This 1955 Mercedes Gullwing from the Academy of Art University collection goes to auction in February. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Stellantis chief financial officer Doug Ostermann says the recent departure of CEO Carlos Tavares came down to disagreements about business tactics and stakeholder relations. More at The Detroit News.
+ Republican senator-elect Bernie Mereno of Ohio, a former car dealership owner, says he will make eliminating the consumer tax credit for electric vehices a leading priority. More at CBT News.
+ Nissan is allowing Infiniti dealership owners to relocate their operations at current Nissan stores, as sales of Nissan’s luxury brand have fallen 50 percent in the past five years. More at Autoblog.
+ After more than two decades in the drag racing series, Toyota Motor North America is ending its association with the National Hot Rod Association at the end of the 2025 season. More at Newsweek.
+ Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast plans to build a second domestic assembly plant in the Ha Tinh province that will double the automaker’s production capacity. More at MSN.
+ Mercedes-Benz opened its Manufacktur Studio and announced an expansion of the personalization program’s customizing capabilities, including unique seating and paint. More at Motor Authority.
+ Volvo has sold almost 600 battery-electric heavy-duty trucks in the United States and Canada thus far, with the trucks now covering a combined 200,000 miles per week. More at Autoweek.
+ The Academy of Art University Automobile Museum’s entire collection of more than 100 vintage cars will be offered without reserve by Broad Arrow Auctions on February 15. More at Old Cars.
+ With a flag-to-flag victory by Lando Norris at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, McLaren has sewn up the 2024 Formula 1 constructors’ championship, claiming its first title since 1998. More at NBC News.
+ Ram is recalling 317,000 medium-duty trucks, mainly from the 2017 and 2018 model years, to replace potentially defective hydraulic control units in their antilock braking systems. More at The Drive.
Photo courtesy of Broad Arrow Auctions.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from December 6 here.
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Anybody know why ABS dash warning lamps are amber not red? Talk about slice and dice Stellantis recalls, 84,923 service replacement ABS HCUs supposedly sold and installed on ’12-’18 HD Rams, with 53,448 warranty claims for eight model years but the NHTSA recall only covers build dates 4/1/17 to 12/29/18. Of course there are no “known crashes”…
The ABS warning lamp is amber to distinguish it from the red lamp for parking brake on/hydraulic pressure loss.
Here’s the official rabbit hole for dashboard warning icons-
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-571/subpart-B/section-571.101
My favorite is the horseshoe with an ! for a low tire…
I realise this is not a popular opinion in these parts, but nonetheless every time I read about electric vehicles the numbers simply don’t add up. Volvo says 600 trucks are running 200000 miles pee week. My maths says that’s 333 miles each, what do they do the other 6 days? How can this be profitable or sustainable? I did some work for a big company that run a yard and a reasonably big fleet right by the Sydney airport. They spent a small fortune attempting to organise electric trucks, and their electricity provider laughed at them, they said no way possible could they charge 30 semis every day
I’ve been driving a Tesla every day since Sept 2020 and it works great. A few miles from here is an Amazon logistics center that must be running 100 or more electric vans. By all accounts they are a big success.
I don’t doubt anything you say, as the expression goes, your mileage may vary, nor does what you say invalidate nor address my comment
Bernie M
Sorry , I sent my previous comment by mistake . Bernie Moreno says ” let the markets work ” . If that’s what he believes then the massive subsidies to the oil industry should also end . If its going to be a truly free market all subsidies , tax breaks , etc. should be stopped . Given the outsized influence of the oil lobby I’m not going to hold my breath !