Auto News 5

Porsche has dropped plans to build a two-seat vehicle that would have been smaller and cheaper than its Boxster model, CEO Matthias Mueller told a German newspaper.

The first Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works GP was produced in 2006 to mark the end of the first generation of the Mini developed by

MINI has unleashed its fastest car ever, in the form of the limited-run John Cooper Works GP II

Ramped-up capacity by Chinese automakers during the heady days of 30-50 percent annual growth has bumped headlong into a domestic slowdown, and indigenous firms are now seeking buyers in far-flung corners of the world -- from Egypt to Ukraine to...

Daimler is flooding Berlin with Smart cars to claim a greater share of Europe's burgeoning rent-by-the-minute urban auto market.

Greg Biffle has always been a tough competitor in a Sprint Cup race. Only as a qualifier - not-so-much. On Friday, he bumped Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne off the pole at Darlington, the track known as "too tough to tame."

Once again Biffle credited his crew chief Matt Puccia for the change in his qualifying results: "I've said it three times in these interviews now, I'm having such a great time driving these race cars. My guys and Matt Puccia are doing such a great job. This is what a race car driver looks forward to is showing up every weekend and having a really fast car to drive."

Biffle, driving a Ford, turned a lap of 180.2557 mph around the 1.366-mile oval - also known as the lady in black - to wrest his 11th career pole from Johnson and Kahne who were each at 179.566 mph.

"It was a pretty uneventful lap," Biffle said. "The car just had a ton of grip - it stuck to the race track really, really well. I felt like I was a little bit light down in Turns 1 and 2 - I should have been a little bit quicker down there - but I got a lot out of it in 3 and 4, so it was a great lap."

Five-time champion Johnson gets to start on the front row on the basis of his points standings breaking the tie with Kahne. Both are driving Chevrolets.

Johnson said "Greg certainly went down there and found it. I was watching. He had a blistering fast 3 and 4, and came back around and got us. But it was a productive day. We're learning a lot. I wish it was a Hendrick front row, but it was a solid day...”

Kahne added "I didn't necessarily think it was going to be a pole at the time, and then the speeds; everybody was really close from about a .40 to a .45; there were a lot of cars right there. And then Greg went out at the end and beat us."

Ryan Newman will start fourth. Danica Patrick, in her second Sprint Cup race qualified 38th. She said "I know the starting spot won't be great, but it was a step forward for me and those are the things I'm looking for along the way."

Lewis Hamilton slotted his McLaren on the starting grid's first spot by a commanding margin on Saturday in Barcelona, but the first man behind him is an equally impressive Pastor Maldonado.

After the first Q3 runs, only Fernando Alonso, in the revised Ferrari F2012 and Maldonado in the Williams-Renault had been able to better Hamilton's benchmark. The Brit therefore elected to go out again - he was the only one to do so - and it paid off.

The lap he produced was at least half a second quicker than anyone else's. But worryingly, the 2008 champion was told by his engineer to park his car on the way back to the pits.

His boss, Martin Whitmarsh, admitted his team does not understand the nature of the problem. "It's a little bit of a worry," he told British television Sky. However, engine and transmission seem unaffected.

It's therefore unlikely Hamilton will lose the privilege of McLaren's 150th pole to any kind of grid penalty.

Behind the leading trio, Romain Grosjean (fourth) led his Lotus teammate Kimi Raikkonen (fifth).

Then come the Sergio Perez (Sauber) and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) - the last drivers to set a time in Q3.

Both Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and his countryman Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) first went out but elected not to set a lap time. Come Sunday, they will be able to decide which tire compound to start the race on.

Kamui Kobayashi too, did not set a time, but was forced to - his car coming to a halt at the end of Q2.

Big guns Jenson Button (McLaren) and Mark Webber (Red Bull) took what was left for them, respectively 11th and 12th place, not being able to qualify in the top 10.

Even though their teammates qualified in the top three, Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Bruno Senna (Williams-Renault) could no do better than ninth row.

Moreover, temperatures are high at the Circuit de Catalunya. The 40°C recorded by Pirelli is slightly higher than the figures recorded at the last grand prix, in Bahrain.



Starting grid - Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)

First row
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1min21.707s - Q3
Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1min22.285s - Q3


Second row

Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 1min22.302s - Q3
Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1min22.424s - Q3


Third row

Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1min22.487s - Q3
Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari - 1min22.533s - Q3


Fourth row

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1min23.005s - Q3

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - no time - Q3


Fifth row

Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - no time - Q3
Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - no time - Q3


Sixth row

Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1min22.944s - Q2

Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1min22.977s - Q2


Seventh row

Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1min23.125s - Q2

Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1min23.177s - Q2


Eighth row

Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1min23.265s - Q2

Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1min23.442s - Q2


Ninth row

Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1min23.444s - Q2
Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1min24.981s - Q1


10th row

Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1min25.277s - Q1

Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1min25.507s - Q1


11th row

Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1min26.582s - Q1
Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1min27.032s - Q1


12th row

Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1min27.555s - Q1
Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1min31.122s - Q1

According to United Kingdom's Esure insurance company, driving with only one hand on the steering wheel, while eating or drinking, slows down by 44% your reaction time.


