Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Dense, quick, and tidy, TDS gathers the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and places them all in one spot. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
It’s Tuesday, spring seems to have sprung in Minnesota, and I need more coffee. Let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: The 2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack 4-door with a turbo-six left and has been replaced by a Ford Maverick Lobo. The pint-sized lowered pickup isn’t getting quite the attention at my son’s soccer practice that the Charger received, but so it goes.
🪫 The Jeep Wagoneer S is skipping the 2026 model year with Stellantis saying there’s more than enough supply sitting on dealer lots to cover sales volume; Stellantis said the Wagoneer S will return for 2027 with battery performance, software, and capability improvements along with a Tesla-like NACS charging port, though when it unclear.
🦖 The Hyundai Ioniq 3 debuted looking like an electric Veloster replacement, but the model also debuted the automaker’s next-generation infotainment system, which does retain buttons and knobs; sorry America, the Ioniq 3 isn’t coming across the pond and the Veloster, in name and concept, remains dead here.
🚙 A Mercedes-Benz designer sounded the alarm and said “nobody is buying them” while discussing wagons.
💰 Uber now owns 11.5% of Lucid.
📝 The FTC now wants car dealers to report other stores that are breaking advertising laws.
💰 General Motors reportedly lured its new product chief with a pay package totaling $40 million, according to a regulatory filing.
💸 Turns out Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been using the “shady” loopholes he scorned to likely save the automaker hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.
🚽 A Chinese automaker patented an in-car toilet.
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