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Jun
9th

2013 Subaru BRZ Limited review notes: A good looking driverand#8217;s car

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ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAKE LINGEMAN: The 2013 Subaru BRZ is an extremely fun car, but you have to work for it.
Jun
9th

Automotive News Europe News Feed 2013-06-09 01:01:00

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Fiat "has everything we need" to relaunch its historic performance sports brand Alfa Romeo, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said.
Jun
9th

Marchionne says Fiat could look for new China partner for Jeep

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Fiat could look for a new China partner to help it manufacture Chrysler's Jeep brand in the world's largest car market in 2014, said Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.
Jun
9th

F1 Canada: Live coverage of the 2013 Grand Prix of Canada

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Auto123.com provides live coverage of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada held Sunday in Montreal.

Our motorsport editor René Fagnan is on location at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Don't miss his analysis and comments during the Grand Prix of Canada held Sunday afternoon. For logistic reasons, the feed will be carried in both English and French.

Turn on your television and follow our coverage on your computer.

Coverage will begin at 1:45 pm, Sunday June 9.

Jun
9th

F1: Pastor Maldonado calms 2014 Lotus switch rumours

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From GMM

Pastor Maldonado has played down rumours he could be shaping up to leave crisis-struck Williams.

It is now more than a year since the Venezuelan broke through for his maiden win, with Barcelona 2012 seen at the time as the end of the great British team's long slump.

But in 2013, Williams is back in the doldrums, even though Valtteri Bottas has qualified third on a wet day in Canada.

"I think the fact is in the dry the car doesn't belong in P3," the Finn immediately admitted.

Williams' troubles have triggered rumours Maldonado might be in talks with Lotus about 2014, with the Enstone team perhaps needing to replace Kimi Raikkonen, and definitely in the mood to welcome a big sponsor like PDVSA.

Lotus F1 Team
Lotus E21 (Photo: WRi2)

Maldonado told Spain's Marca newspaper in Montreal: "I am 100 per cent focused on this (Williams) car.

"We are having a bad year, but that can happen to any team.  I think I'm with the best team a young driver aspiring to something more in F1 can be with.

"Williams is not a small team, it's an historic team looking to get back.  And I want to fight for the title with them.

"We have everything you need to do that, and I want to win here before going anywhere else," he insisted.

Meanwhile, Speed Week reports that Maldonado's wife Gaby is due to give birth to their first child - a girl - in September.


Jun
9th

F1: Teams agree to in-season testing return

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Formula One teams took a vote, Saturday night in Montreal, over in-season testing, and agreed to its return.

The plan drafted by the teams still needs to meet the approval of the World's Motor Sport Council, which could come at the next meeting later this month, but would allow four two-day sessions to take place on grand prix sites after a race.

According to early reports, Barcelona and Silverstone are the preferred venues for in-season testing, but Budapest and Spa are also on the short list of favoured tracks.

Officials need to see the final 2014 race calendar to validate the test schedule, because a test cannot be held between two back-to-back grands prix.

Furthermore, three additional pre-season tests are scheduled, of which two could be staged in Bahrain, again if the calendar permits.


Jun
9th

NASCAR: Allmendinger in for Bobby Labonte next week at Michigan

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AJ Allmendinger will replace Bobby Labonte next week at Michigan International Speedway for JTG Daugherty Racing and possibly four more races.

The move is being made by the single-car operation to help refine the direction for the team's development of the Gen-6 Camrys housed in their Harrisburg, N.C. shop.


“Bobby Labonte wanted to help our team grow and develop when he signed on with our organization at the beginning of the 2011 season,” stated JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Brad Daugherty.

“He continues to do a tremendous job for us. Bobby has given us his ideas for improving the product and we believe AJ will do the same."

Stated JTG Daugherty Racing competition director Bobby Hutchens, "A single-car team does not have the benchmarking capabilities of all the multi-car operations we compete against each weekend.  This move will help us identify where our cars stand so that we can go to work on the next generation of our car design.”


Allmendinger, 31, believes he can assist the JTG Daugherty Racing team.


“I have raced for Phoenix Racing some this year and feel confident I'll be able to provide JTG Daugherty Racing with a good comparison," said Allmendinger. "I'm thankful for this opportunity to work with the team and Bobby (Labonte).”


