Auto News 5

General Motors today said it will buy 200 million shares of its stock from the U.S. Treasury for $5.5 billion and that the government intends to unload all of its shares within 15 months. GM will pay $27.

News 29 Dec, 2012

Latest spy pictures give us our best look yet at the all-new BMW 2 Series Coupe and Cabriolet

Wanxiang says it expects a regulatory decision concerning its bid to purchase A123 systems early in the new year.

News 19 Dec, 2012

Motorists spend 18 per cent of their journey not looking at the road, according to a study by Direct Line

A report in the China Daily newspaper says that BYD is planning to set up a facility in California to make electric buses.

News 22 Dec, 2012

The DfT has relaunched its drink-drive campaign for the festive season

France's Economic Redevelopment Ministry has welcomed the nomination of former European Aerospace and Defence company chief executive, Louis Gallois, to its supervisory board.

News 26 Dec, 2012

Alfa Romeo-based Maserati has been given the go-ahead for production

News 22 Dec, 2012

Technology from the axed Jaguar C-X75 hybrid supercar is set to power future models

The Sunderland plant in England will no longer manufacture a C-segment hatchback which Nissan had planned to make there in 2014. Instead, the plant will be the sole build location of a new Infiniti model.

Its getting a bit late in the holiday season to add new items to your wish list, but there's no shortage of tempting options thanks to scale model-makers like Autoart and Automodello.

Tesla Motors said Daimler AG's Herbert Kohler resigned from its board and was replaced by another executive at the German automaker.

Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP today completed the sale of Metaldyne LLC for about $820 million to another buyout firm, its second divestment of an American auto parts supplier it picked up from bankruptcy in as many years.

Infiniti will build its new premium compact hatchback in the UK. Production of the entry-level model will begin in 2015 for global markets at parent Nissan's plant in Sunderland, England, Infiniti said.

Although it's no longer Colin Chapman's original team, Gerard Lopez's Lotus F1 Team scored a victory this year in Formula 1, 25 years after Ayrton Senna won the U.S. Grand Prix in Detroit in 1987.

The near-fatal rally accident of their star driver, Robert Kubica, prior to the start of the 2011 season turned out to be a real disaster for the team led by Frenchman, Eric Boullier. The team needed a genuine leader and eventually found one in rally refugee, Kimi Raikkonen. The 2007 F1 World Champion adapted very well to his new home and proved to be a great source of motivation despite his reluctance to talk.

The team name was officially changed from Renault to Lotus for this year. Lotus finished the season in fourth place in the Constructor's championship with 303 points.

Photo: Lotus F1 Team

Kimi Raikkonen
3rd in the Driver's Championship with 207 points
Best place in qualifications: 2nd (once, Belgium)
Best race result: 1st (once, Abu Dhabi), 7 podiums
Never retired (scored points in 19 races)

Romain Grosjean
8th in the Driver's Championship with 96 points
Best place in qualifications: 2nd (once, Hungary)
Best race result: 2nd (once, Canada), 3 podiums
Retired 7 times

The Renault-powered Lotus E20 was a brillant race car, but a not-so-good qualifier. It seems the Lotus had difficulties getting its tires up to the correct temperature during the qualifying effort. But on a full tank in race trim, it was a totally different story and the car was really fast and consistent

Kimi Raikkonen finished five times on the podium -- including three second-place finishes -- in the opening 11 Grands Prix. However, a win remained elusive until the 18th round in Abu Dhabi. Despite having been away from F1 for two full years, Raikkonen was brilliantly consistent.

The Finn scored points in 19 races out of 20 (China was his only off), and earned thousands of new fans when he told his team on the radio, “Leave me alone. I know that to do,” when he was en route to victory in Abu Dhabi, demonstrating his (very) strong character.

Kimi Raikkonen won at Abu Dhabi ahead of Fernando Alonso (Ferrari). (Photo: WRi2)

Romain Grosjean made his return to F1 after clinching the GP2 serie's title. Inexperience showed in an erratic early form, but he then scored three impressive podiums. The second half of the season was characterised by a number of high-profile accidents, including one at Spa that earned him a one-race ban, but he managed to retain his seat for 2013.

