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IZOD IndyCar Series officials have now formalized event procedures for the debuts of double-headers to be held at Belle Isle, Toronto and Houston in 2013 and standing starts will be part of the action.

Qualifications for the first race of the double-header will take place on the Friday and follow the format of three rounds of eliminations, culminating in the Firestone Fast Six.

The first segment has been reduced from 15 minutes to 10 minutes to match subsequent segments.

Photo: IndyCar

Contrary to 2012, tire usage during the three segments of all road/street qualifying will be determined by the entrant; allowing teams the choice of saving a new set of tires for the race or use during qualifying.

Qualifications for the second race will be held on Saturday morning and will consist of a 30-minute session for all cars, with the starting order set by lap time.

Standing starts will be implemented for Race 1 at both Toronto in July and Houston in October. Race 2 at the venues will feature a traditional North American rolling start following a few pace laps.

Both races at each of the three double-header venues will be full distance with equal points. Pit location for both races of a double-header will be determined by the entrant's qualifications result at the previous race event. Qualifications for Race 2 will determine pit location for the next event.

Pirelli will continue to work with the same two development drivers as last year.

The Italian tire manufacturer will rely again on Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari and Brazilian Lucas di Grassi to continue the development of the Formula 1 tires this season.

Released by Sauber, Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi was tipped to play this role but Pirelli's motorsport director, Paul Hembery said in Milan that that there would be no change in personnel for 2013.

Hembery added that the company needed to agree with Bernie Ecclestone on a new F1 contract before there was any point in continuing the development program.

Jaime Alguersuari, Renault R30. (Photo: Pirelli)

The Briton also said that there was no point to look for a more up-to-date car to replace its 2010-spec Renault, especially as the shape of F1 would be changing in a year's time with the introduction of the turbo engines.

Marco Tronchetti, Pirelli chairman confirmed that the Italian company was open to pursuing a new contract to be the official supplier to F1, claiming that the teams appeared to be happy with the tires it was supplying, especially after Pirelli responded to calls to make the tires less predictable and the racing more exciting.

Mitsubishi Canada hosted the North American premiere of an all-new subcompact car at the 2013 Montreal Auto Show. This five-door hatchback will go on sale this fall under a name that has yet to be announced. In other parts of the globe, it's already known as the ''Mirage.''

Despite a low price of about $13,000, buyers should expect a fair amount of standard features and amenities. And that great value will be complemented with exceptional fuel economy courtesy of a 1.2L three-cylinder engine rated at 74 horsepower.

Standing out from the pack
The production model is based on Mitsubishi's Global Small concept unveiled a year ago. In a market segment highlighted by the Chevrolet Spark, Fiat 500, and Scion iQ, it will prove more affordable, more fuel-efficient and more spacious, with actual seating for five, the company promises.

Naturally, the Thai-built subcompact from Mitsubishi is aimed at younger drivers, which is why the show car in Montreal sported a bright Green Metallic body. The sleek roofline curves gently down toward the rear spoiler, thus improving aerodynamics.

Meanwhile, the clean-looking cabin seems to convey a sense of purpose. Obviously, you won't find many bells and whistles, here, but quality is there. As for the cargo area, it can swallow a reasonable amount of luggage.

Look for the new Mitsubishi to hit squarely on all five key purchase considerations of subcompact car buyers (according to brand research): fuel economy, value for money, price, exterior styling, and reliability.

Speaking of which, let's not forget Mitsubishi's impressive coverage, including an industry-best 10-year/160,000-km limited powertrain warranty. The Japanese automaker clearly puts a lot of faith in its vehicles.

Why Montreal?
The province of Quebec represents 40% of all Mitsubishi sales in Canada, and has a comprehensive network of 34 dealers. Only 50 additional showrooms can be found in the rest of the country.

Describing the new subcompact as their ''latest ultra-efficient vehicle,'' Quebec sales manager Patrick Renaud said: ''Fuel efficiency is our global focus, our company mission.'' He also noted that the Mitsubishi RVR crossover achieves a class-leading 6.1L/100km.

Mitsubishi expects the final fuel economy ratings to be among the best for gasoline-powered cars in Canada.

From GMM

Talented drivers are proving the victims of a financial crisis in formula one, according to media reports.

Major newspapers like Germany's Bild, and specialist outlets including Auto Motor und Sport, say the sport is "sick".

"Only the top four - Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes - are having no problems," said Bild.

Auto Motor und Sport added: "We have to worry about formula one. HRT has gone. Caterham and Marussia can only survive with pay-drivers. Drivers like Timo Glock and Heikki Kovalainen are losing their jobs. The sport must be wondering how it will survive in the long term."

And veteran Swiss correspondent Roger Benoit wrote on Tuesday: "If the 11 teams had to pay all their debts by the end of February, only ten cars would race in Melbourne."

