Auto News 5

While most auto executives don't envision a fully self-driving, or autonomous, vehicle before 2025, features such as adaptive cruise control or traffic jam assist that automatically slow or apply the brakes for a car in certain situations are...

Bosch is in talks with workers in Germany to cut their work hours in response to weakening demand in the automotive sector. Opel also wants to reduce workers' hours in Germany while Ford already has.

Fisker Automotive has its hands full with a string of bad publicity.

Having qualified on pole, Klaus Graf together with his Muscle Milk Pickett Racing teammate Lucas Luhr, will be trying to win two in a row at Road America.

Graf clocked the best lap of the qualifying session, putting the team's HPD ARX-03a in a familiar starting spot. Beside him however, will not be Chris Dyson nor Guy Smith, Grad and Luhr's usual rivals who drive the No. 16 Lola-Mazda of Dyson Racing. The pair was forced out of the session by gearbox problems.

So it was left to the team's sister car, the No. 20 driven by Eric Lux to take second in class.

The GT battle saw a unprecedented 1-2 result for Flying Lizard, Marco Holzer having crushed the track record on way to pole, followed by Jörg Bergmeister in the sister Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 0.013 seconds behind. Bergmeister was on par with Holzer until the very end of the session, making it an even more satisfying result for the team.

Oliver Gavin posted the third fastest lap aboard his Corvette Racing No. 4 C6 ZR1.

In P2, Martin Plowman shined, netting his second pole position of the season in his very first appearance at Road America. Last time the Conquest Endurance Racing driver bested Level 5 Motorsport's two entries, it was at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, where he took his first victory together with co-driver David Heinemeier-Hansson.

Canadian Kyle Marcelli put on show in PC qualifying, topping heavy hitters such as two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans-winner Tom Kimber-Smith, former Champ Car star Bruno Junqueira and last round's winner Marino Franchitti.

Jeroen Bleekemolen, standing in for Leh Keen as Cooper MacNeil's teammate at Alex Job Racing took pole in the GTC class.



Qualifying results* - ALMS (Road America)
1. Luhr/Graf (HPD ARX-03a) - Pickett - 1'50"191

2. Marsal/Lux/Burgess (Lola B11/66-Mazda) - Dyson - 1'53"392
3. Plowman/Hansson (Morgan-Judd) - Conquest - 1'54"218
4. Tucker/Bouchut (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 1'54"407

5. Tucker/Diaz (HPD ARX-03b) - Level 5 - 1'55"977
6. Marcelli/Ducote/French (Oreca FLM09) - Merchant - 1'57"172

7. Popow/Kimber-Smith/Bennett (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - 1'57"790
8. Junqueira/Gonzalez (Oreca FLM09) - RSR - 1'57"829
9. Dempsey/Foster (Lola B12/86-Mazda) - Dempsey - 1'58"150

10. Franchitti/Junco (Oreca FLM09) - PR1 - 1'58"230

11. Downs/Downs/Downs (Oreca FLM09) - Merchant - 1'59"498
12. Richard/Ende (Oreca FLM09) - Dempsey - 1'59"874
13. Neiman/Holzer (Porsche 997) - Flying
14. Lizard - 2'04"415
14. Bergmeister/Long (Porsche 997) - Flying Lizard - 2'04"428
15. Gavin/Milner (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 2'04"871

16. Mueller/Auberlen (BMW M3) - Rahal - 2'04"913
17. Magnussen/Garcia (Corvette ZR1) - Corvette - 2'04"921
18. Sharp/Van Overbeek (Ferrari 458) - Extreme Speed - 2'04"994
19. Mueller/Summerton (BMW M3) - Rahal - 2'05"098
20. Henzler/Sellers (Porsche 997) - Falken - 2'06"640

21. Sweedler/Bell (Lotus Evora) - Alex Job - 2'07"177
22. Miller/Maassen (Porsche 997 Cup) - Miller - 2'07"182
23. Wittmer/Farnbacher (SRT Viper) - SRT - 2'08"556

