Auto News 5

VW brand sold 9 percent more passenger cars in May than a year earlier as demand in China and the United States offset a weak economy in Europe.

New Renaultsport Clio spied, with more aggressive styling and a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine

Daimler started sales and production of its first mass-market electric car today, beating rival BMW with the introduction of an emission-free model. Deliveries of the battery-powered ForTwo will start later this year.

Daimler started sales and production of its first mass-market electric car today, beating rival BMW with the introduction of an emission-free model. Deliveries of the battery-powered ForTwo will start later this year.

BMW, Mercedes and other luxury brands are boosting efforts to court bloggers to target a growing audience of would-be buyers who can't be reached through TV and newspaper ads.

The new Audi A6 offers an optional front lighting system from Hella KGaA Hueck and Co. featuring 64 LEDs. The system has been praised because it produces a light that is noticeably closer to actual daylight than other systems.

Audi of America has big plans for the next-generation A3: It wants to make the compact car the brand's second-best-selling model behind the popular A4 sedan.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlo Ghosn has set a bold target for Infiniti in Europe: boost sales to 100,000 vehicles by 2016 from 12,500 last year.

Brembo S.p.A.'s brake systems have crossed the Atlantic many times over the past 50 years on some of the world's most exclusive imported sports cars.

First Look: 2013 Buick Verano Turbo

General Motors' sprawling Milford Proving Grounds has seen plenty of bizarre creations in its eight-plus decades of operation, from Firebird turbine concepts to a V-16 Cadillac Escalade.

General Motors' sprawling Milford Proving Grounds has seen plenty of bizarre creations in its eight-plus decades of operation, from Firebird turbine concepts to a V-16 Cadillac Escalade. And now there's this: a compact Buick sedan stuffed with a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and a six-speed manual transmission.

Photo Gallery: First Look: 2013 Buick Verano Turbo - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: First Look: 2013 Buick Verano Turbo - Automobile Magazine

First Look: 2013 Buick Verano Turbo | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Ander Villarino set another dominant performance as he clinched his fourth Racecar Touring Series win out of five races in Sprint Race at Spa. Meanwhile, Romain Ianetta claimed his maiden win in Endurance Race.

Villarino, the point standings' leader, clinched pole position, He maintained his lead after the start and pulled away out in front.

The Spanish driver took the victory, leading his main championship rival Romain Thievin, while female driver Carole Perrin took her first podium finish.

Photo: Racecar Touring Series

On Sunday, Villarino was gain on pole position for Endurance Race. But this time the Spaniard was passed by Romain Ianetta, who made a great start from his fourth position on the grid.

Both drivers had a great fight for the lead, but the Frenchman man aged to stay ahead and took his first victory this season. Javier Villa took third place behind them.

Meanwhile, that was a bad day for Romain Thievin, who dropped down the field after a contact on the first lap. The incident allowed Villarino pull away on top of the standings.

It's the claim BMW made today, confirming the 3-cylinder engine would be built exclusively at the Hams Hall factory, in the Birmingham area.

Photo: BMW

"Our Hams Hall engine plant, which last week celebrated production of the three-millionth engine since the plant was opened in February 2001, will make an important contribution to the future success of the new BMW i brand and the company's strategy for achieving sustainable mobility," said BMW's Ian Robertson.

He added the 3-cylinder engine will set new performance standards in terms for fuel-efficiency and low carbon emission vehicles.

The 2+2 seater i8 concept is a contemporary sport car with hybrid technology, which combines petrol and electric power. Total power output is 349 horsepower, 0-100 km/h is reached in 5 seconds, all with 3.0L/100km fuel consumption figures.

No news yet as to how much the car will cost, or when it will go on sale.

Kurt Busch, who was suspended by NASCAR for one race, is keeping his ride with James Finch's Phoenix Racing.

The 2004 Sprint Cup champion was penalized for verbal abuse of a media member while he was already on NASCAR probation. And, in addition to the suspension, his probation was extended until the end of the year.

Finch, who runs a one-car Chevrolet team with Hendrick Motorsport equipment, sounded fed up with his driver last week saying, on SiriusXM Satellite radio, that he would have a “come-to-Jesus,” meeting with his turbulent driver this week.

Apparently after a meeting in South Carolina on Tuesday some oil has been spread on the troubled waters so to speak.

In a statement released on Tuesday Finch said “We have met with Kurt. At the end of the day, we are racers so we're going racing together with Kurt and the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet. We know adjustments have to be made but how we fix that is between Kurt and myself. We're going to go to the track, work hard, race hard and work on trying to attract a sponsor -- and we're going to do that together.”

