The new owner of TVR Motors, Brit Les Edgar, says a “simple but exciting” new production model is in development. (2006 TVR Sagaris shown above.) Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Links open in new windows
+ Toyota is planning to move its American sales headquarters from Torrance, California to Plano, Texas, just north of Dallas. More at Bloomberg.com.
+ Profits at Ford slipped 30 percent in the first quarter of 2014, due in part to increased costs in North America to cover vehicle recalls. More at The Detroit News.
+ A Stuttgart court dismissed market manipulation charges against former Porsche SE Chief Executive Officer Wendelin Wiedeking. More at the Washington Post.
+ UAW vice president Joe Ashton has been nominated to the board of directors at General Motors, where he will represent the retiree health care trust. More at Reuters.
+ Following its greatest earnings report in history, Penske Automotive reports it is increasing its sales force at all 243 dealerships. More at Crain’s Detroit Business.
+ After a brief flirtation with Formula One, the Long Beach Grand Prix Association has renewed its contract with IndyCar through 2018. More at Racer.
+ Strong sales and a weak yen helped Honda record a quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, nearly double that of the same period in the previous year. More at The Detroit Bureau.
+ Navistar International will increase production capacity at both its Tulsa, Oklahoma bus plant and at its heavy-duty truck facility in Mexico. More at Automotive Business Review.
+ The new British managers of TVR Motors, now TRW Automotive, say the automaker will have a new production model ready in two to three years. More at Motor Trend.
+ In a confrontation following the Richmond NASCAR Sprint Cup race, Marcos Ambrose punched fellow driver Casey Mears in the face. More at Sporting News.
For the previous Executive Briefing from April 25, click here.
Say what you will, but give me NHRA anyday. Mears and Ambrose swinging at each other, come on. Bunch of spoiled brats. When 2 drag racers run agin each other, at the end, they shake hands, and congratulate each other. I’ve even seen rival teams help each other out, in a jam. NASCAR, pffft. These drivers never win and they still live like like kings,,, spoiled brats!
Howard… Why don’t you write about something you might know a little bit about…. Clearly NASCAR is NOT something you are even remotely knowledgable about. Spoiled? Never help each other out? shake hands? wow…. In this same race, when a car came into the pits fully engulfed in flames, even at the rear of the car near the gas tank, it was a crew member from another team, who thinking nothing of his own safety, jumped in and pulled the driver out of the inferno… At several races you see such unselfish actions… NASCAR drivers are always quick to step up to the plate to assist in any worthwhile actions by donating cash, time and energy to support a cause. When the quake hit Haiti a few years back, NASCAR owners and drivers dropped everything to fly humanitarian aid into the country and actually worked with locals ther to assist.. I say pfffff on you too Howard the Coward… GET your facts straight!
Look Bill, I’m not talking about crew member heroics, or their humanitarian efforts off the track, I’m talking about their unprofessional conduct in front of millions of people including children. I don’t have to have “my facts straight”. I lost all interest in NASCAR when the fans threw beer cans at Jeff Gordon, or booed Carl Edwards when he didn’t do his signature back flip after hearing Scott Kalitta was killed, and drivers throwing helmets at other drivers. And your name calling only supports your mentality.
I sincerely apologize to MCG for this.
There’s probably been a fistfight or two in NHRA, but that’s not important. What is important is that we stop tearing down other motorsports. All of it is drawing less and less interest in the US and it doesn’t help to jump on one division or another. Drag racing might seem the strongest since there’s always someone who wants to prove their car is faster. It’s also the one that is easiest to turn into “Battle-bots”.
What we should be arguing about is sanctioning bodies that are more interested in ROI than presenting a sport. I assume the same can be said about the NFL, NBA and MLB. It doesn’t seem like one has much interest in their sport when they criticize the race of the majority of the players in their league. Athletes are spoiled as well but that’s another rant altogether.