Auto News 5

Car companies are moving full steam ahead on voice controls and are unlikely to be slowed by the note of caution AAA sounded last week, automakers and suppliers say.

General Motors' decision to stop publicly disclosing monthly production numbers has touched off concern among industry analysts and economists, as well as suppliers that rely on the data for their production plans.

Rather than its traditional touting of genteel luxury and British roots, Jaguar is taking a walk on the wild side with the marketing of the new F-Type convertible.

Last week Apple executive Eddy Cue said 12 car brands will let motorists link iPhones to center consoles to make calls, send text messages, use maps and issue voice commands.

Vehicle production in North America is back near record levels, with output forecast to surpass 16 million units this year for the first time in more than a decade.

North America and South America are radically different markets. But Toyota Motor Corp. has installed two familiar names from the United States to lead them.

When Peugeot launches its new 308 at the Frankfurt auto show in September it will become the first automaker in Europe to offer full-LED headlamps as standard in the majority of the compact's trim lines.

The wildest racing machines tackled the 12.4 miles of the Pikes Peak hill climb course this past weekend in preparation for the big finale to be held June 30.

For the first time, competitors got the chance to drive the famous Pikes Peak course in its entirety, which reaches a vertiginous 4300 metres at its summit.

Photos: Red Bull

“We've done two test sessions now and my feeling is that the car is ready,” said none-time World Rally Champion, Sebastien Loeb who drives a 875-bhp Peugeot 208 T16.

“But one big question mark is the fact that many of our serious rivals have skipped the two test sessions held so far. So while I'm confident that we've done as much as we need to do, you never know what the others have up their sleeve.”

Photo: Red Bull

“It's not like a race with a warm-up lap, or a rally with a road section, before you start here. You just sit in the car and bang! You're off at full speed straight away!” Loeb added.

“A car like this is actually never what you would call easy to drive, but that's what makes it so thrilling,” said Loeb at the end of the test.

“In the end though, we discovered some really useful things. I never had a chance to drive the whole mountain before - just sections of it - so the work we did on Friday, when we could go from the very bottom all the way to the top, was a really good taste of what was to come. And we had four potential tire compounds to choose from, so we evaluated them all and selected the compound that we thought would suit the conditions best,” he ended.

Photo: Red Bull

From GMM

Jenson Button has backed former teammate Lewis Hamilton to bounce back strongly after finding his feet at Mercedes.

Since 2010, the pair were teammates at McLaren, where Hamilton began his F1 career, won the 2008 title, and solidified his reputation as one of the very best on the grid.

But since moving to Mercedes, the Briton has had his hands full alongside his former karting teammate Nico Rosberg, who in the three previous seasons even had the edge on seven time world champion Michael Schumacher.

Jenson Button, however, is tipping Hamilton to hit back strongly.

Lewis Hamilton in Monaco. (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

"To be fair, he has already scored significantly more points than Nico," lead McLaren driver Button told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"Lewis is incredibly fast," the 2009 world champion added. "But the same is as true for him as it is for the rest of us -- if he doesn't have a balance in the car that suits him, that he got used to over many years, then it's not easy. The other side is that Nico is also fast. But Lewis has not lost his speed. It's still there. He will come back and shock everybody."

From press release

With three weeks to go until the start of the Euro-Racecar NASCAR races on the Tours Speedway oval on 6-7 July in France, work is in full swing.

The Speedway is being built in record time and it will create a circuit that's unique in Europe and will enable fans to see exceptional races.

General view of the construction site. (Photo: Euro-Racecar)

After the inaugural event in 2012 on a temporary layout, Tours Evenements and the city of Tours now have a real speedway designed and developed with the expertise of NASCAR officials from the USA.

Trusn 1 and 2. (Photo: Euro-Racecar)

The track has been entirely resurfaced with asphalt, and a permanent banking with a 9° slope has been built in corners 3 and 4 (like Indianapolis).

Flattening, removal and refilling plus adding the asphalt surface have all been successfully carried out to enable the safety structures to be installed (walls and fencing) on Monday June 24.

General view of the oval. (Photo: Euro-Racecar)

Turns 3 and 4. (Photo: Euro-Racecar)

Greg Biffle's second-straight win at Michigan International Speedway turned into a huge milestone as Ford's 1000th victory in NASCAR's top three series.

A rare mistake by Jimmie Johnson sealed the deal for Biffle who drives for Roush Fenway Racing.