Allmendinger has driven a limited NASCAR schedule since being suspended for a failed drug test last year. Roger Penske fired him but gave him another chance in IndyCar. He's set to drive in two NASCAR Nationwide Series races this season for Penske Racing.

Daugherty said the team will put the 49-year old Labonte back behind the wheel at some point.

"Hopefully, this will help Bobby moving forward," Daugherty said. "This isn't an unseating of Bobby Labonte,” said Daugherty.” We just want to figure out why we're struggling so badly.

Labonte has 21 wins in 703 career cup starts but hasn't won a race since 2003.


Jun
9th

F1 Canada: Vettel takes smooth lights-to-flag Montreal win

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Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel took a peerless lights-to-flag victory at the Canadian Grand Prix by 14 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

This was the reigning world champion's and Red Bull's first win in Canada, despite having scored pole position in the last three races around the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve.

Lewis Hamilton finished third after spending most of the race in second, but was overtaken by Alonso on lap 63 just after the start finish line.

However, the 2008 world champion was undeterred and stayed within the DRS detection zone of the Ferrari to try again to pass on the next lap.

Despite being able to overtake his former teammate, Hamilton scored his third podium for Mercedes in 2013 since switching from McLaren over the winter.

Mark Webber finished fourth ahead of Monaco winner, Nico Rosberg, despite the Australian having a large part of his front wing being knocked away by Caterham's Giedo van der Garde, after the Dutchman appeared to turn in on him whilst being lapped.

Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne scored his best ever Formula 1 career result by finishing sixth

Paul di Resta ended the day in seventh after starting 17th, one place ahead of Felipe Massa, who also drove an aggressive race to score points from 16th.

Raikkonen and Sutil rounded out the top 10, despite the latter spinning whilst trying to pass Williams' Valtteri Bottas in the races' earlier stages.

Bottas, who starred in qualifying, finished 14th after starting third on the grid and also lost three places by the end of lap three.

Williams was not the only other championship winning team who left Montreal pointless, as McLaren simply did not have the pace to score today.

Sergio Perez finished 11th, one place ahead of teammate Jenson Button.


Race results* - Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal, Quebec)
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 70 laps 1.32'09"143
2 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 14"408
3 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 15"942
4 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 25"731
5 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'09"725
6 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1 lap
7 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1 lap
8 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1 lap
9 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1 v
10 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1 lap
11 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1 lap
12 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1 lap
13 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1 lap
14 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1 lap
15 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 2 laps
16 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 2 laps
17 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 2 laps
18 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 3 laps
19 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 3 laps

Fastest lap of the race: 1'16"182 by Mark Webber (Red Bull)

Retirements
Lap 63 - Esteban Gutierrez
Lap 46 - Nico Hulkenberg
Lap 44 - Giedo Van der Garde

Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 132; 2.Alonso 96; 3.Raikkonen 88; 4.Hamilton 77; 5.Webber 69; 6.Rosberg 57; 7.Massa 49; 8.Di Resta 34; 9.Grosjean 26; 10.Button 25; 11.Sutil 17; 12.Vergne 13; 13.Perez 12; 14.Ricciardo 7; 15.Hulkenberg 5.

Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 201; 2.Ferrari 145; 3.Mercedes 134; 4.Lotus-Renault 114; 5.Force India-Mercedes 51; 6.McLaren-Mercedes 37; 7.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 20; 8.Sauber-Ferrari 5.

*Unofficial

Jun
9th

2006-2013 Chevrolet Impala Pre-Owned

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Model: 2006 to 2013 Chevrolet Impala

Vehicle Type: Sedan

The Verdict: The last-gen Impala was loved for performance, space, comfort, and even fuel mileage. The most commonly reported reliability issues should be easy to identify. The Chevy Impala will appeal strongly to a value-minded, used-car shopper after plenty of space and comfort, though a full mechanical checkup and computer scan is strongly advised.

Price: Selection abounds in the used Impala marketplace, with an earlier, higher-mileage unit opening the bidding around $7,000, and a newer, low-mileage “demo” unit commanding prices of up to $30,000. Selection seems fantastic in the $20,000 to $25,000 range for a few-year-old model with reasonable mileage, though many units exist between $12,000 and $15,000 as well.

