Breaking News: Stop/Start Systems Will Go Away

🚨 Just before our deadline, we get the great news that automatic engine start/stop systems — the feature that shuts a vehicle off at stoplights supposedly to save fuel — are slated to disappear from new vehicles after the Trump administration formally moved to scrap the Obama-era greenhouse-gas framework that pushed automakers to use the technology in the first place. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin signed what the administration called the single largest deregulatory action in agency history, and President Donald Trump approved the move, eliminating the 2009 “endangerment finding” that served as the legal backbone for federal vehicle emissions rules. Start/stop systems spread rapidly across the industry beginning around 2012 because automakers earned regulatory credits for installing them to meet fuel-economy and emissions targets, even as the feature drew consistent complaints from drivers about drivability and battery wear. With the rule now rescinded, the compliance incentive that made start/stop nearly universal goes away, meaning automakers are no longer under pressure to include it as standard equipment. The broader action also rolls back a wide range of emissions requirements tied to that earlier determination, a shift supporters say will cut costs and simplify vehicle design while critics argue it weakens long-standing climate protections and will face court challenges. You can read the news release from the Environmental Protection Agency here:

Read the EPA Announcement →

  SOUND OFF: The Detroit 3 Should Have Listened

In 2017, I warned the Detroit 3 to "Stop The Electric Car Insanity!" Now, nearly eight and a half years later the carnage of rushing into EVs without considering consumer wants and needs, not to mention charging infrastructure issues, is becoming clear.  The financial losses tied to misguided EV strategies are piling up for GM, Ford and Stellantis.  

Read my commentary →

  President's Day Sales Are Going On Now!

Automakers, mattress stores, and car dealers always look for a reason to have a sale, and President’s Day is no exception. It is not uncommon to see a short-term spike in factory incentives during holidays like the one coming up this Monday. Usually when this happens, incentives go up on the Friday before (today) the holiday, and last until the Tuesday afterward.

Car dealers always gear up to sell cars on holidays. When a lot of people are off work, they tend to shop for a new car. In the Texas market, Truck Month has now kicked off for Ford and Ram, so we have already seen truck incentives go up as the other truck makers match the rebates.

Although President’s Day is not a major holiday, all the holiday rules apply; a volume mindset that means lower prices, higher trade values, better interest rates, and quick deals. Even if the dealer doesn’t have the vehicle you want, they’ll work hard to find it.

As I have been telling you, new vehicle inventories are huge and the dealers are paying a lot of interest on all those vehicles. These dealers actually need to sell cars and are offering really nice discounts. Most of the dealers I have talked with were disappointed in January sales and few hit their objectives. That means their inventories are even larger than originally thought. Let’s just say our Dealers are very eager to have a good volume month to level out the number of cars on the ground.

If you are going to do something about a new set of wheels, consider doing it this weekend, you could save money. If you have a trade-in, used prices are still sky-high and you should take advantage of that now, before it changes.

  U.S. Auto Market 

Kelly Blue Book 2025 Brand Watch Study

Read more→

Most Reliable Used Cars For The Money For 2026

Read more→

 Total Shocker: 2027 Toyota Highlander Is Only Electric!

If you do what I do long enough, not much surprises you, much less shocks you - but the news that the next-generation 2027 Toyota Highlander was going electric-without a gas or hybrid alternative, blew me away. Here are the details, my thoughts, and our first look at the next-generation SUV.

Read more→ 

  Straight Talk and Honest Answers

CarPro Advice:
Bad Advice, Good Intentions 

The problem is that car advice has a short shelf life, and a lot of it expires without anyone realizing it.  

Read more → 

  Quick Shifts

Stories you’ll find today:

• Ferrari: 1, Thieves: 0
• Officer Chases Bike Thief in Borrowed Pickup
• Chevrolet to America: “Stop Calling Us Chevy"
• Florida Man Drives Burning Car While Drunk

Read more→

  Weekly Recalls

•  
• Stellantis TAKATA AIR BAG **DO NOT DRIVE** →
• BMW (2) **FIRE RISK**/CRASH RISK →
• Ford**CRASH RISK**→
• Jeep **CRASH RISK** →
• Toyota →
• Takata Air Bag Recall →

  Incentives Guide

Here you'll find our incentives and rebate guide which includes a link to every major manufacturer’s incentive page. Just enter your zip code to find the current incentives offered in your area. 

Current incentives By Automaker  

  Enter To Win A 2026 Corvette Or $40K Cash!

Imagine winning a brand-new 2026 Corvette—or choosing $40,000 cash instead. Now is your chance in our new sweepstakes in partnership with Vehicle For Good! 

Our latest giveaway supports Hope Local, a nonprofit dedicated to walking alongside foster and adoptive families so children can experience stability, belonging, and hope. When you enter, you’re not just entering to win—you’re helping kids move one step closer to home.

  Kim Komando Quiz and Interesting Info  

Besides the Car Pro Show and our weekly newsletter, my other favorite radio show and newsletter is Kim Komando’s.  We are on many of the same radio stations across America.  She does for her listeners and newsletter subscribers exactly what I endeavor to do:  Give you useful information to keep you up to date on the latest in cars, only she does it with technology and there is nobody who does it better.  Not sure how she puts out a top-notch newsletter seven days a week, but she does.

💡Kim’s Quiz: 

Come back with me to 2023 when we were shocked when Elon Musk bought and rebranded Twitter to X. We said goodbye to the famous cute little blue bird logo, and those of us in the know bid the bird farewell by name. Yes, Twitter’s logo had a secret name all along.

