Auto News 5

Walking into the main auction arena at Mecum's Indianapolis Auction, the first thing you'll see is the 1968 Lotus Type 56.No tags for this post.

Vorsteiner debuted its GTX-V 1M Program for the BMW 1M coupe. It features a front spoiler, rear diffuser, trunklid, exhaust and forged wheels.No tags for this post.

The week started off well for BMW fans with the release of the redesigned 3-series wagon. The fifth-generation wagon is expected to reach the States in 2013.No tags for this post.

Referring to Austria's Wörthersee as "Lake Wörthersee" is akin to calling the massive collection of saline water in the middle of Utah "Lake Great Salt Lake," "see" being German for "lake."No tags for this post.

Also in this episode: Ford takes aim at the Toyota Prius V wagon with the C-Max hybrid, a No tags for this post.

Ever wonder how it feels to drive a No tags for this post.

Fiat is taking its Abarth 695 Maserati Edition, which we first saw in Geneva, to the famous No tags for this post.

Carroll Shelby International and Ford Motor Co. will celebrate the life of Carroll Shelby at the No tags for this post.

Driven: 2012 Buick Regal GS Automatic

Feels like a first time.

The Gran Sport name has had plenty of peaks and valleys since it first appeared on a Buick back in the mid Sixties. The most recent offerings were nothing special, and the moniker was retired for a while. Now, the slimmed-down General Motors has fewer brands to feed, giving it more leeway to resurrect the idea of a sporting Buick, in the hope of giving the division the cache enjoyed by premium European (and Japanese) brands. With the Regal GS, it is doing so with an actual European car, as the underlying architecture is primarily that of the Opel Insignia (and, also, the Chevrolet Malibu). And although the idea is laudable, the execution is wanting, chiefly in some of the subjective areas that the old pros in the sports sedan game usually get right.

Photo Gallery: Driven: 2012 Buick Regal GS Automatic - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Driven: 2012 Buick Regal GS Automatic - Automobile Magazine

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Though Mitsubishi officially calls this Pikes Peak Hill Climb car the i-MiEV Evolution, we've taken to referring to this electro-monster the Zebulon Evo.No tags for this post.

Spreading the gospel of Enzo, Ferrari opened its Myth exhibition at the Italian Center in the Shanghai Expo Park on May 18.No tags for this post.

Many a spring vacation starts and ends with a pile of overstuffed suitcases and backpacks crammed along with their respective owners into the family minivan, sedan or sport-utility vehicle.No tags for this post.

Ganassi's Scott Dixon was busy on the sixth day of testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, reaching a best average speed of 223.088 mph.

Scott Dixon. (Photo: IMS)

Josef Newgarden (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing) and Graham Rahal (Ganassi) finished respectively second and third in what was another show of force for the two young drivers.

Josef Newgarden. (Photo: IMS)

Teams will be able to have their boost levels turned up for from 130 to 140 kPA for Fast Friday, Pole Day on Saturday and Bump Day on Sunday; allowing engines to develop an extra 40 to 50 horsepower.

Helio Castroneves et Graham Rahal. (Photo: IMS)

Dragon Racing's Sebastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge were in action, driving their Chevrolet-powered cars for the first time.

The two Lotus drivers, Jean Alesi and Simona de Silvestro, were again the slowest of all.

Katherine Legge. (Photo: IMS)

