Nutson's Auto News Nuggets
Week of December 1-7, 2014
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By Larry Nutson
Senior Editor and Bureau Chief
Chicago Bureau
The Auto Channel
Auto Central Chicago IL, December 7, 2014; Every Sunday, along with senior editors Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau I give you our "take" on this past week's automotive news in 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 1,747,874 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 Factoids Week Of December 1-7, 2014
* Fueled by low gasoline prices, November auto sales really flowed. Consumers bought 1.3 million vehicles and the industry was up overall about 4.6 percent. The SAAR was close to 17 million units. Some car companies exceeded analyst's forecasts. GM and FCA (that's the former Chrysler), VW Group, and Honda/Acura are up; Ford, Kia, Hyundai and Nissan are down. In the luxury segment, Lincoln is hot and Cadillac not so much.
* The analysts at Kelley Blue Book report the estimated average transaction price (ATP) for light vehicles in the United States was $33,754 in November 2014. New-car prices have increased by $165 (up 1.7 percent) from November 2013, while rising $568 (0.5 percent) from last month.
*The fuel economy of new vehicles purchased by American consumers has flattened. The gas mileage of new vehicles sold in the U.S., based on the Monroney label ratings, stayed the same in November at 25.3 mpg, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. That's the same as for the last two months.
* We saw the new James Bond car this week, a sleek and sexy Aston Martin DB10 coupe. A limited run of just 10 cars are being built, says CEO Andy Palmer, and all will be used in the new Bond film "Spectre." Company officials confirmed the DB10 is built on the 2001 Vanquish platform, powered by a Ford-sourced 4.7-liter V8 and it will preview the next iteration in Aston Martin design. The first Aston Martin in a Bond film was the classic DB5 in the 1964 film Goldfinger with Sean Connery.
* Audi and VW sell more diesels than any other car maker and this week announced their first plug-in hybrid diesel powertrain that will be offered in the Q7 mid-size crossover. Expected to be available late next year after a plug-in gasoline version the diesel plug-in, it will be sold in Europe and the U.S. Volvo is the only other manufacturer with a plug-in diesel with the V60. Pricing is not available.
* Who knew Esquire magazine had a Truck of the Year competition? We didn’t. Esquire just named the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel to that honor. Esquire editors vote on the truck they think offers the best in efficiency, functionality, versatility, safety, value and style. The new Ram diesel gets a 28-mpg highway mileage rating from the EPA, best ever for a half-ton pickup. Hyundai Genesis gets Best Sedan honors.
* Ferrari is never content to rest on its laurels. The exotic car company, part of Fiat, revealed this week an extreme variant of the hybrid LaFerrari that sells for around a million Euro. The super car is called FXX K and boasts 1,035 horsepower.
* A showdown is brewing between embattled airbag manufacturer Takata and Congress. The latter insisting on a nation-wide recall while the former, while acknowledging they do not yet know the cause of the problem, claims it is a problem only in hot, wet climates. Apparently Congress is not ready to order a a recall fearing inadequate supply of new parts. Honda is expanding its recall of Takata drivers-side airbags in deference to the concerns of federal regulators. Ford, Chrysler and Mazda have also expanded their recalls.
* After its "most comprehensive truck evaluation program in history” Motor Trend named the new Chevy Colorado its 2015 Truck of the Year by unanimous vote of the team. Testing included both real world drive cycles and purely objective instrument evaluations. The Colorado edged out six other new or significantly updated trucks including the Ford Transit van, 2015 Ford F-150, and the Colorado's more-pricey GM twin the GMC Canyon.
* GM is recalling 316,357 SUVs and sedans because the low-beam headlights can stop working. Affected vehicles are 2006-2009 Buick LaCrosse sedans; 2006-2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and Buick Rainier SUVs; and 2006-2008 Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender SUVs.
* Ford has two recalls. One is for approximately 20,000 2014 Transit Connect cargo van vehicles in North America for an issue with adhesion of an exterior plastic panel to the sliding doors. The second is for approximately 730 2015 Ford Mustang vehicles with the 2.3-L engine in North America for a potential fuel line leak.
* Late news from Europe is about a hit-and-run at the Red Bull factory. The Red Bull Formula One factory in Milton Keynes, England was raided by thieves who stole more than 60 trophies won by the team over the years, according to police reports.
