Auto News 5

Nissan Canada is recalling 3,509 new Nissan Versa Note hatchbacks from the 2014 model year after 2 separate issues came to light.

First, the lower sill bolts may have been insufficiently tightened or may be missing, which could affect the Versa Note's rear impact performance and increase the risk of injury in a crash. Dealers will therefore inspect and tighten or replace the bolts as necessary.

Meanwhile, the bolts securing the rear seatback latch may have been manufactured incorrectly. As a result, the seat anchor could fail to meet the required strength, once again increasing the risk of injury in a crash. Nissan dealers will replace these bolts.

Source: Transport Canada

Photo: Nissan

Gabby Chaves (Schmidt Peterson) won his first ever Indy Lights race Sunday after leading every lap on the Mid-Ohio road course.

Chaves, who was starting from pole position, maintained his lead right from the start and, soon enough, was able to build a gap of more than three seconds between himself and Peter Dempsey only to see the safety car make an appearance with only four laps to go.

Gabby Chaves. (Photo: IndyCar)

Once again, Chaves was forced to defend his lead on the restart but, despite pressure from Dempsey, the Colombian held on to cross the line 0.3s ahead.

Jack Hawksworth survived a tight battle for third while series' leader Carlos Munoz finished fourth in front of Zach Veach.

Results - 40 laps:
Pos  Driver  Team  Time/Gap
1. Gabby Chaves  Schmidt   52m22.5112s
2. Peter Dempsey  Belardi   +0.3508s
3. Jack Hawksworth  Schmidt   +1.6782s
4. Carlos Muoz  Andretti  +2.3369s
5. Zach Veach  Andretti   +2.5952s
6. Juan Pablo Garcia  Moore   +3.5719s
7. Axcil Jefferies  Herta  +4.2458s
8. Sage Karam  Schmidt   +4.9242s
9. Jorge Goncalvez  Belardi  +5.4682s
10. Matthew Di Leo  MDL/Dragffy   +7.2483s
11. Giancarlo Serenelli  Belardi   +2 laps

Germany -- or the USA?

I believe the U.S. was dethroned a while back by Germany, and many car enthusiasts will likely agree. Think about the facts for a minute: Sure, the American carmakers still have the Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, Caddy V cars, SRT, and Viper but then, what else? And I'm talking about production cars.

The Germans have all of Mercedes' AMG cars, the RS cars from Audi, and the Ms from BMW.

There are still a number of American muscle cars available -- sure -- but the name of the game was once horsepower bragging rights, sprint and ¼ mile times, and trap speeds. The Viper may have 640 hp but the Audi RS 7 isn't far behind with 560 hp, 0-100 km/h times are identical, and prices aren't that far off.

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre

Therein lies the difference: The Germans are generally pricier (if not far pricier), but if the growing market share for luxury cars is any indication, price matters but not as much as it once did.

Consider the fact that 15,000 R and RS cars will be built and sold in 2013. As well, AMG has never had more nameplates or versions on offer. More M cars are coming, too. A large number of these cars retail well into the six-figure range, and are all expected to sell.

So, here's my point (or question): How is it that the Germans have been allowed to outdo the Americans at a game they invented?

Who currently has the most powerful sedan? The highest horsepower station wagon? The SUV with the most power? An American carmaker manufactures not one of these. Currently, Ford is the only brand that holds any title with the highest horsepower coupe in the Mustang GT500 with its 662 hp supercharged V8.

Photo: Justin Pritchard

Although this is a mere observation and only meant to poke at GM, Ford, and Chrysler it saddens me to come to the conclusion that while the Germans will continue to produce massively powerful cars, the Americans likely will not.

The only reasons I see for this are low speed limits in North America and a general lack of driving skills by its inhabitants. Fuel consumption and the economy are secondary here.

So, if you're out in your decked-out $50k Chevy Camaro 2SS automatic with big chrome wheels and the lot, be aware that you should probably not take on the quasi-whimpy-looking $65k Mercedes C 63 AMG as you might get schooled.

At the very least, spend $60k and get a ZL1. That way, you'll never be made a fool of... That is, unless you plan to seriously spank a vulgar station wagon badged with E 63 AMG S on its rear. Might be a better idea to get a CTS-V wagon then...

Discuss.

Jeff Gordon was very good at Pocono International Raceway, the only problem was, his teammate, Kasey Kahne was even better.

