--- title: "Ford’s Sales Say Truck Buyers Are Shrugging Off High Gas Prices: TDS" date: "2026-10-29" modified: "2026-10-29" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail.md" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/fords-sales-say-truck-buyers-dont-care-about-gas-prices-tds" categories: - "News" - "The Downshift" tags: - "F-150" - "Ford" - "pickup" --- # Ford’s Sales Say Truck Buyers Are Shrugging Off High Gas Prices: TDS ![A man fills his Ford F-350 at a gas station in Maricopa, Arizona, on October 20, 2026.]() *\Olivier Touron/AFP\* Welcome to [The Downshift](), a daily sweep of the morning’s 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 your bulletin for Thursday, October 29, 2026: 🔊 The latest episode of *[The Drivecast]()*, our weekly podcast, went live yesterday on [Apple Podcasts](), [Spotify](), and wherever you get your podcasts. 📈 Ford raked in $2.7 billion in pre-tax earnings in the third quarter, good enough for the automaker to raise its full-year earnings guidance to investors by half a billion dollars. It achieved this off the back of strong truck sales, which, according to the company, have not seen any downturn despite high fuel prices. "We have seen a customer that has remained incredibly resilient in the truck area, and that is both in retail as well as in fleet," CFO Sherry House said. "We have not seen any (sales) decreases in the F-Series." *\[[Automotive News]()\]* 📉 Meanwhile, Volkswagen posted its worst quarter since the Dieselgate fallout a decade ago: a staggering $6.5 billion operating loss, compared to $1.4 billion over the same period in 2025. CFO and COO Arno Antlitz said in response, "The nine-month results make ​one thing clear: We cannot afford to lose any time. We must act quickly and decisively." *\[[Reuters]()\]* 🚙 A new report claims that in addition to Audi's Georgia SUV hub announced over the weekend, another model bearing the four-ring badge will also be rolling out of Scout's South Carolina facility. The assumption is that this will be a battery-electric off-roader, potentially supplemented by a gas range extender, built on the bones of Scout's Traveler SUV. *\[[CarBuzz]()\]* 💰 Remember Carvana's struggles earlier in the decade? Those are a long way away now. The used-car retailer just posted a whopping $8 billion in revenue, a quarterly record. Net income rose 84% to $483 million as it sold 217,000 vehicles in the three-month span, marking the first time it's ever surpassed the 200,000-car threshold. *\[[Automotive News]()\]* **🌏** The China Passenger Car Association just predicted the biggest annual dive in the country's auto sales ever come the end of the year, to the tune of 22%. The committee cites a number of causes for this beyond the obvious geopolitical ones, like a change in the way the government awards subsidies that has negatively impacted cheaper vehicles. It's yet another reason why the nation's biggest automakers have turned their focus to western expansion. *\[[Automotive News]()\]* 🎱 McLaren had some PR function in London today that involved a sculpture of its new kiwi mascot; on the side of this little guy was the name "McL 820," perhaps teasing the moniker for the company's replacement for its discontinued 750S supercar. 820 is more than 750! *\[[Autocar]()\]* *Got a news tip or feedback to TDS? Send it 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]() ## More - [Ford Trucks Finally Got Their Aluminum Supply Back After a 9-Month Drought: TDS]() - [An Aluminum Shortage Is Still Wreaking Havoc on Ford F-150 Production: TDS]() - [Ford Recalls 1.4 Million F-150 Trucks for Unintended Downshifts: TDS]() - [Ford Recalls 740,000 Trucks and SUVs That Could Roll Away in Park: TDS]() - [No, the 2024 Ford F-150 Will Not Require Subscription for 360-Degree Camera]() - [‘Thunder’ Trademark Filed for Ford F-150, Ranger, Maverick]() - [The Ford F-150 Lightning Pro SSV Is America’s First Electric Police Truck]() - [Ford F-150 That Fell Through Arctic Sea Ice in March Will Be Rescued This Week]()