Formerly owned by Steve McQueen and sporting a custom-built period camper, this 1952 Chevy 3800 Series pickup is the star attaction at the Mecum Celebrity Items Auction in Santa Monica July 26-27. Get this and all the latest car biz news in the Executive Briefing.
Links open in new windows
+ Auto industry leaders have declared the city of Detroit’s bankruptcy filing on Thursday a necessary and positive step. More here at The Detroit News.
+ Formula 1 supreme leader Bernie Ecclestone has been formally indicted in the long-running Gerhard Gribkowsky bribery case in Germany. More here at the UK Guardian.
+ AutoNation, the USA’s largest auto dealership chain with 266 stores, posted $89.9 million in net earnings, a 14 percent gain for 2Q 2013. More here at Boston.com.
+ Mecum is set to auction off Steve McQueen’s last known ride, his 1952 Chevy 3800 pickup with period camper, in Santa Monica July 26-27. More here at Conceptcarz.
+ Ford is facing a federal class-action suit from consumers dissatisfied with the automaker’s MyFord Touch infotainment system. More here at CNBC.
+ Andretti Autosport is the first American team to join the FIA’s new Formula E series for electric-powered open-wheel racers. More here at Edmunds.com.
+ The ACLU reported that law enforcement agencies are compiling vast databases from information collected by license plate cameras. More here at The Washington Post.
+ General Motors is putting its current and next-generation pickups on a severe weight-loss program to improve fuel economy. More here at Reuters.
+ Ford’s Hamburg, New York plant near Buffalo has received eight OSHA citations for asbestos-related violations. More here at The Buffalo News.
+ Kevin Magnussen, 20 year-old son of four-time LeMans class winner Jan Magnussen, led the first-day time charts in F1 testing for McLaren. More here at the UK Mail.
For the previous Executive Briefing from July 15, click here.
Detroit’s problems are as old as the auto industry – always feast or famine.