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From GMM

Niki Lauda only knew about Mercedes' secret tire test at Barcelona in May once "the wheels were turning".

That is the claim on Wednesday of the respected Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Michael Schmidt, as F1 braces for the first ever hearing of Jean Todt's new international tribunal.

Reportedly armed with lawyers and engineers of the Brackley based team, the sole Mercedes chief deployed to Paris on Thursday morning will be Ross Brawn, after a spokesman confirmed that Lauda and Toto Wolff will not be there.

After a disappointing first three years of the 'works' F1 foray, the Austrian pair are the new faces at Mercedes, and both shareholders.

Photo: WRi2

There has been speculation Brawn will be the scapegoat, or fall guy, with former McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe already at work at Brackley, and earmarked to eventually succeed Brawn.

"It was my decision to do the test, so that's a fact. Let's see what occurs at the tribunal and go from there," Ross Brawn told reporters in Canada recently.

Schmidt reported on Wednesday that Lauda, the triple world champion and Mercedes F1 chairman, first heard about the highly controversial Barcelona test "when the wheels were already turning".

He added that Lauda's deputies insisted that permission had been sought for the use of the 2013 car.

The two Lotus Praga LMP2 cars of the Koweda team have been seized by French authorities Tuesday afternoon in the paddock of the Le Mans circuit, one day prior to the first practice session of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The action was taken by one of the supplier of the German team owned by former HRT F1 team director, Colin Kolles for alleged non-payment of bills.

One report says that suspension components, gearboxes and the steering wheels were taken from the team's pit in Le Mans by bailiffs at 5pm on Tuesday.

The two Lotus entries are scheduled to be driven by James Rossiter, Kevin Weeda and Christophe Bouchut (N° 31), and Thomas Holzer, Dominik Kraihamer et Jan Charouz (N° 32).

The court case in the city of Le Mans is due at 3pm local time today, Wednesday. Team sources are hopeful that a successful resolution would allow the two cars to take to the track in free practice, which runs from 4 to 8pm.

Photo: Lotus

Any time of year is good for a road trip, but the summer months seem to bring out the need to hit the open road that much more. Maybe it's the sunshine or maybe it's too many iced coffees that have us all hyped up about filling up the tank and throwing caution to the wind as we head out to where the sky meets the earth.

Whatever it is, we're glad we feel the itch because it means we could (potentially) enjoy the journey behind the wheel of any of these top 10 road trip vehicles.

10 - Toyota Prius v
Well, if you haven't clicked away already, good. Here's why the Toyota Prius v is one of our top 10 road trip vehicles: it won't cost you a bomb at the pumps as you make your cross-country trek. Sure, road tripping is great, but not when you're spending money on feeding your car instead of yourself. It won't be the quickest, or the coolest looking, but it'll offer up space, comfort and convenience. And you can spend your dollars on roadside attractions ; and who doesn't want to see The Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma?!

Photo: Toyota

Continue reading Top 10 Road Trip Vehicles

Aston Martin today unveiled the Vanquish Volante, a new luxury convertible that sits at the top of the British automaker's sports car lineup. It uses a 565-horsepower, 6.0L V12 engine to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds and reach a top speed of 294 km/h.

The Aston Martin Vanquish Volante is the first Volante model with a full carbon fibre body, and at 1,844 kg, this drop-top is just 9 kg heavier than the coupe. The top folds away in 14 seconds only at speeds of up to 50 km/h.

Moreover, the LED taillight blades are derived from the One-77 supercar, and the Adaptive Damping System (ADS) allows the driver to switch between three distinct damping modes: Normal, Sport, and Track.

“Vanquish Volante, like the Vanquish coupe before it, uses the very latest technologies employed in the very best ways to create a sports car which is easy to control, and to enjoy dynamic performance at the finest level,” said Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez.

Priced from $297,995 USD, the car is expected to begin deliveries across the Americas from early next year.

After Chrysler initially denied an NHTSA request to recall 2.7 million 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty vehicles, the automaker has finally decided to conduct a voluntary campaign for said models.

An inspection will determine the necessity to upgrade the rear structure in order to better manage crash forces in low-speed impacts.