"The guy was 10 (on the restart) and was catching me with 10 to go," Biffle said. "That's a fast race car. We beat the 48 (Johnson) today and that says a lot. He was really, really fast."

Photo: NASCAR

Johnson was catching up with Biffle in closing laps when the five-time champion smacked the wall and had to pit eventually ending up 28th.

“We got him to make a mistake, we got him to falter, and we pushed the envelope, and that's part of racing and part of running hard and being competitive, and it makes you feel good when you push the guy over the edge, and he made a mistake. And that's what makes you feel good is that you outsmarted him or you beat him at his game, and he definitely had a fast car and we got him to make a mistake today, and I don't think he was going to catch me, but at the same time he made a mistake trying,” added Biffle.

“I guess just running that hard trying to get through traffic and get to the No. 16 (Biffle) we wore through the right-front,” said Johnson.

Kevin Harvick finished second in a Chevrolet followed by the Toyota of Martin Truex Jr.

“We didn't start off great,” said Harvick “We made some big adjustments on that first pit stop and we were able to get some track position and then they did a good job managing, when the caution came out there, to get us off the end of pit road in front of the leader. So, everybody did a great job today.”

Johnson's problems were the tip of the iceberg for Hendrick Motorsports which had its' worst finish since Sonoma in 2005 as all four team cars finished 28th or worse.

Just a few laps into the 400-mile race at the two-mile oval a spin by Bobby Labonte, driving for Phoenix Racing caught Jeff Gordon. Dale Earnhardt Jr. aiming to repeat a spring race win in Michigan had a blown engine. Kasey Kahne's string of bad luck lengthened when his car hit the wall and caught fire. He was not hurt.

Carl Edwards, the polesitter, finished eighth and narrowed the gap to points leader, Johnson, to 31 points.

Photo: Ford

The win was Ford's 715th in Sprint Cup, 200th in Nationwide, and 85th in the Camping World Truck Series.

The Roush Fenway Racing considers the Michigan oval its' home track. Thus the win and the milestone took on special meaning. "We expect to be at our best when we come to MIS and I am glad we could pull it off," Roush said. "I was a little nervous for a minute there, but I am glad it worked out and glad we could give Ford its 1,000th win."

Over the years, I've noticed an interesting correlation in the automotive world: We love horsepower and horse power. There's a definite connection there, and never has it been clearer to me than on a recent trip to Lexington, KY where I spent time with Land Rover at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Surrounded by tens of thousands of horse people, as well as countless Land Rover owners and enthusiasts, it became crystal clear.

While listening to the announcers of the dressage competition on day one, I found it intriguing that they used terms like “rear drive,” “controlled cornering,” and “cutting apexes” to describe the horse's performance. The trend continued the next day during the cross-country course where the horse's power, precision and performance was under constant scrutiny by announcers, and put to the test over every jump.

Here is a community of people dedicated to a group of animals all about power, strength, and agility. The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is the triathlon of equine eventing, a proving ground for horse and rider where they not only prove their prowess as riders but their horse's well-rounded athleticism in all three disciplines. So, what better vehicle to be associated with such an event than Land Rover who continuously prove their ability to blend the lines between off-road capability, urban living and luxury?

You don't have to be rich to have a love and appreciation of horses and cars. Quite a few automotive journalists I know also have an affinity for the equine breed (yours truly included). And trust me, we are not a highbrow, high-income bunch (no offense, guys).

I believe it has a great deal to do with harnessing in a great deal of power, controlling such strength, and the sense of freedom one gets cantering through an open field on the back of something so incredibly capable -- much like the rush one would get piloting a drop-top 911 down the Autobahn. Bliss.

I get a rush each time I saddle up to go for a ride that's similar to strapping myself into a high-powered sports car. I know I'm about to experience something spectacular, something that will get my adrenaline pumping; even something that could scare me and teach me a valuable lesson. I'm nervous, excited, happy, thrilled and cautious all at once. I understand I have the ability to harness the power beneath me, but know I can easily make a mistake.

We must work together as one to make this union work, we must mutually respect one another and yet accept one as the proven leader (reader: the rider/driver).

Driving a powerful car is a lot like riding a powerful horse, and I see that connection now more than I ever did before. Even driving a mundane, everyday car is like plodding along on a weathered old mare; you still have to keep your wits about you because the thing you're controlling can still overpower you at any moment.

Horse people and car people share a connection I'm not sure many of them realize. Even if you don't particularly like the idea of jumping on the back of a horse to head out on a hack, you surely appreciate the power and strength these creatures have; just as you might loathe the idea of a long Sunday drive along a winding road, yet still appreciate the power and performance of the vehicle.

