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Hyundai Motor America is one of the leaders in vehicle safety, earning eight 2022 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) TOP SAFETY PICK and TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards. Hyundai’s current SUV products each hold a TSP or TSP+ rating designation when equipped with specific headlights and for the 2022 Santa Fe, built after July 2021. Additionally, of the eight Hyundai products awarded thus far for 2022, five include eco-friendly powertrain options. Parent company, Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai, Kia and Genesis), leads the industry with the most awards in each category, when equipped with optional front crash protection and specific headlights – 11 TOP SAFETY PICK+ and 10 TOP SAFETY PICK awards for a total of 21.

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“As one of the leading automakers in safety designations by IIHS, this achievement represents a significant performance by our engineering and safety teams and further validates the laser-like focus that we have for the safety of our customers and all road users, said Brian Latouf, chief safety officer, Hyundai Motor North America. “We will continue on our journey for a world-class North American safety office, through our new Safety Test and Investigation Laboratory and child passenger educational safety efforts recently announced during the Chicago Auto Show.”   

 Hyundai products receiving 2022 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK or TOP SAFETY PICK+ ratings include:

2022 Elantra TOP SAFETY PICK with specific headlights
2022 Sonata TOP SAFETY PICK with specific headlights
2022 Venue TOP SAFETY PICK with specific headlights
2022 Tucson TOP SAFETY PICK+
2022 Palisade TOP SAFETY PICK+
2022 Santa Fe TOP SAFETY PICK+ built after July 2021
2022 Santa Cruz TOP SAFETY PICK with specific headlights
2022 NEXO TOP SAFETY PICK+

To qualify for an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+, the higher of the Institute’s two awards, vehicles must earn good ratings in all six IIHS crash-worthiness evaluations, including the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side roof strength and head restraint tests. Additionally, vehicles must be available with a front crash prevention system that earns advanced or superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations and good or acceptable headlights must be standard across all trim levels.

The IIHS award criteria remain unchanged from last year, but, beginning in 2023, IIHS will add two new evaluations to the award requirements. For more information, visit IIHS.org.

Safety reminder – Please buckle-up! Seat belts save lives every day.  Always wear seat belts and use appropriate restraints for all child passengers.

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Jeep Is Bringing Real Off-Road And Luxury Back To The Grand Cherokee With The Return Of Trailhawk And Overland

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Jeep is giving the Grand Cherokee lineup something it clearly missed: identity. For 2027, the brand is bringing back the Trailhawk and Overland trims, two versions that had disappeared from the range just as the refreshed Grand Cherokee was trying to settle into its next chapter. Their return matters because it restores two of the SUV’s most important personalities at once — the genuinely off-road-focused Trailhawk and the more refined, still-capable Overland.

That makes this more than a simple trim-level shuffle. Jeep is effectively rebuilding the Grand Cherokee’s lineup after a strange gap left buyers without some of the model’s most distinctive variants. And in a U.S. market where midsize SUVs increasingly need to be either highly specialized or convincingly upscale, bringing both Trailhawk and Overland back is a smart correction.

Jeep is restoring two of the Grand Cherokee’s most important personalities for 2027 with the return of the Trailhawk and Overland trims.

Jeep Is Fixing One Of The Grand Cherokee’s Biggest Recent Gaps

When Jeep refreshed the Grand Cherokee for 2026, the lineup moved forward in some important ways, but it also lost two trims that gave the SUV much of its range and character. The Trailhawk disappeared even though it had long been the standard Grand Cherokee’s most trail-focused version, while the Overland was also removed despite being one of the best blends of comfort, capability and premium equipment in the lineup.

That left the Grand Cherokee in an awkward position. It was still a strong SUV, but it no longer had the same breadth. Buyers who wanted a true off-road-oriented Grand Cherokee without stepping into a Wrangler-like experience suddenly had fewer options, while shoppers who liked the Overland’s “do-everything” formula were left out too.

For 2027, Jeep is fixing that by putting both trims back where they belong.

The Trailhawk Returns As The Real Off-Road Grand Cherokee Again

The bigger headline is clearly the return of the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, because this is the version that restores the SUV’s strongest off-road identity.

Jeep says the 2027 Trailhawk comes with the brand’s Quadra-Trac II 4×4 system, a two-speed transfer case, Selec-Terrain with Rock mode, Quadra-Lift air suspension, an electronic limited-slip rear differential and 30.5-inch all-terrain tires. It also gets six skid plates, red tow hooks and a TrailCam front camera, all of which make it obvious Jeep wants this trim to feel like a serious capability play rather than a styling package. The company also quotes 11.4 inches of ground clearance and up to 6,200 pounds of towing capacity.

