In Case You Missed It - Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest - October 3-9, 2016: RIP Brock Yates, Text and Die, Sept Sales, SUV Rankings, Subaru Recall, Fisker He's Baack

AUTO CENTRAL - Chicago, October 9, 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.

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Enjoy and thanks for the positive feedback and ratings. See You Next Week, LN.

Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest - October 3-9, 2016

* The automobile enthusiast world lost an icon this week with the death of irreverent journalist and author Brock Yates. The long-time columnist for Car&Driver magazine, Yates pulled no punches as he commented on automobiles, the auto industry and anything else that came into his field of view. He also created the infamous Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash races and later the One Lap of America rallies. He was 82 years old and suffered Alzheimer’s for the past 12 years.

* California regulators did a one-eighty and are now going to allow the public to get self-driving cars of the future that lack a steering wheel or pedals. This won't be tomorrow since automakers and tech companies are still testing prototypes. But, in a shift, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles said in a revision of draft regulations that the most advanced self-driving cars would no longer be required to have a licensed driver if federal officials deem them safe enough.

* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported this week an estimate that traffic deaths were up over 10% for the first half of the year citing texting while driving as one likely cause. They also acknowledged that total miles driven were up 3.3%. Half of those killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts. Typically, highway deaths increase during good economic times and when fuel prices are low.

* U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced this week a project called Road to Zero that will seek to eliminate highway deaths entirely in the next 30 years. The DOT and three of its sub-agencies did not offer strategies to achieve that goal and will allot a microscopic $1 million in grants per year as the project begins. Autonomous vehicles and smart infrastructure will certainly be in the mix but the grants are intended to stimulate outside-the-box projects as well.

* Slip slidin' away. September new vehicle sales were strong but the pace has flattened. 1.4 million vehicles were sold and the SAAR is at 17.7 million but that's down from a year ago. Looking at the top six automakers, GM, Ford, Honda and FCA sold fewer cars than a year ago while Nissan and Toyota were up. Most interesting is that the average price of a new vehicle is more than $34,000 and incentives averaged $3500 per vehicle. Note that midsize pickups are hot and Jaguar is up a huge 167% for the month and 81 % for the year. Edmunds senior analyst Jessica Caldwell notes that although year-over-year sales numbers for September were weaker than last year "we’re still on a record pace.” Fundamentals of low fuel prices, low interest rates and strong consumer confidence, she says, will remain strong for some time to come.

* Experts from Cars.com and MotorWeek have put the current lineup of midsize SUVs through rigorous testing to determine the overall best options for car shoppers. Test results yielded the rankings of: 1)2016 Nissan Murano, 2)2016 Ford Edge, 3)2016 Kia Sorento, 4)2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and 5)2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

* We missed this so here it is now. Back in mid-September the founders of True Zero completed a scenic drive throughout California in a fuel-cell-electric Toyota Mirai, covering 1,438 miles in a 24-hour period, thus breaking the official Guinness World Record for electric miles driven in 24 hours. The goal of the drive was to demonstrate how a zero-emission electric vehicle can serve as a replacement for a gasoline vehicle. The car was refueled with four-minute "fill ups" (yes, just four minutes) using the True Zero retail hydrogen network between southern and northern California.

* 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 September was 25.2 mpg—down 0.1 mpg from the value for August. This decline likely reflects the increased proportion of light trucks among the vehicles sold. Fuel economy is down 0.6 mpg from the peak reached in August 2014, but still up 5.1 mpg since October 2007 (the first month of their monitoring). The model year 2016 average was 25.3 mpg—the same as model years 2015 and 2014.

* There are fourteen automotive brands on Interbrand’s exclusive list of the 100 ‘Best Global Brands’. According to the just released 2016 study, highest ranked is Toyota at No. 5 and last is Tesla at No. 100. The only automotive U.S-brand in the top 100 is Ford at No. 33.

* Subaru is recalling nearly 593,000 vehicles, some for a second time, because windshield wiper motors can overheat and increase the risk of a fire. The recall affects certain Legacy and Outback cars from the 2010-14 model years.

* Heinrik Fisker is back in the news. The famous designer of BMW and Aston Martin automobiles, as well as his own exotic hybrid, announced this week he will be creating a new electric car that promises a 400-mile range to be revealed in late 2017. He was unable to sustain his first company and that is now in the hands of Chinese owners who are making a version of the Fisker Karma in California. Fisker promises a “sporty and spacious” car using a new form of lithium-ion battery that he will produced by Fisker Nanotech, another company he launched.

* Tesla filed suit in U.S. District Court challenging Michigan’s law that disallows a maker of automobiles from selling directly to customers without going through a franchised dealer. The law was passed about two years ago because of the threat that Tesla’s plan to do just that. The suit, naming the governor, secretary of state and attorney general, claims the restriction is unconstitutional. Similar restrictions exist in Texas, Connecticut and Utah. Tesla hope to set precedent with this suit.