Photo: WRi2

The latest victim of the 'crisis' is German Glock, who is now looking to rescue his career with BMW in the DTM series, after Marussia ended his 'valid contract' as it seeks a driver with a dowry.

"That's the way of F1 at the moment," the 30-year-old wrote on Twitter. "I hope it will change again soon because like this it has nothing to do with sport."

Of the growing power of 'pay drivers', Felipe Massa said on Tuesday: "Honestly, this is not a great thing for formula one".

The solution, according to Sauber's Monisha Kaltenborn, is to cut costs drastically and urgently.

"If it doesn't happen soon," she is quoted by Switzerland's Blick, "then this sport will be in very dangerous times."

This past Sunday, CBS aired a segment on its Sunday Morning Show all about the Corvette, highlighting the launch of the 2014 Stingray. 

The comprehensive piece takes the viewer from the birth of the iconic American sports car through its many designs.

It includes Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, taking a spin with correspondent Lee Cowan.

“The Corvette was just the ultimate car,” Hendrick tells Cowan. “I mean, it was -- you had the styling, the power, all the girls liked them.”

Photo: General Motors

Hendrick has one of the largest private Corvette collections in the world, with nearly 150 in his stable. He said he met his wife, Linda, while driving a Stingray. 


“She rode with me in that first Corvette, on our first date, and it broke down,” Hendrick recalls. “She wasn't very impressed.”

That collection is housed in Hendrick's Heritage Center which is not yet open to the public.

Here's a link to that segment called “Corvette: An American Classic Renewed”

Several big names of motorsport, including Jacques Villeneuve and Sebastien Loeb, are expected to compete in the 2-litre Supertouring race to be held at the Grand Prix of Pau in May.

Villeneuve, who competes in selected events (he runs in the Andros Trophy ice racing series this winter), will drive a Silhouette car in the new series created by Jean-Philippe Dayraut. It will be a first experience in this type of car for Villeneuve.

Photo: Grand Prix de Pau

Sebastien Loeb will also be competing. The Frenchman -- the nine-time World Rally Champion -- is progressively moving to road racing. Last year, he won both French Porsche Carrera Cup races staged in the streets of Pau.

Both Villeneuve and Loeb could be joined by three-time World Touring Car Champion Yvan Muller. Muller, who still has to finalize a racing program after Chevrolet's withdrawal from the WTCC, could enter the 2-litre Supertouring race in Pau if he's not forced to contest the Austrian round of the WTCC held that same weekend, May 18-19.

German car manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz confirmed that former Formula 1 driver, Robert Kubica will test a Mercedes C-Coupe DTM car later this week.

Kubica, aged 28 will begin his first tests in a DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on Thursday. During the day's testing, Kubica aims to see how he fares in the cockpit after his long break due to his extensive hand and forearm injuiries.

Kubica -- a Formula 1 driver for Renault -- sustained multiple injuries in an accident on the February 6, 2011 whilst rallying in Italy. He has taken part in various national rallies during the past few months in preparation for a possible return to motor racing. This test drive with Mercedes-Benz in the world's most popular touring car series represents his first proper outing on a racetrack under actual test conditions since his time in Formula 1.

Mercedes C-Coupe DTM. (Photo: DTM)

"I'm really pleased that Mercedes-Benz is giving me the opportunity to test their DTM car and I'm looking forward to getting acclimatised to a race car again,” said Kubica in a presse release.

“It will be in proper testing conditions, on a permanent circuit, and it's important because the DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupe has good levels of downforce. It's still too early to make any statements about my future because of this one test. I'm just looking forward to tomorrow and we'll see what happens after that,” he added.

Kubica was a member of the Mercedes-Benz motor racing family right back at the start of his career; during the 2004 season, the Polish driver lined up in a Dallara-Mercedes on the Formula 3 Euro Series grid for Mücke Motorsport.

Italian tire manufacturer and official tire supplier to Formula 1, Pirelli has revealed Wednesday in Milan its new range of tires for the 2013 F1 season.

The company says these new tires have been developed according to the wishes of the teams and the latest rules from world motorsport's governing body, the FIA. The most recent evolutions benefit the compounds, which have become softer, the structures, which are more flexible and the shoulders, which have been reinforced.

Photo: Pirelli

The defining characteristic of the 2013 Pirelli F1 tires is softer compounds all round, which will allow them to reach peak operating temperature faster and deliver lap times that are around 0.5 seconds faster than last year.

The objective of all these innovations, which work closely together, is to improve performance and increase thermal degradation, to ensure at least two pit stops per race and open up more strategic options for all the teams. Pirelli says that the bigger performance gap between the compounds will encourage overtaking throughout each race.

The sidewalls also look different, with colours that are more immediately striking and a brand new marking: orange, which comes in place of last year's silver to denote the hardest compound.