Indianapolis 500 Practice Day-6

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap
1. Scott Dixon Ganassi DW12-Honda 40.3428s
2. Josef Newgarden Fisher DW12-Honda 40.4115s + 0.0687s
3. Graham Rahal Ganassi DW12-Honda 40.5259s + 0.1831s
4. Will Power Penske DW12-Chevy 40.5529s + 0.2101s
5. Justin Wilson Dale Coyne DW12-Honda 40.5927s + 0.2499s
6. Ryan Briscoe Penske DW12-Chevy 40.6302s + 0.2874s
7. Wade Cunningham Foyt DW12-Honda 40.6413s + 0.2985s
8. Dario Franchitti Ganassi DW12-Honda 40.6606s + 0.3178s
9. Charlie Kimball Ganassi DW12-Honda 40.6649s + 0.3221s
10. JR Hildebrand Panther DW12-Chevy 40.7200s + 0.3772s
11. Mike Conway Foyt DW12-Honda 40.7425s + 0.3997s
12. Alex Tagliani Herta DW12-Honda 40.7803s + 0.4375s
13. Oriol Servia Panther/DRR DW12-Chevy 40.7899s + 0.4471s
14. Helio Castroneves Penske DW12-Chevy 40.7982s + 0.4554s
15. Bryan Clauson Fisher DW12-Honda 40.8184s + 0.4756s
16. Tony Kanaan KV DW12-Chevy 40.8781s + 0.5353s
17. Takuma Sato Rahal DW12-Honda 40.9277s + 0.5849s
18. James Jakes Dale Coyne DW12-Honda 40.9414s + 0.5986s
19. Ana Beatriz Andretti/Conquest DW12-Chevy 40.9828s + 0.6400s
20. Rubens Barrichello KV DW12-Chevy 41.0149s + 0.6721s
21. Michel Jourdain Jr Rahal DW12-Honda 41.0673s + 0.7245s
22. Ed Carpenter Carpenter DW12-Chevy 41.0781s + 0.7353s
23. EJ Viso KV DW12-Chevy 41.1806s + 0.8378s
24. Townsend Bell Schmidt DW12-Honda 41.1846s + 0.8418s
25. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon DW12-Chevy 41.9161s + 1.5733s
26. Jean Alesi Fan Force DW12-Lotus 43.3758s + 3.0330s
27. Simona de Silvestro HVM DW12-Lotus 43.7552s + 3.4124s



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From GMM

Red Bull is lamenting the limited role that can be played in 2012 by F1's aerodynamic genius Adrian Newey.

For the past few years, the energy drink owned team has enjoyed its dominance largely because of the airflow magic wrought by Briton Newey.

But in 2012, with reigning back to back world champion Sebastian Vettel just one of the five different winners so far, Pirelli rubber is king.

"I doubt Williams really know why they were so strong," team boss Christian Horner, referring to Pastor Maldonado's shock Barcelona pole and win last weekend, is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Horner insisted that, rather than the winner being the team with the best overall package at each race, success this season is about "understanding the characteristics of the tyre and the window in which they work".

"It's not that the midfield teams have made a quantum leap aerodynamically from last year to this year," Horner insisted. "But from a performance point of view, this is what they have done."

The logical conclusion is that aerodynamic cleverness has taken a back seat.

Sebastian Vettel testing at Mugello. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

So will Red Bull knock a million or two off Newey's huge annual retainer?

Horner laughed. "Adrian is not just an aerodynamicist, and aerodynamics are still important anyway. But now it's about harmonising everything, and these tyres are simply remarkably complex.

"Two races ago Nico Rosberg dominated, but in Spain he was almost lapped. It is very difficult to predict what's going to happen next -- a nightmare for the bookmakers," he smiled. "A lottery."

The situation has split F1 into two camps: those who love it, and those who do not.

"It has become like a GP2 championship," Pastor Maldonado, the junior category's 2010 champion, is quoted by The National newspaper. "The drivers can make the difference and the teams can still work on the strategy and the car."

The bizarre situation has left everyone scratching their heads, like Jenson Button.

He can scarcely believe that what looked a championship car - his 2012 McLaren - was beaten in Spain by Shanghai winner Nico Rosberg, who was almost lapped.

"The Red Bulls did a better job at the weekend than us in terms of points, but still they weren't quick when you compare them to Williams, Sauber, Lotus and Ferrari," he told PA Sport. "Five different teams winning five different races, we really don't know what's going on, and I think that's the same up and down the pitlane."



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Sometimes, ideas are so brilliant, so good, that they affect the world in countless ways. For example, Ralph B. Rogers had many ideas in his day, including working with Cummins Diesel Engine early on, making Indian motorcycles lighter to go faster and to co-found the Children's Television Workshop which created one of the best-known children television show in history. You may have heard of it: Sesame Street.

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre

John “Jay” Rogers is Ralph B.'s grandson and he, too, is quite the entrepreneur. His love of cars began in his childhood but it wasn't until he returned from a stint in the Marine Corp that he dove head-first into the car business.

As a businessman with large footsteps to follow in, Jay Rogers did not go at it in a “normal” way. He is the founder of the world's coolest car company, Local Motors. In fact, the company's motto is “Make c.o.o.l. cars,” cool being an acronym for “Community, Open, Ownership, Local.”

