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The Lamborghini Egoista concept shown earlier this month at the company's 50th anniversary celebration in Bologna, Italy, isn't planned for production, but it does have a purpose: countering critics who think Lamborghini has lost some of its design...

General Motors is recalling worldwide more than 27,000 Cadillac crossover vehicles whose wheels could fall off due to potentially loose wheel nuts.

Reports say Sweden wants to question former Saab Chairman Victor Muller about suspected tax offenses. Muller defended payments he received from the automaker in a recent interview and talked about how he has moved on from Saab.

The Italian government plans to meet with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne over concerns he's shifting the carmaker and heavy truck manufacturer Fiat Industrial away from the country.

Nearly six years ago, BMW's Project i began to position the automaker for the future. Project i chief Ulrich Kranz explained how the idea of a carbon-body car for megacities emerged from his team.

Ford will close its Australian car and engine assembly plants in 2016, ending almost nine decades of manufacturing in the country.

The Lamborghini Egoista concept shown earlier this month at the company's 50th anniversary celebration in Bologna, Italy, isn't planned for production, but it does have a purpose: countering critics who think Lamborghini has lost some of its design...

Automotive News Europe salutes the winners of the 2013 Rising Stars awards. Every day until June 12 one of the 18 winners will be featured.

GM will price its new Chevrolet Spark electric vehicle at $27,495, including destination charges and before federal tax credits, placing it among the cheapest EVs on the market.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg managed to top the times in both free practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix, thus living up to the prediction that the silver cars would be quick around the Principality.

The first session saw Rosberg take fastest time from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by a mere 0.087 seconds and Lotus' Romain Grosjean who finished a strong third.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG. (Photo: WRi2)

The Frenchman managed to pip Alonso's teammate, Felipe Massa, to the final top-three slot in the final minutes of the session.

However, not for the first time this season, there was little on-track action in the first 30 of the 90-minute session, with most drivers choosing to set their quickest time around the halfway mark.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus. (Photo: WRi2)

The No. 10 Mercedes AMG of Lewis Hamilton was fifth despite having to use an escape road at Sainte Devote, whilst 13th placed man, Adrian Sutil, had the only other incident in the session after he spun his Sahara Force India in the same place.

Pastor Maldonado was sixth, in a competitive showing for the beleaguered Williams squad, one place ahead of last year's winner, Mark Webber in his Red Bull.

The two McLarens of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez split the Australian from Red Bull teammate Vettel who had a quiet session down in ninth.

Monaco - Free Practice session 1 - Results*
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'16"195 - 31 laps
2 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'16"282 - 26
3 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'16"380 - 21
4 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'16"394 - 23
5 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'16"469 - 28
6 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'16"993 - 27
7 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'17"020 - 27
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'17"129 - 29
9 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'17"378 - 25
10 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'17"380 - 23
11 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'17"509 - 26
12 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'17"548 - 27
13 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'17"625 - 20
14 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'18"193 - 26
15 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'18"454 - 25
16 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'18"754 - 28
17 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'18"830 - 28
18 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'19"067 - 25
19 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'19"203 - 21
20 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'19"438 - 28
21 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'19"773 - 20
22 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'20"225 - 21

Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne wearing a replica helmet of Francois Cevert, his F1 heroe. (Photo: WRi2)

The second session saw Rosberg underline the Mercedes' pace once again and jump to the top of the timesheets, this time ahead of Hamilton and by a larger margin of 0.318s.

The German driver set his quickest time around the 30-minute mark and remained unbeaten until the chequered flag dropped at around 3:30 p.m. CET.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

The Ferraris were third and fourth with Alonso leading Massa once again.

Webber managed to improve his morning's position to fifth, ahead of the Lotus' of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean, both of whom are expected to show strong pace in the race, despite being relatively low key today.

The Frenchman was also the only casualty of the session, after he shunted his Lotus at the exit of Sainte Devote.

Mark Webber, Red Bull. (Photo: WRi2)

Jenson Button was eighth, ahead of a yet again quiet Sebastian Vettel and Paul di Resta's Force India.

Having shown strong pace in FP1, Pastor Maldonado finished the afternoon session in 14th, four places ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Monaco - Free Practice session 2 - Results*
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'14"759 - 45 laps
2 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'15"077 - 50
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'15"196 - 37
4 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'15"278 - 38
5 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'15"404 - 41
6 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'15"511 - 38
7 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'15"718 - 10
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'15"959 - 39
9 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'16"014 - 32
10 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'16"046 - 42
11 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'16"349 - 43
12 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'16"434 - 40
13 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'16"823 - 42
14 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'16"857 - 40
15 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'16"935 - 44
16 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'17"145 - 37
17 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'17"184 - 42
18 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'17"264 - 46
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'17"892 - 40
20 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'18"212 - 43
21 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'18"784 - 40
22 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'19"031 - 30

* Unofficial timing

After Petter Solberg's spectacular off road excursion in the vineyards last year at the rally of France, a grape grower has decided to produce a special reserve named after the former WRC champion.

