Auto News 5

General Motors jumps on the small SUV bandwagon with the introduction of the new Chevrolet Trax, which just celebrated its world premiere at the 2012 Paris Auto Show.

"Trax will be a popular choice with Canadians looking for the styling, functionality and cargo space expected of a much larger vehicle, but in a smaller sporty package,'' said Marc Comeau, vice-president of sales, service and marketing for Chevrolet in Canada.

The Chevrolet Trax boasts a 1.4L turbocharged engine that produces 138 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque through a six-speed manual transmission on the LS model. LT and LTZ models receive a six-speed autobox and available all-wheel drive.

Cargo capacity increases to 1,370 litres with the rear seats down. The front passenger seat folds flat, too, offering additional flexibility for longer items. More storage solutions can be found under the cargo floor.

Chevrolet's MyLink infotainment system with 7'' touchscreen display comes standard on 2LT and LTZ models, while the Bringo navigation app (offered through online app stores) provides real-time traffic information as well as driving efficiency records.

The Canadian pricing and release date for the Chevrolet Trax will be announced later.

Photo: Chevrolet

From GMM

German magazine Auto Motor und Sport claimed on Monday that Mexican Sergio Perez was another candidate to oust Michael Schumacher at Mercedes AMG.

The magazine said it means the great seven-time world champion was therefore only the third choice to line up alongside Nico Rosberg in 2013, after Lewis Hamilton and Mexican Perez.

Ultimately, Mercedes secured its number one choice Hamilton, leaving McLaren to sign Mexican Perez to succeed him -- and Schumacher out in the cold.

Sergio Perez driving the C31 Sauber. (Photo: Sauber F1 Team)

Prior to signing Hamilton, "the Silver Arrows bosses had stretched out their feelers to the Mexican (Perez)," journalist Michael Schmidt claimed.

It remains a fact, however, that Schumacher could have definitely kept his seat if, early in the summer, he exercised an active and unilateral 'option' for 2013.

"Why play poker until October when the best time to extend the contract had already come?" Schmidt wondered rhetorically.

"Had he signed after qualifying in Monte Carlo, Hamilton would never have been a topic."

A Mercedes insider is quoted as saying: "Michael's stalling until October forced Mercedes to think about alternatives."

But other issues were also at play, including Ross Brawn, Norbert Haug and Niki Lauda's task in convincing the paymasters in Stuttgart to sign a new Concorde Agreement and keep the three-pointed star in formula one.

Correspondent Schmidt said the task was easier when pitching the contemporary star Hamilton or the "fresh blood" of 22-year-old rising sensation Perez, rather than "the 43-year-old veteran".

So Hamilton will join Rosberg in Mercedes' 2013 garage, but only after his final title tilt with his boyhood marque McLaren is done and dusted.

It could be an awkward last six races in one shade of silver, but McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh insists he is not worried.

"Lewis has assured me that at the moment he is a McLaren driver and he's focused on winning," he told the BBC. "He will be professional, the team will be professional around him and we will be seeing if we can do the best job we can."

Michel Bergeron is a well-known public figure, especially if you're a fan of the NHL. These days, Mr. Bergeron is busy talking about the lockout, and he confessed that it's a very unfortunate situation that he's talked on quite a bit lately.

Given that he was at our offices for a brief video shoot, we thought we'd change things up and talk cars with him -- something we'll never tire of discussing.

Mr. Bergeron is a spokesperson for a local Hyundai dealer, so we put together a short video to get his thoughts on the Korean brand and their product.

Note: The video is solely in French.

The crisis in Europe is turning into a nightmare for French automakers. Casting dark clouds over the Paris Auto Show, the Comité des constructeurs français d'automobiles (CCFA) slashed its 2012 outlook to predict a 12% decline.

All sectors are affected, particularly industrial vehicles (-20.1% forecast), and while foreign companies reported sales drops in September, none fared worse than Renault AG (-33.4%). PSA Peugeot Citroën (-5%) is also down.

Due to the struggling economy and rising fuel prices, French families are postponing major purchases, according to a study by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies.

Source: Les Echos.fr

Missed our complete coverage of the 2012 Paris Motor Show? This top 10 showcasing the finest vehicles unveiled in Paris will surely give you an eyeful.

10. Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Continue reading Top 10 Paris Motor Show Unveils

From GP3 Series

GP3 Series organisers Monday announced the names of the nine teams that have been selected to compete in the 2013-2015 seasons.