2009 Chevrolet Impala LTZ logo
Photo: Matthieu Lambert

What Owners Like:
Owners appreciare the Impala's combination of interior space and ride comfort. Many report pleasing power output from even the smaller standard V6 engine. Gas mileage is rated well, as is powertrain refinement. Noise levels are appreciably low, and the upgraded BOSE audio system is rated highly.

What Owners Dislike: Common complaints include windshield wiper and defroster performance in cold weather, less-than-durable factory tires, and poor remote-start range.

2009 Chevrolet Impala LTZ wheel
Photo: Matthieu Lambert

Continue reading 2006-2013 Chevrolet Impala Pre-Owned

Jun
9th

F1: Jacques Villeneuve rejects comparisons between father Gilles and Mexican Perez

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Adapted from GMM

Maybe because he has tried many bold overtaking manoeuvres, Sergio Perez has been compared by some to the legend Gilles Villeneuve, but the exciting Canadian's son Jacques - the 1997 world champion - does not agree.

"It's true about the aggression," Villeneuve told Spain's AS newspaper, "but my father was cleaner, and had more respect."

Gilles Villeneuve, F1
Gilles Villeneuve "had more respect" than Sergio Perez (Photo: WRi2)

After Monaco, where the McLaren driver clashed with title contender Kimi Raikkonen who admitted his desire to punch Perez, many criticized the 23-year-old, but McLaren predictably backed him.

Villeneuve too thinks it is Raikkonen who should have been punished for the Monaco accident.

"He clearly closed the door because he knew what was going to happen (be overtaken)," said the French-Canadian.

"But of course everyone likes him (Raikkonen), everything is ok," Villeneuve added.

"He says something and everyone in the press room laughs, even if it's bad.  I don't understand that."

Meanwhile, Perez's former boss also leapt to the defence of the Mexican, following bitter criticism of his increasingly aggressive racing.

Sergio Perez, F1
Sergio Perez, McLaren MP4-28 (Photo: WRi2)

"Everybody knows what kind of driver Sergio is," Monisha Kaltenborn, whose Sauber team brought Perez and his sponsor Telmex into the sport in 2011, is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace.

"You have to accept his aggression and also know that he is not yet so experienced, so there is a necessary time for that.

"Maybe in two years something will have changed, but I don't see a problem with respect to his aggressiveness," she added.

"In the last race, two of his moves were successful and only one went wrong.  And it's attitudes like these that make races exciting."


Jun
9th

F1: Wolff denies Mercedes to sacrifice Brawn

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Adapted from GMM

Toto Wolff has played down rumours Ross Brawn is shaping up as the sacrificial lamb in the Mercedes 'test-gate' scandal.

The German marque is touted to face the FIA's new international tribunal on June 20, but team boss Brawn seems to have paved the way for taking all the blame.

"It was my decision to do the test, that's a fact", Briton Brawn, whose long-term future at the Brackley based team was already under a cloud, said in Canada.

Asked if the team's new guard, Niki Lauda and Wolff, were informed of that highly contentious decision before the test took place, Brawn insisted: "That's not something I want to comment on."

So the rumour is that Brawn will depart off the back of the 'test-gate' saga, with his undoubted successor Paddy Lowe now already at work at Brackley.

Mercedes' new co-owner and director Wolff, however, played down the speculation Brawn will be sacrificed.

F1, Mercedes-Benz
Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team

"We are a team, we are together, and the blame is not going to be pushed onto one individual, rather we support each other and we support Ross," he told Sky.

Germany's Bild am Sonntag reports that Lauda sat down with Red Bull's Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko earlier this week to try to calm their anger, but to no avail.

Ferrari joined Red Bull in the original protest, but team boss Stefano Domenicali has been less critical than the energy drink-owned team.

"I'm not angry," the Italian told Bild, "but I was very surprised.

"I don't want to participate in all the politics though," said Domenicali.  "I don't want to talk about tyres, which is boring to the fans.

"They want fantastic drivers, and excellent racing and action.  Not week-long discussions about section 22.2 in the regulations.  And it's the same for me."


Jun
9th

AUTO123.COM – RSS 2013-06-09 00:00:00

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Formula 1 rookie, Jules Bianchi, is still strongly motivated at Marussia despite the fact that it will be difficult for him to score decent results this season.

Auto123.com met with the young Frenchman in the paddock of the Gilles Villeneuve circuit during the Grand Prix of Canada weekend.

