Auto News 5

Back in September, Chrysler issued a recall on more than 15,000 Dodge Dakota and Ram 1500 pickup trucks from the 2009-2010 model years due to a rear axle pinion nut that may have been incorrectly manufactured and could loosen.

Dodge Dakota. (Photo: Dodge)

Some owners across the country have since reported a noise which could be heard just prior to the failure. Transport Canada is therefore seeking information from the public concerning possible safety issues or incidents.

Dodge RAM 1500. (Photo: Dodge)

The government will continue to examine the possible relevance of this issue for vehicles manufactured outside the aforementioned time period. For specific information about this road safety recall, please visit Transport Canada recall 2012-327 or call 1-800-333-0510.

I love to tinker on my cars. I've been at it for over 15 years and have yet to get bored of stripping bolts, dropping and loosing washers, braking fragile sensors and splicing wires too short. I am that good.

And every good do-it-yourselfer needs numerous basic tools to cause further chaos under the hood or dashboard of their beloved car. I've collected a number of tools over the years but one can never have too many lying around; especially the good ones.


The following is my Top 10 list of must-haves or nice-to-haves for peeps like me.

1- Snap-On Magnetic Ratcheting Screwdriver.
This tool is bar-none the best of its kind. I've owned four of them and only through severe abuse and neglect have they failed. The magnet is immensely useful, as is the handle which can hold numerous bits. Its smooth, precise operation is what gets me every time. This is, by far, the best screwdriver out there.
Price: $62

2- Breaker bars
Working on older cars, one must expect to deal with seized bolts on a regular basis. Sometimes, a ratchet will not provide enough torque to do the job. Various sized or extendable and ratcheting even breaker bars will give you all the leverage necessary to break the ball-joint or wheel nuts.
Price: Between $10 and $60

3- Ratchet set
A set of ¼ and 3/8 inch ratchets with a few extensions and a good selection of standard and metric sockets will make nearly any job possible. The most important item to think about is the warranty that comes with the tools. Many retail stores offer lifetime warranties; always a good idea.
Price: Between $75 and $500

4- Wrench set
Ratchets and sockets are great, but sometimes it's plain impossible to wedge the tool between the exhaust manifold and the cylinder head. A good wrench, ratcheting all the more, will get in just about any nook and cranny and help you get that nut loose.
Price: Between $75 and $500

5- Allen keys
Allen keys or hex/torx keys are great for numerous applications, both under the hood and in the cabin. Their narrow nature allows them to slide between intake manifold runners with ease. For a little extra torque, a useful t-handle can make short work of a stubborn bolt.
Price: Between $5 and $45

6- Torque wrench
It's important to always reassemble everything with the right amount of tightness. Too much may cause a bolt to fail prematurely and too little, well, it'll come loose. An inch-pound or foot-pound torque wrench, with the right specs, will guarantee the job will be just as tight as it should be.
Price: Between $50 and $750

7- Tool box
A tool box, the right tool box, makes all the difference. Nothing is worse than searching all over your work bench for that one socket or pair of needle-nose pliers. Some of these boxes are insanely high-tech and make working on a car that much more pleasurable. Really. Don't believe me? Check out any Snap-on box...
Price: Between $250 and $20,000

8- Air compressor
An air compressor quickly becomes the do-it-yourselfer's best friend in every and any instance. With 25” of air hose, air ratchet and gun, every job becomes that much easier. From removing wheels, to engine mounts and valve covers, an air ratchet does the hard work so you don't have to.
Price: Between $50 and $5,000

9- Floor jack
For many jobs, part or all of the car must come off the ground. A proper floor jack, ideally aluminum, will make short work of raising the car with ease. A 1.5 ton weight rating is ideal for most applications. If you're like me and work on many different types of cars, a 3-ton jack may be a better choice. As well, there are numerous types of jacks including low-profile ones which are perfect for lowered cars such as my beloved MKII Jetta.
Price: Between $50 and $500

10- A hydraulic lift
This is the do-it-yourselfer's wet dream. If you've got the necessary ceiling clearance, a four-post lift will not only serve as a perfect platform to perform oil changes and countless other jobs, but it will aid in the storage of your favorite toy. Again, if you're like me and have the car disease, you can never have too much storage space for your cars.
Price: Between $2,000 and $7,000 + installation

Mercedes-Benz Canada has just issued a recall on 10,242 smart fortwos from the 2005-2006 model years.