24. Goossens/Kendall (SRT Viper) - SRT - 2'09"609

25. Brown/Cosmo (Ferrari 458) - Extreme Speed - 2'10"588
26. MacNeil/Bleekemolen (Porsche 997 Cup) - Alex Job - 2'12"773
27. LeSaffre/Faulkner (Porsche 997 Cup) - Green Hornet - 2'12"804

28. Huisman/Wong (Porsche 997 Cup) - Green Hornet - 2'13"339
29. Benitez-Benitez (Porsche 997 Cup) - NGT - 2'14"020

30. Pumpelly/DiGuida (Porsche 997 Cup) - TRG - 2'14"039

31. Cumming/Ragginger (Porsche 997 Cup) - JDX - 2'14"717
32. Faieta/Avenatti (Porsche 997 Cup) - Competition - 2'14"744
33. Sofronas/Welch (Porsche 997 Cup) - GMG - 2'14"891
34. Bennett/Braun (Oreca FLM09) - CORE - no time

35. Dyson/Smith (Lola B12/60-Mazda) - Dyson - no time

*Unofficial

History/Description: The Mercedes-Benz B 200 amounted to a luxurious and sophisticated German attempt at creating a ‘mini-minivan' for Canadian shoppers after a functional, efficient and upscale people hauler. Flexible and big on comfort and utility, this little Benz was sold in Canada, not in the US.

2006 Mercedes-Benz B-Class (Photo: Auto123.com)

Look for front-wheel drive on all models, with motivation coming from a 2.0L, 134-hp four-cylinder engine (B 200) or a 193-hp turbocharged version thereof (B 200 Turbo). Manual or CVT automatic transmissions were both available, depending on the model selected.

A panoramic sunroof, projector lights, heated leather, automatic climate control, Bluetooth and an intelligent key were among the B-Class's available features.

What Owners Like: High levels of build quality, comfort, smooth and effortless performance on turbocharged models, and overall versatility were highly rated by B 200 owners. Maneuverability, outward visibility and a good driving position were also commented upon positively, as was fuel mileage.

What Owners Dislike: Some owners wish for quicker reactions to their stereo system inputs, and a more consistent feel to the B 200's electronic throttle.

Common Issues: Since the B 200 wasn't sold in the US of A, owner forums are populated fairly scarcely. Still, some issues seem to have surfaced that used B 200 shoppers should be aware of.

Have a mechanic inspect the B-Class's brakes, particularly the rear ones, for signs of excessive wear, uneven pad wear or rust. Some owners have complained of various durability-related brake problems, particularly related to the rear brakes.

A clue that the model you're considering is suffering from this problem may be a ‘ring' of rust around the outer portion of the rear brake disc, which indicates that the brake pad isn't seated properly and isn't sweeping the rotor's entire surface.

2007 Mercedes-Benz B-Class (Photo: Michel Deslauriers)

Continue reading 2006-2011 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Pre-Owned

Auto123.com Racing carries today live coverage of the NAPA 200, race of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide series from the Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal.

Our crew is located in the paddock and the press centre of the circuit.

Auto123.com will provide live comments and analysis of the action while it happends out on the race track.

For technical reasons, the commentaries are provided in both English and French.

Simply click on the box below to access the Live Coverage.

The Suzuki Swift+ (2004 to 2007) and Suzuki Verona (2004 to 2006) are the subject of a recall that targets 10,171 cars. It's the same problem that affects some older GM models.

In some cases, the daytime running light (DRL) module may fail, causing one or more of the following conditions: the DRLs may flicker but remain illuminated; the DRL indicator in the instrument panel may flash; the DRLs may remain illuminated after the vehicle is turned OFF; the DRLs may cease to function and the DRL indicator in the instrument panel will turn OFF. This can make the vehicle less visible to other motorists and pedestrians during daylight hours, which could result in a crash.

Owners are advised to take their car to a Suzuki dealer, which will replace the DRL module, if the above condition exists, for a period of up to 10 years or 240,000 km from first vehicle registration. et moins, à compter de la date de l'immatriculation initiale du véhicule.

