Auto News 5

Brazil's Miguel Paludo and Turner Motorsports announced that the driver will return in 2013 in NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series.

Crew chief, Jeff Hensley, will also be back to lead the No 32. Silverado team from atop the pit box.

Paludo also made history in the 2012 season-opener at Daytona International Speedway by becoming the first Brazilian driver to win a pole in one of NASCAR's top-three series. Paludo concluded the 2012 season 10th in the NCWTS point standings, his best points finish in two full-time seasons of Truck Series competition.

Miguel Paludo. (Photo: Turner Motorsports)

"I am very happy to announce that I will be returning to Turner Motorsports in 2013," said Paludo. "I joined Turner Motorsports because I believed that it was an organization where I could race competitively, and I am very excited to have the opportunity to continue to compete for what was, without a doubt, the most successful team in our series in 2012.

The fact that we closed out the last season with a championship trophy and all three of our full-time trucks in the top-10 in points says a lot for what our organization is capable of. I am excited to continue working with [crew chief] Jeff Hensley and my same group of guys, and I think it's very possible that it will be the No. 32 team sitting at the head table at the banquet next year."

Turner Motorsports captured its first NASCAR championship in 2012 when James Buescher took the NCWTS title on the strength of four wins. In only its third season of full-time NCWTS competition, Turner Motorsports totaled seven Truck Series wins, in addition to three victories in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The organization announced in November that Jeb Burton would be competing full-time in the NCWTS in 2013, with additional driver lineup and program details forthcoming.

The Los Angeles Auto Show is now greener than ever with an invasion of hybrid and electric vehicles such as the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV, which will initially go on sale next summer in select markets including California, Oregon, Canada, and South Korea.

GM announces class-leading range without getting into specifics. The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV comes with dual 7'' LCD screens and a range indicator that takes road conditions and driving style into account.

It will be the first electric vehicle to offer SAE Combo DC Fast Charging capability, restoring the battery to an 80% charge in just 20 minutes. Using a dedicated 240V outlet, the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV fully charges in less than seven hours.

Expect 0-60 mph (96 km/h) acceleration in under 8 seconds thanks to a 20 kWh lithium-ion battery and 110 kW (130 hp) electric motor.

The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV should retail for around $25,000 in the U.S. Stay tuned for Canadian pricing.

Photo: Chevrolet

The iconic Batmobile from the 1960s TV series Batman will be auctioned on January 19th, 2013 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Inspired from the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept, the car was shaped into a crime-fighting machine by famous customizer George Barris, instantly becoming a classic for the ages.

Over the years, various Batmobile replicas have fetched around $250,000, and while the auction house won't say how much it hopes to get for the original, some believe the bids will reach a few million dollars.

Source: Lapresse

Photo: Barris.com

Intercontinental Rally Challenge's champion Juho Hanninen left Team Skoda to join Ford M-Sport to contest two events of the 2013 World Rally Championship.

The Finn, who also secured the European Rally Championship title this season, wil, compete at the top level of world rallying as he will drive a Ford Fiesta WRC next season.

For the moment, there are only two rallies planned for Hanninen : Monte Carlo and Sweden, the opening rounds of the 2013 season. However, the IRC champion aims to contest the entire season alongside his new co-driver Tomi Tuoninen.

Ford Fiesta WRC, M-Sport. (Photo: WRC)

Juho Hanninen will compete as a private entry, and not under the official Qatar M-Sport colours alongside Mads Ostberg. The Norwegian driver may be joined by Russian driver Evgeny Novikov, which would let veteran Petter Solberg without a drive for next season.

I'm looking at the latest edition of Desrosiers Automotive Reports, which breaks down each brand's sales by region, and notes some interesting numbers. Here are a few significant and obvious ones:

Ontario
National sales proportion: 37%
In Canada's biggest vehicle market, the luxury brands are doing very well. Land Rover, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Lexus, and Jaguar move between 41% and 54% of their total Canadian sales in this province.

British Columbia
National sales proportion: 10%
Ah, the land of the fortwo; smart sells a staggering 48% of their total Canadian volume in BC. Land Rover is also doing well at 24%, while most luxury brands boast above-average percentages.

Prairies
National sales proportion: 20%
Unsurprisingly, trucks rule in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, racking up 27% of total Canadian light truck sales. The Prairies is a big market for GM (29%), Ford (27.5%) and Chrysler (27%), while small-car brands such as MINI, Fiat and smart are just about nonexistent here.

