Auto News 5

News 16 Jan, 2013

Skoda has confirmed prices and specifications for the new Octavia, ahead of its on-sale date in March

Fiat reportedly is close to reaching an agreement that would allow Chrysler again to build Jeeps in China, this time at a plant owned by Guangzhou Automobile Group.

Fiat, Chrysler and Guangzhou Automobile (GAC) have signed a framework agreement to expand passenger car manufacturing and sales in China, the three automakers announced last night.

The boss of Italian car giant Fiat wants the EU to step in and help rescue Europe's beleaguered automotive industry.

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn opened an engine factory in Mexico to drive forward the automaker's North American offensive. The plant will produce up to 330,000 engines a year.

General Motors will stick with an Opel recovery plan that combines ambitious model rollouts with a "series of incremental things" to cut costs over time, the automaker said.

French supplier Faurecia posted a 62 percent drop in full-year net income, due partly to restructuring charges linked to falls in production in Europe's troubled car markets.

New-car registrations in Europe plunged by 16 percent in December as all volume automakers except Hyundai and Kia suffered falling sales. The drop was the steepest decline recorded for the month since 2008.

GM, on the verge of reporting a 12th straight quarterly profit, forecasts 2013 profit rising "modestly" as new models meet expanding global demand.

French driver Jules Bianchi may well find himself driving in Formula 1 this season.

Bianchi, whose career is managed by Nicolas Todt, son of FIA president, Jean Todt is a member of the Ferrari Development Academy and was loaned to the Sahara Force India F1 team last season to take part in some Friday practice sessions.

Jules Bianchi driving the Sahara Force India VJM05. (Photo: WRi2)

Bianchi was impressive in the recent F1 young driver tests, and now we learn that Ferrari is trying hard to secure him a driver's seat for 2013.

“We decided to add De La Rosa to our group of drivers mainly to strengthen one area, namely work in the simulator, which with the current regulations regarding testing, is becoming ever more important,” said Team Principal, Stefano Domenicali at the Vrooom event in Madonna di Campiglio. 


“Pedro therefore joins a group of drivers that already includes Davide Rigon, Marc Gene, Andrea Bertolini and Jules Bianchi. Regarding the latter, who is also part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, we are currently trying to find him a role in Formula 1 and when we have some news, we will let you know.”

We can assume that Ferrari is trying to convince Sahara Force India to take him as a second driver alongside Paul Di Resta, despite the fact that the car is powered by a Mercedes-Benz engine.

 But that could change in 2014...

This coming Friday is the deadline for the teams that have decided to renew their participation into IndyCar's Leaders Circle program for the upcoming 2013 season.

The program is primarily designed to reward teams that finished in the top 22 of last season's standings and for their full-time participation to the series. This season, the monetary value of an entry is about $1 million.

To renew, teams must pay $50,000 now, then another $60,000 in a month. There's also a $15,000 technology fee.

Most of the top 22 teams are expected to renew, but there are a couple of key ones that had not renewed as of Thursday. They include: The No. 38 car of Ganassi Racing (driven last year by Graham Rahal) and the No. 2 car of Penske Racing (Ryan Briscoe).

The other car of interest is the No. 8 of KV Racing Technology entry that was driven last year by former Formula 1 veteran Rubens Barrichello who decided to pursue his career in stock car back home in Brazil.

As of today, Ganassi Racing has not decided whether to renew the No. 38 car since sponsorship isn't in place.

Same thing applies to Team Penske, which still has to decide whether or not to recommit for the No. 2 Dallara. Team Penske may pay the fees and then try to finalise a sponsorship deal.

From GMM

Ferrari has signed Pedro de la Rosa as a development driver, it emerged from the team's annual winter media event at ski resort Madonna di Campiglio on Wednesday.

F1's official website said the veteran Spaniard, who left his role as McLaren's long-time tester to race with now-defunct HRT last year, will help Ferrari "improve their simulator".

Pedro de la Rosa, 41, confirmed the news on Twitter.

Ferrari also announced in the Italian Dolomites that it will launch its new car at its Maranello headquarters on 1 February.

Photo: Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali talked about the 2013 and 2014 Formula 1 seasons during the “Wrooom!” event held at the Madonna di Campiglio ski resort in Italy.

Before Christmas, Domenicali announced a reorganisation of various areas within the Scuderia, which had begun halfway through 2011, with the aim of ensuring the best possible balance between the design and development of the 2013 and 2014 cars.

This involves two separate working groups to operate as effectively as possible on both the immediate and longer term future.

“The 2013 season will be a complex one from many points of view. We face a few changes on the technical front which will have a significant impact on all areas of the company, not just in terms of design, but also when it comes to the investment and infrastructure required to develop the new engine,” said Domenicali.

