Kia Hello and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup bringing you the biggest automotive headlines from around the world. The Downshift recaps news briefly, with links to full stories for those seeking more info. Here’s your bulletin for Friday, August 28, 2026. 💸 The cheapest Kia Niro just got about $2,500 more expensive for 2027, now costing $29,890 before destination. Factoring in shipping, you can’t get a Niro for less than $30,000 anymore. Additionally, Kia removed the plug-in and fully electric models from the range, meaning the only one on offer is the standard hybrid. [Autoblog] 📦 The 2027 Ram ProMaster City starts a hair under $40,000—$39,995, to be exact—including destination. [Motor1] 🙅♂️ A Honda spokesperson downplayed a suggestion by Automotive News that Honda’s tech-sharing partnership with Nissan could give the brand a body-on-frame pickup truck as “purely speculative.” [Road & Track] 📉 A rise in domestic auto sales couldn’t save Toyota’s July, as sales dipped everywhere else, including China (24.3%), the Middle East (44.5%), and even the U.S. (0.8%). [Reuters] ⚡ Lucid has recalled about 27,000 Air sedans for an exterior lighting circuit that could overheat, introducing the risk of a fire. The good news is that this can be solved via an over-the-air update, so, if you own an Air that is affected, please get that installed as soon as possible. Without it, the NHTSA recommends owners park outside and away from structures, as a fire could start at any time, even if the car is off. [Reuters] 🪪 Rivian’s Chief Financial Officer, Claire McDonough, is leaving the company after a six-year tenure. She will be replaced in the interim by Derek Mulvey, the company’s Vice President of Finance, until a long-term successor is named. [InsideEVs] Ⓜ️ BMW M boss Frank van Meel recently reiterated that the company isn’t interested in Formula 1 because it lacks relevancy to road cars. He also pressed on the importance of IMSA: “The USA, with around 40% of our volume, is the most important single market for BMW M. BMW grew big in the USA through motorsport. That’s why IMSA is extremely important for us,” Meel said. [Motorsport.com] 🏁 Weekend races to watch (all times Eastern): WRC Rally Del Paraguay: All weekend long on Rally.TV NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Daytona: Friday at 7:30 p.m. on CW/ESPN IndyCar at Milwaukee: Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (Race 1) and Sunday at 1 p.m. (Race 2) on Fox NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on NBC MotoGP Aragon Grand Prix: Sunday at 8 a.m. on FS2 GT World Challenge America at Road America: Sunday at 3 p.m. free streaming on YouTube
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