This year again, each F1 car will have 11 sets of tires available for the weekend, made up of six sets of the harder and five sets of the softer compound.

INRIX Parking, a newly developed app for iPhone and Android users, gives car drivers current hourly parking rates and real-time information on available spaces as well as the ability to navigate directly to the entrance of their preferred location.

The INRIX Parking database includes more than 18,000 parking facilities in North America and 42,000 in Europe. Right now, the app is available in a total of 38 countries.

Since 30% of all urban traffic in major cities comes from drivers circling the block looking for parking, according to experts, INRIX hopes to reduce traffic congestion for everyone.

Source: Inrix

From GMM

Dietrich Mateschitz, the billionaire owner of the energy drink Red Bull, is not ruling out a future on the F1 calendar for his native Austria.

Earlier, the former Austrian grand prix venue A1-Ring - now refurbished and renamed 'Red Bull Ring' - was touted for the twentieth race date on the 2013 schedule.

But Bernie Ecclestone ruled out the venue in Spielberg, a city with a population of about 5,000, on the basis that the local hotel infrastructure would not be able to cope.

Red Bull Ring. (Photo: Red Bull)

But Mateschitz is quoted by Speed Week: "There is much in favour of a grand prix in Spielberg. Many conditions and factors could justify it, but whether it will ever happen again falls into the realm of speculation, and that's something this company doesn't do."

The Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso team owner, however, sounds serious about his grand prix aspirations, insisting that if he ever agrees a deal, it would have to be for "at least three to five years".

From GMM

Nick Heidfeld, a former long-time Sauber driver, has backed countryman Nico Hulkenberg's move from Sahara Force India to the Swiss team for 2013.

Some have criticised the 25-year-old's move on the basis that Sauber might not be seen as a vastly superior team to Silverstone based Force India.

Asked if he thinks Hulkenberg's move makes sense, Heidfeld told Speed Week: "When you're not going directly to one of the top teams, it is difficult to know whether you're making the right decision. Of course, in 2012 Sauber had the faster car, and they have excellent facilities at Hinwil. But they are now doing without designer James Key, who has gone to Toro Rosso."

Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India) will drive the Sauber of Sergio Perez this season. (Photo: WRi2)

"It's always difficult to judge if you've picked the right car, but I can understand Hulkenberg's decision. He has been able to assert himself against the established and - in my opinion - the slightly overrated Paul di Resta, and now with this change he will get even more attention. It can be difficult to have a brand new driver to formula one as your teammate, but Esteban Gutierrez in my view was quite convincing in GP2," Nick Heidfeld added.

Persistent smog over Beijing has forced 24 construction sites and 54 companies to stop or at least cut their CO2 emissions by 30%. That includes Hyundai, which suspended production at its local assembly plant.

The level of PM2.5 particles has reached unprecedented heights in recent days, with a weekly average of 500 and a peak of 886 on Saturday. It's now at 417.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the normal level for any given location should not exceed 65.

Elementary schools and high schools in the most affected areas have put outdoor activities on hold, including in Tongzhou, Miyun, Daxing, Mentougou, and Fangshan.

More than five million vehicles and 20 million people occupy Beijing on a permanent basis. Hundreds of thousands of additional cars hit the city's streets annually.

Source: French China

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has not given up on F1's scheduled return to the Nurburgring in 2013.

The financially-embattled venue is scheduled to host the July race, but it is also possible Hockenheim could step in at the last minute.

"I am doing my best to make sure we do not lose formula one in Germany," Ecclestone, 82, is quoted by the Allgemeine Zeitung.

The newspaper said it knows negotiations are still taking place between Ecclestone and Nurburgring officials, but that a deal is not yet signed.

"Whether he (Ecclestone) will sign in the coming days, he did not say," the media report explained.

Nurburgring official Karl-Heinz Steinkuhler would not comment.

Hockenheim could be an alternative solution.

If nothing else, the 2013 Kia Sportage looks absolutely fantastic. Possibly one of the best looking compact CUVs currently on the road today, the Sportage sports a look that makes you take notice. Tricked out in metallic Techno Orange paint with 18” sport alloy wheels, my Kia Sportage tester was definitely a looker -- but was that enough?

The compact CUV market is a highly competitive one -- like asking the math club who can solve 2+2 the fastest; good luck with the results. With competitors like the Hyundai Tucson, Ford Escape and MINI Countryman, it's playing the right game: Style.

Yet, at just shy of $40k, my 2013 Kia Sportage SX seemed to be a bit too much style and not enough function for the price.


Commanding modernity
I absolutely love the design of the 2013 Kia Sportage SX. It's got a commanding look with fun-loving undertones -- like the popular kid who's also nice to all the nerds. A bold front end with LED running lights, a large chrome-lined honeycomb grille, oversized fog lights with subtle chrom accents above ensure the Kia Sportage demands attention in your rearview mirror.

