Global automakers focus on U.S. demand for large, high-priced vehicles
The Wall Street Journal reported in The 10-Point newsletter that Volkswagen is considering making its first American pickup in 40 years, while Nissan is promising more rugged SUVs. The Journal said automakers around the world are focused on the U.S. because of Americans’ proclivity for large vehicles and SUVs and their willingness to swallow record-high sticker prices.
Sharon Terlep reported that China’s auto market faces a “massive overcapacity crisis” and that low-cost vehicles have “conquered overseas markets” and “battered European automakers.” With rivals targeting the U.S., Detroit automakers are racing to maintain their high margins in the heartland, Terlep reported.
A separate election analysis in the newsletter provided the wider 2028 context for the midterms. The Journal said the election result gave Democrats control of Congress and a majority of governors’ offices, creating new pathways to the White House in 2028. Democratic victories in Texas, Ohio and Iowa have scrambled early thinking about how to garner the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win, The Journal reported. Democrats also won governor’s races in all six familiar presidential swing states. The item examined the expanded battleground and the new electoral math.
Another political item reported that President Trump has responded to the midterm result that gave Democrats control of Congress by elevating Stephen Miller, “one of his most combative advisers.” Miller, “the architect of Trump’s aggressive immigration policies,” is replacing Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff. Wiles “was seen as a moderating force on the president,” while Miller has long advocated “a no-holds-barred approach to governing.”
With Democrats taking control of Congress, Miller is expected to push for “greater use of executive power” and a “confrontational response to congressional investigations.” The Journal’s reporters wrote that the appointment signals Trump has “little intention of changing course” after the election. The newsletter also included “five things to know about Miller” as a closer look at the incoming chief of staff, a role the Journal called “one of Washington’s most powerful jobs.”
In a Journal essay, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham wrote that Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan shaped American politics for generations with visions “different in detail but harmonious in principle.” Meacham said both understood that a big, complicated and disputatious country requires negotiation, nuance and a willingness to live with less than what one wants. He called this week’s Democratic victories evidence that “the battered heart of American democracy is still beating.” His essay examined how the midterms revived a tradition of democratic competition and what that meant for the country’s future.
The Journal also cited the Institute for the Study of War in comparing the territory Russian forces had gained in Ukraine this year through the end of October with 1,874 square miles in 2025. Separately, the newsletter reported that for the past two months, Russian forces have lost more land than they gained as Ukraine’s midrange strikes have pummeled supply routes behind the front lines with a variety of drones. The newsletter said its battlefield mapping showed “how Russia is failing on the battlefield.”
Readers asked the Journal for the syllabus of a humanities course for Harvard freshmen after an earlier report about a surge in the course’s popularity. The newsletter supplied the reading list for the 2026-27 school year and the full list of assignments from previous years. The selections ranged from Homer’s “The Odyssey” to James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time.”
These reports appeared in an edition of The 10-Point newsletter. The newsletter was curated and edited by Bharbi Hazarika and Will Horner in collaboration with Editor in Chief Emma Tucker.