Auto Industry News: Mecum Makes History (Again), Senate Committee Boosts EV Credits, Biden Looks Abroad, and GM Reaches for the Moon

Mecum Indy results are officially in and whoa, baby – things are looking good for the collector car market! U.S. Senators are looking to bump up those tax incentives to get more EVs in driveways across the country. However, President Biden’s recent move to look abroad for EV metal extraction could sour American consumers. Plus, GM reaches for the moon – literally!

Mecum Makes History

The annual Mecum Auction held in Indy is always a one-of-a-kind showcase for the collector car market. Rare, beautiful, and jaw-dropping rides are par for the course. The palpable excitement of the consignors, bidders, and spectators is really just icing on the cake.

Even with COVID precautions in place, auction organizers managed to put on an absolute show-stopper of an event. Of the 2,057 cars offered throughout the nine auction days, 1,715 hammered for an impressive sell-through rate of 83%. Total sales for the auction rang in at an astounding $107.8 million!

For reference, last year’s Indy auction was also deemed a Mecum record-breaker. The 2020 event, which was delayed until July and held with strict safety protocols, brought in a whopping $74M in total sales. According to John Kraman, Director of Company Relations and Lead TV Commentator/Analyst for Mecum Auctions, show organizers are still trying to wrap their heads around the $33.8M bump in success from last year to this year.

“In our 34th year, we absolutely devastated the record,” he says. “We’re all still in shock over what we witnessed – the energy that was there, the quality of the inventory, the participation of the bidders. To manage that and put all that together – just to be a part of it – was a thrill I will probably never forget. Unless we top it in the future!”

Stay tuned on the Engine Block for an upcoming one-on-one with John Kraman. The man who commentates all your favorite Mecum auctions on NBC Sports helps us break down collector car trends for the road ahead. You won’t want to miss it!

One particular star of the show was Parnelli Jones’ 1969 Ford Bronco racer.

Dubbed ‘Big Oly,’ the world’s most famous Bronco drew a hammer price of $1.87M – setting the record price for trucks in the process. (The previous record-holder was a Mercedes G63 AMG 6×6. It sold for $1.21M at the 2019 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction.)

Faster, stronger, and lighter than a traditional Bronco, ‘Big Oly’ features a tube frame and body made of fiberglass and aluminum. The rig’s construction completely changed the way future off-road racers approached vehicle design. (It’s noteworthy victories in the 1971 Baja 1000, 1972 Baja 1000, 1973 Baja 500, and 1973 Mint 400 helped cement its respect among fellow off-roaders.)

The next live event on the Mecum calendar is the auction house’s debut in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this June 11-12. The auction will feature 600 classic and collector cars, led by the vehicles of the Elkin Brothers Collection.

Senate Panel Wants to Raise EV Tax Credit up to $12,500

Itching to get your hands on an upcoming EV like the BMW i4, Cadillac Lyriq SUV, or recently announced Ford Lightning F-150? Well, buckle up, because those tax incentives could get a little sweeter…

Last week, the Senate Finance Committee advanced a new piece of legislation called the Clean Energy for America Act. The act includes a bill by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) which aims to increase federal EV tax credits by adding as much as $5000 to the existing $7500 maximum value.

But, as Car & Driver explains, it’s not just a straightforward boost:

“The legislation, if passed into law, would keep the $7500 level in place but would then add $2500 if the EV was assembled in the U.S. and another $2500 if it was made at plants represented by a labor union. The bill also sets a maximum MSRP for qualifying EVs at $80,000. The current EV tax credit has no price limits.”

Currently, GM and Tesla have more to gain from this bill than other automakers. As the only two manufacturers to reach the existing cap of 200,000 total EVs sold, neither one can capitalize on tax credits right now. The new legislation removes that cap. Instead, the credit would phase-out over three years, once 50% of U.S. passenger vehicle sales were EVs, explains Reuters.

“The EV incentives are estimated to cost $31.6 billion through 2031, according to a congressional estimate,” the publication continues. “The bill must still be approved by the full Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.”

Tough Sell?