“Within the limits imposed by the regulations, we need to put every effort into reaching our objectives, while making the best use of the timescale in preparing for 2014. Our aim is clear, to win and the priority is still that of giving our drivers a car that will be competitive right from the very start. The development of the 2013 car began in the Cologne wind tunnel and is on-going. I certainly expect to see greater efficiency than last year because we will no longer need to carry out comparisons of data and correlation with the Maranello wind tunnel, which is currently being rebuilt and is due to be operational again after the summer break.”

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa
Talking about the drivers, Domenically said: “I think the toughest part of Felipe's career is now behind him. After last summer, his approach turned about and as a result, his performance on track changed and he managed to show just how talented he is. His performance in the second half of the season contributed significantly to our second place in the Constructors' classification: for the team that is a strong point and for Fernando, it provides further impetus to try even harder.”

“Fernando had an amazing season, and we've been saying that for three years now, while he continues to astonish everyone. His strength as a champion and his great fighting spirit is a guarantee for himself and for the team,” Domenicalli continued.

“Our responsibility is to give him a car with which he can make the most of his abilities and his killer instinct. Could Vettel and Alonso one day be part of a dream team? I think our President has already commented on this subject several times: a dream team is fantastic if it is correctly managed, but at the moment we are not looking at that, because we want to ensure the team is as well balanced as possible. You have to be very careful, not just in Formula 1, but in sport in general, because sometimes, putting together all the Number Ones can lead to more negatives than positives.”

Frenchman Sebastien Loeb (Citroen DS3) leads after the opening day of Rally Monte Carlo, opening round of the 2013 World Rally Championship.

His fellow countryman Sebastien Ogier set the fastest time in the very first special stage of the rally, giving the brand new Volkswagen Polo R WRC its first stage win in its first official appearance.

Sebastien Loeb, Citroen (Photo: WRI2)

Later however, Ogier struggled a bit at the wheel of the Polo R, allowing Loeb to win three stages to take control of the event.

After a quite difficult morning, Mikko Hirvonen moved up the field in the second works Citroen DS3. The Finn finished the day in third place, 26 seconds down to Ogier, and 15 seconds ahead of his teammate Dani Sordo.

Jari-Matti Latvala ranked fifth position in the second Polo R WRC. The Finn received a 30-second penalty for having checked late at the start of SS3.

Sebastien Ogier, Volkswagen (Photo: WRI2)

That was a tough day for Ford, as M-Sport's new number one driver, Mads Ostberg was unable to find the right pace during this first day. The Norwegian driver is already three minutes down to Loeb after the first day.

Thierry Neuville had a solid start to his first rally with Ford. However, the Belgian had a contact in SS4 which damaged his front left wheel, forcing him into retirement, as Rally 2 is not allowed at Rally Monte Carlo.

Evgeny Novikov (Photo: WRI2)

Treacherous weather conditions, with a lot of snow on some parts of the road made tire choices very difficult for the drivers and teams.

The first day was also disrupted by timing issues. With wrong timing, and wrong classification, it was very difficult to follow the day's acitivites.

Classification after day 1:
1. Loeb / Elena (Citroen DS3 WRC) 39'49.0

2. Ogier / Ingrassia (VW Polo R WRC) +1'20.3

3. Hirvonen / Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 WRC) +1'46.7

4. Sordo / Del Barrio (Citroen DS3 WRC) +2'01.2

5. Latvala / Anttila (VW Polo R WRC) +2'32.2

6. Novikov / Minor (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2'50.6

7. Ostberg / Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +2'55.1

8. Hanninen / Tuominen (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +3'03.5
etc.

Check out our second press day photo gallery from the Detroit Auto Show.

Sebastien Loeb Racing will run an Oreca 03 LMP2 prototype in the European Le Mans Series in 2013, and the rally champion aims to get an entry for this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Photo: Sebastien Loeb Racing

The team -- owned by the nine-time World Rally Champion and his long-time friend Dominique Heintz -- has sent an entry request to the ACO, the organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Last year, Sebastien Loeb Racing took part in the test day at Le Mans, but did not participate in the race, as planned.

Dominique Heintz and Sebastien Loeb. (Photo: Sebastien Loeb Racing)

In the meantime, Loeb Racing will also contest the new FIA GT Series, running two McLaren MP4-12Cs, with one car being driven by Loeb himself and Alvaro Parente, and the team will also run several cars in the French Porsche Carrera Cup.

After releasing a couple of pictures last week, Lexus officially introduced the next-generation 2014 IS sedan today at the NAIAS in Detroit.

