Porsche's forthcoming rival for the Range Rover Evoque is set to start rolling off the line at an expanded Leipzig plant from 'late 2013', the Volkswagen subsidiary has announced.
Skoda has started production of its new Rapid car for European markets in the Czech Republic. The Rapid will debut at next month's Paris auto show and will go on sale in Europe in October.
The covers have been pulled off the third generation Mazda6 sedan at the Moscow motor show. The car, which brings with it a new platform, is notable for having a longer wheelbase than all rivals, with the exception of the Ford Mondeo.
Europe's struggling mass-market carmakers are furious with Volkswagen for ramping up production at a time when the continent faces huge overcapacity, but the profitable German market-leading automaker shows no sign of slowing down to save its rivals.
Europe's struggling mass-market carmakers are furious with Volkswagen for ramping up production at a time when the continent faces huge overcapacity, but the profitable German market-leading automaker shows no sign of slowing down to save its rivals.
Volkswagen is investing 550 million euros ($691 million) in auto-parts manufacturing in Russia and China to prepare for further growth in the countries' vehicle markets.
Ex-Formula One racer Patrick Friesacher took the wheel of a NASCAR to give the crowd at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland a little extra to cheer for.
Friesacher performed doughnuts and what not on Trier's 4.37-kilometre Circus Maxima Power Stage under the watchful eyes of spectators, last Sunday afternoon.
The car also also featured at the Messepark permanent service area.
Vitaly Petrov's manager has warned she will find another pursuit for the Russian driver if they cannot make money in formula one.
Since 2010, when the now 27-year-old made his debut for Renault (now Lotus) before switching to Caterham this season, Petrov has funded his race seats through private backing and sponsorship.
But his manager Oksana Kosachenko warned that they may change direction for 2013.
Vitaly Petrov and Oksana Kosachenko (Photo: WRi2)
"If the presence of a Russian driver in formula one will be interesting to no one else but Vitaly Petrov and Oksana Kosachenko, we'll find what to do outside the grand prix," she told Sport-Express.
"Formula one is great and very prestigious, but for Vitaly it's a job that brings no money. Why? There are many reasons.
"In Russia, it's difficult to sell an athlete, but to sell a formula one driver is almost impossible," added Kosachenko.
Former race car driver Alessandro Zanardi will be representing his country, Italy, during the Paralympic Games held in London.
Zanardi, now 45 has been entered in three competitions in road cycling.
Ironically, all road cycling competitions will be held on the road circuit of Brands Hatch! Zanardi drove at Brands Hatch in 1989 and 1991 when he was competing in the International Formula 3000 Championship.
Road cycling at Brands Hatch. (Photo: London Paralympics)
Zanardi, a member of the GSC Giambenini club of Verona will be competing in:
Men's Individual H 4 Time Trial (held Wednesday September 5 at 15:10 at Brands Hatch)
Men's Individual H 4 Road Race (held Friday September 7 at 16:30)
Mixed H 1-4 Team Relay (held Saturday September 8 at 17:45)
Alex Zanardi thinks it is now "inevitable" Ferrari will replace Felipe Massa at the end of the season.
The Italian, whose return to F1 in 1999 ended after just one disappointing season with Williams, thinks struggling Brazilian Massa has "run out of excuses" as he continues to flounder behind his standout teammate Fernando Alonso.
"For me, Felipe is a driver with great qualities, but his anxiety crisis got the better of him," Zanardi, who returned to American open-wheeler racing after leaving F1 and lost his legs in a crash in 2001, told the Italian magazine Autosprint.
"I think if he had tried to be himself, and not Alonso, I'm sure that by now he would have seen the podium quite often.
"But, after all, he is a human being, and more 'Latin' than Fernando in the sense that the British give to the word.
"It's a difficult job, and definitely not easier if you drive for Ferrari. For me, though, at this point of the season, the time for excuses has run out.
"Ferrari will have to stand by him and see if the guy comes out of the crisis, because there are important points that they can bring in 2012.
