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Mitsubishi’s Getting Serious About Trucks in North America Again: TDS

admin — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:44:40 +0000

Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup bringing you the biggest automotive headlines from around the world.

The Downshift recaps news briefly, with links to full stories for those seeking more info. Happy Friday, here’s your bulletin for May 29, 2026.

Mitsubishi will launch a midsize pickup truck for North America with Nissan’s help and revive its Pajero SUV for international markets, the automaker announced Friday. The truck is likely to be derived from and built alongside the Nissan Frontier—giving Mitsubishi a route to U.S. production, which it currently does not have—and the company is still deciding whether the new Pajero will be offered in the States. [Automotive News]

GM has unveiled the Hummer X concept, a more off-road-oriented spin on the big EV with removed body panels, making it almost look like the company’s electric take on the Jeep Gladiator. [General Motors]

Now, for some recall news. Honda and Acura are recalling just shy of 100,000 Accord and TLX sedans for faulty front passenger-seat weight sensors, which could lead to unintentional airbag deployment. [Reuters]

Stellantis, too, is recalling some cars—419,000 examples of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L, to be precise, starting with the 2022 model year—for side airbags that may not deploy on time after a collision. [Reuters]

And, finally, Lucid is recalling just over 2,000 2024 and 2025 model-year Air sedans for an issue with the inverter, which could result in a loss of drive power. Lucid says it will replace the inverter in affected vehicles. [Reuters]

AC Cars is back with a new Cobra coupe powered by a 5.0-liter Ford V8, as is tradition, making up to 800 horsepower. [Autocar]

Ferrari, which has been very successful in the World Endurance Championship since it launched its 499P hypercar, says it will only stay in the series if it can continue to build its car completely in house, as opposed to being forced to adopt the LMDh ruleset, which mandates a spec hybrid system and other predetermined supplied components. [Motorsport.com]

Weekend Races to Watch (all times Eastern):

WRC Rally Japan: All weekend long on Rally.TV
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Nashville: Friday at 8 p.m. on FS1
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Nashville: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on CW
MotoGP Italian Grand Prix: Sunday at 8 a.m. on MotoGP Video Pass
IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix: Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on FOX
IMSA Detroit Grand Prix: Sunday at 4 p.m. on NBC
NASCAR Cup Series at Nashville: Sunday at 7 p.m. on Amazon Prime Video

Got a tip or feedback for TDS? Reach out to tips@thedrive.com

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Mini’s Stylish Paul Smith Edition Arrives In America With A Pricey Catch

admin — Mon, 25 May 2026 07:52:28 +0000

Mini’s Designer-Themed Cooper Arrives in America

After debuting at last year’s Japan Mobility Show, Mini Paul Smith Edition is now officially available in the US, following Mini’s earlier confirmation. The American launch took place at the Paul Smith Melrose store in Los Angeles, which makes sense for a car that’s as much about fashion as it is about British motoring.

This isn’t the first time Mini and Sir Paul Smith have teamed up – their partnership goes back almost three decades. Some might remember the limited-edition classic Mini from the late ‘90s, the bright anniversary concepts, or the pared-down Mini Strip from five years ago.

For 2026, the Paul Smith Edition keeps things familiar, using Smith’s “classic with a twist” style on the current Cooper lineup instead of starting from scratch. So if you’ve been waiting for this stylish Mini to show up in America, now’s your chance. Just be ready for a price that might give you pause.

Mini

What Exactly Do You Get?

You can get the Paul Smith Edition on the Mini Cooper 2-Door, 4-Door, or Convertible. The look is more about small details than flashy colors. There’s a choice of Statement Grey, Inspired White, or Midnight Black Metallic, with Nottingham Green accents on the mirrors, grille, wheel hubs, and optional roof graphics – a nod to Paul Smith’s hometown. It also comes with unique 18-inch Night Flash Spoke Black wheels.

Inside, there are Nightshade Blue sport seats in Vescin, a knitted dashboard, Paul Smith’s signature stripe on the steering wheel, and special display themes for the round infotainment screen. There’s also a handwritten “Hello” projected onto the pavement when you open the door, a rabbit graphic on the floor mat, and “Every day is a new beginning” etched into the door sill.

Mini

And Then There’s The Pricing

The Paul Smith Edition is only available on gas-powered Cooper models with the Iconic Trim package, so you’re already looking at a higher starting price before adding the special edition. In the US, the Paul Smith package itself costs another $1,400, but you need to add the $4,100 Iconic Trim first.

