Auto News 5

Pictures 24 Jul, 2012

Michigan supplier Gentex, which makes automatic-dimming rear-view mirrors, recorded a small gain in second-quarter net income, but the results and outlook disappointed Wall Street and the shares plunged 29 percent for the day.

Vile Gossip: Godspeed, Ol' Shel

What I would like to read right now is a classic David E. Davis, Jr., obituary on his old friend, Carroll Shelby, who died two weeks before this issue went to press.

What I would like to read right now is a classic David E. Davis, Jr., obituary on his old friend, Carroll Shelby, who died two weeks before this issue went to press. (Too mean to die, I told Shelby last fall in Las Vegas, when he was only 88. "I love you, Lindermood," he replied, quite sweetly.) David E. had the naked stories, the ones you still can't tell. He knew Shelby in the glory days and the not-so-glorious '70s, when the Detroit deals dried up and he exiled himself to Africa to hunt and to run safaris. Shelby suckered Davis into investing in some exotic Rhodesian Tuli cattle that he brought to Texas. When the deal went south, the difference between the nonchalance of the well-heeled gambler and the horror felt by just a gambler banking on becoming well-heeled was a painful experience that Davis took a while to get over. Yes, he would have gleefully built a literary pyre of Shelby injustices and reprobate behavior, poured on the gasoline, lit a match, then...blown it out at the last second and dismantled it. Because he loved Shelby.

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The efficiencies of a common dealership management system are starting to roll through to the bottom line for Asbury Automotive Group.

News 25 Jul, 2012

Teaser sketches of the all-new Kia Carens have been released, ahead of the MPVs debut at the Paris Motor Show

Pictures 25 Jul, 2012

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: I'll never turn down the chance to drive a Range Rover, any Range Roverand#8212;new, old, beat-up, pristine, it doesn't matter. I like them all.

News 24 Jul, 2012

The new Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet will make its debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November

News 24 Jul, 2012

Our spies have caught the first glimpse of the new Range Rover Sport's luxurious and hi-tech interior

Toyota plans to expand production of the Lexus RX in Canada with a $100 million investment at its plant in Cambridge, Ontario.

Pictures 24 Jul, 2012

Valmet Automotive has been contracted to assemble 100,000 units of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class in Finland between 2013 and 2016. The firm is already a supplier of roof systems to Daimler.

News 24 Jul, 2012

Motorists can save up to 50 pence per litre on fuel prices at Tesco using vouchers collected in store

News 24 Jul, 2012

More practical hatchback version of the BMW 3 Series has been spotted testing

Daimler has hired Finnish contract manufacturer Valmet Automotive to build more than 100,000 Mercedes A-class compact-premium cars from 2013 through 2016.

The demise of the storied Crown Victoria sedan has forced police agencies throughout North America to rethink their automotive needs. And for the Vancouver Police Department it comes down to two contestants battling for the coveted badge: Ford's Police Interceptor sedan and Dodge's Charger Pursuit sedan.

Two new Interceptors have hit the streets of Vancouver. The pair of Fords has made it through the Outfitting shop and are now equipped for active duty, keeping officers and citizens safe. Getting these units ready for patrol work has not been without its challenges.

The Police Interceptors are completely different from the Crown Victoria units, and presented numerous hurdles in sorting out wiring and equipment installations, including positioning laptops in such a manner as to not impede the driver while angled toward the passenger. Small matters on the surface, but when there are airbag zones to respect and space limitations things get dicey.

Photo: Rob Rothwell

The Fords are first out of the gate while the Department awaits the arrival of two Dodge Charger Pursuit sedans for a side-by-side evaluation against the Interceptors. This is still anyone's competition to win. The officers will complete detailed evaluation surveys online after driving each vehicle.

The Dodges are rear-wheel drive (RWD) units while the Fords are all-wheel drive (AWD). It will be interesting to see if this becomes a defining factor one way or the other. I suspect another criterion that may be influential is that of interior room and comfort.

After jamming a laptop and a chunky centre console between two large officers, space for the humans becomes scarce; especially when those humans are wearing heavily laden duty belts and winter clothing.

Time will tell which police car earns its stripes. I look forward to keeping our readers apprised of the action on the mean streets.

As the championship presented two rounds in Brazil, he only went for a single appearance in Auto GP, but former F1 driver Antonio Pizzonia won both races in Curitiba, while Adrian Quaife-Hobbs secured the title.

