Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest
March 7-13, 2016

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

AUTO CENTRAL Chicago, March 13, 2016; Every Sunday Larry Nutson, Senior Editor and Chicago Car Guy along with fellow senior editors Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, give you TACH's "take" on this past week's automotive news in easy to digest mega-tweet sized nuggets. If you wish to know more just click on the link that will take you to the full story as published here on The Auto Channel.

If you are a car and driving fan like we all are here at The Auto Channel, you can easily wish to "catch up" on these stories as well put them in context with the past 20 year's 1,971,665 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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The Past Week's Automotive News Highlights In Easy To Digest Chunks
March 7-13,2016

JEEP 75th Concepts

* Jeep is celebrating its 75th anniversary by creating seven concept vehicles for the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah. The brand has traditionally created special off-roaders for the event but this year’s anniversary is an excuse to go all out. Our favorite may be the 707-hp Trailcat, essentially a Wranger with the 6.2-liter Hellcat Hemi squeezed into the engine bay. Another cool piece is the Jeep Comanche, a concept pickup with a 5-foot bed and extra 2 inches of ground clearance.

GM BUYS CRUISE AUTOMATION

* GM announced this week plans to acquire an autonomous vehicle start-up based in San Francisco called Cruise that has developed a $10,000 retrofit kit that includes lane tracking, adaptive speed control, collision avoidance and precision steering. Mark Reuss, GM executive VP of global product development, said “We intend to invest significantly to further grow the talent base and capabilities already established by the Cruise team.” Details of the deal were not announced.

Average Price Of Gasoline

* The average price of gasoline has us up 7 cents per gallon in the past two weeks, to $1.84. That's still 70 cents below last year. The high is $2.51 in LA and the low is $1.33 in Tucson.

RACE CAR CONVERSION BILL

* We reported recently on a move at the Environmental Protection Agency to make it illegal to convert a regular car into a race car. A group of Congress people introduced a bill this week (H.R. 4715) that would prevent the EPA ruling thereby preserving your right to make a racer out of your family sedan. Called the “Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2016" (RPM Act) it has bipartisan support and is headed for the House Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration. The practice was unquestioned until last year when the EPA published draft regulations that would make vehicle and engine conversions illegal and subject to the law's tampering penalties.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica Gas Mileage

* The all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan has earned a highway-cycle fuel-economy test rating of 28 miles per gallon (mpg) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – a benchmark unsurpassed by any minivan on the market. It is also 12 percent better than the vehicle Pacifica replaces, the Town & Country. The Pacifica will start at $29,590 for the LX model and will top out with the Limited starting at $43,490.

Trust In Professional Livery Drivers

* Just over 90 percent of travelers who use airport shuttles or other shared-ride services say it is very important (75 percent) or important (16 percent) to have professionally trained drivers that are certified by the Department of Transportation (DOT). To date, 379 people responded to a survey conducted by GO Airport Express, a Chicago-based ground transportation service and GO Airport Shuttle, an international transportation provider.

VW USA President Resigns

* Volkswagen announced this week that the company’s popular U.S. president and CEO, Michael Horn, will be “leaving to pursue other opportunities.” It is rumored he was offered other jobs within VW but turned them down. Horn has held the post for two years and has been with VW for more than 25 years. Still up in the air is how the company will deal with the diesel cheating crisis in the U.S. They have not presented a plan to the California Air Resources Board or the EPA to resolve this issue. The new U.S. boss will be Hinrich Woebcken who is responsible for all North American operations.

VW Investigation Widens

* Meanwhile, German prosecutors said that they had expanded their investigation into the illegal manipulation of tailpipe emissions by Volkswagen, raising the number of suspects to 17, from six. In line with German privacy rules, none of the suspects’ names were disclosed. So far, no suspects are current or former members of the company’s management board.

V-8 Muscle Car Challenge

* Cars.com has teamed up with MotorWeek to determine the segment leader in its V-8 Muscle Car Challenge. The three main players in the segment, the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS, 2016 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack and 2016 Ford Mustang GT, were put to the test to determine the ultimate champion. Testing was conducted with the help of four expert judges and a consumer in the market for a new muscle car. After extensive evaluation, the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS earned first place. Coming in second was the 2016 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack with the 2016 Ford Mustang GT in third.

U.S. Grand Prix

* The U.S. Grand Prix will run in 2016 after months of speculation that its financial struggles could scuttle Formula One's only race in the United States. The race was in question after the funding made available by the Texas Major Events Trust Fund was reduced. The tentative date is October 23.

Pick-up Trucks Honored On U.S. Postal Stamps

* The U.S. Postal Service will issue this year forever stamps honoring four classic pickup trucks. The stamps include one pickup each from the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, chronicling pickup design’s evolution. The Postal Service says they “celebrate the rugged and reliable work vehicles Americans have driven for nearly a century.” There’s a two-tone 1938 International, a ’53 Chevy and two Fords: a '48 F-1 and ’65 F-100.

Amelia Island Concours

* This weekend is the prestigious Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in northern Florida where Bill Warner and his amazing team bring out some of the best classic and collector cars in the world to be displayed on the 17th and 18th fairways of the golf course at the Ritz Carlton Resort. At least three premier auctions punctuate the show as well. Racing legend Hans-Joachim Stuck is the honored guest. Amelia is well known for including significant classes of racing cars and concept vehicles in addition to all the other eclectic displays.

1937 Bugatti Type 57SC -$9.735 Million

* Bonhams Amelia Island collector car auction doubled sales over last year’s event. The sale generated $27.3 million with a 65% sell-through rate with highest priced car being a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC sports tourer that went for $9.735 million. Three other cars sold for more than a million dollars. Hagerty, the collector car insurance company that monitors and evaluates this market, characterized it as strong though noted that American prewar classics struggled and the overall sell-through rate was down.