Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Short, snappy, and early, 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.
The first cup of coffee is gone and I’m already onto the second, so let’s get into it.
๐ What Iโm driving: Heading into the weekend with the 2026 Lucid Air Touring and a sub-zero blast of arctic air is headed here to Minnesota with highs not even reaching 0 for the weekend. Really looking forward to seeing how the Air performs in the frigid weather, but so far, have to say how incredibly impressed I am with how this thing drives in the snow, though, the software has some teething issues still.
๐ Tesla’s U.S. November sales dropped to a nearly four-year low, which is despite the automaker’s rapid attempt to turn the tide with the introduction of cheaper versions of it best-selling EVs; the Cybertruck is ostensibly a colossal flop.
๐ NASCAR settled a case, which included major concessions from the racing organization, with team owners including Michael Jordan over the racing series’ charter agreements.
๐ Volkswagen might flip the script and sell range-extended electric cars in the U.S. and Europe to ease consumers’ range anxiety fears.
๐ค The U.S. Federal Government’s investigation of Waymo self-driving taxis driving in front of and around stopped school buses has escalated to a full recall covering 3,067 taxis triggering a software update to fix the issue.
๐ The 2027 Porsche 911 GT3 lineup sees the addition of a 90 F.A. Porsche limited-edition model to celebrate what would be Ferdinand Alexander Porsche’s 90th birthday.
๐ช The plug-in hybrid Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 was not well received in the market and now it’s reportedly getting the axe after just three years, but it seems sales aren’t what doomed the electrified AMG in end, rather it might be new looming sound regulations, ironically.
๐ชซ Reportedly Europe is set to scrap the 2035 new gas-powered car sales ban with confirmation said to be coming Tuesday.
๐ด BMW XM project manager Alexander Karajlovic has been appointed the new Vice President for BMW’s M division for future product development.
๐ The 2026 Ford Mustang’s frunk will be optional in a bid to lower costs and shave money off the window sticker.
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