--- title: "Feds Vow to Fix Blinding Headlights Once and for All: TDS" date: "2026-10-08" modified: "2026-10-08" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail.md" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/feds-vow-to-fix-blinding-headlights-once-and-for-all-tds" categories: - "News" - "The Downshift" tags: - "1500" - "pickup" - "ram" --- # Feds Vow to Fix Blinding Headlights Once and for All: TDS ![RAM 1500 headlight close-up]() *\Stellantis\* Good morning and welcome to [The Downshift](), a daily sweep of top headlines from the auto industry and car culture, curated by *The Drive’s* editorial team. Each story gets a short summary and a link to the original source if you want to dive deeper. Here’s what’s cooking on Thursday, October 8, 2026: 🔊 A new episode of *[The Drivecast]()*, *The Drive’s* weekly podcast, is live on [Apple Podcasts](), [Spotify](), and wherever you get your podcasts. 💡 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that it aims to issue a long-overdue update to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, which regulates headlights. The program's objectives will be to address glare, modernize lighting technology, improve performance, update testing and materials, and align with global standards. The last point is crucial, because while the FMVSS rulebook recently permitted adaptive, intelligent headlights that can steer beams around oncoming traffic to reduce glare, our rules around such systems are so different from Europe's that most automakers don't bother to implement them here. *\[[NHTSA]()\]* ✖️ BMW has revealed the 2027 iX3 M60 xDrive and iX4, two electric SUVs that further build out the company's expanding Neue Klasse lineup. The iX3 M60 xDrive makes 600 horsepower, can go from 0-60 mph in a tick under four seconds, and packs a 112-kWh battery, while the iX4 takes the iX3's guts and stuffs 'em into a package with a sleeker roofline. (There will be an M60-badged version of that one, too, with the same powertrain.) The iX3 M60 will be available to order in the U.S. starting late January, while the iX4 is expected to hit dealers in March. *\[[BMW]()\]* 🚙 In other new-car news, Chevrolet has revealed updated Trax and Trailblazer SUVs for 2027, featuring more standard active safety features; larger standard infotainment displays running Google Built-In; tweaked exterior designs; and a new Z71 off-road package for the Trailblazer specifically. *\[[General Motors]()\]* ⛐ After years of work in the background, it's official: The World Rally Championship has a U.S. rally on the calendar in 2027 that will be set across Tennessee and Kentucky, scheduled for the weekend of August 26. This will mark the first U.S. round of the championship since 1988. Rally U.K. is due to return as well for the first time since 2019. *\[[WRC]()\]* 🫣 One detail perhaps missed in Porsche's slew of announcements yesterday is that its upcoming hypercar, tentatively named Mission S, will be revealed in some fashion or to some degree next Thursday, October 15. The automaker launched a microsite with a teaser video that shows glimpses at the 918 Spyder successor. *\[[Porsche]()\]* ⚡ If you want to know who to thank for the Ferrari Luce, how about Jeff Bezos? The Amazon founder apparently told Ferrari Chairman John Elkann back in 2016 that he should "think seriously about building an electric Ferrari." This idea admittedly must've sounded very attractive 10 whole years ago. *\[[ANSA]() via [Motor1]()\]* *Got a tip or feedback for The Downshift? Reach out to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()