Auto News 5

EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: Like the Boss Mustang (and I'd argue, the Bullitt before that), this is the and#8220;just rightand#8221;

Growth in the Colombian economy has begun to slow due to the European crisis and a fall in export prices for raw and mining materials and mining. This is hitting incomes and consumer confidence.

Geely will not bid for a majority stake in Fisker Automotive, mainly because of the electric car maker's obligations to the US government, reported Reuters, citing two sources.

The European Union's Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani say he will enforce new rules that ban extremely potent greenhouse gases in car air-cooling systems, defying opposition from the German government and the country's automakers.

The first Rolls-Royce Motor Cars exhibition at the BMW Group museum in Munich, Germany, has opened. The unique exhibition, entitled Strive for Perfection, marks the 10th year of BMW's ownership of the famous UK brand and also commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Henry Royce.

Due to transmission technologies' ability to provide better efficiency and performance, dual clutch transmissions (DCTs) are expected to play a defining role in the global gearbox mix by 2020, according to a new study.

General Motors faces a test in its plans to restructure the money-losing Opel brand today as workers at its Bochum, Germany, assembly plant vote on a deal that would guarantee the jobs of more than 20,000 German workers in exchange for a wage freeze...

General Motors faces a test in its plans to restructure Opel as workers at its Bochum, Germany, assembly plant vote on a deal that would guarantee the jobs of more than 20,000 German workers in exchange for a wage freeze through 2015, and keep their...

Toyota has made its latest RAV4 longer and wider to win back ground in the compact SUV segment. First launched in 1994, the RAV4 for many years led the segment in Europe, but last year slipped to sixth place.

The UAW has won the backing of the head of the German IG Metall union in its effort to represent the hourly workers at Volkswagen AG's Chattanooga, Tenn., assembly plant.

The Rolls-Royce Wraith, a fastback that debuts in the final quarter of 2013, will use satellite data that detect changing road conditions to help shift its ZF eight-speed automatic transmission.

From GMM

F1 backmarkers Marussia and Caterham held talks over the winter about a possible merger.

The surprise news emerged as F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone attempted to explain why Marussia is the only team without a commercial deal for 2013.

"I have everything prepared here for them to sign," he told the Times. "It is not a problem. But they have not been happy and they almost merged with Caterham, so that made me wondering what was happening."

The newspaper claimed Caterham and Marussia contemplated the merger to "guarantee survival", but the talks "foundered and the two teams are now in a dogfight for tens of millions of pounds in prize money".

Marussia chief executive Graeme Lowdon confirmed the merger talks.

"I wasn't involved in them (the talks) and as I understand it, the conclusion was unacceptable to our shareholders. So nothing happened," he told British broadcaster Sky.

Max Chilton (Marussia) leading Charles Pic (Caterham) in Australia. (Photo: Marussia F1 Team)

From Zele Racing

Austrian race team Zele Racing has invited former Grand Prix driver, Narain Karthikeyan to join them and compete in the first round of the 2013 AutoGP World Series at Monza, Italy.

In 2005, Karthikeyan became the first Indian driver in the history of Formula One, making his debut with Jordan F1. He then was a third driver for Williams, competed in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport with Team India before he returned to F1 in 2011 and 2012 with HRT.

Left without a ride this season, the Indian driver has therefore decided to test new waters and take on a new challenge with Zele Racing, a well-established Austrian racing team, competing in the Auto GP World Series.

Photo: AutoGP

"I was looking forward to continuing my Formula 1 career in 2013 with HRT. Unfortunately circumstances within the team lead to the operation shutting down. I have decided to accept the invitation from Michael, as it keeps me driving a high powered single seater, and with a heavily revised car for 2013, lap times are said to be on par with other single seater series. I've worked with Zele Racing before, and have known Michael (Zele) for a long time. I'm looking forward to the first race in Monza, as it's a track I know well," Narain Karthikeyan said in a press release.

Karthikeyan's teammate will be reining Formula 2 champion, Luciano Bacheta.

Auto GP is managed and promoted by Coloni Motorsport and will be running eight rounds, featuring two races every race weekend at each venue with 21 cars registered. Notable past champions include Lotus Formula 1 star Romain Grosjean in 2010 and his success helped him to spring board back to Formula 1. The season starts on March 24th in Monza, Italy, and finishes on October 6th in Brno, Czech Republic.

A study by Juniper Research predicts that app capability will reach a fifth of all consumer vehicles in the developed markets of North America and Western Europe by 2017.

The success of new standards such as MirrorLink will create the foundations that will allow the connected car ecosystem to flourish.

