This 1939 Packard custom from the collection of Metallica frontman James Hetfield will be on display at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.

Today’s Headlines:

+   Lordstown Motors Corporation, the embattled electric vehicle startup, reaffirmed it is sticking to its plan to start limited production of its Endurance pickup in September. More at The Detroit News. 

+   Stellantis has confirmed that Dodge will introduce a plug-in hybrid sometime next year, which company insiders say will be a compact crossover badged as the Hornet. More at Mopar Insiders. 

+   At Monterey Car Week, Aston Martin introduced a topless Spider version of the 1139-horsepower Valkyrie, though sources suggest that all 85 examples may already be sold. More at Autoblog.

+   Veteran Max Papis will not compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course after testing positive for COVID-19. More at NBC Sports. 

+   Ford has again delayed production of the Bronco off-road SUV until October due to quality issues with its hardtop supplier, says Ford marketing manager Mark Grueber. More at Car and Driver. 

+   After less than one year on the market, BMW has unveiled a refreshed version of the iX3 battery-electric sport utility, which will be manufactured in Shenyang, China. More at Autoweek.

+   A group of 29 U.S. House Democrats is asking congressional leaders to include at least $160 billion in additional funding for electric vehicles in the next infrastructure bill. More at Reuters. 

+   The Petersen Automotive Museum and Coker Tire will present a selection of custom cars from the James Hetfield collection at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering. More at ClassicCars.com Journal. 

+   Images have leaked online at a Spanish Instagram page of a car that is said to be the reborn Lamborghini Countach, which the Italian automaker announced days earlier. More at The Drive. 

+   The Aston Martin Formula 1 team has withdrawn its appeal challenging Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification for a fuel supply violation following the Hungarian Grand Prix. More at Motorsport.com

Photo courtesy of Petersen Automotive Museum. 

Review the previous Executive Briefing from August 9 here. 

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