GM Pays $220 Million After Lawsuit Over Illegally Selling Drivers’ Data: TDS
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GM has also agreed to a third party audit of its privacy procedures going forward as part of the settlement. The post GM Pays $220 Million After Lawsuit Over Illegally Selling Drivers’ Data: TDS appeared first on The Drive .
Good morning and welcome to The Downshift , a daily sweep of the 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 your bulletin on the eve of All Hallows’ Eve, for Friday, October 30, 2026:
General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to 36 states to settle allegations that it sold drivers’ data to brokers, who in turn sold it to insurance companies, where it was used to increase drivers’ rates. The settlement also requires that a third party audit the privacy programs that the automaker has put in place to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. [ TechCrunch ]
® Honda confirmed today at SEMA in Las Vegas that the upcoming HRC version of the Civic Type R, which was first teased in concept form back in January at the Tokyo Auto Salon, will be sold in the U.S. as well. Little is known about this version of the sport sedan, though the concept bore obvious aero enhancements, as well as an Akrapovic exhaust and improved cooling. Rumor has it that the engine will be upgraded as well, applying learnings from the CTR that competes in Japan’s Super Taikyu series. [ Honda ]
Anonymous sources said to have knowledge of Volkswagen’s negotiations with the Trump administration say that the automaker was promised tariff relief in exchange for its $4 billion commitment to a new U.S. assembly plant. [ Reuters ]
In other VW news, the company has suspended development of the all-electric Golf at its Wolfsburg plant amid its financial crisis. Wolfsburg is not understood to be one of VW’s facilities that faces the risk of closure. Passenger car chief Thomas Schäfer said in a memo, “I know what the Golf means for Volkswagen and for Wolfsburg. That’s why this decision was really not an easy one for us.” [ Reuters ]
Aston Martin lost another $100 million before tax in the third quarter. In total, the British luxury carmaker has lost more than $3 billion since Lawrence Stroll took it over in 2020. However, since this quarterly deficit was slightly better than it was this time last year, Aston’s shares did tick up slightly in London this week. It’s true what they say about the power of setting low expectations! [ Bloomberg ]
Toyota is partnering with Waymo to deliver Japan’s first autonomous ride-hailing service, using a fleet of bZ4X electric SUVs. [ Toyota ]
Finally, we’ll bring it back to Honda, which has revealed a Passport trophy truck that will compete in the World Desert Championship. It makes more than 1,300 horsepower from a twin-turbo V6 paired with electric motors, and it looks killer in its Red Bull-sponsored livery. Nice to see these brands working together again, despite now being sworn enemies in F1. [ Honda ]
Weekend races to watch (all times Eastern):
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The post GM Pays $220 Million After Lawsuit Over Illegally Selling Drivers’ Data: TDS appeared first on The Drive .