Sources say the next Chevrolet Camaro due in 2029 will have four doors. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Ford’s compact and affordable all-electric pickup truck will be called the Fathom, not the Ranchero as widely rumored, with list prices starting at $29,495 for a crew cab model. More at Motor Trend.
+ General Motors and its longtime Chinese partner SAIC Motor are extending their joint venture, signing a new agreement that will keep SAIC-GM operational through 2047. More at Autoweek.
+ A group of Aston Martin creditors has threatened legal action to block the company’s plans to sell a portion of its branding and naming rights as part of a new debt financing package. More at World Auto Forum.
+ To reduce caution laps, NASCAR enacted a new Cup rule to revise its stage break procedure so a caution flag thrown within 10 laps of a stage break will also trigger the stage break. More at Fox Sports.
+ Lucid plans to launch its more affordable EVs in the second half of 2027, delaying the planned rollout from late this year as the company carries out a major business review. More at Reuters.
+ Hybrid vehicle consideration hit a new high in the first half of 2026, with 22 percent of shoppers weighing a hybrid purchase, according to the latest Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch. More at CBT News.
+ The SRT Performance Division at Stellantis has developed a device for the Hurricane engine called eBoost Air to reduce turbo lag, but it is not yet cleared for production. More at The Drive.
+ Honda posted its first quarterly increase in profits in six quarters, with its operating profit more than doubling on currency gains that offset weaker vehicle sales and higher costs. More at ET Auto.
+ Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner, has signed an extension to continue to drive for Andretti Global in 2027, teamed with Will Power and Kyle Kirkwood. More at Motorsport.com.
+ According to General Motors insiders, the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro, now expected to appear in 2029, will have four doors and offer multiple drivetrain options. More at Car and Driver.
Photo courtesy of Chevrolet.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from August 3 here.
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Nearly the same price for a truck that’s smaller than the Maverick? I’ll take the Maverick. They might entice me if it wasn’t a crew cab. I want a small truck, not a five-seater with a tiny bed.
I have no love of Camaros, but a four door is as stupid as the Mustang Mach-E. There are dozens of other abandoned Chevrolet model names to choose from. Make it a Cougar. I seem to recall that was one of Camaro’s original names and Mercury sullied it years ago by making it a mid-size station wagon.
As a fan with a long love of first and 2nd gen Camaros, a 4-door version has left a non-zero amount of vomit in my mouth. But then I’m not the guy that’s going to save Chevrolet. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got no issue with buying a hot sedan, the Holden LS/6-speed concoction of the early 2000s a prime example but I would never buy a cynical, try-hard, pick-me 4-door Camaro. I’d be embarrassed.
Don’t be lame, give it a new name.
A fathom is a nautical unit of length equal to exactly 6 feet, used primarily in the maritime industry to measure the depth of water, cables, anchor chains or ropes.
Fathom this- As of July 2026, Ford has issued 63 individual SAFETY defect recalls so far for the year. This leads all automakers by a wide margin again. Ford’s largest SAFETY defect recall issued this year is for an unprecedented 4,381,878 vehicles for a trailer module software handshake race glitch causing trailer brake and trailer brakelight failures, with an 8 page 573 report. The component manufacturer, Horizon Global, Inc. of Mexico, is credited on page 5 with building the physical trailer module hardware:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V104-9142.pdf?_sp=9f6b9f9d-5f50-4e93-a9f8-c8ceced327c3
It appears 58% of all recalled Ford vehicles during 2026 for SAFETY defects are due to software defects, code bugs and computer glitches according to mr. internet. Out of the roughly 14 million total Ford vehicles flagged by the NHTSA so far this year, around 8 million are software-only SAFETY defect recalls, allowing Ford to abate 80% of its current SAFETY defect recall volume via automated Over-The-Air (OTA) wireless updates, completely bypassing the need for any physical Ford dealership service department visits or repairs…
BTW, Stellantis’ 48-volt eBoost Air electric supercharger is just another green gimmick “Rube Goldberg” device IMHO, forcing a 48V lithium battery pack, a DC-to-DC converter, a 70,000 rpm electric motor, an extra compressor wheel, computer module, complex software, 3rd air intake, spark knock, extreme complexity, expense, arm waving, deception and luck to all work in perfect harmony for their dual turbo buzzin’ half-dozen attempting to mimic the no lag instant punch of your Grandpa’s old ’68 PLYMOUTH Road Runner 383 Magnum V8…
The biggest problem at Ford with Tier 1 supplier software is intellectual property (IP) law. Ford legally does not own the suplier’s computer code inside its own vehicles, a messy web of “over 150 closed-source third-party” modules. According to tradition, when Ford uncovers glitches and errors in a brake or trailer module, they are legally blocked from rewriting or fixing it. According to Jim Farley, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ford Motor Company, “I actually have to go to Bosch to get permission to change their seat control software.”
When computer code is written in-house, Ford owns 100% of the IP. Ford says it’s proprietary computing stack and software architecture will make their debut on the Ford Fathom in 2027.
If you ask me, using intellectual property law to lock down unregulated safety-related computer programming is just another category of corporate loophole lawyering by loophole lawyers, where every single line of glitched code, fix, recall, inconvenience, crash, injury and fatality can be engineered as a profitable financial transaction. When vendors use copyright, trade secret law, and licensing agreement fine print to turn vehicle safety software and mandatory green gadgets into a legal “black box,” it creates a perfect storm that can maximize corporate revenue at the expense of vehicle efficiency and safety, where every failure organic or not, transfers the liability to the human user…
In spite of the fact that the federal government does NOT require it, the Event Data Recorder (EDR), or vehicle “black box,” in 99.5% vehicles built since Y2K is incapable of seeing any of these safety-related software glitches and programming errors, the EDR is just lines of software code built directly into a vehicle’s Airbag Control Module (ACM). It’s output defaults to driver error and you cannot simply plug a standard USB cable into your car to see what your black box recorded either. Accessing the data requires highly specialized crash data retrieval hardware with proprietary decoding software evidently tightly guarded under IP laws by each individual manufacturer:
https://commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&context=jdfsl
FYI, International Motors (formerly Navistar) has filed a WARN Act notice confirming it will terminate all 1,341 employees in Springfield, Ohio on 10/2/26 as it completes the sale of assets to Canadian defense manufacturer Roshel, recently internationally famous for supplying over 1,000 Senator “smart” armored vehicles to Ukraine.
Nobody could stop it! International Motors (operating previously as International Harvester and Navistar) has had a presence in Springfield, Ohio, for over 124 years…
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-manufacturer-exits-ohio-location-eliminates-1341-jobs
General Motors eliminated independent rivals like Studebaker and Packard in the 1950s when Cast Iron Charlie cancelled defense contracts as Truman’s SecDef. 75 years later, GM plays the reverse UNO card on poor old Springfield, canibalizing International Motors by letting vital medium-duty civilian truck manufacturing contracts with them expire, forcing Ohio’s most historic truck manufacturer out of business.
Are you thinking of “Engine Charlie” who was Sec of Defense 1953-1957 under EISENHOWER?
Please try not use the Democratic administrations as your default setting for anything bad.
lol…
Losing International in Springfield after 124 years is the single largest automotive mass layoff in Ohio history since the General Motors Lordstown plant closure’s 4500+ jobs lost in 2019, the Toledo Jeep factory, the Ford Lorain Assembly Plant and Chysler Twinsburg Stamping Plant, once the largest stamping plant in the world under one roof.
Here in western Wisconsin the race is on between Fisker and Lucid. I have seen one of each.