On certain vehicles, corrosion and/or dust accumulation may affect the driver and passenger door latches and cause the latch pawl to stick. If this occurs, the door will not latch when shut and will remain unsecured.

Photo: Smart

Mercedes-Benz Canada dealers will therefore replace the door latches with a modified version.

Source: Transports Canada

Room for five, complete with Swedish style. The souped-up R-Design is powerful, but still has that elegant touch.

Understated Elegance
The Passion Red 2012 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD R-Design Platinum looks good enough to eat. It's like a big apple I want to sink my teeth into. But to keep my dentition in place, I'll bite into it from a figurative sense: through its looks and capabilities.


Beauty is Skin Deep
The styling of the Swedish SUV, from the outside, is quite pleasant. Robust lines complemented with a svelte-ish physique allow for the 2012 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD to shine. The addition of the R-Design designation also means special features on the inside and out. There's a set of 20" "Cratus" wheels, and badges set it apart from all other XC60 trims.

Floating in thin Air
What I particularly like about the 2012 Volvo XC60 is the inclusion of a quirky, yet cool, centre stack. It floats! I kid you not. The thin and elegant panel has all the right buttons and they're easily recognizable as well. From climate options to Bluetooth pairing to audio commands, I love the setup and your hand can fit straight through the back. Want to scare your friends? Just grab their knee from behind the stack. It makes for a barrel of laughs, followed by some profanities.

Two-Toned
I worry about getting lighter-coloured interiors dirty, especially with dark-wash denim. So, a fair compromise is to have two-tone seats. You still get a dash of brightness, even if the upholstery is of a darker shade. The special R-Design seats in the 2012 Volvo XC60 T6 are dark with a splash of beige. The colour scheme works well with all the textures in the cabin -- not to mention, they are very comfy to sit in.

Seeing Blue
At night, when the instrument cluster is illuminated, it has a beautiful blue backlight. Mixed with the white, silver and red accent colours, it looks classy and to-the-point. I find sophistication in simplicity, a theme that runs through all Volvos.

You still get a dash of brightness, even if the upholstery is of a darker shade. (Photo: Alexandra Straub)

Climate Control
This might seem like a fairly odd observation, but I really liked how there were so many levels of fan speeds in the 2012 Volvo XC60's cabin ranging from "gentle breeze" to a hurricane-like wind (OK, that's a little over the top, but you get my point). Sometimes, there are only five or six levels in vehicles, so finding a perfect fan setting can be tough. Not here. There are 18 on this baby! It's great. Whether I'd like to be toasty hot or cold, or just on the cusp of whatever temperature suits you, this 2012 Volvo has it covered.

Engine Prowess
The R-Design designation/trim means power, and a healthy dose of it. From its 3.0L, turbocharged, 6-cylinder engine comes 325 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque. Linked with a 6-speed automatic transmission, with a manual mode, the combination of the two are fairly potent. One thing I would have liked to see on the 2012 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD R-Design is a set of paddle shifters. I feel it would help driver and machine better connect. It's not a deal-breaker, especially for those who wouldn't necessarily use the feature, just more of a "wish list" item.

From its 3.0L, turbocharged, 6-cylinder engine comes 325 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Alexandra Straub)

Safety With a Capital S
Volvos are known for their safety. So, it's no exception that there are a host of standard features to keep you and your loved ones in one piece whenever possible: Four-wheel disc brakes, ABS with Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA), Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DSTC) are just a few items on the list. Then there are the added safety features like the optional Technology Package ($2,100). This adds such devices as Distance Alert (DA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Queue Assist, and more. Of course, life sometimes deals an unfair hand of cards, but the 2012 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD R-Design will try and be as fair as it can be to you.

