Auto News 5

From Audi Motorsport

Spaniard Marc Gené will be available to Audi as a reserve driver, standing in for Timo Bernhard in the Audi R18 ultra as early as at the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Spa-Francorchamps on May 5.

Audi R18 (Photo: Audi Motorsport)

This year, Audi again decided to sign a reserve driver for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich selected Marc Gené for this role, a very experienced sports car racer who brings long-standing Formula 1 experience to the team as well.

The 38-year-old Spaniard has been under contract as a test or race driver with Formula 1 racing teams since 1999. He also contested the past five events of the Le Mans 24 Hours for Peugeot, clinching overall victory in 2009.

After Timo Bernhard was injured in a testing accident that was no fault of his own in mid-March at Sebring and is still recovering, Gené will be sharing the No. 3 Audi R18 ultra with Frenchmen Romain Dumas and Loïc Duval at Spa.

Does your car make you cringe in a fingernails-on-chalkboard kind of way every time you hit the brakes? Maybe it vibrates in an annoying little way too, making you feel like you're not in complete control? Has the brake-pedal position changed? Do you need to press down harder on said pedal, or did you feel a twinge of worry the last time you had to resort to an emergency braking manoeuvre?

Those are all excellent signs that it's time to get those brakes fixed!

When trying to determine exactly what ails your car so you can replace the correct parts, it's important to take the above symptoms into consideration.

If there's a wheezing sound but no vibrations, the brake pedal doesn't respond as well, and you can't remember the last time you serviced the brakes, you need to change the pads. The noise is caused by a manufacturer safeguard designed to warn the driver that it's time to replace them. Don't wait too long, because the noise will grow fainter and you'll be caught of guard when the brakes fail to respond correctly and the components overheat because the pads are now bare.


Is something vibrating? That means it's time to have the discs “turned” or simply replaced. Some discs are thicker and can be re-machined to obtain a smooth surface again. The discs become warped over time, during heavy emergency braking or because of a stuck calliper that applies constant, uneven pressure on the pads. Changing the discs? Might as well do the pads as well!

Now for the callipers. Generally speaking, you know the callipers need to be swapped when you start having problems with the discs. Do you detect vibrations, constant brake pressure, the smell of something burning? Take the car out for a short jaunt, then check the temperature of your brakes with your fingers. If they're warm, all is as it should be. They're hot? The wheel itself is hot too? Don't waste another second.

Contrary to discs and pads, which come in packs of two, you don't have to change both callipers at the same time. If you return the defective part, you can get a credit on the purchase of a new one. You can put off replacing the part by cleaning the guide pins and applying a generous dollop of grease to the calliper, which you can buy in small packets. One should do.

So you've been over everything and it looks good, but when you drive you feel that the pedal doesn't respond they way it used to. The only culprit left is the hydraulic system, which sends the signal from the pedal to the callipers. The system includes a cylinder at pedal-level, a fluid reservoir and a series of hydraulic lines.

Open the brake fluid reservoir - your owner's manual will tell you which one - and check the level of the fluid. If it's normal, that means something else is wrong. But if it's low, there's a leak somewhere. Break out your flashlight and look for traces of oil and rust on the lines, especially around the kinks and connectors. Check if there's oil on the master cylinder too. And don't forget to take a peek under the car, since the lines reach all the way back to the rear brakes.

From GMM

Ferrari is looking ahead to Barcelona next month, as the famous Italian team plans to begin putting a difficult start to the 2012 season behind it.

Test driver Marc Gene, who is travelling to the grands prix this year, said the F2012 was "born well" but fell behind the other leading teams as the winter pre-season progressed.

"From here it will take time to improve it," he told the Spanish newspaper Diario Sport. "The next big developments will arrive in Barcelona, although at every race the team is making improvements and we know already that the main problem is aerodynamics. It's a car that also has its virtues, as it adapts well to the wet and also warms up the tyres well, but it is a car with a lot of 'drag'; we need better top speed and traction."

Photo: Pirelli

He said, however, that with at least an eight-tenth per lap dry circuit deficit to the ultimate pace, the F2012 is not likely to step to the front of the grid even with a big raft of developments for the Spanish grand prix.

"I have to admit that it (eliminating the entire gap) would be the most dramatic improvement I've seen in the 13 years I have been in formula one. (Improvement) throughout the season is much more feasible. I know that we are working on a very big package and even more positive is that we have the test at Mugello beforehand."

Marc Gene said the best car in the field at present is the McLaren.

"That is the car that works best if you take together all the different elements. Maybe not the fastest in qualifying, nor in the wet, but today it's the best car on the grid," he said.

Fernando Alonso said he is hoping the F2012 becomes "3 or 4 tenths" better at Barcelona.

"All the teams will bring updates," he is quoted by Finland's Turun Sanomat, "so if we could improve 5 or 6 tenths, while the others get only a couple of tenths, it will be better for us."

And Spain's Marca quotes Felipe Massa as saying: "I do expect a much better car in Spain; faster, better balanced and better traction."

The controversial Grand Prix of Bahrain, Round 4 of the 2012 Formula 1 World Championship, is sceduled for this weekend at the Bahrain International Circuit located near the capital, Nanama.

All times are local.

Thursday April 19
15:00: FIA press conference

Friday April 20
10:00 - 11:30: First free practice
14:00 - 15:30: Second free practice
18:30: FIA press conference

Saturday April 21
11:00 - 12:00: Third free practice
14:00 - 15:00: Qualifying
18h00: FIA post qualifying press conference

Sunday April 22
15:00 - 17:00: Bahrain GP
17:00: FIA post race press conference

Last podium in 2010. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel's 2012 struggle looks set to continue for now.

It has emerged that, despite the reigning back-to-back champion preferring the launch version of the RB8, Red Bull has decided that Vettel will drive the latest specification of the car's exhaust layout in Bahrain this weekend.

In China, the team allowed Vettel to go back to the previous spec, while Mark Webber qualified better and finished higher with Adrian Newey's latest developments.

"He can't get the confidence he needs with the car," admitted Dr Helmut Marko on Austrian Servus TV, "and this makes him make uncharacteristic mistakes."

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB8. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

Nonetheless, Red Bull has decided that the 'Webber-specification' exhaust is the right way forward.

"We will go on with the Mark Webber car," Marko confirmed.

As for why the team's Australian driver feels more comfortable in the updated car, Marko surmised: "Mark is less sensitive to the (car's) behaviour. He just needs four wheels, but it's different for Vettel."

From GMM

Statistically, the Chinese grand prix raced straight into the history books as one of the most exciting formula one events of all time.

"For me, we are having some of the best races in formula one history," agreed Jenson Button after finishing Sunday's Shanghai race behind Nico Rosberg.

Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper reports that only three grands prix in the history of the sport played host to more individual overtaking moves.

The report said there were 72 passes in total on Sunday, not including the first corner of the race. Seven of the moves were on Kimi Raikkonen on one lap, after the Lotus driver's Pirelli tyres gave up the ghost.

Last year in Shanghai, there were 63 passes. So far in 2012, there were more overtaking moves in China, Malaysia and Australia compared to the same races last season.

First lap of the Chinese race. (Photo: Pirelli)

Canada 2011 still stands as the site of the most passes during a single grand prix, at 89.

In second place are the 1983 US grand prix and the 2011 Turkish grand prix (79 passes), followed by China last weekend.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh is celebrating the spectacle of the 2012 season so far.

"Who's going to predict who will win?" he said, referring to this weekend's grand prix in Bahrain. "I won't. We've had three very different races and I think we are going to have potentially 20 very different races this year."

From GMM

Two F1 journalists tried their hands at war reporting after touching down in Bahrain ahead of this weekend's controversial grand prix.

"I had a duty as an experienced journalist to see such an incident with my own eyes," said PA Sport's Ian Parkes, who filed a detailed account of a protest about ten kilometres from the capital Manama on Monday.

"We're journalists at end of day. That's our job," he said, also referring to the Daily Mirror's Byron Young, who accompanied him to the non-F1 related protest.

Parkes detailed an account of violence in Bahrain, with Young revealing on Twitter that he "smelled Molotov cocktails and tasted teargas, wondering what the hell F1 is doing in Bahrain".

Parkes, however, said that when they returned to the capital Manama there was "normal life. Virtually nobody here would know what has just occurred".

Photo: Lotus F1 Team

Bahrain's F1 track boss Zayed Alzayani said he thinks other journalists will see more 'normal life' when they arrive throughout this week.

"I think seeing is believing," he told the Bahrain news agency BNA. "I just talked to (Red Bull's) Christian Horner and he has a team there already, and things are normal. They went out for dinner last night and everything is ok."

Staff working for Formula One Management have been in Bahrain for several days and "Bernie (Ecclestone) said everything is fine", added Alzayani.

