Auto News 5

Renault aims to grow its market share in emerging markets with the launch of two low-cost vehicles, one of which would challenge the Tata Nano in India, a French news Web site reported.

China's passenger-vehicle sales will expand by an average 8 percent a year to reach 22 million in 2020, driven by demand for SUVs and rising incomes in smaller cities, according to a report from McKinsey.

China's passenger-vehicle sales will expand by an average 8 percent a year to reach 22 million in 2020, driven by demand for sport-utility vehicles and rising incomes in smaller cities, according to a report from McKinsey and Co.

Toyota is rolling out two precrash safety systems that it says will help prevent high-speed collisions and pedal-misapplication accidents. The technology will debut soon in a high-end Toyota-brand sedan.

Chrysler Group will sell less than half as many 2013 SRT Vipers all of next year as it sold Jeep Patriots in October. Executives with the automaker's new Street and Racing Technology brand are OK with that.

The battle for the top spot in luxury car sales over the next decade likely will be decided by who wins the largest share of the expanding market for smaller premium cars. Current No.

The battle for the top spot in luxury car sales over the next decade likely will be decided by who wins the largest share of the expanding market for smaller premium cars. Current No.

French supplier Valeo is poised to become North America's second-largest producer of climate-control systems, breaking a tie with Visteon, now that the company has formed a joint venture to acquire operations producing those systems from Ford.

Nissan Motor, hoping to boost disappointing sales for the Leaf electric car, said it has improved the driving range of its alternative-fuel vehicle by 14 percent and lowered its price tag.

Our cars, trucks and SUVs don't like being forced into action on a cold morning any more than we do -- let alone after sleeping outside, covered in ice and salt.

Yet, Canadians everywhere will soon begin waking up their Hondas and Dodges, and Fords and Volkswagens at 30-below, then setting off with little thought about the cruel challenges posed by the extreme temperatures.

Simply; your car is expected to perform the same way, every day of the year, cold or not.

For a closer look at how automakers ensure that's the case, I talked to Hayato Mori, Honda Canada's Manager of Product Planning.

Photo: Matthieu Lambert

Justin Pritchard (JP): How do you make sure a car will start without being plugged in at temperatures that make us cringe?

Hayato Mori (HM): For gasoline to be ignited by a spark plug, it needs to be in vapor form -- and not much evaporates in the cold.

Even before start-up, the car knows air temperature, pressure and flow, as well as engine temperature, speed and location of the engine within the cycle. This allows the injectors to spray a fine fuel mist in ideal amounts, at the perfect time, to maximize the likelihood of combustion.

And, thankfully, most of the things that make for an efficient engine, like low friction, precise measurement and good fuel control, also make for an easier cold start. Some credit has to be given to the fuel companies, too. All gasoline distributors in Canada provide a “winter fuel” to help the fuel vaporize when cold.

JP: Does Honda have a minimum standard temperature at which vehicles must be able to start?

HM: We sell cars in Russia, Northern Europe and all over Canada. The customer expectation is the same globally: “It has to start.” This is our target.

JP: Can you share any specific exercises that vehicles are put through in cold weather testing?

HM: The testing after development has been completed is focused on making sure the car works as expected in the hands of a Canadian customer. How quickly the car warms up, defrosts and starts is one example. Getting you through the drive-thru without any annoyances is one of our tests, too.

JP: Any big challenges to predict for future winter or performance testing?

HH: As engine size decreases and vehicle interiors grow, ensuring a car with a small engine and a large interior can keep the passengers warm in extreme cold may require creative solutions. But currently we have no issues keeping our Honda Fit customers warm in extreme cold with traditional, well designed and sized HVAC and cooling systems coupled to an efficient engine.

JP: Where is cold weather testing performed?

HM: Cold temperature testing starts on the tiniest clip, hinge or circuit board in “cold chambers” worldwide by suppliers before they are considered for use. Design and development groups then test vehicles in environmental chambers to make sure it all works as expected when assembled.

There's no replacement for real-world testing, and Honda engineers can be found on frozen ice roads worldwide, including northern Canada.

From GMM

Fernando Alonso still has a significant chance of winning the 2012 world championship this weekend.

That is the view of 1996 title winner Damon Hill, who named the Spaniard as probably the toughest challenger Sebastian Vettel could possibly face for the Interlagos showdown.

"If he had any other opponent, I would say that Sebastian would definitely win with his 13 points advantage," the Briton told the German newspaper Die Welt.

"But you can't write off someone like Fernando Alonso. He is such a clever and tough driver and he always seems to pull off something extraordinary. Anything is possible in Brazil."

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) at Monza. (Photo: WRi2)

Nonetheless, the mainly Ferrari-loving readers of Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport concede that Alonso has only a 20 per cent chance to win in Brazil.

