Buick is considering the return of a sedan to its lineup in the United States. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Hyundai has ordered a stop-sale and is preparing a recall of 68,500 2026 Palisade SUVs after the fatal injury of a two year-old girl involving faulty power-folding seats. More at MSN News.
+ Mandi Damman, the Chevy Bolt EV’s executive chief engineer, suggested that General Motors could continue production beyond the currently scheduled 18 months. More at The Drive.
+ Renault will introduce 22 new models in Europe and 14 internationally by 2030 as it aims to boost Renault brand sales to two million cars annually, 50 percent outside Europe. More at CBT News.
+ Formula One officials have cancelled the Grand Prix events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia scheduled for April 12 and April 19 due to the military conflict in the Middle East. More at The Guardian.
+ A U.S. judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Stellantis of defrauding shareholders by failing to disclose that it overloaded retailers with inventory, known as “channel stuffing.” More at U.S. News & World Report.
+ A YouTube auto channel purchased $500 in NGK, Champion, and Denso spark plugs from RockAuto, Amazon, and eBay only to find that one-third were counterfeit. More at Torque Test Channel.
+ Porsche has patented a shift-by-wire system in Germany indicating the development of a gear shifter that can mimic an automatic transmission or an H-pattern manual gearbox. More at Autoblog.
+ General Motors is evaluating several passenger cars for the United States, one of which could be badged as a Buick sedan sharing the Alpha II platform with the Cadillac CT4. More at Car and Driver.
+ The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is launching a safety ratings program for commercial vehicles, starting with cargo vans and Class 3 pickup trucks. More at Automotive World.
+ A collision between two safety vehicles at the World of Outlaws event at Kennedale Speedway Park in Texas resulted in a fatal injury to one official and serious injuries to another. More at Yahoo! Sports.
Photo courtesy of General Motors.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from March 13 here.
Join Mac’s Motor City Garage on Facebook and X to receive notices when every new story is published.
I buy my NGK spark plugs from NAPA. I was told that they get them directly from NGK with no middlemen so the chance of counterfeits is lessened. There’s likely always going to be a guy at the warehouse who sneaks some fake ones into inventory to make some cash on the side.
I have bad news for you Mr. Buick. Your new sedan looks like 75% of the sedans that are already on the market and you’re not good enough to sell thousands on reputation alone. Not even portholes will help. We need Harley Earl. His cars may not have always been attractive but they were always distinctive.
Open WARNING to Hyandai: Whether it’s your lazy programming or cheap sensors, the result seems always the same: lethal oversight in a feature marketed as a convenience has killed another toddler in Ohio. Relying on an OTA software patch to fix a documented deadly mechanical crushing defect is a massive gamble on the same tech that already failed.
Surprise, surprise NHTSA has not caught with this kindergarten crap yet but it sure is reassuring that an anonomouse Hyundai official expressed condolences to the bereaved family, stating, “We prioritize customer safety and will thoroughly investigate all related matters”.
My advice to you Hyandai is to immediately transfer all diversity and nepotism hires to colors and textures or vibration and rattles where they thrive and hire some real engineers who do no harm…