Welcome to the first Daily 5 report of 2025.
Jimmy Carter served only one term as president nearly 50 years ago, but his long-term influence on the automotive industry arguably outweighed that of any president since then.
Carter died Dec. 29 at age 100 — the longest living former president in U.S. history. The nation will be mourning his loss and honoring his accomplishments in the coming days. His impact on the U.S. auto industry was profound, as detailed in this comprehensive obituary by David Phillips.
Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama presided over the bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler during the Great Recession, but it was Carter who set the precedent of government help for automakers with $1.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for Chrysler in 1980. Chrysler repaid the debt several years early, in 1983, and the government realized a $350 million profit. Of course, nobody imagined then that another bailout of Chrysler would be needed 30 years later.
"Of all the things we accomplished in my administration, I look back on this as something we really did right," Carter told Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca after leaving office, according to Iacocca's 1984 biography.
Carter's term also ushered in new government oversight of automotive emissions, fuel economy and safety — regulations that continue to dictate how cars are manufactured to this day.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk and Tesla have dominated headlines during the past few days. Tesla's first annual global sales decline is pushing the company's shares down on Wall Street today. And in Las Vegas, investigators continue to look for a link between the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck and a terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed 15 people. We also published an analysis from Reuters that raises questions about what the Trump administration will do with at least 20 pending government investigations and regulatory actions on Tesla and Musk's other interests.
Finally, in case you missed it today, Automotive News Executive Editor Jamie Butters gave an early look at what our news organization is doing this year to celebrate our 100th anniversary. Stay tuned for much more to come.
That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day.
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— Philip Nussel, online editor
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