Hello and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Concise, light, and relevant, TDS gathers the latest automotive news from around the world and centralizes it in one place. Articles are summarized into a single (sometimes long) sentence accompanied by a link for those who wish to delve deeper into the topic.
It’s early, and the first two cups of coffee are already finished here in Leipzig, Germany, so let’s get started.
What I’m driving: Nothing today, but I will be riding in a (presumably) camouflaged prototype with engineers and will report back next week.
Ford is enticing buyers with the lowest acceptable, or even weaker, credit scores with reduced interest rates in a race to sell more F-150s before the end of the quarter. Although this unusual end-of-quarter sales promotion addresses the issue of financial accessibility for buyers with weak credit, it could also place them in a risky situation if the job market turns.
Other Automotive News
Koenigsegg’s founder and CEO is considering adding an affordable sports car to the supercar manufacturer’s lineup.
McLaren’s CEO confirmed that the automaker is working on a vehicle with more than two seats.
Audi announced that the 2026 combustion-engine A6 will cost $65,395, including a $1,295 destination fee.
A Toyota executive said, “Is it desirable? I think over time, it will be,” regarding hybrid sports cars, giving the clearest confirmation to date that GR-badged hybrid sports cars are on the way.
Subaru has added special edition BRZ and WRX Series.Yellow to the 2026 lineup, with only 350 units of each model to be produced.
The National Corvette Museum just celebrated its 20,000th Corvette VIP Delivery Experience, which costs $1,495.
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