Automotive News journalists Larry Vellequette and Michael Martinez discuss the past week’s biggest stories, including the state of the auto market at the halfway point of 2026, analyst John Murphy’s warning about a product pipeline slowdown, Polestar dealers reacting to the U.S. ban and how Ford pulled off one of the biggest initial quality turnarounds in recent memory.

June 27, 2026 | Weekend Drive: Midyear market outlook; Polestar U.S. ban

Automotive News Daily Drive

This podcast is brought to you by Reynolds and Reynolds. There are three waves of AI transforming our industry. Explore what they are, where AI technology is headed, and what these emerging innovations mean for automotive retailers at rayray.com slash AI dash waves for more info. Welcome to this Weekend Drive edition of Daily Drive for the fourth week in June, 2026. I'm Jake Neer in Detroit, in for Kellen Walker.

Today on the show, the auto market is holding steady at the midpoint of 2026, but underneath the surface, a major share shift is underway that could knock GM off the top of the sales charts. A new report says the industry's product pipeline is thinning out fast, and the automakers that stay busy now will take market share from rivals going quiet.

Polestar dealers are reacting to the news that their brand is being forced out of the U.S., and the word coming back is devastated. And Ford just pulled off one of the biggest quality reversals in recent memory from 23rd three years ago to the top mass market brand in J.D. Power's IQS study. Joining me today to talk about all of this and more is Michael Martinez, who covers Ford in the UAW for us at Automotive News. Mike, great to have you on. Thanks, Jake.

And Larry Veloquette, who covers Toyota, Subaru and Mazda for us. Larry, great to have you on here. I'm sorry, I should say Larry Legend. Keep that keep that going here on Daily Drive. How are you doing, man? Good, Jake. How are you doing? I'm great. I'm great. It's great to be here with you guys. It's nice to see you in front of the curtain for once. There you go. Yeah, absolutely.

June 27, 2026 | Weekend Drive: Midyear market outlook; Polestar U.S. ban

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

June 27, 2026 | Weekend Drive: Midyear market outlook; Polestar U.S. ban

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.