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The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short—this morning’s car news from around the globe, organized for your quick-look convenience. Here are the automotive industry and culture stories worth having on your radar as we spin up this Friday, May 22. ⚙️ Australia is set to become home to one of the first NISMO Performance Centers outside Japan. “These centers will provide a direct link to NISMO’s Omori Factory in Japan, support advanced vehicle restoration programs, and…

Two beefs: the optional 21in Continental tyres (unusually, a shade wider at the rear than the front) are quite noisy on the UK’s frequently coarse road surfaces – although I’ll bet this comment would never arise in France or Germany, where they know more about surfacing modern roads. More serious is the feel of the brake pedal, which delivers good retardation when you begin to stop but feels oddly less responsive in the meat of a brisk application. Push harder and the car stops effectively but the pleasure of linear, easily modulated braking definitely isn’t present. That hasn’t spoiled the…

When it comes to buying a used performance car, the amount of choice out there is simply insane. From practical options like the BMW M5 sedan, to less practical options like an imported TVR Tuscan, or even something in between like a Subaru BRZ, there’s something that’ll tickle everybody’s pickle. If you’re partial to some form of classic JDM hero though, good luck sorting through all the different options. The halo models tend to be the Nissan Skyline or Toyota Supra, though other nameplates like the Mazda RX-7 are also highly regarded. As a result, all of these cars tend…

The legal action comes as the company reports its second consecutive quarter of profitability and prepares to launch its flagship SUV, the ES9. Nio said it has secured evidence of infringement and the police have accepted the case. (Nio logo. Image credit: CnEVPost) Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) has filed a report with the police, alleging a recent surge in online rumor-mongering and smear campaigns targeting the company. The Chinese EV maker said in a statement on Friday that it has secured evidence of the infringement. The company said the police have accepted the case, and it will resolutely take legal…

Motorola appears to be getting ready to bring a more capable version of its Edge 70 series to India. A new phone, called the Edge 70 Pro+, is now listed as “coming soon” on Flipkart, and the teaser already points to a major camera upgrade over the Edge 70 Pro model recently launched in the country. What camera features has Motorola confirmed? According to the promotional page, the phone will feature a 50MP primary camera and a 50MP telephoto lens. The main camera uses a Sony Lytia 710 sensor with optical image stabilization. Motorola The more interesting addition is the…

EVs Can Produce Serious Power Front 3/4 shot of 2026 Lucid Air SapphireLucid Four-figure horsepower. Ten years ago, it was witchcraft reserved for the most outlandish hypercars and wild car builders. Today, you can get 1,000 horsepower in EVs like the Lucid Air Sapphire and Tesla Model S Plaid, both ready to make the school run at a moment’s notice. Paired with all-wheel drive grip, these Herculean EV sedans can hit 60 mph with unbelievable quickness. In some cases, these deceptively heavy electric luxury sedans will dash to that performance benchmark in less than two seconds. And below the four-figure…

The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. It has been a busy week for Stellantis news, but one more Ram item has come to our attention. In yet another sign of how rapidly the company’s product development has accelerated, the 2027 Rumble Bee appears to be the first model built for MY2027 that will jettison auto-stop/start entirely since the federal government stopped incentivizing its inclusion earlier this year. And more than that, it’s poised to be the only Ram sold with the old-school, non-electrified…

The 2027 Chevy Equinox EV and Blazer EV are due for a few updates that fix some of the biggest complaints with the current models. 2027 Chevy Equinox and Blazer EV updates GM is giving drivers what they want. For the 2027 model year, Chevy’s electric SUVs will finally be able to access Tesla Superchargers. Rather than the CSS connector found on current models, the 2027 Chevy Blazer and Equinox EVs will feature a built-in NACS port, enabling drivers to charge at over 3,000 Tesla Supercharger stations and over 37,000 charge ports across the US. The update is part of…

Google’s AI Overviews are running into an interesting problem right now. Earlier on Friday, if you searched for the term “disregard,” the AI Overview section would include a response like what you’d see from a more traditional AI chatbot instead of the typical AI summary, as spotted on X. As you can see in the image at the top of this story, I got an AI Overview response that said, “Got it. If you need anything else or have a new question later, just let me know!”As of Friday afternoon, however, Google isn’t showing an AI Overview for the term…

CEO Filosa threw another sop to the eco-minded by referencing this year’s all-electric Jeep Recon, but that project kicked off under his predecessor Carlos Tavares – and the new regime has U-turned to add a petrol variant. Aside from the US getting the new Jeep Compass already on European sale, the 4×4 brand’s namechecked offerings were big beasts: Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, Gladiator and Grand Wagoneer, which is set for hybrid REx power too. ”This region represents the biggest opportunity for our growth and our profitability,” said Filosa, predicting that North America would grow revenues by 25 per cent compared with Europe’s 15.…