Is Fisker Automotive circling the drain? Less than a month ago, co-founder Henrik Fisker was forced out, and last Friday 75 percent of the work force was laid off as the luxury hybrid maker searches for new funding. Read this car biz news and more in today’s Executive Briefing.
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+ NASCAR team owner and new car megadealer Rick Hendrick paid just over $1 million for the first 2014 Corvette Stingray convertible in a charity auction at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach. More here at Speed TV.
+ Toyota has settled a California lawsuit over alleged unintended acceleration for $16 million. More here at The Detroit News.
+ General Motors CEO Dan Ackerson and Opel boss Karl-Thomas Neumann will meet with German chancellor Angela Merkel next week to discuss plant closure timetables. More here at Reuters.
+ Hybrid carmaker Fisker Automotive has laid off 160 of its 200 employees and is searching for $500 million in new capital. More here at the Los Angeles Times.
+ Barber Motorsports Park has renewed its contract with the Izod IndyCar Series through 2016. More here at National Speed Sport News.
+ Mercedes-Benz sold nearly 140,000 vehicles in March, its single largest sales month ever. More here at the Chicago Tribune.
+ Tesla CEO Elon Musk says a recent e-mail sent by sales staff to customers last month was “overzealous” and sent without approval. More here at Bloomberg.com.
+ DTM drivers are urging the European touring car series to adopt F1-style option tires and a drag-reduction system (DRS). More here at Autosport.
For the previous Executive Briefing from April 5, click here.
It’s a shame that Toyota has to settle these cases to avoid a trial. Even in the drive-by-wire age, I still place all of the responsibility on the drivers. I think all of us were confronted by an errant floor mat in the days when the floors were rubber instead of carpeted.
In the case of the highway patrolman, I think he drove for over two miles like that. It’s sinful that he didn’t know enough about how cars operate that he could get that thing hauled down. It’s no surprise that the 911 dispatchers haven’t a clue how to handle these calls.
On the plus side, it did knock Toyota down a few pegs so that GM had a chance to charge the top of the sales hill again.
As we speak, lawyers are preparing their Google-Car lawsuits, ready to whip them out ten years hence. Driverless vehicles could be a huge safety improvement if the manufacturers are not too scared to pull the trigger