Happy Wednesday! It’s June 18, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you’ll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.
In this morning’s edition, we’re looking at Trump’s effect on EVs in America, as well as Mitsubishi losing its low-cost edge to tariffs. We’ll also take a look at how American tariffs are affecting Japanese exports, and a massive Honda recall for wobbly brake pedals.
1st Gear: Trump’s policies will make the U.S. come in last on electrification
Donald Trump does not like electric cars. He’s not big on anything that could be seen as environmentally friendly, really, and that dedication to killing the planet as fast as possible is hitting the U.S. with another consequence: We’re pushing ourselves out of a nascent but fast-growing economic sector. From Bloomberg:
President Donald Trump’s efforts to unravel policies supporting electric vehicles threatens to turn the US into a laggard for years to come, according to a new report.
BloombergNEF reduced both its near- and long-term EV outlook for the first time, cutting 14 million battery-powered cars from its sales projections through 2030 due to the US rollback. The researcher now sees the country trailing not only China and Europe, but also the global average adoption rate until 2040.
Killing the planet, seemingly out of spite alone? Bad. Making shortsighted economic moves that favor the next quarter’s profits over long-term viability? Also bad. Trump seems to be pulling the private equity playbook on the government, and it’s going about as well as it goes everywhere else.
2nd Gear: Mitsubishi raises prices due to tariffs
Mitsubishi has staked out its claim as a low-cost manufacturer, getting people into transportation for less than they’d spend from Toyota or Honda or even Nissan. Unfortunately, in our age of tariffs, being a low-cost manufacturer is getting much more difficult — and, accordingly, Mitsubishi’s cars are getting pricier. From Automotive News:
Mitsubishi Motors said June 17 it is hiking prices of U.S. vehicles by 2.1 percent on average, the latest automaker to pass along cost increases to consumers as their expenses rise from the Trump administration’s tariffs.
President Donald Trump in April imposed 25 percent tariffs on car imports from Japan and nearly all other countries, prompting Mitsubishi to suspend deliveries from ports to U.S. dealers in early April.
Mitsubishi resumed those deliveries last week, the company said.
Mitsubishi, if your prices have to rise, the quality of the cars has to be commensurate. I propose a very reasonable move: Bring back the Evo. Surely you have the finances and R&D to bring back the Evo 8 right now, and sell it for its original MSRP without adjustments for inflation. Reddit sure seems to think that’s how it works, and when has Reddit ever been wrong about anything?
3rd Gear: American tariffs are bringing down Japanese exports
Japan sells a lot of goods to the United States. The United States, thanks to all our shiny new tariffs, is no longer interested in buying goods made abroad. The result? Japan is shipping fewer goods past its own borders, for the first time in a while. From Reuters:
Japan’s exports fell in May for the first time in eight months as big automakers like Toyota were hit by sweeping U.S. tariffs, and the failure of Tokyo to clinch a trade deal this week will likely pile pressure on a fragile economy.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said after the Group of Seven summit in Canada on Tuesday his country had not reached a comprehensive tariff agreement with Washington as some disagreements persisted between the two nations.
Hopefully, Japan and the U.S. can come to a trade deal soon. This sort of pressure on other countries is the entire point of our tariffs, of course, but it’s not changing consumer behavior. We like our Japanese stuff, thank you very much, and we’d like to keep getting it.
4th Gear: Honda recalls 260,000 cars for wandering brake pedals
Honda is issuing a sweeping recall of 259,033 TLXes, MDXes, and Pilots. Apparently their brake pedals can wobble around, making braking difficult when you use your muscle memory to reach for a pedal that’s no longer where you remember. From Reuters:
Honda Motor is recalling 259,033 vehicles in the U.S. due to a faulty brake pedal that can shift out of position and hinder braking, raising the risk of crashes or injury, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday.
The company is recalling certain 2021-2025 Acura TLX, 2023-2025 Acura MDX, and 2023-2025 Honda Pilot vehicles, NHTSA said.
Brake pedals are supposed to move, but only when you move them. Or when pressure from the brakes moves them back, I guess. Outside of those two occasions, though, the pedal should really stay where you left it. Wandering around like that is just bad manners, really.
Reverse: Impressive for an iced tea bottle
The Wikipedia photo for an Arnold Palmer (the drink) shows an unmixed, layered glass. I’ve never seen that before in my life, and it fascinates me.
On The Radio: Rosa Walton & Hallie Coggins – ‘I Really Want To Stay At Your House’
I don’t know why, but this has been stuck in my head all morning. Let’s get it stuck in yours too.