That matters because the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk has always filled an important role in Jeep’s lineup. It is the model for buyers who want real off-road hardware and a more rugged personality, but who still need the comfort, size and everyday livability of a midsize family SUV.

The returning Trailhawk gives the Grand Cherokee lineup its dedicated off-road version back, complete with air suspension, skid plates and Jeep’s core trail hardware.

Jeep Is Also Giving Both Trims A New Powertrain Direction

Another key part of this story is what sits under the hood.

Instead of bringing the Trailhawk and Overland back as 4xe-only models, Jeep is moving both to the 2.0-liter Hurricane 4 Turbo engine. In this application, the turbocharged four-cylinder produces 324 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. That makes the 2027 versions part of Jeep’s broader reshuffling of the Grand Cherokee range, where the brand is trying to simplify the lineup while still keeping enough performance and torque to satisfy buyers in the segment.

That powertrain choice will probably divide opinion, especially among buyers who still associate the Grand Cherokee with larger engines and more traditional Jeep muscle. But Jeep’s logic is easy to see. The brand needs these trims back in the lineup, and it also needs them to fit the company’s current emissions, efficiency and packaging direction. The result is a Grand Cherokee that keeps its capability story intact while shifting away from the 4xe formula that had previously defined these versions.

The Overland Returns To Cover The More Premium Side Of The Lineup

If the Trailhawk brings back the rugged side of the Grand Cherokee, the Overland restores the SUV’s upscale middle ground.

That trim has always occupied a useful spot in Jeep’s hierarchy: more premium and polished than the volume versions, but still capable enough to justify the Grand Cherokee’s reputation as more than just another soft family crossover. For 2027, Jeep is again using the Overland as the trim for buyers who want luxury touches without abandoning the SUV’s all-weather and light off-road credibility.

Jeep is equipping the Overland with 21-inch wheels, Nappa leather, heated and ventilated front seats, available massaging front seats, a 19-speaker McIntosh audio system and a long list of comfort-focused cabin upgrades. But crucially, it does not lose the off-road side of the Grand Cherokee story entirely. Jeep is still positioning it as a premium SUV with legitimate capability, not simply a dressier trim with nicer seats.

The Overland returns as the more refined side of the Grand Cherokee lineup, pairing premium materials and comfort features with Jeep’s familiar SUV capability.

The Bigger Story Is That Jeep Is Rebalancing The Grand Cherokee

That is what makes this launch more interesting than a routine trim announcement. Jeep is not just adding two badges back into the brochure. It is correcting the shape of the Grand Cherokee lineup.

The modern midsize SUV market in the United States is brutally crowded, and the Grand Cherokee cannot afford to be vague about what it offers. The Trailhawk gives it a dedicated off-road version again. The Overland gives it a more polished, upscale option that still feels true to the Jeep brand. Together, they make the lineup feel more complete and more coherent.

In other words, Jeep is not reinventing the Grand Cherokee here. It is doing something arguably more important: restoring the versions that helped explain why the Grand Cherokee mattered in the first place.

Why The Return Of These Two Trims Actually Matters

The Trailhawk and Overland are not the highest-volume Grand Cherokee models, but they do a lot of heavy lifting for the SUV’s image. They tell buyers that the Grand Cherokee can still be a proper Jeep when it needs to be, and they remind them that it can also be a comfortable, premium long-distance SUV without turning into something generic.

That balance has always been one of the Grand Cherokee’s biggest strengths, and the 2027 lineup looks better for getting both of those personalities back. In a market where every SUV is fighting to carve out a more distinct identity, Jeep’s decision to restore the Trailhawk and Overland feels less like a nostalgic move and more like a necessary one.

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RACING

George Russell Draws A Line Under Monaco As Mercedes Ends Its Penalty Fight

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George Russell is finally trying to move on from one of the messiest weekends of his 2026 Formula 1 season after Mercedes decided not to keep fighting the Monaco Grand Prix penalties that ruined his result. The British driver had every reason to feel frustrated after a race that slipped away through a combination of pit-lane drama, steward decisions and a penalty process that later turned into one of the biggest FIA controversies of the year. But with Mercedes now stepping away from the review process, Russell has little choice but to turn the page and focus on what comes next.

For Mercedes, the story is bigger than one lost result. Monaco exposed just how damaging a chaotic penalty situation can become when different teams end up on opposite sides of the same ruling. And for Russell, it closed the door on a weekend that had started with genuine top-five potential before collapsing into a points-free finish.

George Russell has been forced to put the Monaco Grand Prix behind him after Mercedes abandoned its attempt to revisit the penalty drama that wrecked his race.

