Auto News 5

Kawasaki rider John Hopkins did not have much of a day at Phillip Island today after aggravating the leg injuries he was operated on earlier last summer after his crash at Assen. Full story...

Young Frenchman Simon Pagenaud will remain with de Ferran Motorsports for the 2009 season of the American Le Mans Series and will drive along team owner and driver Gil de Ferran. Full story...

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon will take part in the annual kart race organized by Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Full story...

When the Grand Vitara was redesigned for the 2006 model year, the 4-cylinder Vitara bit the dust. Suzuki's compact SUV was left with only one engine which was shared with the old XL7. For a few years, it was sufficient. Now, as SUV owners are downsizing, 4-cylinder trucks are the new trend. Toyota's RAV4, Ford's Escape and Mazda's Tribute have all received engine upgrades for 2009, so Suzuki didn't have much choice but to follow suit. And the Grand Vitara actually gets two new engines for 2009, a four and a more-powerful six. Full story...

Even though the manufacturer is more discrete than the others in terms of environmental technology, Nissan is just as ready to do battle on this front as well. As Carlos Ghosn, the head of the group, mentioned at the opening of the Los Angeles Auto Show, Nissan has no cause to be jealous of the competition. Full story...

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has completed crash testing the year's new models, and announced that over 70 machines have won their Top Safety Pick award for 2009. Notably, that's more than twice the number of vehicles as 2008- and more than three times the number of winners as 2007. Achieving the Top Safety Pick rating means the vehicle in question must come with Electronic Stability Control and get the Institute's top rating of 'good' in all impact tests. Full story...

Hot rumours and news about McLaren sponsor Santander, the Scuderia Ferrari, retired driver David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and LG. Full story...

Kawasaki rider John Hopkins did not have much of a day at Phillip Island today after aggravating the leg injuries he was operated on earlier last summer after his crash at Assen. Full story...

Young Frenchman Simon Pagenaud will remain with de Ferran Motorsports for the 2009 season of the American Le Mans Series and will drive along team owner and driver Gil de Ferran. Full story...

Hot rumours and news about McLaren sponsor Santander, the Scuderia Ferrari, retired driver David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and LG. Full story...

Following the buzz generated by the 2010 Mazda 3 sedan, the youthful Japanese automaker has just announced that the next-generation of the popular five-door hatchback model will be launched worldwide at the Bologna Motor Show. The 2010 3 sedan was unveiled publicly at the Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this month. Full story...

Even though they were forced to retire of the last Tall Pines Rally, the defect of all the other contenders assured Maxime and Simon Losier the first Mitsubishi Cup of the Canadian Rally Championship. Full story...

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon will take part in the annual kart race organized by Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Full story...

Ilmor, the British independent race engineering company, is the frontrunner should Formula 1 become a single engine formula. Full story...

Former Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger sold his 50 per cent share of the Toro Rosso team back to Red Bull because of the 'customer car' issue. Full story...

On November 18, we posted a story from the Daily Telegraph about Honda apparently being the team with the highest budget in Formula 1. Reading the numbers more accurately change the story dramatically. Full story...

When the Grand Vitara was redesigned for the 2006 model year, the 4-cylinder Vitara bit the dust. Suzuki's compact SUV was left with only one engine which was shared with the old XL7. For a few years, it was sufficient. Now, as SUV owners are downsizing, 4-cylinder trucks are the new trend. Toyota's RAV4, Ford's Escape and Mazda's Tribute have all received engine upgrades for 2009, so Suzuki didn't have much choice but to follow suit. And the Grand Vitara actually gets two new engines for 2009, a four and a more-powerful six. Full story...

LOS ANGELES -- American Honda Motor Co. is bagging the flashy formal press conferences at the Detroit auto show in January. The company says it will forgo traditional product unveilings because of depressed business conditions. Full story...

Shinichi Kurihara, who led Mitsubishi's U.S. product planning while sales rose in the late 1990s, has been tapped to run the automaker's struggling North American subsidiary. Full story...

General Motors is canceling its franchise make meetings at the 2009 National Automobile Dealers Association convention. Instead, GM will hold one general company meeting on Sunday, Jan. 25. Full story...