Atlantic
National sales proportion: 8%
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland are not big markets for auto manufacturers. Still, a few brands enjoy above-average numbers, such as Hyundai and Toyota at 10% as well as Honda, Suzuki, GM, Mitsubishi and Kia, all at 9%. The luxury brands perform poorly here, with between 1% and 4% of total national sales.

Quebec
National sales proportion: 25%
As opposed to the Prairies, cars rule in La Belle Province, as 32% of all cars sold in Canada roll off Quebec dealer lots. A few brands concentrate their efforts here; almost one out of two Suzuki vehicles are sold there (45%), while Mitsubishi (39%), Subaru (38%), Kia (38%), Mazda (37%), Fiat (36%), Scion (35%), Hyundai (34%) and Volkswagen (33%) please a lot of Quebec small-car shoppers. Underachievers obviously include GM, Ford and Chrysler, who all rely heavily on their light-truck sales in Canada.

Territories
National sales proportion: probably 0%
There are very few dealers up here. Ford, GM and Chrysler each have a dealer in Yukon and one in the Northwest Territories. Honda, Kia, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota also have a dealership in Yukon. Due to their low volume, their numbers have been added to adjacent regions.

Source: Desrosiers Automotive Reports, 3Q YTD 2012

The 2012/2013 season of the Andros Trophy ice racing series held in France will kick off this weekend at Val Thorens. Here is the entry list of the two mains categories : the Silhouette (powered by thermal engines) and the Androscar electric.

It is interesting to note that two of last year's bigger teams -- Skoda France and Dacia -- are not back this season. This means that some big stars of the Trophy, such as Alain Prost, Jacques Villeneuve, Franck Lagorce, Nicolas Prost and others will not be competing this year.

The Andros Trophy will likely feature smaller, private teams that have access to limited financial and technical ressources, which is a very good thing for the sport.

ANDROS SILHOUETTES

N°   Team  Car  Drivers
01   SpeedAventure.com  Citroën DS3  Benjamin RIVIERE
02  Saintéloc Racing  MINI   Jean Philippe DAYRAUT
03  Tork Eurodatacar  Dacia Lodgy  Berenice DEMOUSTIER Olivier PANIS
04  DA Racing  Renault Cio III  Jean Baptiste DUBOURG - Andréa DUBOURG
05  SpeedAventure.com   Citroen DS3  Laurent BARBIERI
07  Sainteloc Racing  MINI  Bertrand BALAS - Gerald FONTANEL
08  SpeedAventure.com  Citroën DS3  Jean Pierre PERNAUT - Olivier PERNAUT
09  Sainteloc Racing   Ford Fiesta  Guy MOTTARD - Didier THORAL
10  Racing Devt PHYLAMY   Toyota Auris  Lionel DAZIANO - Serge LUBRANO
11  Sainteloc Racing  Ford Fiesta  Eddy BENEZET - Dominique CHIANALE
12  Knapick Compétition  BMW série 1  Anne Sophie LEMONNIER - Herve KNAPICK
14  Sodifuel Racing  Renault Cio III  Cyril CALMON - Guillaume MAILLARD
15  Saintéloc Racing Ford  Fiesta   Ludovic GHERARDI - Thierry JONCOUX

ANDROSCARS ELECTRIC

N°  Partner  Car   Drivers
01   PILOT   Andros Car 04  Adrien TAMBAY
02  STEF   Andros Car 04  Olivier PERNAUT
03  ANDROS  Andros Car 04   Franck LAGORCE
04  SAFT   Andros Car 04   Matthieu VAXIVIERE
05  MOTUL  Systems Andros Car 04  Stephane ORTELLI
06  METROPOLE NICE COTE D'AZUR  Andros Car 04  Christophe FERRIER
07  PICARD  Andros Car 04  Margot LAFFITE
08  ALD  Automotive Andros Car 04  Louis GERVOSON
09  La SUN   Andros Car 04   To be Announced
10  TROPHEE ANDROS  Andros Car 04  Charlotte BERTON

2012/2013 CALENDAR

December 8-9, 2012        Val Thorens
December 14-15, 2012    Androrra
December 21-22, 2012    Alpe D'Huez
January 11-12, 2013        Isola 2000
January 18-19, 2013        Lans en Vercors
January 26, 2013        Saint-Dié des Vosges
February2, 2013        Clermont Ferrand/Super Besse

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is all about numbers bestowed upon it by an engineering team concerned with your bragging rights. Namely, you get a 6.2L “LSA” V8 good for 580 horses and the better part of 560 lb-ft of torque. That's thanks, in part, to a belt-driven Eaton supercharger the size of a toaster oven.


Some serious output
Owning a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is sort of like owning a bazooka. Both use combustion to propel metal quickly through the air, and can be dangerous to operate. Neither are useful, but, man oh man, if you had a bazooka, you just know some cool stuff would happen.

So, the 2013 Camaro ZL1 has a whole lot of power. Enough to, say, put you sideways through an intersection if you (theoretically) dropped your right foot to clear a (theoretical) yellow traffic light on a mid-fall morning while the road's surface was a bit on the cold side. Did I mention the ZL1's traction control is a bit on the “relaxed” side?

Tame, as needed
On the one hand, the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 can be remarkably tame and uneventful. Clutch take-up is firm and easy, if a little heavy. You could take off in fourth in the Camaro ZL1, if you wanted. You can even get an automatic transmission (don't). The engine makes scarcely more than a muted, crackling burble when driven gently through traffic. Gears shift easily and with minimal effort.

When driving the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 gently, the tremendous amount of unused power translates into a sheer sense of effortlessness and unused awesomeness. Driving the ZL1 modestly is like going to Barberian's Steakhouse and having a salad.

It's easygoing on board, too. Terrible outward visibility and cheap trim aside, there's decent at-hand storage in the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, a very modern touchscreen radio, a great stereo, and fairly logical control layout.

The big, comfortable seats are superb, even for very large folks. You can relax in here, even if you're north of 300 and afraid of celery. The ZL1 even rides nicely, thanks to a fantastically tuned Magnetic Ride Control suspension system borrowed from the Corvette.

Owning a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is sort of like owning a bazooka. (Photo: Justin Pritchard)

Lurking performance
However, those 580 horses are always there; as is the handling tuned to benchmark the Corvette Grand Sport. And the fact that available performance figures will embarrass AMGs and Porsches costing numerous times as much.

And the 2013 Camaro ZL1 always tells you that (while you're behaving yourself) you're wasting its potential.

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fires up with a nearly distasteful belch. You can hear the gears engaging and the rear differential whining. Ditto for the pebbles and sand as it's flung from gummy-bear-sticky tires against the wheel wells. Should a bump in the road cause a sudden poke on the throttle, the Camaro ZL1 leaps forward as if it's been rear-ended by a rhinoceros.

Translation? The 2013 Camarao ZL1 can play nice -- but it never really lets you forget that it's ready to go. It's always inviting you to open it up.

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fires up with a nearly distasteful belch. (Photo: Justin Pritchard)

Careful....
Accept the invitation by hammering down in first on some bare, warm pavement, and it lurches ahead in a startlingly way as if it's had a cattle prod shoved into its backside. Usually, there's no squirming or sliding, just traction, grip, a massive increase in speed, and NASCAR sound effects pumped thickly into the cabin.

Get to banging some gears in the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and mere seconds separate you from “step out of the car please” territory should you wind up on the wrong end of a radar gun.

Mind you, massive Brembo brakes make decelerating just as instantaneous and abrupt in the Camaro ZL1 as getting up to speed. A good stab on the middle pedal will get you out of demerit-point territory in quick order when the radar detector goes off. Steering, handling, grip and even high-speed brake-system durability are all right there, too.

Too Much
Unmistakably, this is a car with performance far exceeding what any driver needs on a public road. Realistically, on said public roads, you can drive the bejesus out of the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in brief, carefully dosed chunks when nobody's looking. The rest of the time, you enjoy the looks and noises, and the flocks of nearby youngsters loudly demanding to see a burnout or hear the supercharger.

The 2013 Camaro ZL1, like the even more powerful and license-threatening new Mustang Shelby GT500, demands massive respect. And forget that the Chevrolet doesn't smash the 600-horsepower mark, because anything beyond about 500 ponies on the road is way too much, anyhow. For both Chevrolet and Ford, the power alone is going to sell a lot of units.

Is the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 an insane thing to drive? Is it unmanageable? Scary? Menacing? Will it get your driver's license shredded by an angry radar-cop with a thick moustache and set of Ray-Bans? That's largely up to the communication between your right foot and the warm, grey mass between your ears.

Adapted from GMM

Dr Helmut Marko has hit back at Fernando Alonso, after the Spaniard recently said his real championship rival is Red Bull designer Adrian Newey.

"Our Spanish adversary does not seem quite up to date with his knowledge of the quality of Herr Vettel," Dr Helmut Marko, a leading figure at the reigning champion team, said at a celebratory event in Graz, Austria. "Yes, Vettel races in a Newey car, but he (Alonso) seems to have missed that we put two of them (Newey cars) at the start, and at the end it is always Vettel who wins."

