Throttle Weekly Issue 40: A $14.6M Ferrari F50, Palou's Fifth Title, and the Nissan-Honda Software Pact
Nissan and Honda's software pact, Ford's two power-loss recalls, Milwaukee's IndyCar milestones, and a $14.6 million Ferrari F50 lead this week's concise car-culture digest.
The week in one pass
Coverage: August 26-September 2, 2026.
Nissan and Honda agreed to build common electronic control units and software for vehicles arriving from fiscal year 2029 onward. Ford opened two separate recalls covering nearly 160,000 vehicles, while Lexus kept its long-running IS sports sedan alive for 2027. At Milwaukee, Alex Palou secured his fifth IndyCar championship and Pato O'Ward won both races in one day. Ryan Preece turned a Daytona victory into his first NASCAR Cup playoff berth. A new SAE guide also explains what remote helpers may do when a robotaxi needs human judgment.
- Industry: Nissan and Honda will share work on electronic control units, an in-vehicle operating system, middleware, and vehicle-control software. Ford's recalls involve Mustang wiring-harness grounds and 2.3-liter EcoBoost pistons. Lexus will build 350 green IS special editions for North America. 123
- Trackside and community: Palou clinched a fourth straight IndyCar title at the Milwaukee Mile, while O'Ward became the first driver since 1981 to win two IndyCar races in one day. Preece won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona and took the final Cup playoff place. 45
- Explainer: SAE's AVSC-07-2026 guide treats a remote robotaxi operator as a trained decision-maker who helps with ambiguous situations from a workstation. 6
- Car culture: Mecum's Monterey sale passed $100 million, with a Ferrari F50 at $14.575 million and a 1972 Datsun 240Z at $93,500. A new film about the Maserati brothers returns to the marque's 1939 and 1940 Indianapolis 500 wins. 78
Industry news
Nissan and Honda find a durable way to work together
Nissan and Honda signed a joint-development agreement on August 31 covering the electronic control units and software behind their next generation of software-defined vehicles. The companies will work on standardized ECUs, an in-vehicle operating system, middleware, and the software that controls vehicle functions. They expect the architecture to reach vehicles from fiscal year 2029. 1
An electronic control unit, or ECU, is a computer that manages a specific vehicle function. Modern vehicles use many ECUs, and the two companies' plan aims to make those computers and their supporting software more common across both brands. Nissan and Honda say shared development should shorten development cycles and reduce investment as Chinese automakers expand into more markets. The companies have released few details about the first production vehicles. 1
Ford's two power-loss recalls have different causes
Ford issued two recalls that together cover 158,664 vehicles from the 2024-2026 model years. The larger recall covers 148,663 Mustangs whose engine-compartment wiring-harness ground eyelets may fracture. Ford says the heat-shrink adhesive can bend the eyelet, and vibration can shorten the life of the connection. A broken ground can cut drive power and can also disable the headlights, washer-fluid pump, air-conditioning system, or engine-cooling fan. 2
Ford's remedy replaces the ground eyelets with a revised design. The affected population covers 2024-2026 Mustangs, and owner notifications were expected during the week of September 1. 2
The second recall covers 10,001 vehicles from the 2026 Bronco, Bronco Sport, Explorer, Ranger, and Mustang lineups. A manufacturing defect can create a crater crack where a nickel-resistant insert meets the aluminum in a 2.3-liter EcoBoost piston. The warning signs can include a check-engine light, a misfire, or unusual engine noise. Ford will inspect affected engines and replace the long block when an inspection finds a cracked piston. Remedy notifications are expected in late December. 2
Lexus keeps the IS around for another year
The Lexus IS returns for 2027 with an appearance package limited to 350 cars in North America. The package uses Envious green paint, black seats with green stitching, black 19-inch BBS wheels, and Lexus's handling package. Rear-drive cars with that package receive a Torsen limited-slip differential. 3
The 2027 IS350 remains the sole IS powertrain after Lexus trimmed the lineup for 2026. It uses a 311-hp 3.5-liter V-6, an eight-speed automatic in rear-drive form, and a six-speed automatic with all-wheel drive. Lexus has not announced pricing for the special edition; the cars should arrive by the start of 2027. 3
Trackside and community
Milwaukee gives IndyCar two milestones in one day
The Milwaukee Mile produced a rare double result on August 30. Pato O'Ward won both the rain-postponed Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 and the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250, making him the first IndyCar driver since Rick Mears in 1981 to win two races in one day. O'Ward finished ahead of David Malukas and Rinus VeeKay in the completed race. 4
Alex Palou finished 10th in the second race, a result that secured his fourth consecutive championship and fifth title in six seasons. Palou joined Sebastien Bourdais as the only drivers with four straight IndyCar championships. He is also the youngest five-time champion in series history. 4
Rain stretched the weekend into a long Sunday. The first race stopped after 91 laps on Saturday, then resumed for the final 159 laps after further showers changed the morning restart into an evening start. The season ends at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca the following weekend. 4
Ryan Preece turns Daytona into a playoff ticket
Ryan Preece won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 29 and earned his first points-paying NASCAR Cup victory. The RFK Racing driver also claimed the final place in the Cup Series postseason. 5
Preece entered the 160-lap regular-season finale 31 points behind Shane van Gisbergen for the cutoff position. A late crash sent the race into overtime. Preece took the lead on the final lap, and NASCAR froze the order after another crash before turn three. He finished 17 points ahead of van Gisbergen, who ended the night 28th. 5
The result carried a personal turn as well. A 2023 crash at Daytona had nearly ended Preece's career, and his first Cup points win came at the same 2.5-mile track. 5
Explainer: who helps a robotaxi when it gets stuck?