Russell Knows The Monaco Result Is Not Coming Back

The key development is that Mercedes have now abandoned their effort to challenge the Monaco outcome, effectively ending any hope Russell had of recovering the result he lost in the Principality.

The frustration came from the fact that Russell was not just caught out by a normal in-race penalty. He was one of several drivers punished for pit-lane speeding during the Monaco Grand Prix, but the situation became much more controversial after Alpine successfully overturned Pierre Gasly’s penalties and got the Frenchman’s podium finish reinstated. That immediately opened the door to questions from rival teams, including Mercedes, over why one driver could recover his result while others who had already served their punishments were left with the damage.

From Russell’s side, that created a brutal feeling of unfinished business. Monaco had already been a painful race, but the FIA’s later decision only made it harder to accept because it highlighted how differently similar cases had ended up being treated.

Mercedes Looked At Every Option But Backed Away

Mercedes initially filed for a Right of Review because the team believed it had to explore every possible route after Gasly’s case changed the final classification. If Alpine could successfully reopen the matter and recover a podium, Mercedes had every reason to at least examine whether there was any path to help Russell.

But after reviewing the situation in more detail, the team ultimately decided not to keep pushing. That decision matters because it suggests Mercedes reached the conclusion that there simply was not a realistic way to undo what happened to Russell during the race itself.

In Monaco, Russell’s situation was more complicated than Gasly’s because the Mercedes driver did not just receive a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He was then also handed a drive-through penalty after that original sanction was not served correctly during the race. That second punishment was what truly destroyed his afternoon, dropping him out of contention after he had been running strongly.

Russell’s Monaco afternoon unraveled after a pit-lane speeding penalty escalated into a much more damaging drive-through sanction.

The Real Damage Was Not Just The Penalty — It Was The Timing Of It

That is what made Monaco so frustrating for Russell and Mercedes. This was not a case of a driver quietly losing a few positions after a minor sanction. It was a race where Mercedes had genuine pace, Russell was in a position to score well and the team then watched the result unravel through a penalty chain that felt impossible to recover from.

Monaco is already one of the most punishing circuits on the calendar when things go wrong, and once Russell’s race was thrown into penalty trouble, there was very little room to rescue it. By the time the drive-through had been served, the damage was done. Instead of leaving Monte Carlo with a valuable points haul, he left with one of the most frustrating weekends of his year.

That sting only grew once the post-race controversy escalated. Gasly’s reinstated podium did not directly change Russell’s own penalty, but it reopened the entire conversation around whether the stewarding process had been fair, consistent and properly handled. For a team fighting near the front, that kind of uncertainty is hard to swallow.

Russell’s Focus Now Has To Be On The Bigger Picture

The most important part of this story now is what happens next. Mercedes have clearly decided that there is no value in dragging the Monaco case on any further, and Russell seems to understand that continuing the fight would only waste energy at a moment when the season is moving too quickly to stay stuck on one weekend.

That matters because Mercedes are still in the middle of a championship battle where every strong result counts. One lost race is painful, but letting the fallout from Monaco bleed into the next rounds would be even worse. Russell’s priority now has to be resetting mentally, getting back on top of the car and making sure the next opportunity does not disappear in the same way.

With the Monaco case now closed from Mercedes’ side, Russell and the team need to shift their focus back to the championship fight and the races ahead.

Monaco Is Over, But The Frustration Will Linger

Mercedes may have walked away from the review process, but that does not mean the frustration has disappeared. Russell still lost a result that looked important at the time, and Mercedes still have to live with the feeling that one of their strongest Monaco weekends in recent memory ended in administrative chaos rather than points.

Still, there is a limit to how long a team can keep fighting the past. Mercedes have made their choice, Russell has accepted that the result is not changing and now the only realistic move is to respond on track. Monaco will remain one of the more controversial race weekends of the season, but for Russell the only thing that matters now is making sure it does not define the next part of his year too.

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Honda’s Next Ridgeline May Be Headed For A Bigger Update Than Expected

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The Honda Ridgeline has always been one of the strangest — and most interesting — trucks in America. It has never tried to play by the same rules as the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger or Chevrolet Colorado, and that has always been both its biggest strength and its biggest problem. But now, with the current truck approaching a full decade on sale, Honda appears to be preparing a much bigger rethink of the Ridgeline than many expected.

The pickup is reportedly headed for a significant update before the end of the decade, one that could include fresh styling, a revised V6 engine and a more modern interior while still keeping the unibody formula that has always set it apart from the rest of the midsize truck market. If that happens, Honda will not just be refreshing an aging truck. It will be trying to protect one of the most unusual products in its U.S. lineup at a time when the entire segment has moved on around it.