Speaking after the FIA rejected Ferrari's challenge to Sebastian Vettel's title over a disputed yellow flag pass at the 2012 Brazil finale, the leading Red Bull Racing official : "He seems to have problems if he doesn't win. When he (Alonso) doesn't win, then he develops incredible political skills."

It was rumoured that the Alonso camp got fully behind the campaign to disseminate the video evidence of Vettel's allegedly illegal overtaking throughout the internet.

The German Grand Prix, this Summer, has been the last victory of Alonso and Ferrari in 2012. (Photo: WRi2)

As for next year, Helmut Marko has no problem admitting that Red Bull will be a favourite, "We assume that we will have a competitive car. Why should things change so much? We have the same team."

Also essentially the same in 2013 will be the regulations, leaving Marko to point out that the one changing element will be Pirelli's significantly different tires. And he thinks Ferrari will continue to be the main enemy.

"McLaren has been weakened significantly by the departure of Hamilton," said the Austrian. "Despite what Niki Lauda says, I don't see the possibility that he (Hamilton) will be racing for the championship (at Mercedes). That leaves only Ferrari. It will surely be a tough fight with them again."

After Rio de Janeiro, Rome has been confirmed on the calendar of the new Formula E championship, for electric single seaters, that will be launched in 2014.

The Italian capital is the first European city to appear on the Formula E calendar, a championship that has received the FIA label this year.

Two races in the United States should be announced soon. An Asian round will probably be announced in January 2013. Barcelona and Pau are set to be part of the calendar, the French city having already staged an electric Grand Prix in the past, featuring the electric cars of the Andros Trophy.



The Formula E cars are developed with McLaren and Spark Racing Technology, a company headed by GP2 team ART Grand Prix's boss Frederic Vasseur.

The first year of Formula E will feature ten rounds, and the organisers target a field of ten teams with two drivers each for the opening round.

Dominion Dealer Solutions, a major dealership software company, is launching a dealership management system to challenge heavyweights ADP Dealer Services and Reynolds and Reynolds.

Toyota expects to boost U.S. sales at its Lexus luxury division next year even though taxes on the wealthy may rise as a result of a federal budget deal, the brand's global marketing chief said.

Toyota is still struggling to revive sales in China, part of a broader slump Japanese car firms are suffering as a result of a diplomatic dispute between the countries.

News 2 Dec, 2012

Great designs on the horizon from Toyota’s Calty Design Research facility

Pictures 2 Dec, 2012

News 2 Dec, 2012

Lexus could build two new coupes, as part of its design-focussed future

Pictures 2 Dec, 2012

Porsche has given its new small Macan SUV a bolder look after seeing the success of the Range Rover Evoque, according to Michael Mauer, the sports car maker's design chief.

Tough choice: When a high-end luxury sedan is so beautiful, so powerful and so soothing to drive, would you prefer being seen in the backseat or behind the wheel?

In the 2013 Bentley Mulsanne, both choices are right.


Hand-built in Bentley's factory in Crewe, England, the Bentley Mulsanne is the brand's flagship, replacing the Arnage last year. This car is big: it stretches more than 18 feet long, and weighs just under 6,000 lbs. With a base price of $358,160 CDN, it's also quite expensive -- depending on what you do for a living.

If the 2013 Bentley Mulsanne must be described in a single word, it would be: “smooth.” There is nothing violent, aggressive or hard-edged about the car, either in the way in drives, the way it flaunts its curvaceous sheetmetal or in the way people will perceive it as it serenely slips through the scenery.

The 6¾ Litre V8 lives on
Introduced way back in 1959, Bentley's traditional 6.75L V8 keeps on going after another round of modifications. Force-fed by two turbochargers, the engine develops 505 hp, a stump-pulling 752 lb-ft of torque, and redlines at just 4,500 rpm. The 0 to 100 km/h dash takes 5.3 seconds and (believe it or not) this mastodon can reach 296 km/h.

The V8 also features modern technology such as cylinder deactivation and camshaft phasing, while being managed by an 8-speed automatic transmission with wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

Fuel economy in the 2013 Bentley Muslanne is rated at 20.4/11.9 L/100km city/highway, and Bentley actually touts the latest version of the V8 to be 15% more efficient than the one in the retired Arnage, Azure and Brooklands models (which is true), but you probably don't care, and neither will buyers. The engine can also run on E85 ethanol; again, I'm going to assume no one gives a flying -- ah, Spur -- about that.

