Auto News 5

The Volkswagen Group booked a 9.7% year on year rise in worldwide deliveries in the first three quarters of 2012, selling about 6.71m vehicles. September sales rose 6.5% to 801,000 units.

News 15 Oct, 2012

New range-topping Hyundai i30 Premium hatchback and Tourer models are now on sale

Fiat's Italian auto suppliers have had a tough time as the automaker cuts investment and production in Europe. Forced to look elsewhere for business or face bankruptcy, some have taken a lifeline offered by German manufacturer VW.

Volkswagen 's plan to open a store on Paris' Champs-Elysees will be great for the brand's exposure in France but do little to boost its volumes, industry watchers believe.

General Motors is trying to build on the success of the Buick Verano compact by adding a zippy turbo model, due out next month. But the Verano turbo could further dent sales of the Verano's slightly larger sedan sibling, the Buick Regal.

Scott Painter, the hard-charging founder of TrueCar Inc., can look back now at the crazy events of last December with amused detachment. But at the time the crisis that embroiled TrueCar was anything but amusing.

The federal government has a screaming deal for automakers that have struggled to find a market for electric vehicles: Two for the price of one.

U.S. sales of turbocharged light vehicles are expected to triple by 2017 as automakers downsize their powertrains to meet federal corporate average fuel economy targets, Honeywell Transportation Systems predicts.

A redesigned version of India's no-frills Nano minicar will come to the United States in three years, said Ratan Tata, the billionaire boss of that country's giant Tata Group.

After months of sleuthing to pinpoint the cause of mysterious fires in power-window switches, Toyota Motor Corp. reached a curious conclusion: The problem presented no safety risk. Just six months later, Toyota changed its tune.

Beau Boeckmann's announcement in August that he was adding a Shelby Mod Shop to his Galpin Auto Sports operation had the potential to link him up with thousands of new hot-rodding enthusiasts around the western United States.

Denso Corp., the Japanese supplier that helped develop Toyota's Entune infotainment system, wants to form a research group with automakers and suppliers to study driver stress.

General Motors is revamping its marketing structure by appointing two executives to run the retail operations of Chevrolet and Cadillac worldwide rather than filling the role of recently dismissed global marketing head Joel Ewanick.

GM and PSA are exploring ways to combine their European operations in a second phase of the alliance they forged earlier this year, sources said. One option is for GM's Opel/Vauxhall unit to merge with PSA's automotive operations in a joint venture.

GM and PSA are mulling a joint venture of Opel/Vauxhall and PSA's core auto manufacturing arm, according to media reports. If the plan goes ahead, it could be a catalyst for wide-reaching structural reform in Europe's ailing auto industry.

GM and PSA are exploring ways to combine their European operations in a second phase of the alliance they forged earlier this year, sources said. One option is for GM's Opel/Vauxhall unit to merge with PSA's automotive operations.

A third consecutive victory for Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel, following on from his success in Singapore and Japan, has made the drivers' championship even closer heading into the final four rounds of the season.

Vettel, driving a Red Bull-Renault RB7, started the race from second on the grid using the Pirelli P Zero red supersoft tires, and then carried out two stints on the yellow soft tire to win from his teammate Mark Webber, having taken the lead at the start.

Photos: WRi2

The German's fourth victory of the year has given him the drivers' championship lead, while third and fourth places for Ferrari, thanks to Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa respectively, moves the Italian squad up to second in the constructors' championship.

In a press release, Ford of Europe announced on Monday that it will reduce its commitment to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) at the end of the current season.

This means that Ford will no longer be the title sponsor of the world rally team entered by M-Sport.

The car manufacturer explained in the press release it made the decision as part of a 'review of its European business in the current difficult economic environment'.

“Ford has a long and proud history in the WRC and this was not an easy decision,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe.

“At this time, however we determined that it was better for the company and the Ford brand to reduce our commitment to the WRC and deploy our resources in other areas,” he added.

Ford's long-term business partner, M-Sport, meanwhile plans to continue competing in WRC with the Fiesta RS WRC.

The American car manufacturer is in discussions with the Malcolm Wilson managed team to provide 'continued vehicle and engineering support', including for the recently announced Fiesta R5 for the new-for-2013 WRC-2 series, and the Fiesta R2 for grass-roots national and regional driver programmes.

This news will probably confirm Jari-Matti Latvala's departure to the new Volkswagen team for 2013 as a teammate to Frenchman Sebastien Ogier.

From GMM

Fernando Alonso will focus intensely on the final four races of the season amid a 'media muzzle', according to the German newspaper Bild.

The report said Ferrari's Spaniard - who finally lost his championship lead as his on-form title rival Sebastian Vettel won a third consecutive grand prix on Sunday - will not give any more interviews as the 2012 season draws to a close over the next six weeks through India, Abu Dhabi, the US and finally Brazil.

Bild also said Alonso will even curtail the time he will spend with Ferrari's sponsors between now and the season finale in late November.

Podium of the 2012 Korean Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

Fernando Alonso looked disappointed on the Korea podium on Sunday, but he insisted that while making up the now 6-point deficit will be "extremely tough", it is not over yet.

"The important thing is to be first when you are crossing the line in Interlagos," he is quoted by El Mundo newspaper.

Fernando Alonso suggested German Vettel cannot continue to expect to experience "perfect weekends" as he did in Singapore, Suzuka and Korea.

"Congratulations for that (the wins), but when everything goes smoothly for so long, inevitably sooner or later something has to happen," he said, referring to his Red Bull rival.

Inevitably, off-track psychological elements like that will tinge the intense battle over the final races, but Vettel revealed that - even privately - Alonso was noble in defeat on Sunday.

"He said 'Well done', that's it," the 25-year-old told Bild. "He just congratulated me very fairly. Mark (Webber) too. I like fairness like that, showing respect even when we are fighting one another and giving each other nothing. There are days when you are beaten, that's part of it."

Asked if he has Alonso's phone number, Sebastian Vettel admitted: "No, but I don't have too many other drivers' numbers either!"

From press release

Ander Vilarino wrote a new page in the history books last Sunday by becoming the maiden EURO-RACECAR NASCAR Touring Series' champion at Le Mans, France.

The Spaniard has dominated the 2012 season with six wins, eight top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes, as well as three pole positions for sprint races and two in endurance events.

The stakes were high ahead of the series' trip to the Le Mans Bugatti circuit and the season finale did not disappoint.

In a change from the previous five rounds, Vilarino (No. 2 TFT-Banco Santander) took points rather than wins at the French venue, knowing that victories were not essential in his quest to clinch the crown.

Ander Vilarino (Photo: EURO-RACECAR / Stéphane Azémard)

Instead he was solid, finishing seventh and 10th respectively in the weekend's two races.

“I focused on not making a mistake,” said the new champion.

“I didn't want to be involved in an accident or a suffer a mechanical failure. During the endurance race I listened to every sound the car was making! When I returned to the pits I was crying with emotion. I want to thank my TFT-Banco Santander team who have done an incredible job throughout the season."

Since the signing of a long-term agreement with NASCAR, and as a reward for his title-winning exploits, the series' first champion will contest the Daytona Battle at The Beach in February 2013.

ELITE Championship:
1. Ander Vilarino (#2 TFT-Banco Santander), 2. Romain Thievin (#99-Still Racing-Exotics Racing), 3. Javier Villa (#64 Gonneau Racing), etc.