Dodge is reportedly rushing the gasoline-powered Dodge Charger Sixpack into production for mid-2025. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is planning to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for EV purchases as part of broader tax-reform legislation, insiders say. More at Yahoo! News.
+ Ford will pay $165 million, the second-largest civil penalty in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration history, for failing to comply with federal recall requirements. More at The Detroit News.
+ In a major shakeup at automaking giant Geely of China, the Zeekr premium EV division will take control of its sibling brand Lynk & Co. to improve efficiency and cut costs. More at MSN.
+ Penske Entertainment, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series, has purchased the Long Beach Grand Prix from longtime owner Gerald Forsythe. More at the Long Beach Post.
+ The operators of a diesel truck tuning business at one point called DPF Delete Shop, Inc. were indicted for smuggling $33 million in illegal emissions defeat devices into the USA. More at The Drive.
+ The 2025 Acura ADX, the brand’s smallest luxury crossover to date, was introduced with a 1.5-liter turbocharged VTEC inline four and a continuously-variable transmission. More at Autoblog.
+ Rivian Automotive and Volkswagen Group jointly announced that their joint venture has scaled up to $5.8 billion, with VW’s EVs slated to use Rivian hardware by 2027. More at at CNBC.
+ Dodge is reportedly pushing up the launch of the gasoline-powered Charger Sixpack from late 2025 to mid-year, fearing that buyers will be slow to warm up to the EV version. More at Car and Driver.
+ Tesla has issued a recall on 2,431 Cybertrucks to replace a potentially defective drive inverter that could cause a loss of power to the wheels, the sixth Cybertruck recall to date. More at CBT News.
+ Acura Meyer Shank Racing announced that IndyCar standouts Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, and Felix Rosenqvist will join the GTP team’s driver lineup for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. More at Racer.
Photo courtesy of Stellantis.
Review the previous MCG Executive Briefing from November 11 here.
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NHTSA is a leaderless floundering agency with no administrator, no chief council and no office director at ODI (defects investigation). Sadly, highway safety doesn’t seem to be much of a priority to the current secretary of transportation in charge of USDOT. There are still good people dedicated to the mission at ODI doing what they can with what little resources available…
FoMoCo should know better. All of the lessons learned from the Ford/Firestone Wilderness AT unzipping fiasco and the TREAD Act have apparently been forgotten…