A remote-assistance operator is a person who watches deployed autonomous vehicles from a workstation and helps when the vehicle faces an ambiguous choice. The operator may select the correct lane, accept a suggested route, or communicate with people around the vehicle. The onboard autonomous-driving system still handles vehicle control. 6
The SAE International Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium's AVSC-07-2026 guide sets out training recommendations for Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles. Level 4 systems handle the driving task inside a defined operating domain; Level 5 systems are designed to handle driving across all conditions a human driver could manage. The guide asks operators to learn local road rules, dynamic signs, lane markings, the vehicle's sensors, and the way the company's software turns sensor data into a path. 6
Training uses simulators with scenarios that can be invented or replayed from real events. The guide also recommends retraining when the vehicle's features, behavior, or operator interface changes. Companies may require a driver's license and a clean driving record, while the guide allows a broader hiring approach because the operator's work takes place at a computer rather than behind the wheel. 6
The human-factors problem runs in both directions. A difficult incident can overload an operator, while a quiet shift can create cognitive underload and boredom. SAE recommends teaching operators to recognize falling performance and giving them a penalty-free way to request a break. Some companies may also split customer communication and driving decisions between separate roles. 6
Collector corner
Mecum Monterey shows how wide the market has become
Mecum's 2026 Monterey auction passed $100 million in sales, and eight of its ten most expensive lots were European supercars built after 1990. The sale's median price was $66,000, a figure that leaves room for ordinary enthusiast cars alongside the seven- and eight-figure lots. 7
- 1996 Ferrari F50: $14,575,000. Chassis 106690 is one of 349 F50s, finished in Giallo Modena, and carried Ferrari Classiche certification. 7
- 2003 Ferrari Enzo: $12,100,000. The Rosso Corsa car had 589 miles and factory Ferrari Classiche service. 7
- 2005 Porsche Carrera GT: $3,575,000. The red V-10, six-speed manual car had 3,480 miles and was one of a small group of 2026 Carrera GT sales above $3 million. 7
- 2009 Ferrari 430 Scuderia Spider 16M: $1,001,000. Ferrari built 499 examples of the open track-focused special edition. 7
- 1972 Datsun 240Z: $93,500. The unrestored blue-and-white car showed 9,607 miles represented as actual and retained its original four-speed as part of the sale. 7
The human-interest coda
Maserati's racing origin gets the biopic treatment
Maserati: The Brothers follows Alfieri, Bindo, and Carlo Maserati, the brothers behind the Italian marque's early racing identity. The film centers on Maserati's back-to-back Indianapolis 500 wins in 1939 and 1940, when Wilbur Shaw drove the Boyle Special Maserati 8CTF to victory. 8
Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins, and Andy Garcia are part of the cast. Robert Moresco, who won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, directs. Production took place in and around Modena and in Rome, giving the prewar road-racing story locations tied to the marque's home country. 8
This week moved from shared software to a green sports sedan, from two very different power-loss recalls to two hard-earned race milestones. The useful things to carry forward are concrete: check a Ford VIN if a recalled model is in the driveway, watch Laguna Seca for the IndyCar finale, and remember that the person helping a robotaxi may be making a decision rather than driving the car.
References
- 1Nissan and Honda Announce Software and Electronics Partnership
caranddriver.com
- 2Ford Recalls Nearly 160K Cars That Could Lose Drive Power
caranddriver.com
- 32027 Lexus IS Goes Green with New Special Edition
caranddriver.com
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- 8New Maserati Biopic Features an All-Star Cast and Prewar Cars
caranddriver.com
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