Instead of hiring a team to design a product and hope the buying public at large likes it, he decided to use principles such as co-creation, also known as crowdsourcing, and open source, where the masses bring forth ideas that the company can work with and eventually apply to the product which, even when completed, can continue to evolve. In other words, there are no technical secrets and nearly everything can be changed within the confines of the co-created car.

Some have called Rogers a 21st Century Henry Ford. He believes that niche cars are a profitable way to build and sell cars. Low-volume manufacturing is possible through local micro factories such as the one they have in Chandler, AZ, and that this will be the way of the future. He also is convinced that concept cars can be real cars, unlike the way it used to be when Harley Earl used to make them for GM.

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre

The concept behind Local Motors is to create and build local factories in a number of areas and have each factory build its own cars with locally available resources. It's a very enlightened concept and has sustainability written all over it. Rogers figures that a production run of 2,000 cars can and does make sense. This is a far cry from huge assembly lines and millions of cars...

Time is money and that will never change. What Local Motors does is spend less time finagling with the concepts as they move to production in only 18 months, as opposed to 4 or more years like the big carmakers. The plan is to further reduce these delays. All of these steps enable Rogers to build cars in 1/5 of the time and with a hundredth of the cash. That's crazy.

Local Motors uses competitions to determine winning designs. They currently have tens upon tens of thousands of design ideas, all of them accessible on The Forge, the website where pro and budding designers can submit their ideas. The community that participates in the competition varies widely in age and background. The contests themselves are regional. For example, once such competition was created for an Alaskan car. It's all very cool, pun intended...

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre

Once the car “comes to life” and is purchased, the buyer becomes part of the build process. Over a period of six days and nights, the new owner is required to take part in certain portions of the actual assembly process. As Jay puts it, the “do-it yourself nation is upon us.” I fully agree.

John “Jay” Rogers is in the process of changing the North American automotive business. The cycle of greed and BS is one of the many issues that have crippled the car business on our side of the planet and he wants to change that. Unlike the current system, he's looking to instill trust and open practices. I wish him all the luck in the world.

LM's first creation is the Rally Fighter. I was lucky enough to take this incredible vehicle for a spin while in Arizona.

If you want to learn more about Mr. Rogers and his vision, I invite you to view the following video.

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So, I've been spending some time on used car sites and daydreaming when the boss isn't around. Mainly, I'm looking for my dream car: a 1997 Dodge Viper GTS Coupe. But in the process, I'm also finding many alternatives to that dream car are getting more and more affordable, too.

It's delightful when machinery that made your teenage self drool wind up in used car territory and become considerably more attainable. Here's a look at some models many a gearhead will have found attractive as a kid, and will find attractively priced now.

1997 Dodge Viper GTS: This machine's got an 8L V10, 450-hp and no B.S.. Plus, it's mean as all heck and could hand many a Ferrari from its era their own derriere on a plate. Many Vipers in the used market have upgraded intakes, exhausts and wheels, too. Pricing seems to range from $40,000 to $50,000—though I'm sure you could get a motivated seller down by a few grand with cold hard cash.

2001 Jaguar XKR: Not only does this British pussycat pack a supercharged engine with the better part of 400 hp driving the rear wheels, its comfortable, usable, and classier than Pierce Brosnan. You can even get a convertible. Many Jaguar XKR owners say their machines are like rolling pieces of art—when they're not sipping cognac and enjoying the finer things in life. You could probably pick one of these babies up for about $20,000, and it still looks like five times that much.

1986 Porsche 911: Ah, dirty old Porsches. They're unique. They're charming. They have air-cooled flat-sixes that get hot enough to melt rocks on the intake manifold. The Turbo model lagged worse than a Commodore 64 playing Doom 3D. And you can pick one up for about $23,000 - depending on the trim level and mileage. If you're interested in owning one of the most envied, instantly-recognizable sports cars in history, this is a great way to do it.

1993 Acura NSX (Photo: Acura)

1993 Acura NSX: The NSX wasn't a car anyone bought to be the fastest supercar on their block. It was a car bought because it was cool looking as all hell. And had a gorgeous V6 bolted to the middle. And looked like a Ferrari. And handled like a fighter jet. Ferraris from this era are still priced like real estate. But you can get an Acura NSX for about $30,000. The local Civic Hatch tuner crowd will be envious of your VTEC, too.

2000 BMW M5: Sometimes, accidental creation of offspring gets in the way of owning that sexy two-door dream car. That's why there's the BMW M5. It's got four doors, room for the kiddies, and packs a 5.0L, 400-hp V8. Best of all, it's got three pedals and drives the rear wheels. Fans say it's the best sports sedan on the planet. Most owners agree. Pick one up for less than $20,000.

