Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Light, tight, and right, TDS rounds up the latest automotive news around the globe and brings it all together in one place. Stories are summarized in a single, sometimes long, sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
The first cup of coffee is gone, I’m in Denver with the family for a long weekend, and it’s early, so let’s get on into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Left the 2026 Ram 1500 Big Horn with the Hemi V8 in Minneapolis and swapped into a 2025 Subaru Outback for the weekend as a final hurrah, and reminder, of what this generation of the lifted wagon is like ahead of the new redesigned 2026 model’s launch.
🧐 Federal regulators are opening yet another investigation into Tesla’s driver-assist system that is misleadingly named “Full Self-Driving” after reports of vehicles breaking traffic laws by running red lights and turning into oncoming traffic.
🏎️ Certain short-track NASCAR races in 2026 will see cars get a power increase from 670 horsepower to 750 hp.
🚙 The final Volvo V90 station wagon rolled off the line and will not be sold by the automaker.
💰 Americans are falling behind on the auto payments with delinquency rates and sub-prime loans now at an all-time high, again.
✨ The Nissan Ariya received a refresh in global markets giving the EV a glow-up that wasn’t even necessary, but the U.S. will miss out with the electric crossover now dead after only three years on the market.
🏷️ BMW outsold Lexus in Q3 to regain the luxury sales crown.
💸 Ford joined General Motors in walking back its plans to extend the last-minute EV tax credit, though the Blue Oval didn’t admit it might have been because of pressure from a Republican Senator who is also a former car dealer and active in in auto policy.
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