In a game of tit-for-tat Gordon took the lead from Kahne on the penultimate restart. And while it appeared that Kahne faltered, which he did on the final restart with two laps to go, that didn't matter. The winner had the fastest car of the day.

"On that final restart, I spun my tires a little bit and he (Gordon) got a great jump, and Kurt (Busch who finished third) pushed me all the way to Turn 1, which really helped," Kahne said. "I had one opportunity to either go for it and make it work or not. As good as our (car) was all day long, I thought we could make that work on the outside.

"I just needed to clear him (Gordon), and when we got to Turn 2, I was able to do that. It was a great race. We had a really fast car. (Crew chief) Kenny (Francis) called an awesome race, and the whole pit crew did a perfect job... We needed this one to get in the Chase -- we were able to get it, and it feels really good."

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet SS. (Photo: NASCAR)

It was Kahne's second win of the year and 16th in his career. The victory virtually guarantees a Chase berth as he now stands eighth in the points 18 ahead of Tony Stewart the leading Wild Card candidate at 11th in the points with one win .

Gordon, who turned 42 years old barely held his emotions in check while he reflected on the close brush with victory which would virtually lock him a spot in NASCAR's playoffs, the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He's ninth in the points and only eight ahead of the three-time champion Stewart. A victory would have helped him lock in a Chase seed.

“I was driving as hard as I knew how to drive once I got in front of him (Kahne) and when I was up beside him,” said the four-time Sprint Cup champions. “He's a good friend of mine, and the last thing I wanted to do was wreck either one of us as well.  But he was fighting hard, I was fighting hard, and it was fun.”

Reflecting on what might have been Gordon added “I didn't want to see that last caution that's for sure.  He was better than me.  He was going to catch me, whether he could have passed me, I'm not sure.”

Photo: NASCAR

Last week's winner, Ryan Newman finished fourth, and is now nine points behind Ryan Newman in the Wild Card competition for the two final spots in the Chase.

The biggest surprise of the race was polesitter Jimmie Johnson's blown tire. Johnson, who nearly won last week at the Brickyard 400, opened a commanding lead from the start and did not appear to be challenged until he blew a tire on lap 76 hitting the wall requiring lengthy repairs.

Johnson rallied back to 13th place and with Clint Bowyer finishing 14th his points lead is now 77 over Bowyer. With five races to go to the Chase all of this is immaterial because of the points reset. As things stand both the five-time champion and Matt Kenseth, each, have four wins and would be tied with 2012 points after the Richmond race if neither visits Victory Lane before then.

Daimler plans a new factory in Brazil to build the C class, with initial annual capacity of about 20,000 vehicles, a report said.

Daimler plans to build a new plant in Brazil to make the C class starting in 2015, a German magazine reported. The plant's starting capacity will be about 20,000 vehicles a year, the report said.

While Steve Jobs regretted not making an iCar, Apple for years was ambivalent about the auto industry. Now it's vying for dashboard space held by Microsoft, BlackBerry and Pandora Media.

Ford has developed technology to give police officers more protection against someone sneaking up behind their vehicle.

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (NCTS) rookie Alex Guénette announced he would be making his first career start in the Camping World Truck Series this year, when NASCAR's third biggest series visits the Canadian Tire Motosports Park on September 1st.

Because the CWTS will be visiting CTMP for the first time, the venue provided the perfect opportunity for Guénette to make his debut. The 2012 Procam Supertrucks rookie of the year hopes his knowledge of the track formerly known as Mosport will give him an edge over more experienced racers.

The simultaneous visit of NCTS to Mosport will provided added challenge, but Guénette foresees not particular problem.

"I know the track well and I am sure that (my team) will give me a great car for the Canadian Tire race, so no problem there."

Guénette will test his new truck for the first time in Sebring, where builder Mario Gosselin is based.

Alex Guénette, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (Photo: Alex Guénette)

Mike Rockenfeller led teammate Mattias Ekström by 1.3 seconds, as the two Audi drivers crossed the finish line of the first ever DTM race in Russia.

Photo: DTM.com

Combined to Canadian Bruno Spengler's 19th-place finish, Rockenfeller's second win of the season has stretched the German's lead to 27 points in the championship hunt.

It was the first time this season that Spengler, who spun at the very beginning of the race as a result of a collision with Miguel Molina (Audi), failed to score any point at all.