1993 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1: If you haven't cut the back of your hair since hanging the poster on your wall back in the nineties, you might be interested in the 1993 Corvette ZR-1. Look for an all-aluminum 405-hp V8, rear-wheel drive and all that American-styled Corvette goodness. Pricing ranges from about $20,000 to $30,000—chrome Canadian Tire add-ons not included.
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CHANDLER, Arizona - Cool is a term oft used by all to describe countless aspects in life. From beverages to clothes, from injuries to storms, anything can be cool.


I submit that the definition of the word should refer, from this day forward, to one company only and their products. That company is Local Motors. You may have never heard of them, but let it be known that it may be the future of the car business today. This company is intent on redefining the automotive industry, even though they are the new kid on the block.

Local Motors' first born is the Rally Fighter. Unlike other makers that give their products names that are expected to strike fear or impress people, LM's Rally Fighter is no poser-mobile with a bruiser name. No, the Rally Fighter is the real deal and they don't come more badass or cooler than this.

What is it?
The Rally Fighter is a mix between a baja truck, a dune buggy and a sports car. This combination is what makes this car unique in the world and strangely enough, it works big time. The wide tires, massive ground clearance, low roofline, playful but all-business front end and funky decals clearly make it out to be a toy for adults.

It is the brainchild of Jay Rogers and of his online community that submitted countless designs. The outer shell was designed by Sangho Kim and uses a mix of classic sport coupe lines, including a long muscular hood, a rear-biased cabin and short overhangs.

If you look closely at the Rally Fighter I tested, you'll note the Miata door handles and the Civic Coupe taillights. How cool is it to think that should you damage the taillight on your custom LM Rally Fighter, all you'll need to do is go to your neighbourhood Honda dealer for the part?

Local Motors and its team of engineers put the Rally Fighter together with off-the-self parts that are easily accessible and, more importantly, serviceable almost anywhere. They are responsible for body panels, interior, and the fantastic tubular steel chassis and space frame. The diameter of the steel used is 1.75″ and wall thickness is of 0.120″. Incidentally, these specs meet SCORE desert racing series requirements, in the event that you find this type of info useful.

The Rally Fighter is a mix between a baja truck, a dune buggy and a sports car. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre)

What does it do?
The LM Rally Fighter is essentially the ultimate do-anything vehicle. Unless you live in the Yukon where mounds of snow are as common as Starbucks' shops are in the city, the Rally Fighter cannot and will not be slowed by anything.

The main trick up the RF's sleeve is its long-travel, coil-over Fox Racing Shocks suspension. Up front, the shock absorbers allow 18 inches of travel, also thanks in part to its detachable stabilizer bar. The rear four-link, solid axle setup permits 20 inches of travel.

I had never experienced a suspension like this one: weight transfers are evident, especially while braking and accelerating. It's as though the RF's body moves independently from the suspension, keeping the wheels and tires in constant contact with the ground. Certainly, every inch travelled by the huge LT285/70R17 Goodyear Wrangler rubbers felt well under control.

The power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering proved to be the most challenging aspect of the car's drive. We were told that the Rally Fighter left at our disposition was the test mule so not all of it was in 100% working order. At any speed above 40 mph (64 km/h), the wheel required constant corrections; a tenuous issue as the overall drive had me drooling for more.

The main trick up the RF's sleeve is its long-travel, coil-over Fox Racing Shocks suspension. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre)

What's the motivation?
At roughly 4,000 lbs (or 1,800 kg) and designed to travel at absurd rates of speed in the desert, you'll have guessed that the RF is adequately powered. What better home-grown powerplant to shoehorn under the bonnet of the arguably coolest, low-volume American car than an LS3?

That's right; a Chevy Corvette 6.2L V8. Good for 430 hp and 424 lb-ft of torque. A 4-speed automatic transmission manages the power transfer to the rear Ford 9” rear axle.

Although torquey and powerful, what the V8 does best is roar. Throttle pressure does not result in immediate acceleration, but I figure that only serves as a warning for things to come when the going gets going.

