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Jeff Gordon bounced back from a stuck throttle in Chicago onto the pole in New Hampshire.

Last week  the four-time Champion finished 35th and he dropped to 12th and last in the points of the Chasers.

That didn't change about how he felt about his car and his Chevrolet team.

“My confidence wasn't the issue. We were running when we wrecked (last week).  That's the thing that got us through the season, but, our cars were really fast. That's what kept our confidence up,” said Gordon.

“I surprised myself with the pole something we didn't expect. We haven't sat on the pole since a restricted track,” he added after turning a lap of 134.911mph.

It was Gordon's fourth pole at New Hampshire and 72nd in his career.

“We were quite a ways behind the 11 (Hamlin) the three-time Gordon  said.

“I wasn't sure what to expect in (in qualifying). Then you see Kyle put up a great lap. The car did everything I asked it to do. The second lap I got off (turn) four good. That's what my goal was; to get on the rev chip[.] I thought I was pretty good, but didn't know if it was enough.”

Kyle Busch, not in the Chase, is racing more for pride than points and was second fastest at 134.753mph in a Toyota.

After a slow start Busch surprised himself. “Practice didn't go the way we wanted it to,” Busch said.

“We sort of struggled early and didn't quite get the draw we had hoped for, and had to go out a little bit early today. Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and the guys made some really nice changes from practice to qualifying to get the car a lot better -- and it reacted well and was really fast.

“I was actually shocked by the time it ran, but pleased with it at the same time and would have hoped it held up.”

But, Jeff (Gordon) had a really good draw at the end and beat us by a little bit.  Still it's good for track position to be able to start up front like that here at Loudon.

Tony Stewart, the winner here last year, was third fastest in a Chevrolet. Brian Vickers jumped into the MWR Toyota for fourth spot.

Josh Wise's time was disallowed after a post-qualifiying inspection revealed a problem with a rear shock. Scott Riggs, Jason Leffler and Jeff Green failed to make the 43 car field.

Do you own a Toyota Corolla (beige or not), a Honda Civic or a Mazda3? The bad news is that they were among the most stolen cars in the country in 2011, irrespective of the model year, according to a new study by Quebec's Groupement des assureurs automobiles.

On the website, you can compare results by region, theft ratio and nameplate.

As for the good news, the frequency of theft claims has significantly dropped from 2001 to 2011.

Source: Groupe des assureurs automobiles

History/Description: The last-generation BMW 3 Series sedan was one of the most desirable luxury cars on Canadian roads, and available in its “E90” iteration from 2006 to 2011 (inclusive). Look for all the luxury-car goodies you'd expect of a world-class sports sedan, as well as rear- or all-wheel drive.

The 323i model started the range, offering up a 2.5L engine with 175 or 200 horsepower, depending on the year. A 3L straight-6 made anywhere between 215 and 255 horsepower in up-level models. A mighty twin-turbo straight-6 was added as well, creating the new 335i which packed 300 horsepower.

2008 BMW 3 Series (Photo: Philippe Champoux)

Shoppers should note that models wearing the “xi” or “xDrive” badge were fitted with All Wheel Drive (AWD), and that manual or automatic transmissions were available on most models.

What Owners Like: No surprises here: Owners rave about styling, luxury, status, refinement, performance, handling, ride quality, and the overall feel of the 3 Series in most variants. This is a sedan with a long history of award-winning performance and luxury for a reason.

What Owners Dislike: Typical complaints include limited rear seat space, limited headroom for taller drivers, and a harsh ride on some models, particularly with large wheels and low-profile tires. Some also wish for an easier and more straightforward infotainment interface.

Common Issues: Begin with a full inspection of the 3 Series' interior and body. Look for cracking or chipped paint, and inspect all seats and “leather” surfaces within the car for signs of wear, rips or cracking. Some owners have reported cracks and tears in their leather after just a few years.

Ensure all door locks and the trunk release work properly. Ditto for the keyfobs. And, as it goes with any German car, inspect the 3 Series exhaustively for signs of electronic and wiring problems. Ensure any and every feature and system that runs on electricity within the 3 Series is working as expected.

Start the engine (make sure the seller hasn't pre-warmed it) and listen for any unwelcomed ticking sounds from the cylinder head. Some owners have reported issues with noisy valve lifters, which may require replacing.

