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Mitsubishi Motors' Canadian importer has revealed a lengthened Mirage powered by a new 1.2 litre engine at the Montreal motor show. The car will be launched locally, and possibly also in the US, from the third quarter.

General Motors said it may close a German factory at its Opel subsidiary earlier than proposed adding restructuring talks with unions must be wrapped up by February, as the U.S. carmaker seeks deep cuts to save its ailing brand.

General Motors is increasing cost-cutting pressure at its money-losing Opel/Vauxhall unit, threatening to close a German factory two years earlier than planned, reports said.

Hella Group says it has successfully raised EUR500m (US$668m) in the capital market from a corporate bond issuance, with the order book five times oversubscribed, according to the company.

Toyota has agreed to settle a damages lawsuit for a class-action over injuries and deaths linked to unintended sudden vehicle acceleration, the carmaker said.

Toyota has opened a new career track aimed at giving more senior managers better knowledge of the regions of the world where it sells cars.

News 22 Jan, 2013

Latest pictures of the new BMW 1 Series GT undergoing winter testing

MG is back on sale in New Zealand, where just under 77,000 new cars were sold last year, at three showrooms.

Air system solutions company for the commercial vehicle industry, Meritor Wabco, says it has been named the standard position steer axle service brake chamber supplier for all Daimler Trucks North America air brake vehicles.

Beijing's Public Transport Corporation (BPTC) has placed an order for ZF Friedrichshafen low-floor axles, with 2,200 buses to be equipped with the German supplier's technology and delivered to the Chinese capital this year.

News 22 Jan, 2013

Nissan 370Z Nismo gets an extra 16bhp, firmer suspension and bodykit

Russian car sales will likely rise by 5 percent in 2013 to around 2.9 million, PricewaterhouseCoopers said on Tuesday.

Europe may have long resisted the automatic gearbox but environmental and fuel efficiency legislation combined with major advances in electronics and manufacturing techniques have paved the way for a flood of new automated transmission technologies, including dual clutch transmissions (DCTs). In this interview, Matthew Beecham talked with Alexander Moser, Supervisor Advanced Product Engineering, Clutch Systems, BorgWarner about just how the DCT market is shaping-up.

BMW will offer a two-cylinder motorcycle engine and a generator to extend the range of its i3 electric car. Herbert Diess, BMW's head of randd, said the package will be offered as an option on the i3.

Hatchbacks from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi grew so popular in Europe that the carmakers bet Chinese consumers would feel the same way. They didn't. Next stop: India.

Daimler's Turkish unit expects stronger car and van sales this year despite forecasting that the market will remain stagnant.

Audi says it plans to double sales in the Middle East to at least 20,000 vehicles a year by 2020, as it predicts premium car deliveries in the region will grow 12 to 15 percent this year.

Toyota will probably pick Takeshi Uchiyamada, who led the development of the Prius hybrid car in 1990s, to replace Fujio Cho as the company's next chairman, Nikkei reported, without citing sources.

Team owner and driver, Tony Stewart, has won just about everything he's raced all except the Indy 500.

Roger Penske, the winningest Indy 500 team owner shocked a NASCAR Awards banquet crowd in December offering the three-time NASCAR champion Stewart a ride in the 2013.

A lot of people laughed but Penske was serious about offer.

Eventually Stewart turned down the offer due to obligations with his Sprint Cup team, sprint car (open wheel) team and other duties.

During a trade show weekend in Indianapolis Stewart and Penske and team president, Tim Cindric had dinner in Indianapolis.

Photo: IndyCar

“I didn't tell (Penske) no forever,” Stewart said during the NASCAR media tour. “I told him this: 'You put me on the spot with the offer. I'm not going to tell you no, but I'm going to tell you no for now.' So the way I look at it, it's an open offer for more than one year. He didn't say no to that, so I think we may have an open offer down the road if we choose to do so. You might want to confirm that with him though.”

“It was an interesting dinner,” Stewart said. “That's pretty flattering to have Roger there, and then Chip sitting behind him giving me the look like, 'If you take his offer and don't give me a shot at it ....' I can say that was one of the coolest moments of my career, having that offer.”

“Every year I think about going back to Indy,” said Stewart, whose best finish in the 500 is fifth. “My resume still has one big blank spot at the top of it and it's still an Indy 500 victory, but it's not just as easy as saying yes or no.”

Tony Stewart went on to catalogue his commitments to his various teams as the reason why - for now - the answer is no.

Angie Pritchard is my mom. She drives a grey, 4-cylinder, automatic 2000 Honda Accord. It replaced her 1996, which was powder blue and similarly equipped. That earlier model had 400,000 kilometres of reliable service on it when she sold it. Her current Accord has 245,000. Both posed few problems, started reliably at 30 below, and got mom around when she needed to purchase key cooking ingredients or come visit her favourite son.

Charged with creating an evaluation on the new 2013 Honda Accord Sport, I decided to hand the keys to Mom for some insight.

I am, after all, desensitized to things like backup cameras and electric power steering, in a way. I see them every week. Mom doesn't. She's been driving the same car, every day, for years. I can hardly imagine what that's like.

Turns out it was, largely, a list of the new Accord's thoughtful features that she loved the most.

“The steering is really light when you park it. I liked that.”
That's the electric power steering. When the car is moving at parking-lot speeds, it signals the power steering system to work harder, so you don't have to. You get normal steering feel at highway speeds, and an easier time parking. At low speeds, you could steer with one finger.

“It's so smooth shifting.”
That's because it has a CVT, or Continuously Variable Transmission, which executes the smoothest gearshifts possible: none at all. With no gears to shift, power comes on a linear wave, rather than in “steps.” This saves you gas and makes acceleration smooth and seamless.

“I'm going to use this all the time.”
Mom was talking about the “ECON” button. Press it, and the 2013 Honda Accord's computer brain makes changes to the sensor in the gas pedal, the engine and the transmission. These changes work with your gentle driving to help save fuel. You press this when you're trying to drive as efficiently as possible, which Mom always does.

“I love that screen that lets you see what's behind you.”
That's the backup camera. Its standard on every new Accord sold, because Honda says everyone wants one. It helps with parking and navigating while you're in reverse, and makes the area in and around the Accord safer. Winter sees it easily blocked with salty road spray, but a lick of your finger and swipe over the tiny lens as you walk by clears it.

“The turn signals blink three times... on their own?”
That's an added convenience when you're changing lanes. Tap the stick once, and it blinks the blinker three times. Makes you look like a more courteous driver, even if you aren't.

“The lights stay on all on their own.”
Left in “AUTO,” the headlights turn on when it gets dark, turn off when it's not, and even stay on for half a minute after you lock the car so you can see your way up to the house in the dark.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour