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The Drive 🤝 your inbox. Every weekday The Daily Brief wraps up the biggest stories and our exclusive reporting on the auto industry and car culture. It’s official: California has closed the Montana license plate loophole. After more than seven months of legislative shuffling, CA State Bill 1406 (“Sales and Use Tax Law: vehicles: shell companies”) became law on Sept. 30, 2026, making it much harder to get away with the shell-company shenanigans rich Californians have exploited for decades. Existing California law says any vehicle, vessel, or aircraft a California resident “shipped or brought into the state” is subject to taxation under…

Jiffy Lube launched a nationwide promotional campaign in partnership with Mattel’s Matchbox The Movie. Beginning Oct. 2, 2026, participating Jiffy Lube locations began offering a free, limited-edition die-cast Mattel Matchbox model car with the purchase of a qualifying full synthetic oil change. The collectible vehicle, a 2018 Dodge Durango packaged in movie-branded blister card artwork, is inspired by the upcoming film set to premiere Oct. 9 on Apple TV. The promotion is available while supplies last as part of a tie-in celebrating preventive vehicle maintenance and the release of the live-action feature film.

UPDATE: 2026/10/06 10:45 EST BY SEAN MCMANUS Most Drivers Can Make Do With A Regular Dark Horse We added a section about the standard Mustang Dark Horse as a more affordable alternative with plenty of power and performance. The art of building a performance car has moved on considerably over the last 20 years or so. Since back then, you’d have to spend an absolute fortune on a full-fat supercar to secure a machine boasting well north of 700 horsepower. These days, you can buy a usable muscle car with easily more than that for the price of a well-specced…

Tesla has registered just 993 vehicles in India since it started deliveries there in September 2025, according to registration data compiled by Indian EV publication ElecTree. But 294 of those came in September 2026 alone. That’s a record month for Tesla in India, and it comes right after the automaker cut prices and launched the six-seat Model Y L. Tesla needed nine months to sell 428 cars Tesla launched in India in July 2025 with a Model Y priced at roughly $70,000, almost twice what it cost in the US at the time. We said the price didn’t make sense.…

The Google Pixel Watch 5 is discounted by $60 during Amazon’s October sale, with the 41mm version on sale for $334.99, and the 45mm version for $364.99. The latest version of Google’s smartwatch rolled out alongside the Pixel 11 phones in August with improved GPS, gesture controls, and offline Gemini, although we had mixed results ahead of its launch with Google’s AI assistant’s proactive notifications. It’s possible that it has gotten better since.The discount here helps offset the Pixel Watch 5’s $50 price hike over the Pixel Watch 4, and is particularly notable for coming so soon after the watch…

The Volkswagen Atlas is the German brand’s SUV with three rows of seating that’s designed specifically for the US market. Volkswagen is now looking to improve its success with a second generation model that has a brand new exterior design, the same level of roominess inside, more family-friendly features, more power, and better fuel economy. The new Atlas uses the next-gen four-cylinder turbo engine found in the previous model, with all-wheel-drive available and a rounded list of safety features. Base Trim Engine 2.0-liter turbo Inline-4 Base Trim Transmission 8-speed automatic Base Trim Drivetrain All-Wheel Drive Base Trim Horsepower 282 HP…

Extreme heat can be tough on your car. High temperatures do more than make the cabin uncomfortable. They can also put extra stress on the engine, cooling system, air conditioning, battery, tires, and other components. As hotter weather becomes more common, managing that heat is becoming increasingly important for keeping your vehicle running reliably. The need is especially clear in the U.S. In 2026, the country experienced its hottest 12-month period on record, with March temperatures averaging 9.35°F above the 20th-century average. Climate scientist Marc Alessi told Scientific American, “We now live in a completely different climate than…

Don’t let bad audio take you out of an awesome adventure or ruin your competitive performance. Skrypnykov Dmytro/Shutterstock Sound plays a big part in your gaming experience; it’s almost as important for setting a cinematic scene as the graphics are. If the sound is muffled, crackling or completely missing, you’re missing out and are at a competitive disadvantage. Turning up the volume might help, but it won’t fix distorted audio coming from your PlayStation 5. There’s no one method that’ll fix this type of problem. You’ll have to troubleshoot, investigating everything from a loose connection to…

Get The Downshift in your inbox A daily hot lap of headlines from the auto industry and car culture, curated by The Drive’s editors. Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, a daily sweep of today’s top headlines from the auto industry and car culture, curated by The Drive’s editorial team. Each story gets a short summary and a link to the original source if you want to dive deeper. Big thank you to Joel Feder for holding down the fort while I was away for a lengthy weekend of driving instruction and endurance-race spectating—but more on that later. Here’s…

Wiper blade manufacturer Rain-X has launched a web-based, AI-powered application designed to simplify wiper blade installation. By scanning a QR code on Rain-X packaging and pointing a smartphone camera at the vehicle’s wiper arm, the web app uses computer vision to identify the specific arm design and deliver tailored, step-by-step instructions and adapter guidance. Developed in partnership with digital agency Saritasa, the platform covers 220 million vehicle applications, accounting for approximately 93% of vehicles on the road. The feature began rolling out on select product lines in late August 2026, with full portfolio coverage scheduled through the fall. Rain-X plans…