Finding a new home at $1.78 million USD, this 1964 Cobra 289 Competition Roadster was the top seller at the RM Sotheby’s Goodwood Revival auction. Get all the latest automotive news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s Headlines:
+ Dr. Donald Panoz, American pharmaceutical entrepreneur, co-founder of Panoz Cars, and founder of the American Le Mans Series, has passed away at 83. More at Road & Track.
+ Newly minted U.S. Open tennis champion Naomi Osaka, 20, has signed on as a brand ambassador for Nissan in a deal said to be worth millions. More at the Washington Post.
+ Volkswagen announced that production of the Beetle will end for good at the Puebla, Mexico plant in July 2019 with two third-generation Final Edition models. More at Automotive News Europe.
+ Hyundai Australia has created a cabriolet version of the Sante Fe midsize crossover, but the company says there is zero chance that the vehicle will see production. More at Motor Trend.
+ Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is studying a plan to add two more cities to the Dodge brand’s Roadkill drag racing series staged at the Woodward Dream Cruise. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Reports say Porsche could take over management of the Volkswagen Group’s Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Bentley brands as a cost-sharing measure. More at The Drive.
+ A Cleveland man was trapped in his 2006 Cadillac XLR for 14 hours when a dead battery knocked out the locking system and he was unaware of the manual release. More at Autoblog.
+ The RM Sotheby’s Goodwood Revival auction.generated more than $19 million in sales, topped by a Cobra 289 Competition and a 1990 Jaguar XJR-11 Group C. More at Sports Car Digest.
+ General Motors is recalling more than one million 2015 full-size pickups and SUVs that could suffer a momentary loss of electric power steering assist due to a software error. More at USA Today.
+ Team owner Jack Roush has confirmed that driver Trevor Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 winner, will not return to his seat in the no. 6 Ford at Roush Fenway Racing in 2019. More at Motorsport.com.
Review the previous Executive Briefing from September 10 here.
Photo courtesy and copyright RM Sotheby’s.
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If outside the car, open this panel, insert your key to open the trunk, open this other panel, pull the release. How about you just put a key cylinder on the outside of the door? At the very least, unlock the door from behind the first panel.
I have no sympathy for those who don’t read the manual, but at the same time, I don’t see what’s so hard about using a key to open a door and to start the car. All this trickery for the sake of trickery is how those Toyotas killed people who didn’t know how to turn them off when faced with “unintended acceleration”.
And while we’re at it, if you don’t have the strength to crank start your car, maybe you shouldn’t be driving.