Honda’s Ridgeline appears to be heading toward a major late-decade update as the brand looks to keep its unibody pickup relevant in a much tougher midsize truck segment.

The Ridgeline Is Due For More Than A Normal Refresh

Honda’s current Ridgeline dates back to the 2017 model year, which makes it one of the oldest trucks in the midsize segment. While the pickup has received updates over the years — including the addition of the TrailSport trim — it still faces a market now crowded with fresher and more aggressive rivals. The latest Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado and Frontier all bring newer platforms, newer interiors or more specialized off-road identities, while the Ridgeline continues to lean on comfort, practicality and its SUV-like driving manners.

That formula still has value, but it also means Honda can no longer get away with a light cosmetic refresh. If the Ridgeline is going to stay relevant in the next phase of the midsize truck market, it needs a more substantial rethink — not necessarily a completely new generation, but something big enough to make buyers look at it differently again.

Honda May Be Setting Up A Bigger Ridgeline Reset

The most interesting part of the Ridgeline story right now is that it may not simply roll into another model year with a few tweaks.

Reports suggest Honda could pause Ridgeline production before bringing the truck back later in the decade with a much more heavily updated package. That would give the company room to revise styling, update the powertrain and reposition the truck for a market that has become far more competitive than it was when the current Ridgeline first launched.

And that is where this story becomes more interesting than a routine “next model preview.” If Honda really is preparing a deeper overhaul rather than a normal facelift, then the next Ridgeline could end up feeling like a soft reboot of the truck rather than just a tidy refresh.

The next Ridgeline is expected to keep its unibody roots, but it may return with more aggressive styling and a much more up-to-date truck presence.

Expect A Tougher Look And A More Modern V6

The next big Ridgeline update is expected to keep the current platform rather than moving to an all-new architecture, but the truck may still look quite different when it returns.

The strongest clue is Honda’s recent design direction with the Passport and Pilot, both of which have moved toward a squarer, tougher and more upright visual identity. If the Ridgeline borrows heavily from that design language, it could finally get the more truck-like presence that many buyers have long wanted from Honda’s pickup. That alone would matter, because one of the Ridgeline’s biggest weaknesses has never really been its packaging or practicality — it has been the fact that it often looked too soft compared with the rest of the segment.

Under the hood, the expectation is that Honda will also move the truck to an updated V6 setup, likely tied to the newer engine family already used in the Passport and Pilot. That change would not just be about adding a few horsepower. It would also help the Ridgeline meet newer emissions requirements and modernize one of the oldest parts of the truck’s package. Reports also suggest Honda could finally replace the current nine-speed automatic with the newer 10-speed unit used elsewhere in its SUV lineup.

The Ridgeline Still Has One Big Advantage No One Else Really Matches

What makes the Ridgeline worth watching is that, even in its current form, it still offers something the rest of the midsize truck segment does not.

Unlike its body-on-frame rivals, the Ridgeline uses a unibody platform, which gives it a much smoother ride, better everyday refinement and a more crossover-like personality than the typical midsize pickup. For buyers who do not need hardcore rock-crawling credentials or maximum towing bragging rights, that formula remains genuinely appealing. It is one of the few trucks in America that has always made more sense for people who use a pickup as an everyday vehicle first and a workhorse second.

That is why Honda should not try to turn the Ridgeline into a Tacoma clone. The smarter move is to modernize the truck while keeping the things that have always made it different: the comfortable cabin, the clever packaging, the in-bed trunk, the dual-action tailgate and the SUV-like drivability that no other midsize pickup really replicates.

Honda Has A Chance To Make The Ridgeline Matter Again

The Ridgeline does not need to become the toughest truck in the class to be relevant. But it does need to feel fresh, intentional and competitive in a segment that no longer leaves much room for aging outliers.

If Honda gives the truck a tougher design, a more current powertrain and a better cabin while preserving the Ridgeline’s everyday strengths, the next big update could do more than just extend the pickup’s life. It could finally sharpen the Ridgeline’s identity at a moment when more buyers might actually be ready for a truck that prioritizes comfort and usability over old-school pickup theater.

If Honda updates the Ridgeline’s design, V6 and cabin while keeping its everyday usability intact, the truck could become much more compelling again.

That is why this is a story worth watching now. The Ridgeline may not be due for a full next-generation reinvention just yet, but it increasingly looks like Honda knows the truck cannot stay the way it is for much longer. And if the upcoming update is as substantial as expected, the next Ridgeline could be one of the most important course corrections Honda makes in the U.S. market before the decade is out.

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