Auto News 5

Dodge has introduced the most fuel-efficient version of its new Dart sedan, the replacement for the Caliber hatchback launched earlier this year. Priced from US$19,295, the Aero has Chrysler parent Fiat's 1.4-litre 'MultiAir' intercooled turbo engine combined with several aerodynamic enhancements, including lightweight aluminum chassis components, active grille shutters, underbody aero kit, a lowered profile and low-rolling resistance tyres.

General Motors reaffirmed its commitment to Opel/Vauxhall, rejecting an Italian newspaper report that Fiat is ready to buy Opel if GM's alliance with PSA/Peugeot Citroen dissolves.

Chrysler's new Dodge Dart sedan, which replaced the Caliber hatchback earlier this year after a Detroit show debut, has been named a 2012 Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Meritor has completed an expansion of its aftermarket distribution centre in Edmonton, Alberta, which will improve service and delivery time to its western Canada OE dealer and warehouse distributor customers. The 35,000 square-foot centre now stocks a full line of Meritor and Euclid drivetrain and undercarriage products.

Speaking to just-auto's Glenn Brooks at the Paris motor show, Didier Leroy, the president of Toyota Motor Europe says he remains "optimistic" about the combined 56 markets for which he is responsible.

News 5 Oct, 2012

Politicians are looking for new ways to raise money from motorists, as petrol and diesel sales plummet

Renault declined to comment on union claims that Turkey will become the main production site for its new Clio subcompact car in a move to cut costs.

News 5 Oct, 2012

An electric version of the Kia Soul will join the line-up from mid-2014, Auto Express has learned

Animation icon John Lasseter and media impresario Adam Carolla were honored last night for their collective car enthusiasm with awards at the

Bentley Motors has announced a 25% increase in global sales with 5,969 cars delivered to customers at the end of September 2012 (up from 4,759 in 2011).

Volkswagen has cut its internal 2012 sales target for western Europe by up to 140,000 vehicles, a German daily said, citing the group's works council head.

Volkswagen halted production in Germany of its Passat cars this week as part of a wider move to cut its group output target for the year by about 300,000 vehicles because of the European market slump, company sources said.

BMW Group's new-car sales in China surged last month, helping to ease concerns that the world's biggest automotive market is cooling too quickly.

The convertible version of the Volkswagen Beetle will get its debut at the Los Angeles auto show in late November, shortly before the car goes on sale.

From BMW

Days after the ninth DTM race in Valencia, BMW Motorsport completed two days of testing in preparation for the season finale in Hockenheim on October 21.

BMW Team RBM and BMW Team RMG both ran one BMW M3 DTM each in Aragón, Spain.

Joey Hand and test and development driver Marco Wittmann were joined at the 5.344-kilometre circuit by Fabio Leimer and Maxime Martin, who were making their debuts at the wheel of a DTM car.

Fabio Leimer. (Photo: BMW Motorsport)

According to a press release, the four drivers took advantage of the good conditions in Aragón to complete a comprehensive test programme.

In total, the two cars covered over 2,500 kilometres on Wednesday and Thursday. Wittmann drove 754 kilometres on the first test day alone - more than the BMW M3 DTM had ever completed before on one single test day.

Maxime Martin. (Photo: BMW Motorsport)

Custom cars, hot rods and other special vehicles rule the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas. For this year, Hyundai has partnered with Re: Mix Lab to present three customized models.

One of those will be an Elantra GT hatchback finished in matte military green and sporting 24-carat gold coloured wheels. It also features a roof rack, ski compartment and Nintendo Wii!

The event runs from October 25 to November 2, 2012, with public access starting on October 28.

Photo: Hyundai

Photo: Hyundai

Photo: Hyundai

The 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG is now arriving at dealerships across the country with a 630-horsepower, 6.0L twin-turbo V12 engine and a price of $229,900, according to the brand's Canadian website.

New this year, customers can take delivery of their 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG directly from the AMG Customer Center in Affalterbach, Germany. This also includes a visit to the AMG Performance Studio and a meeting with the engineers who built the V12 engine used in their SL 65 AMG.

