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In Case You Missed It - Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest - Jan 16-22, 2017; 2018 Mustang, Ignition Switch GM, Takata, Tesla, Dakar, Who Lives Who Dies


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AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO, January 22, 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.

If you are a car and driving fan like we all are here at The Auto Channel, you can easily "catch up" or put these stories in context by searching the past 25 year's 2,005,112 automotive pages of news, automotive stories, articles, reviews, archived news, video, audio, rants and raves accessible from The Auto Channel's Automotive News Archive.

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Nutson's Nuggets: January 22, 2017

* Ford took the wraps off the 2018 Mustang this week. Refreshed with new front and rear end designs, a 12-inch all-digital customizable instrument cluster, engine upgrades and a new 10-speed automatic plus available MagneRide suspension for optimum handling and optional active valve exhaust for complete noise control are some of what's new. Of note is that Ford showed the Mustang coupe at events in Detroit, LA and NYC locations and just one week after media previews at the NAIAS in Detroit. The Detroit auto show was currently still open to the public and Ford slipped the new Mustang coupe into their display. Three days later the 2018 Mustang convertible made its debut to the public at auto shows in South Carolina and Kentucky, before traveling to more than 50 other regional auto shows across the country. It is not on display for the North American International Auto Show.

* Despite President Trump’s tariff threats and twitter shaming U.S., German and Asian automakers are expected to continue producing products in Mexico in ever increasing numbers according to a forecast from LMC Automotive. The report notes that production in Mexico will increase at least through 2020 while production in the U.S. and Canada will decline. Mexican production will increase from 19% of North American production today to 26% by 2020, the report predicts.

* Gasoline prices drop. For the first time since November the national average has seen a weekly drop, falling 3.2 cents to $2.339 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. The fall comes as crude oil prices take a breather and gasoline inventories surge, putting downward pressure on pump prices. A total of 36 states saw gasoline prices fall in the last week. The downward trend is evident in over two-thirds of states but may take additional time to materialize in others, yet is a familiar pattern for late winter. However don't hold your breath. Crude oil prices are expected to rise significantly in 2017.

* GM will pay a civil penalty of $1 million as part of the ignition switch scandal. GM announced that it has resolved a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation arising from the company’s 2014 ignition switch recalls by consenting to an administrative SEC Cease and Desist Order, without admitting or denying any wrongdoing. The SEC settlement does not call into question any of GM’s current or prior financial statements or its disclosures. Since the ignition switch recall, GM has been resolving ignition switch issues with customers and regulators at both the state and federal level.

* There are more vehicles being added to the Takata air bag recall. Another 652,000 vehicles made by fourteen different auto makers issued recalls for front passenger inflators. Over 5.7 million vehicles in total are affected by the Takata matter.

* According to an Autolist.com survey, young adults may be driving less, but when they do drive, they prefer cars that are new and green. Millennials are 6.2 percent more likely than Gen X buyers to want a car and 5.1 percent more likely to be concerned about the car's environmental impact.

* An MIT worldwide study on the moral dilemma of "who lives, who dies?" for driverless cars has found that people prefer a self-driving car to act for the greater good and sacrifice the occupant passenger if it can save a crowd of pedestrians. However, no one wants to be the passenger in a driverless car, potentially stifling the acceptance of driverless cars.

* Ever wonder if self-driving cars will ever have a place in the kind of congested and chaotic traffic found in many developing and underdeveloped countries? Most automakers haven’t even begun to think about those conditions. Tata Elxsi (Tata Motors, by the way, owns the Jaguar and Land Rover brands), however, is more than thinking about it, they are petitioning the Indian government for permission to begin testing vehicles equipped with Lidar, radar, cameras and ultrasonic sensors managed with artificial intelligence. They are already testing these on a limited scale.

* Apple was sued this week on behalf of a driver injured when rear-ended by a distracted driver using his iPhone. The suit claims Apple should have added a “lock-out device” to the the phone citing government data that 312 lives are lost per year in California that could have been saved by such a device. A similar suit by a Texas family blames Apple for not warning people that use of FaceTime while driving is dangerous. Advocates claim that eight people per day die from distracted driving accidents.

* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cleared Tesla’s Autopilot system of any safety defect this week. An investigation began after a fatal accident last May where the system apparently mistook a large, white semi trailer that turned in front of the car for bright sky. Tesla insisted the system was not at fault saying it was never designed for, nor promoted as, being used as fully autonomous without driver monitoring and in this case the driver was entirely disengaged from driving.

* It’s been 45 days since Nico Rosberg dropped the bombshell of his immediate retirement from Formula One. Mercedes signed Valtteri Bottas, a 27-year-old native of Nastola, Finland who has completed four seasons in Formula One with Williams, making 77 starts and scoring 9 career podiums so far. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will race for the Silver Arrows in 2017. Bottas becomes the 11th driver to compete in Formula One with the Silver Arrows.

* Stéphane Peterhansel retained his crown to take his 13th Dakar Rally title, his second for Team Peugeot Total and his seventh in a car. Peugeot scored a one-two-three finish with their 3008 DKR rally car. Sam Sunderland made history by becoming the first British rider to win the bikes category. Team Kamaz Master took the truck win. At the wheel of the new and spectacular Kamaz Kapotnik, Eduard Nikolaev regained the trophy for the Dakar's most dominant team. The 2017 Dakar Rally saw two stages cancelled and three more shortened due to torrential rain, thunder and lightning that brought about floods and landslides during he grueling 5,600-mile trek through Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina.

* And this. A zero-emissions vehicle has crossed the finish line at the Dakar Rally for the first time ever. The drivers of the all-electric Acciona 4x4 had no range anxiety. Backed by Spanish renewable energy company Acciona, the EcoPowered 4x4 is powered by a 340-horsepower electric motor and six ultra-fast charging lithium battery modules. The EV successfully completed all 12 stages, some sections spanning more than 300 miles.

* Arizona’s classic and collector car auction week begins with Ford auctioning a one-off 2017 F-150 Raptor, the last VIN produced, at the famous Barrett-Jackson sale in Scottsdale. Proceeds will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Ford Motor Company CEO, Mark Fields will be there on stage with Raptor team members. The auction winner will even get to choose the truck’s color. Ford claims the Raptor is the most off-road-competent truck in the market and Raptor buyers will all get the opportunity to attend a Ford Off-Road Racing School program to learn to use all that capability.