Source: Transports Canada

Mark Martin hasn't forgotten to drive fast despite his part-time schedule in the twilight of his career.

The 53-year-old notched his 55th career pole with a lap of 199.706mph, in a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, around the Michigan International Speedway oval.

Obviously experience helps as Martin ruefully explained. "I've had a few years of practice," he said. I don't need a whole bunch of practice. I need a racecar like what I drove today. I need fast racecars."

He's also won five times at the track.

Another piece of the puzzle is that MWR has raised its' game, with fulltime drivers, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. solid contenders for NASCAR's playoffs, the Chase to the Sprint Cup. And still in only his 15th start of the year he's won four poles.

He recalled his 2009 season at Hendrick Motor Sports where he was a serious threat for the Championship.

"For me, I feel a little bit of the magic that I felt in 2009 working with Rodney Childers (crew chief) and working with my teammates and all the incredible staff at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) I just really feel like this is a very, very lucky time in my career and in my life because I get to race on my terms and do things the way I want to do them."

On the other hand second fastest qualifier, Carl Edwards, is running out of time to make the Chase by earning a Wild Card by notching one victory this year.

"I think that it will go long green flag runs and if the speeds are as high as they seem to be - at least for the first part of the race it could be pretty tough to pass, so this could be big for us," Edwards said.

Then Edwards paid homage to his former Roush Fenway Racing Ford teammate "He's living the dream," Edwards said.

"He's had a successful career. He's able to come out here and pick and choose which races he's going to run and to perform well at them. I think it's pretty amazing, especially at his age. He's an inspiration for me, as to how well you can do for such a long period."

The pole speed was off the record of 203.241 mph set by Marcos Ambrose because NASCAR changed the tires to slow down the cars following that record run.

Jimmie Johnson aiming for a sixth national title will start third in a Chevrolet. Even he had only the kindest words for his veteran rival. "What keeps him going is his love for the sport," Johnson said.

"He's a racer through and through. We all know his dedication to fitness and nutrition and that's what keeps him sharp and at the top of his game at 53 years old. And you can't take out the fact that the guy has a ton of talent. That's why he's Mark Martin."

Auto123.com Racing provides live coverage of the Autopro 100, round 9 of the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire series presented on the Gilles Villeneuve road course in Montreal.

Motorsport journalist René Fagnan, our racing editor is in the press centre of the circuit.

He will provide live comments and analysis of the action while it happens out on the race track.

For technical reasons, the commentaries are provided in both English and French.

Simply click on the box below to access the Live Coverage.

The British luxury brand has fuel economy in mind, and for the 2013 model year, it will be upgrading its midsize XF with an engine downgrade in addition to other improvements.

The 240-hp, turbocharged 2.0L four that's found in the Evoque will also be fitted to the XF, providing a lower-priced and more efficient version of the sedan. A supercharged 3.0L V6, good for 340 horses, will also find its way under the XF's bonnet.

Every XF will also receive a ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic transmission, and on certain versions, a start/stop system will help achieve even greater fuel economy.

And, just like the 2013 XJ, the XF will benefit from available all-wheel drive, which will strengthen the car's appeal in Canada. The system is rear-wheel biased, but will send torque to the front wheels for extra traction as needed.

The 2013 Jaguar XF should soon be available in Jaguar/Land Rover dealerships.

Photo: Jaguar

Jon Fogarty recorded a fourth pole position this season during qualifying of the Montreal 200, held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The driver of the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP has failed to win a race this season, but could put an end to his drought in Montreal, the very same track where he last won.

Memo Rojas clocked the second best lap in his No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley, beating to the clock local hero Alex Tagliani, twice rather than once, as the Lachenaie-native drives both Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley prototypes.

Tagliani qualified the No. 8 third, but will also race in the No. 2 entry, which, because of problems in qualifying, couldn't post a decent time.

In GT, John Edwards has his' and Robin Liddell's No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R on pole, ahead of Andrew Davis' No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche GT3, the one he shares with Leh Keen. Boris Said placed the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Corvette in third.