Go Anywhere, Sort of
Volvo's Electronically Controlled All-Wheel Drive System with Instant Traction is included as part of the package. Transferring power to the various wheels where needed can mitigate slippery situations. Whether romping around in the rain, snow or sunshine, the 2012 Volvo XC60 T6 is ready for a challenge. And when behind the wheel, the sport-tuned suspension gives it that edge you'd want without the chiropractor visits!

Pricing
The 2012 Volvo XC60 T6 R-Design Platinum has a base MSRP of $59,095.

This 2012 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD R-Design Platinum review was originally published on Auto-Venus.com.

From GMM

When the mere survival of HRT looked bleak, the Spanish team's Chinese development driver Ma Qing Hua started to look elsewhere.

That is the claim of the Diario AS newspaper, reporting that the 24-year-old Shanghai-born driver entered talks with other F1 backmarkers Caterham and Marussia.

Each of those teams are yet to confirm their second race drivers for the 2013 season.

Photo: HRT F1 Team

AS said Qing Hua's management, China Sport Management, opened talks with Caterham and Marussia around the time of the recent Austin and Brazil double-header.

The news is a real blow to HRT's chances of remaining in formula one, as rumours had suggested China Sport Management was involved in talks to rescue the ailing Spanish team.

The year was 1966: The international performance rally scene, long dominated by powerful European sports cars, experienced a shocking upset when a tiny little 4-cylinder with scarcely more power than a scooter took the top three spots in the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. Desperate for a loophole, French officials finally disqualified all three on account of their headlights -- but Mini fans know who the real winners were.


Paying homage to original Minis
Fifty years later, I consider it appropriate that I'm participating in an event honouring that celebrated road rally in a car that's descended from the original Mini.

It's only when parked beside a regular Cooper that you realize the MINI Countryman is actually a small crossover -- so seamlessly has its characteristic design been enlarged. Ours, a Cooper S ALL4 in bright blue with racy white rally stripes and matching roof, looks completely in its element and ready to tackle the stages.

The Mini Monte Rally, that loosely pays homage to the historic world class race, is based in Southern Ontario and incorporates roughly 100 km of winding pastoral roads in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

However, instead of a wild and woolly, all-out race, the "Mini Monte" (my suggestion that we wear "not the Full Monte" T-shirts met with polite smiles) is a "TSD" event, --which stands for Time, Speed, Distance -- and entails ruthless accuracy rather than speed.

Logic not being my strongpoint, the wisest decision I made was to ask good friend James Mewett, an aerospace engineer and driving instructor with Apex and ILR racing schools, to handle the navigational duties. Most drivers are loath to admit that it's actually the navigator who's responsible for winning a TSD rally, but usually don't hesitate to blame them when they lose. Personally, I just hoped we made it to the BBQ at the end.

Surmising that my "navi" would look after all the boring details, I tuned out during the driver's meeting and took in the MINI's competition. Alongside the expected Subaru brigade bristling with snout-mounted Hella Lamps and rally stickers, was a Lotus Evora and a lovely '80s Audi Quattro.

It's only when parked beside a regular Cooper that you realize the MINI Countryman is actually a small crossover. (Photo: MINI Cooper)

Countryman familiar to anyone who's driven a MINI
The Countryman is surprisingly roomy inside, with three times the cargo space of a regular Cooper: more than Nissan's Juke, but less than the Honda CR-V or Kia Soul. Despite its larger size, it handles the mixture of rural pavement and winding gravel roads like a typical MINI -- if slightly less nimble.

An electrohydraulic differential with limited slip varies the amount of torque to the rears from 50 to as much as 100% if needed. The ride is somewhat firm, which makes the Countryman very stable when we flung it around the gravel roads, but some might find it a bit jarring.

Underhood is a turbocharged 1.6L engine producing 181 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. Steering is quite sharp with good ratios. Anyone who has driven a MINI embraces its lovely 6-speed gearbox with short throws and crisp clutch take-up. Enthusiasts will probably want to avoid the automatic such as the one in our Countryman. Although it's perfectly adequate, its slower response and lagging in cruise control lacks the joyfulness of the stick shift.

