Nutson's Nuggets: Last Week's (April 23-29 ) Automotive News In Case You Were Sleeping

* The Society of Automotive Engineers met for the annual World Congress in Detroit this week. While the exhibit space at the downtown Cobo Center seems to host fewer and fewer vendors each year the organizers insist that the quality of those remaining gets better. Behind the scenes many of the conference rooms were filled with deep thinkers and innovators presenting scholarly papers. They must be doing something right since the advancement in automotive technology and engineering continues to be mind-boggling. The real future-tech for vehicles is seen at the SAE show.

* Speaking of the SAE, this week the organization officially certified the supercharged 5.8-liter Ford Shelby GT500 V8 as being the most powerful series production V8 at 662 horsepower and 631 pound-feet of torque. Amazingly, the GT500 with that engine manages 24 mpg on the highway, incrementally better than its immediate predecessor.

* Highlights of the Beijing Motor Show would have to include a surprising number of electric and hybrid automobiles like: a Daimler-BYD electric show car that precedes a version likely to be produced soon; Toyota's "Yundong Shuangqing" hybrid concept also nearing production; Cadillac ELR electric coupe; and Chevrolet's EN-V personal mobility concept. While Chinese consumers appear to prefer big SUVs the government is promoting green vehicles.

* Luxury car makers are falling all over one another to get attention at the Beijing show and perhaps get a foothold in what they see as a potentially huge market for upscale cars. Citroen presented a concept to support the DS line called Numero 9, a low, sleek exciting sedan with exaggeratedly bold details. BMW showed the i8 Concept Spyder with remarkably busy but attractive roadster styling. Lamborghini brought the Urus concept CUV. And, Mercedes had a concept coupe with design looking a full step beyond anything they have shown before. It appears that more concept cars were launched in Beijing than even the premier Detroit show.

* Other highlights of the Beijing show include a Ferrari 458 Italia Chinese edition, the Smart Fortwo Dragon Edition, a Jeep Wrangler Dragon, even an Aston Martin Dragon 88. Do you see a pattern here? This is the year of the dragon on the Chinese calendar. Rolls-Royce offered a special edition of the Phantom earlier in the year called "Year of the Dragon" which sold out in short order.

* Chrysler Group is coming back strongly reporting this week the best quarterly profits - over $470 million - since the alliance with Fiat. Market share in the U.S. jumped as well based on a 39% increase in sales. Anecdotally, we understand it's tough to get a new Chrysler 300 today as waiting lists are long. Especially encouraging are reports that fleet sales are measurably down which bolsters the bottom line considerably.

* Coda Automotive, maker of a well-sorted but plain-looking plug-in electric car assembled in California with Chinese components, has withdrawn its application for a $334 million U.S. Department of Energy loan to build an assembly and battery plant in Ohio with the expectation of creating up to 2,000 jobs. The request has languished for over two years becoming a victim of the Solyndra failure sinking into the political quagmire. One of our colleagues recently drove a Coda in California and reviewed it quite favorably .

* Ferrari had a substantial presence at the Beijing show announcing it will be adding 5 more stores for a total of 15 places to buy the storied marque in China. Also announced there is Ferrari's plan to offer a new car for 2013 - a yet-unnamed successor to the Enzo - with gasoline/electric hybrid powertrain derived from their Formula One racing program.

- On the automotive fine art scene this week, we attended the unavailing of the poster art for the lovely Eyes On Design show at the Eleanor and Edsel Ford estate in Grosse Pointe, MI. Tom Hale, member of the prestigious Automotive Fine Art Society, painted a colorful scene of a 1941 Lincoln Continental in front of one of the mansion's cottages. The design of this classic Lincoln, depicted in a soft purple, came substantially from the talented and aesthetically gifted Edsel Ford himself. Hale has also created the poster art for the prestigious Concours of America at St. Johns.

* The Hertz Corporation continues the expansion into the neighborhood market with the opening of 125 Hertz Local Edition locations in 33 states. The openings are part of a Company-wide strategy to accelerate expansion in the off airport, neighborhood car rental market servicing the replacement, leisure and business customers. Hertz's neighborhood operations continue to grow and the Company is increasing its investment to the demands of the local renters. Hertz's Local Editionb will provide the same service as ZipCar and iGo.

* NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson was ranked America's Most Influential Athlete by Forbes. This is according to a public opinion poll that was conducted.

* A study by Bridgestone Tires finds that teens are in complete denial when it comes to highway safety. More than half of the 2,000 drivers, aged 15 to 21 said they were aware that distracted driving poses risk, yet a large number continue to engage in risky behaviors, such as texting while driving or using handheld phones.

* Two U.S. senators are asking the Obama administration to explain the process it used to approve a $529 million loan to Fisker Automotive, which has suspended work on the Atlantic mid-size electric car it planned to build in a former GM plant in Deleware. According to Reuters News Service, Department of Energy is working with an outside consultant, Houlihan Lokey, to evaluate a variety of agency loans, including Fisker.