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Daily 5

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

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Why Roger Penske generates admiration; Ford CEO Jim Farley is one of his many fans

Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Tuesday, Jan. 21.

There are few executives in the U.S. auto industry who command the kind of respect reserved for Roger Penske from so many sectors. He's been an iconic leader in the retail, manufacturing, logistics and racing worlds for decades. It's hard to find a corner of the auto industry not somehow influenced by him.

On Thursday, Penske, 87, will keynote our Automotive News Best Practices event at the NADA Show in New Orleans. We will also be honoring Penske with a new Automotive News award as we celebrate our 100th anniversary. The Centennial Award recognizes extraordinary individuals and families whose vision, innovation and leadership have made a lasting impact on the automotive industry.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, in this story by Gail Kachadourian Howe, illustrates the kind of admiration industry leaders express for Penske. Farley said he has been a fan of Penske's business and leadership style throughout his career. That includes Penske's approach to crisis management and his laser-sharp attention to detail, something Farley has adopted, Howe's story says.

"As a leader, as a CEO, now, there are many times where I do have to actually know a detail that the team goes 'Why would Farley care about that?' " Farley told Automotive News. "But actually, because sometimes details matter more than anything."

Howe's story is loaded with some great anecdotes. "He is obsessed with perfection in every part of the dealership, and he does it through the consumer's lens or the technician's lens," Farley said.

Meanwhile, among the events scheduled at the NADA Show this week is the 2025 Time Dealer of the Year award, which was given to Rita Case last year. Here's a list of the 49 nominees for this year's award. We're also keeping an eye on the bizarre winter blast that hit New Orleans today.

In case you missed it earlier today, we learned that Hal Sperlich — an engineer turned product development ace who helped create the Ford Mustang in the 1960s and the Chrysler minivan in the 1980s — died Monday at age 95. Richard Truett's obituary tells us why Sperlich's legacy remains relevant.

Finally, one of the many newsworthy industry leaders who have been meeting with newly inaugurated President Donald Trump was Stellantis Chairman John Elkann, who spent four days in Washington and held two meetings with him, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Elkann, who is leading the Chrysler and Jeep parent company while it looks for a new CEO, was invited to the inauguration ceremony, but missed it because he flew back to Italy after his meetings to welcome seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton as the new Ferrari Formula One driver.

Looking ahead, Automotive News is planning all-encompassing coverage of the NADA Show this week. Don't miss it.

That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day!

If you want to view this story in your browser, click here.

— Philip Nussel, online editor

Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley talks Roger Penske

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley talks about Roger Penske's business and leadership style.

READ MORE >

49 nominated as Time Dealer of the Year

There are 49 nominees for the 2025 Time Dealer of the Year, which will be announced Jan. 25 at the NADA Show.

A snowstorm hit New Orleans on Jan. 21, snarling travel to the NADA Show for many, as flights were canceled into the New Orleans airport.

READ MORE >

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When it comes to stocking the best-selling vehicles for your market, leave the manual research and timely calculations in the past. There's a better – and faster – way to bring clarity to your inventory with Avery from AutoVision.

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Hal Sperlich, chief architect of Ford Mustang, Chrysler minivan, dies at 95

Hal Sperlich, an engineer turned product development ace who used a simple template to create the Ford Mustang in the 1960s and the Chrysler minivan in the 1980s, died Jan. 20 at age 95.

The automaker imports around 40 percent of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. from Mexico and Canada, analysts said. President Trump could impose a 25 percent duty on imports from the two countries.

READ MORE >

Have some news to share? Want to offer your opinion? Please send your feedback to Philip Nussel at pnussel@crain.com

Market close

Winners and losers
Here are the top 5 winners and losers among 65 automotive companies followed by Automotive News on U.S. stock exchanges today.

Top 5 winners

	Yesterday's close	Today's close	Percent change
Aurora Innovation	$6.80	$7.26	6.76%
General Motors	$50.97	$53.89	5.73%
Dana Inc.	$12.92	$13.62	5.42%
Asbury Automotive Group	$244.78	$256.92	4.96%
Mobileye Inc.	$16.02	$16.67	4.06%

Top 5 losers

	Yesterday's close	Today's close	Percent change
Canoo	$1.35	$0.37	-72.59%
Mullen Automotive Inc.	$0.48	$0.43	-10.94%
Lucid	$3.07	$2.86	-6.84%
Rivian	$14.21	$13.29	-6.47%
Blink Charging Co.	$1.47	$1.39	-5.44%

Quotes from 4 p.m. Jan. 21

Automakers
Here are today's stock trading results from 10 vehicle assembly companies trading on U.S. stock exchanges.

Automakers

	Yesterday's close	Today's close	Percent change
Ford Motor Co.	$10.18	$10.43	2.46%
General Motors	$50.97	$53.89	5.73%
Honda	$28.24	$28.70	1.63%
Lucid	$3.07	$2.86	-6.84%
Polestar	$1.09	$1.10	0.92%
Rivian	$14.21	$13.29	-6.47%
Stellantis	$12.88	$13.22	2.64%
Tesla	$426.50	$424.07	-0.57%
Toyota Motor	$180.78	$186.93	3.40%
VinFast Auto Ltd.	$4.12	$4.08	-0.97%

Quotes from 4 p.m. Jan. 21

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