Auto News 5

Canada's unionized autoworkers, perhaps the best rewarded in the world, may have a choice in the next few days: Give the Detroit 3 automakers concessions in current talks over new contracts or watch some of their jobs head for the United States or...

The Toyota TS030 Hybrid LMP1, which already set the pace in the free practice sessions on Thursday, set the pole position ahead of the Sao Paulo Six Hours, next round of the World Endurance Championship.

Audi was back in the lead in the last free practice session on Saturday morning, but Alex Wurz was again fastest during the qualifying, as the Austrian set the best performance of the session. The former F1 driver, who will share the car with Nicolas Lapierre during the race, gives Toyota its first pole position since his return in endurance racing this season.

Photo: Toyota Racing

Luca di Grassi was performant since the first practice session, and the brazilian, who makes his prototype racing debuts, set the second best performance aboard the Audi R18 Ultra that he will share with Tom Kristensen and Alan McNish. The second Audi R18, the Hybrid (last Le Mans 24 Hours winning car) driven by Andre Lotterer, Benoît Treluyer and Marcel Fassler, will start from third position on the grid.

The Rebellion's Lola Toyota of Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost was the quickest petrol powered car, and will start from 4th position on the grid. The best LMP2 car was the Starworks' HPD-ARX 03b-Honda, who set the 8th best performance with Stéphane Sarrazin.

Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke's Aston Martin Vantage was quickest in the GTE Pro class, while the AF Corse-Waltrip's Ferrari F458 driven by Enrique Bernoldi set the best performance in the GTE Am class.

History/Description: In its last generation, the Dodge Charger was a Canadian-built American sedan that offered up plenty of space, power and feature content.

Sharing the same rear-drive “LX” platform as the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum, Charger offered up three engine options. A 2.7L V6 made 180 or 190 horsepower, though reliability issues meant that shoppers should exclude this engine option from their list from the get-go.

2006 Dodge Charger (Photo: Philippe Champoux)

A 3.5L V6 delivered 250 horsepower. Available was Chrysler's HEMI V8, a 5.7L unit that made 340 to 370 horsepower, depending on the year. Automatic transmissions were fitted to all models, and all-wheel drive was optional.

Look for feature content including Bluetooth, navigation, heated leather seats, a sunroof, automatic climate control, remote access, cruise control, power seats, and plenty more.

What Owners Like: Styling, roominess, a generous trunk, overall value, and overall performance were all highly rated by Charger owners. Particularly, HEMI-powered models were loved for robust acceleration and sound effects. Many owners also raved about the up-level stereo system.

What Owners Dislike: Some owners complained of limited outward visibility, big blind spots, poor fuel consumption (especially with the HEMI) and a “slippery” feel when driving the Charger in the rain. Consider winter tires mandatory for driving on snow and ice. Some also wished for a more refined and upscale interior, an issue which Dodge addressed in an interior makeover for 2008 on.

Common Issues: Start your test drive with a full check of the Chargers on-board electronics, ensuring all motorized or computer-driven features work properly and as expected. Pay close attention to all windows, door locks, the climate control system, and the power seats.

2008 Dodge Charger (Photo: Chrysler)

Continue reading 2006-2010 Dodge Charger Pre-owned

A recent study released by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and three other organizations reveals that the most Canadian infrastructures are in dire straits.

More than half of the total municipal road infrastructures in the country are in need of important work. FCM President Karen Leibovici confirms the findings, stating that '' the study shows that basic municipal infrastructures, like roads and waterworks are at risk. The investments that have been made these past few years have helped, but without a major long-term strategy we are heading for a crisis.''

120 municipalities representing more than 60% of the Canadian population were polled: 25% of Canadian roads are overloaded, supporting much more than the loads that they were designed for, thanks in great part to the rise in vehicle traffic using these roadways. If no action is taken, the cost of repairing and maintaining these roads will explode.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti set the best time early in the session to take pole ahead of the IZOD IndyCar season's finale that will be presented Saturday night on the 2-mile oval in Fontana.

Andretti reached an average speed of more than 216.069mph that would end-up being unreachable by all his adversaries.

Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske) was the only other racer to pass the 216 mph mark in qualifying and finished second in front of his teammate and series leader Will Power but who will get a ten-spot grid penalty for an unauthorized engine change.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for Marco Andretti teammate and championship contender Ryan Hunter-Reay who set the 17th fastest time with a 10-place penalty to be added.

