Nutson's Automotive News Digest
Week of May 11-17,
2015
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By Larry Nutson
Senior Editor and Bureau Chief
Chicago Bureau
The Auto Channel
Auto Central Chicago IL, May 17, 2015 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 20 year's 1,900,123 automotive news, automotive stories, articles, reviews, archived news, video, audio, rants and raves just search The Auto Channel's Automotive News Archive.
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Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest-May 11-17, 2015
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* The annual awards for the ten best new interiors were announced at the Wards Auto Interiors Conference in Detroit. Here's what's working and what's not as car makers try to make their vehicles more appealing, luxurious and easy to use. This year's 10 best interiors winners are: 2014 BMW i3, 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum, 2015 Ford F-150 King Ranch, 2015 GMC Canyon SLT, 2015 Honda Fit EX-L, 2015 Jeep Renegade Limited, 2015 Kia Sedona SXL, 2016 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2015 Mercedes-Benz C400 and 2015 Nissan Murano SL.
* The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute's latest report from Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle says the average fuel economy (window-sticker value) of new vehicles sold in the U.S. in April was 25.2 mpg—down 0.2 mpg from March. This drop likely reflects the increased proportion of pickup trucks and SUVs in the sales mix. Fuel economy is down 0.6 mpg from the peak reached in August 2014. Overall, vehicle fuel economy is up 5.1 mpg since October 2007 (the first month of our monitoring). However, the average vehicle fuel economy during the first seven months of this model year (October 2014 through April 2015)—25.3 mpg—has stayed the same as during the preceding model year (October 2013 through September 2014).
* Also reported by The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute's Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, from 1963 to 2013 the proportion of female drivers has continued to grow. In 1963 females represented 39.6 percent. They became a majority in 2005. And now, in 2013 they are slightly over half at 50.5 percent. Although there are more females on the road, males drive more miles.
* We learned this week that Berkeley County, SC, just outside of Charleston, will be the site of a new, $500 million Volvo assembly plant capable of producing about 100,000 units/year. The Chinese-owned company will build more than one vehicle line at the plant, possibly some for export, but they’ve not announced which models will be built there. Employment is expected to top out at about 2,000 workers. The location was reportedly chosen based on government incentives, a favorable labor climate and proximity to suppliers. Construction will begin in early autumn 2015, with the first vehicles expected to roll off the assembly line in 2018.
* The self-driving cars that Google Inc. has been testing on California's roads and highways were involved in 11 minor accidents over the past six years, according to the tech giant. The director of Google's self-driving-car project wrote in a Web post that all 11 accidents were minor — "light damage, no injuries" — and happened over 1.7 million miles of testing, including nearly 1 million miles in self-driving mode.
* The Takata air bag recall keeps expanding. The total number of vehicles affected is now at 33 million with Honda and Toyota having just expanded the recall.
* Cheap gas brings trade-ins. Edmunds.com says that in 2012 an owner could expect a hybrid to pay back its higher upfront costs in about five years. Now, that's up to 10 years or more. At trade-in time, 55 percent of hybrid and electric vehicle owners are defecting to a gasoline-only model. BTW, gas prices will rise again.
* Car and light truck sales continue to slide in Russia. Sales for April are down 42% from April 2014, the lowest April sales in 10 years. Analysts predict “gradual flattening” over the next months, then . . . who knows? Top selling brands in Russian are Lada, Kia, Hyundai, Renault, Toyota, Nissan, VW, Chevrolet and Skoda.
* A new documentary film called “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman" was just released and speculates that the famous actor would have been just as happy to be a full-time racer. The 83-minute movie, based on a book by veteran auto journalist Matt Stone and Nate Adams, relies on interviews and historic video to tell the story of Newman’s racing career. Since Newman avoided cameras and publicity at the track not much footage was available with him talking about his passion for racing but the film has plenty of his friends on camera, like Bob Sharp, Robert Redford, Carl Haas, Mario Andretti and others. The film is now available on iTunes, Amazon and Xbox.
* GM announced this week plans to invest $1 billion in the Warren, MI Tech Center just north of Detroit. The Tech Center, built in the prosperous 1950s, is a treasure of period architecture and the campus supports design, engineering and many other functions for the company. Heavy flooding last summer did considerable damage making this renovation more urgent. The investment is expected to support 2,600 new jobs in addition to preserving the more than 19,000 jobs there now.
* Last weekend’s Auburn Spring event by Auctions America netted more than $5.5 million in sales led by late model collectibles like the rare V8-powered 2006 Ford GTX1 TT Spyder that brought $330,000. About 350 cars went across the auction block along with a large variety of memorabilia. Sales percentage was 77%. Among other top sellers were a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet at $299,750 and a 1987 Buick GNX with only 119 mile on the odometer at $110,000.
* AutoWeek reports that the FIA is looking to make Formula One cars faster and louder. The F1 Strategy Group's main goal was to find ways to improve the spectacle from 2017 forward and produce faster lap times. Along with refueling, engines will be higher revving and produce more noise, and cars will have “more aggressive looks.” The changes will include wider tires from Pirelli.