"He has an advantage, no question," Hill agreed. "If I had to put a percentage on it, I would say the odds at 65 per cent in favour of Vettel."

And if German Vettel does add a third consecutive title to his tally on Sunday - a feat not achieved so early in Michael Schumacher's career - Hill thinks the 25-year-old could be on the road to eventually eclipsing Schumacher's record achievements.

"Someday, he certainly could," Hill said. "It's still a long way away of course. But he could certainly venture into that territory. If Vettel wins in Brazil, then you can certainly imagine him winning two more championships -- at least."

Karl Wendlinger, a former Sauber driver, told Austrian Servus TV this week that on a dry track and in the absence of reliability problems, Vettel should easily finish ahead of Alonso in Brazil.

So that is where the sport's gaze is centred at the moment: on Red Bull and Renault's last-minute efforts to solve the recurring alternator problem, and on a forecast of almost certain rain for both qualifying and the race in Sao Paulo.

"We want to win the race," said Vettel. "Failing that, we want to be second or third."

The podium, or even a fourth place, would guarantee Vettel the title. Still, Italy is not giving up.

"Believe in yourself, Ferrari," La Gazzetta dello Sport hailed. "Believe in Fernando, the track, and the weather."

As the most powerful member of the Kia Optima lineup, this sedan doesn't just have the look it has the drive to match. With just enough punch at the touch of the throttle, plenty of interior roominess and a look that sets it apart from the pack: the 2012 Kia Optima Turbo checks all the necessary boxes.

Knowing what you get in the Kia Optima package, the just-above $30,000 price tag for the EX Turbo trim is more than reasonable, and well worth the investment. When compared to the Hyundai Sonata and Ford Fusion (because they sport turbos too), it's a viable option buyers should most definitely consider.


Optimal response
When I'm handed the keys to an automatic (which is often), I'll admit my heart often sinks just a little. I'm just a hands-on, manual kinda girl - sorry. However, it's safe to say that the 6-speed Steptronic automatic transmission in the 2012 Kia Optima EX Turbo is nothing short of fabulous. Complete with stylish paddle-shifters on the steering wheel, this Optima is a joy to drive.

Shifts are quick, and not onces did the transmission stumble or search for a gear. In all honesty, I rarely touched the paddle shifters. So good was the 2012 Kia Optima's own system that I felt no need to override it.

Power delivery is smooth, and very little lag is felt from the turbo (which I'll get to in a moment). Merging on the highway, passing moves and generally spirited driving is done with ease.

Optimal power
Really, anything with a turbo gets me a little excited; from the spool to the blow-off to the power it provides, it's all pretty fantastic. So, when I saw the “T” on the badge in the back, that sinking feeling from the automatic almost went away completely.

Equipped with a 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, the 2012 Kia Optima EX Turbo is good for 274 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque; both decent numbers for a car in its class. Nothing too scary fast, and nothing too stodgy or slow. It really is a great engine. I tried to find something bad to say about it and the only thing I can come up with is that it's a bit loud on start-up in the cold. You've been warned.

The 2012 Kia Optima EX Turbo is good for 274 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Optimal looks outside, and in
And then we come to the way the 2012 Kia Optima EX Turbo looks; and again I have a hard time saying anything very bad about it. On a personal level, I adore the uber-modern, mosaic-style turn signals housed in the headlights, and the chrome-lined honeycomb-style grille. It's all very upper class, all very aristocratic in an urban, cooler-than-you way.

It's just the right amount of flash to grab some attention without being so over the top that you'll get sick of the 2012 Kia Optima a few months after driving it off the dealer lot.

Subtle gills beneath the side mirrors hint at a sportier ride, as does the rear lip spoiler.

Inside the 2012 Kia Optima EX Turbo the good looks continue. While I wasn't a huge fan of my tester's light-grey leather seats, the overall design of the interior is quite pleasing. With the middle console angled towards the driver, everything is in arm's reach (even for someone with arms as short as mine).

Deeply recessed gauges housed in chrome-lined casings, again, hint at a sportier nature, and I quite like the orange-hued gauge lights.

My only qualms about the interior of the 2012 Kia Optima EX Turbo are the oversized and rather ugly seat-heater buttons (really, they have to be THAT big?), and the A and B pillars are quite large; for someone like me who has to have the driver's seat quite far forward, my visibility was hampered by them at every intersection.

With the middle console angled towards the driver, everything is in arm's reach. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Optimal space
Seating space in the 2012 Kia Optima EX Turbo is great no matter where you are. Even with a BRITAX car seat behind the passenger's seat, there was still plenty of legroom left, and the remaining two seats in the rear were useable.

