Auto News 5

General Motors Brazil's new Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV has little in common with the former Blazer.

General Motors (GM) is accelerating the development of electrified vehicles in China, the company's senior technology leader has said.

News 28 Nov, 2012

The all-new Porsche Cayman and Cayman S have made their world debut at the LA Motor Show

Pictures 28 Nov, 2012

News 28 Nov, 2012

The all-new, fourth-generation Toyota RAV4 has made its official debut at the LA Motor Show

Toyota's decision to concentrate European Auris production in the UK instead of split with Turkey means that 28% of all the company's spend on parts for its European factories is now in the UK.

News 28 Nov, 2012

We get a look around BMW’s new project ‘i’ carbon-fibre plant in Washington

Saab AB's receivers are auctioning off a number of cars including models of which only a few were made, as well as those the defunct automaker began to produce but which never made it to market.

Pictures 28 Nov, 2012

Pictures 28 Nov, 2012

Russian carmaker Avtotor Holding Ltd. and Magna International have announced full details of a cooperation agreement in Kaliningrad, Russia, to establish an automotive manufacturing cluster. Avtotor and Magna executives were joined by Russian government officials for the official signing of the agreement.

Russian carmaker Avtotor Holding Ltd. and Magna International have announced a cooperation agreement in Kaliningrad, Russia, to establish an automotive manufacturing cluster.

From press release

The Williams F1 Team is pleased to announce that Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas will be the team's race drivers for the 2013 season.

2013 will be Pastor's third season with the team and comes on the back of a successful 2012 that saw him win the Spanish Grand Prix in commanding style. Valtteri has been the Williams F1 Team's test driver since 2010. In his role as reserve driver Valtteri has taken part in a number of this season's Friday practice sessions, impressing with his pace and maturity from the outset.

Commenting on his contract renewal for 2013, Pastor said: "I'm really enjoying my time with Williams and I was obviously very happy when I was told that I would be continuing with the team in 2013. 2012 was a memorable year for me with the win in Barcelona and we made a big step forward in terms of performance."

Pastor Maldonado, winner of the Spanish Grand Prix this season. (Photo: WRi2)

Speaking about his new role, Valtteri commented: "It has always been my life-long dream to compete in the Formula One World Championship. To do so with one of the most legendary teams in the sport is incredibly special. I've really enjoyed my three years with Williams so far and feel very at home here so my goal was always to stay for 2013 and progress to a race seat."

Valtteri Bottas and Toto Wolff. (Photo: Williams F1 Team)

Sir Frank Williams, Founder and Team Principal, said: "In Pastor and Valtteri we have two of the most exciting talents in motor racing and I am especially excited about what 2013 can bring for Williams. Pastor has always demonstrated remarkable pace and this year has seen him mature as a racing driver. Valtteri is quite simply one of the most talented young racing drivers I have come across and we expect great things from him in the future. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our departing driver Bruno Senna for his hard work over the past year and wish him the best of luck going forward."

The Harper administration wants to be on the same page as the U.S. when it comes to vehicle fuel consumption, which is why it yesterday proposed new regulations for passenger cars and light trucks from model years 2017 to 2025.

As reported earlier this month, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards in Uncle Sam's land will increase to 54.5 mpg (4.4L/100km) by the 2025 model year.

"These new regulations improve fuel efficiency so that by 2025 new cars will consume 50% less fuel and emit 50% less GHGs than a similar 2008 model, leading to significant savings at the pump," said Environment Minister Peter Kent. "At today's gas prices, a Canadian driving a model year 2025 vehicle would pay, on average, around $900 less per year compared to driving today's new vehicles."

Meanwhile, the Canadian government has included greater regulatory incentives for advanced technology vehicles such as EVs and plug-in hybrids for model years 2011 to 2016.

From MF2

Bruno Senna was aware of the team's long term plans for some time already, and he accepted the choice of Williams F1 driver line up for the next season which was announced earlier this morning in Great Britain.

The teams confirmed Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas for the 2013 F1 season.

"Since the beginning of my program with Williams I accepted that I had to share the car with Valtteri Bottas in 15 Fridays as a part of his preparation for a likely debuts in 2013", Bruno explained.

"It has been extremely satisfying to be the team's most regular point scorer and for me to demonstrate my pace in all 20 races. I have learned a lot and improved considerably through the season. I have had a relatively short career so far and feel as though I have come a long way in just a few years".

Photo: MF2

Senna showed a special gratitude to Sir Frank Williams, a name strongly linked to Formula 1 history.

"I would like to thank the whole team and particularly Frank for giving me the chance of completing my first full season in F1. It has been extremely rewarding to develop the Williams FW34 into a consistently competitive race car and cracking the challenge of the Pirelli tires has been just one of the satisfying points,” the Brazilian driver added.

After fullfilling a busy sponsors agenda at the beginning of the week, Senna returned to Europe last night convinced that today he is a much better driver than the one that started the championship in March in Australia.

"I had some notable achievements this year, such as the fastest lap in the Belgian GP, my favourite track, scoring points on a regular basis and making up many many places through the races. Regularly racing in the top ten has certainly been a step forward in my still relatively short career and has allowed me to further sharpen up my race craft. Working with a competitive and supportive engineering team like Williams has left me well prepared for the next step in my career", Senna said.