Both the IS 250 and IS 350 will now be available with rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, as well as an F Sport Package.

The new IS has a 70-mm longer wheelbase than its predecessor and is 10-mm wider, while offering a smoother, more accurate steering feel. It also features a new headlamp cluster design with Lexus' signature L-shaped daytime running lights below.

Inside, the cabin of the 2014 Lexus IS provides a driver-focused environment with the latest advancements in HMI (Human-Machine Interface) technology.

The 204- and 306-horsepower V6 engines still in the lineup offer four driving modes including ECO, NORMAL, SPORT/SPORT S, and SPORT S+, allowing a combination of economy, comfort, performance and handling tailored to the driver's preferences.

We'll keep you posted on pricing and on-sale dates for the 2014 Lexus IS as soon as they are announced.

Photo: Lexus

In the late '70s, the diminutive, chain-smoking, former Ferrari driver, Arturo Merzario founded his own Formula 1 team and ran his own F1 car on a shoestring budget.

Merzario drove for Ferrari, Williams and March in F1. In 1976, he became “famous” when he jumped into the flames to save Niki Lauda from his burning Ferrari at the Nurburgring.

At the end of that season, Merzario found himself without a car to drive. He bought a customer March chassis, a Ford Cosworth engine, a Hewland gearbox and Goodyear tires, and went racing. The 1977 season was a disaster, as the March was mechanically quite unreliable -- and slow.

At Monza, Arturo announced that he was going to race his own F1 car the following season, to be designed by Giorgio Piola.

Merzario F1 car. (Photo: Archives Auto123.com)

The resulting Cosworth-powered Merzario A1 probaly used ideas and perhaps parts from his vintage March. Despite an impressive start to the season, the rest of the year quickly degenerated into a string of retirements and failures to qualify. Indeed, the team would only finish a race once in 1978, and even then the Merzario was too far behind to be classified.

The following year, Arturo Merzario entered a “new” car based on the same chassis, only this time it was fitted with new bodywork and sidepods designed to create downforce through ground effects.

However, the Merzario A3/01 was overweight and did not handle well at all.

After the 1979 Grand Prix of Belgium, another microscopic team, Kauhsen, folded. Merzario decided to take over the remnants of the outfit, if for nothing else than as a source for spare parts. Plus, he also acquired (temporarily) the services of Kauhsen's driver, Gianfranco Brancatelli, and was able to put him in the A3 for Monaco.

Arturo Merzario and Jacques Laffite. (Photo: WRI2)

Abandoning plans to build a second A3, Merzario instead converted and modified the Kauhsen WK004 with the aid of Gianpaolo Dallara and turned it into the ground effects Merzario A4/03. The car featured better aerodynamics, a central fuel cell, lever-arm operated front and rear suspension, brakes within the wheels, and highly inclined radiators.

However, it was no faster. In Germany, Merzario was almost six seconds slower than his nearest rival, Patrick Gaillard's Ensign, and over 13 seconds off pole. Austria saw him remain 11 seconds off the best; and at the Dutch GP, where he was within a second of the man ahead, he was still 2.3s away from the starting grid.

The 1979 season, though, rounded off in much the same way as it had started with the A4 slowest of all at both Montreal and Watkins Glen. That was it for Arturo's effort in Formula 1.

The Acura NSX Concept stole the show at last year's NAIAS in Detroit. Now, we have an evolution of the next-generation supercar's styling and design, including a first look at its interior.

The design concept is based on a "Human Support Cockpit" theme, which really aims to maximize the driving experience. The new Acura NSX Concept offers exceptional visibility, a race car-like driving position, and an intuitive "Simple Sports Interface" that minimizes interior clutter.

The dynamic proportions and wide stance remain unchanged, and Acura is still announcing a mid-mounted, direct-injected V6 engine mated to a Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system.

Mike Accavitti, vice president of marketing operations in the U.S., confirmed that the production Acura NSX is scheduled to go on sale within two years. It will be manufactured at a new production facility in Ohio.

Photo: Acura

Photo: Acura

Honda finally introduced its "Urban SUV Concept" today at the 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

Sporting dynamic and youthful styling, this vehicle foreshadows a new production model that's set to go on sale in Japan by the end of 2013, followed by the U.S. in 2014.

At 4.3 metres long, it's nearly 23 centimetres shorter than the Honda CR-V, making it an ideal compact SUV for navigating both crowded city streets and open mountain roads.

The concept is powered by a new Earth Dreams engine that offers interesting fuel economy, and features the brand's signature Magic Seat, which can provide multiple passenger and cargo options.

Honda did not reveal any pricing information other than saying that it will undercut the CR-V.