Nutson's Auto News Nuggets - Week of December 8-14, 2014

By Larry Nutson
Senior Editor and Bureau Chief
Chicago Bureau
The Auto Channel

Auto Central Chicago IL, December 14, 2014; Every Sunday, along with senior editors Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau I give you our "take" on this past week's automotive news in easy to digest nuggets.

If you are a car nut like we all are here at The Auto Channel, you can easily wish to "catch up" on these stories as well as the past 19 year's 1,748,549 automotive news, automotive stories, articles, reviews, archived news, video, audio, rants and raves just search The Auto Channel's Automotive News Archive.

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Nutson's Automotive News Factoids Week Of December 8-14, 2014

* The six finalist spots for North American Car and Truck of the Year were announced in Detroit, and Ford has three of them. The finalists for car of the year are: Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis sedan and Volkswagen Golf/GTI. The finalists for truck of year are: Ford F-150, Chevrolet Colorado and Lincoln MKC. It's the 22nd year of the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.

* With the North American International (Detroit) Auto Show just weeks away we are getting regular hints of some of the new production and concept cars we’ll be seeing there. We are beginning to see a trend developing as manufacturers emphasize coupe and convertible body styles in a variety of sizes. Latest news is a preview by Infiniti promising to show a Q60 Coupe Concept in Detroit. BMW will show both a new 6-Series and M6 convertible.

* Ford led development of in-car infotainment systems when they partnered with Microsoft in 2007. That system experienced many problems in both design and quality that they mostly transcended resulting in a respected system today. Ford announced this week they will be partnering with BlackBerry in developing their next generation in-car operating system called Sync 3. That system is expected in use by the end of calendar 2016.

* Volvo confirmed this week its production program for a lightweight 3-cylinder engine that makes up to 180 horsepower. Volvo is owned by Chinese company Geely but development is being done in Sweden. The turbocharged engine is expected to power Volvo’s 60 series cars. In related news, Volvo’s Drive-E T5 engine was named one of Wards 10 Best Engines of 2015.

* Lest we think performance car development is waning we note that Ford announced this week plans to introduce 12 new performance vehicles through 2020. They are creating a Global Performance Team bringing together the SVT, TS and Ford Racing programs.

* Volkswagen AG said it is granting the United Auto Workers union access rights after an audit showed it has the support of at least 45 percent of workers at the company’s Chattanooga, Tenn., assembly plant. The VW decision granting the UAW access but not authority as the collective bargaining agent is nearly unprecedented in U.S. labor history. Anti-union groups also have also vowed to try to get recognized under the policy announced in November.

* But, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, a longtime critic of the United Auto Workers' efforts to organize foreign automakers in the South, is questioning the process by which the union qualified under a new labor policy at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee. The governor wants assurance that a secret ballot vote was used.

* Consumers are much less likely to consider a non-gasoline powered vehicle as gas prices continue to decline. Four in five consumers (80%) considering an alternative fuel vehicle say that the primary reason is to save money on fuel. However, as gas prices decline, so does interest in these alternative vehicles. Each 10-cent drop in gas prices corresponds to a 1% decrease in the percentage of consumers considering alternative vehicles: 78% would consider a non-gas powered vehicle if gas were $5 a gallon, compared to 68% if gas were $4 and 56% if gas were $3, according to the alternative fuel vehicles tracking study commissioned by NACS, the National Association of Convenience Stores.

* Nissan is recalling about 470,000 vehicles globally, including 133,000 in the U.S., because of possible fuel leaks. The recall includes the following models: 2012-14 Nissan Juke crossovers; 2012-13 Infiniti M56 sedans; 2014-15 Infiniti Q70 sedans; 2012-13 Infiniti QX56 SUVs; and 2014-15 Infiniti QX80 SUVs.

* BMW is recalling 223 of its i8 plug-in hybrids from the 2014 model year because the gas tank might leak. Remember, the i8 has a 3-cylinder gasoline engine driving the rear wheels and electric motors driving the front wheels.

* Hyundai is recalling nearly 43,000 of its Genesis and Equus luxury car models in the U.S. because the brake lights can fail to illuminate. The recall covers certain Genesis cars from the 2009 to 2011 model years and some Equus vehicles from 2011.

* The 2015 Acura TLX equipped with the V6 and nine-speed automatic is on a stop-sale order from the automaker after it informed the NHTSA of a problem with the transmission.

* Air bag supplier Takata has stuck its head in the sand. Frustrated by their lack of action Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. called for a coordinated, industrywide joint initiative to independently test the inflators. Eight other automakers joined the effort: General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC, Mazda Motor Co., BMW AG, Nissan Motor Co, Mitsubishi Motors and Subaru of America.

* The Federal Trade Commission has had an ongoing battle with auto dealers about misleading advertising and cracked down this week on one of the more egregious violators. Billion Auto with 20 stores in Montana, South Dakota and Iowa was fined for advertising vehicle lease deals without adequate disclosure of extraneous costs and terms.

* It has been quite some time since we’ve reported on the status of dormant, nearly comatose automaker Saab. Latest suitor Mahindra of India is near inking a deal to buy NEVS, owner of the assets of Saab Automobile. Speculation is that Mahindra is interested in using Saab as a platform to expand into Western markets and a resource to develop electric cars.