From left to right: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, Ford CEO Jim Farley, and Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa look on as U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement in the oval office in December. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Hello and welcome to The Downshift (TDS for short), a daily sweep of the morning’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. Here’s what’s happening on Friday, September 11, 2026: 🗺️ If you’ve been noticing how the U.S. government has pushed its auto sector in a completely different direction from the rest of the world—less international collaboration with fewer to no emissions controls and zero consumer incentive for electrification—you’re not alone. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said at an analyst conference Thursday that, “We see clearly the world divided into two things: One is the United States … and then we have the rest of the world.” The question for companies like Stellantis is how to succeed in both arenas. [Reuters] 💵 Speaking of Stellantis, Chrysler will reportedly target a $25,000 starting price for its Arrow and Arrow Cross compact SUVs, with the larger Airflow starting at $35,000. Those are attractively low prices in this market, and a signal that the company doesn’t intend to bump Chrysler upmarket on any level. [Automotive News] 📜 Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urging action against people abusing and misusing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving and Autopilot systems, citing an NBC report compiling 43 videos of drivers appearing to sleep at the wheel while the systems were running. [Reuters] 🔌 On the subject of Tesla, the automaker has finally given the Cybertruck a feature it announced three years ago—vehicle-to-home functionality, allowing it to power your house. To benefit from this capability, though, you’ll need to fully buy into Tesla’s energy ecosystem, with a Powerwall 3 and Wall Connector charger. [InsideEVs] 🗾 Remember the Lexus LS? It’s long gone from our market, but in its native Japan it lives on, entering 2027 with ride and handling improvements, as well as exterior and interior design tweaks. The fifth-gen LS entered production in 2017. [Motor1] 🥨 Bovensiepen, the founders of the Alpina brand that was recently wholly subsumed by BMW, have introduced a new car based on the Z4, called the Spider. It makes 430 horsepower, and only 99 will be built. [Autocar] 🏁 Weekend races to watch (all times Eastern): NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Gateway: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on CW/ESPN IGTC Suzuka 1000km: Saturday at 11:15 p.m. on YouTube European Le Mans 4 Hours of Silverstone: Sunday at 7 a.m. on FIAWEC+ MotoGP at Misano: Sunday at 8 a.m. on FS1 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix: Sunday at 8 a.m. on Apple TV NASCAR Cup Series at Gateway: Sunday at 3 p.m. on USA
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