Famed Italian design house Zagato will unveil the stunning Maserati Mostro concept at this weekend’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Lake Como, Italy. Get all the latest auto industry in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ General Motors will invest $439 million in revamping its Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, including a new 450,000 square-feet paint shop. More at The Detroit News.
+ Industry analysts say the unprecedented Takata airbag recall could require from two to five years to complete, with 34 million vehicles affected thus far. More at CNN Money.
+ Autobytel, a leading provider of online services connecting consumers with car dealers, has acquired Dealix Corporation and Autotegrity, Inc., suppliers of buyer leads to dealerships, for $25 million. More at The Street.com.
+ Two NGK Spark Plug executives, one current and one former, were indicted in U.S. District Court in Detroit on one count of price fixing. More at Crain’s Detroit Business.
+ Veteran Ryan Briscoe has been drafted to drive for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 in place of James Hinchcliffe, who was injured in a Monday practice crash. More at ABC Sports.
+ Hyundai North America CEO Dave Zuchowski says he expects the automaker’s Santa Cruz pickup to get the green light for production this summer. More at Motor Trend.
+ A study by Barclays analyst Brian Johnson predicts that self-driving cars could reduce new vehicle sales by 40 percent over the next 25 years, echoing an earlier report from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who retires from driving at the end of this season, will join the Fox Sports NASCAR race broadcasting team full-time in 2016, joining Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip. More at Yahoo! Sports.
+ Bernd Osterloh, the head of Volkswagen’s worker council, has called for a downsizing of the company’s management board, which currently seats nine members. More at Reuters.
+ The Italian design house Zagato will unveil the Maserati Mostro coupe concept at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como, Italy this weekend. More at Autoblog.
+ The IndyCar Series announced it will add a street race on a 2.2-mile circuit on the Boston waterfront as the season finale on Labor Day weekend in 2016. More at Autosport.
Read the previous Executive Briefing from May 18 here.
That’s what the new Camaro should have looked like.
No, that’s what the new Corvette should have looked like! :]
The Maserati in red like that, with its spoke-like wheels, certainly brings to mind the mid-60’s Ford Cougar II. Nice!
That IS what the old Chevy Cheetah looked like. Seems like all the good designs were taken in the Sixties which is why manufacturers keep using them for inspiration.
I pray that the younger ones don’t start looking to the ’70s and ’80s for ideas. Maybe it’s time they took a look at some 1940s GM fastbacks from the Forties.