Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Light, tight, and right, TDS combs the Internet for all the latest automotive news and places it in one spot. 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 and I’m ready for a second, so let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Spent the weekend running around town in the 2026 Subaru Solterra, which leaves today, and I continue to to find new things to both be impressed with and perplexed by.
🛻 GM President Mark Reuss said the reason there are no midsize electric trucks today are the batteries, and lithium maganese rich (LMR) batteries could be the the key to unlocking the midsize electric truck segment.
💸 The Trump Administration imposed a 25% tariff on all medium-and heavy-duty trucks and parts, but provided relief to many automakers, including Stellantis who builds the Ram HD in Mexico, with a USMCA exemption to dull the impacts.
🤑 Proxy adviser ISS urged Tesla shareholders to reject Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package citing reduced board flexibility and the “astronomical” size of the proposed grant along with the setup that could deliver payouts for partial goal achievement.
👨💼 Porsche announced ex-McLaren CEO, and former Ferrari CTO and Porsche Cayenne project manager, Dr. Michael Leiters as the automaker’s new CEO beginning January 1.
🚕 The NHTSA is investigating Waymo self-driving taxis for school bus safety violations.
😢 GM regrets killing the Cadillac CT6 full-size sedan in the U.S. market.
🏭 Supply chain issues are now hitting Ford and Jeep as a parts shortage begins to take hold thanks to the inability to secure enough aluminum to build vehicles.
🔋 The return of the Chevrolet Bolt isn’t a one-off situation according to GM President Mark Reuss, as an entire “family” of low-cost EVs is on the way from General Motors.
🏁 Weekend Race Results:
- Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas- Max Verstappen took the win for Red Bull Racing.
- NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway – Chase Briscoe won for Joe Gibbs Racing.
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