Among the star attractions at the 2014 Paris Motor Show is the athletic Volkswagen XL Sport Concept, which sports an intriguing powerplant: a 197 hp Ducati V-twin. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.    

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+   Billionaire investor Warren Buffett will purchase the Van Tuyl Group, America’s largest privately-held car dealership chain, and form Berkshire Hathaway Automotive. More at CNBC. 

+   General Motors plans to reduce its number of global vehicle platforms from 26 to just four by 2025, CEO Mary Barra told investor analysts. More at Reuters.

 +   Sources say Ford Motor Co. is seriously exploring a return to the 24 Hours of LeMans in 2016 with a reborn Ford GT program. More at Racer. 

+   Ray Lambrecht, the Nebraska Chevrolet dealer whose auction hoard of over 500 vintage cars became an internet sensation, is dead at 96. More at The New York Times. 

+   New car sales soared 19 percent for Chrysler and General Motors in September, but slipped 3 percent at Ford, with total volume topping 1.25 million units. More at the Detroit Free Press.

+   Ford plans to add 1,000 hourly jobs at its Oakville, Ontario plant 20 miles west of Toronto, fast-tracking production of the 2015 global Ford Edge. More at Automotive Business Review. 

+   Over a dozen new production vehicles and concepts have been unveiled in the initial hours of the 2014 Paris Motor Show. Complete event coverage at Autoblog. 

+   Honda has released an image of the turbo V6 engine and energy recovery system to be used by the McLaren Formula One team in 2015. More at ESPN.  

For the previous Executive Briefing from September 29, click here.

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