The 2012 Kia Optima EX Turbo's trunk easily swallowed up a large stroller along with groceries and other shopping goods, and the self-opening trunk (controlled by the key fob) is great for full hands as it pops open just enough to make access that much easier.

Optimal
Here is a sedan that's a great family hauler, but still great to drive. Who knew?

Dr Vijay Mallya has confirmed that Sahara Force India Formula 1 team will invest several millions of dollars in new technology for next season of the World Championship.

“We've scored more points in 2012 than in any previous season and every year we've demonstrated that we've gone up the ladder. Given the tools that we have, which are mostly of the Jordan era, we have done exceptionally well,” said Mallya.

The co-owner of the team indicated that the team has the ambition of moving forward next season.

Vijay Mallya. (Photo: Sahara Force India F1 Team)

“We had a board meeting in India after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the board has approved a £50 million ($80M) capital investment programme for the team. We are going to invest heavily in new technology and give more tools to our design team to try and move further up the grid,” he added.

The Indian billionnaire wants his team to beat Sauber for sixth place in the constructors' championship. With just one race to go this Sunday in Brazil, Sauber is sixth with 124 points, while Sahara Force India is seventh with 99.

“We hope that Nico (Hulkenberg) will be able to pull off what he did for Williams in 2010 [pole position]. That's what is needed if we want to catch Sauber! Otherwise I hope we can end the season with a strong result. Two cars in the points would be nice,” said Mallya.

From press release

The newly formed Qatar Red Bull Rally Team showed off its 2013 Dakar contender and driver line-up.

The Qatar Red Bull Rally Team has revealed its new buggy, which will compete at the 2013 Dakar Rally in South America this January. The buggy will be piloted by previous Dakar winners and former Volkswagen teammates Carlos Sainz, who won the rally 2010, and Nasser Al-Attiyah, who took victory in 2011.



The buggy that the duo will pilot takes its inspiration from US Baja-style desert-racers, but has combined that American durability with European engineering to create what the team believes is an innovative off-road vehicle.

Speaking of the project, Sainz, who won the World Rally Championship in 1990 and 1992, said: “There's nothing quite like preparing a completely new car for a Dakar Rally and my first impressions of this buggy is that it's a very impressive machine.

“The whole team has great hopes that we can achieve a good performance at the 2013 Dakar Rally,” he added. “It's still very early days to be saying how far up the leader board we can finish in this car but we are working everyday to make sure we get the set-up just right.”

From GMM

Rumours of 'financial difficulty' at Lotus are continuing.

Early this week, it was claimed Kimi Raikkonen's place at the Enstone based team might actually be in doubt for 2013.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said there is an issue in terms of promised bonus money in the Finn's 2012 contract, given his unexpectedly large points tally.

"I don't know where this stuff comes from. I can't say anything about it," the 2007 world champion's spokesman Riku Kuvajan was quoted by the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

Photo: Lotus F1 Team

Now, on Wednesday, the German magazine said other staff at the Enstone based team are waiting for their pay-cheques.

Auto Motor und Sport said the team's management is holding out for the latest installment of commercial income from the sport's owners, headed by chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

The report said Lotus is waiting for that money to "pay the wages of 493 employees and Kimi Raikkonen".

Only two drivers -- Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso-- still have a mathematical chance of claiming the 2012 Formula 1 World Championship. Let's review all the possibilities for each driver.

The “easiest” way for Sebastian Vettel to clinch his third title is to finish Sunday's race in the top four, regardless of where Fernando Alonso finishes. Vettel would take the title because of his higher number of wins during the season.

Fernando Alonso can only win the championship by finishing on the podium. Fourth or lower is no good at all for the Ferrari driver. If Alonso wins and Vettel is fifth or lower, the Spaniard will be champion.

Here is the points possibility chart with the current standings and the points awarded for each position.

RIMINI, Italy - I've got 525 horsepower at my disposal, and I can't see a bloody thing. What started this morning as a light rain has now become a deluge, and I'm blinded by the spray from the car in front of me.

A 4.064 km track shaped roughly like a crossbow, the Misano World Circuit was built to host various Grand Prix of motorcycle racing.

In 2012, it was renamed the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, to honour a local motorcycle champion killed in 2011.

This is not a comforting thought as I approach the first hairpin and back off a little to put some distance between me and the car in front. Although the wipers beat furiously against the windshield, they're fighting a losing battle against the driving rain.

What is comforting, however, is the performance of the 2014 Audi R8's legendary quattro all-wheel drive system beneath me. The powerful rear end squirms on the wet tarmac, but the torque vectoring kicks in and the car regains composure effortlessly. This is the technology that conquered a thousand world rally stages on snow and ice -- a little rain is hardly worth worrying about.

