This 1972 Chrysler Valiant Charger is one of 48 vehicles from the Gosford Classic Car Museum, Australia’s largest, to be sold at auction on May 26. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s Headlines:
+ Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has been indicted in U.S. federal court for conspiracy and wire fraud for his role in the company’s diesel emissions scandal. More at Bloomberg.com.
+ Germany has overtaken Norway as the largest sales market in Europe for electric vehicles, surging 70 percent to more than 17,000 cars in the first quarter. More at Automotive News Europe.
+ Toyota will create a new autonomous vehicle test facility in Ottawa Lake, Michigan, 45 miles south of its Ann Arbor engineering headquarters. More at The Detroit News.
+ Formula 1 technical officials have taken additional measures to close a loophole that allowed teams to burn engine lubricant as a fuel in qualifying, producing extra power. More at Motorsport.com.
+ Mercedes-Benz Classic will offer newly manufactured body panels for the vintage 300SL Gullwing at prices ranging from around $3,500 to more than $17,000 each. More at Motor Trend.
+ A selection of 48 collector cars from the Gosford Classic Car Museum, Australia’s largest, will be offered at auction in Belmore, New South Wales on May 26. More at Classic Cars.com Journal.
+ The national average for a gallon of gasoline reached $2.82 this week, a price level not seen since summer 2015, according to online gas station database GasBuddy.com. More at CNBC.
+ Crashing though a security gate in a convoy, a gang of thieves stole 10 or more 2018 Ram trucks from the Fiat Chrysler Warren Truck Assembly Plant. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Tesla shares slipped 4.5 percent after the electric vehicle maker posted a loss of $567.9 million in the first quarter, although revenue was greater than expected. More at USA Today.
+ NASCAR has indefinitely suspended driver Spencer Gallagher, who won his first Xfinity series race at Talladega last weekend, after he failed a random drug test. More at ESPN.
Review the previous Executive Briefing from April 30 here.
Photo courtesy of Pickles Auction.
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HEY CHARGER! …Aussie Charger could just be the coolest muscle car Ever!
…but only with the V8 killing 265 straight 6…
Close, but the Aussie Ford Falcon XC Cobra takes the win. In my book, it beats all the Americans also.
Aww mate, couldn’t pull the skin offa custard tart!!
The Charger pictured is a VH R/T with the 218hp 265S engine, Gearbox should be a close ratio 3 speed.
The top of the range performance Charger was the triple Webered E49 spec with 302hp and a close ratio B/W 4 speed
As per usual Chrysler Australia was a poor relation to Ford and Holden as they never got supply of the 4 speeds for well over a year after they should have had them.
The E49 was a poor car to drive in traffic , as was the Holden Torana XU1 but they had a LOT of grunt and would blow away a Falcon HO and Toran 6&V8 on the dragstrip.
For the Yanks, The RT Charger, Valiant Pacer [4 door spec] all only came with manual gearbox. Manual steering and most were not equipped with a brake booster either. 11″ discs and 9″ drums. None of this girly stuff the Americans had !!!