Chrysler's analysis confirms that these SUVs are not defective and are among the safest in their respective class. Nevertheless, Chrysler opted to comply with the NHTSA to provide additional measures to supplement the safety of its vehicles.

Photo: Jeep

James Finch's Phoenix Racing Sprint Cup NASCAR team seeks win at Sonoma this weekend after finishing third last year with Kurt Busch.

Team team's No. 51 Chevrolet will be driven by 1997 Formula 1 World Champion, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve who makes a return to NASCAR racing for the first time since the NAPA 200 Montreal Nationwide race in August of last year.

Villeneuve, also a former winner of the Indy 500, will drive the No. 51 TAG Heuer Eyewear Chevrolet in Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

Photo: Phoenix Racing

The Canadian, aged 42, has three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, nine Nationwide Series starts and seven Camping World Truck Series races to his credit.

In Nationwide road-course competition, he has four top-five finishes - including three at his home track in Montreal - and six top-10s

"We wanted to put a driver in our No. 51 Chevrolet who would give us the best chance to win at Sonoma Raceway," said James Finch, team owner. "When the opportunity came up to have someone like Jacques Villeneuve in our car, we were very happy to make that happen."

Villeneuve will face some stiff competition this weekend, especially from other experienced road racers such as Marcos Ambrose, Danica Patrick, Ron Fellows and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Meanwhile, here's some great footage of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park owner Ron Fellows testing at Sonoma Raceway is his Canadian Tire sponsored Chevy.

While Sync and MyFord Touch can be found on 79% of Ford's 2013 vehicles, the company plans to add certain buttons and knobs after the touchscreen-based system continued to garner mixed reviews from users.

It appears that a new rotary knob will control the volume of the radio and that another button will facilitate temperature control.

“The satisfaction is higher on vehicles equipped with MyFord Touch than without,” Raj Nair, Ford's global product development chief, insisted during an interview published today in The Wall Street Journal. “We've been able to spend a lot of time with customers to find what exactly are the areas that are bothering them.”

A Ford spokesman said the automaker has been talking about adding more buttons and knobs along with the touch screen features for some time and that some vehicles, such as the F series models, already include the knobs and buttons.

Source: Automotive News

Photo: Philippe Champoux

From GMM

Caterham boss Cyril Abiteboul has backed the team's all-new driver lineup, amid suggestions Heikki Kovalainen should be drafted back in.

For the first time since its 2010 debut, the green-liveried team appeared to falter early this season with an outdated car and in the wake of experienced driver Kovalainen's departure.

Finn Kovalainen reappeared in Friday practice in Bahrain and Spain, triggering rumours he might soon replace either rookie Giedo Van der Garde - slammed by Mark Webber in Canada as a 'pay driver with no mirrors' - or Charles Pic.

Photo: Caterham F1 Team

Abiteboul told F1's official website: "He (Kovalainen) definitely helped in the couple of sessions he ran, and in the feedback he gave."

But there is no sign the 31-year-old will appear again, even if Finnish commentator for MTV3, Oskari Saari, said: "I still believe he will race this season."

For now, Abiteboul is backing van der Garde, who will drop five places on the Silverstone grid after his crash with Webber in Canada, and Frenchman Pic.

"Same as with the team, I'd like to evaluate both drivers properly at the right moment, but for now I think both are making progress in parallel," he said.

From GMM

The F1 driver market is waiting for Kimi Raikkonen's next move, according to Oskari Saari, a commentator for Finnish television MTV3.

"Red Bull's Helmut Marko said in Canada that driver decisions will be made in August, during the summer break," Saari said.

It is strongly rumoured that Lotus' Raikkonen, having firmly re-established his reputation in the wake of a rallying sabbatical, is now likely to return to a true top team in 2014 to replace Mark Webber.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus E21. (Photo: WRi2)

Saari said he thinks Raikkonen is a better candidate than Red Bull's youngsters at Toro Rosso, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.

"They're good guys, but not quite good enough," he insisted.

"I think the probability of Kimi going to Red Bull is very high -- it would be a logical move," added Saari.

Saari also repeated rumours that Lotus might look to Williams' Pastor Maldonado and his PDVSA sponsor millions to replace Raikkonen.

