Ours is an era defined by the never-ending war between analog engagement and digital refinement. Few automakers find themselves in the epicenter of this debate more often than BMW. In the same year the U.S. finally got a long-roof M5 of our own, it also happened to be the M5 that weighs as much as

Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short. The Downshift brings you the biggest automotive industry headlines from around the globe every morning in quick summaries so you can get up to speed and on with your day. Each item contains a link you can follow for more information. It’s Monday—grab a cup of your favorite

Japan has produced many famous wheel designs over the years, but few are as coveted as those produced by Racing Service Watanabe. RS Watanbes and a Hakosuka Skyline GT-R go together like sushi and wasabi, and the fact that these wheels are still hand-made keeps supplies limited. There’s currently a two-year waiting list for them.

The Chevrolet Spark is one of the most misleadingly named cars in recent memory. The Spark EV at least had stump-pulling torque, but the spark of life in the gasoline-powered models was dim indeed. Two generations were sold in the United States between model years 2013 and 2022, with engines that were as ho-hum as

Software connectivity is touted as a way to make cars better even after they’re purchased, but some automakers are using it to wring more money out of customers by putting things that should be taken for granted behind a paywall. Volvo isn’t one of them, and doesn’t plan on becoming one, Eric Severinson, the automaker’s

Making power is often easier than making use of it. That’s especially true when you’re working with a Ford F-150 Raptor R, which isn’t designed for maximum on-road traction or handling. That requires some creative solutions, like getting a tire manufacturer to build you 39-inch slicks. YouTuber Brad DeBerti took his Raptor R to over

General Motors has so many versions of the Chevrolet Silverado that it doesn’t even build all of them. The Silverado 4500 HD, 5500 HD, and 6500 HD are medium-duty Class 6 commercial trucks that share a platform and factory with the International CV Series. That unique arrangement is about to come to an end. According

Say what you want about Gen Z, but this youthful cohort has pretty good taste in cars, at least according to classic car insurer Hagerty. The company has been digging through its insurance quote data to find generational trends, this time looking at cars that were disproportionately popular among Gen Z (here defined as people

The first-generation Audi TT was such a fresh design that it’s hard to believe it’s now old enough to be a candidate for restomodding. Autoforma, a division of Dutch coachbuilder Niels van Roij Design (creator of a Rolls-Royce Corniche shooting brake), gave an early TT Roadster some updates while paying respect to that iconic style.

APR, a longstanding Volkswagen and Audi tuner based in Alabama, has released new software that optimizes the behavior of Haldex AWD systems for speed and performance. While APR has released many engine and transmission tunes, this is the first time we’ve seen APR release a dedicated AWD system calibration. The simply named APR AWD Upgrade