MCG Executive Briefing for May 6, 2016

1966-Shelby-GT-350-750x501This 1966 Shelby GT350 Mustang, a rare ’65/’66 carryover model, sat untouched for 40 years. Now it’s headed to auction next month at the Bonhams Greenwich 2016 sale. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing. 

 

 

Today’s headlines:

+   Ford Motor Co. is investing $182.2 million in Palo Alto-based software company Pivotal, the developer of Ford’s FordPass smartphone application. More at The Detroit News. 

+   Federal safety regulators have doubled the scale of the Takata Corp. airbag inflator recall, already the largest automotive safety recall in U.S. history. More at National Public Radio.  

+   Daimler AG will invest $570 million building a new Mercedes-Benz engine plant in Jawor, Poland, around 70 kilometers west of Wroclaw. More at Automotive Business Review. 

+  Effective immediately, the Red Bull Formula 1 team has replaced driver Daniil Kvyat with Toro Rosso’s 18-year-old Max Verstappen for the rest of the season. More at BBC Sport. 

+   Dutch specialty car maker Donkervoort introduced the D8 GTO-RS, a Lotus 7-type road/track car powered by a 380-hp turbocharged Audi inline five. More at Autoblog.

+   General Motors and its joint ventures sold 277,979 vehicles in China last month, up 7.5 percent on strong demand for SUVs, while Ford sales there slipped 11 percent. More at  the Detroit Free Press. 

+   Tesla Motors reported a loss of $248 million in the first quarter of 2016, while announcing production targets of 90,000 electric vehicles in 2016 and 500,000 in 2018. More at MLive.

+   Troy, MIchigan-based supplier Delphi Automotive posted earnings of $425 million in the first quarter, more than double the same period last year and mainly due to the acquisition of HellermanTyton Group. More at the Chicago Sun-Times. 

+   A 1966 Shelby GT350 that sat in storage untouched for 40 years will be offered at the Bonhams Greenwich 2016 auction on June 5. More at Sports Car Digest. 

+   Two cousins in Lancashire, England were sentenced to prison and fines for rolling back millions of miles on the odometers on hundreds of cars they sold. More at the Lancashire Telegraph.

+   With only minor changes, NASCAR has unveiled the 2017 schedules for its three leading series: Sprint Cup, Xfinity, and Camping World Truck Series. More at USA Today. 

Review the previous Executive Briefing from May 2 here.

Photo courtesy of Bonhams. 

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One thought on “MCG Executive Briefing for May 6, 2016

  1. 1/ I don’t understand how Tesla stays in business. It is reported that they lose $4000 on every car sold. I don’t think there has ever been a quarter that they reported a profit.

    2/ NASCAR announces their 2017 schedule and IndyCar can’t even get this years schedule right.

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