dogfight tropic: 10 Tiny Bits of Automotive News ? December 5, 2011

1. Petersen Automotive Museum co-founder Margie Petersen died last week from breast cancer at age 76. Earlier this year, she made a $100 million contribution to the museum that bears her name, which included her family?s private car collection.

2. Saab Great Britain has officially filed for bankruptcy protection. Saab GB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Swedish Automobile N.V., the parent company of Saab. Seems like every week we have a story about Saab going bankrupt.

3. Ford has announced its second new color for the 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302. It?s a green monstrosity called ?Gotta Have It Green.? Trust me you don?t gotta have it. Perhaps they meant to call it ?Turkey-vomit Green??

4. Our favorite performance/tuners Hennessey has announced the new 2013 Venom GT Spyder. At a mere $1.25 million, it might not be in everyone?s budget, but it?s still exciting. We saw the hardtop version of this car at SEMA in Las Vegas and it?s amazing.

5. Chrysler?s has announced in the pages of Viper magazine that the 2013 Viper will be introduced at the New York Auto Show in early April. Whether or not you?ll ever actually be able to buy one for anything close to MSRP remains to be seen.

6. Consumer Reports surveyed car owners and surprise, the Chevy Volt rated highest in popularity amongst owners. Not bad considering Porsche 911 (which costs more than twice as much) finished second.

7. In an attempt to do away with any doubt that he is a complete idiot and jerk, Clarkson this week said British public sector workers should be shot dead in front of their families. Calls are coming from some in UK for him to be kicked off TopGear.

8. U.S. auto sales are up for November. General Motors reported total sales of 180,402 vehicles in November, up 7 percent compared with November 2010. Chrysler Group reported U.S. sales of 107,172, a 45 percent increase compared with sales in November 2010 (74,152 units), and the best year-over-year sales gain this year. Ford Motor Company?s November U.S. retail sales increased 20 percent versus a year ago. Total sales were 166,865, up 13 percent.

9. GM is offering to buy back Chevy Volts from any owner who is worried about their cars catching fire. While there have been no issues in real life, during government tests, it appears that the Volt can catch fire weeks later if the battery is not properly attended to after a crash. As of press time, GM says only two customers have taken the offer.

10. Customer complaints of faulty brakes have forced Subaru of America to postpone the sales of three of its 2012 models: Impreza, Legacy and the popular Outback.

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