To celebrate its entry into Formula 1, Cadillac is offering a collector edition of the CT5-V Blackwing. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Toyota is expected to report a fourth consecutive year-on-year decline in quarterly profit due to rising material and labor costs, the Iran war, and the impact of U.S. tariffs. More at The Sunday Guardian.
+ Sedans may be returning to favor among U.S. car buyers versus SUVs as sales of the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, and Toyota Camry have been surging in recent months. More at The Drive.
+ A controversial federal mandate to provide impaired driver detection by 2027, known as the “kill switch law,” lives on despite a missed deadline and operational challenges. More at CBT News.
+ Driving for Kalitta Motorsports, driver Shawn Langdon clocked the fastest speed ever recorded for a Top Fuel dragster at 345 mph at South Georgia Motorsports Park. More at Autoweek.
+ A federal monitor has found significant governance, communication, and oversight failures in the United Auto Workers’ delayed reinvestment of $340 million in strike funds. More at MSN.
+ Mazda engineers are reaching out to Miata ownership communities for structured input on the direction and features to be included on the sports car’s next generation. More at Autoblog.
+ President Trump’s plan to increase tariffs on cars from the EU shows that the U.S. is an unreliable trading partner, says EU parliament trade committee chair Bernd Lange. More at World Auto Forum.
+ To celebrate Cadillac’s entry into Formula 1, the CT5-V Blackwing F1 Collectors Series will offer special blackout paint and graphics and greater supercharger boost for 685 hp. More at Car and Driver.
+ Rivian has renegotiated its Department of Energy loan for its upcoming Georgia plant from $6.57 billion down to $4.5 billion, but it is increasing its production capacity. More at Automotive World.
+ Alex Zanardi, the colorful two-time CART champion who invented the post-race victory donut and became a champion paralympian after losing both legs in a horrific 2001 crash, is dead at 59. More at Racer.
Photo courtesy of Cadillac.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from May 1 here.
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>> Mazda engineers are reaching out to Miata ownership communities
Smart move. I hope they don’t ask for a turbocharger or thirty more horsepower.
>> To celebrate Cadillac’s entry into Formula 1
I don’t understand the desire to have your new car look like an old heap that has lost all of its trim pieces and you can’t afford to paint.
R.I.P. to the great Alex Zanardi, who lost both of his legs on September 15, 2001, during a CART Championship race in Germany.
I saw it live on TV and can close my eyes and still see it to this day: while leading the race with 12 laps to go, he just exited the pit lane, something broke then he spun into the path of Alex Tagliani, who was traveling at approximately 200 mph. The broadside collision was so violent that it severed the Zanardi car in two.
Mr. Zanardi lost nearly 75% of his blood volume and his heart reportedly stopped seven times while being transported to a hospital in Berlin, where the amputation of both his legs was completed, one at the hip, the other at his knee.
Mr. Zanardi’s post-injury life was defined by his refusal to accept a “disabled” label, instead using his genious technical mind to refine his own prosthetic equipment, and live on to achieve elite results that rivaled his pre-accident racing career…