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News 11 Dec, 2012

The hybrid Jaguar supercar has been cancelled due to economic conditions, but working prototypes will be sold

Russian new-car sales rose just 0.4 percent to 240,322 in November as Russian consumers stayed away from showrooms following a slowdown in the country's economy.

Swedish supplier Autoliv will spend $13 million to build a plant in Promontory, Utah, to produce gas propellant for airbags.

Opel's decision to close its car plant in Bochum, Germany, has dealt a setback to restructuring talks with its German labor force, trade union IG Metall said.

From GMM

Adrian Sutil's manager has admitted the German driver is hoping Force India makes a "quick decision" over its 2012 driver lineup.

A source at the Silverstone based team hinted late last week that, with a decision now imminent, former team driver Sutil is in pole position to restore the 2011 lineup by pairing with Paul di Resta next season.

"We are negotiating with Force India," 29-year-old Sutil's manager Manfred Zimmermann told SID news agency, "and hope for a quick decision."

Will Adrian Sutil be back with team Sahara Force India next year? (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

HRT is already in liquidation, an unpaid and angry supplier has claimed.

Formtech Composites, a carbon fibre manufacturer, said in a statement that the beleaguered Spanish team entered liquidation proceedings on November 12 -- well before the 2012 season ended.

The supplier said HRT is now only willing to pay 30 per cent of its debt.

And "It has come to our knowledge that (HRT) owe a substantial amount of money to other suppliers in the motor sports industry," Formtech added.

Formtech also accused HRT of giving "misleading information" about its situation.

Photo: HRT F1 Team

From GMM

Sahara Force India has played down suggestions Paul di Resta has entered a "pattern" of less competitive performances.

Praised when he entered F1 last year and initially enjoying the upper hand over Nico Hulkenberg this year, the 26-year-old Scot was being consistently outclassed by his German teammate by the second half of 2012.

With Hulkenberg moving to Sauber, Paul di Resta is expected to definitely keep his place at Silverstone based Force India for 2013.

Paul Di Resta, Sahara Force India, in Singapore. (Photo: WRi2)

But as for his apparently second-rate second half of the 2012 season, sporting director Otmar Szafnauer insisted: "It's too early to speak of a pattern. But of course we also noticed what happened in the second half of the season."

"As for Paul, I would say we have that in mind," he is quoted by Speed Week.

It is believed almost certain that di Resta will be paired with Adrian Sutil in 2013, reviving Force India's exact 2011 lineup.

Referring to di Resta's late 2012 form, the Speed Week report commented: "Pattern? We should know more in the coming season."

The 2012 Kia Rio offers a sleek new design, silky-smooth ride, effortless power steering, plenty of storage room, and amazing fuel consumption when scooting around in ECO mode. What more could a city-dweller ask from a subcompact?


But wait, it gets better. What we have here is an automaker posing as the Robin Hood options. The lifestyle of the rich and famous is now available in a working-class automobile.

This new Kia is dressed to kill. It offers repositioned mirrors that increase the overall viewing area, sporty new headlights and a completely overhauled front bumper design. This new Kia is making a fashion statement which is intended to draw the attention of Chevrolet Sonic and Ford Fiesta buyers, as well as flirting with the 20- to 30-year-old subcompact buyer market.

User-friendly passenger compartment
Additional ''micro-windows'' were added to the front doors in order to brighten up the A-pillar area, along with taller rear-door glass and a ''headrest-less'' rear seatback designed to increase visibility. The extra glass really opens things up, providing an ''airy'' feel for its occupants.

More than just a pretty face
The new 2012 Kia Rio SX equipped with the navigation system will set you back $21,695. This seductive package includes: rear backup camera; smart-key; push-button start; air-conditioned glove- box; automatic windshield defogger; heated leather seats; UV-reduction solar glass; automatic climate control; automatic headlights; Active ECO system; and (hold on to your hats) a heated steering wheel!

