Hello and welcome to The Downshift, a sweep of the top headlines from the auto industry and car culture served up every morning and curated by The Drive’s editorial team. Each story gets a short summary and link to the original source if you want to dive deeper.
Here’s your bulletin for Thursday, November 12, 2026:
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Honda announced today that the seventh-generation CR-V will arrive next year in North America as a 2028 model, riding on a new platform and incorporating a new and improved two-motor hybrid system. It will also exclusively be sold as a hybrid. The new powertrain is said to “greatly increase the standard power and efficiency” of the SUV. (On that note, the base four-cylinder in the current CR-V makes 190 horsepower.) Honda says its engineers have “expanded the range where the engine operates more efficiently,” and also optimized the hybrid unit. Meanwhile, the new platform is targeting better rigidity and lightness. [Honda]
Honda also reportedly showed dealers a tease of the upcoming reborn Element at a meeting in Las Vegas, sharing a “silhouette that retains the boxy shape and signature suicide-style doors of the original.” No ETA for sale was given, but it’s reported that the model will arrive in 2029. [Automotive News]
The United Auto Workers wrote Congress a letter in a plea to politicians to keep their eye on the ball regarding Chinese cars despite the upheaval of the recent mid-term election. [Reuters]
Volkswagen has canceled its planned “Gamechanger” production campaign, which would have seen the company adopt Gigacasting manufacturing methods, among other progressive processes. However, the company maintains that the next-generation Golf and T-Roc remain on schedule. [Automotive News]
While Nissan’s U.S. retail volume improved by 8% over the latest quarter, its sales in China plummeted by more than 30%. The automaker is now on track to sell fewer than 3 million cars globally for the first time in 23 years. [Automotive News]
Porsche says that its new Porsche Communication Management infotainment platform is five times more powerful than the previous iteration, making for a snappier experience with shorter loading at startup. [Porsche]
A new rumor out of Japan claims that Toyota may still build the S-FR—its sub-GR86 rear-wheel-drive sports car concept from 10 years ago—only as a smaller, kei-class coupe now, using the same platform as Daihatsu’s K-Open concept. I was fortunate to see the K-Open at the Japan Mobility Show last year, and it was my favorite thing on display. [Response]
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