This growing trend is expected to exert downward pressure on the price of automakers' own embedded infotainment services, the study says.

Actually, the only factor holding back even faster deployment of in-vehicle Internet will be the slow growth in the new vehicle market.

Source : juniperresearch.com

The inaugural Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2009 gave the world a good insight into the world of Kimi Raikkonen.

After having his contract cut a year early by Ferrari for reasons that only they and one of the most enigmatic of Formula 1 drivers will ever truly know, the pressure was truly off; the 2009 Ferrari was the Scuderia's worst effort since 2005, Kimi had already bagged a world title in 2007 and given his relationship with the team was strained at best, they had paid him 20 million euros to not drive in 2010.

Little wonder then that given his situation, when asked his thoughts on F1's then latest Middle Eastern instalment, he replied “the first few turns are quite good but the rest of it, it's sh**.” He finished the race in 12th, duly packed his bags, and then shipped it to the World Rally Championship for a few seasons in a Citroen.

Photo: Lotus F1 Team

Despite not -in terms of results at least - being the most successful period in his career, in retrospect Kimi's two years in the WRC may have actually been just that.

Whilst fifth place on Rally Turkey 2010 behind the wheel of Citroen C4 may not have set the world alight, it was the Kimi Raikkonen that the world saw on the stages of the WRC that made him appeal to Formula 1.

No more 'stock' answers
In a world that thrives on corporate answers, ‘stock' answers and a lack of personalities, the Raikkonen who now dwelt in the service parks of the WRC was the complete antidote to the “for sure” answers and awkward sponsor events that are so intrinsic for Formula 1.

With clear Oakley sunglasses perched on newly grown shoulder length hair, Kimi was free to do what he wanted. If he didn't want to do a media event, he wasn't obliged. If he thought something wasn't to his liking, he'd say (after beaching his C4 on Rally France 2010, he mused “it was a stupid place to go off”) and if he fancied a beer, he could.

His role in the WRC was also welcomed, as Citroen teammate, Sebastien Loeb will tell you with the following story.

Following Kimi's failure to turn up on time for a mini bus transfer to the stages, Loeb grinned “well, it takes some of the pressure off of me” after the Finn arrived 30 minutes late. Dani Sordo, another one of the Citroen drivers also enjoyed having Kimi around: “[he] seemed quiet at first, but it turned out he's funny and not like his public image at all.”

Despite his laconic personality thriving in the WRC and winning him yet more fans, the results still did not come. Something did not gel, and it seemed that Kimi - as he did with Ferrari - was losing interest in WRC due to lack of success. He'd tried his hand at something new, and whilst he believes “with zero experience [for that] I did pretty well”, he still couldn't quite match his F1 triumphs.

Photo: WRi2

Naturally then, for a man so motivated by winning as Raikkonen, it seemed Kimi needed Formula 1 as it was where his speed lies. For a sport so lacking in personalities, it seemed Formula 1 needed Kimi. The two just went together.

A new life at Lotus F1
So for 2012, he returned; the newly branded Lotus F1 team confirmed Kimi as one of their drivers alongside Romain Grosjean and the (now) 33-year old exceeded all expectations by finishing every race in 2012.

He also finished third in the championship after scoring five podiums and winning the ‘sh**' Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where he famously delivered the “leave me alone, I know what I'm doing” line to his race engineer...

... And it's that atmosphere at Lotus that has made its partnership with Raikkonen the success it is. The ethos of ‘leave him alone and in the race he shall deliver' became apparent again in Australia last weekend when he delivered his second win for the team.

Speaking ahead of the 2013 season, Lotus owner, Genii's Gerard Lopez commented in Gazzetto dello Sport that he wants ‘drivers and not robots'. In Kimi, he has exactly that. Lopez continued that at the Enstone based team, “Raikkonen feels utilised for what's most important [driving], while he is free for everything else. He has found balance.” Just let him get on with what he does best; driving.

Photo: Lotus F1 Team

Lopez's comments seem true as following his popular win at the 2013 season opener, journalists around the paddock commented on how fit Kimi looks, and were in awe at what was possibly the longest ever answer he'd ever given at a press conference.

If the atmosphere at Lotus continues as it is and if its E21 car is as good as it looked throughout last weekend, then expect Kimi to make a serious go at claiming a second championship.

Don't expect any drama though. It simply isn't the Raikkonen way...

From GMM

Felipe Massa is enduring the longest victory drought in the history of all Ferrari drivers, according to an analysis by Italy's Autosprint.

Dating back to his title-losing win in Brazil 2008, Melbourne last Sunday marked 68 consecutive races in which the Brazilian has entered a grand prix but failed to triumph.