From GMM

A photo has emerged that some believe is evidence Red Bull is using illegal 'traction control' aboard its championship-leading RB9 car.

"Bumps or traction control?" a report by Italy's Autosprint said.

The photo shows Mark Webber's single seater exiting a corner in Canada and leaving rubber marks on the track due to wheel spin.

But, apparently moments into the wheel spin, the rubber marks become dotted, as if to depict the kicking-in of a form of traction control, which is not allowed in F1.

The photo was sent in by a reader, who admitted that the dotted wheel spin marks may also have been caused by a phenomenon of resonance in the rear suspension.

"Anyway, the image is worth reporting," the Autosprint story read.

Caption: FOM

UPDATE
Such tire marks cannot be the undisputed proof that Red Bull is using some sort of a traction control device.

In 1984-1985, the Michelin-shod F1 cars used to leave similar tire marks on the tarmac under powerful accelerations. Michelin's Pierre Dupasquier explained at the time that the flexible sidewalls of the radial Michelin tire generated major tire deformation under extreme loads, producing these marks, as there were no traction control systems at the time.

This photo taken by WRI2 last year shows similar tire marks, again caused by the deformation of the tire under acceleration.

Tire marks on the starting grid. (Photo: WRI2)

Grand in more ways than one
The idea of a four-door coupe may be lost on some, but not on BMW. Somehow, they've managed to design a vehicle that's cavernous inside but feels small and nimble on the road. From long sweeping lines to tight, taut handling, the 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe is just that: Grand.

There's another thing that's quite grand about the 650i, and that's its price tag. However, in my mind, BMW justified the numbers (and there are many) attached to the Gran Coupe. While it is quite a large vehicle (stretching nearly 16 ft in length), it's the attention to detail that really dragged me into the luxurious stronghold that is the 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe.


What is the BMW 650i Gran Coupe?
BMW's 6 Series is a coupe model, and first hit North American soil in the ‘70s. Available as a two-door and later, a convertible, the 6 Series was, and still is, seen as the sportier brother to the 7 Series. Larger in size and with ample power, the 6 Series is the sporty businessman's vehicle of choice.

It wasn't until its third iteration that the BMW 6 Series gained an extra pair of doors to rival the likes of the Audi A7 and Mercedes-Benz CLS. The Gran Coupe four-door model was first seen in 2012.

Technicalities
While there are a few engine choices available in Europe, we only get one here in Canada for 2013, but at least it's a very good power source. The 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe features a TwinPower Turbo V8 that pumps out a glorious 445 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. One hundred from a standstill happens in just 4.8 seconds. The power in the 650i Gran Coupe is fluid and always there.

Turbo lag is nearly non-existent and the 8-speed sports automatic transmission is a joy to manipulate. Steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters offer more control, but I rarely used them as the transmission is that quick to respond and functional on its own.

The 2013 BMW 650i starts at $98,800. At the top of the 6 Series lineup sits the M6 Gran Coupe for $127,900. Where does the 650i Gran Coupe fit in? Well, it sits pretty at $99,800 -- to start. BMWs are highly customizable and are made to order. As such, my tester's price rose to a dramatic $131,100 after various packages for seats, sound, and technology were added.

The 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe features a TwinPower Turbo V8 that pumps out a glorious 445 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Olivier Delorme)

Driving the BMW 650i Gran Coupe
For a vehicle weighing somewhere in the 4,500lb range, the 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe is quite light on its feet. I expected to feel as if I was piloting a small land yacht; instead, I felt like I was behind the wheel of a slightly fatter 3 Series. That's the thing about BMWs; they really are driver's cars (no matter how big the backseat is).

I'll admit, the nose on the 650i Gran Coupe was a little stretched out for my liking (I paid close attention when parking near curbs, etc.). However, as far as handling, cornering and acceleration were concerned, the 650i is an absolute joy to drive -- and the bark from the dual exhaust will keep you coming back for more.

Visibility in the 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe isn't the best as the rear window has quite a severe angle; however, the available backup camera will help with that.