The one or two seconds of attention needed for a driver to open a bottle of water, unwrap a muffin or to tune in a different radio station, are enough to make you loose control of your vehicle. Proving it are 8% of respondents, saying they either had a crash while driving one-handed, or avoided one at the last moment.

47% of respondents say they frequently use only one hand to drive.

Esure's Mike Pickard is adamant the study is a testament of just how dangerous one-hand driving is. Therefore, experts recommend planning your trips ahead, that way you can free up some breaks to eat. Otherwise, you can't keep your hands on the wheel or your eyes on the road.

Drive-through restaurants may not agree, but you're better off eating at a table, rather than in your car.


_{Source: esure}

The World Touring Car Championship could present two rounds in Russia and India in 2013.

The arrival of Russia on the calendar would be quite normal, considering that the country has been involved in WTCC for several years, via the Lada work team - the Russian brand being set to come back full-time next season -, but also throughout the oil company Lukoil, which backs Gabriele Tarquini and Russian driver Alexei Dudukalo.

The Moscow Raceway, which will welcome Formula One soon, could host two rounds next season.

Website TouringCarTimes also revealed that WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti was in talks with India's Buddh International Circuit repsentents to present the opening round of the 2013 championship.

Moreover, Lotti said, although it was a last minute deal in 2012, Slovakia could be back in 2013 - since the race that was used to replace the aborted Argentinian weekend was a great success - 41 000 people showing up over the week end, among which the president of Slovakia.

Like the law of unintended consequences, Joey Logano thought he'd help push Elliott Sadler on a restart with five laps to go at Darlington on Saturday night.

Only when Sadler spun his tires the push didn't go as planned and then the Nationwide race leader, Sadler, spun to the right into the wall wrecking his car.

"You just don't bump draft every place you go, especially not at a place like Darlington," Sadler said. He had been the series points leader entering the event.

Logano apologized to Sadler on his in-car radio moments after the incident. "Tell Elliott that I didn't mean to do that," he said. "I was trying to push him out ahead like the last restart. He started spinning his tires."

The race then went into a green-white-checker mode Logano blasted off on the restart holding off teammate, Denny Hamlin, by .255 seconds, for his second straight win, third of the season in a Toyota. Hamlin said he was running on seven cylinders at the end and couldn't keep up with his teammate.

Logano said it felt like "heart dropped" when spun Sadler added: "You don't want to be the guy that does something like that."

Logano denied any intentional harm. "At no point in my mind did I think, 'Man, I'm going to wreck him to win the race.'"

Brad Keselowski and Sam Hornish Jr. were third and fourth in Dodges, respectively.

Austin Dillon finished fifth in a Chevrolet.

Danica Patrick finished 12th and extreme sports star, Travis Pastrana finished 17th in his second NASCAR race.

"With rally, there's certain times that there's a 100-foot cliffs or trees or snow or fog or whatever and that's scary," Pastrana said "But this, you know what's coming up and the fact that it is still scary is still overwhelming."

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the polesitter in a Ford Mustang, finished sixth, taking over first place in the standings from Sadler by a margin of 23-points.

Klaus Graf was the man to beat during qualifying for round 3 of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).

Aboard his Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD ARX-03a, Graf covered Laguna Seca's famous racetrack in just 1min13.575s.

ALMS.com

Saturday night, with the help of his teammate Lucas Luhr, he will try to capture his team's first win at the Mazda Raceway - and break free of a tie for first place with Dyson Racing in the championship.

Level 5 Motorsports' Christophe Bouchut won the P2 pole by qualifying the HPD ARX-03b he shares with Scott Tucker and ex-F1 racer Franck Montagny in third overall. However, Montagny also recorded a lap in the team's second car, which enabled Level 5 to lock the front row.

ALMS.com

On its debut ALMS race, Dempsey Racing - TV star Patrick Dempsey's team - qualified third in P2, thanks to Jonny Cocker's 1min17.494s lap.

In GT, Darren Turner, in his Aston Martin Vantage, edged out Tommy Milner's Corvette.

ALMS.com

Turner can be proud of his team, which competed at the World Endurance Championship (WEC) Spa round, last weekend.

"The guys put (the car) on the plane and had to change things out when we got here, but we also have the hardest working team on the pit lane," Turner said.

