Auto News 5

British motorsport publication Autosport Friday writes that teams are working to get the winter test sessions to be revamped in order to run the new turbo cars in January of next year instead of February.

The switch to normally aspirated V8s to the 1.6-litre V6 turbo is already a huge task, the teams, as well as the engine suppliers (Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes-Benz) want to track test the new motors as early as possible to ensure that everyone is as ready for the first race of the season.

Although no dates have yet been formally approved, Autosport has learned that F1 teams are now gearing up for an earlier than usual start to running because of the desire of engine supplier to get some track mileage done in January.

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

They are currently edging towards a plan of getting a test done at Jerez in Spain in late January next year prior to some tests in the Middle East. The FIA is currently reworking that rule so it can then be approved by teams.

It is hoped this can be ratified at the next meeting of Formula 1's Sporting Working Group that takes place ahead of the Grand Prix of Spain in Barcelona.

The go-ahead for a January test would leave the door open for teams to prepare an interim test car for the V6 turbo engine test, but such a scenario appears unlikely because of the huge drain of resources that would require amid the extensive effort needed just to get a 2014 contender up and running.

IndyCar driver Alex Tagliani has officially announced this morning that he will be returning to the streets of Trois-Rivieres this coming August to take part in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series round.

Tagliani will be driving a car that will be prepared by none other than the current champion's team DJ Kennington. The NCTS event is one of the most exciting of the season and it will be presented during the week end of August 9 thru 11.

The Lachenaie, Qc. native is quite familiar with the urban circuit having raced there two-times in the Atlantic Series and also in NCTS, in 2007, 2008 and most recently in 2009, where he earned pole.

In 15 starts in the Canadian stock-car series, he has 1 win (Edmonton 2008) and his best result in Trois-Rivieres is an 18th place in 2009.

From GMM

Formula one testing has resumed at the Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire, UK.

There has been no F1 running at the Imperial War Museum facility since Maria de Villota was seriously injured, and lost an eye, in a crash whilst testing for Marussia last July.

But an unnamed team was in action on the runway at Duxford on Friday, and the local Haverhill Echo newspaper said more test days are booked for next Wednesday and also in May, June and August.

On Friday, Spaniard de Villota said in Madrid that she thinks Fernando Alonso will win this year's world championship.

"Soon everything will line up for him and he will not have so much bad luck; for me he is the most complete driver on the grid -- the perfect combination of talent, passion and work," she is quoted by the EFE news agency.

Subaru Canada will recall 1,000 all-new 2014 Forester SUVs because the floor mats can curl when exposed to heat.

A deformed mat could interfere with the driver when shifting his or her foot from one pedal to another. This could cause a delay in brake pedal application, which could increase stopping distances.

Subaru dealers will therefore replace the four carpeted floor mats in all affected Foresters.

Source: Transports Canada

Photo: Mike Goetz

When Matt Kenseth won the STP 400 he was elated. The second win of the year for the 2003 Sprint Cup Champ virtually locked him into NASCAR's playoff's called the Chase.

Then on Wednesday NASCAR lowered the boom on his team when it found one connecting rod (out of eight) was less than three grams underweight.

NASCAR fined the crew chief, Jason Ratliff $200,000 and suspended him for six races. Worse the Joe Gibbs Racing team would be denied owner's points for six races.

On Thursday in Richmond, Virginia, the two-time Daytona 500 winner was not happy.

"I think the penalties are grossly unfair. I think it's borderline shameful,” said Kenseth.

Matt Kenseth and Crew chief Jason Radcliff. (Photo: NASCAR)

“There's no argument the part was wrong. They weighed it and it was wrong. However, there is an argument that there certainly was no performance advantage,” he continued. “Certainly to crush Joe Gibbs like that -- to say they can't win an owner's championship with the 20 this year is just, I can't wrap my arms around that, it just blows me away.”

On Wednesday Lee White, president of Toyota Racing Development which supplied the engines, said that TRD “screwed up.”  A third party vendor had delivered one connecting rod which was underweight, and despite the fact that all the parts were over the minimum weight NASCAR imposed one of the most severe penalties in history.

Brad Keselowski, the defending Cup champion - coincidentally whose team was hit with heavy penalties last week reacted “yeah, I think there's no doubt that there's been a pretty significant ratcheting effect to the penalties in the sport.  It takes a lot to really surprise me nowadays, whether it was the penalty we received the past week or the one that happened to the Gibbs group.  I understand both sides, in a sense, but then again I don't.  I think it's really tough.

"What the sport really lacks right now is a way for us to curb fair play - balance the fair play that the sport needs so that our fans can really relate to it without presenting this - I don't want to call it an illusion - but presenting this almost like a façade as though there's cheating in the sport.  I think it's pretty obvious that when you look at Matt's issue the pieces and the parts were not that influential to the performance, and probably didn't win him the race,” he said.

As result of the penalties Kenseth said "my excitement for tonight is at an all-time low. It just is right now. By tomorrow, I'll be ready to get on the track and I'll race and try to have fun tonight and give it my all. I have a lot of work to do tonight and tomorrow morning and get ready to get in the Cup car and go out and win a pole and try to win the race."

Geely Automobile Group and startup automaker Detroit Electric have agreed to develop electric vehicles and electric drivetrains for sale in China.

Ford has partnered with Shinola, a Detroit-based luxury products manufacturer, to develop a commemorative watch celebrating

Mitsubishi today forecast its operating profits will jump 48 percent in the fiscal year that began April 1, lifted by a favorable yen exchange rate as well as an anticipated sales surge in the United States.

Hyundai apologized for a spot, created by the agency Innocean Europe for use in the United Kingdom, showing a suicide attempt failing because the vehicle, the ix35 crossover, did not produce any harmful emissions.

The auction of the Don Davis Collection isn't going to break any records where volume is concerned: Just 64 lots are set to cross the block this Saturday, April 27, in Fort Worth, Texas.

and#8220;Grid 2and#8221; will hit video-game store shelves on May 28.

GM CEO Dan Akerson's compensation mix was changed in 2012 to accommodate the possibility he may retire before his long-term restricted stock vests in three years, the company said.

2013 Nissan Leaf First Drive

Good news for the .0001 percent.

Almost two and a half years after its introduction, the Nissan Leaf's sweet spot may be in sight. The Leaf now exceeds Lotus's annual sales every month and soon will better Lotus and Maserati together. Meanwhile, there have been no reports of garage fires while the Leaf is charging, and the lithium-ion batteries that were baking last summer in Phoenix, impinging the performance of some Leafs, have enjoyed a rare winter that brought a snowfall to the Valley of the Sun.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Nissan Leaf First Drive - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Nissan Leaf First Drive - Automobile Magazine

2013 Nissan Leaf First Drive | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

The Jetta is Volkswagenand#8217;s franchise player in the United States.

News 25 Apr, 2013

Our spies have a caught a high-performance version of the all-new Range Rover Sport testing

Economic troubles in Europe cut into the first-quarter earnings of three major suppliers based in the United States that reported their financials today -- Lear, BorgWarner and Dana.

Economic troubles in Europe cut into the first-quarter earnings of three major suppliers based in the United States that reported their financials today -- Lear, BorgWarner and Dana.

GM's Opel division is against giving workers another vote on a restructuring deal at the automaker's embattled plant in Bochum, Germany.

Fiat may have to pay more than its original $140 million offer for Chrysler Group shares being bought from the UAW's retiree health-care trust, a judge in the United States suggested in court today.

Fiat may have to pay more than its original offer of about $140 million for Chrysler Group shares being bought from the UAW's retiree health-care trust, a Delaware judge suggested in court today.