This 1932 Packard Twin Six will be among the featured attractions at the annual Kruse Auctions Auburn sale .Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Ford Motor Company and Geely of China have agreed to form a joint venture at the U.S. carmaker’s underused factory in Spain to co-develop EVs and launch four new models. More at Transport Topics.
+ Stellantis has named Tianshu Xin to lead its China and Asia-Pacific region and appointed former Volkswagen executive Pablo Di Si as its first chief performance officer. More at CBT News.
+ The Senate Commerce Committee approved a bill to bar sales by carmakers with more than 15 percent ownership by Chinese entities, potentially locking Mercedes out of the U.S. market. More at Car and Driver.
+ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has purchased one of the 25 IndyCar Series charters from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as it lays plans to campaign in complete seasons. More at ESPN.
+ Renault Group sales rebounded in the second quarter as strong demand for its Renault 5 EV helped the French carmaker resist mounting pressure from Chinese rivals. More at U.S. News & World Report.
+ Honda has confirmed that a third-generation Ridgeline is in development, with a more ruggedly designed midsize pickup expected to arrive within the next two years. More at Autoweek.
+ Insiders report but Cadillac will not confirm that the next-generation CT5-V will be equipped with a normally aspirated V8 engine and a traditional manual transmission. More at The Drive.
+ Aston Martin has secured $735.57 million in new debt financing led by funds managed by BlackRock-owned HPS Investment Partners, the carmaker announced. More at World Auto Forum.
+ Early consignments for the annual Kruse Auctions Auburn sale include a 1932 Packard Twin Six Dual Cowl Phaeton and the 1953 Cadillac Elegante bodied by Rocco Motto. More at Old Cars.
+ NASCAR Cup veteran Alex Bowman has signed a one-year contract extension to drive a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports next year, after which he plans to retire. More at The Athletic.
Photo courtesy and copyright of Kruse Auctions.
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Poor Mercedes Benz, the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 cleared the Senate Commerce Committee on July 22, but not final passage. The bipartisan measure, led in the Senate by Sens. Bernie Moreno (OH) and Elissa Slotkin (MI), was introduced as S. 4429 in April; companion legislation was subsequently introduced in the House by Reps. John Moolenaar (MI) and Debbie Dingell (MI). It must still pass both chambers in identical form then signed by President Trump before becoming law of the land.
https://www.wttlonline.com/stories/connected-vehicle-security-act-advances-in-senate,15431
Volvo is explicitly grandfathered and completely safe until December 31, 2031, because the text of the Connected Vehicle Security Act features a specific legal loophole that automatically honors any pre-existing authorizations granted by Commerce. Volvo evidently lobbied that federal process in May 2026, granting them immunity…
Never fear, their final bill will be tweaked by lobbyists for MB’s benefit. When it comes to digital code running inside the machine, limiting Chinese software is a technical illusion. It is physically impossible to completely scrub Chinese-written code from a modern computer system or vehicle, no matter what any federal lobbyist or battery zealot claims.
In an amazing contradiction, there are no specific federal statutes at all that explicitly bans or limits Chinese software in any American voting device or tabulator. Our U.S. Constitution leaves election administration to individual states rather than the federal government. Congress has never passed any law targeting Chinese software inside American election equipment. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Senator Bernie Moreno is a genuine automotive professional and a Cadillac man, not a lawyer. That’s plenty good enough for me. He uses his platform on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to actively challenge federal agencies on real public safety of AV/EV vehicle mandates and loopholes. Betcha’ he and I together could straighten out NHTSA & FHWA LLC in a year; cut injuries, fatalities and billable hours by half or more…
Bringing up Knight Rider is a great touch for your project, because K.I.T.T. is the ultimate pop-culture version of Plato’s Cave for modern technology. For over 40 years, that show made the public fall in love with the “shadow” of a charming, perfect, all-knowing, self-driving car that always protects its driver, which is likely why most people today blindly trust unregulated AV software forced on public roads, ignoring the real-world engineering flaws and unlimited single point failure nodes hidden underneath all the marketing.
He’s a car dealer with a car dealer moral code.
To replace human drivers with autonomous vehicles, the carbon/battery cult and readymix rinos in charge of American and Ohio governments must first prove that human beings are incapable of driving safely.
So the ambulance chasers running the bureaucracy invite millions of untrained/unqualified drivers to drive cars, trucks, buses and bigrigs on American roads while using the Obama/Biden NEPA MOU, loophole cascades and data fraud to fund road infrastructure that defies the laws of physics, MUTCD, CFR and common sense, such as cramming four highways through a single lane roundabout bounded by two unstudied active railroad crossings and two icy bridges, removing turn lanes by surprise, yearlong truck detours to nowhere all while altering traffic signal timing using algorythms to cause conflicts, citations, fines and crashes.
The result is the deliberate creation of a daily American demolition derby of spatial bottlenecks and blind spots that guarantee a continuous spike in crashes, injuries and revenue events (crash taxes in Ohio). Then using local, county and state law enforcement to ticket the victims for Failure to Control, Failure to Yield, Overwieght, etc, etc, etc, “public servants” contrive a massive statistical archive of “human error”.
Safety last, revenue first…
This is the philosophical core of how the American autonomous vehicle industry operates. AV technology fundamentally relies on fear, human errors, close calls, funerals and chaotic road design to build market value, train AI, and clear out all regulatory/constitutional hurdles.
If you don’t like it move away.
That’s a fine looking Packard. Does anyone know what that tiny door is low down between the main doors? Definitely not for golf bags.
What’s the point of excluding manufacturers with 15% Chinese ownership if they can just get a waiver to override the restriction? God forbid we do anything to allow US companies to work for a stronger position.
Umbrella?
That seems plausible. And just like a Packard owner to have some place to keep their wet umbrella off the carpet.
The small doors on each side are fresh air vents that open up to supply air to the rear seat passengers. In the back of the partition are two small chrome grilles for the outlets. -mcg
Thanks Mac, you are a veritable fountain of automotive knowledge. I’ve never noticed that feature before. I miss the kick panel fresh air vents we had up until the Seventies. I can’t get that much airflow from my “automatic climate control system” and I also can’t get it down in the footwells where the engine and exhaust are heating things up.