The week in auto news offers a mixed bag

While there were no major upheavals in the industry this week, the last few days in car news runs the gamut from offbeat to important safety info. Additionally, it points to a good future for electric car manufacturers – even if they are not flying off the lots.

• Sales of electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf have been modest at best, but that doesn't mean that their manufacturers aren't seeing returns. Many consumers are coming into showrooms simply to check out the innovative new rides and often end up driving away in a different car, the Los Angeles Times reports.

"There is such a halo effect," Oliver Hazimeh, an automotive industry consultant at PwC's PRTM Management Consulting, told the Times. "These cars appeal to the cool tech-savvy consumer segment."

In the first nine months of 2011 about 3,895 Volts and 7,199 Leafs have been sold. But statistics reveal even more good news for the manufactures. The Times reports 78 percent of Volt drivers had never bought a Chevy while 90 percent of Leaf drivers never drove a Nissan.

• Tailgaters are likely to see cars of all shapes and sizes when they pack in parking lots before football games, but one ride in particular caught the attention of police in Detroit. A mobile strip club dubbed The Booty Lounge was shut down just minutes before a recent Monday Night Football game, The Detroit News reports.

"If they're in there and they have semi-dressed girls, or they're in there dancing nude or whatever, that's a violation," Detroit Police Sgt. Charles Spruce told the newspaper.

Joe Parsons was the operator of the bus and says that he might be shut down for good – in Detroit at least.

• The Fiat 500 has made headlines lately for its aggressive ad campaign featuring Jennifer Lopez, and although the seductive songstress certainly gives the model a famous face, the small car recently garnered attention for more than its spokesperson. The car was named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Cars.com reports.

The Fiat 500 earned the distinction after receiving a rating of "good" in front, side, rear and rollover crash tests. The only other mini-car to be a Top Safety Pick from the IIHS is the Ford Fiesta.