VR is Assisting Driving Schools in Training Improved Instructors: TDS
Automobile Association (UK)
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Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning roundup of automotive news, featuring the most important headlines from around the world.
The Downshift condenses stories into brief summaries with links to the original sources for complete details. Here’s the news worth catching up on for Thursday, July 16, 2026.
🎓 A driving school (focusing on regular driving rather than racing) is utilizing VR headsets to enhance the training of its instructors, merging classroom learning with in-car practice. [Reuters]
🛤️ Video from inside a train navigating through Canadian wildfires is truly alarming. [AP News]
💰 The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is now $6,300 less expensive—the 2026 model will begin at $61,500. [Car and Driver]
⚡ Autocar conducted a test drive of a prototype for the Range Rover Sport EV, which is said to be “coming soon.” [Autocar]
👷 Road & Track had the opportunity to test drive an unusual two-seat cargo/commercial version of the Toyota Land Cruiser. [Road & Track]
🦘 Australians shared their experiences and opinions regarding BYDs, as the Chinese electric vehicles gain immense popularity in Australia. [Drive.com.au]
🚙 The Infiniti QX80 Red Sport, the brand's upcoming large high-performance SUV, has been postponed for further refinement to compete more effectively against rivals, particularly Mercedes-AMG. [Automotive News]
Do you have a tip or feedback for TDS? Reach us at tips@thedrive.com
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The Nissan Altima, once ubiquitous, has finally been discontinued.
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The Morgan Supersport had to lose two cylinders to comply with US regulations.
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The Morgan Supersport shed two cylinders to comply with US regulations.
The latest Morgan Supersport is equipped with a BMW B58 straight-six engine in Europe, but it's being adapted to feature a B46 turbo four for a limited release in the US market.
Ford has introduced a remote killswitch feature on nearly all of its new models.
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The Nissan Altima, once ubiquitous, is now officially finished.
The Altima is being phased out after eight years since its most recent redesign. Nissan aimed to introduce an electric sedan as its replacement, but that plan hasn't materialized.
VR is Assisting Driving Schools in Training Improved Instructors: TDS
The UK's Automobile Association demonstrated its virtual reality-enhanced driving instructor training program to Reuters, and it appears quite impressive.