Claude Hauller showing a bottle of the Cuvée Petter Solberg. (Photo: DNA Franck Delhomme)

In the accident, several grapes were damaged in the village of Epfig, in eastern France.

No less than 2,000 bottles of a special wine have been produced from the surviving grapes, a Gewurztraminer called "Cuvée Petter Solberg", with the agreement of the driver.

Cheers!

In 15 years of development, Audi has set standards with its ultra-lightweight of LMP1 endurance sports prototypes.

Photo: Audi Motorsport

Since 1999, ultra-lightweight design has been playing a central role with Audi's Le Mans prototypes (LMP). Materials, such as CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic), harbor major potential for optimizing weight.

Even in its first LMP sports car - the R8R of 1999 - Audi used a carbon fiber monocoque. Audi has significantly been reducing weight to this day.

Although a closed cockpit requires the use of more material Audi has managed to cut the weight of the monocoque in half between 1999 and today, while surpassing all the safety and crash requirements of the FIA.

Carbon monocoque (Photo: Audi Motorsport)

Furthermore, Audi managed to again increase the torsional strength of the monocoque during this period of time despite the 50 percent reduction in weight.

The chassis design is complemented by the transmission housing. Since 2012, it has been made of a lightweight and stable full-carbon construction in which the mounting points for the rear axle are integrated. In addition, very light backstays from the monocoque to the transmission housing optimize the stiffness of the rear end.

Audi's V6 TDI engine (Photo: Audi Motorsport)

Additionally, numerous smaller solutions have been accompanying the major steps. The carbon fiber gas pedal in the Audi R10 TDI already saved a few hundred grams of weight compared with an aluminum version.

The lithium-ion battery that was used for the first time in the 2009 R15 TDI even proved to be seven kilograms lighter than a lead storage battery.

Carbon transmission casing (Photo: Audi Motorsport)

On Friday, May 24th, Canadian Tire stores throughout Quebec (except the one located on Atwater in Montreal) will invite parents and grandparents to have their child safety seats inspected free of charge.

This is very important since a study conducted in 2011 by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) revealed that only half of all child safety seats intended for children under 5 are used correctly.

To benefit from adequate protection:

• children must be seated in a seat that corresponds to their weight and height;
• child safety seats must be well anchored to vehicle seats;
• children must be properly strapped in.

The event will highlight Canadian Tire's 2013 participation in the Permanent Provincial Network for the Inspection of Child Safety Seats. For a list of members in your area or city, visit www.siegedauto.qc.ca. (Quebec only).

Tomorrow, don't miss our interview with Bernard Villemaire, Regional Vice President Quebec, Store & Auto Operations at Canadian Tire Corporation.


Source : www.caaquebec.com

Photo: Olivier Delorme

Ontario's AMBER Alert program, led by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), is adding OnStar as a new partner to help quickly locate missing or abducted children in the province.

From now on, whenever an AMBER Alert is issued, OnStar will be able to share the alert information with its 430,000+ Canadian subscribers. OnStar will integrate Ontario AMBER Alert data into its call centre's geographical mapping system, and subscribers will be informed of the Alert when they contact OnStar for other services.

“As a company, it is extremely important for OnStar to support the AMBER Alert program and our technology can play a valuable role,” said Kevin Williams, President and Managing Director, General Motors of Canada. “Not only can motorists get information on AMBER Alerts in their area, but they can be directly connected by an OnStar Advisor to local authorities to submit tips and information.”

Photo: General Motors

Citing a $600 million loss over the last five years due to high costs and a strong Australian dollar, Ford will terminate all its production operations down under in October 2016, thereby eliminating 1,200 jobs. The Blue Oval will continue to import vehicles through more than 200 dealers, however.

Some insiders believe the adoption of the stricter Euro 5 emission standards in Australia starting on November 1st, 2016 put the final nail in the coffin.

“Our costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia,” Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano said. “The business case simply did not stack up. Manufacturing is not viable for Ford in Australia.”

The company has sold vehicles in Australia for almost 110 years and manufactured in the country since 1925, when founder Henry Ford first started assembling Model Ts there.

