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Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
TDS is light, tight, and right. Short on fluff and big on news gathering all the latest automotive headlines bubbling around the globe in one place. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
I’m in a hotel in the UK where they don’t believe in having coffee machines in the rooms, apparently, so let’s get into it so coffee can be sought out.
🚘 What I’m driving: Nothing until next week.
🧾 Scout CEO Scott Keogh said shopping for a car at a dealership is akin to shopping at Best Buy whereas a direct sales model “is the right strategy” and more like buying directly from Apple, noting the latter is a better “brand experience” and if you don’t own that then what do you even have
⚡️ Mercedes will drop the “with EQ Technology” branding for its EVs and move into an era of just calling models electric, such as the upcoming GLC Electric rather than the GLC with EQ Technology.
🟡 A new Series.Yellow lineup including a BRZ and WRX mark the seventh iteration of Subaru’s special-color series.
🔌 Mercedes-Benz announced the AMG-branded 2026 E53 plug-in hybrid wagon will cost $94,500 when it arrives this fall in the U.S. market.
🪫 Tesla is now offering its Superchargers to business, unbranded, as a new way to drum up cash and expand charging infrastructure.
⚠️ The 2025-2025 Dodge Charger Daytona and Jeep Wagoneer S EVs have been recalled due to a rollaway risk while being parked.
💰 The 2026 Land Cruiser rolls into a new model year with the base 1958 model costing $750 more than last year at $58,650, but the top-spec Land Cruiser Land Cruiser model gets a price cut of $405 with a sticker price of $63,900.
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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.