Canadians Alex Tagliani (BHA) and James Hinchcliffe (Andretti) had set respectively the 6th and 12th time but, as in the case for a total of 14 drivers, they will go down the order by 10 places.

IZOD IndyCar Fontana event - Qualifying speeds

Pos Driver Team/Car Speed
1. Marco Andretti Andretti Dallara-Chevy 216.069
2. Ryan Briscoe Penske Dallara-Chevy 216.058
3. Will Power Penske Dallara-Chevy 215.940
4. Josef Newgarden Fisher Dallara-Honda 215.919
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi Dallara-Honda 215.391
6. Alex Tagliani Herta Dallara-Honda 215.226
7. Tony Kanaan KV Dallara-Chevy 214.877
8. JR Hildebrand Panther Dallara-Chevy 214.749
9. Ed Carpenter Carpenter Dallara-Chevy 214.684
10. Helio Castroneves Penske Dallara-Chevy 214.409
11. Graham Rahal Ganassi Dallara-Honda 214.015
12. James Hinchcliffe Andretti Dallara-Chevy 213.726
13. Rubens Barrichello KV Dallara-Chevy 213.527
14. Katherine Legge Dragon Dallara-Chevy 213.308
15. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Dallara-Honda 213.282
16. Takuma Sato Rahal Dallara-Honda 213.222
17. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Dallara-Chevy 212.773
18. Oriol Servia Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy 212.533
19. Dario Franchitti Ganassi Dallara-Honda 211.999
20. Charlie Kimball Ganassi Dallara-Honda 211.531
21. Sebastian Saavedra AFS/Andretti Dallara-Chevy 210.619
22. EJ Viso KV Dallara-Chevy 210.134
23. Wade Cunningham Foyt Dallara-Honda 209.526
24. James Jakes Coyne Dallara-Honda 208.056
25. Simona de Silvestro HVM Dallara-Lotus
26. Justin Wilson Coyne Dallara-Honda

After being offered a seat at Team Penske, Ryan Hunter-Reay has decided in the end to remain with Michael Andretti and his Andretti Autosport's squad for the coming years.

According to reports, Reay has now signed a multiple-year deal with Andretti, the same team that gave him the chance to rekindle his career a couple of seasons ago.

In order to replace Ryan Briscoe, Team Penske had first approached Simon Pagenaud but due to contractual obligations with his current team Sam Schmidt, the Frenchman had to decline. Penske then spoke with Hunter-Reay.

But it wasn't going to be a clear decision, the 31-year-old veteran being loyal to Andretti for having helped him stay in the sport back in 2010 when Hunter-Reay did not have anywhere to go.

Ryan Hunter-Reay recently won the race at Baltimore. (Photo: IndyCar)

From WRC

Jari-Matti Latvala has reached an overnight halt of an FIA World Rally Championship round in the lead for the first time since Portugal in late March following an impressive charge on Wales Rally GB on Friday.

Latvala was slightly hesitant through the opening brace of tests while he found the “feeling” on board his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. But a quartet of stage wins has put him out front by 12.1s heading into Saturday's seven runs.

Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford. (Photo: WRC)

Indeed, it's been a day dominated by the works Ford squad with Petter Solberg moving into an early lead after going quickest on the first two stages. The Norwegian, a four-time winner in Wales, holds second with Citroen's multiple world champion Sebastien Loeb 9.2s further back after conceding that he couldn't live with the pace of the Fords on the slippery gravel stages.

Loeb, who is on course for his ninth world title and can help Citroen secure its eighth world crown in Wales, carried two spare tyres for each loop in the event of his soft compound tyres losing performance in the drying conditions. Latvala and Solberg both relied on one spare.

Mads Ostberg is fourth overnight in his Adapta Fiesta having lost precious seconds in the morning when he slowed in the mistaken belief he'd picked up a puncture on stage two. His decision to use an old set of pace notes on stage three also led to a loss of confidence. Mikko Hirvonen is fifth in the second factory Citroen with Ott Tanak sixth despite reporting a powersteering glitch in his M-Sport Fiesta.

