Ford's Digital Efforts, NHTSA Audit, Recalls, Jeep Delay and Other Stories In Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Review June 22-28, 2015

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

Auto Central Chicago IL, June 28, 2015 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 20 year's 1,906,999 automotive news, automotive stories, articles, reviews, archived news, video, audio, rants and raves just search The Auto Channel's Automotive News Archive.

Hey Boston TV viewers, you can now enjoy The Auto Channel TV Network "Free and Clear" on WHDT Channel 3 in Boston and on your local cable systems. Just added Naples Florida, along with all South Florida auto fans who can continue to watch The Auto Channel TV Network on WHDT-TV Channel 9 in West Palm Beach as well as cable channel's 17 and 438, channel 9 Miami. WHDN launched its full schedule (including The Auto Channel)of digital broadcasting in the Naples-Fort Myers market on PSIP channel 9.1 channel. Enjoy and thanks for the positive feedback and ratings...Happy Fathers Day, and see you next week, LN

Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest-June 22-28, 2015

* We got a look inside Ford's Research and Innovation Center in Palo Alto, California this week while attending the Further with Ford trends conference. Ford's autonomous vehicle program has moved from a research project to an advanced engineering program, the next step towards production. The Ford Smart Mobility program has the goal to make people's lives better by using developments in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and big data. #FordTrends

* Ford Motor Credit announced a new Peer-2-Peer Car Sharing program. Ford Credit is inviting 14,000 customers in six U.S. cities and 12,000 customers in London to sign up to rent Ford Credit-financed vehicles to prescreened drivers for short-term use, offsetting monthly ownership costs. U.S. customers will participate through the Web-based, mobile-friendly software of ride-sharing company Getaround.

* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is beset with longstanding, systematic operating problems that have undermined the agency’s ability to adequately police auto safety for years, according to an audit of the agency. The agency is hampered by ineffective management, opaque investigation practices and a staff that is insufficient or ill-trained for the task of analyzing increasingly complex automotive technology, according to the report by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.

* Acura is recalling about 106,000 MDX SUVs because an air conditioner pulley can fall off. The recall covers 2014 and 2015 MDX models. Keep a look out for runaway pulleys.

*Subaru is recalling 74,000 2015 Legacy, Impreza, XV Crosstrek and 2016 WRX vehicles with the Eyesight Driver Assist System. If the switch that activates the brake lights fails, the automatic pre-collision braking component of the driver assist system will not function.

* Mitsubishi is recalling 74,000 2006-09 Eclipse and 2007-09 Eclipse Spyder cars because rust inside the antil-lock brake system may cause one of the internal valves to seize. Also being recalled are 459,000 2000-05 Mitsubishi Eclipse, 2001-05 Eclipse Spyder, 2001-05 Chrysler Sebring and 2001-05 Dodge Stratus because if the passenger-side sun visor is folded down it may come off if the passenger air bag deploys.

* Alfa Romeo rolled out its new Giulia midsize sedan in Milan, Italy. Coming to the U.S. next year, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio will have a Ferrari-derived, 510 HP turbocharged V-6 engine. Alfa moves into the sport-sedan segment with the Giulia, so watch out BMW.

* The 2016 Chevrolet Cruze debuted and it's larger and lighter than the previous-generation car. The GM compact is EPA test rated at 40 mpg highway. The only engine for the Cruze will be a new 153HP 1.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder turbocharged engine. It goes on sale early next year. A 1.6-liter turbodiesel will be available in 2017.

* Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV confirmed plans that it's delaying the introduction of the next generation Jeep Grand Cherokee until the 2018-2019. The Grand Cherokee will undergo a major mid-cycle refresh in 2016, prompting FCA to delay the introduction of the all-new vehicle.

* Google said that it has begun testing Michigan-bulit prototype driverless cars on city streets in California. The prototypes' speed is capped at a neighborhood-friendly 25 mph. Google says it has built 25 driverless cars to date and still plans to build a total of 150.

* The Mopar brand unveiled the next-generation Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, a factory-prepped package car specifically geared for drag racing…and not street-legal. The vehicle, revealed at the FCA US LLC Chelsea Proving Grounds, is built on the Dodge Challenger platform and will come with the option of either the brand’s first-ever offering of a supercharged 354-cubic-inch Gen III HEMI engine or a naturally aspirated 426-cubic-inch Gen III HEMI engine. In the first runs the new Drag Pak ran consistently in the eights (eight-second range) while improving times at the 60-ft. mark and also performing very well in the quarter mile. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for the naturally aspirated 426 version of the Mopar Challenger Drag Pak is a “cubic inch appropriate” $99,426, with the 354 supercharged race car available for $109,354 MSRP. Ordering opens up in late July.

* An exhibit that looks at the vanishing landscape of roadside attractions along U.S. highways is opening at Henry Ford Museum in suburban Detroit. "Roadside America: Through the Lens of John Margolies" starts Saturday and runs through Jan. 24 at the museum in Dearborn. Margolies for several decades photographed the unusual and the everyday of roadside attractions, including movie theaters, gas stations, diners and motels.

* Honda and Acura are assaulting Pikes Peak. In their most ambitious assault ever on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Honda Performance Development and Honda Research and Development associates are fielding 13 vehicles in 11 different classes for the June 28 race up the 14,110-foot Colorado mountain. The list of vehicles scheduled to compete in the 93rd running of the event ranges from exotic to practical and features something for fans of all types of racing.

* NASCAR fans prefer upstate New York. Watkins Glen International beat out nine other tracks to win USA Today's 10Best readers choice poll. Martinsville Speedway in Virginia was the runner-up, with Michigan International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway rounding out the top five. I wonder if now we'll see a road course added to the Chase for the Cup final race series, as many have suggested?