Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Short, snappy, and info dense, TDS gathers the latest automotive news from around the globe and puts it in one spot. Stories are summarized in a single, sometimes long, sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
We made it. The first week after the holiday break has come to an end and what a week it was chock full of news as automakers spun back to life. We appreciate the continued feedback and tips. Shoot us a line anytime at tips@thedrive.com.
The first cup of coffee is gone, the second is definitely needed so let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Continuing my week with and headed into the weekend in the 2026 Polestar 4. Have to say I really dig its design inside and out, but am now pretty resolute that I’m not onboard with mainstream cars not having a real rear window and relying only a digital rearview mirror camera stream. The angles and perspective is just off in parking lot situations and it’s simply not ideal at night in the dark.
😔 Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda’s racing alter ego known as Morizo told the world earlier in the week a mid-engine two-seater will debut Friday at the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon, and that happened; but the car widely expected to make use of the Toyota GR MR2 trademark ended up being a modified Daihatsu Kei truck, which is sure to underwhelm enthusiasts, though they can take solace in knowing a Celica is on the way and the trademark is at some point expected to be put to use someday.
🔥 Toyota further taunted U.S.-based enthusiasts with the debut of a GR Yaris Morizo RR, which can essentially be described as the 911 GT3 RS of hot hatchbacks for the Japanese automaker.
💥 Honda revealed a Civic Type R HRC Concept at the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon alongside a Prelude HRC Concept; the former is likely using similar modifications to the Acura Integra Type S with HRC enhancements from over a year ago.
😢 Subaru teased the return of the STI nameplate on the WRX over the holidays only to pull the sheets off a prototype dubbed a concept; the WRX STI Sport# prototype is a Japanese-market WRX S4 STI that swaps a manual transmission in the place of today’s CVT.
🧑🧑🧒🧒 The chairman of the Audi National Dealer Council said the upcoming three-row Q9 flagship SUV debuting this year will feature six captain’s chairs and described it as “that soccer mom vehicle that we’ve been unable to offer.”
💰 The 2027 Kia Telluride will cost $40,735 including a $1,545 destination charge when it arrives in dealerships later this year.
💸 GM said it will write off $7.1 billion as a loss as it adjusts EV production due to market conditions.
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