Two Scarab open-wheel racers and the Scarab team’s historic Bartoletti Fiat transporter will be offered at the Bonhams Goodwood auction on Sept. 12. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ The Detroit three—Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles—all posted strong earnings reports for the second quarter of 2015. More at The Detroit News.
+ The average vehicle in the U.S. is now a record 11.5 years old, according to consulting firm IHS Automotive, while registrations rose to 257.9 million cars and trucks, up 2 percent from last year. More at U.S. News & World Report.
+ Volkswagen overtook Toyota as the world’s largest-selling automaker in the first half of 2015, achieving its target three years ahead of schedule. More at Reuters.
+ Michael Waltrip Racing co-owner Rob Kauffman has agreed to buy an interest in Chip Ganassi.Racing, foreshadowing a possible union of the two NASCAR teams. More at Yahoo! Sports.
+ General Motors will spend $5 billion over the next decade on a new family of Chevrolet vehicles aimed at emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil and Mexico. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Post-bankruptcy, Michigan automotive supplier Chassix Inc. has secured $300 million in new financing and a new board of directors. More at Crain’s Detroit Business.
+ Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has reduced its estimate of the number of vehicles eligible for buyback under its government settlement to 175,000 units, taking an initial charge of $88.3 million. More at The Detroit News.
+ Honda posted net earnings of $1.5 billion in the second quarter of 2015 as gains in China offset an increase in recall-related expenses. More at Bloomberg.com.
+ Derrick Walker has submitted his resignation as IndyCar series president of competition and operations, to be effective at the end of the season. More at Sports Illustrated.
+ A 1960 Scarab GP-1 racer, a Scarab GP-2 recreation, and the Scarab team’s Bartoletti Fiat transporter will be offered in separate lots at the Bonhams Goodwood auction on Sept. 12. More at Hemmings Daily.
Read the previous Executive Briefing from July 27 here.
Photo courtesy of Bonhams.
In a perfect world, I would buy the Scarab GP-1 as my fun car and the team’s Bartoletti-Fiat hauler as my daily driver/permanent residence.
I was thinking I might cash in a few Faberge eggs or a kidney and bid on the transporter myself.
Derrick Walker had an impossible job, he was set up to fail. Wish him well on his next mission.