The Times correspondent Kevin Eason is also already in Bahrain, and he said he counted more than twenty police vehicles on the highway to the Sakhir circuit.

"Protesters will be lucky to get near the formula one circus," he wrote, revealing that the military has been seen this week at Sakhir "complete with body armour and high-velocity weapons".

"No one here is taking a chance with the Bahrain grand prix," said Eason.

"We have not seen anything," agreed team member John Ayers, who along with Nathan Japp is helping to set up Red Bull's garage.

"There is obviously a lot of security around the circuit and you can see the big hotels where the VIP guests will be staying have stepped up their efforts. They are really on their guard. Apart from that, it is all quiet. We have not seen or heard any disturbances, although we know things go on in the villages at night," he explained.

Vicky Piria, Carmen Jorda and Alice Powell are three female drivers who will compete in the GP3 series this season.

Eighteen-year-old Italian Vicky Piria will contest the 2012 season with team Trident Racing. Piria started her racing career in 2009 in Formula 2000 Light Italia, before moving to Formula Abarth in her country in 2010 and 2011, where she was classified 18th overall.

Vicky Piria. (Photo: GP3 series)

Nearly 24-year-old Carmen Jorda from Spain will also make her GP3 debut this season. She started her career in Master Junior Formula in her country in 2005, and then ran the Spanish Formula 3 championship (F3 Open) in the « Cup » category from 2006 to 2009.

In 2010, she moved to the United States to compete in the Indy Lights series, where she was classified 16th at the end of the season. She will run the GP3 championship for team Ocean Racing Technology.

Carmen Jorda. (Photo: GP3 series)

Nineteen-year-old Alice Powell, from Oxford, England, ran in the Formula Renault UK series for three years, and also secured the Formula Renault BARC title in 2010. She struck a deal with Status Grand Prix for the 2012 GP3 season.

Alice Powell. (Photo: GP3 series)

The opening rounds of the GP3 championship will be held in Barcelona, May 12 and 13.

From GMM

Lewis Hamilton has hinted again that he sees his future with McLaren.

Just prior to the new season, the 2008 world champion indicated he would like to renew his deal with the Woking based team in the early phase of this year.

Hamilton's current contract runs out at the end of 2012.

Asked by British publications if he is being persuaded by his boss Martin Whitmarsh to stay, the 27-year-old answered: "I don't need persuading. The team are doing fantastic. I could not be happier in the team."

Also asked if it would be hard for him to leave the team he has spent his entire career with, Hamilton admitted: "Yeah. I don't feel like walking away."

Lewis Hamilton aboard the MP4-27 in the McLaren garage. (Photo: WRi2)

The Briton had a tumultuous 2011 season, but so far in 2012 he has appeared happy as he raced onto the podium at the end of every grand prix.

"Everything is better this year," said Hamilton. "The team is better. The car is better. I am a lot better. I have got my dad here (in China) and that is not fake; we have a real, real good bond now. Things are great and that's reflected in my performances."

Jenson Button, who already has a deal in place for 2013 and beyond, indicated he would like Hamilton to remain his teammate.

"It's good to have competition, it drives the team forward," said the 2009 world champion.

As for when the new deal might be done, Hamilton said the timeframe for talks is open "so long as it is before next year".

From GMM

It is wrong to say Sebastian Vettel has entered a period of "crisis" after winning two world championships on the trot.

That is the insistence of Christian Danner, a former grand prix driver who now commentates on German television RTL.

"It's a results crisis, not a Vettel crisis," he told the news agency DAPD.

He is referring not only to Red Bull's failure to win a race so far in 2012, but the fact former pole position-king Vettel was outqualified in Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain by his teammate Mark Webber.

Webber, meanwhile, has out-scored Vettel at the last two races, and is eight points ahead in the drivers' standings.

Referring to 24-year-old Vettel, Danner insisted: "Great racing drivers, just like other great athletes, have always shown that they develop strongly even in defeat."

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB8. (Photo: WRi2)

The finer detail of Vettel's season so far is that he has struggled so much with the race version of the RB8 car's exhaust layout that the team rolled out the pre-season specification for the German driver in China.

Webber, meanwhile, ploughed on with Adrian Newey's latest specification and performed better in Shanghai.

"There are some characteristics about the upgraded car that weren't particularly suited to his (Vettel's) style of driving which is to carry a lot of speed into the corner," team boss Christian Horner is quoted by Reuters news agency.

A couple of weeks ago, I listed five good reasons to attend a Formula 1 Grand Prix. This exercise proved to be easy and many of you responded with positive comments, especially on social media (thanks, by the way!).

Now, I'm venturing onto some slippery terrain, I guess. I will try to explain you, diehard fans of Formula 1 and other road racing series, why you should also give NASCAR a chance.

Photo: Philippe Champoux/Auto123.TV

''Watching cars go around in circles? Never!''

Oh, come on! There's way more to it than that. Without further ado, here are my five good reasons to attend a NASCAR race:

1. The cars
You may prefer the sophisticated wail of a Formula 1 engine, but the sound of 43 hell-bent V8 engines revving at 9,000+ rpm will shake you to your core - especially on a small, one-mile speedway surrounded by gigantic bleachers that together resemble a modern coliseum.

2. The show
The endless lines of cars trying to access the vast parking lots early in the morning are really a sight to behold. And then just about anyone can walk through the paddocks and the pit lane to watch the teams prepare for the race. When the moment of truth finally arrives, 100,000 rabid spectators can hear the famous ''Gentlemen, start your engines!'' before a group of F18 jets fly over the track at a low altitude. Intense!

3. The crowd
Sure, the average F1 fan looks and acts nothing like the average American stock car enthusiast. The latter usually has anti-US government stickers on his bumper, gorges himself on fast food, wears his favourite driver's apparel from head to toe, and speaks English with a strong southern accent. It's a wild jungle.

4. The admission
Tickets are much cheaper than F1's. They provide a lot more access, too. Unfortunately, nearby hotels seize the opportunity to increase their nightly rates (which is also the case during a Grand Prix), hence the popularity of RVs.

5. The suspense
NASCAR races are always decided on the very last lap. On any weekend, at least 20-25 drivers have a legitimate shot at winning the race. Sometimes, the last guy on the starting grid can come back and even fight for the finish line. While the races are fairly long, watching the last few laps from the stands, surrounded by real aficionados, is definitely worth it!

So, did I convince you?

From GMM

Mercedes' rivals must now count the German team as a serious contender, Nico Rosberg has said after winning his first grand prix in China last weekend.

Shanghai was also the scene of the 26-year-old's first pole and the first works Mercedes victory for over half a century, but Rosberg warned that the W03 is not likely to dominate from now on.

"It's a really interesting season so far," he told Bild newspaper.

First victory for Mercedes AMG and Nico Rosberg. (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

"Until now nobody has really known who is in front, and suddenly we are on top! But we can't think that we will drive around everybody at the next race. We still have (tire) problems in the race, that's for sure, but the others also need to count on us now," said Rosberg.

"We are going to be fast in qualifying at all the races; that's our trump card. And now we know that if we execute the race properly, then we can do it (win) again."

Remember the Honda Accord Wagon from back in the day? The 2012 Honda Crosstour is sort of its modern-day reincarnation.

Nothing on four wheels was more level-headed than a Honda Accord Wagon. Good on fuel, reliable and ready for the "fam," it was one of the ultimate sensible haulers of all time.


Sensibility over style
Like the Accord Wagon before it, Crosstour isn't trying to win any styling awards. From the rear, it resembles an oversized Honda Insight with dual exhausts. Some folks say the side profile reminded them of the Porsche Panamera, which isn't a terrible thing. Others said the Crosstour's body looked awkwardly placed over its wheels, clumsy or even "pregnant."

Looks aside, Crosstour is a Honda Accord-based crossover slotted vaguely between a station wagon and SUV - but less towards the latter. It's big on flexibility and capability without being needlessly big, physically. And despite the expanded cargo space and increased ride height, it intends to feel and drive like a sedan.

From the rear, it resembles an oversized Honda Insight with dual exhausts. (Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com)

Ready for anything
It's a smack in the face to the SUV scene - and a machine that proves one needn't drive a clumsy, hulking 4x4 to experience family-ready utility and AWD confidence.

Camping? Renovating your house? Moving? Just doing a whole whack of shopping? Crosstour is ready for the job. Really, for flexible cargo hauling and versatility, this thing hits the nail on the head. For Honda fans after a high-utility wagon-like vehicle, the Crosstour has been attracting more attention than a laser dot in a cat shelter.

Though the cargo area is narrow in the middle (thank the shock towers), overall roominess is generous. You'll have no trouble loading in larger items after folding the rear seats down with a simple pull on a lever. There's even some extra storage under the cargo area floor to keep smaller items organized and out of sight.

