Auto News 5

With a combined adjusted miles-per-gallon equivalency rating of 118 MPGe (or 1.9L/100km), the 2013 Honda Fit EV trumps the Mitsubishi i-MiEV (112 MPGe or 2.1L/100km), Ford Focus Electric (105 MPGe or 2.2L/100km), and Nissan LEAF (99 MPGe or 2.4L/100km). That means the Fit EV's annual fuel cost amounts to just $500, which is remarkable.

Photo: Honda

Under the hood is a 92 kilowatt (123 horsepower) coaxial electric motor that generates 189 pounds-feet of torque as well as a battery that can be recharged in less than three hours from a low charge indicator illumination point when connected to a 240-volt circuit. A driver-selectable 3-mode electric drive system adapted from the CR-Z sport hybrid is also part of the equation.

Honda announced plans to begin leasing the Fit EV to customers in select California and Oregon markets this summer, followed by an East Coast rollout in 2013.

Next up
What the law says

It's that time of the year: graduation. Your teenager is anxiously waiting for his big moment; as a parent, your feel the pride of your little one growing up.

Growing up. The key word is "growing". Never forget your kid is not yet an adult, and that he is still under your responsibility - until he turns 18. Responsibilities include civil liability. Here are a few pointers before the graduation party season kicks off.

You decide to lend your car to your teenager, so he (or she) can drive himself to prom, like a adult would - or you let him take his own car, if he has one. Most of the time everything goes like clockwork, but you are better off setting some clear ground rules before anything bad happens.

Alcohol. We're reminded all the time on the TV and on the radio - alcohol and other illegal substances don't mix with driving. Still, it seems the message is not clear enough. Since it's prom night we're talking about, even if your kid is usually an angel, all it takes to lose control are a few friends riding along. Good habits go out the window very quickly.


Speed. Who never exceeded the speed limit during his youth? We all know, teenagers included, how badly it can end. But again, on an evening like prom night, especially with friends looking at you, it's easy to forget racing on the highway is a bad, bad idea.

Carpooling. Taking a ride with a friend doesn't makes the risks disappear. Would you get in a car driven by somebody who's had too much to drink, or is behaving aggressively? Don't force him to. Tell him to call you if he is about to get a ride with someone who shouldn't be driving.

The 2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is capable, very capable. In fact, we set out to determine if the Raptor was all show and no go, but we quickly realized that it is nothing short of unstoppable.

We set our sights on Mecaglisse, a veritable playground for all things motorized. Here, we discovered that the Raptor can fly, swim and climb mountains. As we said, the 2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is virtually unstoppable. We also found out that it can drift as well as be driven normally on the highway.

The perfect all-around vehicle? Check out the video and let us know what you think.

From Circuit of the Americas

Circuit of The Americas announced the date when members of the public can purchase three-day reserved grandstand bleacher seats and general admission tickets to the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, scheduled for Nov. 16-18, 2012.

Three-day reserved grandstand bleacher seats and general admission tickets to the highly anticipated event go on sale Sunday, June 10, at 10 a.m. EDT, at www.CircuitofTheAmericas.com/tickets.

Three-day general admission tickets are priced at an affordable $159 per person and allow fans to choose their views of the action from several grassy berms and spacious public areas surrounding the 375-acre facility.

Prices for reserved grandstand bleacher seats depend on location and are detailed in the table that follows:

Seating Areas Three-Day Price Per Person
General Admission $159
Grandstand - Turn 11 $269
Grandstand - Turns 2, 3, 4 and 5 $299
Grandstand - Turn 12 (lower rows) $399
Grandstand - Turn 12 (upper rows) $499

Illustration: Circuit of the Americas

All three-day reserved grandstand bleacher seats and general admission tickets include round-trip shuttle bus transportation from three designated park-and-ride locations in the greater Austin area.

Shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off locations include the corner of 15th Street and Trinity Street in downtown Austin, the Travis County Fair and Expo Center at 7311 Decker Lane, and at a location in southeast Travis County that will be announced this summer.