Photo: Miranda Lightstone

From GMM

All eyes will turn to Paris' Place de la Concorde on Thursday, as the very fate of Mercedes' F1 foray rests in the hands of the governing FIA.

It is at president Jean Todt's new international tribunal that some sort of penalty is expected to be levied against the German carmaker, after sanctioning a highly-controversial 'secret' Pirelli tire test at Barcelona recently.

"I fear a hefty penalty. Without functioning regulations, a sport like formula one cannot exist," commentator Christian Danner told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Danner admitted he is also expecting further consequences.

"Depending on who has made a mistake, heads will roll -- either at Mercedes or the FIA," he predicts.

Ross Brawn, Mercedes AMG. (Photo: WRi2)

That corresponds with speculation Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn, who according to Welt newspaper will not be accompanied to Paris by fellow bosses Niki Lauda or Toto Wolff, might be the Brackley based team's fall guy.

And there have been reports Charlie Whiting could also be in trouble, with the Guardian newspaper saying Brawn has an email from the FIA race director that incorrectly permits the test.

"We have nothing to hide," Wolff told Welt.

"We have prepared our documents, on Thursday the judgement will come, and we'll see if we can live with it. We are not targeting this outcome or another; we do not even say there necessarily must be an acquittal. There is no judgement that we are expecting. Our belief is that we have done nothing wrong."

Nonetheless, it is rumoured that if the FIA acts harshly against Mercedes, the very fate of the Brackley based team is at risk.

The 'tire-gate' scandal has given some shareholders of the parent company Daimler fresh ammunition to call for the end of Mercedes' F1 foray.

"The group's three-digit million spending (on F1) brings nothing to nobody. In our opinion, not a single car has been sold because Mercedes is represented by a team in formula one," said Michael Muders, of Union Investment.

Photo: WRi2

Mercedes-powered McLaren driver Jenson Button, however, is not rushing to judgement ahead of Thursday's hearing.

Asked if he thinks the team got an unfair advantage by testing in Barcelona, he answered: "Both drivers (Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg) have said no. If they did (get an advantage), they'd have to be lying. So I believe them," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

It's the little things that count, right? Well, we set out to discover those little differences amongst some of the heaviest hitters in a segment that's taken the automotive market by storm: compact crossovers. This year has seen some redesigns and updates that we just couldn't ignore. So, we took the players we think are the most relevant, at the moment, and the ones we feel buyers will be most likely to look at when in the market for a compact crossover.

Who are said players? Well, we gathered the 2014 Mazda CX-5, 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan, 2014 Subaru Forester and 2013 Toyota RAV4.

This list was put together following last year's compact comparo test as three of the four here were missing at the time. The Subaru was omitted because a full revamp was imminent. The Volkswagen was absent because we drew the line at six participants for sanity's sake. The Mazda and Toyota are the only returns and for different yet related reasons. The RAV4 is all new while the CX-5, a big winner in our hearts, was recently on the receiving end of a life altering transplant.

With miles of open country roads, a bit of off-roading, and four drivers well placed to judge the practicality, drivability, and durability of these compact crossovers, we hit the road.

Photo: OIivier Delorme

Continue reading 2013 Compact Crossover Comparison Test

Bosch, through its Automotive Service Solutions division, teamed up with Evatran to launch the Plugless Level 2 EV charging system -- one of the first in the U.S.

Installed on a driveway or a garage floor, this wireless charging station costs around $3,000 US and works with electric vehicles such as the Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt. The control panel houses the electrical components of the station and is hard-wired to a dedicated 240V 30A circuit.

Sources : www.pluginnow.com

Photo: Bosch

During the big MAX-5 2013 event on June 15th in Lelystad, Netherlands, 683 Mazda MX-5s joined together to form the “largest parade of Mazda cars” according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The previous high was set in 2010 with 459 MX-5s aligned in Essen, Germany.

A total of 1,450 participants contributed to the successful record attempt.

The MAX-5 2013 event also included demonstrations by professional drivers of the Ribank Mazda MaX5 Cup, as well as an opportunity to test Mazda's new i-ACTIVSENSE safety technology on the track.

Photo: Mazda

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has hit back at claims costs are too high in formula one, insisting the teams waste too much money.

Photo: WRi2

It has been reported that with the exception of 'big four' Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, every team in pitlane is groaning under financial strain.

