Hammering down at $712,211, this 1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Open Tourer was among the top five sellers at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed auction. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Ford Motor Co. has stepped up to replace Chevrolet as the title sponsor for the 2017 Woodward Dream Cruise on August 19, though the terms were not disclosed. More at Hemmings Daily.
+ Global automakers have urged China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology to delay and reduce planned sales quotas for electric and hybrid cars. More at Reuters.
+ Jaguar introduced its new 2018 E-Pace, a five-door, two-row compact SUV with a base price of $38,600, with a spectacular ceremony in London. More at The Detroit News.
+ Brent Dewar, who joined NASCAR as chief operating officer in 2014, has been promoted to president, taking the post vacated by Mike Helton in 2015. More at the Daytona Beach News Journal.
+ Daimler AG has been accused by German prosecutors of selling over a million cars with excessive emissions in Europe and the United States, the newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. More at CNBC.
+ Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit, home of the Dodge Viper, will close on August 31 and its 87 employees will be assigned elsewhere. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Spy photographers captured the next-generation Ford Focus sedan, which goes into production in mid-2018, performing hot-weather testing in full camouflage wrap. More at Motor Trend.
+ The Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed 2017 auction at Goodwood House in Chichester, UK generated more than $12.9 million (£10 million) in total sales. More at Sports Car Digest.
+ Calling the event “not financially viable,” the Silverstone Circuit has triggered the exit clause in its contract with Formula 1 owner Liberty Media, cancelling the British Grand Prix in 2019. More at Racer.
+ At the Audi Summit in Barcelona the automaker introduced the latest A8 sedan, which it calls the first first production automobile developed specifically for automated driving. More at Automotive Business Review.
Review the previous Executive Briefing from July 10 here.
Photo courtesy of Bonham’s.
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It appears F1 has finally priced itself out of existence
I don’t understand why manufacturers insist on growing their small cars instead of introducing a new model. That new Focus looks way too big to be anything I’d be interested in, and gas prices will not stay down forever. If they need the room to make it electric, then just cancel the name and make ICE buyers choose between the Fiesta and Fusion. I’m reminded of how the Mercury Cougar eventually became a station wagon. The Toyota Corolla is bigger than what the Crown started out as, and the Civic is monstrous as well.
I guess the Audi A8 is now entitled to be called “The Ultimate Driving Machine”.