Auto News 5

Dallara owner and boss Gian Paolo Dallara has confirmed the Italian constructor is pushing ahead with its F1 plans for 2010. The Parma based outfit, famous for its F3 chassis as well as for its involvement in the Indycar, GP2 and other junior series, was commissioned by the new Spanish entrant Campos to pen its 2010 car. Full story...

Few cars have this much weight on their shoulders, I mean fenders. After all, the Genesis sedan (which is a totally different machine except for the name) received so many trophies and accolades, none bigger than the 2009 North American Car of the Year award. Full story...

The Explorer Sport Trac continues to play the half SUV/half pickup card, with a front and rear seating section like the regular Explorer, but with a small truck bed (just over 4 feet). The available hard tonneau cover is lockable and weatherproof. Full story...

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the world's best-selling two-seater roadster going on sale in the UK, Mazda is introducing a special version of the legendary Mazda MX-5 sportscar called, appropriately, the 'Mazda MX-5 20th Anniversary Limited Edition'. Full story...

After an extensive and over-the-top sweepstakes last year when Cherry Bomb gave away their highly publicized project Dodge Charger on national television, owner Paul Banks knew it was time to outdo himself on the next one. His plan: to team with YearOne and recreate his own version of the 1968 Camaro, one of the cars largely responsible for the early success of the Cherry Bomb Glasspack brand. Full story...

Despite avoiding an accident on lap seven, Danica Patrick's NASCAR debut on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway was cut short after she was caught up in a 12-car crash about half-way through her first Nationwide race. Full story...

Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Focus) put his advantage to 16.6 seconds to Sebastien Loeb (Citroen C4) after day 2 in rally of Sweden. Full story...

Red Bull figures on Wednesday said they were flattered that so many rival cars now resemble the Milton Keynes-designed single seater. After the RB5 finished the 2009 season as the dominant car, many new contenders have hit the test tracks this winter resembling features of the Red Bull. Full story...

David Coulthard has this week been gearing up for his debut test at the wheel of a DTM car. The Scot, who is contemplating returning to the race cockpit with the German touring car series, has been at Spain's Circuito Monteblanco. Full story...

On the last of four days of testing at Jerez on Saturday, the new Virgin team finally began putting some representative laps on the board. It has been a torrid first ever test for the new British team, having grappled with a front wing failure and faced criticism that choosing to pen the VR-01 without a wind tunnel was not a wise idea. Full story...

Lewis Hamilton could be at the wheel of an Australian V8 Supercar for a race next year. Team Vodafone boss Roland Dane said this week that the McLaren driver and 2008 world champion would have raced in 2009 if the newly launched Gold Coast SuperCarnivale did not clash with the Korean grand prix. Full story...

Lotus has put on hold plans to relocate in the near future to Malaysia. When the new team's official entry was confirmed last September, the FIA said Lotus' plan was to be based at the Sepang circuit. Full story...

The F1 Commission last week confirmed that extending the gap between first and second places in 2010 to 7 points is to "further encourage the race to win". But Sauber driver and Grand Prix Drivers' Association chairman de la Rosa said according to Spain's El Pais newspaper: "Changing the scoring system will not change anything, because the drivers always want to win." Full story...

Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) today announced it was amending the voluntary safety improvement campaign initiated last year to provide certain vehicle-based improvements to help address the potential risk of floor mat entrapment due to an incompatible or unsecured driver's side floor mat. The safety improvement campaign will now also include certain MY Corolla, MY Matrix and MY Highlander vehicles. Toyota is also announcing a voluntary safety recall in respect of certain 2010 4-wheel drive Tacoma vehicles. Full story...

No matter the driving you're doing, visibility is a huge factor towards maximum safety. One of the key factors in good visibility, especially in winter, is having an effective wiper blade and washer-fluid combination. Full story...

I've been working as an automotive journalist for over ten years now. I've been putting cars through their paces for nearly a decade, writing articles and doing research for TV shows. Full story...

Want a used sports coupe? Got a few kids or like camping? Need a vehicle that multi-tasks performance and utility? If so, you're probably readying to enter the hot-hatch market. Full story...

The re-born Mini was re-born again for 2007. This second-generation model heads into 2010 with minimal changes to specifications, and a few positive (read downward) price adjustments. Full story...

The Extend-A-Haul is an aluminum truck bed extender that doubles as a ramp for all terrain vehicles, UTV's, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and golf carts. It also allows truck owners to carry building materials too long to carry in the bed of a truck by extending the length of the bed. Full story...

More driving pleasure, reduced emissions: this principle of the development strategy BMW EfficientDynamics applies equally at the very highest level of performance. As of spring 2010, the high-performance model BMW M3 consistently combines its outstanding driving performance figures with further reduced fuel consumption and exhaust emission levels. Full story...