Featured classes for next August’s 2015 Monterey Motorsports Reunion will include a category for 1967 through 1984 Formula One racers—like the stunning and revolutionary Lotus-Ford 49 shown here. Get all the latest car industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Two Swiss Ferrari enthusiasts are suing Facebook and the automaker over what they allege is the illegal seizure of their Ferrari fan pages. More at Courthouse News Service.
+ William P. Millikin, the top lawyer at General Motors and a key figure in the company’s ignition switch controversy, has announced his retirement. More at The New York Times.
+ Auto parts maker Sanluis Corp. has scored the greatest share price increase of any publicly traded company in Mexico in 2014, up 377 percent. More at Bloomberg.com.
+ Raymond Beadle, who won three straight NHRA titles as the owner/driver of the Blue Max funny cars, and won the NASCAR Winston Cup title in 1989 as a team owner with driver Rusty Wallace, has passed away at age 70. More at National Speed Sport News.
+ The Center for Auto Safety charged that Honda Motor Co. has been underreporting injuries and fatalities caused by air bag defects. More at The Detroit News.
+ Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is talking to Las Vegas officials about a possible street race in the city, where the series last raced in 1982. More at the UK Independent.
+ Crash avoidance systems will grow from a $3.4 billion business to $9.9 billion by 2020, according to Detroit-based automotive analysts IHS Automotive. More at Motor Trend.
+ Dodge’s recent relaunch of its Scat Pack performance marketing theme has revived a decades-long legal dispute over the name with Scat Enterprises, the California speed equipment maker. More at Allpar.
+ Featured classes at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion in August 2015 will include 1967-84 Formula One, 1968-76 F5000, and 1966-72 Trans-Am cars. More at Sports Car Digest.
+ At Talladega Sunday, four drivers were eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and now eight remain: Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, and race winner Brad Keselowski. More at Sporting News.
For the previous Executive Briefing from October 17, click here.
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Shameful that the NHTSA didn’t notice Honda’s extremely low numbers before this. Makes me wonder how effective their studies are for all the extra equipment they’re forcing on me like backup cameras and proximity radar.
I’ve read other reports of car makers commandeering fan sites and homages but most involve Ferrari. They are especially protective of their trademark stallion. They have a right to protect their image but many of these incidents show a distinct lack of tact and respect.