Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Dense, quick, and all-encompassing, TDS gathers all the latest automotive headlines from around the globe in one place. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
I’m on the first cup of coffee, the sun isn’t up yet, and I will need to catch a flight this morning. Let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Spending some time in the Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium and dig the Heritage Blue paint, and the turbo-four is punchy, but the rear-seat packaging is not ideal, and there’s so much cheap, hard plastic inside this SUV.
🚙 Lincoln is reportedly working on a body-on-frame Mercedes-Benz G-Class rival in the form of a reskinned Bronco set to arrive around 2029 or 2030.
⛽️ Mazda execs have acknowledged that the powertrain for the next-generation MX-5 Miata has not been locked in yet, but that some form of electrification will likely be baked in; execs noted that synthetic fuels could be the path forward to avoid the added weight and complexity of a hybrid system.
✂ Aston Martin is cutting 20% of its 3,000-person workforce, noting U.S. tariffs and weak demand in China as the cause for weaker than expected profits.
🔋 Lucid is expecting slower production in 2026, attributed to continuing supply chain issues, which will result in production of 25,000-27,000 vehicles in 2026 vs 17,840 in 2025; production of the midsize EV is expected to begin this year in Saudi Arabia, according to the automaker’s latest CEO.
🚨 BMW recalled 58,713 vehicles in the U.S. due to a wiring harness for the air conditioning system that could be damaged and cause a short circuit in the M5 wagon, M5, and 750e xDrive.
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