What's amazing about the engine is the way it fluidly dishes out its prodigious amounts of torque. Power delivery comes on in a silky rush, yet is never violent. You wonder how you got up to speed so quickly, without feeling the car's thrust.

That's nice; after all, if you want neck-snapping, nosebleed-inducing acceleration, I don't think you'd be shopping at Bentley anyhow.

The 0 to 100 km/h dash takes 5.3 seconds and (believe it or not) this mastodon can reach 296 km/h. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

High-fashion cockpit
Step inside the 2013 Bentley Mulsanne and you'll be welcomed by an orgy of wood, scented leather and chrome. Like sitting in a bank vault, closing the door seals you off from the outside world: all you hear is the ticking of your watch.

Press the engine start button, and you'll barely feel the Mulsanne quiver as the big V8 spins to life. Even on the highway at 100 km/h, the engine is sleepwalking at 1,400 rpm, so the cabin remains oh-so silent.

Those used to sitting in Audi products will recognize the MMI multimedia system in the 2013 Bentley Mulsanne. The 8” screen hides behind a motorized and wood-trimmed cover, a nice touch for preventing modern technology from clashing with the old-school elegance of the dashboard. The switchgear is easy to operate for folks of all ages.

Rear-seat occupants are treated just as well, with an excellent amount of legroom and separate climate controls. As in our tester, you can get veneered fold-down picnic tables for cheque signing on-the-go. They cost $3,070, but hey, that's pocket change, right?

Like sitting in a bank vault, closing the door seals you off from the outside world. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Put it on my tab
I don't think anyone walks into a Bentley showroom and asks for a base, no-options, stripped Mulsanne. This one is no exception: as tested, it retails for more than $394,000 CAD. The Maybach brand is going away, so that's one less competitor to think about; the only other true rival is the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

That's lot of dough for a car. Actually, that's a lot of dough for a house, especially in my town. You'd expect some kind of magic to happen while driving the 2013 Bentley Mulsanne, but it doesn't. It doesn't get your adrenaline pumping, and it doesn't entice you to drive four cities away just to pick up a quart of milk.

What the 2013 Bentley Muslanne does do is exclusivity. You get a lavishly sumptuous, painstakingly crafted work of art that is perfect for soothing, relaxing commutes whether you're sitting in the back seat or the front one.

Thank you to Bentley Montreal (www.decarie.com) for making this test drive possible.

From GMM

HRT is missing from the FIA's official entry list for 2013.

It was already known that the Spanish team has not signed the crucial Concorde Agreement for next season and beyond, and that staff had been told in Brazil the outfit will fold within a week if a buyer is not immediately found.

Photo: Pirelli

A brawl reportedly broke out at HRT's Madrid headquarters after the Brazilian grand prix, when mechanics returning from Sao Paulo were due to receive redundancy compensation.

F1's other eleven teams were all listed on the FIA's 2013 entry list, published by the governing body on Saturday evening.

It is not the final version, however, as several teams have yet to inform the FIA of their driving lineups.



2013 FIA Formula One World Championship Entry List (provisional)

1.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2.Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
3.Fernando Alonso (Scuderia Ferrari)
4.Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari)
5.Jenson Button (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes)
6.Sergio Perez (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes)
7.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus F1 Team)
8.TBA (Lotus F1 Team)
9.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team)
10.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team)
11.TBA (Sauber F1 Team)
12.TBA (Sauber F1 Team)
14.TBA (Sahara Force India F1 Team)
15.TBA (Sahara Force India F1 Team)
16.Pastor Maldonado (Williams F1 Team)
17.Valtteri Bottas (Williams F1 Team)
18.TBA (Scuderia Toro Rosso)
19.TBA (Scuderia Toro Rosso)
20.TBA (Caterham F1 Team)
21.TBA (Caterham F1 Team)
22.TBA (Marussia F1 Team)
23.TBA (Marussia F1 Team)

BMW development driver Marco Wittmann will make his race debuts in DTM next season as he was promoted by the german squad.

23-year-old Marco Wittmann made his racing debuts in German Formula BMW that he ran in 2007 and 2008. He moved up to F3 Euroseries the following year, and finished runner up of the series in 2010 and 2011.

In 2012, the young german driver worked as test driver at the wheel of the BMW M3 DTM.

Wittmann will drive the seventh M3 DTM in next year's championship. To drive the 8th and last car available, BMW tested Italian driver Luca Filippi last week. Alessandro Zanardi too tried the M3 DTM, adapted to his handicap, at the Nürburgring.

According to Citroën Racing, Robert Kubica refused an offer to drive in DTM for BMW next season.