Nutsons Weekly Auto News Wrap-up January 14-20, 2024

Auto Central January 21 2024; Every Sunday Larry Nutson, The Chicago Car Guy and Auto Channel Executive Producer, with able assistance from senior Detroit editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, compile The Auto Channel's "take" on this past week's automotive news, condensed into easy to digest news Nuggets.

LEARN MORE: Complete versions of today's news nuggets, along with thousands of pages of relevant news and opinions, information stored in a million-page library published and indexed on The Auto Channel during the past 25 years. Complete information can be found by copying a headline and inserting it into any Site Search Box.

Here are Larry's 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. for Nutson's Auto News Weekly Wrap-up January 14-20, 2024

* Carmakers need to fix this Following a news item we shared a couple weeks ago we have this. The top U.S. telecommunications regulator is asking automakers how they plan to protect people from being stalked or harassed by partners who have access to vehicle location and other data. In a letter sent to nine large automakers, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asks for details about connected car systems and plans to support people who have been harassed by domestic abusers. Nearly all new vehicles have convenience features that use telecommunications to find cars in parking lots, start the engine remotely, and even connect with emergency responders.

* New Dodge Charger coming Right on the heels of Stellantis telling all they would not be in auto shows this year the Dodge brand showed us its 2025 Charger Daytona SRT. Not spy shots, but photos of a pre-production Daytona 2-door coupe were put out by Dodge. There's no new information other then the Charger is supposed to be available in late 2024. We're not sure if the Daytona will be pure-battery powered or perhaps have a high-output Hurricane 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six cylinder....or both.

* Neighborhood-friendly quiet delivery van. Ram introduced the new Ram ProMaster electric van (EV) with a targeted range of up to 162 miles in city driving (EVs get their best "mileage" in city-type driving) The new Ram ProMaster EV is the brand’s first available fully electrified vehicle and is the next step in the Ram brand’s journey to deliver the industry’s best options to market. The new Ram ProMaster EV will be available in two mission-specific configurations, including the delivery model and two cargo models.

* Honda hybrid is best-selling. American Honda, parent of the Honda and Acura brands, recently provided an overview of itss 2023 business and an outlook on its U.S. automobile business for 2024. Of note, the Honda CR-V hybrid was the best-selling hybrid vehicle in the U.S.—from any segment—in 2023. Sales volume exceeded expectations, reaching 361,457 for the year. The Civic lineup will receive styling and feature enhancements for the 2025 model year, including the addition of a Civic hybrid for both the sedan and hatchback models. Civic hybrid will comprise about 40% of the models' sales when it launches this summer, increasing hybrid volume for the brand which already achieved record hybrid sales in 2023.

* VW turns 75! This week, specifically on January 17, marked 75 years since two Volkswagen Type 1 vehicles landed on the shores of New York. The Type 1 became better know as the Beetle or more casually as the Bug. Seventy-five years later, the iconic German automaker is celebrating its humble start to selling cars in the US. To celebrate the anniversary, the brand is announcing a year-long holistic campaign that will serve as a love letter to the American people, and an invitation to be part of Volkswagen’s electric future.

* Stuck in traffic . With traffic congestion costing the average U.S. driver around 50 hours of their time each year, leading to hundreds of dollars in productivity losses, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2024's Best & Worst States to Drive In. To determine the most driver-friendly states in the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states across 31 key metrics. The data set ranges from average gas prices to rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality. Find your state HERE

* EV charging needs gas-station-like convenience. The most recent McKinsey Mobility Consumer Pulse Survey asked EV drivers and prospective buyers about their thoughts on charging, including their current satisfaction levels, major concerns, and what their ideal charging network would provide. When it comes to powering their vehicles, prospective EV buyers want the same convenience they now enjoy with ICE vehicles. In their survey, a subset of respondents state that they would rather buy at least one more traditional ICE car before switching to an EV. Forty-two percent of respondents in this group, who McKinsey refers to as skeptical EV buyers, state that they will only move forward with an EV purchase if public-charger availability is equivalent to that of current gas stations. The current public-charging network falls short of consumer expectations for convenience. Over 80 percent of survey respondents who are considering an EV as their next car believe that the current availability is insufficient. Read the report: HERE

* Plug-in EV sales up. US DoE factoid of the week: Plug-in EV sales in December of 2023 rose to 9.8% of all light-duty vehicle sales, up from 7.8% in December of 2022. Sales share of plug-in vehicles in each month of 2023 was 8% or higher, while sales share in 2022 was between 5.5% and 7.8%. The highest monthly percentage of plug-in vehicle sales was 9.9% in September 2023. Plug-in electric vehicle sales were 9.1% of all light-duty vehicle sales in 2023, up from 6.8% in 2022. Plug-in vehicles refer to both plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and all-electric vehicles.

* EV chargers getting fixed. We often hear complaints about broken EV chargers. Help is here. The Biden-Harris Administration announced nearly $150 million in grants awarded to 24 recipients across 20 states to improve existing electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. Grant recipients will use the funds to repair or replace approximately 4,500 existing EV charging ports while bringing others up to code. Improving existing infrastructure is key to the Administration’s goal of achieving 500,000 EV chargers by 2030. The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation will support this effort by offering Technical Assistance to the many recipients of this funding. With EV sales quadrupling during President Biden’s tenure, the demand for reliable, efficient, safe, and convenient charging continues to grow, requiring chargers to work the first time, every time. This investment is designed to propel that goal forward.

