The federal government is investigating repeat engine failures in GM vehicles equipped with the 6.2L V8. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ The Dutch Data Protection Authority has fined Uber $966 million for suspending and deactivating drivers’ accounts via automated systems without adequately informing them. More at U.S. News and World Report.
+ Toyota Senior vice president of automotive operations Andrew Gilleland says the GR GT sports car, now sold out in the USA, “makes no financial sense” but serves as a halo car. More at The Drive.
+ Hyundai CEO José Muñoz says the company may increase the production capacity at its Georgia Metaplant from 500,000 units per year to between 700,000 and 800,000 by 2028. More at CNBC.
+ Aston Martin announced that New York Jets owner and former U.S. Ambassador to the UK Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson has acquired a minority stake in the Formula 1 team. More at Racer.
+ After losing a $4.7 million judgement, Foundation Automotive is insolvent and has lost its control of its dealership chain after falling behind on more than $300 million in debt. More at CBT News.
+ Tesla and eight other carmakers in China will recall around 4.3 million vehicles to address concerns that passengers may not be able to open the doors in an emergency. More at The New York Times.
+ Lamborghini chief marketing officer Federico Foschini says the carmaker has no plans to offer a manual transmission and will stay with its dual-clutch and automatic units. More at Motor Trend.
+ A Porsche spokesperson denied reports that the automaker intends to discontinue the Taycan EV, but clarified that there are indeed plans to streamline the number of models. More at Autoblog.
+ The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened another investigation into continued catastrophic failures of the General Motors L87 6.2-liter V8. More at Car and Driver.
+ Jeff Gordon, now 55, came out of retirement to sweep both races in the IROC event in support of the Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C., besting a field of fellow racing legends. More at Fox Sports.
Photo courtesy of General Motors.
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Cue more sad trombone music
The Mt. Rushmore of safety defects/corporate negligence in American automotive history: The GM L78 V8 gas engine, Ford Pinto gas tank, Takata airbag, GM ignition switch, and Chrysler’s false Park detent. Tesla door handles soon. All share the same lethal root cause: Packard Syndrome, the intentional building of garbage to clip pennies, followed fake recall/fixes using loophole cascades to transfer all corporate liability on users/victims.
FYI, “Packard Syndrome” has never been formally published as a business or automotive term in textbook, economic or industry literature. Post-modern Digital Packard Syndrome features the American tort system of the ambulance chaser as it’s baked in carbon age warranty: more failures = more billable hours = more revenue.
According to mr. internet, the problematic L78 crankshafts were manufactured by Questum Macimex in Mexico, also responsible for leaving manufacturing debris inside the oil galleries for over 6 years. The defective L78 conrods were from American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) for 6+ years…
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2026/INOA-EA26005-17015.pdf
Source: atsg.com https://share.google/AHANDK8UqzlgalmnL
The 6.2L V8 thing is quite a story. It goes on and on. You surely have some thoughts in that regard.
I posted a comment pending or removed by AKSIMET spam review, likely because of the L78 NHTSA RQ link, I apologize if I broke any rules (revised):
The GM L78 debacle is officially on the Mt. Rushmore of American highway safety defects, joining the Ford Pinto gas tank, Takata air bag, GM ignition switch, Dodge Dakota false Park, and 40 years of Ohio’s ODOT notorious radium-laced radioactive oilfield brine road deicer cancer/lukemia money machine.
More new vocabulary- “Packard Syndrome” (building junk to shave pennies) always seeks to re-assert itself, driven by gravity of a collapsing nutrino star, and a gov’t credential with a j.d. seems the only nutrino membrane seperating loophole cascades from actionable criminal acts. In astrophysics, they say a collapsing star creates a gravitational pull so immense that nothing can escape. In the new age of American highway safety and engineering ethics, the gravitational core is the endless pursuit of short-term revenue, billable hours, and automated data paperwok compliance. When all failures become revenue events unconstrained, the snowballing financial gravity collapses into a black hole that probably swallows all remaining physical safety, mechanical integrity, and human life…
Yes, Askimet will flag posts that contain links it doesn’t like. I restored the post.
Since both my comments are loaded with typos, (L87, neutrino, etc.), it’s actually reassuring no MCG readers tried “polishing the brass on a sinking ship…”
This is just the latest example of how bad a CEO Barra truly is. Appointment by Obama ! Was a purchasing agent with zero experience running anything but its mouth.