Formula Sochi, organizers of the 2014 Russian Grand Prix, say construction is well on schedule for the 3.7-mile Olympic Park racing circuit designed by Hermann Tilke. This news and more in today’s Executive Briefing.
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+ Ford will invest more than $773 Million on upgrades and expansions to six Michigan manufacturing plants, adding another 2,350 jobs. More here at the Chicago Tribune.
+ Toyota has a agreed to pay at least $1.2 Billion to resolve cases related to alleged unintended acceleration. More here at USA Today.
+ Audi plans to spend $17 Billion by 2016 in a bid to challenge BMW’s lead in the luxury car market More. here at The Detroit News.
+ A Califonia resident has filed a federal lawsuit against Ford Motor Company, charging the new C-Max and Fusion hybrids with failing to meet fuel economy claims. More here at AOL Autos.
+ Now it’s official: Rubens Barrichello announced that he will depart the Izod IndyCar Series to race in his native Brazil’s Stock Car V8 Series in 2013. More here at Racer.
+ Chevrolet could conclude its “Chevy runs deep” ad theme early in 2013. More here at the Detroit Free Press.
+ In New York, Porsche won the dismissal of a lawsuit by 26 hedge funds, who charged the automaker with causing $1 billion in losses by manipulating the share price of Volkswagen AG. More here at Reuters.
+ Organizers of the Russian Grand Prix say construction is comfortably on schedule for the venue’s first F1 event in 2014. More here at Autosport.
For the previous Executive Briefing from Dec. 24, click here.
Cubic dollars being spent by BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz for domination of the luxury car market. I wonder how much Ford will be spending on their new initiative for Lincoln.
Good question. Depending how you look at it, there’s a tremendous opportunity for Lincoln right now. As our Jim McCraw pointed out recently, the brand has a tremendous heritage. But on the other hand, there is no recent baggage to drag along — close to a clean sheet of paper.
There’s no elderly owner base to placate. They have the freedom to go to the leading edge on design, engineering, and performance. WIll they? Seems doubtful.