Another EV will join the Cadillac fold: the Vistiq, a three-row EV due in 2026. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ After earlier firing nine executives, General Motors announced that it will cut 24 percent of the workforce at Cruise, the automaker’s troubled autonomous vehicle division. More at Reuters.
+ Federal prosecutors have asked a U.S. judge to impose an 11-year prison sentence on Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who was convicted on mail and securities fraud charges. More at World Auto Forum.
+ The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it will not seek a recall of Jeep Compass SUVs from 2019-20 over complaints that the engines shut off. More at The Detroit News.
+ Stewart-Haas Racing announced it has it has signed Noah Gragson to a multiyear deal to replace Aric Almirola in the team’s No.10 NASCAR Cup Ford beginning in 2024. More at Fox Sports.
+ The United Auto Workers have filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Honda, Hyundai, and Volkswagen, alleging union-busting activities. More at CNBC.
+ A group led by Steve Burns, the founder and former CEO of Lordstown Motors, has acquired the remaining assets of the troubled electric truck manufacturer for $10 million. More at Autoweek.
+ Although the Ford Crown Victoria was discontinued in 2011, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department still has 429 of the vehicles on duty, but parts supplies are running out. More at The Drive.
+ Cadillac has released photos of another EV to join the fold: the 2026 Vistiq, a three-row SUV with a reported 500 hp that will be sized between the current Lyric and Escalade IQ. More at Car and Driver.
+ Former FIA president Jean Todt has backed Felipe Massa’s claims that the result of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix should have been cancelled when suspicions of wrongdoing arose. More at Motorsport.com.
+ More than 55 percent of U.S. new car dealers are offering electric vehicles in 2023, according to automotive data platform iSeeCars, up from only 16.5 percent in 2020. More at CBT News.
Photo courtesy of Cadillac.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from December 11 here.
Join Mac’s Motor City Garage on Facebook and Twitter to receive notices when every new story is published.
Crown Victorias run forever. I would like to have kept my mechanically identical Marquis but the interior was the worse for wear and the paint was starting to go.
I think Ford really missed the boat when they didn’t have a updated version of the Crown Vic. That pretty much gave the fleet and police car business to Chrysler with their Dodge Chargers. I know they tried with the Explorer PI, but the depts around here that tried them had a lot of problems with them and either went then to Dodge Chargers or Chevy Tahoe’s, with a lot of the Sheriff’s depts going with F150’s.
Wonder what all those PD’s will do when Dodge goes EV after next year? I don’t see an EV to be a viable solution for them, lots of police vehicles run 24 hours a day. The days of the police car will probably be over, it will probably all be SUV’s and pickups then.