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Nutson's Nuggets: Last Week's (October 10-15) Automotive Factoids - In Case You Were Not Paying Attention


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October 30, 2011 Auto Central; Each week Larry Nutson, The Auto Channel's Chicago Bureau Chief, along with Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Detroit Bureau give you the past week's automotive news highlights you may have missed. Plus if you are a car nut like we all are here you can easily "catch up" on the past 16 years 657,000 automotive news articles found in The Auto Channel Automotive News Archive...have fun.

* In end of the week news, Saab owner Swedish Automobile said Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. have agreed to buy 100% of Saab for 100 million Euros ($142 million). This is after an earlier deal was turned down by Saab. Saab will continue in reorganization. The funding will allow the necessary restructuring and an expected future for Saab.

* Nissan Motor Co., the world's largest maker of battery-powered cars, expects to sell 1.5 million zero-emission models with partner Renault SA in five years, betting consumers will accept cars that need charging. Nissan plans to add three all-electric models to the Leaf by 2016 and a plug-in hybrid by 2015.

* At next month's Tokyo Auto Show, Mazda will unveil the Takeri concept vehicle which is expected to closely represent the next-generation 2013 Mazda6 sedan.

* The annual SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show in Las Vegas is coming up next week. Everything for the automotive aftermarket enthusiast will be there including plenty of hopped up versions of production cars from auto manufacturers. Chrysler will present a Dodge Challenger made to look and perform like the thunderous Viper ACR. Called Challenger SRT8 ACR it will sport 20-inch wheels, aero body cladding, special suspension and shifter, and a bunch of other stuff.

* A 1958 Ferrari 250 GT "Tour de France" Berlinetta sold at the RM Auction in London this week for 2.4 million pounds ($3.6 million). Another Ferrari 250 GT was one of the first cars to bring over $1 million at a collector car auction more than 20 years ago. The collector car auction market appears to be softening with other top cars (a Ferrari Monza Spyder, an Aston Martin DB4 GT and a Lamborghini Miura ) failing to sell.

* Invitations went out this week for a new fundraising event for the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan. "The Fabbies" is a dinner and party celebrating fabulous women in the automotive world co-chaired by Lorraine Schultz, founder and CEO of the Women's Automotive Association International and Margery Krevsky, president and co-founder of Production Plus-The Talent Shop and author of the popular book Sirens of Chrome. For information on the December 1st event go to: www.automotivehalloffame.org.

* Lexus, a brand known more for luxury than performance, will present a plethora of "L" models at next week's SEMA Show in Las Vegas. "L" designates their sport models. Centerpiece of all these fresh performance models is the GS 350, destined for production as a 2013 model, boasts a 0 to 60 time of 5.7 seconds.

* Consumers Reports presented their annual reliability survey results to the Detroit Automotive Press Association this week with many surprises. Ford, in particular, sunk from 10th to 20th after years of setting the pace for improvement in US brands. Jeep moved up seven spots to 13th to be the most reliable domestic brand. Toyota's Scion brand topped the ranking, followed by Lexus and Acura. Mazda scored the biggest improvement among Japanese makes, jumping eight spots from last year to fourth overall. Volkswagen held on to 16th place. Mercedes-Benz and BMW both rose four places in the rankings to 18th and 19th place, respectively. Rankings are based on 1.3 million surveys submitted by CR readers. Bottom of the survey was the Jaguar XF.

* If you are of the mindset to spend upwards of $50,000 for a Camaro, the 2012 Camaro ZL1 is to be looked at. Its LSA supercharged 6.2-liter V8 will deliver 580 hp and 556 lb-ft of torque on premium fuel. It will connect with a Tremec six-speed manual transmission as standard, while a Hydra-Matic six-speed automatic will be optional. A "Street-legal race car", in my view.

* We reported in early August on the Get Your Heart Racing cardiology benefit for the Henry Ford Health System in Michigan. Sam Pack, president of Pack Automotive Group in Dallas/Ft. Worth, was the winning (phone) bidder of the "1 of 1" 2012 Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca at $300,000. He is pleased that the funds will go to support cardiology research. His website, www.sampack.com, has a link to his private car museum site, where some cars can be viewed online. Pack has been a Ford dealer since 1980, and worked for Ford Motor Credit in Texas for 18 years before that. He owns 4 dealerships in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

* United Auto Workers (UAW) members at Chrysler Group completed their voting on a new four-year contract and voted in favor of acceptance. Skilled trades members opposed the contract but, overall, the majority ruled.

* On another note, Chrysler Group, helped by new models and higher sales, swung to a third quarter net profit of $212 million, compared with a net loss of $84 million a year earlier.