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Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest April 3-9, 2017; TDI No Bye-bye; Autonomous; Atlas; Regal; Tesla; Kia, Ford, Hyundai Recalls; NY Auto Show


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AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO, April 9, 2017; 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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Nutson's Nuggets: April 9, 2017

* Thousands of engineers, executives, researchers and regulators from around the world peered into the auto industry’s future in Detroit at the Society of Automotive Engineer’s biggest annual gathering, dubbed WCX 17. Topics discussed ranged from autonomous vehicles to cybersecurity to thwart hostile acts, the need for more engineering talent and energy sources to fight climate change. One note from the conference: Ford's head of research believes the general public won't be able to buy a fully autonomous vehicle until sometime between 2026 and 2031.

* GM and SAE used the venue to announce a three-year autonomous vehicle design competition between 10 top engineering schools. Called AutoDrive Challenge students are charged with designing a self-driving vehicle that meets the high-end SAE level 4 definition. The competing schools are: Kettering University (formerly GMI), Michigan State University, Michigan Tech, North Carolina A&T University, Texas A&M University, University of Toronto. University of Waterloo and Virginia Tech.

* Colorado-based Navigant Research released a report ranking the players leading development of automated driving. The report places Ford at No. 1 and General Motors at No. 2 atop a field of 18 companies that includes traditional automakers as well as suppliers and tech companies like Google’s Waymo. Uber was one of four companies rounding out the bottom of the rankings due to the company’s poor showing dealing with regulators.

* The New York Auto Show is coming up this week. With fewer all-new vehicles showing up at the earlier major U.S. motor shows we’re not expecting many in The Big Apple. We knew that Dodge will introduce a Challenger Hellcat derivative called SRT Demon in New York and that each new Demon will come with a crate full of tools and other goodies to facilitate going drag racing. We just learned that these extras will include a PCM (powertrain control module) that will allow the Demon to run on racing fuel. Acura, Hyundai, VW, and Infiniti will also be making some news as well as the World Car Award winners will be announced.

* March was cooler. New vehicle sales were down, 1.7% that is. Ford, Honda, Toyota, FCA, Hyundai and Kia were all down while Nissan and GM were up. The seasonal rate dropped to 16.6 million, significantly below the forecasted 7.2 million. Trucks are up and cars are down. Luxury brands seem to be maintaining.

* We drove the all-new 2018 Volkswagen Atlas 7-passenger mid-size SUV this week. The Atlas does what a larger SUV needs to do very well...it has lots and lots of room and the 276 HP VR6-engined model we drove performed very well. Look for our full review soon. #VWAtlas

* Buick unveiled two new additions to the 2018 Regal lineup this week. A new Sportback fastback 4-door sedan and a TourX station wagon with slightly higher ride-height. They're based on the stunning Opel Insignia that debuted at the Geneva Auto Show in March. Think the looks of the Audi A7 and Audi A4 Allroad.

* What will happen to the Opel-built Buicks imported from Germany after the sale of GM’s European brands Opel and Vauxhall to French automaker PSA Group. GM officials revealed this week that these cars will continue to be built and imported as they are now beyond 2019 according to plans being made for the transition.

* We learned this week Cadillac is making a plug-in hybrid version of the new CT6 full-size luxury sedan in, and a primarily for, China. While it is a low volume product for GM’s luxury division the CT6 has been built in the Shanghai plant that exclusively builds Cadillacs. The plug-in CT6 features an 18.4-kWh battery pack behind the rear seat making for an electric-only range of around 31 miles. Some of those cars will be imported to the U.S at a price around $76,000.

* 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 March was 25.2 mpg—up 0.1 mpg from the value for February. The value for March is up 5.1 mpg since October 2007 (the first month of their monitoring), but down 0.3 mpg from the peak of 25.5 mpg reached in August 2014.

* Additionally, the University of Michigan Eco-Driving Index (EDI)—an index that estimates the average monthly emissions of greenhouse gases generated by an individual U.S. driver—was 0.84 in January 2017, up 0.01 from the value for December 2016 (the lower the value the better). This value indicates that the average new-vehicle driver produced 16% lower emissions in January 2017 than in October 2007, but 6% higher emissions than the record low reached in November 2013.

* The continuing VW diesel cheating scandal has been good for at least one tidbit of news here on our summary just about every week for over a year now. This week it was announced that the German automaker reached agreement with 10 states as a result of civil suits regarding selling the cars with cheating software in those states. The settlement is worth $157.45 million. VW had already settled with 40 other states for a total of around $600 million.

* You know all the 2009 to 2015 VW diesels that are being bought back from customers as an outcome of the settlement with EPA and the DOJ. Well, they're not going to be scrapped. VW hopes to modify and repair most all of them and, with the approval of EPA using today's software and some hardware, eventually re-sell them as used cars. This according to a high-level manager at VW that I spoke with this week.

* Ford is recalling 53,000 2017 F-250 trucks because they can roll away even when they are parked due to a manufacturing error. The recalled trucks have 6.2-liter engines. Use the parking brake, please.

* Hyundai and Kia are recalling 1.4 million cars and SUVs in the U.S., Canada and South Korea because the engines can fail and stall, increasing the risk of a crash. The recall covers 2013 and 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport SUVs and Sonata midsize cars. Also covered are Kia Optima midsize cars from 2011 through 2014, Kia Sportage SUVs from 2011 through 2013 and Kia Sorento SUVs from 2012 through 2014.

* Flaunting conventional wisdom, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said this week the new Model 3 mainstream electric sedan will go directly into production with no prerelease or beta testing. Citing the use of already proven components used in the Models S and X, Musk is risking the success of his first high-volume vehicle according to many analysts. Around 300,000 Tesla enthusiasts have put up $1,000 deposits to get on the list to buy a Model 3.