While the Kio Rio doesn't offer all the doodads that make a luxury car a luxury car, it has proven one thing: that Korean automakers know what Canadian winters are like! Heated steering wheels are available from other automakers, but we're talking about the 2012 Nissan Maxima at $ 37,880, or the 2013 Ford Taurus Limited at$ 43,499. Kia is a true Robin Hood, saving our precious digits from the horrors of the dreaded pre-work morning windshield ice war and steering-wheel freeze!

The new 2012 Kia Rio SX equipped with the navigation system will set you back $21,695. (Photo: Marie-Andrée Ayotte)

ECOnomizing fuel
Its diminutive 1.6L engine delivers 138 hp and 123 ft-lb of torque, which is OK for driving around town and overtaking highway traffic. Its role in life is to save fuel. The deal falls a little short for us in Active ECO mode. This option is only available with the 6-speed automatic. What is the Active ECO mode's goal? To help you perfect your fuel ECOnomizing habits: no sudden starts or stops, and no supersonic speed-barrier shattering!

If you're anything like me, a little more ''purposeful'' in city-driving mode, you will find the Rio a little slow to respond in these circumstances. Deactivate the Active ECO mode, stop dreaming of those extra kilometres you were going to squeeze out of your last tank refill and zigzag around town with that little additional squirt of direct-injection fuel. The difference is a few percentage points of fuel: 500 km instead of 525 km. I averaged 8.0L/100km during my test.

Don't expect to find the structural rigidity of a Volkswagen or the suppleness of a Subaru suspension in the 2012 Kia Rio SX. However, you will discover that this diminutive package knows its way around. The first thing that jumps out is its electronically assisted power steering. It makes the car a breeze to handle. The suspension isn't its strongest point, but it's supple enough to make the ride enjoyable.

Its diminutive 1.6L engine delivers 138 hp and 123 ft-lb of torque, which is OK for driving around town and overtaking highway traffic. (Photo: Marie-Andrée Ayotte)

Subcompact market
You won't find heated steering wheels in the subcompact market. If you were to benefit from the top items listed in each manufacturer's options list, you would need to note:

$23,499 for the Ford Fiesta SEL which offers a smart-key, heated seats, best-in-class fuel economy, and a great automatic gearbox;

$18,249 for a Hyundai Accent GLS with heated seats, automatic climate control, 16" aluminum wheels, power-operated sunroof, and a strong 1.6L fuel-sipping engine (the same engine as the Rio);

$22,745 for a Toyota Yaris SE;

And finally $22,970 for a Chevrolet Sonic LTZ, equipped with a turbo-powered engine mated to an automatic gearbox.

This 2012 Kia Rio SX Sedan review was originally published on Auto-Venus.com.

How far would you take your loyalty for one particular brand?

We all do it: from clothing brands to household appliances, we get stuck on a brand. Be it for the look, the feel, the notoriety or (hopefully) the build quality, we as a society tend to stick to certain brands, often for life.

Why do you drive a Toyota Corolla? Because your grandafther owned one for 20+ years, then your father bought a new one, then your mother got a second one; it only makes sense that you'd get the same reliable vehicle that's been in your family for generations. Right?

I use the Corolla as an example because it's one of the most common brand loyalty “issues” I see in the automotive industry -- that and the Honda Civic. They both continue to “work” for families across the nation, so why change it up?

Then there's the kind of brand loyalty that my colleague, Matt St-Pierre, harbours for Volkswagen. He's loyal to the philosophy, the story behind the vehicles and the overall soul of the company; just as I am for MINI and Subaru.

All this loyalty got me thinking: Do carmakers take into consideration this brand loyalty and how much it truly influences car sales? As I watched yet another Corolla and Civic roll off the line (looking and feeling much like the past generations), I wonder if this is a strategy: If it ain't broke, don't fix it... right?