2009 BMW 3 Series (Photo: Matthieu Lambert)

Continue reading 2006-2011 BMW 3 Series Pre-owned

Luca Filippi will start from pole position in Singapore, last round of the GP2 championship, which will be decisive for the title.

After a successful GP2 return in Monza, Filippi confirmed his good form by being the fastest driver of the night qualifying of Singapore.

The Italian driver leads Max Chilton, while Esteban Gutierrez and Jolyon Palmer will share the second row.

Regarding the title contenders, Davide Valsecchi will start from 6th position, and Luiz Razia from 9th position. Before Singapore, Valsecchi was leading the championship classification by 25 points over his rival.



Qualifying :
1. Luca Filippi - Coloni - 1'59"444

2. Max Chilton - Carlin - 1'59"496

3. Esteban Gutierrez - Lotus - 1'59"908

4. Jolyon Palmer - iSport - 2'00"102
5. Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering - 2'00"113

6. Davide Valsecchi - Dams - 2'00"287

7. Johnny Cecotto - Addax - 2'00"335

8. Stefano Coletti - Rapax - 2'00"364
9. Luiz Razia - Arden - 2'00"365
10. Sergio Canamasas - Lazarus - 2'00"634
Etc.

The Treasury expects General Motors' stock price to rise in the future, offering the government a better chance to cut its losses in the automaker, people familiar with Treasury's thinking said.

Chrysler Group and the Canadian Auto Workers had constructive talks on a new contract on Friday, the head of the union said, but remained apart with the automaker complaining the union's template deal was too expensive.

2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SV

The Altima V-6 certainly provides very eager throttle response and lots of power.

The Altima V-6 certainly provides very eager throttle response and lots of power. There's a bit of torque steer, that tug at the front wheels under hard acceleration, but it's not bothersome. I was merging onto a freeway in the Altima and the merge lane traffic didn't have much of anywhere to go due to heavy traffic in adjoining lanes, so I was in one of those situations where I either needed to brake hard and dawdle, waiting for traffic to clear, or else gun it. Naturally, I chose to gun it, and the Altima's V-6 responded without hesitation, propelling the car from 55 to 80 mph easily and sounding pretty good while it did so. Nissan, which committed to continuously variable transmissions years ago, has come a long way in its CVT engineering. I didn't even remember that the Altima had a CVT until the second day I drove it.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SV - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SV - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SV | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

David Yurman knows style. Besides watches, he and his company design men's and women's jewelry and all other sorts of gifts for the well-heeled. Yurman is also one of us. He's had a passion for muscle cars since he was a boy.

The McLaren P1 prototype and the Jaguar F-Type that are scheduled to appear at the

The National Automobile Dealers Association is looking for a president who will take the trade group in a more forceful direction. That's a key candidate criterion on the spec sheet NADA issued this week for the position.

Expensive, exotic cars cost more to insureand#8212;that's common knowledge. They also cost insurance companies more if the car gets crashed.

The Volkswagen brand needs a 10 percent boost in its U.S. advertising budget next year to keep pace with growing sales, said the brand's U.S. marketing chief, Tim Mahoney.

Production resumed today at Chrysler's Detroit SUV plant after an employee was fatally stabbed by a co-worker Thursday morning. First shift workers reported to the Jefferson North plant on the city's east side at 6 a.m.

It was springtime in New York and Acura was unveiling the and#8220;conceptand#8221; version of their new RLX flagship (see photos above).

Also in this episode: Acura will debut its flagship RLX sedan at the

The recovery of Detroit's automakers is about to face its stiffest challenge yet on an unlikely battlefield: The sizzling market for mid-sized family sedans, as GM and Ford square off against Japanese, Korean and German rivals.

News 21 Sep, 2012

In a world exclusive, Auto Express asked Ford to recreate the iconic Cortina for the 21st century

Pictures 21 Sep, 2012

Chrysler is under pressure to reach a contract deal with the Canadian Auto Workers or face a strike after the union reached a tentative agreement overnight with GM, leaving Chrysler the only Detroit Three automaker without a new labor deal in Canada.

News 21 Sep, 2012

Official pictures and details of the facelifted Nissan 370Z, ahead of its debut at the Paris Motor Show