Classification after day 1:
1. Latvala-Anttila (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) in 1.25'05”7

2. P. Solberg-Patterson (Ford Fiesta Wrc) + 12”1

3. Loeb-Elena (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 21”3

4. Ostberg-Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 32”6
5. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 53”8

6. Tanak-Sikk (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'19”2

7. Novikov-Minor (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 1'32”8
8. Neuville-Gilsoul (Citroen DS3 Wrc) + 2'27”9
9. Wilson-Martin (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 3'17"0
10. Prokop-Hruza (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) + 3'36”8
Etc.

According to IZOD IndyCar officials, 14 drivers, including both championship contenders Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay will get a ten-spot grid penalty at the upcoming event at Fontana.

Of those 14, 11 have been penalized for having change engine and the three remaining for having use a sixth engine, one more than the total of 5 allowed by the IZOD IndyCar rules.

Photo: IndyCar

Drivers penalized:
No. 3 Helio Castroneves (fitting sixth engine)
No. 12 Will Power (fitting sixth engine)

No. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay (fitting sixth engine)
No. 9 Scott Dixon (unapproved engine change)

No. 14 Wade Cunningham (unapproved engine change)
No. 15 Takuma Sato (unapproved engine change)
No. 18 Justin Wilson (unapproved engine change)
No. 38 Graham Rahal (unapproved engine change)

No. 67 Josef Newgarden (unapproved engine change)
No. 78 Simona de Silvestro (unapproved engine change)

No. 83 Charlie Kimball (unapproved engine change)

No. 77 Simon Pagenaud (unapproved engine change/fitting sixth engine)

No. 98 Alex Tagliani (unapproved engine change/fitting sixth engine)

No. 27 James Hinchcliffe (unapproved engine change/fitting sixth engine).

Last yearand#8217;s Amelia Island Guest of Honor will be this yearand#8217;s Amelia Island Honoree.

To say that every car has a story is not only a bit cliché, but also patently untrue. The beige

Want a chance to win a free Chrysler 300 SRT? Of course you do. The

The new, more Evoque-ative Range Rover was officially unveiled a little over a week ago. At the time, Land Rover only deigned to announce pricing for the United Kingdom.

Also in this episode: The new Buick Enclave can be yours for less than $40,000, and registration opens for the

It is not clear whether the weak European automotive market is stabilizing, but executives in the industry are talking more than ever about reducing capacity to match lower demand in the region, General Motors CFO Dan Ammann said today.

It is not clear whether the weak European automotive market is stabilizing, but executives in the industry are talking more than ever about reducing capacity to match lower demand in the region, General Motors CFO Dan Ammann said.

Supplier Delphi Automotive plans to repurchase up to $750 million of its outstanding shares.

TRW Automotive said it has developed a new electronic horn system, which will be ready for production in late 2014 and probably be used first by an unnamed European automaker.

2012 Dodge Charger SXT Plus - Piling On The Miles

We added more than 3000 miles to our Charger's odometer in July, recording the busiest month for the Dodge since it arrived in January.

We added more than 3000 miles to our Charger's odometer in July, recording the busiest month for the Dodge since it arrived in January. A bulk of those miles can be credited to photographer A.J. Mueller who enlisted our Charger to scout a photo shoot in Nashville, Tennessee. During the long trek down I-75, Mueller noted that the Charger is blessed with "amazing, big, beefy seats that let you ride in serious comfort." He also came away impressed by the Dodge's frugality over 1400 miles. "The gas mileage was very impressive and the tank never seemed to get down to E." In fact, the Charger's fuel log shows multiple fill-ups of just about half a tank; Mueller and his crew couldn't outlast the massive 19.1-gallon tank. Averaging 26 mpg -- well above the Charger's 23-mpg EPA city/highway combined rating -- they could have covered as much as 500 miles on a single tank.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Dodge Charger SXT Plus - Four Seasons Update - July 2012 - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Dodge Charger SXT Plus - Four Seasons Update - July 2012 - Automobile Magazine

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First Look: BMW Concept Active Tourer

A look at the 1 Series' front-wheel drive future.

Pay no attention to the C-word stuck in its moniker. The BMW Concept Active Tourer, which debuts later this month at the Paris Motor Show, is more than a concept: it's our look at the future of the 1 Series portfolio.

Photo Gallery: First Look: BMW Concept Active Tourer - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: First Look: BMW Concept Active Tourer - Automobile Magazine

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The Hot Wheels boys are at it again. This time with a stretch of orange track and a 92-foot corkscrew jumpand#8212;enough for a new world record.