At $3.53 million, this 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C Competizione Berlinetta, the sole survivor of its kind, was the top seller at the Bonhams Quail Lodge auction. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.

Today’s Headlines:

+   President Donald Trump rejected a European Union offer to scrap automobile tariffs, likening the bloc’s trade policies to those of China and calling it “not good enough.” More at Automotive News Europe. 

+   Funds run by BlackRock Inc. supported a shareholder proposal, since defeated,  that would have required Tesla Inc. to replace Elon Musk with an independent board chairman. More at Reuters.   

+   Storied British automaker Aston Martin announced that it intends to go public later this year, offering around 25 percent of the company’s shares on the London Stock Exchange. More at Reuters. 

+   Carlos Munoz will join Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for the final two races of the IndyCar season to drive the team’s No. 6 Honda in place of the injured Robert Wickens. More at the Indianapolis Star. 

+   BMW is teasing the 8 Series convertible with action shots of a camouflaged test mule on the road around Las Vegas and Death Valley in the Western USA. More at The Drive. 

+   Citing the automaker’s reorganization challenges,  Moody’s Investor Service has cut  Ford Motor Company’s bond rating from Baa2 to Baa3, one notch above junk. More at Bloomberg.com. 

+   Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to triple vehicle production in China as soon as 2030 in a renewed push to make up lost ground in the world’s biggest auto market. More at The Detroit News. 

+   Last weekend’s Bonhams Quail Lodge auction at Monterey Car Week generated $37.7 million in total sales and a sell-through rate of 82 percent on 135 vehicles. More at Hemmings Daily. 

+   Gasoline prices could tick higher over the Labor Day weekend, but motorists are expected to get some relief later this autumn, according to an AAA report. More at USA Today. 

+   Rockingham Speedway, the historic South Carolina oval that hosted NASCAR events from 1965 to 2013, has been purchased by a group of local investors. More at Jayski.

Review the previous Executive Briefing from August 27 here. 

Photo courtesy of Bonhams. 

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