Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest - October 5-11, 2015: VW, VW, Mazda3 Stop-Sale, Recalls Of Course, Autonomous Legalities

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

AUTO CENTRAL - CHICAGO - October 11, 2015; Every Sunday Larry Nutson, Senior Editor and Chicago Bureau Chief 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 nuggets.

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Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest - October 11, 2015

* One of the big questions about the adoption of autonomous cars is that of legal liability - who will be responsible in the event of the inevitable crash caused by the system. Will it be the owner, the automaker, suppliers who make the sensors or even those responsible for the infrastructure? Big questions, indeed. Volvo recently issued a promise to have autonomous cars within a decade and to punctuate that commitment Volvo’s president and CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, said this week his company will accept “full liability whenever one of its cars crashes while in autonomous mode.”

* The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute's latest report from Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle says the average fuel economy (window-sticker value) of new vehicles sold in the U.S. in September was 25.2 mpg—down 0.1 mpg from August. This decline likely reflects the decreased price of gasoline in September, and the consequent increased sales of pickup trucks, SUVs, and crossovers. Fuel economy is down 0.6 mpg from the peak reached in August 2014, but up 5.1 mpg since October 2007 (the first month of our monitoring).

* In VW Diesel scandal news, VW-US chief Michael Horn testified before a congressional committee and said he learned of the rogue software only in early September. A U.S. recall will first take approval of the EPA and CARB and will involve multiple fixes depending on the model year; some vehicles will require new hardware to be added. Horn said the root of the rogue software lies with a small number of engine development engineers in Germany and the VW staff in Germany responsible for regulation compliance didn't know about the rogue software.

* Additionally, Volkswagen’s new CEO Matthias Mueller said this week the company could begin fixing the 11 million vehicles with diesel engines effected by the bogus software that cheated on emissions testing by early 2016. He speculated that all could be fixed by the end of 2016; seems optimistic. A recall of 2.8 million cars will begin in Germany in January. Approval to sell 2016 models in the US, called certification by EPA and CARB, will be delayed for a number of months. In a related action the U.S. Senate Finance Committee is investigating whether VW claimed $50 million worth of tax credits fraudulently.

* After an overwhelming rejection by UAW workers at FCA (the first time since the early 1980s) of a proposed new contract a new deal has been reached. A key element is the phased-in over eight years elimination of the much-hated two-tier pay scale under a new proposed deal between the UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The agreement also calls for a $5.3 billion investment in U.S. plants with some specificity as to which plants will see the investments. Rank and file still have to vote to approve this new contract.

* Ever feel sorry for urban dwellers for whom car ownership is just too expensive and inconvenient? Well, GM is hoping to make a dent in that problem. Certain Manhattanites can now access a car-sharing program called “Let’s Drive NYC” where customers can reserve a car by way of a smart phone app for short trips or even a long weekend. Prices range from $10/hour to $75/day. The program is starting out with eight Chevy Trax and two Equinox

* GM is recalling nearly 32,000 2016 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia SUVs to fix a problem with the windshield wipers. An electrical short could cause the wiper motor to catch fire. Don't drive in the rain until this is fixed.

* Mazda is issuing a stop-sale and stop-delivery for its Mazda3 compact because of a defect in the fuel shut-off valve. About 15,000 cars built from May 21 to Aug. 24 are affected.

* Tesla may not be so hot. Wall Street investors are starting to doubt and the stock took a hit this week. Tesla is said to be a long way from being a main-stream car company, a step that would require huge capital investment. Demand for Tesla's expensive electric cars is high but they struggle to build them.

* Nissan announced the return to racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship's LM P1 Class in 2016 with the GT-R LM Nismo. After multiple design changes from the Le Mans cars of last year the new GT-R LM Nismo underwent extensive testing this week at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX driven by Harry Tincknell and Olivier Pla. Nismo president Shiochi Miyantani said, “Racing is a vital part of our DNA, and we will work to get this right.”

* Mazda announced pricing for the race-spec version of the new MX-5 Miata at $53,000. It is a fully hand-built race car and cost about $30,000 more than the standard Miata. AutoWeek calls it “a bargain.” The race cars are built up from the Miata by Long Road Racing of Statesville, North Carolina. All we know so far is that the modifications include a roll cage, bigger radiator and stainless steel header. Lots more is included and it is expected to level the playing field in the MX-5 Cup series.