Auto News 5

The World Rotax Challenge finals were presented this week end in Portimao, Portugal.

South African driver Cristiano Morgado takes win in DD2 Master, ahead of Scott Campbell, from Canada. Luc Sauriol, from Quebec, secured 8th place overall. In DD2, british driver Ben Cooper, who lives in Canada, won the race ahead of Konstantins Calko, from Lituania. Canadian drivers Zacharie Richard-Robichon and Nicholas Latifi take 8th and 11th position, respectively.

Harry Webb, from Great-Britain, dominated 125 Junior class ahead of Dutch driver Janneau Esmeijer and Canadian driver Parker Thompson. It was a 1-2-3 victory for Great Britain with Charlie Eastwood's win ahead of fellow countrymen Edward Brand and Oliver Hodgson.

Micro Max win went to young belgian driver Ayrton Simmons ahead of Juan Carlos Resoagli, from Spain.

From GMM

Luca di Montezemolo used Ferrari's end-of-season event at Valencia to criticise former team driver Michael Schumacher as well as F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

Directing his attention to German Schumacher, who won five consecutive drivers' titles at Ferrari, president Montezemolo admitted he was unhappy the now-retired Mercedes driver moved over so readily at Interlagos for his countryman Sebastian Vettel.

In Brazil, Ferrari's new 'number 1' Fernando Alonso was fighting for the drivers' title with Red Bull's champion.

"I was expecting a slightly different final race on the part of Michael Schumacher because he is a driver with links to Ferrari through some extraordinary moments and with whom we feel very close," said Montezemolo.

The Ferrari president, however, saved his real vitriol for Bernie Ecclestone, who last week described Ferrari's questioning of the outcome of the 2012 championship as a "joke".

Bernie Ecclestone and Michael Schumacher made both Luca di Montezemolo mad last week. (Photo: WRi2)

The affair surrounded an overtaking move by Vettel that, although ultimately declared legal by the FIA, was questioned by Ferrari in the days after the Brazilian finale.

Insisting Ferrari remains highly critical of F1 regulations including the emphasis on aerodynamics and a lack of testing, Luca di Montezemolo said: "Since some people have used the expression 'It's a joke' in recent days, I would like to say that this is the real 'joke'."

As for 82-year-old Ecclestone's criticism of the yellow flag saga, Montezemolo - who is 65 - said: "My father always taught me that you have to have respect for your elders, above all when they reach the point that they can no longer control their words. So I will stop there. Certainly, old age is often incompatible with certain roles and responsibilities."

From GMM

Sergio Perez thinks he is ready for the pressure of racing for a top team.

Ahead of his move to replace Lewis Hamilton, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh recently warned the young Mexican that the added pressure of driving for the famous British team will shock Perez.

"He might think he understands it, but he doesn't," said Martin Whitmarsh.

Photo: WRi2

Sergio Perez, 22, acknowledged: "Of course there is extra pressure when you're driving at the front. I have to get used to that, but I have already had a taste of it at Sauber."

"When I was on the podium I was a superstar, and when I didn't do well, I was the driver who made too many mistakes," he is quoted by the Dutch website Formule.nl.

Still, Sergio Perez said he expects to succeed in 2013.

"I want to win titles with this team, so I want to do it next year," he said. "It will be a long season, so it's important that I am well prepared from the beginning in order to satisfy their expectations."

I'm looking at the latest edition of Desrosiers Automotive Reports, which breaks down each brand's sales by region, and notes some interesting numbers. Here are a few significant and obvious ones:

Ontario
National sales proportion: 37%
In Canada's biggest vehicle market, the luxury brands are doing very well. Land Rover, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Lexus, and Jaguar move between 41% and 54% of their total Canadian sales in this province.

British Columbia
National sales proportion: 10%
Ah, the land of the fortwo; smart sells a staggering 48% of their total Canadian volume in BC. Land Rover is also doing well at 24%, while most luxury brands boast above-average percentages.