A few seconds of hydroplaning causes an intake of breath... to be exhaled in relief once grip is restored.

The 2014 Audi R8 really is a glorious beast. There are great gobs of power, but they're doled out in such rapid fire, linear progression by the dual clutch S-tronic transmission that it feels almost civilized. Almost.

That gruff bark that escalates to a banshee wail reminds me that this seemingly docile performer is a full-on supercar. There's an option to switch off the traction nannies, but I wisely decide (given the soupy conditions) that I'd be better off with them on.

The flat-bottomed, suede-wrapped wheel feels heavy in my hands, and indeed the steering is rather substantial too -- but far from leaden.

After four laps, I grow braver. Visibility hasn't much improved but I've "learned" the track enough to go a little faster. Through the hairpin and into the straight -- 140 km, 160, 184km. Hardly earth-shattering, but enough to give me a glimpse of the latent power of the car, without (God forbid) being "that guy" -- the poor soul who becomes an internet pariah by spinning, or even worse "pranging" the car.

Then I'm offered a chance to see how it's really done.

On hand is Audi Works driver, Frank Stippler, one of the winners of this year's 24 Hours of Nurburgring, with the Audi R8 LMS Ultra race car.

A stripped-down, snarling beast, the R8 LMS crackles, pops and blatts as we head out of the pits, haunches squirming at every turn. The engine reaches a deafening scream as Stippler deftly guides the R8 around the slippery course -- at times counter-steering in a slide through the hairpins on the very limit of control.

It was an exhilarating ride, and over far too soon.

Photo: Lesley Wimbush

From GMM

Norbert Haug has played down the possibility Michael Schumacher will return to the paddock next year with a prominent F1 role.

The seven time world champion is returning to retirement after a three-year comeback with Mercedes, but had been tipped for a non-driving role at Mercedes.

"There will be talks after the season," Mercedes' motor racing vice-president Haug told SID news agency.

Michael Schumacher. (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

"However, I don't think Michael wants a role in formula one. He loves our brand and we would count ourselves very lucky if Michael would work with us further in the international sphere for Mercedes. There are few sportsmen who are rated as highly as he is, or loved as much. And the roots of his professional career were with Mercedes, just as the end of his active career was as well. A further cooperation could not be more authentic," added Haug.

Meanwhile, Haug denied suggestions Mercedes is ramping up its formula one budget to coincide with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton in 2013.

"I don't know where these rumours come from," said the German. "That was never the plan, and we never have nor never will complain about having too little money."

The DTM series will be return to Spain in 2013, and therefore next year's calendar will comprise the same number of rounds as this year.

The DTM competitors will contest 10 races in 2013, and the highlight of the season will be the maiden DTM race in Russia that will be held on August 4, a stone's throw from Russia's capital Moscow.

The traditional season finale at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg will take place as early as September 15. Just 19 weeks or 133 days after the season kick-off contested at the same venue on May 5, the Southern German circuit will be the venue of the decision in the battle for the titles.

In addition to the round at Moscow, the calendar comprises another three abroad races: on May 19, DTM will be racing at Brands Hatch/GB and two weeks later, on June 2, the DTM drivers will battle it out for championship points at Austria's Red Bull Ring - with the final race on foreign soil, the round at Zandvoort, Netherlands, being held for July 21.

The 2013 DTM calendar*
May 5 Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg (D)
May 19 Brands Hatch (GB)
June 2 Red Bull Ring Spielberg (A)
June 16 Lausitzring (D)
July 7 Norisring (D)
July 21 Circuit Park Zandvoort (NL)
August 4 Moscow (RUS)
August 18 Nürburgring (D)
September 1st Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (D)
September 15 Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg (D)

*Subject to approval by FIA

NASCAR driver Danica Patrick disclosed via her Facebook page that she and her husband, Paul Hospenthal, had - amicably - decided to end their marriage of seven years.

Message from Danica Patrick to her fans: "I am sad to inform my fans that after 7 years, Paul and I have decided to amicably end our marriage. This isn't easy for either of us, but mutually it has come to this. He has been an important person and friend in my life and that's how we will remain moving forward."

The former IndyCar driver and GoDaddy.com spokesperson had met Hospenthal, a physical therapist, when she was recovering from a yoga injury.

Danica Patrick and Paul Hospenthal at Daytona, beginning of 2012. (Photo: NASCAR)

The Roscoe, Illinois native made NASCAR history as she finished 10th, in her first full year in stock car racing's Triple-A series. She's the highest placed woman to compete in NASCAR's top level National touring series.

On Monday, Ms. Patrick was voted the NASCAR Nationwide Series Most Popular driver. Next year she will become a full-time driver in the premier level Sprint Cup Division.