Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Quick, tight, and dense, TDS gathers the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and places them in one spot. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
It’s Friday, we made it, and I’m up in Northern Minnesota at the cottage. Let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Currently spending the week with the 2026 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. This one stands out thanks to its Wavemaker Blue paint and is louder than normal thanks to the TRD Performance package, which adds a catback exhaust system along with a dual intake setup.
🛻 Toyota Motor North America CEO Tetsuo Ogawa said that “a RAV4-based pickup is an opportunity for us, and the dealers are waiting; maybe they say we need today or tomorrow, but it takes time.”
🛻 The 2027 Nissan Frontier Sport debuted as a budget-friendly off-roader.
🦸♂️ The Jeep Wrangler America250 special edition debuted as a tribute to America’s 250th birthday; it looks like Captain America’s Wrangler.
🪫 Subaru’s delaying in-house EV development after a $362 million charge.
🏭 Toyota’s considering an additional assembly line in Texas, which would cost the automaker $2 billion.
🤝 Stellantis and Dongfeng agreed to a $1.17 billion deal that will see electric Peugeots and Jeeps built in China.
🏎️ HWA will now sell you an EVO race car that will compete at the 24-Hour Nurburgring race.
😱 The Pagani Zonda continues to live; a new Pagani Zonda Roadster has debuted as a restored and reimagined example dubbed the “Cervino.”
⛽️ Michael Lohscheller, the boss of Polestar, said drivers are now suffering from “pump anxiety” due to rising fuel prices.
⚫️ Rolls-Royce debuted the Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo.
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