Prairies
National sales proportion: 20%
Unsurprisingly, trucks rule in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, racking up 27% of total Canadian light truck sales. The Prairies is a big market for GM (29%), Ford (27.5%) and Chrysler (27%), while small-car brands such as MINI, Fiat and smart are just about nonexistent here.

Atlantic
National sales proportion: 8%
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland are not big markets for auto manufacturers. Still, a few brands enjoy above-average numbers, such as Hyundai and Toyota at 10% as well as Honda, Suzuki, GM, Mitsubishi and Kia, all at 9%. The luxury brands perform poorly here, with between 1% and 4% of total national sales.

Quebec
National sales proportion: 25%
As opposed to the Prairies, cars rule in La Belle Province, as 32% of all cars sold in Canada roll off Quebec dealer lots. A few brands concentrate their efforts here; almost one out of two Suzuki vehicles are sold there (45%), while Mitsubishi (39%), Subaru (38%), Kia (38%), Mazda (37%), Fiat (36%), Scion (35%), Hyundai (34%) and Volkswagen (33%) please a lot of Quebec small-car shoppers. Underachievers obviously include GM, Ford and Chrysler, who all rely heavily on their light-truck sales in Canada.

Territories
National sales proportion: probably 0%
There are very few dealers up here. Ford, GM and Chrysler each have a dealer in Yukon and one in the Northwest Territories. Honda, Kia, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota also have a dealership in Yukon. Due to their low volume, their numbers have been added to adjacent regions.

Source: Desrosiers Automotive Reports, 3Q YTD 2012

The Los Angeles Auto Show is now greener than ever with an invasion of hybrid and electric vehicles such as the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV, which will initially go on sale next summer in select markets including California, Oregon, Canada, and South Korea.

GM announces class-leading range without getting into specifics. The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV comes with dual 7'' LCD screens and a range indicator that takes road conditions and driving style into account.

It will be the first electric vehicle to offer SAE Combo DC Fast Charging capability, restoring the battery to an 80% charge in just 20 minutes. Using a dedicated 240V outlet, the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV fully charges in less than seven hours.

Expect 0-60 mph (96 km/h) acceleration in under 8 seconds thanks to a 20 kWh lithium-ion battery and 110 kW (130 hp) electric motor.

The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV should retail for around $25,000 in the U.S. Stay tuned for Canadian pricing.

Photo: Chevrolet

No one likes to get old, and that's why the Fountain of Youth is a myth that's existed since the beginning of time. And while many people try to maintain their youth, few succeed.

Yet Porsche seems to have found that mythical Fountain of Youth and refuse to tell us where it is. The 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S drank it, bathed in it and carries a bottle of the stuff in a jar around its neck. Very few longstanding nameplates remain so close to the original car like the 911 has, physically and spiritually.


Pure drivetrain
The 2012 Porsche 911 has not strayed away from its sports-car roots, even if it could have eventually become a high-powered boulevard cruiser by packing on extra pounds and getting softer. But no; the 991-generation 911 is hardcore, visceral, pure.

Power goes up this year: The 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S gets a 3.8L flat-6 that develops 400 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, up 15 ponies versus last year's car. Another novelty is the industry's first production 7-speed manual gearbox, in addition to the optional 7-speed double-clutch automatic.

Equipped with the latter, the 2012 911 Carrera S rips to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds and, according to Porsche, exceeds 300 km/h if you're in the mood for visiting the backseat of a police cruiser. Yet performance numbers are only part of the story.

At full-throttle, the flat-6's melodious wail is spine-tingling addictive, more so than any other 6-cylinder engine I've ever heard in a production car. There is so much muscle and badass engine sound in the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S that I seriously wonder who really needs the extra 100 hp the Turbo version provides. In Sport Plus mode, gear changes are violently fast.

Despite the brawn and aural feast, the 2012 911 Carrera S consumes fuel at a very reasonable rate. OK, a $100,000 car buyer may not care all that much about gasoline consumption, but know that when driven normally at street-legal speeds, an average dipping below 10L/100km in the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S is no fantasy.