Bianchi, who is part of the Ferrari Driver Development programme, confirmed that he spent last winter genuinely expecting to drive for Force India this season.

“I really believed it,” he told Auto123.com.

“I was almost certain that I was going to be promoted as race driver after having spent last season as their third driver.

“For the past three years, Force India promoted their third driver to a regular drive, [so] I had a very good feeling about it.

“[But] in the end, they picked Adrian Sutil. That's okay with me [as] I guess they felt I was not fully ready for the job. I have no bad feeling towards them.”

Jules Bianchi, Marussia F1 Team
Jules Bianchi (Photo: Marussia F1 Team)

Whilst Bianchi looked set for another year on the sidelines following Sutil's promotion to the race seat alongside Paul di Resta, Brazilian Luiz Razia, who had originally been signed by Marussia for 2013, lost his seat with the team on the eve of the new season due to a sponsor not meeting a payment deadline.

With Razia ousted and unable able to race, the vacant Marussia cockpit went to Bianchi.

“I ended up at Marussia and it's fine like this”, he said.

“I have no problem running at the back of the pack and I have no problem whatsoever finding the motivation to race for Marussia, despite the fact that we will not be in a position to score points this year, let's face it.

“[But] I am extremely motivated to do the best I can, even if it's really difficult at times.

“The worst thing that can happen to a driver is to lose his motivation. I'm not saying that I want to spend the rest of my career fighting to 20th place, not at all, [but] I want to do my very best with the equipment I have, and it's the same thing for Marussia.

“They are working extremely hard to give me the best car they can.”

Jun
9th

Canadian Touring: Benjamin Distaulo romps away in Montreal

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Lombardi Honda Racing's Benjamin Distaulo won both rounds of the Canadian Touring Car Championship (CTCC) presented this weekend at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, as part of the Canadian Grand Prix activities.

Distaulo, who had never won before in the CTCC, bested Scott Nicol at the finish of the first race Saturday, by just 1.1 second. Former Lombardi teammate Roger Ledoux completed the podium of the Super Touring class.

Jocelyn Hébert, Michel Sallenbach and 2012 champion Damon Sharpe formed the podium in the Touring class.

Karl Wittmer pipped local radio host Benoît Gagnon to the win in B-Spec.

Jérimy Daniel, Lombardi Honda Racing
Jérimy Daniel, Honda Civic Si (Photo: Lombardi Honda)

Sunday, Distaulo romped away to a 14 seconds lead, comfortably winning over two-time F1600 champion Nathan Blok and Jérimy Daniel, who also learned the ropes in open-wheel racing.

Jocelyn Hébert and Karl Wittmer too raced to their second class win of the weekend.


Jun
9th

IndyCar: Castroneves takes no-contest win in Texas

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Team Penske's Helio Castroneves extended his IZOD IndyCar championship lead by taking a decisive win in Saturday night round that was held at Texas Speedway.

Not only did the Brazilian won, he did it with panache for a 1.5-mile oval; crossing the line more than 5.2 seconds in front of his closest rivals, series' champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) and Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan (KV Racing).

About every drivers had to make due with poor tire performance all night long and proper tire management became of the upmost importance. That is where Castroneves seemed to have the upper hand. 

Marco Andretti took the lead early on by passing pole sitter Will Power on the first lap, but the American lost ground after a series of slow pitstops and because of higher tire wear. He ended up fifth.

Ed Carpenter had another good week-end, this time bringing his Dallara DW12 to a respectful fourth place.

Unusually, the race was interrupted by just three caution periods, two of which were brought about by mechanical problems.

Pippa Mann's outing in the second Dale Coyne Racing car ended after a handful of laps when she suffered an apparent engine failure, while Scott Dixon triggered the yellows when he slowed with what would eventually become a terminal gearbox problem.


