GM to Pay $220 Million in Settlement Over Illegal Driver Data Sales: TDS

As part of the settlement, GM also agreed to future third-party audits of its privacy practices.

Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, a daily roundup of the biggest stories from the auto industry and car culture, curated by The Drive’s editorial team. Each item comes with a brief summary and a link to the original source if you want to read more.

On the eve of Halloween:

💵 General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to 36 states to resolve claims that it sold drivers’ data to brokers, who then passed it along to insurance companies, where it was used to raise motorists’ rates. The deal also requires an outside audit of the privacy programs GM has put in place to help prevent a repeat of the alleged conduct. [TechCrunch]

®️ Honda said at SEMA in Las Vegas that the upcoming HRC version of the Civic Type R, first shown as a concept at the Tokyo Auto Salon, will also be offered in the U.S. Very little is known about the model so far, though the concept featured noticeable aerodynamic upgrades, an Akrapovic exhaust, and better cooling. There is also speculation that the engine will be improved, drawing on lessons from the CTR that races in Japan’s Super Taikyu series. [Honda]

🏭 Anonymous sources familiar with Volkswagen’s talks with the Trump administration say the automaker was promised tariff relief in return for its $4 billion commitment to a new U.S. assembly plant. [Reuters]

⛳ In more VW news, the company has paused development of the all-electric Golf at its Wolfsburg plant as it works through a financial crisis. Wolfsburg is not believed to be among the facilities VW is considering for closure. Passenger car chief Thomas Schäfer wrote 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 all, the British luxury automaker has now lost more than $3 billion since Lawrence Stroll took control in 2020. Even so, because the quarterly loss was slightly smaller than the same period a year earlier, Aston’s shares rose a bit in London this week. Low expectations can go a long way. [Bloomberg]

🤖 Toyota is teaming up with Waymo to launch Japan’s first autonomous ride-hailing service, using a fleet of bZ4X electric SUVs. [Toyota]

🏜️ To close things out, Honda has introduced a Passport trophy truck that will compete in the World Desert Championship. It produces more than 1,300 horsepower from a twin-turbo V6 paired with electric motors, and it wears a striking Red Bull-sponsored livery. It is nice to see the two brands working together again, even if they are now rivals in F1. [Honda]

🏁 Weekend races to watch (all times Eastern):

• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Martinsville: Friday at 6 p.m. on FS1
• NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Martinsville: Saturday at 4 p.m. on CW/ESPN
• MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix: Sunday at 2 a.m. on FS2
• NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville: Sunday at 2 p.m. on NBC
• Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix: Sunday at 3 p.m. on Apple TV
• NHRA Las Vegas Nationals Finals: Sunday at 5 p.m. on FS1