counterpart of the Toyota Grand Highlander) gained a new F Sport Handling trim but also became pricier, starting from $56,490 – a slight increase compared to the 2024 model year. If you needed an alternative, Nissan also announced the pricing details related to its full-size 2025 Armada, which is coming to dealerships all-new but with the same base MSRP as its predecessor – the 2025 Armada SV starts from $56,520 for the 4x2 and $59,520 for the SL 4x4 grade.
On the other hand, all other trims got pricier to compensate. Speaking of compensation, Mercedes-Benz is about to reveal the next CLA, and the little sedan is gaining hybrid and all-electric powertrains to go along with the current fashion. Let's move across the seas and oceans for a moment. In Australia, Ford dropped a veritable bombshell on top of all mid-size pickup truck rivals – the 2026 Ranger will arrive soon with the first-ever Super Duty variant. Many would say they want that in America 'ASAP,' and another car that we'd love to have across the other great pond (aka the Atlantic Ocean) is the reborn 2025 Renault 5 E-Tech, which has started arriving in various European markets like the United Kingdom.
Back in America, the new STLA Frame platform from Stellantis was also detailed – it promises best-in-class everything, and it will first arrive on the all-electric 2025 Ram 1500 REV and the range-extended Ram 1500 Ramcharger. Don't be too giddy about it – the rumor mill also reported a delay in the start of sales with no apparent reason from the company. Two more novelties were also announced before the 2024 LA Auto Show stars came strolling in – the 2025 Chrysler Pacifica welcomed a FAV Edition complete with a Thule cargo box, and the refreshed 2026 Genesis GV70 and electric GV70 were announced for North America, along with an expansion of the retail network to 60 dealers.
After that, all eyes were on the 2024 LA Auto Show, where Volkswagen, for example, brought its entire roster to the event alongside 'Mr. Popular,' the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan debuted with bolder looks, upgraded performance, and a better interior, among other stuff. Hyundai – just like Honda with its 2026 Passport TrailSport – didn't even have the patience to lift the curtain of its new Ioniq 9 three-row crossover SUV at the Los Angeles Convention Center and staged an early arrival at the Goldstein House in LA a day prior to the press day. As for the main event, it seems that Kia took the icing on the cake, with no less than five novelties – of which three are of major importance.
First off, the updated 2025 Kia EV6 landed in Los Angeles with a more refined exterior styling, better technology across the board, as well as increased battery capacity – the standard pack has 63 kWh, but the optional 84-kWh setup targets a good range of 319 miles on a single charge. Electric soccer mums and hockey dads who were thinking about buying the all-electric three-row Kia EV9 instead of a model from the dying breed of minivans now have something cool to await – the 2026 Kia EV9 GT is a hulking six-seat performance vehicle that can do 501 electric ponies and sprint to 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds.
It will land in dealerships during the second half of next year, but it probably won't be a star attraction there – despite its good looks and better practicality. Instead, the 2026 Kia Sportage will take the crown in terms of hype – it's refreshed to align with the styling of the Sorento and Carnival MPV and has a bag full of upgrades that promise to make the popular compact crossover SUV even more desirable. It's a nice move as the Honda CR-V grows older and the Toyota RAV4's next generation hasn't been announced just yet.
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