Round back, the 2013 Kia Sportage's good looks continue with a subtle spoiler off the rear windshield, and aggressively shaped taillights that sit high on the shoulderline of the CUV, giving the Sportage a jacked-up, spring-loaded stance.

With the SX-trim 18-inchers (that might be a bit much for some, but I think are uber stylish and suit the vehicle), and dual exhaust tips out the rear, the 2013 Kia Sportage is everything a young, hip urbanite would want in a compact CUV package, even on the inside.

In the lap of looking good
Just as the vehicle's market placement would suggest, the interior of the 2013 Kia Sportage is compact. It's a bit of a tight squeeze with everything condensed and closely placed together. The dash sits low, as does the radio and other centre stack buttons and knobs.

I liked the closeness of everything in the 2013 Kia Sportage, but didn't appreciate the lack of storage space up front. I wished for a bin above the centre-mounted touchscreen, and that the cupholders weren't so recessed and low down (made grabbing hold of my morning take-out coffee quite difficult while driving).

The front seats are comfortable and roomy, although I did wish for a bit more lateral support at times. And a sliding armrest also would have been appreciated as my short stature means my seat was pushed forward quite a bit, leaving me mere centimetres to use on the stationary armrest.

In the back, while there's room for three, it's better suited for two adults or one baby seat (which required a rolled towel underneath to compensate for the angle of the seat) and one adult, nothing more. And although the 2013 Kia Sportage boasts 740 litres of cargo space in the trunk, I could not load my stroller perpendicular to the car (as I can in most non-cars).

I liked the closeness of everything in the 2013 Kia Sportage, but didn't appreciate the lack of storage space up front. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

And then you drive it
And everything that kind of bothered you about the style-over-function conundrum kinda goes away, especially in the SX which boasts Kia's 2.0L turbocharged GDI inline 4-cylinder. With 260 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque, the 2013 Kia Sportage is a lot of fun to pilot. Add to that the fact that in SX trim you get AWD, and the Sportage has a lot to offer.

The 6-speed Steptronic automatic gearbox performs very well. The power delivery is clean and turbo-lag is nearly non-existent. And despite the Sportage's 3,600lb weight, this CUV can really boot it when asked. Something I definitely appreciated.

However, confidence was lost in cornering as the body roll is evident. And the electric-assist steering felt disjointed and removed from the wheels. I wanted to be more connected to the 2013 Kia Sportage SX, and I just didn't feel it.

Visibility in the Sportage is also rather hampered by the shape of the rear windows and the large A and B pillars. And with a rear-facing baby seat installed in the rear passenger-side seat, visibility is all but lost out that window.

With 260 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque, the 2013 Kia Sportage is a lot of fun to pilot. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Form over function
While I appreciate Kia's efforts in the design and looks department, I can't help but feel they sacrificed some of the practicality associated with a CUV for that boost in street cred.

If you remember nothing else about the updated 2014

The God of Metrics said we needed more hits today. Luckily

Also in this episode: Tred wants to help you dodge dealerships, and

News 23 Jan, 2013

Politicians have claimed £4m from taxpayers for using public transport and their own cars in 2011/12

We first laid eyes on the stunning McLaren P1 at the Paris auto show in September.

Deep Dive: Porsche 960 Update

650-hp boxer eight for Ferrari fighter.

The Porsche 960, known internally as "FeFi" (for "Ferrari fighter") is moving full speed ahead. We last reported that the car would employ a high-output flat six, but that engine, although frugal and light, was deemed insufficient for a vehicle that will likely cost as much as twelve-cylinder cars like the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and the Lamborghini Aventador. The solution: a boxer eight. Word has it that Volkswagen Group chief Ferdinand Piech approved this application. Piech used to drive a one-off Porsche 914 equipped with a boxer eight-cylinder, and, more recently, the chairman was said to be driving a Cayman fitted with a flat eight. Featuring four turbochargers, two intercoolers, four adjustable camshafts, a complex multistage intake manifold, and dual-stage exhaust, the 3.9-liter engine is expected to deliver 650 hp. It will be mounted low in the middle of the car, connecting to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. The 960 relies on an aluminum-intensive architecture supported by steel, carbon fiber, magnesium, titanium, and other composite elements to keep weight to about 3000 pounds. Porsche is resisting high-tech, heavy add-ons such as the 918's electric motors. All-wheel drive made the cut and adds close to 200 pounds but earns its keep by getting the power to the ground -- 0 to 60 mph allegedly takes only 2.5 seconds. An even more raw, rear-wheel-drive GT edition may follow. No convertible, for now.

Photo Gallery: Deep Dive: Porsche 960 Update - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Deep Dive: Porsche 960 Update - Automobile Magazine

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