Nutson's Nuggets: Last Week's (July 9-15 2012) Automotive News In Case You Were Dozing

Auto Central Louisville KY July 15, 2012; Each week Larry Nutson, The Auto Channel's Chicago Bureau Chief, along with Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau give you easy to digest nuggets 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 1,345,087 automotive stories, articles, reviews, rants and raves by just searching for the subject you are interested in The Auto Channel's Automotive News Archive. Hey South Florida viewers, get out of the sun watch TACH-TV on channel 44.1 and 9.1 and let us know what you think! See you next week, LN

Automotive News July 9-15 2012:

* Instead of offering rebates, dealer incentives and other inducements to clear outdated inventory Chevy plans a policy of no-haggle pricing on 2012 cars and light trucks in preparation for the 2013 model year. We can only assume that the pricing will be attractive and below regular sticker prices. Chevy is also offering a "Love it or Return it" program that guarantees you can return your car within 60 days if it is undamaged and you've put less than 4,000 miles on it.

* India's Mahindra & Mahindra finally pulled the plug officially on the small, diesel-powered pickup they had promised to bring to the U.S. The plan had been delayed over and over by legal disputes with planned distributors and with government certification problems. Small pickups as a segment of the market have waned in recent years.

* The U.S. government filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization accusing China of imposing unfair duties on some U.S. cars they import, effecting cars and SUVs with engines of more than 2.5 liters of displacement. China claims the U.S. bailouts of Chrysler and GM amount to illegal government subsidies. They will try to resolve the issue through negotiation for the next 60 days, after which the U.S. can ask for a hearing by a WTO panel.

* At a regional product launch event at the Michigan International Speedway this week, John Krafcik, Hyundai's U.S. sales boss, acknowledged a decline in market share for the brand - the first in four years. With the auto industry gaining rapidly in production of just about every category of vehicle, Hyundai is constrained by a limited capacity. Even with the impending addition of the third shift at the Alabama plant that produces Sonata and Elantra demand for those products is high enough that they can barely keep up.

* Speaking of the Koreans, the first ever Korean super sports car was presented at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK recently. The mid engine, 845-hp Macross Epique GT1 is the creation of Korean oil baron and car collector, Keyser Hur. Engineering was done by a Canadian firm and if it goes in to production it would cost about $1.5 million.

* The Toyota "unintended acceleration" issue seems never to go away. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to take another look in spite of both exhaustive independent and government studies show no such phenomena could be identified. Toyota continues to recall vehicles apparently as a precaution, last month adding the 2012 RX models to the list. Must be an election year!

* Better news at Toyota includes the new, redesigned full-size Avalon sedan offering a hybrid power train with a small four-cylinder engine and two electric motors totaling about 200 horsepower. That powertrain in that big car has earned a 40-mpg highway rating from the EPA - about the same as the Hyundai Elanta that is half its size. There will certainly be a price premium for the hybrid but we know not how much that will be.

* The U.S. Army is leaving NASCAR after 10 seasons. Seems there is no tangible evidence of fans enlisting. Duh! Ryan Newman's No. 39 Chevy from Stewart-Haas Racing will be needing a new primary sponsor. The sponsorship recruitment program the Army has in NHRA drag racing, primarily with Don Schumacher Racing, looks to continue in 2013.

* Collector Car Appreciation Day was celebrated on Friday this week, July 13. The date marks the third commemoration in what has become an annual event to raise awareness of the vital role automotive restoration and collection plays in American society. The U.S. Senate helped launch national Collector Car Appreciation Day by passing resolutions at SEMA/SAN’s request. As a result, thousands of Americans have gathered at car cruises, parades and other events to celebrate our nation’s automotive heritage.

* Hagerty Classic Car Insurance added to the celebration of Collector Car Appreciation Day in Chicago when more than 25 young adults participated in a classic car driving experience designed to highlight the enjoyment of driving a vintage car. During the Hagerty Driving Experience, the 15- through 25-year-old participants enjoyed classroom and hands-on drive experiences at Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field. Emphasis was on learning to drive manual transmission cars. The participants received 30 minutes of instruction in car basics before getting behind the wheel of a classic car for 15 minutes, driving on a closed course. Vehicles included a 1930 Ford Model A Sedan, 1963 Corvette split window Coupe, 1961 Porsche 356, 1966 Chevrolet Corvair, 1966 Ford Mustang, 1967 Porsche 912, 1969 Oldsmobile 442 and a 1970 Austin Mini Cooper.

* Our friends at Cars.com released their annual listing of the American-made index. It's a sales-weighted index of cars that are assembled in the U.S. with at least 75% domestic parts content. The top-10 are: 1)Toyota Camry, 2)Ford F-150, 3)Honda Accord, 4)Toyota Sienna, 5)Honda Pilot, 6)Chevrolet Traverse, 7)Toyota Tundra, 8)Jeep Liberty, 9)GMC Acadia, 10)Buick Enclave. To see where all cars sold in North America are made, see The Auto Channel.s “Where it's built”.