Australian auto industry by the numbers:

• 1.1 million cars built in 2012;
• 65 makes;
• 365 models;
• 22,683,000 inhabitants.

Source: Automotive News

From GMM

Wednesday was a costly day in Monaco for Mercedes.

According to Swiss newspaper Blick's veteran F1 correspondent Roger Benoit, Lewis Hamilton lost his temper with a boatload of photographers whilst jet-skiing in the Monaco harbour.

The report said Hamilton performed an extra-tight turn in front of the photographers, deliberately soaking their photo and TV cameras and mobile phones with a wave of seawater.

"An expensive prank," said Benoit. "Hamilton's team Mercedes apologised and paid for the $150,000 (!) in damage."

Later, Hamilton spoke to reporters in the Monaco paddock for his usual media duties with his pet Roscoe - a bulldog - snoring loudly on his lap.

Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team

From GMM

McLaren looks set to be the only Honda-powered team in 2015.

The great British team is already signed up to be Japanese carmaker's 'works' partner, but it had been reported that Lotus, Sauber and Williams had enquired about becoming customers of Honda's turbo V6 engine.

Indeed, it was believed that - under FIA rules - Honda was actually obliged to make available its engines to one or more customer teams when it returns to F1.

But German-language reports, in Speed Week and by the SID news agency, quote Martin Whitmarsh as suggesting Honda is in fact not obliged to have customers.

"To my knowledge there is nothing in the regulations forcing an engine supplier to supply several teams," he reportedly told The Racer's Edge.

"So we look forward to an exclusive collaboration with Honda," the McLaren boss added.

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren. (Photo: WRi2)

Whitmarsh also seemed to play down reports linking Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi with a possible return to F1 in McLaren's new Honda era.

"If we did that (signed a Japanese driver), it would be a driver that we have helped to develop," he said.

Officials of the IZOD IndyCar have revealed the new rules that will guide the qualifying session for race two for the three double-header events on the 2013 schedule.

It has been decided that qualifying for the second races in Detroit, Toronto and Houston will be split across two groups, with each getting 12 minutes and a minimum of five minutes of track time.

Each group will be determined by practice times from the previous day, with Group 1 being reserved for odd-numbered positions and Group 2 being allocated to even-numbered positions. Times from the two groups will be combined to determine the starting grid.

The grid for the first race will follow the standard three-round format used at other road and street course events.

Photo: IndyCar

Most small cars are often associated with women. Whether it's subcompacts or convertibles, their diminutive size and/or lack of aggressiveness seem to appeal to female drivers in particular.

True or not, we can tell you for a fact that women also like larger vehicles, especially when we have a family to haul around. SUVs and crossovers attract a fair share of ladies -- and not just soccer moms!

A quick survey of friends, family members, and Auto123.com employees has helped us put together these lists of the top 5 best and the top 5 worst chick cars. Fortunately, most of the models in the latter category have gone the way of the dodo.

Top 5 Best Chick Cars

1. Fiat 500

Photo: Fiat

Arguably the ultimate expression of feminity, and the best example of a chick car, the tiny Fiat 500 is all cute and curvy, not to mention infinitely customizable.

Continue reading Top 10 Best & Worst Chick Cars

From GMM

Force India will oppose any move to alter Pirelli's existing 2013 tires.

It has emerged in the Monaco paddock that, following the controversial reaction to its planned significant changes for Canada and beyond, the Italian supplier now intends only to tweak the rear tires.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said the change would be only to the steel lining underneath the tread, which was overheating and causing delaminations.

Pirelli wants to revert to the kevlar lining of 2012.

"This would not change the shape of the tire, so the teams would not have to change their aerodynamics," said Paul Hembery.

Correspondent Michael Schmidt, however, thinks the change could alter slightly the behaviour of the tire, because temperatures would drop by up to ten degrees and reduce graining.

But motor sport director Hembery insists: "This change would not punish those who are already doing well with these tires."

Nevertheless, Pirelli will struggle to get the change through.

"We will not agree to any change," said Force India's sporting director Otmar Szafnauer.

"Pirelli needs unanimity, and so nothing is going to change," he promised.

Photo: Sahara Force India

"We built our car based on the specifications given to us by Pirelli in September 2012. Changing the steel ring for kevlar changes the dynamics of the tire, which some teams might prefer. We don't see why Pirelli should intervene just because a few teams are having problems. They should change their cars instead," added Szafnauer.

He also does not sympathise with Pirelli wanting to make the change to stop rear tire deliminations.

"The tires are safe," he said, "because when they are damaged they are still inflated. It just looks stupid, but we don't agree to the change just so Pirelli can have a better image."