Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest November 20-26, 2017: Subaru 50 Years In USA i3 Stop Selling; MT Cars Of The Year; NAFTA NADA; Recalls Of Course ; Cut Costs Of Camry KentuckySavw

AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO, November 26, 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 Weekly Automotive News Nuggets - Nov 20-26, 2017

* Happy 50th anniversary to Subaru. Subaru of America's vehicle lineup will have a major role in celebrating the company's 50th anniversary. It plans to offer 50th anniversary editions across its entire car and light-truck lineup. The special editions will be announced at the 2018 Chicago Auto Show in February and will feature a new, common color and a distinct badge that reads "Subaru in America since 1968." The 50th anniversary editions will be based on a high-level trim.

* The Automobility-Los Angeles Auto Show press previews are coming up this week. We'll see the new Jeep Wrangler, the Subaru Ascent 3-row SUV, the Lexus RXL 3-row SUV, the Audi A8 and more. Finalists for NACTOY will also be announced.

* Peugeot has been saying it will return to the U.S. which it left 1991. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, for the time being Peugeot North America has launched two mobility apps, Free2Move, a car-sharing app in Seattle and TravelCar, a service that allows care owners to rent the cars. Motorsports history buffs will note that Peugeot won the Indy 500 in 1913, 1916 and 1919.

* Motor Trend announced the finalists for their annual awards. Finalists for Car of the Year are Alfa Romeo Giulia, Honda Accord, Honda Civic Type R, Kia Stinger, Kia Rio, Lexus LC, Porsche Panamera and Tesla Model 3. Truck of the Year finalists are Ford F-150, Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and GMC Sierra HD. The SUV of the Year finalists include Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Chevrolet Traverse, Honda CR-V, Land Rover Discovery, Subaru Crosstrek, Volkswagen Atlas and Volvo XC60.

* Volvo says it has a deal to sell self-driving versions of its premium $48,000 XC90 SUV to Uber which is expanding to become an owner and operator of its own fleet of cars. Media reports suggest that 24,000 autonomous Volvo cars will be delivered between 2019 and 2021. By the way, no one knows what the future of self-driving cars will look like, or how long it will take to get here.

* Uber revealed this week a breach of security resulting in hackers stealing the personal data of 57 million customers and drivers that happened more than a year ago. The theft went unreported to authorities or the victims of the theft. The company paid a $100,000 ransom to the hackers to erase the data collected. It is unclear whether that erasure was done. The data included names. e-mail addresses and phone numbers of customers along with driver’s license numbers of drivers.

* The hoped-for quick rework of the NAFTA trade deal seems out of reach as the current round of talks in Mexico City came to an end this week with no progress. U.S. negotiators are reported to be moving toward a full exit from the pact in five years if the agreement does not advantage trade flow to the U.S. One unnamed U.S. official blames the Canadian and Mexican negotiating teams for not presenting counter proposals to the U.S. demands. President Trump said, “If we can’t make a deal, it’ll be terminated and that will be fine."

* The 9,500 workers at Toyota’s Georgetown, KY assembly plant that builds the popular Camry mid-size sedan were told by the company this week that they must lower costs or expect to loose jobs. The message indicated the Japanese Camry plant can produce the car more efficiently even when transportation costs are considered. Plant manager James Wil assured workers the plant is not in jeopardy. The UAW is expected to redouble efforts to organize the plant.

* The Detroit area's first new automotive plant in a quarter century is being set up in Auburn Hills not far from Fiat Chrysler headquarters by Indian company Mahindra & Mahindra. The plant will produce Mahindra Automotive North America’s latest off-highway utility vehicle, the Roxor, in the 150,000-square-foot plant. Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said cryptically, “it will take us into a whole different orbit.” The company already has a substantial presence in the U.S distributing utility vehicles, making electric bicycles in Ann Arbor and doing R&D in Troy, MI.

* AAA projected that 51 million Americans traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday, the most in more than a decade. That's a 3.3% increase over last year and the highest total since 2005. The group claims a growing economy and low unemployment are the motivators for getting on the road for the long-weekend holiday.

* Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro has been issued a speeding ticket for driving 119 mph in a 65 mph zone in upstate New York. The Daily News reports the former Westchester County, NY district attorney was stopped by a trooper in Tioga County. Pirro says in a statement through Fox News Channel she had been driving for hours to visit her ailing mother and didn't realize how fast she was going. She says she will "pay the consequences." Reports have it that Pirro was driving a 2017 Cadillac.

* BMW issued a stop-sale order and is recalling all 2014 to 2018 i3 electric cars for higher risk of neck injuries to smaller people in the driver's seat who aren't wearing seat belts. A crash test conducted by the automaker showed small adults -- at or around 5 feet tall and 110 pounds -- had an increased chance of sustaining neck damage in a frontal impact crash. Other markets around the world are not affected. A fix is not ready yet but BMW says owners should not be concerned as long as they are wearing seat belts. The recall and order affects about 30,000 vehicles. So...always buckle up. Yes, always, and in the back seat too.

* Honda is recalling 900,000 Odyssey minivans from the 2011 - 2017 model years because of a latch problem with the second-row seats. The seats may tip forward if not latched properly.

* Mitsubishi is recalling nearly 84,000 subcompact Mirage models in the U.S. because the air bags may not inflate in a crash. The recall covers certain vehicles from 2014 through 2018.

* NASCAR crowned Martin Truex Jr. as its 2017 Champ at the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Truex, 37, also won this final race which was also his eighth win of the season. It's Truex's first championship. NASCAR also had three notable retirements, namely Dale Earnhardt Jr, Danica Patrick and Matt Kenseth.