Nutson's Weekly Auto News Nuggets - September 11-17, 2017; No More ICE; Frankfurt; Borgward Return; Autonomous Rules; ET; Genesis G70

AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO, September 17, 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 "catch up" news nuggets. For More search the past 25 year's millions of (Indexed By Google) pages of automotive news, automotive stories, articles, reviews, archived news residing in The Auto Channel Automotive News Library..

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Nutson's Nuggets: September 17, 2017

* China is joining France and Britain in announcing plans to end sales of gasoline and diesel cars. The reports gave no possible target date, but Beijing is stepping up pressure on automakers to accelerate development of electrics. China is the biggest auto market by number of vehicles sold, giving any policy changes outsize importance for the global industry. In other words, what China does will influence cars in the U.S.

* Tesla drivers in Florida got an unexpected assist as they scrambled to evade Hurricane Irma. Owners of certain Model S sedans and Model X SUVs noticed that the battery capacity of their electric cars had increased, giving them as much as 40 extra miles of range to outrun the deluge. Range anxiety — the fear that an electric vehicle will run out of charge before reaching its destination — can be magnified in emergency situations. Tesla confirmed that it had remotely enabled a free software upgrade for vehicles in the path of the storm, motivated by one customer who requested the change while making evacuation plans. The free upgrade was only for a week, though.

* The 67th edition of IAA Cars, better known as the Frankfurt Motor Show, is in full swing with the a line-up of debuts charged with the latest electrified vehicles. The biennial show is the start to the 2017-18 auto show season. Electrified vehicles were the stars of this year's show with the maligned diesel vehicles hardly to be found.

* The U.S. DoT published voluntary guidelines for testing autonomous vehicles as part of a broader government effort to encourage automakers’ development of self-driving technology. The proposal establishes a voluntary framework of safety guidelines for companies to test autonomous vehicles on public roads. The approach also aims to clarify the role that state governments play in regulating the technology, including the enforcement of traffic laws and vehicle insurance requirements. Transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, said the regulations allow automakers to submit a voluntary self-assessment determining which vehicles are ready for public road testing. State laws and regulation continue to apply.

* NACSonline reported that in the wake of two historic back-to-back hurricanes that curtailed fuel supply and increased demand, consumers say that they are feeling less optimistic about the state of the economy, according to the latest NACS Consumer Fuels Survey. Gas prices rose 30 cents over the 30-day period to $2.59 (at the time of the survey).

* A federal investigation is seeking upwards of 60 recalled Volkswagen diesel vehicles that were stolen from the parking lot of the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan. The cars, which had been bought back by VW, had fake titles that allowed the vehicles to cross state lines, according to news reports.

* The semifinalists for the 2018 North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year Awards have been selected. The list has been whittled down to 29 eligible vehicles. Alfa Romeo is up for two awards, and no Detroit-3 cars made the cut, a first for NACTOY. Tesla decided not to participate with its Model 3 and only three vehicles qualified for the truck award, two of which are truck-based full size utilities.

* In partnership with Toyota and Honda, Shell Oil Co. will soon be installing seven new hydrogen refueling stations in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. The California Energy Commission is paying the tab with a grant to Shell of $16 million for the project to support a tiny number of fuel-cell vehicles. Shell is an early supporter of hydrogen infrastructure. Toyota, Honda and also Hyundai each have one model available for purchase by the public using hydrogen fuel.

* Hyundai’s luxury brand, Genesis, announced this week in South Korea a new entry-level sedan destined to be sold in the U.S. as early as next spring. Designed to compete head-to-head with BMW 3-Series, Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4 the new Genesis G70 will be loaded with luxury, performance and technology features. No word on prices yet but we expect it will come in at, or a wisp below, the competition..

* The first commercial full-electric delivery trucks are hitting the road in New York. Daimler Trucks are leasing a total of eleven of these eCanter trucks - three to UPS and a total of eight to four different non-profits in the area. This appears to be just a toe-in-the-water as they expect to have a new level of the electric power technology within about two years, including systems robust enough to power even larger trucks.

* The long-dormant German Borgward brand came back to life a couple years ago when its new Chinese owner began producing a small crossover. In an effort to show they are a real contender they introduced a new “Isabella” at the recent Geneva Motor Show. The Borgward Isabella was a remarkably stylish small sedan produced from 1955 to the early 1960s but the company went belly-up in 1962. The new Isabella is a high-style, full-electric, four-door coupe. No promises of production yet.

* By reopening the rule-making process for fuel-economy standards the Trump administration signalled its willingness to consider rolling them back. That brought strong resistance and law suits from environmentalists and some states. Five states joined in existing lawsuits this week against the federal government’s easing of penalties for automakers not meeingt standards. The suit is in the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York. Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration nor the Transportation Department have made official statements.

* NASCAR driver Danika Patrick won't return to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018. Citing a new sponsorship arrangement, speculators are wondering if the 35-year old Patrick may be retiring from NASCAR. Stay tuned.