Chrysler Imperials will be featured in a special exhibit at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Stellantis is exploring potential deals with Chinese carmakers in which they would invest in the Fiat owner’s struggling European operations, Bloomberg News reported. More at U.S. News & World Report.
+ Honda is canceling all three of its current EV models planned for production in America, preparing for a potential $15.7 billion writeoff and bracing for its first annual loss. More at Car and Driver.
+ The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold a hearing to determine the probable cause of two fatal crashes involving the automaker’s BlueCruise system. More at CBT News.
+ Veteran IndyCar driver Conor Daly will reunite with the Dreyer & Reinbold team, where he raced in 2024, for the 2026 Indianapolis 500 with sponsorship from ARCO. More at Speed Sport.
+ Ferrari launched the Amalfi Spider, a 2+2 convertible version of its updated Roma model with a 3.9-liter V8, 631 hp, and near-identical performance despite its extra weight. More at Autoblog.
+ The updated BMW 7 Series is expected to debut at the Beijing Auto Show in a few weeks with a new instrument panel, the latest iDrive, and an even larger twin-kidney grille. More at Motor Illustrated.
+ EV maker Rivian announced that the R2 SUV will launch this spring, starting with the Performance model with AWD, 656 hp, 330 miles of range, and a starting price of $59,485. More at The Drive.
+ An exhibit entitled Imperial: Chrysler’s Handcrafted Masterpiece opening May 9 at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania will feature exceptional examples of the marque. More at Old Cars.
+ South Korea’s customs authorities pledged to crack down on illegal car exports to Russia after discovering a growing number of vehicles being sent via third countries. More at World Auto Forum.
+ Legacy Motor Club owner Jimmie Johnson revealed on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the organization will expand to a three-car operation for the 2027 Cup Series season. More at Jayski.
Photo courtesy of AACA.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from March 9 here.
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Since before 2025, both the NTSB and NHTSA have been tagteam investigating (free R&D) Ford’s BlueCruise system to assess its limitations and study driver response when the system disengages. NHTSA escalated to an engineering analysis in January 2025. Ford says “BlueCruise is available on 97% of U.S. and Canadian highways without intersections or traffic signals” and is installed in 2.5 million vehicles.
Duh, Ford BlueCruise is a “Level 2 driver‑assistance” system, not “self‑driving” technology at all, so it cannot autonomousely handle unexpected hazards. In emergencies it could disengage, perhaps prompt a driver to take over and if no response, the vehicle might decide to slow down or do nothing at all. However, Ford requires constant human oversight and attention because BluesCruise only manages steering and speed, just like your Tesla Autopilot or any GM Super Cruise. Crash data collected by the EDR (black box) will always favor the manufacturer, countless crash investigations since the beginning of automotive history show distracted drivers fail to react in time or never at all, that’s not a bug but a feature of modern vehicle “safety”.
With the NTSB sending out pressreleases gearing up for a“dog‑and‑pony show,” expect plenty of theater, gormet coffee gratis w/free 5-star breakfasts in the basement of the HUD building (best in town) and maybe even a couple of paid cameos from NHTSA HQ SES, which tends to arrive fashionably late but ready to fire out business cards to remind everyone it’s still in the room…