Toyota RAV4-Inspired Truck Is 'Very Attractive,' Says Leading Engineer: TDS

      Caleb Jacobs

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      Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news summary that compiles all the recent automotive headlines from around the world into one convenient location.

      The Downshift condenses stories into a single sentence and includes a link for those desiring further details. Here’s what’s happening on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.

      🛻 The lead engineer for the Toyota RAV4, Yoshinori Futonagane, mentioned that while there are “no official plans” for a RAV4-based unibody pickup truck to rival the Ford Maverick, the concept and market are “quite appealing,” suggesting that “deep down, we all think, wouldn’t that be fun?”

      🕵️‍♀️ Federal safety investigators are now examining a deadly crash involving a Tesla that crashed into a house, resulting in the death of a woman in Texas.

      🤺 Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa faced disruptive investors who attempted a vote of no confidence and proposed to reinstate former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was removed following his 2018 arrest on financial misconduct charges.

      ☠️ Mitsubishi President Keisuke Kishiura acknowledged that fans are eager for the return of models like the Lancer Evolution, Galant, and Diamante; during the company’s annual shareholder meeting, he stated, “Models such as the Lancer Evolution, Diamante, and Galant are immensely significant to Mitsubishi, and we regard them as treasures. While we don’t have any definite plans to reintroduce these models currently, we aspire to create a company capable of bringing these fantastic cars back to the market in the future to meet your expectations. I will spearhead this initiative, and I would appreciate the ongoing support from our shareholders.”

      🤝 Roush teased a performance truck based on the Ram platform that is set to launch later this summer.

      🏎️ A revived Ford GT40 is not even a Ford; the legendary model reemerges through South Africa’s Cape Advanced Vehicles (CAV) as the GT MkII equipped with a supercharged 4.2-liter V8 and all-wheel drive.

      🔋 Volvo is introducing plug and charge functionality for the EX60 and EX90 at over 35,000 fast charging stations in the U.S.

      💸 Hyundai is reducing prices on its electric vehicles to encourage buyers to avoid spending on gas.

      📆 The Jaguar Type 01 electric GT is scheduled to debut in New York this October.

      ⛽️ Hyundai is purportedly developing “even more realistic” electric N vehicles with a new EV platform that will more closely mimic the feel of a gasoline-powered car.

      👨‍💻 European automakers are collaborating to create software for software-defined vehicles to try to catch up and compete with China.

      ✂️ Lucid’s new CEO has laid off 18% of the workforce to “simplify the company” as the automaker struggles with production issues and financial losses.

      🏁 The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X has set a new record for production cars at Pikes Peak.

      🚕 Waymo recalled nearly 4,000 self-driving taxis after they were found driving into construction zones.

      ⚙️ Ferrari may be getting ready to unveil a supercar featuring a manual transmission.

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