THE LA AUTO SHOW OVERVIEW – LA LA LAND

THE LA AUTO SHOW OVERVIEW

LA LA LAND

Both publisher Adam Moore and I are pleased to welcome Fred Aikins to our family of contributors. As you’ll see in Fred’s bio (at the end of this article), he’s well-versed in the auto business; I’d also add that Fred is well-regarded in the enthusiast community. We hope you enjoy Fred’s overview of this fall’s Los Angeles Auto Show. 

– David Boldt, Managing Editor

The first ‘major’ auto show in North America kicked off in car-centric Los Angeles, just prior to Thanksgiving week. While diminished compared to its pre-pandemic iterations, the media day was well attended, with several new vehicle previews, including:

Hyundai Ioniq 9

If there was a ‘star’ of this year’s L.A. Auto Show media day, it was the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 EV crossover. The Ioniq 9 will go into production in the second half of 2025, joining Hyundai’s award-winning Ioniq 5 EV CUV and Ioniq 6 EV sedan.

The Ioniq 9 is a good-looking vehicle, with a full-width light bar up front consisting of the signature Ioniq pixels. The side profile is handsome and cleanly styled, while the rear has pixel’d taillights and a pixel bar over the top of the hatch to tie it all together.

Inside, the cabin is spacious and airy, with room for six or seven passengers. There are plenty of infotainment screens, though – thankfully – Hyundai still values actual buttons for some functions.

The Ioniq 9 draws power from a 110.3kWh battery pack on 800-volt architecture, meaning it can suck enough electrons from a 350kW DC fast charger to recharge from 10-80% in just 24min. That’s fast.

The Ioniq 9 will come with three motor combinations — single-motor Long Range RWD (215hp), Long Range AWD 215hp rear axle motor + 94hp front axle motor and Performance AWD (215hp motors on both axles). Range for the Ioniq 9 is targeted for 300+mi in all configurations. And Hyundai’s Ioniq 9 will come with the North American Charging Standard (NACS, read: Tesla) charging port, giving buyers access to the Tesla Supercharger network.

Pricing will be announced closer to the Ioniq 9’s on-sale date, but expect it to be in line with the Kia EV9.

Stellantis

Stellantis, parent company of RAM, Jeep, Dodge and way too many other struggling or irrelevant brands (14 in all!) held a showcase featuring multiple nameplates. The big news was the new Dodge Charger, electrified RAM trucks (only the new STLA chassis was shown) and the upcoming Jeep Wagoneer E EV.

The other big news from Stellantis: They (finally) have heard their customers and dealers that they’ve been WAY too aggressive with their price increases over the past few years. With that, the company has announced significant price cuts on RAM trucks and Jeep models, some as large as $10,000. Time will tell if this helps reverse their sales declines.

Dodge Charger Daytona EV

The Dodge portion of Stellantis’ showcase focused on the upcoming 2025 Charger Daytona, billed as ‘the world’s only electric muscle car,’ but they’re hedging their bets (big time) by offering a gas-powered version with the Hurricane twin-turbo inline-six putting out 420 or 550hp.

The new Charger will be offered in either 4-door or 2-door body styles. The styling of the Charger is unabashedly retro, harkening back to the classic styling of the ‘68-69 Chargers.

But isn’t the new Charger an EV, too? Yes it is, with a 100.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack on 400-volt architecture. Range is expected to be 270-315mi. The Charger Daytona EV will boast 670hp, giving it a 0-60 time of 3.3sec.

Inside, the interior looks roomy and retro-inspired, but with a large screen for the gauges and a larger central touchscreen for the infotainment system. Cargo area should be generous and easy to access through the large rear hatch, even if the Charger doesn’t look like a hatchback.

The Charger goes on sale early next year.

RAM REV EV and Ramcharger Extended-Range EV

RAM’s presentation focused on their upcoming electrified models — the RAM REV full EV and the RAM Ramcharger EV with a V-6 gas range extender. There were no actual trucks on the show floor, but RAM brought a couple examples of the company’s new STLA chassis, which can support pure EV, hybrid or gas powertrains. If you’re going to show up late to the electrification party, it’s best to show up BIG.

The RAM REV features a a 350mi range with the standard 168kWh battery pack or up to 500mi with the available 229kWh battery, both of which outdo the Ford F-150 Lightning EV. The 654hp RAM REV is expected to sprint from 0-60 in 4.4sec.

The RAM Ramcharger adds a gas-powered V-6 range extender for up to 690mi of driving range, making it ideal for long-distance driving (think: West Texas) where a pure EV would need to recharge for hours. Even with the gas engine under the hood, the Ramcharger will dash from 0-60 in 4.4sec.

Compared to the other EV pickups from Ford and GM, the Ramcharger has the potential to be a real game-changer.

The RAM REV and Ramcharger go on sale in 2025. Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but expect pricing similar to the other EV pickups.

Jeep Wagoneer S

Is a fully electric Jeep still a ‘real Jeep’? We’ll find out next year when the 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S EV goes on sale.

Despite carrying the same name as the full-size Wagoneer, the Wagoneer S is closer in size to the mid-size Jeep Grand Cherokee. Confused yet? I’m sure Jeep customers and dealers will be, too.

Styling is attractive yet unmistakably Jeep, from the seven-slot grille to the rugged stance. The interior is roomy with plenty of screens for the gauges and infotainment system.

The Wagoneer S is Jeep’s first pure EV, with a 600hp dual-motor AWD configuration and a 100.5kWh battery that results in a 3.4sec 0-60 time. The Wagoneer S uses 400-volt architecture to recharge from 20-80% in 23min at a DC fast charger. Range is ~300mi, so you can go off-grid, but not too far. That begs the question, is it truly a ‘real’ Jeep if you can’t go to the middle of nowhere without having to worry about finding a place to charge it?

Volkswagen Tiguan

VW was showing their new 2025 Tiguan, a thorough revision of their compact CUV. The new Tiguan is slightly larger than the previous one, with a bit more power from the 2.0L turbo four; it’s now up to 201hp.

The styling is clean and clearly European, inside and out. There are large screens for the gauges and a larger center touchscreen for the infotainment system. The only big change inside is the loss of the previous model’s third-row seat.

The new Tiguan goes on sale later in 2025, with pricing expected to start around $30K. VW announced they are (finally) developing a hybrid version, having previously put all their eggs in the EV basket. No word on timing, but expect 2026 or later.