"But I have to say at this point that I think it is inevitable that they (Ferrari) will replace him."
Zanardi, now preparing to race in the hand-cycling classes at the Paralympics, said that in a 'free market' situation, Lewis Hamilton would be his number one choice to replace Massa.
"Number two," he explained, "is Edoardo Mortara."
Mortara, 25, was the 2010 F3 euroseries champion who now races for Team Rosberg in DTM.
"If I was Ferrari, I would do with him (Mortara) what McLaren did with Lewis. But if we're talking about someone for just one season, then I would take someone like Paul di Resta or Nico Hulkenberg," said Zanardi.
The best car of 2012, Zanardi said, is the black and gold one fielded by Lotus.
"You know why?" said the 45-year-old. "Because as I always said to Morris Nunn -- the best car is not the fastest, it's the one that allows you to put the wheels where you want them."
Zanardi told the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail recently that, after the Paralympics, his next goal might be to race a hand-controlled car at the fabled Indy 500.
"In a perfect world," he said, "Chip Ganassi would call me and ask if I wanted to do the Indy 500. That would be cool. Let me do this first and then we will see."
IndyCar, the sanctioning body of the IZOD IndyCar Series, has modified the activation delay to the overtake assist for the Grand Prix of Baltimore this weekend to zero seconds.
Push-to-pass has been utilized at Toronto and Edmonton with an activation delay of 5 seconds introduced at Mid-Ohio on August 5. It was reduced to 3.5 seconds for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 26.
"We've had two races without the activation delay and two races with it,” IndyCar Director of Engine Development Trevor Knowles said. "Based on driver feedback, we're adjusting the parameters of push-to-pass to fit this particular circuit.”
A total of 90 seconds of boost will be afforded drivers, with a maximum of 20 seconds per activation on the 2-mile temporary street circuit. There's no recharge time between activations.
Veteran driver Bruno Junqueira will make a comeback in the Indycar Series as he has been called upon to stand-in for injured Josef Newgarden for the upcoming Baltimore Grand Prix.
Josef Newgarden broke his left index finger in a crash also involving Sebastien Bourdais at Sonoma during last week-end's race.
Junqueira, a man with a long record in both Champ Car and IndyCar has driven for former Champ Car entrant Paul Gentilozzi during the last two ALMS seasons and last drove an Indy car at the 2011 Indy 500 when he qualified for A.J. Foyt, but was replaced by Ryan Hunter-Reay for the race.
According to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2012 Japan Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI), 29% of hybrid vehicle/electric vehicle (HV/EV) buyers indicate that their fuel economy is lower than expected. Yet 48% of new car owners mention efficiency as a deciding factor.
"HV and EV buyers show a strong tendency of dissatisfaction, based on the gap between expected fuel efficiency and actual fuel efficiency," said Taku Kimoto, executive director of the automotive division at J.D. Power Asia Pacific. "Automakers and dealers need to carefully manage buyer expectations regarding fuel efficiency from their new HV or EV, which may vary greatly depending on driving conditions."
Overall, customer satisfaction with the new-vehicle sales process at automotive dealerships in Japan has declined during the past year, the study reports.
Jenson Button has admitted he thinks Lewis Hamilton will still be his teammate in 2013.
McLaren chiefs including Martin Whitmarsh have insisted they are "close" to signing a new deal with the 2008 world champion, but rumours suggest the two sides are at odds over Hamilton's right to keep his original trophies, and money.
Fellow Briton Button, who is already signed up for 2013, reportedly 'laughed' when Brazil's Totalrace asked him if he thinks Hamilton will ultimately follow suit.
"Yeah, I think so," he is quoted as saying.
"I don't know what options he has, but Lewis entered F1 with a team that gave him opportunities to win races and fight for championships.
"He might not have the chance to be champion every year, but the team gives him the conditions to fight for victories every year, and when you have that, it's very difficult to go somewhere else and try to build a winning team.
"Some drivers, like myself, needed to do this (move teams), but once you're in a team like this you don't want to look back.
