Nutson's Automotive News Summary June 26-July 2, 2017: Ford Bicycles, Made In USA, Best Drivers, New Dodge; Recalls, Harley Ducati?, Goodwood

AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO, June 18, 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.

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Nutson's Nuggets: July 2, 2017

* Two Jeep SUVs assembled in Ohio — the Wrangler and the Cherokee — topped the Cars.com list of most American-made vehicles in a shake-up for the closely followed index. The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, the previous top two, have dropped out of the top 10. Why? Because the criteria have changed. Cars.com has revamped its criteria to better reflect several factors. The study is now based on: assembly plant location, the percentage of parts made in the U.S. used on the vehicle, the manufacturing location of the model's engine and transmission, and the number of American workers the manufacturer employs compared to its U.S. sales. In the past, total U.S. sales was one of the criteria. Ford's Taurus sedan, assembled in Chicago, was third. Japanese automaker Honda's Ridgeline pickup, made in Lincoln, Ala., and its Acura RDX, made in East Liberty, Ohio, placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

* Not meaning to confuse you but to share other viewpoints, we are reprising this post from June 11. "We learned this week that a comprehensive, academic study of the (American made) matter using many data points has been conducted by Associate Professor Frank DuBois of the Kogod School of Business at American University showing top honors go instead to the trio of GM crossovers Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia/Chevy Traverse followed by Ford F-150 and the Chevrolet Corvette. Camry came in 9th in the survey. The most recent Cars.com American Made Index concluded that the Toyota Camry is the most American-made vehicle. Cars.com's criteria include total sales of the vehicle."

* Ford is expanding into bike rental. (Yeah THAT Ford.) Ford, in collaboration with Motivate, is launching Ford GoBike – a regional bike-share network designed to enhance sustainable transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area. Starting now, Ford GoBike is expanding the area’s existing bike-share program to 546 stations and 7,000 bikes – serving San Francisco, San Jose and East Bay; riders can access GoBike through the FordPass app. Designed for the hilly urban environment of San Francisco, Ford GoBikes are built to be comfortable and easy to ride.

* Harley-Davidson is in talks to buy Ducati Motor Holding SpA from Germany’s Volkswagen in a deal that could bring together two of the most storied motorcycle names. One of the most technically advanced motorcycle makers in the industry, Ducati is renowned for its prizewinning high-performance racing motorbikes. Harley-Davidson, whose bikes are known as “hogs”, faces an aging baby-boomer customer base and is eager to expand its business.

* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles offered up a glimpse of its newest offerings this week at its annual What's New media event at the FCA Chelsea, MI Proving Grounds. We can't tell you about most of the news until September 1. We can tell you it focuses on horsepower and luxury. We also can tell you there is a new widebody Dodge Challenger Hellcat, a 475-HP Dodge Durango SRT and a luxurious Ram Limited Tungsten Edition.

* The 13th annual Allstate America's Best Drivers Report names Kansas City, Kansas, the city with America's safest drivers. The report is based on Allstate claims data. This year's three safest cities, Kansas City, Kansas; Brownsville, Texas; and Madison, Wisconsin, retain their places in the top three from last year's report, with Kansas City jumping ahead of 2016's winner, Brownsville, to earn the title of safest-driving city overall.

* Ford is recalling more than 400,000 Transit vans and buses to fix cracked drive shaft couplings that can cause the vehicles to lose power. The recall covers North American vans, buses and chassis cabs with medium, long and extended wheelbases from 2015 to 2017.

* Mazda is recalling nearly 228,000 cars because the parking brake may not fully release or could fail to hold the cars. The recall covers certain Mazda 6 cars from the 2014 and 2015 model years and the Mazda 3 from 2014 through 2016.

* The 95th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was held last Sunday and to no ones surprise, Frenchman Romain Dumas won the overall victory with a 9:05.672 race time. Dumas powered his Norma MXX RD Limited to a third Pikes Peak Hill Climb overall title. Soon after the start of his run he was slowed due to a broken spark plug. He had hoped to score a record run of under 9 minutes, however his time 9:05.672 was still good enough for the overall win.

* The 2017 Great Race is underway this week on a route from Jacksonville, FL to Traverse City, MI. On Saturday, June 24, the 150 teams competing in the 2017 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty departed Jacksonville. They are traveling roughly 2,351 miles to the north northwest, with lunch stops and overnight stops along the way. The trek ends on this Sunday, July 2.

* Also this week in West Sussex, England the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed, motoring and motorsport’s world-renowned garden party, allows one to ogle an assortment of precious metal that falls under the newly announced theme ‘Peaks of Performance – Motorsport’s Game-Changers’. A couple 100,000 enthusiast are watching a slew of high performance cars, new and old, race up Lord March's driveway.

* Be careful out there. National Safety Council calculations indicate 582 people may be killed on the roads during the upcoming Fourth of July holiday period, and an additional 66,900 may be seriously injured in crashes.i It is the highest estimate the Council has issued since 2006 for a four-day July 4 holiday period, which are relatively rare. The holiday period begins at 6 p.m. ET Friday, June 30 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 4.

* Here's wishing you a safe and happy July 4th Independence Day holiday.