The 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S gets a 400-hp, 3.8L flat-6 that sounds like nothing else. (Photo: Olivier Delorme)

Bigger living quarters
The 2012 Porsche 911 gets a new interior design that features a centre console similar to the one in the Panamera without being as massive and riddled with buttons. In addition, the red coloured cockpit is stunningly hot in the grey-painted 991.

The car's wheelbase grew by 100 mm (or 4 inches), while overall length is also up by about 2 inches. It's apparent when you try to squeeze into one of the rear seats, which went from “forget it” to “almost tolerable.”

As usual in Porsches, fit and finish in the 2012 911 Carrera S is impeccable, with thick carpeting covering the footwells, rich looking cowhide covering the seats and dash, and solid feeling switchgears. I still can't get used to the left-side ignition keyhole, but owners eventually will.

Also, as is usually the case in Porsches, you get a near-infinite choice of interior trim combinations and options; you can customize your 2012 911 to your heart's desire and make sure it doesn't look like your neighbour's.

The cabin boasts impeccable fit and finish, and looks great in red. (Photo: Olivier Delorme)

Instantly recognizable
No one will mistake this car for anything other than a 911, and that's what's fascinating about it. This car has been around since 1963, and it still looks sublime. More than ever, the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S boasts a svelte, muscular body that won't quit.

Over the years, the car has become wider, flatter and racier, yet hasn't changed to the point where it strays away from the original sketch. Like I said, Porsche has a Fountain of Youth, and is using it wisely.

And thanks to electronic stability control, Porsche can carry on the 911's tradition of hanging its engine behind the rear wheels. What used to be a challenging car to drive (especially in the winter) has become an easier beast to tame without risking a wipeout.

The 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S starts at $110,000 before adding countless available options. (Photo: Olivier Delorme)

Hope you like options
Competition includes the BMW 650i, the Audi R8 and, to a certain extent, the Nissan GT-R. Since Porsches are à la carte cars, some features you'd think should be standard aren't. At $110,000, the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S is short of some comfort and convenience items you likely couldn't live without; heated seats are but just one example. Fully dressed, our tester checks in at a nosebleeding $147,000.

But hey, what's a few extra thousand dollars for such an exhilarating machine that's dressed to your personal taste? The 911 is a timeless classic, and keeps getting better every time Porsche redesigns it. From its engine sounds and unbridled performance to its sumptuous and smart cabin, the 991-series 911 is highly addictive. It might even make you feel younger.

Porsche Motorsport press release

For the 2013 racing season, Porsche AG will field two new GT racecars based on the newest generation of the Porsche 911 at the Le Mans 24 hour race and in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

For the first time since the overall victory in 1998, a factory team from Porsche will tackle the famed long distance classic in France.

Porsche 911 RSR. (Photo: Porsche)

The two new Porsche 911 RSR, which race in the GTE category, will be run by the Porsche AG Team Manthey.

The role of team manager goes to the experienced endurance specialist Olaf Manthey, who has celebrated five overall wins with Porsche at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race and recently fielded a 911 GT3 RSR in the International GT Open.

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is all about numbers bestowed upon it by an engineering team concerned with your bragging rights. Namely, you get a 6.2L “LSA” V8 good for 580 horses and the better part of 560 lb-ft of torque. That's thanks, in part, to a belt-driven Eaton supercharger the size of a toaster oven.


Some serious output
Owning a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is sort of like owning a bazooka. Both use combustion to propel metal quickly through the air, and can be dangerous to operate. Neither are useful, but, man oh man, if you had a bazooka, you just know some cool stuff would happen.

So, the 2013 Camaro ZL1 has a whole lot of power. Enough to, say, put you sideways through an intersection if you (theoretically) dropped your right foot to clear a (theoretical) yellow traffic light on a mid-fall morning while the road's surface was a bit on the cold side. Did I mention the ZL1's traction control is a bit on the “relaxed” side?

Tame, as needed
On the one hand, the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 can be remarkably tame and uneventful. Clutch take-up is firm and easy, if a little heavy. You could take off in fourth in the Camaro ZL1, if you wanted. You can even get an automatic transmission (don't). The engine makes scarcely more than a muted, crackling burble when driven gently through traffic. Gears shift easily and with minimal effort.

When driving the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 gently, the tremendous amount of unused power translates into a sheer sense of effortlessness and unused awesomeness. Driving the ZL1 modestly is like going to Barberian's Steakhouse and having a salad.

It's easygoing on board, too. Terrible outward visibility and cheap trim aside, there's decent at-hand storage in the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, a very modern touchscreen radio, a great stereo, and fairly logical control layout.

The big, comfortable seats are superb, even for very large folks. You can relax in here, even if you're north of 300 and afraid of celery. The ZL1 even rides nicely, thanks to a fantastically tuned Magnetic Ride Control suspension system borrowed from the Corvette.

Owning a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is sort of like owning a bazooka. (Photo: Justin Pritchard)

Lurking performance
However, those 580 horses are always there; as is the handling tuned to benchmark the Corvette Grand Sport. And the fact that available performance figures will embarrass AMGs and Porsches costing numerous times as much.

And the 2013 Camaro ZL1 always tells you that (while you're behaving yourself) you're wasting its potential.

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fires up with a nearly distasteful belch. You can hear the gears engaging and the rear differential whining. Ditto for the pebbles and sand as it's flung from gummy-bear-sticky tires against the wheel wells. Should a bump in the road cause a sudden poke on the throttle, the Camaro ZL1 leaps forward as if it's been rear-ended by a rhinoceros.

Translation? The 2013 Camarao ZL1 can play nice -- but it never really lets you forget that it's ready to go. It's always inviting you to open it up.

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fires up with a nearly distasteful belch. (Photo: Justin Pritchard)

Careful....
Accept the invitation by hammering down in first on some bare, warm pavement, and it lurches ahead in a startlingly way as if it's had a cattle prod shoved into its backside. Usually, there's no squirming or sliding, just traction, grip, a massive increase in speed, and NASCAR sound effects pumped thickly into the cabin.

Get to banging some gears in the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and mere seconds separate you from “step out of the car please” territory should you wind up on the wrong end of a radar gun.

Mind you, massive Brembo brakes make decelerating just as instantaneous and abrupt in the Camaro ZL1 as getting up to speed. A good stab on the middle pedal will get you out of demerit-point territory in quick order when the radar detector goes off. Steering, handling, grip and even high-speed brake-system durability are all right there, too.

Too Much
Unmistakably, this is a car with performance far exceeding what any driver needs on a public road. Realistically, on said public roads, you can drive the bejesus out of the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in brief, carefully dosed chunks when nobody's looking. The rest of the time, you enjoy the looks and noises, and the flocks of nearby youngsters loudly demanding to see a burnout or hear the supercharger.

The 2013 Camaro ZL1, like the even more powerful and license-threatening new Mustang Shelby GT500, demands massive respect. And forget that the Chevrolet doesn't smash the 600-horsepower mark, because anything beyond about 500 ponies on the road is way too much, anyhow. For both Chevrolet and Ford, the power alone is going to sell a lot of units.

Is the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 an insane thing to drive? Is it unmanageable? Scary? Menacing? Will it get your driver's license shredded by an angry radar-cop with a thick moustache and set of Ray-Bans? That's largely up to the communication between your right foot and the warm, grey mass between your ears.

From GMM

HRT's technical director Toni Cuquerella has acknowledged that the Spanish team's F1 foray is now over.

It was believed the team's departing owner Thesan Capital had set an end-of-November deadline for a new buyer to be found.

Indeed, as November became December over the past weekend, the FIA published the official 2013 entry list, and it made no mention of HRT.

But subsequent reports in Spanish newspapers suggested the dream may not be over for the team, who may have been granted more time by the governing body to pay next year's entry fee.

Toni Cuquerella and Pedro de la Rosa. (Photo: HRT F1 Team)

However, leading team figure Cuquerella wrote on Twitter: "Four years ago, I suggested to a friend to make a F1 team. Today after three seasons the last page of HRT has been written.

"It was certainly an experience," the Spanish engineer concluded.

Ferrari test driver Marc Gene, another Spaniard, commented: "It leaves a bad taste, because the probability of another Spanish project (in F1) is small and the precedent is negative.

"Support in Spain normally goes to the drivers," he is quoted by the EFE news agency. "I can think of several projects in which it was thought that the country would get behind it, but instead only the athletes are supported."

Dominion Dealer Solutions, a major dealership software company, is launching a dealership management system to challenge heavyweights ADP Dealer Services and Reynolds and Reynolds.

Toyota expects to boost U.S. sales at its Lexus luxury division next year even though taxes on the wealthy may rise as a result of a federal budget deal, the brand's global marketing chief said.

Toyota is still struggling to revive sales in China, part of a broader slump Japanese car firms are suffering as a result of a diplomatic dispute between the countries.

News 2 Dec, 2012

Great designs on the horizon from Toyota’s Calty Design Research facility

Pictures 2 Dec, 2012

News 2 Dec, 2012

Lexus could build two new coupes, as part of its design-focussed future

Pictures 2 Dec, 2012

Porsche has given its new small Macan SUV a bolder look after seeing the success of the Range Rover Evoque, according to Michael Mauer, the sports car maker's design chief.

Honda became the first Japanese automaker to manufacture cars in Canada in 1986. Twenty-six years later, the six millionth vehicle came out of its Alliston, Ontario assembly plant.

"Nearly 1.7 million Honda Civics have been proudly parked in driveways all over this country," said Dave Gardner, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Honda Canada Inc. "Our plant capacity was 50,000 vehicles when we started and we're now building 390,000 vehicles per year. This growth is the result of hard work and dedication of all the Associates who have worked with us over the years to produce the quality and reliability that Honda customers truly value."

In 2011, 51% of all Honda vehicles sold in Canada were built in Alliston. With the addition of CR-V production in 2012, that proportion now exceeds 70%.

From GMM

HRT is missing from the FIA's official entry list for 2013.

It was already known that the Spanish team has not signed the crucial Concorde Agreement for next season and beyond, and that staff had been told in Brazil the outfit will fold within a week if a buyer is not immediately found.

Photo: Pirelli

A brawl reportedly broke out at HRT's Madrid headquarters after the Brazilian grand prix, when mechanics returning from Sao Paulo were due to receive redundancy compensation.

F1's other eleven teams were all listed on the FIA's 2013 entry list, published by the governing body on Saturday evening.

It is not the final version, however, as several teams have yet to inform the FIA of their driving lineups.



2013 FIA Formula One World Championship Entry List (provisional)

1.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2.Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
3.Fernando Alonso (Scuderia Ferrari)
4.Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari)
5.Jenson Button (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes)
6.Sergio Perez (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes)
7.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus F1 Team)
8.TBA (Lotus F1 Team)
9.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team)
10.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team)
11.TBA (Sauber F1 Team)
12.TBA (Sauber F1 Team)
14.TBA (Sahara Force India F1 Team)
15.TBA (Sahara Force India F1 Team)
16.Pastor Maldonado (Williams F1 Team)
17.Valtteri Bottas (Williams F1 Team)
18.TBA (Scuderia Toro Rosso)
19.TBA (Scuderia Toro Rosso)
20.TBA (Caterham F1 Team)
21.TBA (Caterham F1 Team)
22.TBA (Marussia F1 Team)
23.TBA (Marussia F1 Team)

31-year-old Finnish rally driver Juho Hanninen, who was released of his contract by Skoda, is expected to contest two rounds of the World Rally Championship (WRC) with M-Sport in 2013.

"My goal has always been to drive and compete at the highest level and on now there is the chance with M-Sport," the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion told Autosport.

His nomination puts Hanninen in the hot seat for the last drive available at M-Sport.

Still according to British medias, Evgeny Novikov, Petter Solberg and Citroën's Thierry Neuville, are all in the running. Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mads Ostberg have already been confirmed.

Hanninen had been with Skoda for your years prior to his departure.