Grosjean scored 76 points in the opening 12 races of the season, then got his race ban and drove very carefully afterwards, collecting just 20 points in the final seven races.

From NASCAR

In an effort to strengthen and grow its racing series for 2013 and beyond, NASCAR announced Tuesday several revisions to its competition personnel structure.

The following changes will take effect in 2013:

Joe Balash, who has served as the Nationwide Series director since 2004, will be assuming a new role as international competition liaison. This position will be the NASCAR point of contact for competition-related matters relative to the Toyota (Mexico) Series, Canadian Tire Series, the Euro Racecar, Touring Series and other international competitions and series in which NASCAR might be involved and/or considering involvement. Balash will report to Richard Buck, who has been promoted to managing director, competition GRAND-AM and managing director, Touring Series, NASCAR.

Wayne Auton, who has served as the Camping World Truck Series director since 1995, will assume the role of Nationwide Series director. Auton will continue to report to John Darby, managing director, competition and Sprint Cup Series director.

Chad Little, currently Whelen Modified Tour Series director and director of racing development, Mexico, will serve as Camping World Truck Series director. Little also will report to Darby.

Brad Moran, currently Canadian Tire Series director, will serve as director of Touring Series, NASCAR, reporting to Buck.

With the increasing integration between NASCAR, Grand-Am, American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and Euro Racecar, NASCAR Touring Series, these moves are designed to strengthen all of the sport's racing series, both at the national and international levels.

Louisville, KY - Touching down in Louisville (and make sure you say it right: Loo-uh-vul), Kentucky seemed, at first, to be like arriving in any American city. It wasn't until I left the airport and entered the city that I realized Louisville had something different on offer, something I immediately fell in love with.


Louisville is very much a college town and while it is a bustling city at its center with over 700,000 citizens, where Louisville shines is on the outskirts, in the rolling country hills where I drove the brand new 2013 Buick Enclave.

I'll be honest here: I'm not a Buick fan, follower or lover. I, obviously, know of the brand and what it stands for but that's about as far as my interests went. However, upon seeing photos of the up-and-coming 2013 Buick Enclave, I was intrigued.

Meeting modern needs
From the outside, it's clear Buick has taken in the automotive world around them and picked out all the best bits and pieces of similar models in its segment to put together the final exterior package on the 2013 Buick Enclave -- and that's not a bad thing at all. The end result is a luxury crossover that manages to stand out from the crowd without losing the brand's design philosophy, one that makes a Buick instantly recognizable.

From the new front grille to the blacked out rear pillars that give the 2013 Buick Enclave a much more sophisticated presence, the overall look is one that will appeal to buyers both young and old -- which is something I'm sure the Buick designers had in mind.

Inside, the same future-driven design continues with ice blue LED ambient lighting featured throughout the dash and doors (both front and back). Old-school wood panelling has been replaced with leather stitching and chrome accents (although, wood is still available as an option for those who really want it). In all, the interior of the 2013 Buick Enclave is what you'd expect to see in a modern-day luxury CUV.

Old-school wood panelling has been replaced with leather stitching and chrome accents (Photo: Buick)

On the long and winding road
The country roads around Louisville, Kentucky are something else. Narrow, winding, shoulderless and hilly, they are a joy to drive -- even in a 7-passenger CUV.

While there were multiple complaints about the Buick Enclave's previous transmission, the issues seem to have been sorted in this latest iteration. Equipped with a 3.6L V6, the 2013 Buick Enclave's 6-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission is responsive and well sorted. Despite the vehicle's near 2,270 kg (5,000lb) weight (with AWD), the 288 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque are adequate and do the job extremely well.