Massa therefore takes the unenviable record from Jean Alesi, who failed to win a grand prix for the fabled Maranello marque between his Ferrari debut in 1991 until Montreal 1995 (67 races).

31-year-old Massa, however, is quoted by Brazil's Globo as characterising the start of his 2013 campaign as "10 times better" than last year.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo agrees: "I'm satisfied with Felipe Massa's performance (in Melbourne) -- he was very fast in qualifying and delivered a brilliant race."

Next on Autosprint's list of drought-stricken Ferrari drivers are Michele Alboreto (55 races), Eddie Irvine (49), Clay Regazzoni (34), Stefan Johansson (31), Rubens Barrichello (30), Chris Amon and Gerhard Berger (both 27).

Felipe Massa, Ferrari F138. (Photo: WRi2)

But there were others in F1 history who waited even longer for a win and never achieved it, led by Andrea de Cesaris (208 grands prix), Nick Heidfeld (183) and Martin Brundle (158).

And Jarno Trulli holds the record for a winning driver who tried in vain the longest to try to add to his tally. After winning at Monaco in 2004, he raced another 135 times but never stood on the middle of the podium again.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso on Wednesday began his preparations for his 200th career grand prix this weekend by road cycling around the hot Sepang circuit.

From GMM

Former F1 driver Mika Salo has questioned whether Williams has the ability to recover from a bad start to the 2013 season.

In a similar slump early this year is McLaren, but Finn Salo - a former Toyota and Sauber driver - tipped the great British team to bounce back soon.

"I think we will see an improvement from them (McLaren) as early as the next race," the 46-year-old pundit told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

"With those resources you can improve, as we have seen before. If they've had a bad start, very quickly they have improved and started to win races," he added.

Salo, however, questions whether Oxfordshire based Williams can stage a similar turnaround, given its comparatively inferior size and resources.

Referring to his countryman Valtteri Bottas' Melbourne debut, Salo said: "He handled things well, but it was miserable. The car is not good. Almost the last of all the teams. Williams has a lot of work ahead now. Yes, it is an experienced team, but do they have the resources to improve when the car is this bad?"

Williams FW35. (Photo: WRi2)

From Caterham F1 Team

CNN International and Caterham F1 Team have announced Thursday that the leading international news network has renewed its multi-year partnership deal with Caterham F1 Team.

The sponsorship will see CNN's logo on both of the Caterham F1 Team cars as well as the drivers' overalls and signals the fourth year that CNN has sponsored the growing Angl /Malaysian F1 Team.

Photo: Caterham F1 Team

“Our partnership with Caterham F1 Team provides CNN with a powerful worldwide marketing platform and we're delighted to continue the alliance of two aspirational global brands,” said Rani R. Raad, Chief Commercial Officer for CNN International.

“As a forward thinking company this sponsorship plays to the heart of what CNN is all about, engaging new audiences and exploring new affiliations beyond the traditional or the expected.”

“This partnership will provide us with a comprehensive platform allowing us to deliver additional exposure for the team and its sponsors through CNN media platforms worldwide,” said Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal, Caterham F1 Team. “We also look forward to welcoming CNN and their partners to the races to further promote F1, Caterham F1 Team and develop real B2B opportunities."

Split personality
When I first laid eyes on the 2013 Honda Crosstour, I was approaching it from the front, head on. I thought, “What a great looking vehicle!” Then my vision travelled around the side, and to the bulbous, upturned rear and my opinion quickly changed. Somewhere sorely between a wagon and a crossover sits the Crosstour, and it seems as uncomfortable with its looks as it makes onlookers feel.

Yet, my time behind the wheel of the Crosstour was nothing short of fantastic. It might be bipolar on the outside, but on the inside it has it all worked out, as any good Honda is apt to do.

This truly is a “don't judge a book (read: car) by its cover” situation.


What is a Crosstour?
Indeed, what is the 2013 Honda Crosstour? It seems not even Honda is sure. Visit their Canadian website and you will see the Crosstour listed in both their “car” section and their “trucks & minivans” model lineup. So, that means it's a crossover... and/or a wagon. Of course, my colleague Matt St-Pierre insists on calling it a wagon.

Names and labels aside, the Honda Crosstour is a practical city slicker with a spacious cabin and cavernous trunk. Initially branded the Accord Crosstour, it hit North American soil in 2009 as a 2010 model.

Visit their Canadian website and you will see the Crosstour listed in both their “car” section and their “trucks & minivans” model lineup. (Photo: Philippe Champoux)

Technicalities
The 2013 Honda Crosstour shares the same mechanicals as the 2008-2012 Accord, including two engine choices found in both: a 2.4L i-VTEC 4-cylinder and a 3.5L SOHC V6. However, the output from the 2.4L in the Crosstour is slightly higher than the Accord offering up 192 horses. The V6 (only available on the 4WD Crosstour model) pumps out 278 hp.

