Nutson's Nuggets: Last Week's Automotive Factoids (August 15-19) - In Case You Weren't Paying Attention
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Each week Larry Nutson, The Auto Channel Chicago Bureau Chief will give you last weeks automotive news highlights you may have missed, or you can catch up on the past 15 years of automotive news HERE in our news archive.
* General Motors announced the recall of 2012 Chevrolet Impala and Buick LaCrosse models to fix safety problems. Recalled are 11,915 Impalas because a power steering fluid hose gets too close to the hot catalytic converter. The hose can melt, fluid can leak and a fire could start. Also being recalled are 4,293 LaCrosse vehicles in the U.S. and Canada to fix software in a brake system computer. The software may not detect a malfunctioning sensor. If the sensor fails, it could change the way the car handles and cause a crash.
* Chrysler Group is teaming up with Chase Auto Finance to offer new-vehicle loans at Chrysler Group dealerships, Chase announced. Chase said participating Chrysler dealers will offer retail subvention financing "to provide prime and near-prime customers with low interest rates and other incentives to finance new-vehicle purchases." Ally Financial Inc. remains the preferred lender for all Chrysler brands but Chase will provide consumers and dealers with more options when financing new-vehicle purchases.
* Hyundai will stop equipping Equus models with an iPad that serves as the owner's manual. Many Equus buyers already own an iPad or want a fancier model than the one that comes with the car.
* The value of the yen is causing Japanese manufacturers to look outside of Japan for production. It's also interesting to note that Japanese car manufacturers are building new North American assembly plants outside of the U.S. Is it threats from the United Auto Workers union to organize foreign-owned assembly plants, or the way Toyota managers were treated by the administration and the U.S. Congress during the Japanese automaker's problems with recalls?
* Honda Motor Co. will introduce a new subcompact car in 2014, slotted below the Civic. Honda announced it will invest $800 million in a new assembly plant at Guanajuato, Mexico, its second plant located in Mexico, to build the car. Commenting on the new plant, American Honda President Tetsuo Iwamura, said, "With growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, this plant will increase Honda's ability to meet customer needs for subcompact vehicles from within North America."
* Chrysler’s new Street and Racing Technology (SRT) Brand is hitting the road with its first-ever “SRT High Performance Tour.” Along with the brand’s lineup of high performance vehicles, including the 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8, Dodge Challenger SRT8, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and Chrysler 300 SRT8, the tour will visit more than 40 clubs and events over the next four months. Following its first stop last weekend at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Mich., the SRT High Performance Tour will reach numerous cities across the country and will end in November at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.
* General Motors' Cadillac brand and Toyota's luxury Lexus brand tied for the American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual ranking of automobiles. Ford Motor's Lincoln and Mercedes-Benz finished one point below the top brands with a score of 86 out of a total of 100 points. BMW had a disappointing finish as number 11, its lowest score since 1997.
* Fiat S.p.A. announced earlier today that it plans to offer a Maserati SUV that will be introduced at the Frankfurt auto show next month. Based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Maserati will be built at Chrysler's Jefferson North assembly plant in Detroit. Maserati officials said the SUV will be 100% Maserati. The Jeep underpinings won't show.
* General Motors confirmed yesterday that it will introduce a Cadillac EV based on the Chevrolet Volt. The Cadillac ELR, a two-door, is planned for 2013 as a 2014 model and probably will have styling based on the Cadillac Converj concept car that appeared at the 2009 Detroit auto show.
* Mini is debuting a 2012 special-edition Cooper hardtop, from a collaboration with Rolls-Royce design, at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this week in California. The Mini Inspired by Goodwood will go for $52,000 and will have a limited-edition run of 1,000 units with only 140 coming to U.S. customers. Features include a diamond-black-metallic exterior body finish and 17-inch alloy wheels with a multispoke design. A reef-blue metallic will also be offered. Inside, a cornsilk-beige hue unique to Rolls-Royce color schemes covers materials for everything from the dashboard to carpet surfaces, with only the upper instrument panel section in black. Rolls-Royce materials used throughout the interior include Lounge leather interior seating, lamb's-wool floor mats, a cashmere headliner, burr-walnut-veneer fascia and front door handles, and a sport steering wheel featuring Walknappa leather and piano-black controls. Power will come from the turbo 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine initially built for the 2011 Mini Cooper S.