Jörg Müller took third in class for BMW Team RLL, while Bruno Junqueira won his second LMPC pole at the wheel of RSR Racing's ORECA FLM09.

ALMS.com

Source: ALMS.com



Starting grid - American Le Mans Monterey (Laguna Seca, Cal.)

First row

Luhr/Graf (HPD ARX-03a) - Pickett - 1min13.573s

Dyson/Smith/Mowlem (Lola B12/60-Mazda) - Dyson - 1min15.358s


Second row

Tucker/Bouchut/Montagny (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 1min15.846s
Tucker/Diaz/Montagny (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 1min15.935s


Third row

Dempsey/Cocker/Foster (Lola B12/87-Mazda) - Dempsey - 1min17.494s

Junqueira/Drissi/Gonzalez (Oreca FLM09) - RSR - 1min17.867s


Fourth row

Popow/Kimber-Smith (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 1min18.092s

Guasch/Gidley/Hamilton (Oreca FLM09) - Pickett - 1min18.114s


Fifth row

Leitzinger/Dobson (Oreca FLM09) - PR1 - 1min18.396s
Bennett/Braun (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 1min18.423s


Sixth row

Richard/Ende/Lewis (Oreca FLM09) - Dempsey - 1min18.466s
Marcelli/Downs/Stirling (Oreca FLM09) - Merchant - 1min18.500s


Seventh row

Nicolosi/Vera (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 1min18.725s
Prendeville/Mitchell/Da Costa (Radical SR10) - Libra - 1min21.539s


Eighth row

Ducote/Downs/Burgess (Oreca FLM09) - Merchant - 1min21.645s

Fernandez/Turner/Mucke (Aston Martin Vantage) - Aston Martin - 1min22.229s


Ninth row

Gavin/Milner (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 1min22.661s

Mueller/Auberlen (BMW M3) - Rahal - 1min22.905s


10th row

Bergmeister/Long/Lietz (Porsche 997) - Flying Lizard - 1min22.919s

Magnussen/Garcia (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 1min22.919s


11th row

Sharp/Van Overbeek (Ferrari 458) - Extreme Speed - 1min22.923s
Hand/Mueller (BMW M3) - Rahal - 1min22.939s


12th row

Brown/Cosmo (Ferrari 458) - Extreme Speed - 1min22.942s

Henzler/Sellers (Porsche 997) - Falken - 1min23.356s


13th row

Miller/Maassen (Porsche 997 Cup) - Miller - 1min23.448s

Sweedler/Bell (Lotus Evora) - Alex Job - 1min24.473s


14th row

Neiman/Holzer (Porsche 997) - Flying Lizard - 1min26.787s
LeSaffre/Faulkner/Bleekemolen (Porsche 997 Cup) - Green Hornet - 1min27.495s


15th row

Hedfunf/Krohn/Tandy (Porsche 997 Cup) - 1min27.670s

Curtis/Bleekemolen/DI Guida - 1min27.673s


16th row

Cumming/Marsh/Ragginger (Porsche 997 Cup) - JDX - 1min28.155s
Faieta/Avenatti/Wagner (Porsche 997 Cup) - Competition - 1min28.618s


17th row

MacNeil/Lazzaro (Porsche 997 Cup) - Alex Job - 1min28.641s

Sofronas/Welch/Villeneuve (Porsche 997 Cup) - GMG - 1min29.298s


18th row

Plowman/Hansson/Pizzonia (Morgan-Judd) - Conquest - no time

Source: ItaliaRacing.net

Carroll Shelby, famous for his forward-thinking in sports car racing, has passed away at the age of 89, ShelbyAutos.com has announced.

Shelby, a Texan whose father was a mail carrier, made a name for himself by becoming, in 1959, the second American-born racer, after Phil Hill, to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"Unlike so many racers, he didn't come from a rich family[.] When I was a kid, American cars were big, clunky things, until Carroll used his ingenuity to make them compete with European cars," Jay Leno told the NY Times.

That's why most remember Shelby better as car builder. His idea of fitting big and true American V8s together with light and nimble British chassis was ground-breaking. In no time, his Shelby Cobras were rivals to the likes of Ferrari, Maserati and Jaguar.

Carroll Shelby (1923-2012) (Photo: ShelbyAutos.com)

"In the history of our company there are a handful of men who have stamped their imprint on the heart and soul of what we do at Ford Racing and Carroll Shelby is definitely one of them," Ford racing director James Allison said to Autosport.com.

Before entering racing, Shelby was a fighter plane pilot during World War II. After the war, he went on to work in oil fields and farming, as well as racing, before starting in the 1960's a close relationship with Ford.