The last time Busch missed a Sprint Cup race happened in 2005 when he was released from the Roush (now Roush Fenway Racing) team two races before the end of the season. Busch had been with Penske Racing from 2006 until last year.

David Reutimann, who usually drives for Tommy Baldwin Racing, filled in for Busch last week at Pocono International Raceway finishing 21rst. Busch now stands 27th in the points as the Sprint Cup series heads for Michigan International Speedway this weekend.

McLaren is now officially present in Canada.

The company's boss, Ron Dennis, was on hand to greet customers and guests. The opening of this new dealership also marks the arrival of the new McLaren MP4-12C.

Photo: McLaren Automotive

"It's exciting to be launching McLaren Toronto, one of our 10 dealerships in North America. McLaren has a long history of racing in Canada, both with Formula 1 and Can-Am," Dennis said.

"To go from the racetrack to the road with our new 12C is a great moment for us, and it is very fitting that we can open McLaren Toronto in this milestone week."

Pfaff Automotive partners was selected to support the McLaren brand in Canada; it is a group specialized in luxury cars that also owns Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen dealerships in the Toronto and London regions of Ontario.

With the 12C, McLaren hopes to redefine the rules in the game of F1-inspired sports car.

What was the world's first electric car? If you are thinking Honda or Toyota, look elsewhere. You have to go back to 1899, the year La Jamais contente (the "never satisfied") was built. The inventor? Belgian Camille Jenatzy.

On April 29, 1899, the 1.5-ton car reached the incredible (for the time) top speed of 105.88 km/h.

Eventually, the petrol-powered car edged the electric car out. Yet today, this "old" technology is "in" once again. Is the electric car going to have its revenge? Maybe. Petrol stocks are alarmingly low.

2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

The advantage when you drive an electric car is that you don't need gasoline, or very little if you are at the wheel of a hybrid. Giving the rising fuel prices, it's a big advantage. So why is it that the LEAF, Nissan's 100% electric car, burns two litres of fuel per 100 kilometres?

The answer is simple.

Does 21.1 kWh/100km sound any more familiar? Probably not.

Which is why carmakers, together with government authorities, have elaborated a new standard unit of measurement, called litre equivalent (Le). It gives consumers a way to compare consumption figures of various electric cars.

According to Natural Resources Canada, a litre of gasoline has the same energy potential as 8.9 kWh. So for an electric car using 19.6 kWh every 100 km, the equivalent in litres of fuel is 19.6 kWh/100 km x 1/8,9 kWh = 2.2 Le/100 km.

"Fuel consumption" for electric cars is as following:

Brand	L/100 km (city)	L/100 km (highway)	L/100 km (combined)
2012 Chevrolet Volt (extended range)	2.5	2.5	2.5
2012 Ford Focus Electric	1.7	2.06	1.8
2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV	1.9	2.4	2.1
2012 Nissan Leaf	2.2	2.6	2.1

For more details on these models, visit www.nrcan.gc.ca

It can therefore be said that for every 100 km, your petrol-powered car will cost you an average of $11.50 (at an average of 10L/100km); an electric car with extended range will cost $2.76 and a fully electric car, $1.24.

Furthermore, the province of Québec is the only in Canada to offer, since January 1st 2012, financial aid to install a home charging station. A little something to consider.

The biggest downside to electric cars remains their short range which, around town, can become a problem. Perhaps it's not the perfect vehicle for suburban residents, but progress in that area is constant. Maybe in a few years, electric cars' average range will have improved, making battery-powered cars a very interesting alternative.

A train which doesn't stop at stations, a house-integrated capsule as a vehicle and a convoy of trucks forming a road train (see SARTRE project)... for now, this all seems to have been taken straight out of a sci-fi movie, but it could all become a reality in 25 years from now.

Alstom, a major player in the transport business, shared a video introducing its vision of things for 2035, when efficiency, economy and environment will all go hand in hand.

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel's appearance on an iconic American talkshow went awry this week when David Letterman started talking about 'DRS'.

Letterman, the Indianapolis-born motor racing fan and Indycar team co-owner, began talking to the 24-year-old German and his 'Late Show' audience about F1's drag-reduction system.

"Complicated stuff," Vettel smirked as he explained the mechanics of the rear-wing overtaking flap.

Letterman then turned the conversation to the 'DRS' zones on the circuit, and the system's activation.

Vettel intervened: "Now you make it really complicated," he grinned. "The people here have no f***ing idea what you're talking about."

