Chip Ganassi Racing and all-star drivers Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Kyle Larson, and Jamie McMurray kicked off the 2015 season with an exciting victory in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Get all the latest car biz news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Honda has chosen Toyoda Gosei, a chief competitor of embattled airbag maker Takata Corp., to supply the airbags for the next-generation Accord due in 2017. More at Reuters.
+ At the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California, Larry Olson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, won the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) Award with his Bobby Alloway-built 1933 Ford. More at Hot Rod.
+ BMW and VW have partnered with ChargePoint, the largest electric vehicle charging network, to install 100 express charging stations on two major interstates on the East and West Coasts. More at CBS News.
+ Analysts predict that due to Toyota’s relatively weaker performance in China, the carmaker will soon lose the top spot in global auto sales to Volkswagen. More at The Detroit News.
+ In the season-opening Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, the Riley-Ford EcoBoost of Chip Ganassi Racing claimed overall victory, Ganassi’s sixth in the classic event. More at Racer.
+ Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen says the division’s new compact SUV will require four more years to bring to market. More at Automotive Business Review.
+ Ford announced it will take an $800-million special charge in its upcoming fourth-quarter report due to exchange-rate problems with Venezuela’s troubled currency. More at The Wall Street Journal.
+ General Motors will shut down its Orion, Michigan plant for seven weeks to thin surplus inventories of Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano vehicles. More at Autoblog.
+ The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will add two automatic braking technologies to its list of recommended safety features included alongside star ratings for new vehicles. More at Motor Trend.
+ The U.S.-based Formula One team of Gene Haas has secured he former Marussia F1 facility in Banbury, England to serve as its transatlantic headquarters. More at Racecar Engineering.
For the previous Executive Briefing from January 23, click here.
I’m absolutely appalled that we have to engineer “automatic braking” and “crash avoidance” features in our vehicles nowadays. I’ve driven 2.5 million miles in a semi (and who knows how many in a car) and never plowed into the back of someone.
I know what you mean, Howard. I’m not opposed philosophically to these features, but there’s no denying to they add cost, weight and complexity. Every year cars get a little fatter and this is one of the reasons.