Nutson's Automotive News Recap - Week of May 25-31, 2015

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

Auto Central Chicago IL, May 31, 2015 Every Sunday, along with senior editors Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau I give you our "take" on this past week's automotive news in 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 20 year's 1,901,429 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 Channel 9 in West Palm Beach as well as cable channel's 17 and 438, channel 9 Miami. WHDN launched its full schedule (including The Auto Channel)of digital broadcasting in the Naples-Fort Myers market on PSIP channel 9.1 channel. Enjoy and thanks for the positive feedback....see you next week, LN

Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest-May 25-31, 2015

* Edmunds.com's automotive industry forecasters expect May sales of new cars and trucks to be 1,591,221, a 0.9% decrease from the May of 2014 but a 9.6% increase over April of 2015. They predict a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 17.4 million sales for 2015. That number is closing in on the all-time best sales year in the industry.

* The Justice Department has found criminal wrongdoing by GM in its delayed recall of deadly defective ignition switches. A large financial fine is expected to be levied by summer. Criminal wrongdoing by employees, many of whom were fired by GM, is also being investigated. The official death toll from faulty GM ignition switches is now at 107.

* With numbers all in, Ford revealed its results for 2014 and its plans for near future production. The calendar year saw 6.32 million vehicles built by the company representing a 0.5% decrease from 2013. Including Lincoln the company plans to produce 8 million units by 2019 the end of the current forecast period. Within these numbers is a plan to triple sales of Lincoln cars and crossovers as they invigorate the brand.

* Motorcycle sales are up 8.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. However that may not be all good news. Motorcycles account for 3 percent of vehicles on the road but account for 14 percent of motor-vehicle related fatalities. A key cause is lax helmet laws. Only 19 states have universal helmet laws. Wear yours; don't become an organ donor.

* New Jersey has banned self-service gas stations for nearly 70 years. Since the 1970s, the only other state to do so has been Oregon. But it took the first steps to reverse that in April, when the House of Representatives passed a bill allowing self-service stations. However it didn't go far. The State Senate president and his counterpart in the State Assembly, who are both Democrats, declared that they would never bring either bill to a vote even though no one can explain why they should continue to ban self-pumping of gasoline.

* Last week’s epic Indy 500 race was won by Juan Pablo Montoya driving a Chevy for the Penske team. This is Montoya’s second win at Indy and at 40 he is one of the older drivers in the race. Montoya was seriously behind twice during the race before struggling back to cross the finish line after leading only 5 of the 200 laps. Chevrolet took 8 out of the top 10 positions.

* The Memorial Day weekend trifecta of auto racing in addition to the Indy 500 also gave us the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix which brought another win for Mercedes but this time by driver Nico Rosberg and the NASCAR Coca Cola 600 won by Carl Edwards driving a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

* GM’s VP of product development, Mark Reuss, is a dedicated racing fan who has qualified as a “pool test driver” at the famous and challenging Nuburgring track in Germany. He will pace this weekend’s Quicken Loans Detroit Grand Prix, a dual IndyCar race, in a new Corvette Z06. Reuss grew up in the Detroit area and is the son of former GM president Lloyd Reuss. The Z06, driven by NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon, also paced last weekend’s Indy 500 .

* While at Indy Jeff Gordon said he he will never race again in NASCAR after this season and will take up a TV race commentator role next season.

*Ford is recalling nearly 423,000 cars and SUVs in North America because the power-assisted steering can fail while they're being driven. The recall covers certain Ford Flex and Taurus vehicles, as well as the Lincoln MKS and MKT from the 2011 through 2013 model years. Also covered are the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ from 2011 through 2012 and some 2011 Mercury Milans.

* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is dropping its five-year powertrain warranty from 100,000 miles to 60,000 miles on most vehicles starting with the 2016 model year. Two months ago GM announced the same cut on Chevrolet and GMC vehicles for the 2016 model year. Ford, Toyota and Honda already have a 60,000 mile limit.

* As Concours events grow around the U.S. one of the European shows is gaining prestige every year. The Concourso d’Elganza Villa Este on the banks of Lake Como in northern Italy has become the show of shows across the pond. This year’s winners included a 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider as Best of Show, a 1950 Ferrari 166M Barchetta as People’s Choice and the Bentley Exp 10 Speed Six Coupe as Best Design in the Concept and Prototype class. The popular motorcycle award went to a 1973 BMW Munch-4 TTS-E.

* German collectable cars are leading the substantial increases in the North American classic and collector car auction market according to a report this week from Hagerty Insurance. The Hagerty company is the leading provider of classic and collector car insurance and they produce a “German Collectibles Index” that follows 21 representative models. That index is up 135% over the past two years as the overall growth in the auction market is up an impressive 39% over that same period. Higher prices for these cars are encouraging owners to sell, according to Hagerty’s analysis.

* Rally driver and life-long promotor of Saab automobiles, Erik Carlsson has died at 86. According to AutoWeek, Carlsson won 12 rallies for Swedish manufacturer Saab between 1955 and 1970. Included in those wins were wins in the RAC Rallies in 1960, '61 and '62, and he won the Rally Monte Carlo in back-to-back years, 1962-63. He was nicknamed "Mr. Saab" for his loyalty to the car brand that dated back to his receiving the first factory racing Saab in 1954.