Producers not only had to bleep the swear word, Vettel's mouth was also blurred.

Realizing his mistake, the Red Bull driver put his hand over his mouth and smiled: "Sorry."

But he let slip yet again when Letterman asked about New Jersey's 2013 street layout, which Vettel had sampled in an Infiniti road car earlier on Monday.

"It (the layout) looks very quick. You need some big balls I think," he grinned again, gesticulating towards his jeans.

When Vettel began speaking again, Letterman joked: "Just don't do that again, alright? I'm just glad Oprah doesn't have a show..."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said on ferrarif1.com that Formula 1 teams had to urgently reduce their costs to avoid running into serious problems in the near future.

“The world economic situation and that of Europe in particular, is very serious and the world of Formula 1 cannot ignore the fact,” declared Luca di Montezemolo.

“We cannot lose any more time: we need to tackle urgently and with determination the question of costs. Ferrari is in agreement with the FIA's position that drastic intervention is required,” he said.

“We are absolutely convinced that, as I have always said, the teams and the commercial rights holder must work together with the Federation on this front. This is no longer the moment for getting bogged down in sterile discussions or the meanderings of engineers, usually only concerned in defending the interests of someone or other: the question has to be tackled at the highest level, without further delay,” Montezemolo added.

In a long meeting held Tuesday morning at Maranello, Montezemolo also went over the upcoming events facing the Scuderia in the 2012 championship. “I am not used to dealing with regrets as I prefer to always look forwards,” continued the President.

“In Montreal, I saw a team with a great will to win and that was seen right to the very end, maybe even taking some risks that might have been excessive. To see a Ferrari fighting for the win right to the end is just what I want to see and so do our fans. I am pleased with the progress seen over these past few races, but my thoughts and all the efforts of the Scuderia are already focussed on Valencia and then Silverstone, where we must make further steps forward,” the Italian added.

The Canadian Grand Prix is now over and the F1 Circus has left North America. But later this year, we will see F1 once again stage a race in the United States - in NASCAR country.

If everything goes according to plan.

Formula 1 left the States for some years now. There wasn't much money made with the grand prix, which back then was held on Indianapolis' superspeedway. A clash with the George family, who owned the track, eventually ended the deal.

That's why in November this year, the United States Grand Prix is coming back at Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas.

Then, all of a sudden, we were told our cousins from the south would have not just one, but two grands prix, another one being in the making. That second race will be held on a new track located in New Jersey - with New York city right there in the background.

Still, many people we chatted with during the Montreal weekend seemed skeptical about those two events.

The Circuit of the Americas' official website may claim construction works are progressing well, still, several experts doubt track and facilities will be ready in time.

Plus, just like an excellent colleague of mine pointed it out, the Austin Grand Prix is scheduled on the same weekend as other major sports events - the NASCAR 2012 Sprint series showdown race for one. Where do you think every American motorsports journalists will be? At Austin to see F1, or at Miami-Homestead for NASCAR?

Things are not looking any better as far as spectators are concerned. Many professional and college teams, both in basketball and football, are in action - which decreases the number of potential spectators for Austin.

Did I mention there are no American driver or team in F1?

As far as the New Jersey venue is concerned, we don't know much about it.

We saw some shots of concrete buildings in the works, but that doesn't mean anything. They still have to put the layout down, obtain their permits, finish the infrastructures, figure out the logistics, meet the FIA's and the FOM's scope statement - in other words, a lot of work which involves a lot money.

Let's hope these two projects succeed, but don't book your plane tickets yet... Wait a little longer.

Photo: Circuit of the Americas

From GMM

HRT could finally be on the cusp of speeding off the final row of the formula one grid.

Clearly the slowest team in F1 since its 2010 debut, the Spanish backmarkers' Pedro de la Rosa actually qualified clearly ahead of both Marussia drivers in Canada.

"In Monaco we had a good qualifying and here it was even better," he said.

It was a similar story in the race, although de la Rosa was gutted to have to retire with overheating brakes.

"I am left with a bad taste," he admitted to Antena 3 television, "because this weekend has been our strongest of the season."

Pedro de la Rosa. (Photo: HRT F1 Team)

Marussia's Glock commented on the poor pace of his car in Canada: "We did not have enough time to focus on an aero package for medium downforce," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari, however, thinks Montreal might have signalled a turning point for HRT.

Asked if he thinks the team will consistently perform better from now on, the Spaniard told AS newspaper: "Why not? The work they are doing is admirable. They are growing every weekend and now more competitive than Marussia, so I would like to send them a message of support."