The whole experience was surreal. The funky billet shifter has to be pushed down to slip it into gear. Once in drive, the best way to illustrate what takes place is to imagine driving an ATV, a snowmobile, a dirt bike and a Ford Raptor all at the same time. It's insane. The growl, the lift, the rush, it's an adrenaline rush. Massive 13.9” ventilated four-wheel discs manage stopping duties once rush momentarily comes to an end.

Unfortunately, I was unable to take the beast off-road, but can scarcely imagine that I wouldn't sell everything I own, redundant organs and all, to drive the RF in the desert every day, for the rest of my life.

The whole experience was surreal. (Photo: Local Motors)

Cool in and out
The Rally Fighter is not only about brawn, balls and ballistics. There's a whole other side to it. Get this:

The cars are not painted as chemicals are very bad for the environment; they prefer lightweight vinyl skins. The community submits wrap ideas in order to help new owners make their Rally Fighter as unique as possible.

As you might expect, the car does not feature all the creature comforts one may be used to. If that's what you're looking for, as Jay Rogers says, check in to your local Lexus dealer. Cabins can be customized within the limits of the new dashboard with gauges, a navigation system and more.

Seating in the tester consisted essentially of sport seats which hold occupants well in place. The RF can be kitted out to be a 5-seater if desired, so this could actually be a family car...

Our tester's steering wheel is lifted from a Ford F-150 and although it works, it does not look the part. As I toured to facility (something everyone should do), they were test-fitting the new dash in a car equipped with a wholly sexier Momo Race wheel.

Seating in the tester consisted essentially of sport seats which hold occupants well in place. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre)

How much?
Before I answer that question, know that the RF is 50-state legal but unfortunately not street-legal in Canada, yet. What is the matter with us?

So far, LM has received 120 deposits for the Rally Fighter, 30 have been delivered and the run will be limited to 2,000 units.

The price tag is $74,900 US, which includes staying at a hotel, meals and tonnes of fun working on your own Rally Fighter before it hits the road, or dirt track, or both... I want one. Period.

Here are a few videos that Auto123.com has put together over the last few years on Local Motors and the Rally Fighter:




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This year we commemorate the 30th anniversary of Gilles Villeneuve's death. Here is a short video of his maiden win in Formula 1 that took place in front of his home fans in Montreal in 1978.

Villeneuve, driving the No. 12 Ferrari 312 T3, qualified third for the race. He passed Alan Jones (Williams) and Jody Scheckter (Wolf) to run in second place. The Canadian inherited first place and the win when race leader Jean-Pierre Jarier (Lotus) retired.





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From GMM

Vitaly Petrov thinks it is possible Felipe Massa will lose his Ferrari seat long before the 2012 season is over.

But Caterham's Russian driver, who moved from Renault (now Lotus) at the end of last season, does not believe reports that Ferrari could sack the struggling Brazilian imminently, such as after next weekend's Monaco grand prix.

"I don't think they'll fire Massa just now. At least not until August," Petrov is quoted by the state owned Moscow news agency Ria Novosti.

Will Felipe Massa complete the entire 2012 season with Ferrari? (Photo: Ferrari)

There are six races until August's month-long calendar 'summer' break.

So while Petrov thinks Massa's career is genuinely in danger, he does not agree that Ferrari is ramping up the pressure on the 30-year-old.

"I wouldn't say that Ferrari are criticizing him that strongly. They're not saying he has one more chance or anything like that," he said.


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From WRC

New Volkswagen Motorsport chief Jost Capito has told that the firm is likely to extend its stay in the FIA World Rally Championship beyond 2015.

Volkswagen will enter a fleet of Polo R WRCs in 2013 as part of a three-year commitment to the sport's highest echelon. Sebastien Ogier will drive one of the two factory cars, while a programme for a junior driver in a third entry remains a possibility.

“If you see what is here, what is built up here and what is coming, then it's difficult to believe it's going to be for just three years,” said Capito, who has recently replaced Kris Nissen at the helm of the German team. “VW does things on a long-term and strategic basis, it doesn't go in and out of [programmes] easily.”

Photo: WRC

Capito said the Polo R WRC project was on course with further testing planned this year ahead of the car's competitive debut in 2013 when Rallye Monte-Carlo is expected to open the new season.

“The plan is to test this year and wait for Monte Carlo [to debut the new car],” said Capito, who confirmed that it would be unlikely for the car to compete any sooner despite accepting it could be beneficial.

Ford ran its new Focus RS WRC on Rally Australia in 2005 ahead of its full debut the following year. Capito was the company's European motorsport head at the time.


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