Nutson's Nuggets - Automotive News Week of October 13-19, 2014

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

Auto Central Louisville, KY October 19, 2014; Every Sunday, along with Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau give you our "take" on this past week's automotive news as 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 19 year's 1,743,987 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 Chanel 9 in West Palm Beach as well as cable channel's 17 and 438, channel 9 Miami and channel 32 Fort Meyers-Naples, enjoy and thanks for the positive feedback....See you next week, LN

Nutson's Automotive News Factoid Week Of October 13-19, 2014

* The 2014 Texas Truck Rodeo is in the history books and the votes are in from the members of the Texas Auto Writers Association. The big winners are: Truck of Texas: 2015 Ford F-150, SUV of Texas: 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, CUV of Texas: 2015 Lincoln MKC, and Truck Line of Texas: Ford.

* Green Car Journal has announced its five finalists for the prestigious Green Truck of the Year awardthat will be presented at the 2014 San Antonio Auto & Truck Show on November 6. The five exceptional 2015 model pickups that rose to the top include the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford F-150, GMC Canyon, Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, and Ram 1500 HFE.

* The 2015 Honda CR-V has been named the 2015 Motor Trend SUV of the Year. The CR-V was chosen from the sixteen finalists in a field of all-new or significantly updated SUVs.

* Volkswagen edged GM out of second place in worldwide sales for the first nine months of the year. GM sold 7.37 million cars and trucks worldwide from January through September, a 2% increase. Volkswagen said it sold 7.4 million vehicles, a 5.3% increase. Toyota is in first place and is expected to stay there.

* With the huge SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show in Las Vegas just around the corner Chevy previewed several performance-oriented concepts of the company’s cars - SS Sport, Sonic, Impala and Cruze. SEMA is the biggest convention of automotive aftermarket parts and accessories and one of the biggest trade shows in the world. The Chevy entries, like those of most manufacturers add both performance and dress-up parts.

* More ill-treatment looming for Tesla as Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, usually a business-friendly guy, ponders whether to sign the bill that just landed on his desk that was originally designed to control certain fees charged by dealers. Language was slyly added late in deliberations that would prevent Tesla from selling directly to customers. Many states have franchise laws that protect auto dealers from competition from manufacturers.

* Did you ever ponder how much time and money you loose being caught up in traffic? The London-based Centre for Economics and Business research says total traffic congestion cost $124 billion in the U.S. last year. That boils down to about $1,700 per household.

* Three more death claims were approved this week in the GM ignition switch fiasco bringing the total to 27 along with 25 injury claims that are eligible. Total number of applications has reached nearly 1,400.

* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV shares went on sale this week on the New York Stock Exchange. FCA is the seventh largest automobile company in the world based on sales. Shares opened at $9.00 and closed at the end of the day at $8.92 after reaching a high of $9.55. Ford and GM shares were down substantially during the remarkably volatile week.

* Porsche breaks new ground but not on the race track or with a new model. Porsche is the first auto company to use the Sistine Chapel to host a corporate event. Pope Francis recently approved the use of the Sistine Chapel for private functions with the substantial proceeds going to help the poor. The event involves dinner and a concert for which 40 guests will pay 5,000 Euros each.

* Mitsubishi is recalling nearly 166,000 vehicles in the U.S. to correct a defect that can cause stalling. The recall affects Lancer, Lancer Evolution and Outlander models from 2008-11, Lancer Sportback models from 2009-11, and the 2011 Outlander Sport.

* Honda Motor Co said it is recalling 43,000 Acura models in the United States to fix faulty seat belts. Affected models include the 2014 Acura RLX sedan and 2014-2015 Acura MDX crossover.

* Chrysler Group will recall about 184,215 of their 2014 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs because a possible short circuit in a part could disable airbags and seat belt pretensioners. The same part was responsible for a September recall involving more than 850,000 Ford vehicles.

* And in two more recalls Chrysler Group will recall 470,000 2011-2014 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Challenger, Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles with a 3.6-liter engine and a 160 amp alternator because the alternator may suddenly fail and result in vehicle shutdown, shutoff or a fire. Chrysler will also recalling 434,581 2011-2013 Jeep Wrangler SUVs because rust in the exterior heated power mirror electrical connector may result in an electrical short.

* Toyota's Lexus brand is recalling 423,000 cars in the U.S. because of the potential for a fuel leak that could cause fires. Toyota says the U.S. recall includes the 2007 through 2010 LS sedan; 2006 through 2011 GS sedan; 2006 through 2011 IS compact; 2010 IS C; and 2008 through 2010 IS-F vehicles. The recall was among 1.7 million vehicles recalled worldwide by Toyota, many of them models not sold in the U.S.

* VW is recalling 440,000 cars in the U.S. for trailing arms on the torsion beam rear suspension of certain 2011-2013 model year Volkswagen Jetta, and certain 2012-2013 model year Volkswagen Beetle and Beetle Convertible vehicles. VW dealers will inspect the rear suspension of vehicles that have been involved in rear or side-rear collisions to determine whether the trailing arms have been damaged. On cars that do not have damaged trailing arms, dealers will fit a sheet metal inlay on the rear trailing arms. "This will emit a distinctive sound if the car is later involved in a rear-end collision, which will be a signal for the owner to take the car to an authorized Volkswagen dealership for inspection," VW said.

* Audi will launch a a dedicated racing series in Europe next year for the TT. Called the Audi Sport TT Cup it will consist of six races held as part of the DTM (German Touring Car Championship) series. The DTM series is one of the most popular motor sports in Europe and is for cars that are fairly close to stock. The series winner will have an opportunity for Audi support to pursue GT3 competition.

* Dan Gurney has achieved considerable achievement not only as a racing driver but also as one of the more influential forces in motorsports. The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, will present Gurney with the Edison-Ford Medal, awarded only once before in its 25-year history. Gurney is only the second person to receive the medal. The first, awarded in 1989, was to W. Edwards Deming, the champion of statistical process control and the person widely credited for Japan’s industrial renaissance in the decade starting in 1950.

* We got confirmation that Jay Leno, the former “Tonight Show” host, will have a new prime-time venture, tentatively titled, “ Jay Leno’s Garage.” Based on his Emmy Award-winning Web series, the show will premiere on CNBC in 2015. The precise debut date and frequency of airing are yet to be determined. The hour-long show will be a forum for Leno to share his passion for “all things automotive, including best investments, valuations and the inner workings of the car collector’s market.”