Nutson's Nuggets: Last Week's (March 18-25 2012 ) Automotive News In Case You Were Sleeping

Auto Central Louisville KY March 25, 2012 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 a nugget of the past week's automotive news you may have missed.

If you are a car nut like we all are, you can easily "catch up" on these stories as well as the past 16 years 1,342,675 automotive stories, articles, reviews, rants and raves by just searching for the subject you are interested in The Auto Channel's Automotive News Archive, see ya next week L.N.

Automotive News March 18-25 2012

* It's getting very competitive in the police car business. For the first time, Dodge will offer a law enforcement version of its Durango SUV. The Durango joins a redesigned Dodge Charger Pursuit introduced last year and a Ram 1500 Special Service truck. GM brought back the Chevrolet Caprice police car and Ford will offer a Taurus Police Interceptor and an Explorer SUV Police Interceptor. The Crown Victoria was the top pick for police departments from 1996 until 2010 with a 70% share of the annual 75,000 police cars sales.

* We reported a couple weeks ago that Nissan will resurrect the Datsun brand in a few markets around the world - Indonesia, India and Russia to begin with. We learned why this week when AutoBeat reported that they want to build very inexpensive cars for those emerging markets without tarnishing the images of the Nissan or Infiniti brands. Datsuns will go on sale in 2014 as entry level vehicles. Nissan will also invest $400 million in the Indonesian plant to be able to make twice as many vehicles there.

* Consumer Report came out this week with their ratings of new cars in the subcompact class with the cool new Kia Rio leading the pack. Close behind was Rio's sibling Hyundai Accent and the Chevy Sonic got good marks as well. We've reviewed all three favorably here at TheAutoChannel.com in recent months. Surprisingly, Toyota's freshened Yaris and Nissan's Versa came in for criticism regarding their lack of sophistication compared to the competition. It was not long ago that the Japanese brands owned the subcompact market.

* We received news this week that Infiniti will introduce an electric car based on the Nissan Leaf at the upcoming New York Auto Show early next month, having shown a sleek and sexy concept electric sports car at the Geneva show earlier this month. What we see in New York will be officially listed as a 'concept' but they've made no secret of their production intent.

* We'll also get our first look at the much-anticipated new Impala at the NY Auto Show. A top seller for Chevrolet since 1958 this full-size sedan has more brand equity than just about anything in the GM fleet but has gotten mighty long in the tooth as everyone else has updated their family sedans. Expectations are mighty high and the competition is mighty stiff in this segment of the market.

* For those who appreciate the aesthetics of classic automobiles, here's a surprising story. An east coast collector named Ele Chesney has some really special classic cars and loves to share them at concours events around the country. In addition to the cars she had amassed perhaps the most complete and impressive collection of Lalique crystal hood ornaments anywhere and she even compiled a book documenting the Laliques. Well, she decided to sell the collection at the recent RM Auction at Amelia Island and it sold for more than $800,000. Good thing it came with a custom designed display cabinet.

* Mercedes-Benz announced they will be discontinuing the slow-selling R-Class wagon in the U.S. market. The R-class will contiue to be produced in Alabama for export.

* Nissan will be updating its Leaf in December 2012, adding an improved interior with a leather option, and a more efficient heater that will use less battery power thus adding up to 25 more miles of range in cold weather.

* Subaru is recalling about 320,000 of its 2009-12 Foresters because the rear seat belt may not securely hold a child safety seat or restraint, the automaker informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

* In the motorsports world, the 2012 Formula 1 season kicked off with the Australian Grand Prix. A McLaren MP4-27 piloted by Jenson Button lead the entire race for the win. At the 12 Hours of Sebring, the season opener for the American Le Mans Series, the Audi R18s claimed the top two finishes in the LMP1 class.

* The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved a $2,500 tax credit for California owners of the 2012 Ford Focus Electric and owners will be permitted to use the traffic-congested state's coveted HOV lanes without passengers. The move allows buyers to receive the California tax credit on top of the $7,500 federal tax credit for a total of $10,000.

* Hyundai is planning a redesign of the Sonata for the 2014 model year. Hyundai's top seller in the U.S and last redesigned four years ago, word is that the re-style will be in the conservative direction. Also, the new Santa Fe will be unveiled at the NY Auto Show.

* Car-sharing service Zip-car Inc. is launching its first large-scale electric vehicle fleet in Chicago. Five Chevy Volts are being added to the Chicago fleet. Chicago was chosen as the first location because of the city's efforts to install public charging stations. By the end of 2012 Zip-car expects to have 25 Volts in Chicago.