Our 2012 MINI Cooper Countryman proved comfortable and capable over long distances, although it sorely lacked in noise insulation and exhibited plenty of rattles and squeaks from the cabin. A torrential downpour turned the roads to soup -- no problem for the AWD MINI -- but the loud drumming on the steel roof made conversation difficult.

An electrohydraulic differential with limited slip varies the amount of torque to the rears from 50 to as much as 100% if needed. (Photo: MINI Cooper)

Maybe not a winner, but definitely a contender
No thanks to me, we managed to hit all of our checkpoints without any time penalties. Although the MINI featured the typical gigantic round gauge set-up, complete with online connectivity and navigation, we were unable to use the route guidance since the checkpoints ensured that you adhered to the routebook.

I'm not averse to a little "help," but my straight-as-a-slide-rule navi would have frowned upon such unethical practice. Too bad, because we might not have missed the "Cheese Factory Road" turn, causing us to lose valuable time during the final stage.

However, we managed to achieve our goal of making it to the BBQ in the 2012 MINI Countryman ALL4 while there was still plenty of food. In sixth place, Team MINI may not have been winners, but we did go the full Monte.

This 2012 MINI Cooper S Countryman review was originally published on Auto-Venus.com.

As we had anticipated some weeks ago, veteran driver Oriol Servia will be returning to the Panther DRR team for the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season driving once again the No. 12 Chevrolet/DW-12.

For the Spaniard, it will be a second season with the Indianapolis-based squad as the strategic alliance between Panther DRR and Panther Racing is also continuing, allowing Servia to work with the no. 4 team and driver JR Hildebrand.

The partnership was formed in May and created a competitive advantage that provided more resources to each team's effort.

Servia and Panther DRR will return to the track for a test at Sebring International Raceway on December 12-13, 2012.

Oriol Servia, Panther DRR. (Photo: IndyCar)

José Muñoz, who has spent the past three years helping to solidify Nissan's position as Mexico's biggest brand, will take over the automaker's top United States and Canadian sales and marketing operations next year.

2013 Acura ILX 2.4

It's just a good little luxury car that you want to drive quickly.

Our own Evan McCausland wrote favorably about his first drive of the Acura ILX months ago, but to me his report was just white noise, and I had not been able to consider any aspect of the new small sedan other than its exterior styling, which I find uninspiring. So it was with low expectations that I slid behind the wheel of the ILX yesterday evening. What a pleasant surprise: the ILX drives incredibly well. It's easy to forget how nice it is to be in a proper little sport sedan with a really good manual gear shifter and nice clutch pedal takeup. All the right nuances are there.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Acura ILX 2.4 - Editor's Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Acura ILX 2.4 - Editor's Notebook - Automobile Magazine

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News of the Lowrider Coloring Book, published by Sweden's

Used-car dealers would need to give customers more information on warranties under changes to window sticker rules that the Federal Trade Commission proposed today.

It's Subaru's Automated Highway Response Concept. They call it the SHARC. It looks like a jet.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. said 213 of its 219 U.S. auto dealers have agreed to wind down new-vehicle sales operations in exchange for cash and maintenance-only contracts as part of the company's bankruptcy.

Autoweek's senior online editor Rory Carroll was stranded Tuesday morning by a charger stuck in a

News 4 Dec, 2012

Latest spy pictures give the best glimpse yet of the new BMW 3 Series GT

Pictures 4 Dec, 2012

Also in this episode: Fiat wants to take you Into the Green with the electric 500e, and Subaru wins the

Lexus Division will show its redesigned 2013 IS sedan at the Detroit auto show in January. In a statement today, Lexus said the production sedan will carry design cues of the LF-CC coupe concept that was shown at the Paris auto show in October.

Tesla Motors, the maker of electric vehicles led by billionaire Elon Musk, was cash flow positive last week, the CEO said Monday in a posting on Twitter.

You may think you're awake, but new research suggests your brain could be nodding off while you drive