At $18.92 million, this 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Touring Berlinetta was the top seller at the Artcurial Paris auction. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s Headlines:
+ General Motors and internet retail giant Amazon Inc. are said to be in talks with Rivian to take an investment stake in the start-up electric pickup maker. More at Bloomberg.com.
+ Ford Motor Company warned that a no-deal Brexit would be “catastrophic” to its manufacturing operations in the United Kingdom, triggering a probable departure. More at BBC News.
+ In Tokyo, top executives from Nissan and Renault reaffirmed the continuation of their business alliance, but avoided the topic of naming a chairman to replace the deposed Carlos Ghosn.
+ The former Sauber Formula 1 team has unveiled its new Alfa Romeo C38 racer with dramatic maroon-and-black livery and a radical aerodynamic configuration. More at Racer.
+ FCA has introduced the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic Warlock pickup, a callback to the original black-and-gold Dodge Ram Warlock pickup of 1976 priced at $37,040. More at Motor Trend.
+ The French government will invest $790 million to boost the European electric car battery industry and reduce its automakers’ reliance on Asian suppliers. More at Automotive News Europe.
+ American Motors stylist Bob Nixon, whose many design credits include the Gremlin, Pacer, the 1974 Matador, and the Jeep Cherokee, has passed away at 86. More at Hemmings Daily.
+ A pickup truck will pace the field at the Daytona 500 for the first time this weekend, as two-time winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. pilots a new Chevrolet Silverado. More at The Detroit News.
+ With a half-dozen cars topping the million-dollar mark, the Artcurial Paris Retromobile auction featured total sales of $47.8 million and a 76 percent sell-through rate. More at Classic Cars.com Journal.
+ Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks, who joined the company in 1997 and has held his current position since 2012, is set to retire later this year, sources say. More at CNBC.
+ The Australian Supercars series reports it intends to work with IndyCar and the Queensland government to revive the Surfers Paradise IndyCar race. More at Motorsport.com.
Review the previous Executive Briefing from February 11 here.
Photo by Kevin Campenhaut courtesy and copyright Artcurial.
Have you joined Mac’s Motor City Garage on Facebook? It’s lots of fun with rare photos, lore, trivia, and great discussions. Click here to go the page and join MCG. Be sure to check out our companion Facebook group MOTOROLOGY, too.
Dodge, or Ram as they call it now, missed the mark on the Warlock. The new version can’t hold a candle to the original Warlock, a very stylish truck then and now. The new version is just another blacked out mess without any character. Where’s the stepside bed and the cool oak bed rails?
Sadly, no one makes a pickup with a stepside bed anymore, my favorite style. Everything is just one big lump anymore. Guess I’ll be keeping my old 99 model Ford stepside, or Flareside in Ford’s vernacular. At least it’s got some style to it.