This rare 1956 Jaguar D-Type Shortnose will be offered at the Broad Arrow Zurich auction. Get all the latest automotive news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Ford announced plans to produce an electric mid-sized pickup based on a new Ford Universal EV Platform, to be available in showrooms in 2027 and priced at $30,000. More at Electrek.
+ Volkswagen’s largest shareholder, holding firm Porsche SE, plans to deepen its involvement in the defense sector while reaffirming its core focus on the auto industry. More at World Auto Forum.
+ VinFast founder Pham Nhat Vuong is injecting another $1.52 billion in capital into the Vietnamese EV maker in exchange for the company’s research and development assets. More at Yahoo! Finance.
+ Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen says he wants to compete in all the major endurance races at some stage, including in the top categories at Le Mans and Daytona. More at Racer.
+ Two well-known aftermarket brands, Calloway and Holley, will collaborate with General Motors to produce high-performance packages for select GM trucks and SUVs. More at The Drive.
+ The price of lithium, the chief material used in EV batteries, spiked when Chinese supplier CATL shut down one of its mines, but the price surge is expected to be brief. More at Financial Times.
+ Analysts in the collector car market expect auction prices at Monterey Car Week to continue their decline from their post-pandemic high, with the top end of the market the weakest. More at CNBC.
+ A rare matching-numbers 1956 Jaguar D-Type Shortnose (chassis XKD 551) will be among the featured attractions at the inaugural Broad Arrow Zurich auction on Nov 1. More at Old Cars.
+ Oakland County sheriff Michael Bouchard suspects that the alleged theft of the Ram Bucking Hemi mechanical bull from Roadkill Nights in Pontiac, Michigan, was a PR hoax. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ NASCAR is reportedly considering moving the All-Star Race to Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware in 2026, while the North Wilkesboro date would become a points race. More at Jayski.
Photo courtesy of Broad Arrow Auctions.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from August 11 here.
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The Chinese lithium issue is interesting because the Chinese Communist Party has set the price at or below cost to dominate the market. There’s lithium all over the world but other nations don’t pursue it because the process is dirty and has a low profit margin.
I wonder how far that $1.52 will go.
Typos are a curse. Thanks.
> I wonder how far that $1.52 will go.
“How far will it go”? That’s the first question everyone asks when the subject of electric cars comes up. Electric cars aren’t about range. They’re about showing your neighbors and co-workers that you are a more enlightened being than they are. And buying a Vietnamese one, that’s showing that you are more forgiving of past political differences than others. Influencing others…it’s what we all aspire to today.
Interesting: Back of Sandy Munro’s head in one of Ford’s neo-“Universal Car” platform intro videos, at 1:40 minutes.
(…of Munro Associates Lean Engineering, Auburn Hills, Michigan) https://youtu.be/DwrduhdVsC8?si=agvg9hR6aPavswBB
Munro and Farley are friends.