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Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s automotive news roundup bringing you the biggest headlines from around the globe.
The Downshift summarizes stories with a sentence or two, along with links for those who wish to dive deeper. Here’s what’s cooking on Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
🔊 A new episode of The Drivecast, The Drive’s weekly podcast, will go live later today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.
🏁 The rumor mill is churning with new reports around the Honda Civic Type R HRC, which was previously shown in concept form at Tokyo Auto Salon back in January. Japanese press has signaled that it may have powertrain improvements to go with its more aggressive aero—including a version of the K20C engine dervied from Super Taikyu racing—and the chassis won’t be skipped over, either. If this thing does see the light of day, expect it to cost a pretty penny more than your typical CTR. [Response via Autoblog]
💨 A new study claims that plug-in hybrids are up to six times dirtier than manufacturers and testing claim. A big part of that is due to the fact that PHEVs are marketed under the pretense of ideal use conditions—as in, that they’re being plugged in every day. Most people do not regularly recharge their plug-in hybrids, though, leaving them with a heavy battery to lug around adding nothing to propulsion, increasing emissions. But even when used properly, plug-in hybrids have been found to burn more fuel than advertised even in all-electric mode. [T&E via Electrek]
🤖 BMW announced this week that it will lean on data captured from customers’ vehicles in Europe “to drive continuous product improvement and enhance road safety.” Of course, every automaker asks you to opt-in to share data about your experience to improve future products, but the idea here is that BMW will analyze ADAS use and even look at anonymized event-based video, seemingly for crashes and other challenging scenarios. The company says that privacy is front of mind in this process but, as ever, the proof of that will be whether we hear about a data breach or sale in the years to come. [BMW]
🔋 Toyota is recalling about 10,000 C-HR electric SUVs for a risk that the regenerative braking system could actually overcharge the car’s battery if the battery is already near full. The C-HR doesn’t do significant over-the-air system updates, so you’ll have to visit your Toyota dealer to have them install the patch for you. [InsideEVs]
🛞 There have been many recalls affecting Jeep vehicles as of late, and here’s another: Some 200,000 vehicles, across the Grand Cherokee and Wagoneer ranges, have a malfunctioning tire-pressure monitoring system that may not alert drivers of low pressure. Dealers will have to update the software that governs the system to remedy the issue. [Reuters]
🥊 U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent Ford CEO Jim Farley a letter Tuesday slamming the company for its agreements with Chinese battery maker CATL and automakers BYD and Geely. Ford responded with a public statement, saying that the secretary’s “letter is a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines,” and that, “while others continue to import Chinese batteries, Ford is investing to build batteries here in America.” The automaker stipulated that it “owns the plant, controls the operation, and employs the workforce” in these joint ventures. [Reuters]
🏍️ Aston Martin is apparently in the business of selling motorcycles now, partnering with a manufacturer called Brough Superior to make 300 examples of a superbike with radical styling powered by a 130-horsepower V-twin engine. [Motor1]
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Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