Who was the bird named after? A) A legendary NBA player, B) The founder’s first pet, C) A famous 1920s cartoonist or D) A rare species of blue finch. Take your best guess

*Answer below my closing message at the very bottom of this newsletter

Some Interesting Items I Found In Kim’s Daily Newsletter:

• Don’t let the AI revolution leave you behind. Your competitors are already using it to work faster and smarter. If you feel overwhelmed by the buzzwords, you need NetSuite’s free “Demystifying AI” guide. It explains exactly how to use this tech to boost your bottom line. If your business revenue is in the seven figures, download the free guide today.
• Epstein’s Rolodex goes public: The DOJ dropped what looks like the last batch of Epstein files, around 3.5 million pages, required by a 2025 transparency law. Tech billionaires pop up constantly(paywall link): Reid Hoffman 2,658 times, Bill Gates 2,592, Peter Thiel 2,281, Elon Musk 1,116, plus Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Zuckerberg and Bezos. Being in a file doesn’t mean someone committed a crime. It could be gossip, links or duplicates. That’s one hell of a Rolodex.
• Waymo’s not special: We’re entering the era of only slightly overpriced robot rides. Obi simulated 94,000 trips in the Bay Area. Waymo averaged $19.69. Still higher than $17.47 for Uber and $15.47 for Lyft, but it’s almost neck-and-neck with Uber on mid-length rides. Analysts say the novelty’s fading, so Waymo may keep shaving prices as competition heats up. Or maybe people miss awkward small talk. Meanwhile, Waymo’s coming to over 20 cities after raising $16 billion.
  
• Lungless, still alive: I thought having no lungs was a pretty firm deal-breaker. Not at Northwestern. A 33-year-old showed up with influenza B, then a nasty drug-resistant pseudomonas infection that basically turned his lungs into soup and sent him into septic shock, kidney failure and even full cardiac arrest. Surgeons removed both lungs, then kept him alive 48 hours with a custom, completely artificial lung circuit, long enough to get donor lungs and finish a double transplant. Breathtaking. Literally.
• Prioritize car apps: It’s easier to keep your eyes on the road when all your favorite apps are on the first screen of your infotainment system. For Apple CarPlay, open your iPhone Settings > General > CarPlay > Customize, and drag apps into the order you want. For Android Auto, open your phone Settings > Android Auto > Customize launcher and do the same. I’m great company for a long drive, and my podcasts could be a tap away. Just sayin’.
• The “STOP” trap: Most unexpected texts that tell you to reply STOP to unsubscribe are scammers trying to confirm your number is active. Reply, and they know you’re a live person they can send phishing links to later. Do this instead: On iPhone, open the Messages app, tap the conversation, then the person’s icon at the top > Info > Block Contact. On Android, open Messages, long-press the conversation, then tap Block and Report as spam.
• Keep your friends close: Sick of strangers adding you on Facebook? Open the mobile app > Settings > How people find and contact you > Who can send you friend requests? and set it to Friends of friends. Helps with those annoying impersonation scams, too, since they’ll need to be connected to your social circle first.

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  Closing Message From Jerry

The Little Things That Make
A Car A Good One

When people ask me what makes a car good, they usually expect a big answer. Horsepower. Safety. Reliability ratings. Fuel economy. Maybe resale value if they’ve been doing their homework. All of those things matter, of course. But if you live with cars long enough, you learn that what really makes a car a good one usually shows up in much smaller ways.

It’s the things you don’t think about on the test drive but notice every single day afterward.

Take cupholders. Not just how many there are, but whether they actually hold a cup. We’ve all had that one car where a drink either tipped over at the first turn or rattled like it was auditioning for a percussion band. A good cupholder doesn’t draw attention to itself. It just quietly does its job. That’s a theme you’ll hear a lot here.

Seats are another one. You don’t need hand-stitched leather from a rare animal. You need a seat that doesn’t make you shift around like you’re trying to get comfortable on a wooden pew. A good seat disappears after about ten minutes. A bad one reminds you it exists for the next ten years.

Then there are the controls. The volume knob you can find without looking. The climate buttons that don’t require a degree in computer science. The door handles that work the same way every time. These are not headline features, but they’re the ones you interact with the most. A car that gets the basics right feels smarter than one that tries to impress you with a hundred features you’ll never use.

Mirrors matter more than people realize. A good mirror placement can make a car feel smaller, easier, calmer. A bad one turns every lane change into a leap of faith. Same goes for visibility. You don’t appreciate good sightlines until you’ve driven something where the roof pillars block half the world.

Storage is another quiet hero. Where do you put your phone? The sunglasses you swear you won’t lose this time. The random receipts that somehow reproduce on their own. Cars that give you sensible places for everyday clutter are the ones that feel like they were designed by someone who actually drives.

Even the sounds matter. The turn signal that isn’t angry. The door that closes with a reassuring thunk instead of a hollow clang. The backup alert that lets you know what’s happening without making the neighbors think something’s wrong. These little details shape how a car feels long after the novelty wears off.

And here’s the funny part: most people don’t realize how much these things matter until they’re gone. You trade cars, and suddenly you miss the armrest that was just right, or the steering wheel buttons that made sense, or the way the headlights lit up a dark road without drama. You don’t miss the brochure. You miss the little things.

That’s why I always tell folks not to overthink the big stuff at the expense of the small stuff. Horsepower is fun, but comfort is daily. Technology is impressive, but usability is lasting. The cars people love the most aren’t always the flashiest — they’re the ones that quietly make life easier.

So, if you’re shopping, pay attention. Notice the cupholders. Adjust the seat. Try the controls without looking. Ask yourself whether this car feels like it’s working with you or asking you to work around it.

Because in the end, a good car isn’t the one that impresses you once. It’s the one that makes you smile a little every day — often for reasons you can’t quite put your finger on.

Those little things add up. And most of the time, they’re what make a car a good one.

Straight Talk and Honest Answers — always.

 💡Kim Komando Answer: