Auto News 5

New vehicle sales in the Philippines increased 12.1% to 15,081 units in October, from 13,456 units in the same month of last year, according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAMPI).

News 14 Nov, 2012

The electric Chevrolet Spark is set to make its debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show later this month

Barely a month after calling back 7.4m vehicles to check for a potentially faulty power window switch, Toyota has announced a 2.77m vehicle worldwide recall, including second generation Prius models, due to potential problems with the steering and the hybrid system water pump.

News 14 Nov, 2012

Latest round of recalls affects 2.7m cars, including 75,000 UK Corolla, Prius and Avensis models

Renault said it may miss its target of selling 1 million low-cost vehicles this year, according to a report.

Toyota Motor Corp. said it will recall about 2.8 million vehicles worldwide due to problems with the steering and water pumps in some models. It is the automaker's second multimillion-car recall in two months.

Toyota Motor Corp. will recall 2.77 million vehicles worldwide -- including 670,000 Prius hybrids in the United States -- to fix a possible water pump problem and steering defect.

Toyota Motor Corp. said it will recall about 2.77 million vehicles worldwide due to problems with the steering and the water pumps in some models. It is the automaker's second multi-million car recall in two months.

ZF Friedrichshafen and Tenneco make significant contributions to the ride and handling of the new Mercedes C-class coupe. ZF of Germany supplies the car's standard McPherson spring struts on the front and the rear dampers.

A rebound in U.S. auto sales has been buoyed by the return of easy lending, even to borrowers with flawed credit histories. But some economists question whether the gains can be sustained without a boost in hiring.

While struggling European carmakers reduce production and consider plant closures, Hyundai and affiliate Kia are reporting record sales. The Korean brands attribute buoyant sales to their lean organizations and modestly priced, desirable new cars.

Delphi Automotive has completed the $982 million acquisition of FCI Group's Motorized Vehicles Division, which supplies connectors.

Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said global demand for ultraluxury sports cars will probably not increase next year as the European debt crisis drags on and China's economy slows.

Audi, the world's second-largest maker of luxury cars, said it's on track to reach a goal of selling a record 1.4 million vehicles in 2012 and expects the momentum to continue into next year.

ZF Friedrichshafen and Tenneco make significant contributions to the ride and handling of the new Mercedes C-class coupe. ZF, of Germany, supplies the car's standard McPherson spring struts on the front and the rear dampers.

Visteon has opened a design center in Pune, India. The facility, part of a Visteon engineering center, will house experts in human-machine interface, plus engineers, program managers and market researchers.

Before it launched, I read about Cadillac's new CUE (Cadillac User Experience) infotainment system with much interest. Dotted with words like “advanced,” “sophisticated” and “cutting-edge,” the initial press releases on this new system got the gadget-loving side of my brain salivating more than Homer Simpson in a bacon factory.

All that drooling was for a good reason: Turns out, there's a lot right about how this CUE thing works.

On a recent test drive, I introduced my Android Smartphone to the CUE system in one Cadillac ATS via Bluetooth, after which point they became fast friends.

As in any other car, the pairing of phone to vehicle means drivers can handle phone calls, browse their contacts and stream music from internet radio or other apps directly into the car -- no wires required.

However, it's not the functionality itself, but rather how it all comes together at your fingertips that makes CUE so impressive.

The central screen, for instance, is made of glass -- not plastic. It feels firm, solid and substantial. It vibrates out a little “click” sensation with every button press to confirm your inputs. Slide, expand and pinch gestures are all usable in most screens. It feels intuitive and natural, and reminded me of interfacing with my Motorola Razr phone.

2013 Cadillac XTS (Photo: Cadillac)

When quickly browsing through various functions, some in-car systems lag harder than a Commodore 64 trying to play Doom 3D. With CUE, swapping between screens is seamless, smooth and instant. They're all vividly colored and animated nicely.

You feel and see the thing responding to you instantly. And, unlike Audi's MMI, Mercedes's COMMAND, or (and especially) BMW's iDrive, CUE doesn't overload you with a cluttered sub-menu of icons and fields or buttons around the border of the display. Left alone, all of that secondary stuff fades away, leaving only vital data on the display until proximity sensors detect your reaching for the screen, and display the additional stuff a half-moment before your digits hit the glass.

That's if you use your fingers on the screen at all. Buttons on the steering wheel allow for nearly full system control using only your thumbs. Manipulated thusly, a secondary full-colour screen in the instrument cluster reflects your choices, many of which are repeated in the optional head-up display.

Or, you can use your voice. And when you do, CUE doesn't require filling in the blanks in a rigid speech template. Rather, it dissects what it hears and makes a usually accurate guess before engaging the selected radio station, phone call, or navigation routing to the nearest sushi joint.

Entering an address is similarly slick. Forget individual screens or fields for “city,” “province” or “street name.” With CUE, you simply type in an address (or partial address) the way you'd see it on an envelope and it does the rest. CUE actually “thinks” and the advanced intelligence here works to take the load off the driver.

It's ultimately a smart, sexy, seamless, powerful, and truly evolved information and communications hub. This is how in-car infotainment should be. Learning curve? Sure. However, if you can operate an iPad or Nintendo Wii remote, you'll have it down in about 20 minutes.

From GMM

The current owners are seeking EUR 40 million for the struggling backmarker HRT, according to the Spanish sports daily AS.

The newspaper also revealed that talks with potential buyers from India and Abu Dhabi are underway.

HRT, currently owned by Madrid based investment company Thesan Capital, confirmed this week that "the time has come for the team to continue growing with new financial backing".

Media reports suggested HRT was in the process of sacking 32 employees, and needed a buyer before the first days of December to avoid closure.

HRT race team. (Photo: HRT F1 Team)

AS claims that the situation inside the team has become dire, to the point that engineers are concerned that Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan are being put into grands prix at the wheel of unsafe HRT cars.

Indeed, at the most recent grands prix in Abu Dhabi and India, Karthikeyan and de la Rosa respectively retired in spectacular style with fundamental technical failures.

De la Rosa crashed due to brake failure, while Mercedes' Nico Rosberg was sent airborne when Karthikeyan slowed because his steering wheel "locked solid".

"Narain told me that his steering broke," said Rosberg, "and he needed to brake which I didn't expect in a high speed corner."

AS suggests that HRT has considered simply withdrawing from the 2012 championship, but is pushing ahead for now due to its commitment to the Concorde Agreement.

According to the report, HRT was hoping its association with Chinese reserve driver Ma Qing Hua would bear fruit.

Chief executive Saul Ruiz de Marcos reportedly wrote a letter to China's motor racing federation, saying Ma would make his F1 debut in 2013 if he could bring EUR 30 million in backing.

After attempting to set a Guinness record for the longest wishlist to Santa Claus, MINI now wants to break the world record for the number of people inside a MINI Cooper.

A team of 28 flexible, non-claustrophobic gym members will try to squeeze into the popular hatchback, breaking MINI's own previous record of 27 people.

As if that wasn't spectacular enough, 22 of them will try to fit inside a classic Mini just moments after the first record attempt.

Both events will take place on Thursday at Potters Fields Park in London, England.

Here is the full schedule of events of the maiden United States Grand Prix held this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas.

Friday - November 16, 2012
08:20am   Formula One MEDICAL INSPECTION
08:30am - 08:45am  Formula One TRACK INSPECTION AND TRACK TEST
09:00am - 10:30am  Formula One FIRST PRACTICE SESSION
11:00am - 11:30am  Historic Grand Prix PRACTICE SESSION
11:30am - 12:30pm  Formula One PADDOCK CLUB PIT LANE WALK
12:30pm - 12:40pm  Formula One TRACK INSPECTION
01:00pm - 02:30pm  Formula One SECOND PRACTICE SESSION
03:00pm - 03:45pm  FERRARI CHALLENGE PRACTICE SESSION
03:00pm  PIRELLI GT3 CUP TROPHY USA WEST DRIVERS MEETING
03:00pm - 04:00pm  Formula One PRESS CONFERENCE - PRESS ROOM
04:00pm   Formula One DRIVERS' MEETING
04:15pm - 04:45pm  PIRELLI GT3 CUP TROPHY USA WEST PRACTICE SESSION
05:00pm  TRACK ACTIVITY MARSHAL PIT LANE WALK

Saturday - November 17, 2012
07:00am - 07:40am  Formula One TEAM PIT STOP PRACTICE
07:00am - 07:40am  Formula One PADDOCK CLUB PIT LANE WALK
07:45am - 08:15am  FERRARI CHALLENGE QUALIFYING SESSION
08:20am  Formula One MEDICAL INSPECTION
08:30am - 08:45am  Formula One TRACK INSPECTION AND TRACK TEST
09:00am - 10:00am  Formula One THIRD PRACTICE SESSION
10:30am - 11:00am  Historic Grand Prix QUALIFYING SESSION
11:05am - 11:40am  Formula One PADDOCK CLUB PIT LANE WALK
11:30am - 11:40am  Formula One TRACK INSPECTION
12:00pm - 01:00pm   Formula One QUALIFYING SESSION
01:30pm - 02:00pm  FERRARI CHALLENGE FIRST RACE (10 LAPS OR 25 MINS)
02:30pm - 02:50pm  PIRELLI GT3 CUP TROPHY USA WEST QUALIFYING SESSION
03:20pm - 03:55pm  Historic Grand Prix RACE (11 LAPS OR 30 MINS)

Sunday - November 18, 2012
09:30am - 10:00am  PIRELLI GT3 CUP TROPHY USA WEST RACE (10 LAPS OR 25 MINS)
10:00am  Formula One DRIVERS MEETING (IF NECESSARY)
10:30am - 11:00am  FERRARI CHALLENGE SECOND RACE (10 LAPS OR 25 MINS)
11:05am - 12:15pm   Formula One PADDOCK CLUB PIT LANE WALK
11:15am - 11:30am   Formula One MARSHALING SYSTEM TRACK TEST
11:30am  Formula One FORMULA ONE DRIVERS PARADE
11:45am - 12:15pm  Formula One STARTING GRID PRESENTATION
12:00pm  Formula One MEDICAL INSPECTION
12:10pm - 12:20pm  Formula One TRACK INSPECTION
12:30pm  Formula One PIT LANE OPEN
12:45pm  Formula One PIT LANE CLOSED GRID FORMATION
12:46pm  Formula One NATIONAL ANTHEM
01:00pm - 03:00pm  Formula One GRAND PRIX ( 56 LAPS OR 120 MINS)