For a vehicle weighing somewhere in the 4,500lb range, the 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe is quite light on its feet. (Photo: Olivier Delorme)

Inside and out of the BMW 650i Gran Coupe
There's no denying that the 650i Gran Coupe is a big beast of a car. I adore the recessed, angel-eye headlights and bulbous, ferocious nose of the front fascia. A traditional kidney grille and sporty front lip complete the intimidating look that ensures traffic parts in your wake. The coupe line is stunning on the 650i Gran Coupe. Four-door vehicles that can wear the coupe line so well without looking awkward always intrigue me, and the 650i is one such vehicle.

Here's where the little things come to light: From subtle “Gran Coupe” branding below the rear side windows (integrated into the door frame) to “BMW LED” branding in the headlamps, BMW really took a fine-tooth designing comb to the 650i.

Space in the 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe is ample front and back, and standard fare is present in terms of amenities (iDrive, heated seats, privacy screens in the rear, Bluetooth, etc.).

I adore the recessed, angel-eye headlights and bulbous, ferocious nose of the front fascia. A traditional kidney grille and sporty front lip complete the intimidating look that ensures traffic parts in your wake. (Photo: Olivier Delorme)

Comparing the BMW 650i Gran Coupe
As mentioned above, the 650i Gran Coupe was released to compete directly with the Audi A7 and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class. As far as a grand touring saloon goes, I'm not sure the BMW is at the top of the pack; however, when it comes to sporty driving dynamics the BMW has it in the bag.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This is great and everything, but at some point it all becomes a little dull.

Recently, Toyota unveiled their latest 2014 Corolla and although not revolutionary by any stretch of the imagination, the new car shows signs of progress in the right direction. Although it remains progress, I'm not certain that Toyota created anything entirely new. Driving impressions are a few months away, so final judgment will be reserved for then.

On the design front, a colleague of mine sent me the picture you see in this story. He concocted this picture in only a few seconds, but the message it conveys is quite clear: Design barriers were not torn down with the new Corolla.

In fact, with the exception of Kia and Hyundai, few others are really doing anything concrete or original. The Dodge Dart is decidedly a handsome car, but the gapping grille, aggressive bumper, and profiled headlights have been around since the 2010 MAZDA3 in the same segment.

So what's going on? Easy: There are innovators and there are followers. For some manufacturers such as Mazda with their gorgeous MAZDA6, they bank on being noticed first, then appreciated for their technology second. I don't know how well it will work for the 6, however, when the new 3 arrives, hold on to your hats.

So, what does this all mean? Well, in the Corolla's case it's a matter of Toyota deciding to invest further in content (to match the Koreans) and to depend on its namesake to attract and maintain clientele. As a note, it will work. In the case of the Kia Forte, its success depends heavily on two things: bang for the buck and styling. I think they've managed both.

If we look at every car in the compact segment, many look alike from one angle or another and even if I find the situation a little sad, conservative buyers in this segment like it this way. As the years and months go by and our aging population moves out of cars, manufacturers will have to spruce and spice up designs to attract younger buyers.

The process has already begun so within a few years, stragglers will all catch up. The end result? The compacy car segment will be a good looking bunch (and clearly all from the same lineage) in the very near future.

The refreshed 2014 Buick LaCrosse will be priced starting at $34,060, with shipping, or $610 higher than the outgoing 2013 model, GM said today.

Chrysler has decided to recall 2.7 million 1993 to 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002 to 2007 Liberty models for a potential risk relating to the fuel tank placement between the rear bumper and rear axle.

Jaguar Land Rover is targeting global sales of 750,000 units by the end of the decade, with an eventual target of 1 million units, a top executive said today.

The trial against G. Elizabeth Carmichael and her associates of the defunct Twentieth Century Motor Car Corp.

Tesla Motors, already adding a network of fast-charging stations for its luxury electric cars, is readying a service to rapidly swap a car's battery with a charged pack for added convenience.

Chrysler Group, saying it's settled a dispute with federal safety regulators, will inspect older-model Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty SUVs and install a trailer hitch assembly if necessary to 'better manage crash forces in low-speed...

Former BMW Dingolfing plant manager Wolfgang Stadler is joining Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover as director of manufacturing responsible for global operations.

News 18 Jun, 2013

The new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray will start at £61,495 - but it will be offered in left-hand-drive-only