Eight of the historical GP3 teams will continue in the Series whilst Koiranen Motorsport will join. The Finnish outfit have proven pedigree amongst others as 2011 Team Champions in Formula Renault 2.0.

The entry is valid for three consecutive seasons 2013-14-15. GP3 Series organisers agreed that nine teams was the right number to run with for the upcoming campaign with the new car. Each team will be allowed to line up a maximum of three cars.

The second generation car has had successful development tests which have shown that the new GP3/13 car is expected to be at least three seconds faster than the GP3/10.

Photo: GP3 Series

It has a naturally-aspirated 400hp engine compared to the current 280hp and also enjoys a new aerodynamic package including new nose, sidepods and engine cover. The step to progress up between GP3 and GP2 is closer, and with this upgrade kit, the GP3/13 car will be the perfect tool to help the drivers who graduate from GP3 to GP2 to be immediately competitive.

The teams will receive the kit for the GP3/13 car at the end of this year.

The current GP3/10 car has just two more outings remaining at the winter testing with the current teams: Jerez 24-25th October and Estoril 6th-7th October.

The following teams have entered the 2013 GP3 Series*

Atech Grand Prix
Carlin
Jenzer Motorsport
Koiranen Motorsport
Lotus GP
Marussia Manor Racing
MW Arden
Status Grand Prix
Trident Racing

*in alphabetical order

At ratification meetings this past weekend, CAW members at Chrysler voted 90% in favour of the new collective agreement.

The contract follows the pattern deal set with Ford on September 17th, and mirrored in the agreement with General Motors reached on September 20th.

It includes a $3,000 ratification bonus for workers as well as cost of living lump sum payments of $2,000 in each of 2013, 2014 and 2015. Current pension benefits for existing workers will be protected, while new jobs will be created at all Chrysler facilities.

Now that a deal has been ratified with the Big Three, CAW president Ken Lewenza said that the union will shift attention toward winning a long-overdue national auto policy for Canada. ''Without a comprehensive sector development strategy, the future of auto manufacturing in Canada remains uncertain, at best," he argued.

Such policies currently exist in Germany, Brazil and other countries.

We think we may have stumbled upon something very interesting coming from Mazda Canada. Our Social Media guy was doing his job when he came across a @mazdacanada tweet.

In less than a second, he retweeted the interesting nugget of information and shared it with us in the office. Thinking it would make for good news fodder, he attempted to retrace the original tweet only to realize that it had been deleted. Thankfully, he had retweeted the post.

The tweet reads as follows: @MrKerrJr tweeted to @mazdacanada that he'd like to see the gorgeous new Mazda6 wagon in Canada. Shortly thereafter, @mazdacanada replied that they we're working on it.

Good news! Premature news? One way or another, it is news!

If you followed Paris Auto Show coverage, you've seen the pictures of this car. We can all agree that it is very sexy! As some of us in the office are certified wagonistas, we could not be happier about the prospect of it coming back.

Yes, coming back. If you recall, the 2004 Mazda6 was available in sedan, 5-door hatchback and wagon body styles. Although the later two never sold in great numbers, they were nonetheless very attractive products.  

During the World Series by Renault meeting held last weekend at the Paul Ricard circuit of Le Castellet in France, Alain Prost got the chance to taste the power of two relatively recent F1 cars: the Red Bull-renault RB6 and the 2010 Renault R30.

Photo: DPPI/Renault Sport

The four-time Formula 1 World Champion Prost is a global ambassador for Renault. In addition to making public appearances, he helps the engineers in some areas.

In the early '80s, Prost continued the development of the first turbo engine in F1 with Renault, and he almost clinched the world title in 1983.

Photo: DPPI/Renault Sport

Prost, a brilliant technician could help in the development of Renault's new 1.6 litre turbo KERS engine due to be introduced in 2014.

In an interview posted on F1i.com, Prost said: "Driving a modern Formula 1 car is very helpful," said the 57-year-old. "And maybe I have another chance to do it with the new engine in the next two months. That would be another good experience.”

"I am already thinking about the new technology coming in Formula 1 with the new engines. I am going to work very hard with Renault on that; it is our new target,” he added.

Photo: DPPI/Renault Sport

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport quoted Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo saying that the Scuderia plans to shut down its wind tunnel in order to verify it is correctly calibrated.

In the article, Montezemolo says the Italian Formula 1 team suffered issues with data correlation during the 2011 season. Last year's car -- the 150 Italia -- was apparently not producing the levels of downforce that wind tunnel data suggested some updates should provide.

