The famed Lloyd Bakan ’32 Ford coupe will be among the historic hot rods offered at the RM Sotheby’s Petersen Museum sale in Los Angeles. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s Headlines:
+ Noteworthy product launches at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show included the 2020 Jeep Gladiator pickup, Lincoln Aviator SUV, Kia Soul, and the latest Porsche 911. More at Automobile.
+ A Japanese court has approved a 10-day extension of the detention of deposed Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn for further investigation of alleged financial crimes. More at The Detroit News.
+ Ford is teasing the engine that will power the 2020 Mustang GT500, its most powerful production car ever, in advance of the official debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January. More at Motor Trend.
+ The Force India Formula 1 team has been officially rebranded as Racing Point F1 following its acquisition by a consortium led by Canadian investor Lawrence Stoll. More at Motorsport.com
+ PSA Group and Toyota confirmed that Toyota will take over their joint venture plant in Kolin, Czech Republic, which makes the Citroen C1, Peugeot 108, and Toyota Aygo. More at Automotive News Europe.
+ A study by the University of Utah has determined that auto racing is partially to blame for the long-term deterioration of the salt bed on the Bonneville Salt Flats. More at Hemmings Daily.
+ Klaus Fröhlich, head of product development at BMW, says the M4 will be the “fortress of manual” and that the model will use a manual gearbox for the next decade. More at Road & Track.
+ Oval racing will return to the historic Milwaukee Mile at the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds for the first time since 2015 with an ARCA stock car event next year. More at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. .
+ Several European countries have either ordered vehicle recalls by carmakers over diesel emissions cheating or plan to do so, German weekly Bild am Sonntag reported. .More at Reuters.
+ Vintage and traditional hot rods and customs from Southern California will be showcased at the RM Sotheby’s Petersen Museum auction on December 8. More at Classic Cars.com Journal.
+ President Donald Trump says he will impose a six-month deadline on Congress to ratify the new U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement he signed to replace NAFTA. More at CNN.
+ NASCAR Monster Cup driver Kurt Busch announced via Twitter that he will not be returning to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2019 amid rumors he may land at Ganassi Racing. More at NBC Sports.
Review the previous Executive Briefing from November 30 here.
Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.
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I am excited that racing will return to Milwaukee, and wish Indycar could go back. But it wouldn’t mean diddly unless they got the week after Indy and we know that isn’t going to happen as long as Roger Penske has Detroit.
Bonneville Salt Flats is over 30,000 acres, so we are supposed to believe that a single 10 mile long by 100 yard wide scraped and smoothed area is responsible for degradation of the flats. That’s 0.002 percent ( 2/10th of one percent ) of the salt.
The fault lies with the various dykes and channels that have been built on the salt, which diverts the water from where it should be.