As expected, Panther Racing announced today that veteran Oriol Servia will drive the team's No. 4 National Guard Chevrolet both at Texas Motor Speedway and during the June 23rd event at Iowa Speedway.
Servia became available after his former team Dreyer & Reinbold announced that it was suspending its racing operations after last month's Indianapolis 500 due to a lack of funding.
The Catalan was an obvious choice having been the driver of DRR for the last two seasons which already had a technical partnership with Panther Racing.
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| Photo: Dreyer Reinbold Racing |
Servia is presently 8th in the standings with more than 179 starts in major open wheel racing over a career that saw him race in CART, ChampCar and Indycar.
Ryan Briscoe, who was on duty last week-end in Detroit is expected to be back also.
In the meantime, Panther is not expected to name a full-time replacement for the remainder of the 2013 season but it could take this occasion to test a number of drivers to assess who could become the best option for the squad and for its sponsor National Guard for the coming years.
Following an investigation that started back in 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently asked Chrysler to recall 2.7 million 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and
2002-2007 Liberty SUVs that may be at risk of catching fire in rear-impact collisions. The NHTSA even reported 15 related deaths and 41 injured people.
However, Chrysler does not agree with the NHTSA and won't recall the vehicles cited in the investigation, claiming they are safe and not defective.
“We believe NHTSA's initial conclusions are based on an incomplete analysis of the underlying data, and we are committed to continue working with the agency to resolve this disagreement,” the automaker said in a statement.
If Chrysler doesn't cooperate, the NHTSA can hold a public hearing and ultimately force the company to recall the affected Grand Cherokee and Liberty models.
Source : www.thedetroitbureau.com
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| Photo: Jeep |
Toyota Canada announced a voluntary safety recall involving approximately 4,085
Toyota Prius and
Lexus HS 250h hybrids from 2010.
The affected vehicles are equipped with a brake pressure accumulator that may develop a crack on an internal part due to vibration. No accidents or injuries associated with this condition have been reported, however.
Owners will receive a notification by first class mail. Dealers will inspect the brake booster pump assembly to see if it is equipped with an involved accumulator. If so, they will replace the brake booster pump assembly with an improved one at no cost to the customer.
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| Photo: Justin Pritchard |
From GMM
Bridgestone, F1's official tire supplier before Pirelli, has joined Hankook in playing down the prospect of a formula one foray for 2014.
With Pirelli fending off criticism of its controversial 2013 tires, and now embroiled in the 'test-gate' saga, the Italian marque is yet to sign a new deal for 2014 and is threatening to quit the sport.
A Bridgestone spokesman is quoted by
metro.co.uk: "We have no current plans to re-enter formula one."
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| Photo: WRi2 |
From GMM
The only missing link as Lewis Hamilton adapts to life at Mercedes is time, team boss Ross Brawn insists.
With Nico Rosberg notching up a hat-track of poles at Monaco, and going on to win the prestigious grand prix, many pundits are analysing teammate Hamilton's apparent slump -- and pointing the finger at his 'hip-hop' lifestyle and the bizarre sight of his bulldog being walked in the paddock.
Briton Hamilton, meanwhile, left Monaco vowing to get his "sh-- together".
Ross Brawn, however, is not concerned: "I think it is quite a subtle thing," he is quoted by
AFP news agency, "but it will just be time, quite frankly.
"Nico has been with the team four or five years and he knows exactly what buttons to press. We have a very good group, very experienced people working with Lewis. It just takes a bit of time," he added.
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| Nico Rosberg leading Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG W04. (Photo: WRi2) |
The 15th and 16th rounds of the World Touring Car Championship, which were initially scheduled to be held in Curitiba July 28, will finally be staged in Argentina, August 4 at Termas de Rio Hondo.
The circuit of Curitiba hosted the WTCC series since 2006. It has been dropped this year in favour of a renovated circuit, located in North West of Argentina, which will host its first international event.
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| Circuito Termas de Rio Hondo, Argentina. (Photo: MotoGP) |
Tesla Motors will launch its smaller electric sedan in late 2016, with a range of at least 200 miles and a price point "half" of the flagship Model S, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said.
The Chevrolet SS sports sedan will carry a sticker price of $44,470, including shipping, making it Chevy's priciest sedan when it goes on sale in the fourth quarter.
From Russia--presumably--comes this aptly titled video, "Bear Crosses Unforeseen and is Impacted. Falling with Style Breakdance." There isn't much to say about it aside from that.
Volvo introduced the widely used three-way catalytic converter in 1976, with its four-cylinder models made for California.
Billionaire megadealer Norman Braman's two-tier pricing lawsuit against General Motors appears headed for a settlement.
Chutes and ladders seem to be par for the course at Tesla.
The Mint 400 bills itself as the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America. It was started in 1967 by Norm Johnson, who wanted to promote The Mint Hotel in Las Vegas.
AutoNation, the largest U.S. dealership group, said its new-vehicle retail sales rose 11 percent in May compared to last May. AutoNation retailed 26,372 vehicles last month, compared with 23,763 units in May 2012.
Mr. Smith didn't make it to Washington. He didn't even make it to West Los Angeles.
Chrysler has refused to recall 2.7m Jeep Liberty (exported as Cherokee) and Grand Cherokee vehicles as requested in a letter from NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
Chrysler Group said today it does not intend to honor a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall as many as 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs.
Enterprise Holdings named Pamela M. Nicholson, the rental-car company's president, as chief executive, the first CEO to come from outside the founding Taylor family.
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