Good morning, dear reader. I’m checking in from home, where I’ve spent the past few days gutting the interior of my Toyota MR2 to fix some wiring that, after 35 years, has decided that conducting electricity is just too much. Typical.

Here’s what’s fresh from yours truly on this great internet.

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This was a fun one. I, like many people raised on a heavy diet of bootleg Top Gear and Best Motoring episodes, have long held the German Nürburgring in high esteem. But, it’s safe to say that the average American has little interest in that greatest of international racing circuits.

No surprise, then, that American performance car manufacturers haven’t publicly made much of a deal of the place. Sure, they all test there to some greater or lesser degree, but rare is the new American sports car that puts a time down for public scrutiny.

That’s changing. Chevrolet has set some Corvette times there in the past, but Ford made American’ Ring dominance a key goal with the release of the Mustang GTD, becoming the first American company to sling a car through the woods and back again in under seven minutes. A few months later, Chevrolet came along and beat the GTD’s time with both the new Corvette ZR1 and the ZR1X.

For Ars, I not only shared impressions from behind the wheel of both cars, I talked with engineers on both sides about why now is the time for competition there, and why this battle is just beginning. Never mind that the European manufacturers are still trouncing American lap times. I have a feeling that’ll change.

Subaru’s been on a new product offensive lately, refreshing and expanding its product portfolio, all while quietly and comprehensively reshuffling the decks of production to avoid all the new tariff fun that’s been flying around of late.

The latest entries are the new Forester Wilderness and Crosstrek Hybrid. I spent a day putting the pair through their paces in and around Portland, Oregon, and was left quite impressed by each.

The updated Forester continues to be among the most capable of the casually rugged compact SUVs, and while its lack of locking differentials and underbody protection means you’re not going to want to push too far into the wilds, it tackled some admirably aggressive terrain without much complaint. Plus, the extra bits of aggressive styling on the Wilderness trim help add some visual appeal to what is, let’s just say, not my favorite looking generation of Forester.

On the Crosstrek side, Subaru’s mega-selling SUV (it’ll always be a wagon to me…) gets a tiny shot of much-needed power and acceleration, plus a boost on the efficiency side, too. It’s no radical step forward in capability, but the improved throttle response and economy seem well worth the up charge here. And, unlike the last Crosstrek Hybrid, there’s little lost in the way of cargo capacity.

I think Subaru will sell a zillion of these things.

It’s been a little while since I’ve been in an XC40. I lived with one for the better part of a year back in my CNET days and really came to love Volvo’s littlest SUV (at the time). Since then... well, not a whole lot has changed. Is it still compelling? Somehow, yeah, it kind of is.

Last from me this week, you can catch my roundup on all the happenings around this year’s Pebble Beach Concours in the latest issue of Car Graphic Magazine in Japan. As per usual, this one’s print-only.

That’s all for now. I’ve got one final day home, then I’m off again on a jet plane tomorrow, heading to Europe to get a sneak peek at a car that, over a decade ago, the CEO of the company I’m set to visit told me would never be built. That CEO is now gone, and that car is now happening. More on that soon.

Until then, do good and be well.