The Ferrari boss believes the performance of this year's F2012 has also been affected by the inconsistency of the wind tunnel data. Montezemolo added that team boss Stefano Domenicali has made the decision to shut it down during the winter until the problems are fixed.

Ferrari wind tunnel.

"The real trouble is that sometimes the data matches and this creates even more confusion," Montezemolo was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Domenicali has reached a conclusion: to shut down our wind tunnel for a while and do our tests elsewhere, in order to verify and re-calibrate everything. It will take time.

"I don't know whether this will happen in December or January, it's up to him: I have absolute faith in Domenicali."

Last year, the Ferrari F1 team revealed it was using one of Toyota Motorsport Group's wind tunnels in Cologne, Germany in order to develop the car of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

From IndyCar

Nineteen races over 16 event weekends highlight the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule announced Sunday.

The expanded schedule includes the return of Indy car racing to Pocono Raceway and the streets of Houston.

With a 400-mile race at Pocono Raceway joining the 500-mile events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway on the schedule, the IZOD IndyCar Series will institute a Triple Crown award, which will pay a $1 million bonus to a driver that wins on all three ovals. A driver that wins two of the three races will be awarded a $250,000 bonus.

Illustration: IndyCar

Also new for 2013 are Saturday-Sunday doubleheaders scheduled for the street courses at Detroit's Belle Isle Park, Toronto and Houston and the implementation of standing starts at those three venues. Details regarding qualifications procedures for the doubleheader races will be announced at a later date.

The 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 26. Pole Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 18.

2013 IZOD IndyCar Schedule

March 24 St. Petersburg
April 7 Barber Motorsports Park
April 21 Beach
May 5 Sao Paulo
May 26 Indianapolis
June 1 Belle Isle Detroit
June 2 Belle Isle Detroit
June 8 Texas Motor Speedway*
June 15 Milwaukee Mile
June 22 Iowa Speedway
July 7 Pocono
July 13 Toronto
July 14 Toronto
August 4 Mid-Ohio
August 25 Sonoma
September 1 Baltimore
October 5 Houston
October 6 Houston
October 19 Fontana*

* Denotes night race

Schedule subject to change

From GMM

Niki Lauda has admitted he played a role in convincing Lewis Hamilton to quit McLaren and join Mercedes.

The triple world champion, who is set to become the non-executive chairman of the Brackley based team, also confirmed he "helped" Mercedes with its Concorde Agreement negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone.

But the biggest news is that the Austrian legend was instrumental in getting long-term McLaren protege and Briton Hamilton to turn away from his boyhood employer.

"I was impressed with his approach to things, very pragmatic, no emotions whatsoever," Lauda told BBC radio of his talks with Hamilton.

The former McLaren and Ferrari driver said he told Hamilton that taking Mercedes to success was a challenge he should not ignore.

"And think of it the other way round, if Schumacher couldn't get the Mercedes team running up front for three years and you (Hamilton) next year are doing much better it makes a huge impact on your personality and people will rate you much higher," Lauda recalled of his conversations with Hamilton.

"In the end it convinced him that the challenge is what he wants to do."

Lewis Hamilton. (Photo: René Fagnan/Auto123.com)

Naturally, there are some who believe Hamilton was also attracted to Mercedes for mainly financial reasons.

"The money discussion I was not really involved in," said Niki Lauda. "The offer was very close to the one of McLaren."

Ultimately, Hamilton's move has divided opinions in F1.

Some think the 27-year-old is unwise to trade a surely competitive car for a Mercedes gamble, but 1996 world champion Damon Hill thinks the move was inevitable.

"Lewis has been like a caged bird at McLaren," he told the Daily Mail. "He'd been managed to within an inch of his life. You can have a bellyful of becoming a performing seal."

Niki Lauda said he will remain an expert pundit for German television.

Greece has approved plans to build a multi-million Formula 1 racing circuit, south of Patras in the Peloponnese.

Greek web site ekathimerini.com confirmed Monday that the government has approved the construction of a 94.6 million euro investment (the circuit will cost $40 milions), including buildings 'of an international standard' said the Regional, Development and Competitiveness Ministry in a statement.

Private company Racetrack Patras SA will oversee the project.

Layout of the new circuit.

The project is expected to be completed in 36 months and needs to be approved by Parliament, the ministry added, helping provide a boost to tourism.

“After the completion of the investment, 497 new job positions are expected to be created and a significant boost to tourism the in the region,” the statement said.

The project will be located 20 kilometres southeast of Patras, in the Halandritsa area.