Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Tight, light, and right, TDS gathers the latest automotive news from around the world and puts it in one place. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
I’m currently sipping the first cup of coffee so let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Still spending time with the 2026 Lucid Air and it’s proving to be truly incredible in the Minnesota snow, surprisingly efficient in the cold, and an overall marvel. Though, it definitely has some software teething issues and one of my kids is definitely not a fan of its low roofline.
🌭 Oscar Mayer opened applications for its 2026 Wienermobile drivers, which the company calls “Hotdoggers,” with the aim of hiring 12 recent college graduates to drive its six 27-foot hot dog-shaped trucks; the company typically receives more than 5,000 annual application.
🤖 Nissan aims to undercut Tesla with a $4,000 “self-driving system” by early 2028; the automaker currently offers a hands-free driver-assist system known as ProPilot Assist.
🚙 The 2026 Maserati Grecale lineup has been scaled down with the death of the four-cylinder engine; base models now feature a detuned version of the Trofeo trim’s twin-turbo V-6, and the electric Folgore gets a range boost thanks to an all-wheel-drive disconnect.
🤖 Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has been teasing and discussing self-driving cars, autonomy, and AI for weeks and it all leads up to today, it’s Rivian’s AI Day with big announcements expected from the start-up automaker.
🧑🎨 Audi offloaded its majority stake in Italdesign to a tech company.
🔌 BMW EVs gained access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
🇺🇸 Chevrolet announced the Stars & Steel Collection to celebrate 250 years of America.
🪫 Ford ended its battery joint venture with South Korea’s SK On; the Blue Oval will fully own the Kentucky battery plant after the partnership break while SK On will fully own the Tennessee plant and focus on energy storage systems.
🛶 NASA and the USPS have stopped using Canoo EVs despite the CEO claiming pledged support for the start up.
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