Shelby's legacy with the blue oval extends to today, many modern Fords bearing his name - the 2013 Shelby GT500 being one of them.

"Whether helping Ford dominate the 1960s racing scene or building some of the most famous Mustangs, his enthusiasm and passion for great automobiles over six decades has truly inspired everyone who worked with him," Edsel Ford II, grandson of Ford's founder Henry Ford, told the Chicago Tribune.

Source: ShelbyAutos.com

From GMM

A third team has decided to join Red Bull in Abu Dhabi for the young drivers' test.

Due to the calendar congestion at the end of this season, and also to cut costs, most teams have opted to drop the Abu Dhabi option in favour of testing young drivers in July, at Silverstone.

But Red Bull, and its second team Toro Rosso, are sticking with the original November plan, amid criticism July is too early to be assessing young drivers.

McLaren is now following suit.

"Our plan at McLaren at the moment is to test in Abu Dhabi," said the British team's sporting director Sam Michael, who said another factor against Silverstone is that teams are only half-way through their engine mileage allocations in July.

"Engines is a significant factor," the Australian explained.

"If you want to test at the end of the year, you have so many part-mileage engines that all have a little bit of mileage on them so you can effectively do it for free, in terms of your race engines," said Michael.

"If you try and do that in the middle of the year, you can't use your race engines so you have to prepare a special test engine."

History/Description: The Dodge Nitro brought a bit of toughness and manliness to the utility vehicle scene occupied by models like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-7. With a driver-selectable four-wheel-drive system, plenty of ground clearance and a solid rear axle, this was a tough truck ready for towing and off-road use - though it was intended equally for use on the road more travelled, too.

Nitro packed standard V6 power, namely from a 3.7L or 4.0L V6 making 210 or 255-260 horsepower, respectively. Though rare, a manual transmission was available on some models. Automatics were fitted otherwise.

2007 Dodge Nitro (Photo: Philippe Champoux)

Feature content included a slide-out cargo tray in the trunk, heated leather, premium audio, a household power outlet, a sunroof, automatic climate control and plenty more. Trim levels started with SE for a ‘basic' Nitro, with SXT, SLT and R/T filling the model range from less to more loaded, respectively.

What Owners Like: Nitro owners rate the ride, handling, sense of confidence, and all-season traction highly. The upgraded stereo is well liked, as is the styling and overall ‘bang for the buck' where feature content is concerned. Many owners also enjoy the ability to switch into and out of four-wheel drive ‘on the fly.'

What Owners Dislike: Common complaints include limited footwell space, limited headroom for taller drivers, and a long reach for the shifter - which is mounted to the passenger side of the centre console. Some owners wish for a higher quality feel to the cabin, too.

Common Issues: On a model with the automatic transmission, be sure to ‘feel' for any signs of slippage or a ‘shudder' at lower speeds and under light loads - which could indicate a problem with the transmission or torque converter itself, or the computer that controls the gearbox. If the transmission exhibits any of these symptoms, be sure to have the vehicle checked by a professional.

Additionally, some owners have reported transmission or torque converter replacement under warranty.

2007 Dodge Nitro (Photo: Philippe Champoux)

Continue reading 2007-2011 Dodge Nitro Pre-Owned

Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières veteran Marc-Antoine Camirand has taken fourth place in race 1 of the Grand Prix Électrique de Pau.

The Canadian is taking part in his first ever race weekend on European soil. Just like Gilles Villeneuve, back in 1976, Camirand was given the chance to attend the Grand Prix de Pau by the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières organizers.

Camirand qualified fifth, aboard his all electric Andros Car Evo 2, and finished fourth in race 1.

"Of course, I would have prefer a podium finish. But considering this is my first time in this car and on this track, I'm satisfied," Camirand said.

The race was won by DTM driver Adrien Tambay, who is also the son of Patrick Tambay - who himself used to be very good friend with Gilles Villeneuve -.

Start of the second race of the weekend is scheduled for 3:00 pm, local time - 9:00 am, Canadian time -.

As Pete Lyons notes in his obituary, Carroll Shelby was something of a con man. He was also something of a legit genius.

Here are some of the statements being released honoring the late Carroll Shelby, who died in Texas on Thursday at age 89.

Red Bull-Infiniti driver Sebastian Vettel made his small-screen debut on Friday in a new series from

On Thursday, May 10 the automotive world lost a legend. Carroll Shelby died in Dallas at Baylor Hospital. He was 89 years old. Explore the life and times of Carroll Shelby in

Tesla Motors, the electric-car company led by Elon Musk, is using the last of its $465 million in federal loans and plans to start repaying them by the end of the year, the first startup to fulfill requirements of the criticized program.