Nutson's Auto News Nuggets: "Don't-Miss" Auto News W/O September 15-21, 2014

By
Larry Nutson
Senior Editor and Bureau Chief
Chicago Bureau
The Auto Channel

Auto Central Louisville, KY September 21, 2014; Every Sunday, along with Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau give you our "take" on this past week's automotive news as easy to digest nuggets.

If you are a car nut like we all are here at The Auto Channel, you can easily wish to "catch up" on these stories as well as the past 19 year's 1,740,555 automotive news, automotive stories, articles, reviews, archived news, video, audio, rants and raves just search The Auto Channel's Automotive News Archive.

Hey Boston TV viewers, you can now enjoy The Auto Channel TV Network "Free and Clear" on WHDT Channel 3 in Boston and on your local cable systems, along with South Florida auto fans who can continue to watch The Auto Channel TV Network on WHDT-TV Chanel 9 in West Palm Beach as well as cable channel's 17 and 438, channel 9 Miami and channel 32 Fort Meyers-Naples, enjoy and thanks for the positive feedback....See you next week, LN

Nutson's Automotive News Factoids - Week of September 15-21, 2014.

* Penton's WardsAuto released the second annual WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index: State of the Industry report. This report examines average fuel economy of new light vehicles (LVs) sold in the U.S. as measured by the WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index (FEI), in comparison with prior periods back to Q4 2007, the Index Base Period (IBP). The report finds that the average fuel economy of new light vehicles rose to a record high of 24.7 MPG in 2013, reflecting continued consumer interest in fuel efficient vehicles across segments, as well as the increasing availability of more efficient vehicles.

* Our friends at the Detroit Bureau report that barely a week after Apple staged a major news conference in Silicon Valley to unveil its latest iPhone, as well as the Apple Watch, British regulators were already taking action, declaring that use of the wearable technology while behind the wheel would be subject to a 100-pound, or roughly US$163, fine, as well as three points on a driving record.

* GM "switchgate" continues to be in the news. The death toll from General Motors’ faulty ignition switch is rising. GM had said there were 13 deaths. Now the number is up to 19 and there are more than 100 death claims still under review by Kenneth Feinberg.

* And on this same subject, the NHTSA got a lot of heat from a Congressional committee for failing to uncover the GM switch problem. “NHTSA was actively trying to find the ball,” NHTSA deputy administrator David Friedman said, while “GM was actively trying to hide the ball.”

* Cadillac announced this week plans to launch an all-new, full-size, flag ship sedan in the fourth quarter of 2015 to be built in the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. They have already begun rigging the plant for production. The new car, yet unnamed, will be on a unique rear-wheel drive platform and expected to take design queues from the dramatic Elmiraj concept car Cadillac has paraded around the show circuit for the past year.

* As we had previously mentioned, we saw our first 3D printed car this week made by Local Motors that took 44 hours to print and assemble. The car is called Strati and was actually built at the recent International Manufacturing Technology Show at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Local Motors is an open-source design company in Chandler, Arizona and the car design was “crowd-sourced.” They expect the Stati to be sold to the public in 2015 for between $18,000 and $30,000.

* Automotive News reports Fiat will source a new mid-size pickup from Mitsubishi for the European and South American markets based on Mitsu’s next generation L200 model. Will we see it in the US? Probably not.

* A sporty design update of the new Volvo XC90 SUV was revealed in Sweden recently that adds a variety of trim and performance enhancements to the brand’s new flagship vehicle. The new version is called R-Design and includes upgraded leather heavily bolstered sport seats, aluminum pedals, tread plates, remote keyless control, lots of exterior additions like spoilers, special finishes, dual tailpipe surrounds and integrated roof racks. All XC90s are powered by a high-performance 2.0-liter, four-cylender that is both turbo charged and supercharged.

* Toyota offered a tease this week of the new C-HR concept they will present at the upcoming Paris Auto Show. While providing few specifics it is expected to preview a new model for the European market that is likely to be a hybrid and sized below the RAV4. We could not discern much from the shaded image but Toyota says it will showcase a “powerful” new design language.

* New laws governing autonomous driving went into effect in California earlier this week and first in line to get licenses under the new law were Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Much of the research on autonomous vehicles is being done in California and this is the first formal permitting process there or anywhere else. Audi has its Electronics Research Lab there and they recently sent an autonomous vehicle up Pikes Peak making the 12.42-mile drive in a quick 27 minutes.

* Eva Håkansson and her husband Bill Dubé, both engineers, have been building their KillaJoule streamlined sidecar motorcycle for five years in their Colorado backyard. Its powered by a brace of A123 Systems' lithium-ion batteries and electric motors generating some 400 hp and 800 ft.-lbs. of torque. Last month, at the Bonneville Speed Week, Håkansson ran a two-way average of 240.726 mph over the six-mile course. That speed bested the previous record for a sidecar motorcycle by 25 mph — a huge jump by land-speed standards. The record made Håkansson the fastest woman on a motorcycle of any kind. its the first time an electric vehicle had beaten an internal-combustion speed record since 1899.

* Formula E, the world's first fully electric motor sports series featuring battery-powered open-wheel race cars had its first race in Beijing. With a 10-stop international circuit, this race series is approved by FIA.The Beijing ePrix ran for 25 laps and was won by Lucas di Grassi of the Audi Sport ABT team. Team owners include Sir Richard Branson, Alain Prost and Leonardo DiCaprio. The electric car's motor emits an 80-decibel whir, about the sound of a garbage disposal. The cars have enough battery power for 25 to 30 laps, so a mid-race pit stop involves a change to a completely new car to finish the race.

* A grand jury will decide whether NASCAR driver Tony Stewart will be charged in the August death of Kevin Ward Jr., a fellow driver at a sprint car race in upstate New York, a prosecutor said. Legal experts are not surprised that the prosecutor did not want to make a decision on his own and in sending this high-profile case to the grand jury for a final decision.

* Porsche has a pop-up store, a form of marketing that are temporary displays in areas where rent and pedestrian incomes are high, in NYC. The Sound of Porsche is a modern day music store that enables individuals to experience Porsche through telling video. The Sound of Porsche will be open to the public Sept. 16 through Oct. 5.

* The Detroit News in a recent story on how new technology will affect the car industry stated that a recent report from investment bank Morgan Stanley calculated that cars are only used for about four percent of their lives. And a recent survey showed that one in six people would be willing to give up ownership, if they have access to shared cars. We'll see.

* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will recall about 25,500 of its 2014-15 Fiat 500L models because a knee air bag designed to protect the driver’s legs in a frontal impact may malfunction.