So a base Cooper 2-Door jumps from $29,500 to $35,000, and a Cooper S Convertible comes in at $43,400 before destination and fees. For what’s mainly a styling and exclusivity package, that’s a big step up. But then, designer collaborations are almost never cheap. Pre-orders start June 3, and cars should reach dealers in early August.

Mini

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Europe’s EV Market Is Doing Great. I Think These 4 European EVs Would Do Well In America

admin — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 01:20:56 +0000

America’s electric car market is not very hot right now, with experts estimating that sales in this year’s first quarter dropped by 28%. It wasn’t great last year, either, with a 2% decrease, thanks in no small part to the cancellation of the $7,500 federal tax credit.

Meanwhile, Europe is seeing a huge uptick in electric car sales. Last year, numbers went up by nearly 30%, and the first months of 2026 gave no sign of slowing down. I can’t help but wonder: Could some of the best EVs in Europe make a difference if they were sold stateside?

Canada is preparing to open the floodgates to Chinese-made EVs, which are bound to stir some controversy. But you won’t see any of those in the U.S. Still, European companies have plenty of EVs that I think could do pretty well in America—as long as they are priced right. (I think we can all agree that nobody wants another Volvo EX30 story.)

Photo by: Cupra

Cupra Born

Price in Europe: from €40,450 ($46,700)
Range: from 428 km (266 miles) WLTP

Cupra, one of the many brands under the Volkswagen Group’s umbrella, seemed prepared to land in the United States, but that plan has been put on the back burner for now, seeing how the car market there isn’t exactly stable.

If the brand were to come stateside, the Born four-door electric hatchback would take on rivals such as the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt EV. Cupra’s compact offering is based on the same underpinnings as the Volkswagen ID.3, which was once hailed as the electric alternative to the iconic Golf.

The difference between the ID.3 and Born is that the latter is much more fun to drive, thanks to a revised chassis setup and its rear-wheel drive powertrain. You might have to explain to your friends what car you’re driving more than once, but if you don’t want a boring commuter car, this would be great.

The base trim gets 204 horsepower, while the sporty spec goes up to 326 hp.

Photo by: Fiat

Fiat Grande Panda

Price in Europe: from €24,990 ($28,900)
Range: from 320 km (199 miles) WLTP

Fiat’s U.S. portfolio only includes the electric 500e, which is quite the fashionable urban runabout. But it’s expensive and cramped inside. The new Grande Panda EV would right both of these wrongs, with a bigger—albeit more stripped down—cabin and a lower price tag.

Mind you, this is still a small car, but at least it has four doors. Plus, it’s one of the most unpretentious EVs out there, with a no-nonsense attitude. It even has a built-in Level 2 charging cable tucked in the nose. Plus it has chunky styling that gives it a better presence than city cars that failed to take off in the U.S.

Photo by: Andrei Nedelea

Renault 5

Price in Europe: from €28,000 ($32,350)
Range: from 312 km (194 miles) WLTP

Remember the Le Car? Probably not, but I’m here to help. It was Renault’s attempt at selling the original Renault 5 in the United States. Suffice to say, it didn’t go well, but the good news is that there’s a brand-new Renault 5 in Europe.

It’s only available as an electric car, and it’s a fantastic one at that. It looks great, it drives nicely, and it doesn’t break the bank. Plus, you can get a baguette holder as an official accessory. Again, small hatchbacks haven’t exactly been popular in the U.S. historically. But come on, look at this thing.

Volkswagen ID.7

Price in Europe: from €54,505 ($62,900)
Range: from 599 km (372 miles) WLTP

The Volkswagen ID.7 is the only car on this list that had a real chance of being sold stateside before the German automaker changed its mind and pulled the plug, citing “the ongoing challenging EV climate.”

Positioned as the all-electric alternative to the Passat sedan, the ID.7 is a very smooth road-tripping machine, as our former editor-in-chief found out after driving the battery-powered sedan on Germany’s Autobahn. And now that the Tesla Model S is out of the picture, the ID.7 would make for a great alternative. There’s also a wagon version, which I have personally shortlisted for my next car purchase.

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The Jeep That America Didn’t Want Keeps Getting Better Everywhere Else

admin — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 01:41:48 +0000

The Jeep Renegade left the U.S. market after the 2023 model year. Elsewhere, though, you can still buy one. Brazil, in particular, seems to love ’em. And not only can you still buy a Renegade in Brazil, but it looks to be much better than the one that left our shores years ago, because it’s gotten an exterior touch-up and interior overhaul.

