This 1937 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet will be offered at the Gooding Christies Amelia Island sale. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ In its second leadership change in three years, Toyota has appointed chief financial officer Kenta Kon to serve as CEO, replacing Koji Sato, who becomes vice chairman. More at CNBC.
+ Stellantis is taking a $27 billion write-off on its electric vehicle development as it shifts its strategic focus back to internal-combustion vehicles and pushes EVs to the rear. More at Global Banking & Finance Review.
+ Ford intends to launch five new vehicles priced at less than $40,000 by 2030, including cars, SUVs, trucks, and vans, using what the company calls a “multi-energy” approach. More at Car and Driver.
+ For qualifying at Daytona, where aerodynamics are hyper-critical, NASCAR has banned the practice of drivers using their hands to redirect airflow in the window opening. More at Yahoo! Sports.
+ According to CDK data, the overall ease of purchase score among new car buyers rose to 85 percent in January, up from 69 percent in December and 66 percent in November. More at CBT News.
+ Hyundai Motor Group’s Genesis luxury brand passed Nissan’s Infiniti label in 2025 with more than 82,000 vehicle sales, as the Korean carmaker now sets its sights on Lincoln. More at Autoblog.
+ The Canadian government announced it will scrap hard mandates requiring all new vehicles to be EVs by 2035, replacing them wiith stricter greenhouse gas emission standards. More at Automotive World.
+ The Gooding Christie’s Amelia Island sale on March 5-6 will offer historic race cars from the Price Museum of Speed collection and a selection of exceptional prewar classics. More at Old Cars.
+ BMW is recalling 87,394 vehicles in the U.S. as the starter may overheat, causing a fire risk, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced. More at The Detroit News.
+ The Arrow McLaren IndyCar team has officially opened its new race shop facility in Indianapolis, which will also serve as McLaren Racing’s North American headquarters. More at Motorsport.com
Photo by Josh Hway courtesy and copyright of Gooding & Company.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from February 6 here.
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Wow, according to the internet, this latest Beemer starter fire recall NHTSA# 26V056 seems to be a significant expansion of BMW starter fire recalls 25V644/25V636 that covered over 200,000 ’19-’25 BMW models & Toyota Supras:
“The engine starter motor may overheat, causing a fire risk, even when the vehicle is turned off… 2019–2025 models, including 340i, 740Li, 840i, X5, X6, X7, and others… Dealers will replace the starter at no cost… Due to part availability, this is a phased recall… Owners should park these vehicles outside, away from homes and other structures until the recall repair is completed.”
Over 341,000 BMW & Toyota Supra vehicles seem to be under recall by NHTSA for starter fires now. The previous BMW starter fire recall 24V576 of a software fix evidently didn’t do diddly-squat to weather-proof & cure shorted starter relays, imagine that…
NHTSA just dinged our friends @ Hyundai for another huge FMVSS airbag compliance recall…
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/hyundai-recall-hits-600-000-vehicles-air-bag-21328649.php
Might as well include this link as well, could be the mysterious Mr. Self himself, soon to be mandated more sooner than later to drive everyone everywhere, ready or not…
https://www.techspot.com/news/111233-waymo-admits-autopilot-often-guys-philippines.html
You would think that after 114 years we would have starter motors figured out.
Same could be said for many items/systems on a modern auto. Too many engineers trying to “reinvent the wheel”.
The pivot away from EVs based on a single quarter of falling sales after the Federal incentives were removed in a way that virtually guaranteed those sales were pulled forward to get the last of them, surely won’t bite the industry in the butt will it …