As yet, Senator Stabenow has not found a Republican colleague to co-sponsor the bill, and it has faced “significant opposition” from Senate Republicans, notes Automotive News. They argue the tax breaks are too costly and question why the government should subsidize vehicles that consumers are clearly already willing to buy. For example, the new electric F-150 will start at less than $40k for a base model. The vehicle already racked up 70,000 reservations.

According to Stabenow, increasing tax incentives will help the working class. “We’re talking about working folks that want a pickup truck, that are very excited about the idea that they’re going to be able to get better mileage, they’re going to save money, they’re going to have the opportunity to buy something that is cleaner and electric,” she said during the committee meeting. “We want people, if they’re buying a large vehicle, for it to be electric.”

Biden Looks Abroad for EV Metals

Speaking of EVs and politicians… According to a Reuters exclusive, President Biden is looking to foreign allies to supply EV metals rather than opening up new mines here on home soil. The plans, while appeasing environmentalists, would be a blow to U.S. miners. Labor groups had hoped the Biden administration would turn to domestic mining, “as his campaign had signaled last autumn, to help fulfill his ambitions for a less carbon-intensive economy,” notes Reuters.

Simply put: you cannot have green energy without mining. The Detroit Bureau rightly calls it a “political football,” with the President damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.

While the critical metals needed for EV manufacturing – like cobalt and lithium – shorten in supply as EV sales blossom, those countries who do produce enough material to keep up with the ever-growing U.S. demand for new batteries are not exactly on America’s “BFF” list. (Think: China)

That puts the administration in a tricky situation. One that it hopes to wiggle out of by finding a delicate middle ground.

Currently, the President is looking to lean on solid allies like Canada, Australia, and Brazil for mining support to avoid compromising much of the recent environmental protection rules his administration has passed. To entice labor unions, he is highlighting the creation of domestic jobs to process those minerals into EV battery parts.

“It’s not that hard to dig a hole,” one of the White House sources told Reuters matter-of-factly. “What’s hard is getting that stuff out and getting it to processing facilities. That’s what the U.S. government is focused on.”

The National Mining Association feels American miners are up to the task. The industry trade organization is lobbying for government support, claiming domestic mines improve national security and create good-paying American jobs. They insist that “federal lands can still be protected while the U.S. boosts output of minerals needed to accelerate the EV transition,” writes Reuters.

Environmentalists argue that mining companies barely abide by existing environmental standards. Opening up federal lands for digging could destroy irreplaceable wildlife and plants, not to mention sacred Native American sites.

The issue is a controversial tightrope to say the least. We’ll be following the issue closely and updating as news progresses.

GM Reaching for the Moon… Literally

Now for something fun! Speaking of EVs, the future, and the earth — let’s showcase a partnership that could take electric vehicles into interstellar territory.

Last week, GM and aerospace company, Lockheed Martin, revealed plans to create an autonomous lunar buggy for future astronauts to scoot around the rocky, dusty surface of the moon. A joint press release on the subject said the vehicle will use the automaker’s autonomous driving technology and is “being designed to traverse significantly farther distances” than Apollo-era buggies. (GM also produced the lunar rover for the Apollo 15 mission to the moon in the summer of 1971.)

According to Jeff Ryder, GM’s VP of growth and strategy, the rover is still in the early stages of development, so the details of its size, weight, and range are all still up in the air. Lockheed’s lunar exploration vice president Kirk Shireman hinted that the vehicle will be “made of very lightweight, strong and resilient materials.” (Yea, we know that’s not a whole lot to go on.)

The Detroit Bureau reports that GM is not the only automaker with lunar plans. Click here to see what Hyundai, Toyota, and Audi are cooking up.

NASA’s Apollo program famously put the first men on the moon in the 1960s and ‘70s. This new NASA moon-exploration program – named “Artemis” (for Apollo’s sister) – aims to put the first woman on the moon by 2024. Launched in 2017 under the previous administration, the program garnered support in the 2022 fiscal budget under the current White House as well. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the target date may be ambitious, but securing funding will keep the agency on track.

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