One of the most fabulous Duesenbergs ever built, the 1935 Bowman & Schwartz Town Car originally owned by candy heiress Ethel Mars goes on the auction block in Fort Worth May 2. Get all the latest car biz news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ General Motors will invest $200 million at its Orion Assembly Plant and the Pontiac Metal Center, both in Southeast Michigan, to prepare for a future product. More at The Detroit News.
+ Three minivans—Toyota Sienna, Nissan Quest, Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan—earned poor ratings in the small front overlap collision test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. More at The Detroit Bureau.
+ Denny Darnell, beloved motorsports media manager whose top clients included NHRA, R.J. Reynolds, Nextel, and Dodge, has passed away. More at Motorsport.com.
+ At the Los Angeles Auto Show, the BMW i3 all-electric sedan won Green Journal’s Green Car of the Year award at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. More at MLive.
+ Volkswagen AG has pledged to invest $106 billion over the next five years in international expansion and new models and technology. More at Reuters.
+ Audio and infotainment manufacturer Harman International will move its headquarters to Novi, Michigan and create an additional 250 jobs. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ After seven months, Ferrari has removed Formula One team principal Marco Mattiacci, replacing him with Maurizio Arrivabene, communications VP at Phillip Morris. More at BBC Sport.
+ RM Auctions will offer 75 cars from the Paul and Chris Andrews collection in a single-vendor sale on May 2, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas. More at Sports Car Digest.
+ With a comfortable victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Briton Lewis Hamilton sealed his second Formula One driver’s world championship. More at BBC Sport.
+ Volvo AB and Volkswagen AG’s MAN SE are among the truckmakers European Union regulators suspect of conspiring to fix prices in the first case opened by new Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. More at Bloomberg.com.
For the previous Executive Briefing from November 21, click here.
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