Then you've got companies like Subaru who continue to reinvent themselves with fascia updates, radical design changes and technological advances. And, like Jeep, Subaru loyalists are rabid fans dedicated to the brand through and through. Their constant changing doesn't affect the brand loyalty their owners and enthusiasts feel -- what a wonderful thing.

So, how do you get someone who's been wearing Levis their entire lives to switch it up and buy a pair of 7 For All Mankind jeans instead? You force them to try them on; you let them see how good their rear looks in a pair of jeans they've never tried on before. Sometimes, experiencing something new can be intimidating, but once it's done you'll wonder why you didn't do it ages before.

Carmakers are constantly trying to get consumers to “try something new” -- at least they should be. While some manufacturers sit back, resting on their laurels and relying on their brand loyalty to see them through, others are paving the way for new clients (read: Kia, Hyundai, Subaru, even VW with the redesigned and more “manly” Beetle).

I'm as loyal to my brands as the next (Subaru, Esprit, Second Cup, Coach... I'm a creature of habit), but I'm conscious of it and make an effort to change things up as often as I can. Luckily, I get to change my car every week without the financial burden. It's opened my eyes, as well as reminding me why I have such an affinity for the brands I do.

For those without the luxury of a new car every week, I implore you to explore all your options the next time you're in the market for a new car. Test drive outside your comfort zone (but not your price range) and explore brands you never thought you would. Your rear might look great, but you won't know till you give it a try.

The Tesla Model S is an incredible machine. We'll cover the operating experience soon, but right now I've got a story to tell.

2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG coupe

The SLS AMG is far more surly, scrappy, and downright ballsy than we ever expected from a Mercedes.

I had the opportunity to drive the SLS AMG gullwing coupe the day after I drove the SLS AMG roadster, and the moment I pulled out of the magazine office's parking lot, I knew I preferred the coupe. I appreciate its clearer sense of purpose, not to mention its rigidity, and I like its deliberate nod to the 1950s 300SL Gullwing, one of the most iconic Mercedes-Benz models of all time. And it is the gullwing doors that never fail to wow people. People notice the car, certainly; they know it's something important and substantial and desirable, even if they don't immediately realize it's a Mercedes-Benz. And then when you open those gullwing doors? People go berserk. I let a few random folks I met sit in the driver's seat, and it was clearly the highlight of their week. If not their year.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG coupe - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG coupe - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

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President Barack Obama today threw his support behind labor unions opposed to a Republican-led drive for "right-to-work" laws in Michigan, saying efforts to pass such measures were not about economics but about politics.

Also in this episode, Ford's Transit van gets a turbodiesel engine, and General Motors helps design a

The federal Energy Department will not give battery maker A123 the remaining half of its $249 million grant, following the company's high profile bankruptcy and acquisition by a Chinese auto parts supplier, a department official said today.

Around the time of the launch of the Luc Donckerwolke-penned

General Motors has applied for trademarks on the names of its offbeat 1950s Chevrolet El Camino and Nomad with the federal Patent and Trademark office.

A defect that raised the risk of an engine fire in Ford's newly launched Escape and Fusion models was caused by a glitch in the software that monitors the vehicles' cooling systems, Ford said today.

First Drive: 2013 Land Rover LR2

The littlest Land Rover matures.

Unlike most carmakers, Land Rover tends to insist that journalists get its vehicles dirty on press drives. That was certainly the case during the muddy media launch of the revamped 2013 LR2 near Montreal, Quebec. So it was fitting that, when it was time for us to relinquish possession of our LR2, it wore a cape of salty grime accented by flecks of dirt.

Photo Gallery: First Drive: 2013 Land Rover LR2 - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: First Drive: 2013 Land Rover LR2 - Automobile Magazine

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The gift-giving season is upon us, and we've assembled a quick list of holiday car gifts just right for the car lover in your life. Before you give in to slipping cash in a card, check out a couple of high-tech tools and toys we tested this year.

News 11 Dec, 2012

The new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car gets 453bhp and a six-speed paddle-shift gearbox