And you'll smile, a bit, because with all of your gear and stuff and things on board, the Crosstour doesn't take up more than its fair share of space or fuel.

For flexible cargo hauling and versatility, this thing hits the nail on the head. (Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com)

No stimulation from the cabin
Incidentally, Crosstour is fairly well set up for cargo of the human variety, too. There's plenty of room for four or five adults on board when all seats are upright. Equipment included heated memory seats, Bluetooth, steering wheel audio controls, USB connectivity and a central command control knob for relatively easy access to numerous infotainment functions.

There's plenty of at-hand storage too - as is typical with most Hondas. You get the sense that engineers and designers worked to optimize virtually every shred of available interior volume.

But ultimately, if you're looking to be excited by your vehicle's interior styling, this isn't going to be the machine for you. It's all very utilitarian, albeit for some fake wood, beige leather and contrasting trim colors tossed in for good measure.

The infotainment system, which occupies prime real estate smack in the centre of the dashboard, lets the cabin atmosphere down a little too. It's terribly overdue for an update. My old Atari video game system had similar graphics about 20 years ago.

Ultimately, the Crosstour's cabin is a nice place to be, but not because of its looks.

It's all very utilitarian, albeit for some fake wood, beige leather and contrasting trim colors tossed in for good measure. (Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com)

The anti-SUV
Still, after a few thousand kilometres, I couldn't help but thinking the Crosstour would make a great mobile office, cottage hauler or weekend tourer. If your ventures take you out in the frigid depths of wintertime, Crosstour's fully automatic all-wheel drive system adds confidence and traction to any situation, too. With a set of winter tires and your careful driving, it'll move around confidently in any weather.

The ride and handling are big-car like and typically smooth and refined, though occasionally harsh over rougher surfaces. Crosstour is comfortable cruising at a good clip and reacts with adequate urgency to any driver input.

VTEC Power
Powering it all up is Honda's proven 3.5L V6 with Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) to selectively deactivate cylinders when the full 271 horsepower output isn't needed. The promise is great on-demand, high-revving power alongside good mileage during gentle driving. Most will find performance to be more than adequate, and your writer achieved overall mileage of about 11L/100km in real-life, late-winter driving. This figure included a 200-km jaunt through the worst snowstorm of the season.

All Crosstour models come with a 5-speed automatic transmission, and a front-wheel drive version is available, too. A four-cylinder engine option will eventually make its way under Crosstour's hood, too.

Powering it all up is Honda's proven 3.5L V6 with Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) to selectively deactivate cylinders when the full 271 horsepower output isn't needed. (Photo: Honda)

Utility first
I appreciated the $38,900 Crosstour EX-L 4WD NAVI's ready and willing attitude to tackle any job I threw its way, as well as the AWD traction and punchy, pleasant-sounding and liquid-smooth V6 engine. And the non-SUV driving feel.

Crosstour isn't trying to set the driving enthusiast's soul on fire or make any styling statements - but if you can treat your vehicle as a transportation-related appliance and prioritize space and functionality above all else, it should satisfy. Ultimately, it's a triumph of sensibility and flexibility over style and passion. Check Crosstour out alongside the Toyota Venza and Subaru Outback.

Dodge Journey R/T AWD

Toyota Venza V6 AWD

Mazda CX-7 GT AWD

2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTEC

Mercedes and Audi are vying for the title of best luxury brand use of a diesel engine. At the moment, Mercedes is winning.

As luxury brands try to appeal to the eco-conscious crowd (and meet upcoming CAFE regulations) we're going to see a lot more diesel or hybrid offerings. Right now Mercedes and Audi are vying for the title of best luxury brand use of a diesel engine outside the traditional SUV segment. At the moment, Mercedes is winning.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTEC - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTEC - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTEC | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Also in this episode: The end is near for the Chevrolet Avalanche, we go for a spin in the

April 14 marked the 85th anniversary of the first Volvo ÖV4 rolling off the assembly line in Göteburg, Sweden.

Drivers of electric vehicles such as GM's Chevrolet Volt and Nissan's Leaf may save as much as $1,200 a year compared with operating a new gasoline-powered compact car, scientists studying improved fuel economy found.

Four years ago, your author was standing on a balcony in the Monterey Bay fog, a calm, midnight moment during the manic event-to-event scramble of Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance week.

The Ford Mustang will get a major makeover for the 2014 model year, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

While luxury supercars have been a status symbol of the new upper class in Russia, owners often have resorted to buying secondhand or going out of the motherland for their latest top-dollar vehicle acquisitions.