Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Wrap-up September 22-28, 2024
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Here are Larry's top story picks from this past week's important to you, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy-to-understand automotive news nuggets.
Nutson's Auto News Wrap-up Week Of September 22-28, 2024
September sales. With fewer selling days month over month and year over year, September's sales volume is forecast to be lower by 16.1% versus last month and fall 11.0% from one year ago. The new-vehicle sales pace in September is expected to finish near 15.9 million, up 0.1 million from last September's 15.8 million pace and up from August's 15.1 million. Cox Automotive holds its full year forecast steady at 15.7 million, with the new-vehicle sales pace in Q3 expected to be 15.6 million, a decline from Q2.
- Stay with what you know. Loyal customers are returning to their brand of choice, J.D. Power finds. Loyal customers actually stayed out of the market due to low inventory and new vehicle availability. Today, inventory levels are recovering and customers are coming back. Read the latest in the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Automotive Brand Loyalty Study. HERE
- US DoE factoid of the week. In 2022, SUVs accounted for more than half (54.2%) of all vehicles produced. Beginning in the 1980s, the popularity of SUVs began to rise, and by 2017, SUVs became the dominant size class, outpacing cars for the first time. The popularity of minivans led to a period of increased van production beginning in the mid-1980s and peaking at 11% before declining to just under 3% in 2022. Pickup truck production has remained relatively stable over this timeframe, averaging around 15% of vehicle production.
- Heading in the right direction. Green Car Journal has awarded six prestigious 2025 Green Car Award to environmentally positive models from Chevrolet, Dodge, Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Volvo. Four award winners are powered exclusively by batteries, one is a gas-electric hybrid, and another champions plug-in hybrid power. Get the news HERE
- More flood-damaged vehicles. After a series of tropical storms and hurricanes hit the U.S. from June through August, CARFAX estimates that extensive flooding from Texas to Vermont has left as many as 89,000 vehicles with water damage. That’s on top of the estimated 454,000 water-damaged cars that CARFAX data shows were already on the road in 2023 – before any of these summer hurricanes and storms hit. Read the full story HERE
- Too Heavy. Angus MacKenzie writing for Motor Trend delves into a story by The Economist on the topical subject titled "Heavy Toll: America's Huge, Heavy Cars Are Killing More People" "As America’s vehicles get heavier, they’re killing more Americans, according to research by The Economist." Read Angus' story HERE
- China-built U.S. brand cars. General Motors and Ford Motor Co. would need to stop importing vehicles to the U.S. from China under a proposed rule cracking down on Chinese software and hardware, a U.S. Commerce Department official told Reuters. GM sells the Buick Envision and Ford sells the Lincoln Nautilus, both assembled in China, in the U.S. market. Full story HERE *
- VW Kethcup. Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced that VW part number 00010 ZDK-259-101, VW Gewürz Ketchup Brand, a condiment used to dress VW currywurst, has already been snapped up after becoming available in the U.S. for a limited time. Distributed through DriverGear, the limited supply has already been claimed by the public. Many brand fans familiar with this condiment know it is most famous for being paired with Volkswagen’s currywurst sausage, first created in 1973. Developed by Volkswagen-employed chefs, the official currywurst recipe is a secret known only to a few people. The uniquely spiced sausage is often served chopped into bite-size slices in a bowl and drenched with the sauce. It was Volkswagen’s currywurst—also once sold under an official VW part number—that originally inspired the Volkswagen condiment production, dating back to 1996.
- Tech wins. A would-be car thief in Miami Beach, Florida was foiled by the electric door latches on a Chevrolet Corvette C8. The car's owner filmed the would-be thief who was trapped in the car and asking to be let out before police arrived to arrest him. See it HERE
- There's this. The Toughest Part About Owning a $100,000 Tesla Cybertruck? Cleaning It. Learn more HERE
- Fiat recall. Stellantis car brand Fiat is recalling 17,418 vehicles because of a software error that could cause airbags to deploy with excessive force in a crash, increasing the risk of severe neck injuries. Airbag control modules will be reprogrammed in the recall of 2017-20 Fiat 124 Spider models.
- No need to spend millions. Another unrestored Bugatti has won a major Concours. A 1928 Bugatti Type 35C with battle scars up and down its sides that has been kept running and has been driven and raced regularly its entire 96-year life just won the Concours d’Etat at Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille, one of the leading concours in the world. This came less than a month after another beater Bugatti, an unrestored 1934 Type 59, won Best in Show at Pebble Beach. Read mode from Autoweek: HERE
- Honda motorcycle win. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Team Honda HRC Progressive rider Jett Lawrence successfully defended his premier-class SuperMotocross World Championship by racing his 2025 CRF450RWE to 1-1 moto tally and a first-overall result in the SMX Final. Last year saw the Australian earn the first-ever SMX crown by topping two of the three rounds, and he did likewise in the series' sophomore year. (His teammate and older brother, Hunter Lawrence, topped round 2 and finished second in Las Vegas and in the series; the two actually tied on points, but Jett got the nod by virtue of winning two rounds to Hunter's one.) It was a lucrative day for the Lawrence family; for winning the SuperMotocross crown, Jett earned $1 million, while Hunter took home $500,000 for second place.
- No f-bombs in F1. Formula 1 drivers are hitting back at the FIA president's efforts to tone down their foul-mouthed language. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the controversial president of the Paris-based federation, is asking drivers to refrain from swearing and urging F1 officials to limit the way expletives are featured in TV coverage. Triple world champion Max Verstappen appeared to immediately and provocatively challenge the new order when discussing his Baku GP in the FIA press conference on Thursday. "As soon as I went into qualifying, I knew the car was f**ked," the Dutchman declared.
- RIP. Bruno Sacco passed away on 28 September at the age of 90. The designer made the history of Mercedes-Benz, for which he was head of styling from 1975 to 1999, tracing the lines of many of the star’s most significant cars. Born on 12 November 1933 in Udine, Italy, Sacco always obeyed one principle: “I am a Mercedes-Benz designer not because I think “l’art pour l’art” should be my motto, but because I want the cars I am responsible for to sell successfully,” he said. Sacco came to Mercedes-Benz, after his first experiences in Turin at Ghia and Pininfarina, through Karl Wilfert, whom he got to know in Turin. Wilfert, then in charge of body development, sent him to the Sindelfingen plant at the end of 1957 and hired the young designer shortly afterwards. On 13 January 1958 Sacco started work at Daimler-Benz in Sindelfingen as second designer, following Paul Bracq, who had been hired as first designer in 1957. During his time at Daimler-Benz, Bruno Sacco worked hard on the SL and the W 198 and R 129 series had a particularly formative influence on him. His most important works include the G-Class from 1979 to the present day, the 190, of which 1.9 million have been produced since 1982, the A-Class from 1997, with which Mercedes-Benz entered the smaller segments (1.1 million units sold), the SLK, CLK, the various generations of the S-Class and the E-Class 210 series, as well as countless experimental prototypes and research models that the public has never seen.
Stay safe. Be Well.