Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Short, snappy, and succinct, TDS gathers the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and puts them in one place. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
🚨 A quick heads up that later this morning we’ll be launching a new homepage redesign. I’m aware the current design is only a year and a half old, but things move fast in these uncharted times. More importantly, the redesign aims to bring more content to the top of the page for you. Why? It means less scrolling for you and less work for your eyes to move around the page. The redesign feels familiar with the same menu layout, color scheme, and overall feel. Feedback is absolutely welcome and we’ll continue to refine and tweak things as we go. Today is just the Mk I of the design with further tweaks already in development. Shoot us a line with your thoughts at feedback@thedrive.com.
The first cup of coffee is gone and I’m definitely ready for a second so let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Spent the weekend driving around in the Polestar 4 and have realized that while I don’t love the lack of a rear window and setup with a rearview camera video stream, the design with an actual rear window would’ve provided horrid visibility.
⭐️ Hyundai debuted an electric version of its futuristic-looking Staria van in Europe with a super fast 800-volt electrical architecture to enable it to charge from 10-80% in 20 minutes unlike the VW ID Buzz; whether the Staria EV will come to the U.S. is unclear, but Hyundai did promote the unveiling on its U.S. media site, which is a bit unusual for a European debut.
👨💼 Lucid’s interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said that automakers need to do a better job explaining the superiority of the technology in EVs along with the packaging advantages to consumers.
🪦 Rumors of the Genesis G70’s death might have been overblown as a new report says the automaker might give the sport sedan another facelift.
⛽️ Chinese automaker GWM showed off two gas-powered eight-cylinder engines at CES in Las Vegas including a 2.0-liter flat-eight for a motorcycle and a 4.0-liter V8.
🪽 An Alfa Romeo Giulia with a crazy wing inspired by hydrofoils from a racing sailboat debuted.
🧱 Lego is now selling two new Bugatti kits as part of its Speed Champions line.
💸 Waymo is paying people $20 to $40 to close car doors.
🖼️ GM’s new Detroit headquarters has opened and its design is said to pay homage to its heritage with modern amenities wrapped in a midcentury modern design.
🏎️ Hans Herrmann, Porsche’s first Le Mans winner, died at the age of 97.
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