Auto News 5

From GMM

A win at the Nurburgring will be the perfect tonic for Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn admits.

This weekend's German grand prix is actually the team's and Nico Rosberg's home race, but Briton Brawn thinks countryman Hamilton "deserves" his breakthrough.

Rosberg won Mercedes' first race of 2013 at Monaco, and he followed it up with the win at Silverstone last Sunday -- but only after local hero Hamilton suffered an exploded Pirelli.

"He (Hamilton) deserves a win," said Brawn.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, at Silverstone. (Photo: WRi2)

Hamilton, 28, has had a solid first half-season with Mercedes after switching from McLaren, but he has often struggled with the handling of his all-new car.

It means Rosberg has generally had the upper hand, creating the impression Hamilton - who is reported to have broken up with his long-term girlfriend Nicole - is now desperate to win.

"It (winning) will give him a lot of motivation," agreed Brawn, "not that he needs it. But I think it will give him a boost to know he had the quickest car out there."

Brawn said Hamilton was "stronger" overall than Rosberg at Silverstone, "and I think Nico agrees".

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

Rosberg, however, is enjoying his position for now.

"Slowly but surely we are gaining the status as favourites," he is quoted by Spain's EFE news agency, "and it's fantastic."

The German also played down the effect Pirelli's tire shakeup will have this weekend.

"No matter what tires we use," said Rosberg, "we have a fast car and I think we can stay where we are."

The Volkswagen Golf GTD will go on sale in the U.S. and Canada in 2015 as a 2016 model. It will be the brand's first performance-oriented diesel car for North America and a variant of the upcoming seventh-generation Golf.

Available in 3- and 5-door body styles, the VW Golf GTD rides on the GTI's sport-tuned suspension and boasts a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine that produces 184 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque -- good for 0-100 km/h acceleration in 7 seconds or so. The car will use urea to reduce nitrogen oxides. The urea tank is typically filled when owners change their oil.

According to Andreas Valbuena, product manager for the Golf, the GTD will be priced at around $27,000 and account for 5-10% of total Golf diesel sales.

Source : www.autonews.com

Photo: Volkswagen

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel insists talk about mind games and a July 'curse' will not distract his push for a first home win in Germany this weekend.

Not only has the reigning three-time world champion never won at his home tracks at the Nurburgring or Hockenheim, the newly 26-year-old has actually never won a grand prix in the month of July.

"There is no (July) curse," Sebastian Vettel told Sport Bild this week. "On the contrary, there is more of a home advantage, so I'll try again this time."

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, winner in Montreal. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

Also trying hard, however, will be Vettel's Red Bull teammate, Mark Webber, whose first ever win was at the Nurburgring in 2009.

Then, the Australian - set to retire from F1 at the end of the year - famously shouted the word 'yes!' into his team radio no fewer than 17 times after crossing the line.

He also has another reason to win this weekend, as revenge against German Vettel for the 'Multi-21' saga earlier in 2013.

Indeed, alluding to his special desire to win in Germany, Webber said at Silverstone last weekend: "I don't know what country it (the next race) is in but I would like to win it."

Vettel, however, told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview that he is not blind or deaf to the 'mind games'.

"Of course I notice," he said, "but I won't let myself be influenced by them.

"It is not decisive for the world championship whether somebody says something that I like or don't like. Maybe they believe they gain an advantage, but these games are not for me -- I don't get a kick out of shooting back. I prefer to answer on the track," added Vettel.

Canadian auto sales in June rose 1.3 percent to 171,608 vehicles, with the Detroit 3 reporting double-digit volume sales gains for pickup trucks, while deliveries of sedans and other passenger cars fell 5 percent.

IHS said its purchase of R.L. Polk, which provides automotive data and marketing services, should be finalized the week of July 15.

BMW Group's manufacturing operation in the United States will get a new leader as part of a management shuffle effective Nov. 1, the company said today.

If you consider yourself a fan of all things with two wheels, then you have certainly heard about the BMW Motorrad Days event in Germany, which is now entering its 13th year.

Chrysler Group is recalling 840,000 vehicles in the United States and other countries, mostly for active-restraint head rests that are possibly flawed.

Chrysler Group said today it will recall about 560,000 vehicles, most of them for possibly malfunctioning active restraint headrests. Most of the affected vehicles are in the United States.

World Rally racer Petter Solberg beat out Sébastien Loeb and Colin McRae to win the 2003 Cyprus Rally in his Subaru Impreza STI rally car.

2013 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 4x4

The Toyota Tundra doesn't compare to big trucks from Ford, Ram, or General Motors.

May 21, 2013, about 1271 miles. The Toyota Tundra doesn't compare to a Ford F-150, GMC Sierra 1500 or Ram 1500. This has proven to be one segment Toyota that simply can't crack, even though the Tundra has much of the qualities of American trucks. Like the Tundra of the past, it's still a between-size vehicle, only more like a commercial-grade heavy-duty grade truck than a light-duty personal pickup, It's a big, lumbering torquey V-8-powered tool, the kind of vehicle that holds no charms for me unless I need to move or haul something, and I didn't this week. To me, the low-rent interior makes more sense than spending fifty-thou ... yee-gads, it's $40,000? Where? How? No wonder Toyota dealers can't move these.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 4x4 - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 4x4 - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2013 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 4x4 | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Many of the cars released in the years immediately following the conclusion of WWII were lightly massaged prewar models.

A million JK Wranglers produced so far? This was one of the more surprising statistics reported by Autoweek recently.

If you're going to be in the Boston area at the end of July and want to see some great classic cars, head on over to the Misselwood Estate in the North Shore town of Beverly, Mass.

2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: Baseball Journey

Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie -- and Diesel?

I don't usually go in for follow-ups and sequels. Blues Brothers 2000? Sacriledge. The Star Wars prequels? I stopped after Episode One. The Datsuns' Outta Sight, Outta Mind? Nowhere as invigorating as the band's debut album. That said, when I was given a chance to relive a weekend spent out on the road, visiting baseball stadiums, salivating over freshly baked apple pies, and downing a hot dog (or several), I was willing to make an exception.

Photo Gallery: 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: Baseball Journey - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: Baseball Journey - Automobile Magazine

2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: Baseball Journey | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

BMW, General Motors and Toyota have had to temporarily shut down all or parts of their operations in Egypt because of political unrest in the country.

BMW, General Motors and Toyota have had to temporarily shut down all or parts of their operations in Egypt because of political unrest in the country.

Political unrest in Egypt temporarily shut a carmaker's sales subsidiary but has not affected business at dealerships, according to some of the automakers operating in the country.

Political unrest in Egypt temporarily shut a carmaker's sales subsidiary today, but has not affected business at dealerships, according to some of the automakers operating in the country.

AutoNation, the largest auto dealership group in the United States, said today that its new-vehicle unit sales rose 10 percent in June from a year ago.