As he came to replace Venezuelian driver Giancarlo Serenelli who was involved in GP2 at Hockenheim in the meantime, Pizzonia set the third best performance in qualifying. The championship leader Adrian Quaife Hobbs set the pole position, but the Brazilian driver moved up to the lead at the start. Pizzonia pulled away in front and crossed the finish line in first position one second ahead of Pal Varhaug, while Quaife-Hobbs was delayed in the pits.

Photo: Auto GP

In the second round, Quaife-Hobbs was flying to victory and the title, but the Brit was forced to retire when he hit the tire protections while entering in the pits. Nevertheless, Pal Varhaug was only fifth, Quaife-Hobbs was crowned champion. Pizzonia inherited the lead, and set a second victory out of two Auto GP outings.

Start of race 2. (Photo: Auto GP)

Antonio Pizzonia usually races the Brazilian stock car championship.

Race 1:
1 - Antonio Pizzonia - Ombra - 23 laps in 28'51”683
2 - Pal Varhaug - Virtuosi - 1”142
3 - Sergey Sirotkin - Euronova - 5”104
4 - Daniel De Jong - Manor MP - 17”299

5 - Chris Van Der Drift - Manor MP - 23”755
Etc.

Race 2:
1 - Antonio Pizzonia - Ombra - 23 laps in 28'44”316
2 - Chris Van Der Drift - Manor MP - 8”021

3 - Daniel De Jong - Manor MP - 9”264

4 - Sergey Sirotkin - Euronova - 13”662

5 - Pal Varhaug - Virtuosi - 14”651
Etc.

Championship:
1. Quaife-Hobbs 205; 2. Varhaug 150; 3. Sirtokin 140; 4. Van Der Drift 127; 5. De Jong 78, etc.

The 2012 Volkswagen Golf 2.5L is easy to recognize at first glance. This relatively boxy and tall five-door hatchback makes the daily commutes through city traffic quite enjoyable. But while buyers are enamoured with its sporty driving dynamics, they shouldn't start planning extended road trips.


You see, the suspension makes you want to tear your brain off when you ride over rumble strips on the highway. On the plus side, the Golf doesn't kid around when it comes to manipulating steering; it feels sharp and direct. Steering assist is nicely calibrated and contributes to the machine's highly responsive handling. I love it!

The six-speed Tiptronic autobox is quite sporty, urging you to push even harder. With gentle throttle prodding, the unit shifts smoothly. Floor the gas pedal, and it'll take you to the redline in a nice, linear sprint. There's a price to pay at the pump, but this transmission produces as much fun-inducing adrenaline as the standard manual gearbox.

The six-speed Tiptronic autobox is quite sporty, urging you to push even harder. (Photo: Volkswagen)

The four-wheel disc brakes are properly sized and powerful enough to cool off your bursts of enthusiasm. With sudden pressure on the brake pedal, you'll feel the antilock system working, even on a hot summer drive.

The seats are reminiscent of theatre room chairs from the '90s, meaning that they lack lumbar support. Short-legged drivers will feel some pressure behind the knees. My tester had heated seats, by the way, and I took great advantage of it, even on warm mornings where the temperature had already reached 5 degrees Celsius.

Under the hood is a 2.5L 5-cylinder engine that promises a decent though unimpressive city rating of 9L/100km. In reality, as soon as you forget about fuel economy and start grabbing the bull by the horns, the mill will hover around 10L/100km. I couldn't resist myself!

The Volkswagen Golf offers easy access to the bulbs, windshield washer fluid and coolant tanks. Everything else is kept under tight wrap for a clean look. However, maintenance proves a bit more complicated as a result.

Under the hood is a 2.5L 5-cylinder engine that promises a decent though unimpressive city rating of 9L/100km. (Photo: Marie-Andrée Ayotte)

The automatic Sportline model I tested ($26,650) had the Connectivity Package ($775), which allows control of a cell phone through the centre display, the steering wheel buttons or the overhead console (between the two map lights, next to the sunroof control). If you have a loud passenger, however, there's a pretty good chance that your conversations won't last long.

While the graphics have a somewhat dated look, with white Arial characters on a dark background, the menu is user-friendly and synchronizing my phone with the system didn't cause me headaches. A small screen allows you to set the Bluetooth connection, and once you're done, access to your phone directory goes through the centre console. The system can memorize up to four Bluetooth-enabled devices.

Voice commands are limited to ''Dial,'' ''Last call received,'' and ''Last number.'' Was I able to make a call using voice command? Sadly, no. I guess I'm just too technologically retarded or something. The female voice kept telling me she couldn't understand my commands. I quit trying when smoke came out of my ears.

