Automotive News Digest; Week Ending January 12, 2019 - Compiled By Executive Producer Larry Nutson

AUTO CENTRAL DETROIT and CHICAGO - January 13, 2019: Every Sunday Larry Nutson, Senior Editor and Chicago Car Guy along with fellow senior editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, give you The Auto Channel's "take" on this past week's automotive news, in easy to "catch up" with news nuggets.

See Also: links to the past 25 year's millions of (Indexed By Bing) pages of automotive news, automotive stories, articles, reviews, archived news residing in The Auto Channel Automotive News Library.

TV viewers, you can now enjoy The Auto Channel TV Network On Amazon TV, Google TV, HULU, ROKU, and Old Fashioned "Free and Clear" Over the air TV in Boston and South Florida as well as local cable systems.

* International CES, the annual showcase for the world’s biggest consumer electronics companies, took place this week in Las Vegas. At CES Nissan introduced the long-range version Leaf e+ that the will travel an EPA-estimated 226 miles, and it will have more power than the standard version. Range increases about 40 percent from the regular Leaf, which is rated at 150 miles. This increase comes thanks to a new 62-kilowatt-hour battery pack. The new Leaf e+ goes on sale in Spring 2019 and we expect pricing to be announced at that time.

* At CES 2019 the first Mercedes-Benz vehicle from the EQ brand made its U.S. premiere. The EQC symbolizes the beginning of a new mobility era at Daimler as an avant-garde electric luxury vehicle. Powered by two electric motors at the front and rear axles with a combined output of 402 hp, the EQC has a preliminary estimated range of 450 kilometers (279 miles) according to the European cycle NEDC. The EQC will go on sale in the U.S. in 2020.

* We also saw a Toyota 18-wheeler powered by a hydrogen fuel-cell, the new Lexus LS500h hybrid flagship sedan and even a drone-like air taxi from Bell, powered by six big rotors that tilt back and forth for vertical takeoffs and cruising.

* Harley-Davidson, the Wisconsin motorcycle maker, announced at International CES that the electric LiveWire motorcycle will cost $29,799, plus destination charges. Harley-Davidson will build the LiveWire at its York, Pennsylvania production facility. The LiveWire has a lithium-ion battery and can be charged with a Level 1, Level 2 charger or a Level 3 DC fast charger.

* Amidst all the high sales of SUVs, the demise of sedans and the hoopla about autonomous cars, the 2018 sales of muscle cars keeps rocking along. Ford's Mustang remains king and the top seller with 75,842 Mustangs sold in 2018, although a drop of 7.4 percent compared to the previous year. Coming in second is the Dodge Challenger with a sales increase of 3 percent to a total of 66,716. And in third is the Camaro with 50,963 sales and a big decrease of 25 percent. Let's see if 2019 shuffles the deck.

* On another note, U.S. customers drove off in 212,000 brand spanking new station wagons last year, 29% more than they did five years earlier, according to new data from Edmunds.com. Station wagons are the fourth fastest growing segment in the U.S. market.

* In Detroit ahead of the opening of the 2019 North American International Auto Show, Ford introduced the all-new 2020 Explorer. Now built on new rear-drive architecture the Explorer will have more power, space, towing capacity and technology. There also will be a new ST model as well as a Limited Hybrid. Power will be from a 2.3-L turbo four and a twin-turbo V6. It will be built at Ford's Chicago assembly plant.

* The North American International Auto Show begins this weekend with press previews, NACTOY winner announcements, dedicated industry days and a black-tie gala before opening to the public on Saturday, January 19th. The NAIAS is one of the world’s most important motor shows but, as is the case around the world, this show is loosing manufacturer participation at an alarming rate. The automakers are finding traditional shows less cost-effective as venues for product reveals. The NAIAS will move to June in 2020.

* Speculation continues in the news media that Ford and VW are planning alliances that will be announced over the next few weeks, or perhaps even months. Electrified vehicles, commercial vehicles, or other global products could be in discussion for shared development. Stay tuned! We may have more news coming form the NAIAS Detroit Auto Show.

* Mazda announced that it will showcase the world premiere of the Mazda MX-5 30th Anniversary Edition at the Chicago Auto Show, open to the public Feb. 7-18, 2019. The original Mazda MX-5 debuted at the Chicago Motor Show in 1989 and the nameplate celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

* Notwithstanding the demise of the dramatic ELR plug-in electric sport coupe, it appears Cadillac is being positioned to become GM’s lead brand producing full-electric vehicles. Multiple media reports confirm Cadillac will have the first vehicle, due in 2021, on the company’s new BEV3 electric vehicle platform. We don’t know in what market segment the new vehicle will compete. GM has committed itself to producing 20 EVs by 2023. The vehicle platform is the basis for vehicle underpinnings, including the battery system and other structural and mechanical parts. Watch out Tesla.

* The plot thickens in the Nissan management crisis as the company’s chief performance officer, Jose Munoz, resigns. Munoz is closely aligned and supportive of Nissan’s dethroned boss Carlos Ghosn who remains in a Japanese prison after being arrested and charged with multiple crimes involving tax fraud. Arun Bajaj, another Ghosn loyalist, also resigned. Nissan says Mr. Munoz was taking time off “to assist the company by concentrating on special tasks arising from recent events.”

* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will pay more than $700 million to resolve lawsuits from the U.S. Justice Department and diesel owners over claims it used illegal software to allow 104,000 diesel vehicles to emit excess emissions. FCA will pay a $300 million fine to the U.S. government, recall 104,000 Jeep SUVs and RAM pickups from 2014 to 2016 model years, pay $280 million to settle lawsuits brought by owners and pay $19 million to California to settle regulatory allegations. As a part of the deal owners will each get $2,800. The problem was similar to the VW debacle in that the manufacturer programmed into the engine software a sidestep of government emissions testing.

* FOUR WHEELER has selected the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon as the winner of its 46th annual SUV of the Year award and selected the Ram 1500 Rebel as the winner of its 30th annual Pickup Truck of the Year award. Both FOUR WHEELER awards are invitation-only competitions that are open to all-new or significantly revised SUVs or Pickup trucks, respectively, for the upcoming model year. For 2019, SUV entries were: Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Elite, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Land Rover Range Rover P400e, Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE P400e, and Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro. Pickup entries included the Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss, GMC Sierra 1500 AT4, Ram 1500 Rebel, and Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

* The stock market may be unpredictable lately but there’s always a bull market going on in the world of classic vehicles, as evidenced by Hagerty magazine’s 2019 Bull Market list of emerging collectibles. The 2019 Bull Market List includes: 1972–75 BMW 3.0CSL, 1997-2004 Porsche Boxster, 1984-93 Saleen Mustang, 1996 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport, 2004-2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, 1985-1989 Toyota MR2, 2004-2006 Dodge Ram SRT10, 1980-1986 Ford Bronco, 2008-2009 Pontiac G8GXP, and 1994-1996 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon.

* On the heritage car front, we learned just this week that Wayne Carini, host of the popular Chasing Classic Cars, will be the Grand Marshall of the Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s on July 28th. Carini is one of the best known figures in the classic and collector car world. He fell in love with old cars at age 9 helping his father in the family’s restoration shop. The Concours of America is one of the most prestigious shows of its kind in the world.

* Via AutoWeek we're sad to report that Joe Gibbs Racing announced that the team's co-founder and co-chairman J.D Gibbs died after complications from a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease. He was 49. Gibbs was the oldest son of team owner Joe Gibbs, who revealed that he was suffering from brain-function problems that doctors couldn't fully explain. At the time, Gibbs was serving as the president of the organization