Ford’s giant Wixom plant northwest of Detroit produced Thunderbirds, Lincolns, and the Ford GT before it closed in 2007. Now another 239-acre portion of the facility has been sold off to a private developer. You’ll find this car biz news and more in the Executive Briefing.
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+ The CEO of AutoNation, America’s largest auto dealer chain, predicts that new vehicle sales in the U.S. will top 15.5 million in 2013. More here at Automotive News.
+ Ford has sold off another 239 acres of its gigantic former plant in Wixom, Michigan to Trident Barrow Management LLC for unspecified development. More here at CBS 62 Detroit.
+ The Canadian government will invest another $254 Million in its Automotive Innovation Fund to spur industry growth, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced. More here at CBC News.
+ Mazda now plans to boost production at its new Salamanca, Mexico plant to 230,000 units annually. More here at Bloomberg.com.
+ The recently merged Grand-Am/American Lemans Series has unveiled its unified class structure for 2014. More here at Racer.
+ General Motors is recalling more than 69,000 light trucks to correct potential steering column defects that could result in vehicle roll away while parked. More here at Yahoo! News.
+ Buried in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, otherwise known as the fiscal cliff bill, was a special $70 Million tax break for NASCAR’s parent firm, International Speedway Corporation. More here at The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
+ BMW sales in the USA surged 39 percent in December, giving the luxury car maker the edge over rival Mercedes for a second straight year. More here at The Detroit News.
For the previous Executive Briefing from Jan. 3, click here.
At 15.5M units the 2008 recession is officially over for the car industry. They are now leading the recovery.
I used to go by the Wixom plant all the time as a kid. It’s been strange to see the parking lots empty, and stranger still to see sections of the building being demolished.
Kinda surprising, the decision to close the plant as part of “The Way Forward.” From the ’60s through the ’90s, Wixom was regarded as one of the best/most advanced plants in the biz, and there was a big expansion there in the late ’90s. But though I say “kinda surprising,” not really–these decisions are based on a long list of complicated criteria. The Wayne, MI plant out on Michigan Ave. is about the same age and it was given a $600 Million rehab.
Originally, the home office of Lincoln was also based in the Wixom complex.