Motocross and Rally America champion Travis Pastrana has landed a full-time NASCAR Nationwide ride in the no. 60 Roush Fenway Mustang for 2013. Read this car biz news and more in today’s Executive Briefing.
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+ Avis Budget Group has agreed to purchase ride-sharing pioneer Zipcar Inc. for $491 million. More here at Businessweek.
+ Fiat will exercise its option to increase its ownership share in Chrysler to 65 percent, purchasing 3.3 percent from the UAW VEBA benefit fund. More here at The Detroit News.
+ Automakers sold nearly 14.5 million vehicles 2012, an increase of 13 percent annually and the industry’s best year since 2007. More here at the Los Angeles Times.
+ Subaru will recall 634,000 vehicles from the 2006 to 2012 model years to correct an electrical defect. More here at NBC News.
+ Extreme sports star Travis Pastrana will drive a Roush Fenway Ford full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013. More here at USA Today.
+ The California DMV will now offer license plates in three retro styles, including classic black with yellow characters. More here at Autoweek.
+ Elio Motors will build a three-wheeled, $6800 commuter vehicle in GM’s former Shreveport, Louisiana assembly plant. More here at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Niki Lauda is stepping down from a management position at Air Berlin to focus on his new role on the Mercedes Formula One team. More here at ESPN.
For the previous Executive Briefing from Dec. 31, click here.
Interesting tidbits from the Elio article. The RACER trust has now sold 25 former GM properties for a grand total of $27 million. I hope those great buys will truly translate into new jobs.
Since I never heard of Elio, I checked out their website. Lots of fluff and very little substance. OK, next to no substance. The car is cute but it’s going to take a lot more than that to build credibility.
I worked with a client on the RACER Trust property at Willow Run. It didn’t quite come together for a number of reasons, but the facility is a tremendous opportunity for the right company or companies.
I hate to be negative but it’s hard to regard a manufacturer of three-wheeled, $6800 commuter vehicles with only a few hundred K in capitalization as serious. I’d like nothing better than to be proven wrong.