Race organisers provided a comparison of comparable tickets at various Grands Prix around the world.

2012 Formula 1 Grand Prix Three-Day Grandstand Reserved Seat Pricing Comparison*:

Monaco $520
Brazil $394
Britain $351
Australia $324
United States $269
Canada $264
Europe $247
Spain $234
Belgium $208
Singapore $195
Germany $194
Malaysia $179
Italy $169

*Prices listed are the lowest-priced grandstand seating options for the Grands Prix specified in the table.

Desmeules Fiat, the Italian automaker's largest retailer in Canada, offers a unique opportunity to win a Fiat 500 Gucci as part of the festivities surrounding the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

Last year, the Laval-based dealership, in collaboration with the Fiat Alfa Romeo Club, did the same with a Fiat 500 Prima Edizione. The goal is now to raise $75,000 for the Shriners Hospital.

Tickets will be limited to 600 and sold at $100 apiece at Garage de Rêve Desmeules, located on St. Laurent Boulevard, on June 9-10. Gift cards will also be awarded to visitors. The draw will take place in October.

Desmeules Fiat is the main dealer sponsor for the 2012 Little Italy Racing Weekend. This popular area of Montreal has attracted legions of tourists and F1 enthusiasts over the years with its many trendy restaurants and boutiques. And with Desmeules on board, the atmosphere promises to be hot, hot hot!

Source: Desmeules Fiat

On May 31^st, 2012, Bombardier announced that Primove, an innovative contactless charging solution for urban vehicles, will be put to the test as part of an electric bus project in the city of Braunschweig, Germany.

Based on the principle of inductive power transfer, Primove allows electric vehicles to be recharged either in motion or at idle without requiring a plug and cord. Incidentally, a smaller on-board battery pack can be used.

''As a global leader in rail technology, we have a bright vision for the cities of tomorrow. We imagine cities where all vehicles are electric - where mass transit vehicles do not alter the landscape but seamlessly integrate to provide quiet and emission-free urban mobility,'' said André Navarri, President and Chief Operating Officer, Bombardier Transportation.

Successful tests could one day lead to the system being applied to several types of vehicles including taxi cabs and delivery trucks.

The combination of gas at an all-time high of $1.50 per litre last week in Vancouver and a consumption rate of 20L/100km encountered in this week's Ford F-150 Harley Davidson tester really hammered home the financial penalty one is subjected to for driving inefficient vehicles.

For many owners of pickup trucks and SUVs, there's a demonstrable need to be addressed with such a vehicle, and that may justify - or in fact, require - owning a gas-guzzling behemoth; in many other cases though, ownership may not be so much needs based as desire based.

Regardless of the reasons for ownership, simple math begins to paint an ominous picture, especially if long commutes are involved.

It's not unheard of these days to achieve fuel economy in the 5L/100km range with comfortable spacious vehicles such as the Toyota Prius and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

Assuming such vehicles consume 25% of the fuel that 4x4 crew cab pickups burn, a $100 fill-up becomes $25. Extrapolate the savings over a year of driving (averaged out to be 20,000km), and the annual savings could easily return $4,500 to the wallet.

Over a five year term, that's $22,500.

Maybe it's time to rethink what our automotive needs truly are and how they can be more efficiently addressed. If a pickup truck is only needed once a month, maybe renting would be the way to go. The same when a large SUV is needed for a family road trip.

For most everything else, a highly fuel-efficient vehicle may be a wiser choice. I don't see wage increases in today's financial environment keeping pace with the projected increases in fuel over the coming years, making the penalty for over-consumption hurt that much more.

2012 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson (Photo: Rob Rothwell)

Here is the entry list for the Formula 1 race to be held this weekend on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal.

The Formula 1 field is made of 24 drivers from 12 teams.

