Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Light, tight, and right, TDS gathers the latest automotive news from around the globe and places it in one spot. Stories are summarized in a single, sometimes long, sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
? Just a reminder that I’m in Los Angeles this week for 2026 World Car of the Year awards testing, the 2025 LA Auto Show, and some time with Volvo. That’s why TDS is a smidge later than normal and probably will be for the rest of this week.
The first cup of coffee is in progress and it’s a chilly, wet Monday in LA. Let’s get into it.
? What I’m driving: The 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S was left back in Minneapolis and I grabbed the keys to a 2026 Cadillac Vistiq Sport for the week here in LA with instant impressions being extremely favorable all around.
?? Tesia is now requiring suppliers to exclude China-sourced components for its U.S.-made vehicles due to geopolitical and tariff costs.
? Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda went on a smiling MAGA star-spangled banner offensive driving an F-150 in Japan while hosting a NASCAR showcase wearing a Trump-Vance MAGA shirt and MAGA hat.
? Jaguar Land Rover reported a quarterly loss of almost $750 million, most of which is being attributed to the crippling cyberattack that halted production entirely, which was a massive swing form the $375 million profit recorded in the same time period last year.
? Audi reportedly plans to build a Land Rover Defender competitor in the U.S. on the Scout platform with an extended-range electric powertrain.
? Mitsubishi vowed to rebuild U.S. sales with a “strategic shift” in product offensive plans.
? TVR is back with plans for a new V8-powered sports car along with an EV.
? Ford provided a peek inside its new world headquarters, which marks a new era after 70 years in the Glass House.
? BMW’s bringing back some retro colors for a special M340i.
? Despite the road car being dead, the Camaro ZL1 returns for a new season of NASCAR.
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As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media. He’s also a World Car Award juror.