Front-wheel drive models feature Honda's 5-speed autobox, while the two AWD models have a 6-speed automatic transmission, no manual is available on the Crosstour. .

Pricing for the 2013 Honda Crosstour ranges from $28,990 for the base EX model and goes up to $39,290 for the top-of-the-line EX-L 4WD.

The 2013 Honda Crosstour shares the same mechanicals as the 2008-2012 Accord, including two engine choices found in both: a 2.4L i-VTEC 4-cylinder and a 3.5L SOHC V6. (Photo: Philippe Champoux)

Driving the Crosstour
Here's why the 2013 Crosstour can be forgiven its identity-crisis looks: it drives like a Honda. There's something to be said for a vehicle that can make you forget about design flaws once you're behind the wheel.

The Crosstour is responsive, and even in FWD setup (as tested) performed quite well in the snowy conditions I drove in throughout the week. Honda's Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with Traction Control kept me on course, and even when slippage did occur, the Crosstour righted its wrong quickly. As well, the independent suspension setup soaked up even our most pothole-ridden streets in style and smoothness.

Visibility out the rear split window is rather unfortunate. The split sat squarely in my line of vision no matter how I adjusted my seat and mirror. When the rear wipe was engaged in falling snow, because it pushed everything down, it simply made a pile of snow, which further hampered any visibility.


Safety abounds in the 2013 Honda Crosstour as well with a plethora of acronyms I could list, however, the most intriguing feature is their highly distracting LaneWatch blind spot display. Via a small camera below the passenger sideview mirror, when you activate the right turn signal a side view of the street around you is displayed in the top 8” screen.

Here's why the 2013 Crosstour can be forgiven its identity-crisis looks: it drives like a Honda. (Photo: Philippe Champoux)

Ins and outs of the Crosstour
I righty assumed that the wagon-esque roofline of the vehicle would mean large door openings in the rear and make it easy to place my son in his car seat. In fact, the rear doors on the Honda Crosstour open quite wide. The height of the vehicle also meant no bending over to strap him.

I see what Honda was trying to do styling-wise here; design a vehicle that could be many things to many people: car, wagon, SUV, CUV, hatch. Maybe that's what really throws me off.

Slip inside the Crosstour and it's a very different story. With dual screens (which I've come to get used to, but not like), one being the 8” i-MID system, and an onboard entertainment system that takes some serious getting used to, the 2013 Crosstour is every bit a Honda. This vehicle is perfectly prepped for long hauls with comfortable seats front and back.

Slip inside the Crosstour and it's a very different story. With dual screens (which I've come to get used to, but not like), one being the 8” i-MID system, and an onboard entertainment system that takes some serious getting used to, the 2013 Crosstour is every bit a Honda. (Photo: Philippe Champoux)

Comparing the Crosstour
Competing against the likes of the Subaru Outback, Toyota Venza and even the Chevrolet Equinox, it's clear that the 2013 Honda Crosstour's redeeming factor is the fact that it can slip from one segment to the next.

Prefer telling people you have a crossover? You do. Think a wagon is cooler? Go for it. Crossover's all the rage? Well, lucky you; you own one of those, too.

Priced well and with a decent amount of options and trims available, the pleasing-to-all Crosstour is just that.

Auto123.com spoke Thursday morning with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula 1 World Champion who is currently in Malaysia to cover this weekend's Grand Prix.

This season, Villeneuve is working as a Formula 1 expert for French television Canal+. He will therefore attend all Grand Prix event's this year.

During our conversation, Villeneuve confirmed that he has moved. “I sold my house in Montreal and I am now living in Europe. I left Canada for good. But I don't want to go over the reasons,” Villeneuve declared.

Photo: WRi2

The 1995 CART champion and Indy 500 race winner added that he is still looking for a competitive ride.

“I will not race in the Porsche Cup as the rumours said. I tried GT endurance racing last year, but there are no talks at this moment with them. For the moment, there's nothing on my agenda. But I know I will race this season, one way or another.” Villeneuve continued.

During the three days of each F1 race, Villeneuve provides his comments and answers the questions of Canal+ host, Thomas Senecal.

“I started doing it occasionally last year and I kind of liked it. But this is now a full-time job with Canal+. It's a real job with a lot of planning to do before each race with the crew. I really enjoy it. The downside is that like in Australia we had to spend two hours in the pouring rain during our broadcast!” Villeneuve said.