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Any journalist coming from within the industry is sure to be carrying some baggage connected to a particular manufacturer. For me, that would be Land Rover. I served my mechanical apprenticeship with them back in the 70s, I've been President of the local Land Rover club, and prior to swapping wrench for pen, I owned and operated my own independent Land Rover/Jaguar workshop.

Because of this, over the decade or so in which I've been writing automotive reviews, I've purposely steered clear of reviewing Land Rover products for fear of being labelled a tainted enthusiast.

Of course, growing up on a farm in the UK, on what other possible brand of vehicle would I choose to serve my apprenticeship? After all, that's where the world's first SUV was born, down on the farm.

Yes, when the Range Rover first appeared in the late 60s, it was aimed at the wealthy farmers and land owners who, while content to let their farm hands drive around in the trusty LR Series workhorse, wished for something a tad more comfortable themselves.

Over the years, the Range Rover evolved from this to the point where it is now perhaps more of a status symbol than anything else. It's still one of the most capable vehicles in its class but, as is often pointed out, owners today rarely venture off-pavement with them. Of course, as unlikely as they are to charge into the darkest depths of Africa or scramble across a furrowed field, like the Ferrari owner who never pilots his car at 300 km/h, he or she does own the distinct pleasure of being able to say “if I wanted to, I could.”

Range Rover aside for the moment, Land Rover now offers a wide variety of vehicles, including the entry-level LR2, the new Evoque, the Range Rover Sport and, of course, the one perhaps most likely to be seen out on the trail, the highly capable LR4.

Photo: Kevin ''Crash'' Corrigan

Although still sold in the UK, and in use by numerous armed forces around the world, we no longer enjoy the option of purchasing the granddaddy of them all, the Land Rover Defender. Still the closest vehicle in DNA to the company's original 1948 Series one, it is the coolest of 4x4s, which is why I've imported my own.

Of course, as it has now been 10 years since I laid my hands upon a modern Land Rover (I have the clean fingernails to prove this), I can honestly say that I no longer feel any true connection to the company. As such, I'm now quite comfortable in offering my evaluation of its product line.

So come for a ride with me as I check out the new 2012 Land Rover LR4.

A 1930 Duesenberg SJ that belonged to American band leader Paul Whiteman, of Rhapsody in Blue fame, will be sold by RM Auctions on July 28th in Plymouth, Mich. The car is estimated to be worth between $850,000 and $1,200,000 US.

With a 265-horsepower, four-valve DOHC engine, the Duesenberg SJ trumped its nearest competitor by more than 100 horsepower. In fact, no other car at the time came close to matching its performance.

Introduced at the 1929 New York Auto Show, it debuted with a base price of $8,500 for the bare chassis alone and $9,500 in supercharged form. With the requisite custom coachwork and fittings, it could even exceed $20,000.

By contrast, the least expensive Ford Model A retailed for about $450 and a good single-family home cost less than $10,000!

Only 16 units were built as convertibles, which no doubt has car collectors around the world licking their chops.

A bulletproof 1928 Cadillac owned by Al Capone will also be part of the auction.

Photo: RM Auctions

Photo: RM Auctions

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas, fastest Thursday in Day 1 of the young driver test at Silverstone repeated his performance today, emerging quickest in the Renault-powered Williams FW34.

Today, the test took place on the shorter International circuit and not of the long Grand Prix track.

Vallteri Bottas, Williams (Photo: WRI2)

The Williams reserve driver completed 170 laps today and set a time of 48.963 seconds.

The Marussia F1 team ran again Max Chilton and Rio Haryanto. Both rookies concentrated on getting enough mileage to gain a superlicence, achieving the required 300km.

The Marussia MR01 featured a new nose cone and a revised rear wing.

Max Chilton, Marussia (Photo: WRI2)

Chilton finished the day in second place with a time of 49.932 seconds. Haryanto, who only ran in the morning session was third with a 50.405.

The Spanish HRT team did not run today.

Young driver test, Silverstone*:
1. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 48.963s
2. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 49.932s 0.969s
3. Rio Haryanto Marussia-Cosworth 50.405s 1.442s
*Unofficial timing

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class hasn't changed much in over 30 years, at least in terms of styling. The current model still looks like the original of the late 1970s, which debuted first as a military vehicle.

Few people know that the G-Class was developed based on a suggestion made by the Shah of Iran, a key shareholder of Daimler at the time.

Of course, Mercedes-Benz has a much longer history of off-road performance. Daimler founder Gottlieb Daimler's son, Paul, developed the Dernburg-Wagen for the German government's officers in Africa way back in 1907.

The updated 2013 Mercedes-Benz G-Class came close to being the last one ever produced, but strong demand from Chinese and Russian customers prompted the automaker to revise its plan.

From GMM

World championship leader Fernando Alonso knows how to relax between grands prix.

The Spaniard, who has scored points in his Ferrari in every race so far in 2012, this week contested a cycling road time trial in his native Asturias.

Fernando Alonso, 30, completed the 21 kilometre course in just under 29 minutes, finishing third on a state-of-the-art carbon bike in a field of more than sixty riders.

On Twitter, he said he was "happy" with the result.

Photo: Fernando Alonso / Twitter

Portugal now has the world's first Nissan LEAF Police Car fleet. The vehicles will be responsible for patrolling large urban areas of the country.

"We pride ourselves in being the first police force in the world to incorporate cars with zero-emission technology as part of our 5,000 vehicle fleet," said Paul Gomes Valente, national director of the Portugal State Police. "We want to continue reducing pollution in large urban centres and the introduction of the LEAF sets a new benchmark for our fleet."

