Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
TDS is light, tight, and right. Short on words and heavy on news, it gathers all the latest automotive stories bubbling around the globe in one place. Stories are summarized in a single sentence with a link provided to go deeper.
Feedback on TDS formatting and content is both welcomed and encouraged via either the comments below or by emailing [email protected].
Alright, the first cup of coffee is gone here, so let’s get into it.
What I’m driving: Back home from driving the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD and am sliding back behind the wheel of the 2025 Chevrolet Suburban High Country, which is quite the change from the 815-horsepower Mustang.
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius wrote an open letter to the President of the European Commission noting the gas-engine ban for new car sales in Europe set for 2035 is “simply no longer feasible,” and “the current C02 reduction path in road transport must be recalibrated” citing a “lack of a holistic and pragmatic policy plan” and an extensive list of how the current regulatory and business environment “fails to provide the conditions to enable the transition.”
Ineos lowered U.S. prices after a three-month period of price hikes on its Grenadier SUV, which now costs $72,600 marking a 9.8% price cut.
Porsche shifted its plans and instead of mass producing its own batteries will now simply focus on research and development of high-performance battery cells due to “challenging conditions.”
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said automakers, including his own company, cannot afford mistakes as “there will be a selection process in our industry,” and the comments come as the BMW prepares to overhaul its EV portfolio.
Ford issued a stop-sale and recall for 355,656 F-Series pickup trucks including some 2025 and 2026 Super Duty and F-150 pickups due to a digital gauge cluster issue that might prevent the cluster from powering on when the truck is started.
The RML GT Hypercar debuted as a highly modified Porsche with 907 horsepower based on the 992.1-gen 911 Turbo S with a design inspired by the Le Mans-winning Porsche GT1 from 1998.
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