"Sometimes, races end in a different way that one had expected," the reigning champion, who was lapped twice by the leaders over the race, conceded.

Bruno Spengler, BMW M3 DTM (Photo: DTM.com)

Augusto Farfus saved BMW's day by climbing on the podium, while Adrien Tambay (Audi) and Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) rounded out the top five.

A total of 45,000 spectators flooded through the gates of the 3.9-kilometer Moscow Raceway to attend race.

Moscow Raceway (Photo: DTM.com)

Race results - Moscow Raceway (DTM)
1 - Mike Rockenfeller (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 74 laps in 1.14'38"512
2 - Mattias Ekstrom (Audi RS5) - Abt - 1"303
3 - Augusto Farfus (BMW M3) - RBM - 11"393
4 - Adrien Tambay (Audi RS5) - Abt - 12"275
5 - Gary Paffett (Mercedes C-Coupé) - HWA - 17"495
6 - Jamie Green (Audi RS5) - Abt - 18"704
7 - Joey Hand (BMW M3) - RBM - 19"363
8 - Dirk Werner (BMW M3) - Schnitzer - 26"117
9 - Timo Scheider (Audi RS5) - Abt - 34"184
10 - Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C-Coupé) - HWA - 41"331
11 - Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes C-Coupé) - Mucke - 42"029
12 - Robert Wickens (Mercedes C-Coupé) - HWA - 43"782
13 - Filipe Albuquerque (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 44"443
14 - Roberto Merhi (Mercedes C-Coupé) - HWA - 51"576
15 - Marco Wittmann (BMW M3) - MTEK - 52"941
16 - Timo Glock (BMW M3) - MTEK - 54"421
17 - Martin Tomczyk (BMW M3) - RMG - 58"460
18 - Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes C-Coupé) - Mucke - 1 lap
19 - Bruno Spengler (BMW M3) - Schnitzer - 1 lap
20 - Andy Priaulx (BMW M3) - RMG - 1 lap

Fastest lap of the race: 59"999 by Adrien Tambay (Audi)

Retirements
Lap 32 - Edoardo Mortara
Lap 5 - Miguel Molina

Championship standings
1.Rockenfeller 94 points; 2.Spengler 67; 3.Paffett 57; 4.Vietoris 56; 5.Farfus 48; 6.Wickens 45; 7.Ekstrom 38; 8.Wittmann 33; 9.Werner, Hand 26.

Reigning champion Ryan Hunter-Reay took pole position today, ahead of Sunday's IndyCar race at the fabulous Mid-Ohio road course.

The Andretti Autosport ace clocked his fastest lap at 1m05.3519s at the end of the qualifying session which was enough to stay clear of his other opponents.

Photo: IndyCar.com

Team Penske's Will Power came in second only 0.18 second behind, while Ganassi's Scott Dixon and Hunter-Reay's teammate Marco Andretti finished respectively third and fourth.

The other members of Chip Ganassi squad Charlie Kimball and Dario Franchitti will both start from row three.

Current points leader Helio Castroneves joined James Hinchcliffe in providing the early upsets, with both men facing the prospect of starting from the back end of the field after being knocked out of the first group.

Unfortunately, BHA newcomer Luca Filippi was stripped of his two fastest laps for causing a red flag during the first qualifying phase.

Had his times been allowed to stand, the Italian would have been fourth-fastest in his group.

Qualifying results - Mid-Ohio (IndyCar)
Pos Driver Team/Engine Time Gap
1. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti/Chevy 1m05.3519s
2. Will Power Penske/Chevy 1m05.5359s +0.1840s
3. Scott Dixon Ganassi/Honda 1m05.7051s +0.3532s
4. Marco Andretti Andretti/Chevy 1m05.8566s +0.5047s
5. Charlie Kimball Ganassi/Honda 1m06.4415s +1.0896s
6. Dario Franchitti Ganassi/Honda 1m06.5854s +1.2335s
7. Justin Wilson Coyne/Honda 1m05.9405s Round 2
8. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt/Honda 1m05.9412s Round 2
9. Simona de Silvestro KV/Chevy 1m05.9621s Round 2
10. James Jakes Rahal/Honda 1m06.1778s Round 2
11. Tristan Vautier Schmidt/Honda 1m06.3379s Round 2
12. EJ Viso Andretti/Chevy 1m06.4071s Round 2
13. James Hinchcliffe Andretti/Chevy 1m06.2198s Group 1
14. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon/Chevy 1m06.1856s Group 2
15. Helio Castroneves Penske/Chevy 1m06.2280s Group 1
16. Takuma Sato Foyt/Honda 1m06.1989s Group 2
17. James Davison Coyne/Honda 1m06.2839s Group 1
18. Oriol Servia Panther/Chevy 1m06.2109s Group 2
19. Josef Newgarden Fisher/Honda 1m06.5334s Group 1
20. Tony Kanaan KV/Chevy 1m06.2537s Group 2
21. Sebastian Saavedra Dragon/Chevy 1m07.0895s Group 1
22. Graham Rahal Rahal/Honda 1m06.4002s Group 2
23. Ed Carpenter Carpenter/Chevy 1m07.4107s Group 1
24. Luca Filippi Herta/Honda 1m06.8757s Group 2