1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault RB8
2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault RB8

3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27
4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27

5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari F2012
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari F2012

7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes W03
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes W03

9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault E20
10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault E20

11 Paul di Resta Sahara Force India-Mercedes VJM05
12 Nico Hulkenberg Sahara Force India-Mercedes VJM05

14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari C31
15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari C31

16 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR7
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR7

18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault FW34
19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault FW34

20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault CT-01
21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault CT-01

22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth F112
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth F112

24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth MR01
25 Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth MR01

From GMM

Robert Kubica underwent surgery on Tuesday as the former BMW and Renault driver continues his bid to return to formula one.

Reports recently suggested the 27-year-old Pole, who was seriously injured in a rally crash early last year, would almost certainly never return to F1.

But reports in Italy on Tuesday said Kubica has been testing in a formula one driving simulator.

On the basis of those tests, he underwent orthopaedic surgery in a Verona hospital in an operation performed by Ruggero Testoni.

ANSA news agency said the surgery, which was completed successfully, involved the insertion of prostheses in order to restore mobility to Kubica's right elbow.

"Now he can turn the steering wheel completely. Before, he was unable to turn his palm down and was forced to take a hand off the wheel to perform left hand curves," Dr Testoni said.

"The operation was preceded by a series of simulator tests for a formula one car," he added.

Robert Kubica, who lives in Tuscany, will reportedly return to Verona frequently for hand function physiotherapy.

From GMM

F1's new future in America moved up a gear this week.

We reported on Tuesday that reigning and back-to-back world champion Sebastian Vettel will appear on David Letterman's iconic New York talkshow next week.

It now emerges that, while in the famous city, the Red Bull driver will race around the street layout of the 2013 grand prix of America amid the Manhattan skyline, in a road car supplied by team sponsor Infiniti.

Sebastian Vettel will then attend a press conference with race promoter Leo Hindery, after organisers were forced to deny Bernie Ecclestone's claims the New Jersey race is in doubt.

There have also been developments this week in Austin, Texas, the scene of November's scheduled return of the US grand prix on a bespoke circuit.

Latest photo released by Circuit of the Americas.

Organisers on Tuesday revealed ticket prices and said they will go on sale this Sunday, the day of North America's other formula one race in Canada.

"In the final analysis," said a spokesman, "we wanted to make this event affordable to F1 fans around the country."

Also on Tuesday, a local county judge finally issued a 'mass gathering permit' for the US grand prix.

Auto123.com will provide race fans with a Live Coverage of the Grand Prix of Canada held this weekend at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Auto123.com will be in the media centre and will provide readers with behind-the-scenes information and live comments during the qualifying session on Saturday afternoon as well as during the race on Sunday starting at 1pm.

We will go live about 15 minutes prior to the start of the first qualifying round and also 15 minutes before the start of the Grand Prix.

We hope you will join us!

Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal. (Image: FIA)

David Reutimann will drive the James Finch-owned Phoenix Racing Chevrolet instead of his usual ride at Tommy Baldwin Racing this weekend at Pocono Raceway.

Phoenix Racing's regular driver, Kurt Busch had been suspended for one week by NASCAR officials for verbal abuse of a media member.

TBR issued a statement: "In an effort to help a fellow small team, Tommy Baldwin and James Finch worked out a deal for David Reutimann to drive for... Phoenix Racing.

“Dave Blaney will pilot the TBR No. 10 Chevrolet, and Tony Raines will return to the No. 36 Chevrolet for the Pocono 400 presented by NASCAR.


Blaney will get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Chevrolet in his 57th start for Tommy Baldwin Racing and 25th start at the Pocono, Pa., racetrack. Raines will return to the No. 36 Chevrolet. The Indiana native ran the 2012 and 2010 Sprint Showdown races for the team.


“I understand the position James was put in this week,” explained Tommy Baldwin. “As an owner of a small team, I wanted to help him out. We talked and thought that this lineup would be best for both of our teams.”


David Reutimann will drive Kurt Busch's Chevrolet. (Photo: NASCAR)

Busch's current boss, Finch, is not happy with his driver and said so on satellite radio.

