Nutson's Nuggets: Last Week's (November 28-December 3, 2011) Automotive

Auto Central Louisville KY, December 4, 2011; Each week Larry Nutson, The Auto Channel's Chicago Bureau Chief, along with Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Detroit Bureau give you the past week's automotive news highlights you may have missed. If you are a car nut like we all are here you can easily "catch up" on not only this past weeks automotive news but the past 16 years 876,342 automotive stories, articles, reviews, rants and raves by just searching for the subject you are interested in The Auto Channel's Automotive News Archive...get smart, have fun see ya next week LN.

* The Tokyo Motor Show press intros took place mid-week. The D-3 companies and many non-U.S. brands aren't participating. But, VW surprised all (read:no industry analyst knew this was coming) with an SUV concept dubbed the Cross Coupe; a blending between a 4-door coupe and an SUV. Honda is exhibiting its EV-STER, next-generation small sports concept. Mazda debuted the Takeri Concept, judged by some to be the best looking car in the show and is essentially the new Mazda6.

* Having just introduced the sexy new Toyota sports car called…for some weird reason…"86" in Japan at the Tokyo show, Toyota then immediately announced we'll get it here in the U.S. as a Scion FR-S 2+2. Jointly developed with Subaru, it gets a 2.0-liter boxer engine that makes 200 horsepower and only weighs 2,600 pounds. Subaru, of course, has a version as well. Their's is called BRZ. The front engine, rear-wheel drive sports car has a classic sports car layout, balance and profile. We can't wait to get our hands on any one of them.

* Subaru took advantage of their home show to introduce the newest "ultimate" WRX, one of the fastest stock rally racers ever. Problem is, we won't get any of the 300 they'll make here in the U.S. We will, however soon be seeing the newest Imprezas, 4-door and Sport (hatchback), with two new engines - a 2.0-liter and 1.6-liter, boxers both. Both will come with CVTs.

* A potential railroad strike that threatened to disrupt auto manufacturing was averted. A group of railroad unions were planning to strike next week if a contract agreement had not been reached. It would not have taken long for assembly plants to run out of parts and places to put finished cars, the majority of which are shipped by rail. The Federal government intervened.

* Toyota is beginning to take orders for the new plug-in hybrid Prius PHV. Though it's coming in at a higher price than they originally predicted government incentives bring the price to consumers down considerably.

* The storied name of Maybach (pronounced my-bock) is going away again. Daimler-Benz brought back the name for their entry in the ultra-luxury car market to compete with Rolls-Royce and Bentley in 2002, but it never really caught on. Daimler CEO, Dieter Zetsche, announced last week that they are throwing in the towel. Maybachs lowest priced car, the Zeppelin, started about $375,000. The thinking is that the S-class Benz might just be able to better compete.

* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is opening a formal safety investigation into General Motors Co.'s extended-range electric Chevrolet Volt after additional tests sparked a second fire and raised more questions about the safety of the vehicle's lithium-ion battery packs. "The agency is concerned that damage to the Volt's batteries as part of three tests that are explicitly designed to replicate real-world crash scenarios have resulted in fire," NHTSA said in a statement. GM said it would offer free loaner vehicles to Volt owners to "provide peace of mind". BTW, General Motors Co. acknowledged (finally) that it will not meet its sales goal of 10,000 Chevrolet Volts sales in 2011.

* Motor Trend's 2012 SUV of the Year is the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.

* Jim Rathmann, winner of both the 1960 Indianapolis 500 and the international 500-mile "Race of Two Worlds" in 1958 at Monza, Italy, died Wednesday, Nov. 23. Rathmann passed away in a hospice in Melbourne, Fla., nine days after suffering a seizure at his home. He was 83.Rathmann, who was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, already was a three-time runner-up in the "500" (1952, 1957 and 1959) when he scored his greatest victory in 1960.

* Margie Petersen, lifelong philanthropist, wife of the late publishing magnate Robert E. Petersen and co-founding benefactor of Southern California’s Petersen Automotive Museum, passed away peacefully at her home in Beverly Hills, Calif. on the evening of Nov. 25, 2011. She also oversaw a restaurant business and a gallery they owned as well as being involved in a variety of children's hospitals and other charities. Her passing was due to a long and valiant battle with breast cancer. She was 76.

* Zipcar announced a pilot program in San Francisco that includes full-size cargo vans. The vans will allow consumers to transport bulky items and give small businesses a new and more affordable option for transporting goods. So if you are an occasional antiquer or need to move furniture, no need to own a big van just for a couple times a year move.

* General Motors began production of its 100 millionth small-block V-8 engine, a 638-horsepower LS9, on Tuesday.

* Saab was once part of the General Motors family, but the automaker reiterated that it's not in the best interest of its shareholders to help rescue the former family member given its already established market share in China.

* In the motorsports world, the Lotus Renault Formula One team will hire Maria de Villota as a reserve driver for next year's championship. The 31-year old Spaniard will become the series' first woman driver since Italy's Giovanna Amati in 1992. And, at the Performance Racing Industry show in Orlando, FL, Ford announced the 2013 Cobra Jet Mustang. The purpose-built NHRA Stock and Super Stock drag race car gets new improvements and a choice of two 5.0L engines.

* Newman/Haas Racing, which has been a mainstay in Indy car racing since its founding in 1983 by Carl Haas and Paul Newman, announced that it will not enter cars in the 2012 IZOD IndtCar Series. The economic climate is said to be the reason.

* Owners of Lexus and Mini brand vehicles are the most satisfied customers when it comes to buying their new car, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index study.

* The week wrapped up with November auto industry sales being up 14%. Strong performance by Chrysler Group, VW, Mercedes and Hyundai/Kia helped. On a seasonally adjusted annual basis sales reached 13.6 million last month, the highest in over two years since August 2009.