Motoramic’s Dash for Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011

What we're reading this morning about idled Cruzes, big-fine lobbying and a new way to pace the world's fastest human:


Chevy Cruze output idled at Ohio plant [Detroit Free Press] Nothing costs an automaker more than when it has a factory full of workers standing around with nothing to build — which is why dozens of GM executives will pull all-nighters until the Lordstown, Ohio, plant that builds Chevy Cruzes goes back online. It's not going to affect the healthy supply of Cruzes in dealers, but automakers don't make money when you buy a car — they make money when a dealer buys a car from the factory.
Auto groups fight hike in recall fines [Detroit News] During the Toyota recall ruckus, the federal government fined the Japanese automaker $48.8 million for hiding defects in thousands of vehicles. Had the fines not been capped by law, Toyota might have owed $13.8 billion. An auto safety bill in the Senate would raise the maximum fine per violation to $250 million per incident from $16 million today; all automakers and dealers oppose the raise.

 Lexus unveils concept at Detroit [Lexus] This is the front corner of a car — presumably a whole vehicle, but let's not get carried away — that Lexus will show off at the Detroit auto show on Jan. 9. It's part of the new, angrier Lexus born from the LFA and the sense that people were using Lexus brochures in place of prescription sleep medication. The real question: How will it look with a giant red bow on the roof?
Audi Connect Adds Google Streetview and Internet Radio [Autoevolution] Audi's in-car infonavitainment system already had Google Earth satellite images to draw upon, but will now add Google Streetview results to its menus. So you can see on a screen in your car what the view looks like through the window of the car. Next step: Integrate video conferencing so that an Audi owner doesn't actually have to drive places.
Mini Countryman JCW on the way [Autocar] Just as spring follows winter, every new Mini model must get a John Cooper Works edition. The zaftig Countryman's JCW is expected to pull 215 hp from its four-cylinder engine, but full details may have to wait for the Geneva show in March.
Usain Bolt: The Man-Machine [Ferrari Magazine] Yes, one of the perks of being famous is having Ferrari invite you out to the track for a few laps in Maranello's finest, in return for having some photos published to record the event. It's like the Hazzard County Celebrity Speed Trap gone global.