The LEAF isn't known for its speed and power (107 hp), and Nissan wouldn't reveal the specs and performance figures of the police version.

No word yet on whether the car will be available in North America, where bigger machines like the Ford Police Interceptor are the preferred choice of law enforcement corps.

Source: Inside line

Photo: Nissan

From BMW

Before they took to the track to complete their first practice laps in the Olympic Stadium, the BMW DTM drivers experienced the circuit within the stadium and the Bavarian scenery from a completely different perspective.

Photo: BMW

Together with BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt, Martin Tomczyk, Bruno Spengler, Dirk Werner, Joey Hand, Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx were given a tour over the canopy roof of the stadium and were rewarded with a magnificent view of the circuit and BMW headquarters.

Photo: BMW

On Wednesday, Tomczyk, Spengler and Werner became acquainted with Munich while visiting several local newspapers, driving a first-generation BMW M3, a BMW M1 and the 2012 BMW M3 DTM Safety Car. Then they were treated to a magnificent view of the circuit, the nearby BMW headquarters and the Olympic Parc, which - as well as BMW M - is celebrating its 40th birthday this year.

Photo: BMW

Courage, safety hooks and rope: that is all the BMW drivers needed for their expedition. Starting out from the North Stand, they climbed along the unique, listed roof construction 40 metres above the ground.

Photo: BMW

The stadium, which was built for the 1972 Olympic Games, and the racetrack constructed specially for this weekend's DTM event were quite literally at their feet.

Last May, John and Helen Taylor travelled 2,617 kilometres across the United States on a single tank of diesel with a Volkswagen Passat TDI. Now, they've just finished a cross-Canada trip in which they served as mentors for eight other drivers.

The ''Smarter Driver Event" aimed to answer the question: Could eight average Canadians make the journey from Halifax to Vancouver (6,340 kilometres) on just six tanks of fuel?

To find out, the teams relied on a 2012 Volkswagen Passat equipped with a 170-horsepower 2.5L five-cylinder engine and a six-speed automatic transmission.

As it turned out, the Passat set a new Canadian record by averaging 5.59L/100km and 1,352 kilometres per tank. That means a grand total of just 4.69 tankfuls were used.

In a surprising twist, MINI has decided to cancel the production of the MINI John Cooper Works GP Coupe, supposedly because it would have been too close and similar to the regular JCW GP - the fastest MINI ever made - and hurt the latter as it makes its debut next year.

According to insiders in the UK and US, MINI hasn't totally rejected a coupe version; it just tossed it aside for an indefinite period of time. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Source: AutoGuide

John Cooper Works GP (Photo: MINI)

From GMM

F1 fans might need to get used to the unseemly sight of this year's stepped noses.

Earlier this week, we reported FIA race director Charlie Whiting's quote that he is "aware of the dissatisfaction of the fans" about the questionable physical appearance of the field of 2012.

With the exception of McLaren and Marussia, every car on the grid this year features an odd 'step' in the nose profile; the result of a safety regulation compromise.

Sahara Force India VJM05. (Photo: WRi2)

But although Whiting has discussed the situation with team technical directors, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that the proposed solution for 2013 will not be mandatory.

Rather, teams will be allowed to smooth the 'step' with what the German publication refers to as a "structurally irrelevant" covering or layer.

But the report by journalist Tobias Gruner insisted there is no guarantee the teams will actually take the bait.

"Most probably we have to get used to the step," Sauber designer Matt Morris agreed. "I assume they will stay just the same for next season."

The Lotus Formula 1 Team discovered a technical issue with the gearbox of the car driven by Frenchman Romain Grosjean after the British Grand Prix.

In-depth analysis of the gearbox by Lotus engineers has shown that it needed replacement, which means he will face a grid drop in Hockenheim the weekend of next week.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E20. (Photo: WRi2)

"It was a gearbox problem and we are very fortunate that Romain didn't have the problem earlier in the race,” said James Allison, Team Lotus F1 technical director.

"Unfortunately for Romain it means he'll take a five place grid penalty at Hockenheim, but he certainly showed at Silverstone that dropping down the order won't stop him challenging at the sharp end."

Ross Brawn has answered "why not?" when asked if he can imagine Michael Schumacher staying at Mercedes in 2013.

The seven time world champion's three-year contract is set to expire, and the German marque's former DTM protege Paul di Resta has been linked with the race cockpit alongside Nico Rosberg.

It is believed, however, that 43-year-old Schumacher has the power to trigger a unilateral 'option' for 2013, which would explain Mercedes' apparent attempts to speed up the great German's decision.

Will we see Michael Schumacher, with Mercedes AMG, again in Montreal? (Photo: WRi2)

Team boss Brawn admitted: "We are focused on Michael for as long as it takes and whatever it takes. Then we will see where we are elsewhere.

"We haven't discussed it but he enjoys himself and if he enjoys himself, why not?" he is quoted by the Independent newspaper.

"Inevitably you come to a point where you say 'Let's have the discussions', because these things can sometimes take some time."

2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport

It's unfortunate that Mazda only offers the manual transmission on the most basic variant of the CX-5.

It's unfortunate that Mazda only offers the manual transmission on the most basic variant of the CX-5, though I suppose we should be happy it's available at all. Having driven this stick-shift model back-to-back with a fully-loaded automatic variant, I can say there are only two goodies I'd really miss: nineteen-inch wheels and leather. The larger wheels and, more important, the accompanying low-profile tires, translate to better-weighted and more communicative steering than the tall, seventeen-inch tires on this model. The leather also relates to steering- the cheap plastic rim on the base model ruins a perfectly shaped steering wheel.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

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Pictures 12 Jul, 2012