Nutson's Nuggets: Last Week's (May 20 -27 2012) Automotive News In Case You Were Sleeping

Auto Central Louisville KY May 27, 2012; Each week Larry Nutson, The Auto Channel's Chicago Bureau Chief, along with Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau give you easy to digest nuggets of the past week's automotive news you may have missed.

If you are a car nut like we all are, you can easily "catch up" on these stories as well as the past 16 years 1,345,428 automotive stories, articles, reviews, rants and raves by just searching for the subject you are interested in The Auto Channel's Automotive News Archive, have a safe and appreciative Memorial Day See you next week....LN

Automotive News Nuggets May 20-27, 2012

*Breaking News: Dario Franchitti just won the 2012 Indy 500, his third. Hard to believe but its been 16 years since The Auto Channel became the world's first online entity to webcast the 500 live to the world via the Internet, it was rocket science then (perfected by Bruce Hidaka-Gordon, Harley Lee, Marc Rauch, Darren Embry, Paul Dever, Tim Considine and our crack team of web pioneers, today it was just another online event.

* We learned this week that Mazda and Fiat have inked a deal to co-develop the next MX5 Miata alongside a new generation of the Alfa Romeo Spider on a shared Mazda platform. It would be hard to improve on the respected and iconic Miata but a small, cool roadster is something Alfa certainly understands. The Alfa version of the new roadster is expected to be part of the brand's long-awaited return to the U.S. market.

* From the dead there may still be life. A Chinese energy company and a Japanese venture capital organization want to "buy Saab and build cars." The group named National Electric Vehicle Sweden includes more than just these two principals and they decline to reveal details of the offer or whether they intend to build electric cars. They just say they are "interested in what Saab's brand stands for, the innovation and competence in the company, and the production facility that is world class."

* In spite of apparently waning interest in electric vehicles Nissan announced a new entry in its EV lineup - an electric NV200 commercial van. Based on the Leaf it will be built in Spain and soon find its way to the U.S. market. It sounds like the U.S. version might be based on the New York City taxi for which Nissan recently scored a huge contract.

* The large and luxurious Cadillac Escalade was named tops in customer satisfaction according to the 2012 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. GM also aced the crossover segment award with the SRX and the compact segment with the Cruze. Buick tied with Mercedes in the midsize luxury segment. All in all a good showing for the General.

* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expanding a query into potential engine fires in the Chevy Cruze. Based on just two fires in 2011 models they had been focusing on electrical wiring and the transmission electronic controls they are now including 2011 models in the probe.

* Two events this week in the charmed life of PayPal co-founder, Elan Musk, made news. First, his SpaceX cargo rocket, the first ever private enterprise space station project, docked with the international space station to deliver some goodies. And second, the announcement the the Tesla Model S full electric sedan will begin delivery to customers next month. Prices start at just $57-grand and they expect an annual production rate of about 10,000 units.

* Overall motor vehicle deaths continue to fall and have dropped to their lowest levels since 1949. However, there has been little progress in reducing deaths of motorcyclists. The Governors Highway Safety Association says this may be due to high gasoline prices that have more people riding motorcycles. The Association also made the case for mandatory helmet laws and we here at The Auto Channel agree with that initiative. Motorcycle fatalities are projected at about 4500 per year.

* The New York Times reports that a crowded road can mean deliveries are up, fuel prices are down and vacationers are spending money. Based on this conventional thinking, a decline in congestion may be indicative of an economy in shaky health. In its fifth annual Traffic Scorecard, Inrix, a traffic-data analysis service, reported a 30 percent drop in traffic congestion in the United States in 2011 over levels in 2010.

* Chrysler announced it would recall almost 68,000 Jeep Wranglers from the 2010 model year equipped with automatic transmissions because of a fire hazard,

* This week an amendment attached to the $608 billion defense bill that prohibits every sports sponsorship from the U.S. military was passed by the House Appropriations Committee. At the top of the list of prominent recipients of multimillion-dollar contributions from the Defense Department budget is NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sports the logo of the National Guard in either primary or secondary sponsor display in every race on the Sprint Cup Series circuit.

* Memorial Day brings the Indy 500 and it just might be worth watching. With a new design Dallara car being run this year with new engines from three different sources, Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus, the grueling 500 miles will take them to the test. It's the Indy Car series' first oval race of the year.

* The Auto Channel team of publisher Bob Gordon, Detroit editor Steve Purdy and Chicago editor Larry Nutson spent two days at the Midwest Automotive Media Association's (MAMA) Spring Rally at beautiful Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI meeting with car manufacturer representatives and driving and evaluating from a selection of 90 different new vehicles. All to better provide you our readers with the latest in up-to-date vehicle information.

* Have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend.