This 1961 Porsche 356B Super 90 Cabriolet will be offered at the Bonhams|Cars Greenwich auction. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ According to the American Automobile Association, the national average price for a gallon of regular grade gasoline is now $4.56, the highest since post-COVID prices in 2022. More at Car and Driver.
+ J.D. Power and GlobalData expect U.S. auto sales to remain relatively stable in 2026 despite affordability challenges, elevated interest rates, and weakening EV demand. More at CBT News.
+ Nissan subsidiary Jatco has scrapped its $65.7 million plan to produce electric vehicle powertrains in Sunderland, Britain as Nissan cuts back on its production facilities. More at The Business Times.
+ With a daring final lap charge, Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer-Shank racing overtook David Malukas of Team Penske to win the Indy 500 in the closest finish ever at .0223 seconds. More at ESPN.
+ According to Stellantis chief executive officer Antonio Filosa, “40 percent of the buyers of a pickup won’t consider a specific pickup brand if this brand doesn’t offer a V8.” More at The Drive.
+ The Motorcycle Industry Council reports that sales rose 4.2 percent for the first quarter of 2026, propelled by increased interest in touring, sport bike, and dual-purpose machines. More at Autoweek.
+ UAW leaders called for stronger pay standards and mandates that carmakers build where they sell ahead of upcoming talks on a new trade deal with Canada and Mexico. More at World Auto Forum.
+ A patent application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office indicates that Ferrari is developing an electronic clutch pedal with programmable driver feel. More at Autoblog.
+ The Bonhams|Cars Greenwich Auction on May 31 will feature a 1991 Lamborghini Diablo, a selection of vintage Porsches from the 356 era, and a 1971 Mercedes 280 SE Cabriolet. More at Old Cars.
+ The cause of NASCAR Cup star Kyle Busch’s unexpected death at age 41 was severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, his family disclosed this past weekend. More at Racer.
Photo courtesy of Bonhams|Cars.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from May 22 here.
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FYI, Google claims Autoblog is part of Yahoo, which is owned by the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Because of this corporate structure, their content logic is dictated by financial interests, not automotive passion.
So Ferrari has patented a “clutch-by-wire” system, acting as a simulation tool to recreate the tactile drama of a manual transmission with no mechanical connection to the drivetrain. But of course it has zero safety function, it has zero emissions function and it has zero mechanical control function of anything- the ultimate green new deal carbon reduction device for AVs and EVs!
Online sources explain the system is just a phantom/animated “dead man pedal,” with a spring and cam mechanism to simulate freeplay and bite point of a real clutch pedal, replicating driveline engagement scenarios digitally for the driver’s leg.
This IS THE POSTER CHILD of post modern marketing drivel selling human driver distraction, more “justified” absurdity of the green new deal zealot’s “carbon emergency”…
Calling it an animated “dead man pedal” is the perfect description. In railroad locomotives and other heavy machinery, a dead man’s pedal is a critical safety device designed to stop the train if the human driver becomes incapacitated.
Ferrari has inverted safety logic entirely with this patent, engineering a literal “zombie pedal” that does absolutely nothing for the mechanics of the vehicle, yet actively demands physical inputs and mental focus from the human driver.
Since post-modern “green” vehicles simulate mechanical rituals while removing human mechanical control, this creates strange new categories of automotive user experience:
A) fake engine sound
B) fake gear shifts
C) fake steering feedback
D) fake brake feel
E) fake clutch pedals
All of this demands human driver attention but illogically provides no control nor safety improvement, and no quantifiable environmental benefit.
It’s the same pattern seen in all green transportation policy: the appearance of compliance with no compliance, the illusion of safety with no safety, and the illusion of carbon reduction with zero carbon reduction. All of it ultimately serves one purpose: mandating every form of mobility into a revenue event, no matter the harm.
Exotic sports cars are essentially amusement park rides. mcg
Ferrari’s abandonment of manual transmissions has nothing to do with any “green” policy, here or in the EU. Rather it’s a byproduct of their engineering department’s racing focus (going back to the old man himself who considered road cars a distraction needed to make payroll).
Once a computer could shift faster than the driver, they no longer cared about customers’ romantic notions of what a Ferrari “should be”.
There’s a tendency among car guys to overblame government policy and “do-gooders”, and this is as solid an example as the one I heard once blaming the latter for the demise of the Ford Pinto which was fundamentally obsolete by 1980, and hadn’t been intended for more than a 5 year production run that ended up lasting twice that long…