I expected the ride to be a bit plushier (thanks to the Buick stereotype), but was met with a much harsher feeling thanks to the 20” optional wheels my particuarl vehicle was sporting. Had my 2013 Buick Enclave been equipped with the standard 18” or even the 19” wheels, my experience would have been much “smoother.” Regardless, handling on the 2013 Buick Enclave is impressive for a vehicle its size and shape.

The 288 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque are adequate and do the job extremely well. (Photo: Buick)

A Buick is still a Buick...
Despite their best efforts, I have a feeling Buick will still face the issue of concurring their stereotype and branching out in a new market of vibrant, affluent buyers. Although the 2013 Buick Enclave is clearly designed to compete with the likes of the Audi Q7 and Infiniti JX I'm just not sure those buyers will think to look towards Buick as an option.

Priced in the $40,000-range for base FWD and AWD models, the Buick Enclave offers luxury for seven at a decent price-point, however, I'm not completely sold on their hopes of appealing to a new consumer with a futuristic design and improved driving dynamics.

From GMM

Luiz Razia, the 2012 GP2 runner-up, admitted he was surprised when on Tuesday Marussia announced Max Chilton as Timo Glock's 2013 teammate.

The 23-year-old Brazilian told Globo he was a hot contender for the seat until the very last minute.

"We didn't have much chance at Lotus," Razia, referring to this week's news of Romain Grosjean's new contract, admitted.

"But we were caught by surprise by Marussia. We were talking to them until yesterday. They said 'We're still deciding'. There are still two vacancies, Force India and Caterham, and we've been talking. Yes we still have a chance," said Razia.

Max Chilton, Marussia. (Photo: WRi2)

Yet another possibility is that Marussia does not honour its existing contract with Timo Glock.

Indeed, Tuesday's press release about Chilton made not a single reference to the German, and the recent official 2013 entry list said both of Marussia's 2013 seats were 'TBA' (to be announced).

"Timo has a contract until 2014 and so the team would have to pay a penalty of termination. I don't know if that's interesting for the team," said Razia, who admitted he has "sponsors" but not a "bottomless pit" of funding.

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel insists he is not bothered that some regard Fernando Alonso as a better driver.

Recently, after a confidential post-season survey involving all 12 team bosses, Spaniard Alonso was voted the standout driver of the season, despite German Vettel winning his third consecutive championship with Red Bull.

"If people think that Alonso's wins are about the driver and mine about the car, that is also Fernando's responsibility - but it doesn't bother me," he is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"I admire him (Alonso) very much and I respect him as a driver," added Vettel.

Photo: WRi2

"For me it was clear from the beginning that my opponent for the title would be him. After the winter tests, Ferrari became competitive more quickly than we expected - yes, maybe in Malaysia he would not have won in the dry - but already by Barcelona he was among the best. His strength was to always be fast even if he was almost never the fastest," Vettel said.

As for the claims Alonso is a better driver, Sebastian Vettel insisted: "I don't want to stand here and prove my performance, but we have also won races that we should not have. Monaco last year, for example, when I made the decision against all reason to go with a one stop. Also Barcelona 2011, when Hamilton was faster but he couldn't get past me."

From GMM

Pirelli's new tires for the 2013 season could shake up the pecking order in formula one.

That is the view of the Italian marque's British head of motor racing, Paul Hembery, who this week was in Sao Paulo to announce Pirelli's new foray in the Brazilian stock car series.

It has been said that, because the technical regulations are not significantly changing over the winter, next year's pecking order could be a continuation of the 2012 season.

But Hembery is quoted by O Estado de S.Paulo: "The tires next year will be different from those used this year. The walls flex a little more, which will have a significant influence on the aerodynamic performance."

"I don't think the next championship will necessarily be anything like how it finished this year," added Hembery.

"I think there will be teams who will look deeply into this feature of our new tires," he said.

"I am sure they are racking their brains as to how it affects, for example, the suspension. We saw in testing how the tires changed the behaviour of the cars. The designers will be looking at that," said Hembery.

Renault R30 Pirelli. (Photo: Pirelli)