This tricked-out 1971 Ford Bronco 4×4 is among 600 choice consignments at the first annual Mecum Tulsa auction. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.

Today’s Headlines:

+   Traffic deaths rose 7 percent last year, the largest number since 2007, even though people drove 13 percent fewer miles due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NHTSA reports. More at The Detroit News. 

+   Ford confirmed that its new compact pickup to be unveiled next week will be called the Maverick, reviving a badge last used on a Ford compact sedan from 1970 to 1977. More at Autoblog. 

+   General Motors announced that it expects first half profits to be “significantly better” than projected, due in part to shifting microchip inventories into the more profitable truck lines. More at Reuters. 

+   Television ratings for this year’s Indianapolis 500 were their highest in five years, as 5.5 million viewers tuned in to the NBC broadcast and 7.1 million saw the exciting finish. More at Racer. 

+   The Jaguar F-Type will be powered exclusively by a pair of 5.0-liter supercharged V8s in 2022, as the four and six-cylinder models have been dropped from the lineup. More at The Drive. 

+   Toyota will introduce a small SUV called the Corolla Cross this fall to compete with the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Honda HR-V, and Subaru Crosstrek subcompacts. More at the Detroit Free Press. 

+   Buick’s Enclave three-row SUV has received a styling makeover for 2022, along with a new center console with a pushbutton shifter and new driver assistance features. More at Car and Driver. 

+   Mecum Auctions will stage its first collector car sale in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 11-12 with 600 vehicles crossing the block, including cars from several private collections. More at Classic Cars.com Journal. 

+   A former Hudson and Cadillac stamping plant on Conner Avenue in Detroit, now vacant, will be demolished to make room for a new $48 million dollar manufacturing facility. More at Click On Detroit. 

+   General Motors broke ground on its Charlotte Technical Center, a 130,000-square-foot facility in Concord, North Carolina that will expand GM’s engineering resources in NASCAR. More at Jayski. 

Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions 

Review the previous Executive Briefing from May 31 here.

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