Qualifying results* - Grand-Am (Montreal)
1. Fogarty-Gurney (Corvette DP) - Stallings - 1'33"135

2. Pruett-Rojas (Riley-BMW) - Ganassi - 1'33"222
3. 
Dalziel-Tagliani (Riley-Ford) - Starworks - 1'33"377

4. Angelelli-Taylor (Corvette DP) - SunTrust - - 1'33"490

5. Barbosa-Law (Corvette DP) - ActionExpress - 1'33"602
6. Valiante-Westbrook (Corvette DP) - Spirit of Daytona - 1'33"602

7. Donohue-Borcheller-Tracy (Corvette DP) - ActionExpress - 1'33"919
8. Negri-Pew (Riley-Ford) - Shank - 1'34"715
9. Dalziel-Tagliani-Popow (Riley-Ford) - Starworks - no time
10. Edwards-Liddell (Chevy Camaro) - Stevenson - 1'39"096
11. Davis-Keen (Porsche 997) - Brumos - 1'39"162
12. Curran-Said (Corvette) - Marsh - 1'39"692
13. Cameron-Nonnamaker (Mazda RX8) - Sahlen - 1'40"468

14. Assentato-Segal (Ferrari458) - AIM - 1'40"613

15. Bomarito-Tremblay (Mazda RX8) - Speedsource - 1'40"943

16. Lally-Potter (Porsche 997) - Magnus - 1'41"011

17. Johnson-Della Lana (BMW M3) - Turner - 1'41"509
18. 
Norman-Von Moltke (Audi R8) - APR - 1'41"810
19. Long-Maxwell (Mazda RX8) - Dempsey - 1'42"402

20. Nonnamaker-Nonnamaker (Mazda RX8) - Sahlen - 1'43"180
21. Espenlaub-Putman (Mazda RX8) - Dempsey - 1'48"527

*Unofficial

Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam) established himself as the man to beat at the Nürburgring's FIA European Formula 3 championship round by winning the first of two races presented this weekend at the German venue.

Juncadella actually started the weekend with a double pole, good enough to put him of the first row of both races. The 21-year-old Spaniard had a clean get away, although right at the start, he could see his teammate Sven Muller, starting second, would be a threat.

The gap between the two Prema drivers increased up until a mistake from Juncadella, on which Muller was unable to capitalize.

In the end, the pair crossed the finish 1-2, the order unchanged, followed by Pascal Wehrlein at the checkered.

The win allowed Juncadella to leapfrog another of his teammate, Raffaele Marciello on top of the series' standings.



Result Race 1 - F3 Euro (Nürburgring)
1. Juncadella in 29 laps and 40 minutes and 45.981 seconds
2. Muller + 5.4053. Wehrlein + 7.854, 4. Rosenqvist +8.590, 5. Jaafar + 16.973, 6. Marciello + 17.646, 7. Sainz + 18.739, 8. Sims + 19.950, 9. Blomqvist + 25.864, 10. Buller + 29.823, 11. Bernstorff + 30.134, 12. Wolf + 38.842, 13. Roda + 39.943, 14. Sa Silva + 44.075, 15. Lewis + 44.751, 16. Zeller + 56.248, 17. Goddard 1 lap

Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas not only won the Montreal 200 aboard their No. 01 BMW/Riley DP, they extended their points lead in the championship as well, and bagged Chip Ganassi Racing's 150th motorsport victory.

Their pair has enjoyed limited success this season, despite leading the championship. They only had one victory so far in 2012, which happened at Road America. With the win in Montreal, their lead in the standings has stretched to 18 points.

Pole-sitters Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty (No. 99 Corvette DP) failed again to capitalize on a good qualifying, coming home in second place, nevertheless. Action Express's David Donohue and Paul Tracy clawed their way back to third in their No. 5 after a first lap incident.

Ryan Dalziel was the big looser of the race, in the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley he shared with Alex Tagliani. The pair held on to the lead early on, but fell back when Dalziel collected Ricky Taylor into a spin. A penalty for aggressive driving set the back further to an eighth-place finish.

In GT, Robin Liddell and John Edwards (No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R) put on a clinic.

