This 1969 Mercury Cougar with 428 Cobra Jet power and a James Bond film history will be offered at the Bonhams Bond Street sale. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s Headlines:
+ The Toyota Prius, Lexus NX, Buick Encore, Lexus GX, and Honda HR-V topped the rankings in the 2021 edition of the Consumer Reports 10 Most Reliable Cars. More at USA Today.
+ Ford Motor Co. is launching a new digital platform for used-vehicle sales, allowing the automaker’s 3,100 dealers to offer their inventory in a single online marketplace. More at The Detroit News.
+ Spy photographers have captured images of a heavily camouflaged Toyota Tundra prototype that suggest a radical redesign for the next generation of the pickup, now due in 2022. More at Autoblog.
+ Sports Business Journal reports that McDonald’s is likely to return to NASCAR at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021 and may also sponsor Bubba Wallace at 23XI Racing. More at Jayski.
+ Declared to be essential workers, employees at the Tesla plant in Fremont, California have been exempted from the state’s Covid-19 “limited stay-at-home” order. More at NBC.com.
+ Tougher environmental standards limiting the amount of copper in brake lining materials to .5 percent are presenting a special challenge to brake manufacturers. More at The Drive.
+ Under a Daimler and Geely Holding plan, China could emerge as a manufacturing hub for hybrid powertrains jointly developed for Volvo and Mercedes-Benz cars. More at Reuters.
+ The 2021 refreshening of the Lincoln Nautilus SUV features a significantly upgraded interior with higher quality materials and a larger 13.2-inch infotainment screen. More at Car and Driver.
+ A 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 convertible driven by Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service will be offered for at the Bonhams Bond Street sale on Dec. 16. More at Sports Car Digest.
+ Meyer-Shank Racing confirmed that three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves will join the team for six IndyCar events in 2021, including Long Beach and the Indy 500. More at Motorsport.com.
Photo courtesy of Bonhams.
Review the previous Executive Briefing from November 20 here.
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Great to see GM up there with Toyota and Honda.
Building Teslas is an essential service?? I dont think so.
As for brake pads,, the current ones simply go away and crumble. As do some clutches as well. Maybe we can go full circle and go back to wooden brake blocks. They sort of were ok a hundred years ago.
And things like carbon pads are very dangerous. They will get you far worse than any asbestos.