From GMM

Paul Hembery has admitted he would like to organize another 1000 kilometre tire test, although the last one with Mercedes' 2013 car was highly controversial.

Indeed, F1's official supplier and the Brackley based team were officially reprimanded for the Barcelona session.

But if the FIA's clarified guidelines are followed, Pirelli's contract with the sport actually permits tire tests with individual teams, and motor sport boss Hembery admitted he is keen to organize another.

Despite the controversy, and the fact Mercedes was penalized by having to sit out the recent Silverstone test, Hembery called that 1000km session "the best we've ever done".

"That's why we want more of it," he told Germany's Auto Bild.

Photo: Pirelli

"Maybe we'll do another 1000km test with a 2011 car," said Hembery.  "At the end of the year we would also like to do one or two tests with a 2013 car -- one in Brazil and a rain test at Le Castellet."

It is yet another clear indication that, although not entirely certain, Pirelli will be staying in F1 beyond the end of its rapidly-expiring 2013 contract.

But amid the delay in getting a new deal signed, the normal September 1 deadline for revealing the following year's full tire specification to the teams will blow out.

"We will inform the teams on October 1," said Hembery, revealing that the deadline has been extended.

Pirelli is tipped to produce wider rears for the high-torque V6 engines next year, but otherwise Hembery has hinted that the construction and compounds will be much more conservative than the controversial 2013 tires.

He said the scandals and criticism were "too much" this year.

Model: 2007 to 2013 GMC Sierra

Vehicle Type: Pickup

The Verdict: The last-generation Sierra was loved for its comfort, toughness and capability—and GM's 160,000-kilometre powertrain warranty should help add confidence to the purchase of a newer used model. Common problems seem mainly straightforward and easily identified.

Price: Pricing varies widely in the used Sierra market, as does the selection of available models. Consult local used vehicle listings to cross sample the market once you've decided on the year, drivetrain and body style you're after.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

What Owners Like: In a nutshell, owners praise the tough, rugged, safe and solid feel of their Sierras. Also high on the list are space, ride comfort and confidence. Performance and towing confidence with the larger V8 engines is also highly rated, and fuel mileage is said to be relatively good, too.

What Owners Dislike: Difficulty parking, cheap interior plastics and excessive road noise on some models are the most common complaints.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Continue reading 2007-2013 GMC Sierra 1500 Pre-Owned

Renault will supply Château de Versailles with 23 all-electric cars to monitor the beautiful and historic gardens originally designed by André Le Nôtre, the King's gardener, who was born 400 years ago.

Three Renault ZOE vehicles will be used by service staff to get around the grounds or travel between the national domain of Versailles and Marly. Ten Kangoo Z.E. Vans will be used by the gardeners and curators to carry rare objects, statues, plants and tooling, while 10 Twizy quadricycles will be used by security staff.

Visitors will even be able to see a special "Twizy carriage" featuring the decoration found on the carriage owned by the heir to the throne, the future Louis XVII.

Photo: Renault

Photo: Maxime Allaire

Despite all the challenges of the famous Rally Finland, WRC rookie Robert Kubica came home second in his first participation.

Set-up issues with their Citroën DS3 S2000 slowed down Kubica and his co-driver Maciek Baran early on, but the pair persevered.

In the end, they were beaten to a class victory only by local specialist Jari Ketomaa, as they successfully fended off former P-WRC champion Hayden Paddon, who finished third.

