Jaguar Land Rover has announced a continuation series of the famed 1957 XKSS sports car, with production limited to nine units and a price in the neighborhood of $1.41 million. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ In August of 2009, after ruptured airbag inflators were linked to least four injuries and a death, Honda privately requested a design change from Takata and did not notify U.S. regulators, the automaker confirmed. More at Reuters.
+ Aided by record U.S. auto sales and production increases, United Auto Workers membership rose by nearly 5,200 last year to 408,639 workers, the sixth straight annual increase. More at The Detroit News.
+ After failing to meet a U.S. court-mandated March 24 deadline to produce a fix for 580,000 diesel vehicles that circumvented emissions regulations, Volkswagen has been granted an extension to April 21. More at Deutsche Welle.
+ NASCAR has fined drivers Kyle Busch $10,0000 and Danica Patrick $20,000 and placed both on probation for behavior violations last week at Auto Club Speedway in California. More at Fox Sports.
+ At the New York International Auto Show, Nissan unveiled its refreshed 2017 GT-R amid a display of historic Skyline GT-R models from 1969 to present. More at Autoblog.
+ Also at the New York show, Lincoln unveiled an outlandish Navigator concept SUV with giant gullwing doors not intended for eventual production. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ The 2016 Kia Optima has have earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick+ award, an honor it shares with its corporate platform mate, the Hyundai Sonata. More at Motor Trend.
+ Honda will invest $52 million in its Greensburg, Indiana plant for CR-V and Civic production, potentially adding 100 more jobs. More at Automotive Business Review.
+ Jaguar Land Rover will produce a continuation series of nine XKSS sports cars via its Jaguar Classic Experimental Shop in Warwick, England. More at Hemmings Daily.
+ Mark Miles, CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s parent firm, Hulman & Company, has pledged there will be 33 cars in this year’s Indy 500 and that the track could sell out for the first time in 20 years. More at Racer.
Read the previous Executive Briefing from March 21 here.
Photo courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover.