MCG Executive Briefing for December 18, 2015

1950_Ferrari_166_MMOnce owned by beloved Road & Track writer Henry M. Manney III, this 1950 Ferrari 166MM Berlinetta by Touring could bring up to $6.5 million at the Gooding & Company Scottsdale auction. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing. 

 

 

Today’s headlines:

+   Two leading industry forecasters, LMC Automotive and J.D. Power, are predicting that U.S. auto sales will hit 1.71 million this month, the largest volume since July 2005. More at The Detroit News. 

+   Google, Inc. will spin off its autonomous-car unit as a stand-alone business under the Alphabet, Inc. corporate umbrella, and will offer Uber-like ride hire services. More at AutoGuide.com.

+   General Motors has filed a trademark application for “GTSR” for vehicles and merchandise, boosting rumors that its Australian Holden division will offer a super sedan with Corvette LS9 power. More at Autoblog. 

+   Real estate developer Chris Payne has obtained control of the Heartland Park racing facility in Topeka, Kansas after a Minnesota group terminated an agreement to buy the track. More at the Topeka Capital-Journal. 

+   Indian automotive conglomerate Mahindra Group has purchased the famed Italian design house Pininfarina for a reported $28 million. More at CNN Money.

+   Volkswagen Group is hiring Kenneth Feinberg, America’s best-known victim compensation attorney, to handle claims resolution resulting from its diesel-emissions scandal. More at USA Today. 

+   Ford will be the first automaker to employ Corning’s lightweight Gorilla Glass, selecting the laminated windshield of the 2017 Ford GT as the initial application. More at CNET.

+   California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has unveiled preliminary guidelines to allow autonomous vehicles in limited operation beginning in 2017. More at The San Francisco Examiner. 

+   The Environmental Protection Agency reports that the average fuel economy rating for 2015 vehicles has improved slightly to 24.7 miles per gallon versus 24.3 MPG in 2014, despite greater truck and SUV sales. More at the Detroit Free Press. 

+   A new series of anti-drunk driving commercials will be aired in movie theaters before Star Wars: The Force Awakens and other films during the Christmas season. More at Autoblog.

+   Gooding & Company’s offerings at its January Scottsdale auction will include four European sports cars with unique bodywork: a pair of Ferraris, an Alfa Romeo, and a Bugatti Type 49. More at Classic Cars.com.

+   Ray Price, veteran funny bike drag racer, Harley-Davidson dealer, and community leader, has passed away at 78. More at the Raleigh News & Observer.

Read the previous Executive Briefing from December 14 here. 

Photo by Brian Henniker courtesy of Gooding & Company. 

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