* Cold temps and EVs don't mix. Chicago temps were in the low single digits early this week with wind chill factors at thirty-below. A large number of Tesla, Chevy Bolt and other BEV owners who rely on public charging stations had their cars "brick" while shivering in lines at Tesla Superchargers and other networks in Chicago. The cars wouldn't charge and died altogether requiring towing to service facilities to get them up and running. The issue in Chicago correlates to some extent to the high number of Uber and Lyft drivers who have rented EVs. Additionally, people who live in rental or condo apartments with no access to home charging have chosen an EV, perhaps inappropriately for their living arrangements. The bottom line is public fast chargers in Chicago and other areas are going to continue to be stressed at times if the infrastructure build out doesn’t keep pace with deployment of vehicles.

* Rats are eating well. Rodents have long ravaged automobiles. We've heard this story in the past, and it continues. From the Wall Street Journal, "A New York Professor Wages Epic Battle Against Rats Attacking His Car." From hot sauce to hiding, desperate auto owners are trying everything to keep critters from chewing expensive wiring. ‘They will find you.’ Some say rodents nosh on cars more as automakers switch to soy-based products to insulate wires.

* Art Deco car museum closing. The Mullin Automotive Museum, located in Oxnard, California, announced that it plans to close its doors on February 10. The decision was made in light of the passing of Peter Mullin, who, along with his wife, Merle, opened the museum in 2010 as a way to share his passion for Art Deco design with the world. Four cars from the collection–a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150 CS “Teardrop,” a 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia, a 1939 Delahaye 165 and a 1938 Delahaye 145–have been donated to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The Mullion Automotive Museum will continue to be open on a “limited basis” up until it closes. Visit http://www.mullinautomotivemuseum.com for more information.

* GM delivery van recall. General Motors is recalling several dozen BrightDrop all-electric delivery vans after the front drive units, known as the powertrain, on at least two of them caught fire late last year. In paperwork filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) dated Jan. 11, GM said it is recalling 66 of the 2022 model year EV600 (which GM now calls the Zevo 600) BrightDrop delivery trucks.

* It's time for 2024 motorsports. The Roar Before the Rolex 24 kicks off the racing season at DAYTONA as the three-day test serves as the final dress rehearsal before the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA. The three-day test, this weekend January 19 to 21, serves as the final dress rehearsal before the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA. Some of the world's top drivers take to the track. Running the weekend prior to the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA, the Roar Before the Rolex 24 sets up two back-to-back weekends of intense IMSA action and sets the starting grid for the 2024 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA by a traditional qualifying format on Sunday.

* History made at off-road Dakar Rally. The 31-year-old Californian Sara Price this week became the first female American driver and third woman ever to win a Dakar stage. Not bad for a Dakar rookie. Price has forged a career out of remote adventures around the globe. She’s a former X Games medalist, drove in an electric racing series for Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 team owner Chip Ganassi, was a national dirt bike champion, and even went Hollywood for a spell as a stunt driver. The off-road race that stretches for thousands of miles, this year held up to 15 days throughout the jagged rocks and canyons in Saudi Arabian territory, has been a dream for Price since 2015. Price was racing in a country that only lifted a ban on female drivers in 2018. The ban had relegated women to the backseat, restricting when and how they move around. Originally a circuit from Paris to Dakar, Senegal, the race has been run across Saudi Arabia since 2020. Thanks to AP for this report.

* Dakar Rally Winner. Carlos Sainz won his fourth Dakar Rally title with victory in Saudi Arabia. The 61-year-old Spaniard, father of Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr, ended one hour, 20 minutes and 25 seconds ahead of Belgian Guillaume de Mevius. Sainz also won in 2010, 2018 and 2020, with this latest victory breaking his own record as the race's oldest winner. It is the first time Audi has won the Dakar Rally, with all four of Sainz's victories coming with different manufacturers after previous triumphs for Mini, Volkswagen and Peugeot. The race - the 46th edition of the Dakar Rally - is regarded as one of the toughest tests on the motorsport calendar. Audi also made history: for the first time, a low direct-emission prototype with an electric drive, high-voltage battery and energy converter won the world’s toughest desert rally with the Audi RS Q e-tron.

* RIP . Ryan Pemberton, a veteran of the NASCAR garage, has died. He was 54. Pemberton most recently worked with JR Motorsports as the competition director for the NASCAR Xfinity Series program. In the decade Pemberton spent with the company, it won the driver’s championship three times – first with Chase Elliott (2014) and later with Tyler Reddick (2018 and 2019). Pemberton earned three victories as a Xfinity Series crew chief in 76 starts, doing so with Larry Pearson and Smith. At the Cup Series level (561 starts), Pemberton won a race with Joe Nemechek in 2004 and Brian Vickers in 2009. Among the drivers Pemberton worked with throughout his career were Derrike Cope, Ernie Irvan, Jerry Nadeau, Dave Blaney, Joe Nemechek and Mark Martin. It was Pemberton and Martin who were on the losing end of a photo finish with Kevin Harvick in the 2007 Daytona 500. Thanks to "Racer" for this news.

Stay safe. Be Well.
Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy
The Auto Channel