Race results - Texas (IndyCar)
1 - Helio Castroneves (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 228
2 - Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 4"6919
3 - Tony Kanaan (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 11"6088
4 - Ed Carpenter (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Carpenter - 17"693
5 - Marco Andretti (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 19"5078
6 - Dario Franchitti (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 1 lap
7 - Will Power (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Penske - 1 lap
8 - Josef Newgarden (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Fisher - 1 lap
9 - James Hinchcliffe (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1 lap
10 - Ernesto Viso (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Andretti - 1 lap
11 - Takuma Sato (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Foyt - 1 lap
12 - James Jakes (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 1 lap
13 - Simon Pagenaud (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 2 laps
14 - Sebastian Saavedra (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 2 laps
15 - Justin Wilson (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Coyne - 2 laps
16 - Simona de Silvestro (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - KV - 2 laps
17 - Charlie Kimball (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Ganassi - 2 laps
18 - Tristan Vautier (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Schmidt - 3 laps
19 - Oriol Servia (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Panther DRR - 3 laps
20 - Sebastien Bourdais (Dallara DW12-Chevy) - Dragon - 4 laps
21 - Graham Rahal (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Rahal - 5 laps
22 - Alex Tagliani (Dallara DW12-Honda) - Herta - 5 laps

Retirements
Lap 62 - Scott Dixon
Lap 3 - Pippa Mann

Championship
1. Castroneves 259; 2. Andretti 237; 3. Hunter-Reay 232;
4. Kanaan 195; 5. Pagenaud 194.

Jun
9th

AUTO123.COM – RSS 2013-06-09 00:00:00

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Exclusive Autosport drivers finished 1-2 twice this weekend at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal, as part of round three and four of the 2013 Formula Tour 1600 series.

In the first contest, Thomas McGregor led Jack Mitchell Jr. to the flag, some 19 seconds ahead of their two closest rivals, Scott Hargrove and Dalton Kellett. Series veterans Olivier Bonnet and Didier Schraenen had to settle for fifth and sixth.

Mitchell and McGregor, aboard their Honda-powered Spectrum chassis, had also dominated the first round of the season, last month in Mont Tremblant.

F1600, Montreal
Thomas McGregor and Jack Mitchell Jr. (Photo: Exclusive Autosport)

Race two, saw once again McGregor crossing the finish line followed by Mitchell. This time, 16-year-old Jesse Lazare completed the podium, ahead of the third Exclusive Autosport driver Tristan DeGrand and Michel Bonnet.

Work on the safety rails delayed the start of race two, which meant officials had to cut the race to just eighth laps.


Jun
9th

F1 Canada: Raikkonen and Ricciardo get grid penalties

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Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen and Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo have received grid penalties for not lining up in the fast lane of the pit exit during yesterday's qualifying session for the Canadian Grand Prix.

The two drivers were given two-place grid penalties for having bunched up beside other cars at the pit exit when the light was still red and as a result, gained positions when it turned green.

Kimi Räikkönen, Montreal, Lotus F1 Team
Kimi Räikkönen (Photo: WRi2)

Raikkonen and Ricciardo will now both line up 10th and 11th respectively.

Raikkonen afterwards claimed that he intended to make a practice start from the left hand side, as is permitted.

However, the FIA stewards panel responded with the following to the 2007 world champion's comments: “This does not alleviate the requirement to leave in the order of arrival at the end of the pit lane.”

Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, F1, Montreal
Daniel Ricciardo (Photo: WRi2)

Two other drivers, Jean-Eric Vergne and Sergio Perez, also breached Article 23.6 of the regulations, but were not given penalties because on both occasion they managed to rejoin the track in the same position they left it.


Jun
9th

AUTO123.COM – RSS 2013-06-09 00:00:00

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From GMM

A formula one race amid the Manhattan skyline is "definitely" on for 2014, promoter Leo Hindery said.

The Wall Street Journal said Hindery's positive outlook was his first public comments in months, after the 2013 New Jersey street race had to be delayed.

Hindery added that all the agreements with F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone are now in place, not just for June 2014 but "for the next 15 years".

He said his organization has been "spending like a sailor on leave" to make it happen.


Jun
8th

2013 Lexus LS 600h L review notes: Plenty of comfortable and quick miles

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ASSOCIATE WEST COAST EDITOR BLAKE Z. RONG: I drove all $128,529 of the 2013 Lexus LS 600h L to Monterey, Calif.
Jun
8th

Automakers turn to adhesives to make cars lighter, tougher

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Carmakers including Audi and Mercedes-Benz are turning to high-tech adhesives as they seek ways to make cars lighter and tougher.
Jun
8th

Adhesives sought for making cars lighter, tougher

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Carmakers including Audi and Mercedes-Benz are turning to high-tech adhesives as they seek ways to make cars lighter and tougher.
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