"I don't know what his options are," Button continued, "but I don't think it's Ferrari and nobody knows if Michael is going to be at Mercedes or not (next year).
"It would be a big change for him (Hamilton), but sometimes you do need a change."
For Button, it has been an up-and-down 2012 season, who after winning the opening Australian grand prix is now 6 places and 88 points behind Fernando Alonso in the drivers' standings.
"The first races were good," he said, "and then I had a hard time when we tried new things for the car which I don't think were ideal.
"After some races we decided to go back to where we were. The reasons we did what we did was to try to understand the behaviour of the tyres.
"In some ways it was my fault for not going back earlier. I insisted on following this path. From Germany onwards things got better for us," said Button.
As for Alonso's 40-point lead in the world championship, Button said the Spaniard has done a "phenomenal job" in 2012, but warned that the situation can quickly change.
"Each of the coming races will be difficult," said Button. "He could easily lose 10, 15 points to someone each time."
Starting in 2025, the fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks in the United States will change from 35.5 mpg (6.6 L/100km) to 54.5 mpg (4.3 L/100km), the White House announced yesterday.
Automakers will need to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles for the North American market as Canada is expected to follow suit by upgrading its standards as well.
"These fuel standards represent the single most important step we've ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,'' President Barack Obama said in the midst of his campaign.
The new standards will reportedly cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light-duty trucks in half by 2025.
Marussia will use a KERS system supplied by rivals Williams in 2013.
Technical consultant Pat Symonds also revealed on Wednesday that Marussia, the former Virgin team he joined after bowing out of F1 amid the 'crashgate' affair, will remain with Cosworth power next season.
The former Renault veteran said next year's Marussia, to be called the MR02, will be an evolution of the single seater currently raced by Timo Glock and Charles Pic.
"We will continue with the Cosworth engine. We are concentrating on improving the driveability of the engine and enhancing its performance as a unit with the car," said Symonds.
But the most surprising news is Marussia's decision to link up with Williams for KERS, having not used the energy-recovery technology since debuting in 2010.
Marussia already has a technical collaboration in place with another British team, McLaren.
"We will be using KERS next year," Symonds announced. "We plan to adopt the system that has been developed by Williams, which was used by them with the Cosworth engine last year and is currently with their Renault-engine car.
"Our 2013 unit is a development of this. We've been very impressed with the engineering, the efficiency and the weight. Williams are also a pleasure to work with both technically and commercially."
A day after U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed higher fuel economy standards by 2025, his Republican opponent in the presidential race spoke against excessive regulation in the auto industry - even though automakers representing 90% of American sales have previously agreed to these new standards.
Rather than forcing them to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles, Mitt Romney said that he prefers market-based solutions such as tax incentives.
He also believes that the government, which still has a 26.5% stake in General Motors, shouldn't be owning the manufacturer's shares at all. Should he be elected to the White House on November 6th, GM would have to find a new major shareholder.
Romney didn't stop there, labelling electric vehicles as "a technology that people aren't interested in." He pointed out that the Chevrolet Volt has suffered from weak sales so far in the U.S.
Several web sites wrote earlier this week that Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica -- who's still recovering from the horrible rally accident in February 2010 in Italy - tested a Ford Fiesta RS WRC car on a road course in France.
No one, including Ford, M-Sport or Kubica's agent confirmed the news.
But the Pole has always been a big fan of rallying and contested several rallies in the past few years, including the Rallye Monte-Carlo in 2010, driving a Renault Clio R3.
If the very serious injuries to his right arm and hand do not allow his to return to Formula 1 one day, Kubica may consider a switch to the World Rally Championship.
Driving a World Rally Car is not physically as demanding as driving an F1 car. Maybe Kubica, now 27 wanted to check how he felt driving a purebred WRC car on tarmac.
Malcolm Wilson, Ford team principal revealed nothing about the test. “As you know, we had a four-day development test at a circuit in France, that's all there is to it. It was a private test and I'm not prepared to comment further,” Wilson declared.
The latest auto news, reviews, prices, product and vehicle releases. 
