The biggest car news and reviews, no BS. Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. Good morning and welcome to The Downshift , or TDS for short.
Tight, dense, and thorough, TDS gathers the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and places them in one spot. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information. The Drive ‘s first podcast, called The Drivecast , launched earlier this week.
The Drivecast is now on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify ! com. The first cup of coffee is gone, it’s Friday, and it’s been a big week here at The Drive .
Let’s get into it. What I’m driving: Headed into the weekend with the 2026 Honda Ridgeline Trailsport and suddenly have a new appreciation for this truck with yesterday’s news that the Hyundai Santa Cruz is dead . The Ridgeline’s size makes it easier to live with than most trucks, but this one is starting to show its age both in good and bad ways.
Stay tuned for a full review. A self-driving Waymo robotaxi struck a child in Santa Monica, California during school drop off when the kid emerged into the roadway from behind a SUV as the Waymo was going 17 mph, immediately detected the child, hit the brakes, and reduced speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before making contact; the child is said to have immediately stood up and walked to the sidewalk and the NHTSA is opening an investigation into the incident. Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said “you should never say no.
But right now … it’s the last segment I could imagine,” when asked if the automaker is interested in making a truck sibling to its potential and desired Mercedes G-Class SUV rival. Mercedes-Benz, Nvidia, and Uber are moving forward with plans for self-driving robotaxis , which will include the refreshed 2027 S-Class . S.
factory and investing in jobs outside the company’s home country. Volkswagen’s head of chassis development and driving dynamics, Sebastian Willmann, committed that the current gas-powered GTI and Golf R will not be the last it e ration of the icons to be powered by gasoline . A study concluded that used EVs are now the cheapest cars to own with the lowest total cost of ownership of any type of vehicle.
A self-driving robotaxi incident like this highlights the need for thorough testing and validation of autonomous vehicles before they hit public roads. The fact that Waymo's robotaxi was able to detect the child and reduce speed in a matter of seconds is a testament to its advanced safety features, but it also underscores the importance of human oversight and intervention in such situations.
