It may say ‘Camry’ on the front, but Toyota’s NASCAR racer is a different animal

By Stephen Edelstein Published January 11, 2017

With its beige demeanor and Japanese ancestry, the Toyota Camry seems like an odd fit for the red-blooded American motor sports spectacle that is NASCAR. But Camry-badged race cars have been competing in NASCAR since 2007.

The redesigned 2018 Camry road car debuted this week at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, so Toyota decided to unveil the new NASCAR racer alongside it. But don’t let that give the impression that the NASCAR Camry is in any way related to the car people can actually buy. As before, the only thing that makes this car a Camry is the name badge on the front.

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NASCAR stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, but the cars that compete in this series are anything but stock. The NASCAR Camry is a purpose-built machine that shares virtually nothing with the road-going version, and it’s the same story with the NASCAR racers fielded by Ford and Chevrolet.

Underneath the bodywork is a tube-frame chassis, and while the stock Camry sports an array of four-cylinder and V6 powertrains and front-wheel drive, the NASCAR version uses a large V8 and rear-wheel drive. That’s down to the rules of the race series, which specify that manufacturers all build cars to a certain template optimized for NASCAR-style races, but that isn’t very relevant to production cars.

Toyota did at least try to make the NASCAR Camry look like a stock Camry, even having its Calty design studio consult during the development of the race car. But the demands of the rules meant that work could only go so far. For example, while the stock Camry is a four-door sedan, the NASCAR Camry has no doors at all.

The restyled NASCAR Camry will make its racing debut next month at the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s season opener. The 2018 Toyota Camry road car will arrive in showrooms later in the year.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?

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Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Cars

Tesla just scrapped the Cybertruck range extender

Tesla CEO Elon Musk behind the wheel of a Cybertruck.

The writing was pretty much on the wall for the Cybertruck range extender last month when Tesla removed the option from its website. Now, it’s officially scrapped it and is refunding the $2,000 deposits that customers put down for the $16,000 battery pack.

“We are no longer planning to sell the range extender for Cybertruck," Tesla said in a message to customers on Wednesday, adding, "As a result, we will be refunding your deposit in full.”

Cars

Zoox recalls robotaxis after Las Vegas crash, citing software fix

Amazon's self-driving vehicle unit, Zoox, has issued a voluntary safety recall after one of its autonomous vehicles was involved in a minor collision in Las Vegas. The incident, which occurred in April 2025, led the company to investigate and identify a software issue affecting how the robotaxi anticipates another vehicle’s path.
The recall, affecting 270 Zoox-built vehicles, was formally filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Zoox said the issue has already been addressed through a software update that was remotely deployed to its fleet.
Zoox’s robotaxis, which operate without driving controls like a steering wheel or pedals, are part of Amazon’s entry into the autonomous driving space. According to Zoox’s safety recall report, the vehicle failed to yield to oncoming traffic while making an unprotected left turn, leading to a low-speed collision with a regular passenger car. While damage was minor, the event raised flags about the system’s behavior in complex urban scenarios.
Establishing safety and reliability remain key factors in the deployment of the relatively new autonomous ride-hailing technology. Alphabet-owned Waymo continues to lead the sector in both safety and operational scale, with services active in multiple cities including Phoenix and San Francisco. But GM’s Cruise and Ford/VW-backed Argo AI were forced to abandon operations over the past few years.
Tesla is also expected to enter the robotaxi race with the launch of its own service in June 2025, leveraging its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. While FSD has faced heavy regulatory scrutiny through last year, safety regulations are expected to loosen under the Trump administration.
Zoox, which Amazon acquired in 2020, says it issued the recall voluntarily as part of its commitment to safety. “It’s essential that we remain transparent about our processes and the collective decisions we make,” the company said in a statement.