A special "45th ANNIVERSARY" edition, limited to just 45 vehicles and sold at €272,034, will be available. A Mercedes-Benz Canada spokesman confirmed to Auto123.com that a certain number of units will find their way here, although Canadian pricing has yet to be determined.

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

From GMM

Cosworth has rejected reports it will definitely bow out of formula one after 2013.

It has been suggested the independent British engine marque, currently supplying V8s to Marussia and HRT, is not in a position to commit to a costly V6 development programme for the radical 2014 rules.

But when asked about 2014, Cosworth's F1 chief Kim Spearman said on Friday: "If we can find a commercially sustainable way to provide a competitive platform for some potential customers, we'd like to do that.

"We are in useful negotiations with customers and hopefully we'll find a way to be in."

He confirmed Cosworth has already started work on a 2014 project.

"Oh yes," said Kim Spearman. "We've been working on the engine for 18 months."

From GMM

Telmex will continue to sponsor Sauber, despite the Swiss team losing Mexican Sergio Perez to McLaren.

Perez made his debut with the Hinwil based team last year with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's backing, primarily through the telcom Telmex's branding.

So the 22-year-old's switch to McLaren for 2013 had triggered rumours the British team also wanted Telmex to replace its reportedly flagging title sponsor Vodafone.

But Telmex is staying with Sauber, chief executive Monisha Kaltenborn announced on Friday, sparking immediate rumours the brand might push for its other Mexican charge - 21-year-old Esteban Gutierrez - to replace Perez.

Photo: Sauber F1 Team

Referring to Perez's switch, Kaltenborn said at Suzuka: "We were informed by Telmex about this change and Telmex also told us that they have a long-term project with Sauber which will not be affected by Sergio leaving the team."

Sauber's other driver, Kamui Kobayashi, admitted on Thursday that his future is unclear at present.

"I have no idea," said the Japanese when asked about his future.


UPDATE

Monisha Kaltenborn on Friday did not categorically deny suggestions Sauber might replace Sergio Perez with another Mexican.

Telmex also backs Sauber's reserve driver, youngster Esteban Gutierrez.

"He's been with the team a long time," said Kaltenborn when asked about the Gutierrez rumours, "and whatever we do with him is something totally independent from Sergio's leaving and we don't really want to mix them together. We'll announce whatever we have to in due course."

Monisha Kaltenborn did admit, however, that Sauber might lose some Mexican sponsors as the result of Perez's departure.

"It's a natural link there, obviously, because they are from the same country, but it is not just that simple that because one driver leaves us all these sponsors will leave," she said.

2012 marks the 15th anniversary of the compact crossover segment. This milestone was the result of three Japanese automakers attempting to peek into the future to try and gauge what the buying public might want as an alternative to the then-typical family car.

Honda and Toyota were the first to hit the market with their respective CR-V and RAV4 in 1997. It wasn't until 1998, when Subaru launched their offering, that the segment really took off. The Forester, RAV4 and CR-V all found themselves on the “want lists” of small, burgeoning families looking to dump their old minivans or station wagons.


Since then, every other major player in the car business has joined in with varying degrees of success. The gold medal for kicking butt goes to Ford and their Escape. Its 1st generation spanned a decade, but never really lost any steam, hence why the all new version participates in this comparative test.

The only entirely new entry (free of any sort of past) to the crossover game is the Mazda CX-5. Its spectacular-everything since its arrival pushed us to actually put together this test with a total of six vehicles. And then, there's our 2012 Auto123.com Award winner for best Compact Utility vehicle, the Kia Sportage.

With these three players and three established pillars, we put our test together.

As always, we can't evaluate them all. On test day, we were given some grief through Twitter and Instagram because one of the originators was not on the field. The Subaru Forester was another member of the founding fathers, if you will; however, with little or no changes in nearly four years and sales lagging far behind the CR-V and RAV4, it missed out on an invite. This does not mean that it is no good though!

So here goes:

Continue reading 2012 Compact Crossover comparo test