After grabbing pole the day before, they earned their second win of the season, fourth in Montreal. Following closing in Liddell's strides at the finish was the No. 69 FXDD AIM Autosport Team Ferrari of Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal, who benefited from Leh Keen and Andrew Davis' (No. 59 Brumos Porsche) broken radiator.



Race results* - Grand-Am (Montreal)
1 - Pruett-Rojas (Riley-BMW) - Ganassi - 66 laps 2.00'16"057
2 - Fogarty-Gurney (Corvette DP) - Stallings - 22"902

3 - Donohue-Borcheller-Tracy (Corvette DP) - ActionExpress - 23"073
4 - Barbosa-Law (Corvette DP) - ActionExpress - 25"500

5 - Angelelli-Taylor (Corvette DP) - SunTrust - 29"692
6 - Negri-Pew (Riley-Ford) - Shank - 48"312

7 - Dalziel-Tagliani (Riley-Ford) - Starworks - 1'30"134
8 - Dalziel-Tagliani-Popow (Riley-Ford) - Starworks - 2 laps

9 - Edwards-Liddell (Chevy Camaro) - Stevenson - 2 laps

10 - Assentato-Segal (Ferrari458) - AIM - 2 laps
11 - Cameron-Nonnamaker (Mazda RX8) - Sahlen - 2 laps

12 - Davis-Keen (Porsche 997) - Brumos - 2 laps

13 - Bomarito-Tremblay (Mazda RX8) - Speedsource - 3 laps

14 - Espenlaub-Putman (Mazda RX8) - Dempsey - 3 laps

15 - Curran-Said (Corvette) - Marsh - 3 laps

16 - Long-Maxwell (Mazda RX8) - Dempsey - 3 laps
17 - Norman-Von Moltke (Audi R8) - APR - 3 laps
18 - Nonnamaker-Nonnamaker (Mazda RX8) - Sahlen - 4 laps
19 - Lally-Potter (Porsche 997) - Magnus - 8 laps
20 - Johnson-Della Lana (BMW M3) - Turner - 47 laps

21 - Garcia-Westbrook (Corvette DP) - Spirit of Daytona - 65 laps



*Unofficial

Fastest lap of the race by Alex Tagliani - 1'33"035

Championship

1. Pruett-Rojas 330; 2. Dalziel 312; 3. Law 303; 4. Popow, Donohue 298.

Ayr, Ontario's J.R. Fitzpatick won the Autopro 100, round of the NASCAR Canadian Tire race held Saturday on the Gilles Villeneuve road course in Montreal during the NAPA Auto Parts 200.

Photos: Sebastien D'Amour

The 23-lap race was delayed on several occasions by full course yellows. Fitzpatrick, who drives the No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet enjoyed a race-long battle for the lead against two-time series' champion and second place starter, Andrew Ranger.

The race was yellow flagged for oil on the track with just a hanful of laps to go. It was restarted with just two laps to go. Ranger tried everything to pass Fitzpatrick, without success.

The field got the white flag (one lap to go) but two seperate accidents happened simultenously. Unfortunately for Ranger, one car got stuck in the last chicane, causing the officials to display a full-course yellow.

Fitzpatrick crossed the line in first place behind the pace car, scoring his second victory of the season. Andrew Ranger finished second ahead of veteran Robin Buck.

The Woodward Dream Cruise starts Saturday morning, but don't tell that to any of the thousands of cars and spectators lining the Avenue right now.

Lincoln brand managers are training their sights on a new competitor as they prepare to reboot the marque with a new MKZ sedan this fall.

In results gathered by Hagerty Insurance, $5.8 million worth of cars, trucks and motorcycles were sold Thursday at auctions on the Monterey Peninsula. A total of 190 of 323 lots were sold, for a sell-through rate of 59 percent.

Earlier this week, we snuck a peak at the BMW Zagato roadster in dark photos sent from BMW.

Also in this episode: 2013 Jaguar XF and XJ sedans will receive new engine options and all-wheel drive, and Chrysler shares details of the

The and#8220;friends of