The former F1 star saluted Ketomaa's vast experience of the Rally Finland.

"Ketomaa told me that he had driven on some stages more than fifteen times in the Finnish Championship," is quoted saying by Crash.net. "So it was never going to be easy to challenge him!"

Kubica's second-place has brought him back within 23 points of the WRC2 championship's lead, as both his rivals, Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and Nicolas Fuchs, failed to score any point in Finland.

As well as coming home second in class, Kubica finished ninth overall.

France's move to outlaw sales of Mercedes cars that use an air conditioner refrigerant banned by the EU is hitting dealers hard.

Volkswagen Group of America may take aim at the Subaru Outback with a rugged, all-wheel-drive wagon based on the next-generation Golf, sources say.

Mercedes-Benz has done a turnabout on the subject of head-up display and now plans to offer the feature on its redesigned S class and C class, say company sources. The redesigned S-class flagship arrives in showrooms in September.

Jimmie Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports Chevy team shrugged off the Brickyard 400 disappointment as if it didn't happen.

The five-time Sprint Cup Champion ripped off a record-setting pole of 180.654 mph, or 49.819 seconds, at the 2.5 mile Pocono International Raceway after a number of return trips through the NASCAR pre-qualifying inspections.

“The wild thing though is I practiced at like a 51.15 and then to go out there and run a 49.80 the speed difference and the senses you have inside the car,” said Johnson. “I knew it was fast I just didn't know how fast.  Each corner I made I tried a little bit harder and was more aggressive with my entry speed, my throttle application and just kind of challenging the car and it stuck.

“In some ways I think I could have gone a little quicker if I knew what that felt like and I'm sure a lot of guys are saying that in the garage area right now to be honest.  It was an interesting lap because I threw everything I thought I could at it in turn one and it stuck.  So then turn two try again, turn three try again and it made it all the way around that was pretty awesome.”

Jimmie Johnson, Pocono International Raceway (Photo: HendrickMotorsports,com)

It was Johnson's fourth pole at the three-turn track, also known as the Tricky Triangle, and 31rst in his Sprint Cup career.

With a commanding 75-point lead, over Clint Bowyer, in the standings, the only thing which matters to Johnson is wins.  When the points are reset, after Richmond, drivers get three points for wins in the first 26 races. Currently both Johnson and Matt Kenseth have four wins.

Kyle Busch was second, in a Toyota, at 180.639 mph and will start alongside Johnson on the front row.

Carl Edwards, in a Ford, qualified third, Ryan Newman, last week's pole winner and Brickyard 400 winner, was fourth. Kurt Busch was fifth.

Last week Johnson had dominated the Brickyard 400. But a lengthy final pit stop opened the door for Newman to take the win.

As only a five-time champ can do; Johnson told his crew, before qualifying, to forget about last weekend's misstep.

“I asked them also to be fearless when they hopped off the wall this weekend and just do their jobs,” Johnson said. “The worst thing any of us can do that have to go out and perform is to carry something in the back of your mind.”

Among other notable drivers, reigning Cup champion Brad Keselowski qualified 11th, Tony Stewart was 20th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 25th and Danica Patrick qualified 34th in the 43-car field at 175.860 mph.

Daytona International Speedway officials say that the project estimated to cost between $375 and $400 million called DAYTONA Rising, to makeover the frontstretch of the iconic race track in northern Florida is off to a quick beginning.

After a ceremonial groundbreaking in July here are the construction activities currently underway:

• Demolition of all underground utilities and overhead power lines along the entire front stretch
• Relocations of fire pump, emergency generators and electrical panels
• Installation of water and storm sanitary lines on the west side
• Installation of electrical ductbank and manholes on the west side
• Demolition of Americrown buildings at Hospitality Village
• Demolition of Commissary Building at the base of the Sprint Tower
• Initial installation of anchors and footings for temporary ticketing gates

Photo: Daytona International Speedway Communications

Barton Malow is serving as the general contractor for the project. In addition to DAYTONA Rising, Barton Malow has renovated the University of Michigan “Big House” and the Rose Bowl.

ROSSETTI, an award-winning architectural design and planning firm for the past 40 years, which headed the design for Ford Field NFL Stadium, University of Notre Dame Compton Family Ice Arena and five Major League Soccer Stadiums, is leading the master planning of the DAYTONA Rising site.