I always find it interesting when certain cars are discontinued in some places, then go on to live their best lives elsewhere. The Renegade sold well out of the gate in the U.S., with Jeep moving well over 100,000 units in the tiny SUV’s first model year, 2015. (Its platform dates back to Fiat and GM products from the mid-aughts—yeah, it’s that old.) But deliveries quickly fell off a cliff and never recovered.

When the Renegade left us, it still had its goofy, squircle-y dashboard. The one Brazil is getting, however, may as well be a new car on the inside.

Here’s how the Renegade’s interior looked before it was taken off the market in the States… Stellantis

…and here’s how it looks now. Hey, that could be a car built this decade! Stellantis

Hey, that’s a stylish-looking dash, with nice materials in this Willys-badged model, and a larger screen fitted with Stellantis’ latest infotainment. You still get physical climate controls, too, so that digital expansion hasn’t come at a loss elsewhere.

Outside, the latest Renegade continues the model’s slow descent from upbeat to angry to downright unamused. Jeep’s once-cute-ute looks absolutely tired of everyone’s bullshit now, with a furrowed brow atop a restyled grille that picks up some of the Wagoneer S’ three-dimensional cues. Jokes aside, I think this is the best the Renegade has looked yet.

Stellantis

I’m not going to say that the Renegade left us before it should’ve, or that it needs to come back; Stellantis has the data to know what American buyers want, and the Renegade wasn’t it. Yeah, maybe more investment would’ve gotten more buyers on board, but, in the U.S., at least, really small cars have always been a bit of a hard sell. Plus, today there’s the whole tariff upheaval to contend with, and all of these are made in Italy, China, or—you guessed it—Brazil. The new Compass has taken so long to make its way over here for similar reasons.

Stellantis

The Renegade, though, persists. Even in Europe, which received the newer Avenger some years back, it remains an option for subcompact SUV buyers. And good for the little Jeep. It’s good dating advice, and it also rings true for cars: No reason to waste time on people who don’t appreciate you.

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China’s Luxurious Altima Shows What Nissan Won’t Give America

admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:36:47 +0000

China Gets the Nicer Nissan Sedans

China is now a key market for global carmakers, and, surprisingly, buyers there are shifting back to sedans that offer serious tech. Automakers are pushing boundaries to get noticed, and Nissan is one of them. The brand launched two new electrified sedans and a refreshed Teana late last year – the latter being the more premium take on the Altima sold in the US.

The new Teana, built by Dongfeng Nissan, puts a big emphasis on tech and interior quality. It looks a class above what you’d expect from an Altima-based sedan. Part of that comes from a glowing AI speaker on the dash, but the real surprise is the material choice. Nissan worked with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) to use Durabio, a plant-based plastic that looks and feels closer to crystal than the usual trim.

In China, buyers care about big screens, lighting, and how upscale a car feels. The Teana’s interior is built to make a strong first impression, and it stands out even more when you see it lit up at night.

Nissan

What Durabio Brings, Plus a Dose of Huawei

Durabio is more than just a marketing fluff. MCC developed it as a bio-based plastic using plant-derived isosorbide. It’s clearer and handles light better than regular polycarbonate, which helps create lighting that looks deep and high-end instead of cheap or artificial.

On the Teana, Durabio is used for the inverted-pyramid AI speaker that lights up with six pillars glowing in up to 256 colors. The material refracts light cleanly, giving it a crystal-like look without needing a clear coat. That saves manufacturing steps, lowers environmental footprint, and still meets automotive durability standards.

Teana runs a Huawei-based operating system to go with Durabio. The end result is an interior that feels modern and thoughtfully put together (at least visually), not just a quick update.

Nissan

Meanwhile, the American Altima Stays the Course

Meanwhile, the US-market Altima heads into 2026 with almost no changes from last year. It remains affordable and practical, but next to the Teana, it comes across as very restrained. Nissan still sells a lot of sedans in the US, with over 255,000 units last year (out of the brand’s over 760,000-unit sales), but the Altima’s own sales dropped to 93,268 in 2025, down 18 percent from the year before.

That drop probably comes from the Altima’s age. The current model dates back to 2018, with its last big update in 2022. It no longer stands out for design or interior appeal. After seeing what Nissan has done with the Teana, it’s fair to ask (hope, even) if a more upscale, more distinctive Altima could bring buyers back to the midsize sedan segment.

For now, there’s no clear answer. But with China getting the more ambitious upgrades, it’s easy to see how a bit of that Durabio-inspired thinking could only help the Altima.

Nissan

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