And costs are only set to rise, with the return of in-season testing next year and the vastly more expensive turbo V6 'power units'.

Photo: WRi2

"They will have to find a way to be competitive with less money," an unsympathetic F1 chief executive Ecclestone told Germany's Auto Bild.

"They need to refocus on the essentials, and that is the racing and the racing cars, not huge and meaningless motor homes," he added.

Photo: WRi2

MINI's new “NOT NORMAL” campaign kicked off this month with two TV and online ads. The idea is to highlight the strong emotional and personal connection between driver and MINI, as well as the car's strong, independent character.

The campaign also includes a number of printed ads that similarly depict the personal bond between a MINI and its driver.

From GMM

Red Bull would like to keep Sebastian Vettel beyond his new 2015 contract, and even the reigning world champion is not ruling out a longer career with the premier energy drink-owned team.

Some in the paddock, who had linked the 25-year-old with a switch to Ferrari or Mercedes in the future, were surprised when Red Bull announced last week that Vettel has added another year to his existing contract.

"The fact he has signed this extension shows his commitment to Red Bull, and hopefully the relationship will go beyond 2015, which is already some way into the future," team boss Christian Horner told the PA Sport news agency.

Sebastian Vettel. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

Reigning triple world champion Vettel, who looks on course for a fourth consecutive title in 2013, also said F1 should not be surprised by last week's news.

"There was no reason to change," he told Bild newspaper.

Some, however, have pointed out that while Vettel is now signed up through 2015, a true 'long-term' contract might look different -- perhaps a looming three-year commitment at least.

Asked why he did not sign 'long term', the German answered: "Because even 2015 is a long way away, and 2016 even further.

"Who knows what's going to be happening in three years, let alone five. Maybe I won't even be driving anymore, because the desire is gone."

Does that mean that only retirement can separate Vettel and Red Bull?

"I really don't know!" he insisted. "Maybe I will end up with another team, to find a new challenge. Almost anything is possible. But luckily I don't need to decide now."

The 2013 Mazda Adventure Rally, organized by Mazda Canada's Vehicle Dynamic Group, took place in Boulder, Colorado last week. The event brought together teams of automotive journalists from across Canada to compete and raise money for their favourite charitable foundation. Mazda handed out generous amounts of $10,000, $2,000 and $1,000 to the top three duos that accumulated the most points throughout the two-day event.

We embarked on an exciting adventure on the hunt for clues and points.

Actual details and the event itinerary were closely guarded and kept secret. The only bits of leaked information that turned out to be true were the identity of the vehicles -- CX-5 and CX-9 -- and the fact that we would be spending a large amount of time on the road.

Photo: Philippe Champoux

There was no time for dillydallying, that's for sure! We drove nearly 1,500 kilometres on the most breathtaking roads and backroads in the beautiful states of Colorado and Utah.

From Boulder, we made our way to Telluride by way of Buena Vista and Ridgeway. Telluride is perched way up high (2,600 metres or 8,750 feet), and the lack of oxygen took a toll on both vehicles and passengers. From Telluride, we descended into Moab before crossing over into Utah, and headed towards Green River, Fairview, and Sundance.

Fortunately our test vehicles were equipped with Mazda's all-wheel drive in order to meet the various off-road challenges. The CX-5 GS impressed us with its agility and the level of standard equipment, while the CX-9 GS was both spacious and comfortable.

Driving-pleasure has always been at the forefront of Mazda's culture, and this extraordinary rally highlighted the benefits of this philosophy.

Event Schedule
The rally was divided into seven stages, three the first day and four the second. A variety of creative challenges were thrown our way. For example, we needed to figure out the itinerary that would take us to the most mountain summits in a very precise timeframe. Or how about finding the route which would take us to the highest and lowest altitudes in less than 300 kilometres? The wider the margin in elevation, the more points you earned.

The Mazda team provided iPads in order to take pictures to prove that we actually visited the different areas.

We spent two days in the heart of the American Rockies, travelling from snow-capped mountain peaks the first day to gigantic canyons the next. Somehow, we managed to avoid the various animal herds that were often smack in the middle of the road. Our two sets of eyes weren't enough to take in all the splendour.

There was a definite risk factor to this event that doubled the degree of difficulty. The organizers equipped each team with satellite phones, search and rescue transponders, GPS devices, as well as an emergency kit. Fortunately, everyone came back safe and sound.

Photo: Philippe Champoux

Continue reading 2013 Mazda Adventure Rally: Breathtaking Adventure and Scenery!