A small screen allows you to set the Bluetooth connection, and once you're done, access to your phone directory goes through the centre console. (Photo: Marie-Andrée Ayotte)

I liked driving the Golf at night if only because of the cool interior lighting. As for passenger room, my legs were pretty happy. I wouldn't put three big guys in the back; I just don't think they would fit (of course, I can't know for sure since the "big-guy store" was out of samples).

What about the competition? For roughly the same price, consider the oddly designed Nissan cube, the ubiquitous and much more fuel-efficient Mazda3 Sport with SKYACTIV technology, as well as the unsung Suzuki SX4 Hatchback. In terms of driving fun, the MINI Cooper Countryman is a worthy competitor, although its base MSRP equals a fully-equipped VW Golf 2.5L

From GMM

Sauber has set its sights on chasing down Mercedes.

Team boss Peter Sauber, however, admitted the task will be no mean feat.

With half of the 2012 season now gone, the Hinwil based team is sixth in the constructors' standings, a healthy haul at Hockenheim bringing Sauber within 25 points of Mercedes.

The Sauber drivers at Hockenheim. (Photo: WRi2)

"It doesn't matter who is ahead of us, we need to always focus on attacking this opponent," Sauber told the Swiss newspaper Blick.

But he acknowledged: "We are realistic and know that Mercedes is a big adversary for a small private team."

Blick said Mercedes' driver duo of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg are paid a combined EUR 30 million approximately, compared to the no more than 2 million apiece earned by Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez.

Last year, Sauber finished the world championship in seventh place, three places and almost 100 points behind Mercedes.

From Lotus F1 Team

Half way of the season, Lotus conducted one new interview with the Finnish driver. Raikkonen shares his thoughts about his comeback and 2012 championship.

You're up to fourth in the Driver's Championship with only a small gap to the drivers directly in front; where can you go from here?
If you had told me in January that we would be fourth halfway through the season, I think I would have been pretty pleased. It's not a bad place to be, but I think we have a car good enough to have scored more points. I want to win and the whole team is pushing hard to make it happen, so let's see what we can do in the second half of the season...

How are you feeling heading to Hungary?
It is always nice to go to Hungary. The circuit is not the most difficult of them all, but it is still quite challenging. It is also the last race before the summer break and it's a great city to end the first half of the season. It's always nice to have a summer vacation and recharge the batteries for the last - and most important - part of the season.

How do you rate your past performances at the Hungaroring?
I have won once in Hungary and finished second three times. It is very hot and very demanding race. It's only when you win that you don't suffer at the Hungaroring. I hope I don't suffer this time.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus E20, in Germany. (Photo: Lotus F1 Team)

Are you happy to receive a podium placing for your performance in Germany?
It's nice to get the points for third position, but obviously we would rather score it on the track. Having said that I think we did the best we could at Hockenheim from the position we started. Maybe if we had found a bit more pace in the wet of qualifying we could have started higher, avoided the traffic and pushed the leaders, but it is what it is. For sure we were hoping for a bit better, but the car worked well all through the race and we still brought home some good points for the team so there are some positives to bring to Budapest.

How do you assess the team's potential heading to this event?
The team has been working hard in developing our car and we are confident we should be competitive in Hungary. Usually we have a hot weekend at the Hungaroring, and that's what we have been looking forward to during the whole summer. It's never nice to go to media after a race without a win. I love to win, not to explain why we were not able to win. Hopefully we can get the result we are looking for.

What are the particular challenges of the circuit?
It's such a slow and twisty track that you there are two things most of all which are really important for fast lap times; these are good turn in and good traction. If you have those, you have a competitive car there.

Photo: Lotus F1 Team

The circuit's tight and twisty: how important is qualifying?
This is one of those circuits where it's very difficult to overtake. Obviously, you need to get to the front in qualifying and you also ideally want to avoid the dirty side of the track on the grid. We haven't been the best in qualifying so far, but we have been good in the race in hot conditions and able to make different strategies work. It won't be the end of the world if we don't qualify at the front, but it won't make things easy for us either. Let's see what happens.

The Hungarian Grand Prix is also sometimes known as the Grand Prix of Finland because so many of your countrymen attend. What does this mean for you?
It is always nice to see the blue and white flags waving. It's the closest we Finnish drivers get to a home race and a lot of Finns turn up every year. Hopefully I will be able to celebrate with a win for them.