Bruno Senna will confirm his Formula 1 plans soon.

Boucherville Mitsubishi recently sold the 200th i-MiEV in Canada to a lucky couple from Beloeil, Quebec. François Carignan and Josée Giroux will use their brand new Ocean Blue all-electric car for their daily commutes around the Greater Montreal area.

''Mitsubishi is a pioneer of mainstream electric vehicles in Canada. We were not surprised to learn the 200th sale occurred in Quebec, a province that is both an early adopter of electric vehicles and supports the strongest demand for i-MiEV,'' said Tony Laframboise, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada.

Mitsubishi has 43 certified i-MiEV dealerships across Canada, serving electric car buyers in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island.

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV achieves the equivalent of 1.9L/100km (city) and 2.1L/100km (city/highway). EnerGuide projects its annual energy costs at $449. By comparison, the average new vehicle is rated at 10L/100km and requires $12,600 to fuel over five years.

Photo: Mitsubishi

Wednesday morning, Williams F1 Team announced that Finland's Valtteri Bottas is their new race driver alongside Pastor Maldonado for the 2013 Formula 1 World Championship. Who is this newcomer?

Bottas was born August 28, 1989, in the city of Villädhe, Finland.

The teenager started his career like most other aspriring drivers (in karting), winning the ICA Viking Trophy in 2005.

He began racing cars the following year in the Formula Renault 2.0 category in Great Britain.

Valtteri Bottas, GP3 Champion in 2011. (Photo: GP3 Series)

Bottas' big break came in 2008 when he won the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, where he took five wins, and also claimed the title in the British NEC FR 2.0 series as well.

Bottas then moved up to the Formula 3 Euroseries where he ranked third overall in 2009. He also won the F3 Masters at Zandvoort, one of the most prestigious races of the year in F3.

In 2010, Bottas was named Wiliams' official test driver while he continued to race in the Euro F3 championship.

The Finn claimed the GP3 series' title the year after, taking four wins with team Lotus ART.

Valtteri Bottas driving the FW34 in Malaysia, during the Friday morning session. (Photo: WRi2)

In 2012, Bottas was Williams' reserve driver and piloted Bruno Senna's FW34 on 15 Friday free practice sessions. His career is managed by Christian “Toto” Wolff, a shareholder of the Williams F1 Team.

A recent survey by Goodyear revealed that North American drivers may not be well prepared for the upcoming winter. Now, the Rubber Association of Canada (RAC) and the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) have both published a report to confirm the importance of winter tires.

The RAC points out that, since the government of Quebec made winter tires mandatory in 2008, the number of accidents with injuries in the province has dropped by 5%.

Meanwhile, according to the TIRF, the benefits of using winter tires are not understood by many Canadian drivers. More effective than all-season tires when temperatures drop below 7 degrees Celsius, winter tires shorten braking distances by up to 30% whether the road surface is dry, slushy, icy or covered in snow.

Nationally, a mere 52% of drivers use winter tires. Many others believe that these tires are only useful in regions with lots of snow, or on vehicles without ABS or all-wheel drive. However, these systems require sufficient traction to be effective, and winter tires provide that needed traction.

So, what are you waiting for?

Photo: Matthieu Lambert

On Wednesday, the Caterham Technology director Mike Gascoyne began his first solo transatlantic crossing.

The British engineer, who is sailing a class 40 racing yacht, left the harbour of Cascais, Portugal, and expects to reach Grenada in 16 days (depending on the weather conditions) for a total distance of 5,000 km or 3,200 miles.

Photo: Caterham Group

Mike Gascoyne, who is the former technical director of several Formula 1 teams, including Renault and Toyota, is a sensation seeker. He raced old F1 cars in the BOSS Championship in the past, and has also climbed some high altitude summits.

Image: Caterham F1

Gascoyne prepared his first transatlantic crossing attempt with a crew from Caterham Composites as well as members from Alex Thomson racing team -- Thompson currently competes in the Vendée Globe, a prestigious solo race around the world that began November 10.

Photo: Caterham Group

From GMM

Heikki Kovalainen is a candidate to replace the fast but inconsistent Romain Grosjean at Lotus, the Finnish broadcaster MTV3 reports.

The highly rated Finn Kovalainen is on the market because Caterham is reportedly considering signing the pay-driver Giedo Van der Garde.

However, MTV acknowledged that Frenchman Grosjean, despite Lotus' deliberations and the 26-year-old's numerous incidents in 2012, is "more likely" than Kovalainen to line up alongside Kimi Raikkonen next season.

Romain Grosjean's seat is coveted. (Photo: Lotus F1 Team)

But Germany's authoritative Auto Motor und Sport said there is truth behind reports Lotus is seriously considering ousting Grosjean.

"Many suspect that Gerard Lopez will persuade Grosjean's sponsor Total to spend more money," read the report by correspondents Tobias Grunen and Michael Schmidt. "But even Total has a problem with this protege. The French oil company has a safety campaign for public roads, and the face of a 'crash driver' doesn't fit."