Later this week at the Geneva Auto Show, Chevrolet will introduce the convertible version of the 2014 Corvette Stingray. Meanwhile, here’s a photo of the ragtop released by GM in advance of the reveal. Read this news and more in today’s Executive Briefing.
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+ A report by McKinsey & Co. projects that premium car sales in China will top those in the U.S. by 2016. More here at The Washington Post.
+ Wheel maker Superior Industries missed its fourth-quarter earnings estimate, reporting $2.7 million in net income. More here at the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.
+ Chevrolet has released photos of the 2014 C7 Corvette Stingray convertible in advance of the model’s introduction at the Geneva Auto Show this week. More here at The Detroit Bureau.
+ Roush Ford driver Carl Edwards broke his 70-race NASCAR losing streak with a Sprint Cup victory at Phoenix. More here at ESPN.
+ Ford’s Lincoln brand posted a 29 percent slide in sales for February. More here at Bloomberg.com.
+ Jaguar Land Rover and parent firm Tata Motors are studying shifting vehicle production from Britain to India. More here at NDTV.
+ Renault and French labor unions could clinch a new agreement within days, says France’s interior minister. More here at Reuters.
+ Tesla boss Elon Musk says the company’s treatment by The New York Times has cost the automaker up to $100 million. More here at Mashable.
For the previous Executive Briefing from March 1, click here.
Ford has been a shining light in the U.S. auto industry in many ways over the past several years. Unfortunately, it seems like they’ve been studying the Edsel playbook in their handling of Lincoln. As an oldtimer I still have hope but, as the article implies, the brand has become irrelevant to most consumers.
I don’t get it. Ford first divested Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Rover, unwinding the entire Premier Auto Group fiasco, then pulled the plug on the Mercury brand. You would think these steps would give Ford the opportunity to focus maximum effort on Lincoln. But so far the brand seems totally adrift.
Lincoln (and the rest of the auto industry) needs designers. The Lincoln LSC wasn’t a bad design attempt, but the rest of that car was all wrong. They needed something as distinctive as the Chrysler 300 for their comeback model. The new Fusion is well done, but leans heavily on Aston Martin for that grille. The last truly distinctive car that Ford put out was the original Taurus.
As it stands, the new Lincoln could just as easily be a Hyundai. I haven’t seen one concept from that group that I thought was worthy. I don’t care if the new Lincoln looks like a 1971 Stutz Blackhawk, just make it stand out as luxury cars are supposed to. Yes, I know it’s only NEAR-luxury, but it’s all they’ve got.