"It's going to be race by race. It's not going to be probation with us," Finch said. "Here's the deal: Quit wrecking the cars, get a good finish, be nice to people. That's not real hard to do." 

As a one-car team Phoenix Racing struggled to find sponsorship and the team owner said he's nearing the end of his rope.

"It's affecting me. If I can't get a sponsor, I can't keep running without a sponsor," Finch said. "That's a slow death. I don't want to do that. Hopefully if we can get Kurt's mind right, we can win some races. If we can't get his mind right so we can race into the future, then I'll go do something else. It's just that simple. I'm doing my part. We've wrecked 14 cars this year. Four at Daytona. We've killed three or four cars and had to completely throw them away."

While Busch was looking to secure a full-time deal with a big team in 2013, his current season is looking tenuous.

"We've met every green-flag drop, and the guys at the shop about worked themselves to death to do whatever they can for Kurt," Finch told SiriusXM. "And he's going to have to do his part. If it takes just slowing down a little bit, he better slow down just a little bit."

On Wednesday Cup Series teams will conduct a tire test of the repaving at the two-and-one-half mile Pocono track.

2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

There's a lot to discuss with the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco.

There's a lot to discuss with the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco, but the only thing on my mind is the ECO gauge. Did Chevy have a contest to see how useless and uninformative this seemingly simple gauge could be? There's a green zone in the middle and some white zones on the ends. Not a single number in sight. Since the needle is almost always in the green zone, I don't think it's adding any information for the driver. Why not an instantaneous mpg gauge here? Why not a fancier dash like Ford offers with the Fusion Hybrid?

Photo Gallery: 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, plans to quickly dispose of the federal government's remaining stake in GM, even at a loss, if he wins the November election. Romney, a frequent critic of the U.S.

May 2012 Auto Sales

The post-tsunami big bounce arrives.

May of 2011 was the month that saw new-car sales collapse at many of the Japanese automakers, as inventories dried up due to supply interruptions caused by the disaster in Japan. Today, the Japanese auto industry is back to full strength, which means some wild year-over-year sales increases for May.

Photo Gallery: May 2012 Auto Sales - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: May 2012 Auto Sales - Automobile Magazine

May 2012 Auto Sales | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Enterprise Holdings is making a move into hourly car rentals this year, joining Hertz Global Holdings in going after the growing niche created by Zipcar.

2012 Fiat 500 Sport - Hitting the Highway

A surprisingly capable highway cruiser.

The Fiat 500 is the archetypal city car, but can it double as a comfortable highway cruiser? If spaciousness isn't a main concern, the Fiat is actually pretty good after going down an on-ramp.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Fiat 500 Sport - May Update - Four Seasons Update - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Fiat 500 Sport - May Update - Four Seasons Update - Automobile Magazine

2012 Fiat 500 Sport - Hitting the Highway | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring - The Little Engine That Could

Low power and displacement had us fooled.

After being smitten with the clean looks of our Four Seasons 2013 Mazda CX-5, we are finding out that the beauty is more than skin deep. The CX-5 is the second car in Mazda's U.S. lineup to gain the automaker's new Skyactiv suite of powertrain engineering, after the 2012 Mazda3. Rather than opting for forced induction and higher final-drive ratios to find efficiency gains without losing performance, Skyactiv works to optimize a known quantity -the internal combustion engine. To up the engine's efficiency by a claimed 15 percent, Mazda increased the little four-banger's compression ratio to an incredibly high 13:1, added direct injection and electronically variable valve timing, lengthened piston stroke by 8.1 millimeters, and reduced internal friction.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring - The Little Engine That Could - Four Seasons Update - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring - The Little Engine That Could - Four Seasons Update - Automobile Magazine

2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring - The Little Engine That Could | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Nissan took another step toward competing in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans on Monday.

Volkswagen is mulling a crossover version of the future Jetta SportWagen along the lines of the recently introduced Alltrack concept.