Auto News 5

The first TV spot for the BMW i3 all-electric car started airing last weekend across Europe, where it will hit the market on November 16th.

Titled “Decisions,” the commercial opens over the skyscrapers of Chicago, and then follows the i3 and a BMW i8 as they make their way downtown.

As we told you this summer, the BMW i3 will go on sale in Canada in the first half of 2014 starting at $44,950.

Source: BMW Group

From ROC

The superstars competing at the 2013 Race Of Champions will have a new beast to tame after the Ariel Atom Cup joined the line-up of cars for the event, to be held at Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium on December 14-15.

The Ariel Atom is a road-legal high-performance sports car made by a company from Somerset, Great Britain. Unusually for a road car, the Atom is exoskeletal - meaning its chassis is visible from the outside - and it has no roof or windows. Its suspension is derived from single-seater racing cars and its performance is similarly racy: indeed the Ariel Atom 500 held the lap record round the BBC Top Gear test track until earlier this year.

Four brand new Ariel Atom Cup cars have now been specially prepared with custom-built rear wings to take on the Race Of Champions parallel track in Bangkok in the hands of a host of driving greats.

Photo: ROC

The Atoms join a line-up that includes a range of powerful cars such as the Audi R8 LMS, VW Scirocco Cup and the Toyota GT86. ROC 2013 will also feature the Euro NASCAR plus traditional Race Of Champions favourites like the KTM X-Bow and the ROC car.

Most of this year's cars are travelling to Thailand from Europe by sea, leaving this week. The four Atoms plus all their support equipment and spares were loaded onto two 40-foot shipping containers in the British town of Leamington last week.

Also on the ship are the four KTM X-Bows, which had previously been transported over from Hamburg, plus the legendary Audi S1 rally car and the three stunt cars used by Terry Grant. The ROC cars, Euro NASCARs and Michelin tires are setting sail on a different ship, the ‘APL Paris', from Rotterdam.

Looking for a unique car? This 1993 Jaguar XJ220 may be for you. It was never registered and has only 150 original miles -- all of which came during post-production tests.

The silver 2-door coupe was initially purchased by a car collector for £420,000, then sold to another collector who didn't register the car, either. It features a 3.5L engine and manual transmission.

Interested?

Jaguar XJ220. (Photo: HR Owen)

Source: HR Owen

BMW recently uploaded a video and pictures of its all-new 2 Series Coupe, which will go on sale next year after its public debut at the NAIAS in Detroit.

Photo: BMW

Heir to the 1 Series Coupe, this new model is 72 mm longer, 26 mm wider, and rides on a 30 mm longer wheelbase.

A hand-picked selection of engines accompanies the 2014 BMW 2 Series Coupe including gasoline and diesel options. The 220i Coupe is rated at 184 hp, while the M235i Coupe produces 326 hp.

Canadian specs and prices have yet to be announced.

After making its debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, the Kia GT Concept will reportedly wind up on an assembly line in the near future.

“We have plans to build a GT -- we spoke about it at our global marketing conference in Singapore,” Kia's vice-president of overseas marketing, Soon-Nam Lee, said to Auto Express. “We'll be mainly targeting the end of 2016 or early 2017.”

With sporty premium styling both inside and out, the Kia GT Concept features ultra-thin sport seats and pillar-less rear “suicide” doors.

The production model will probably come in FWD configuration instead of RWD, although AWD could be available.

Source: The Detroit Bureau

Photo: Kia

From Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

In 2013, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returned to road course racing for the first time in 13 years at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario.

The exciting 64-lap contest was won by 17-year-old Chase Elliott of Dawsonville, GA, who became the youngest race winner in Series history. Chase, son of former NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Bill Elliott, was competing in only his sixth career Truck Series race.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is pleased to announce that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be returning to the famous 3.957 km road course on Labour Weekend (August 31) with the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

Photo: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

"After a successful inaugural event this past Labour Day Weekend, we're thrilled to welcome back the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series," said Myles Brandt, President and General Manager of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

"This season's inaugural Chevrolet Silverado 250 was an important milestone in Canadian racing history. We set out to create an unforgettable experience for fans, corporate partners as well as everyone associated with the Truck Series and I am confident we did so. All of us at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park are ready to make next year's even more successful."

"We're looking forward to returning to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's Sr. Vice President of Racing Operations.

"Our inaugural event this summer in front of a packed house of enthusiastic fans was one of the most exciting races of this season. Road-course racing on an international stage like CTMP is a thrill for our drivers. They're already circling the date on their 2014 calendars."

For more information about the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visit online at http://www.nascar.com/trucks

The all-new 2014 Honda Civic Coupe will make its world debut at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas during a press conference scheduled for November 5th. This comes just one year after the Civic received major improvements.

Details about the 2014 Honda Civic Coupe and its technical changes will be announced in the coming weeks.

SEMA attendees will also get to see an impressive array of customized automobiles and motorcycles, as well as the 210-km/h “Mean Mower” lawn tractor.

Source: Honda Canada

Photo: Honda

From wrc.com

Robert Kubica's victory Sunday in the WRC 2 category of Rally de Espana was sufficient to clinch the world title in his maiden season.

The Pole dominated the Spanish mixed-surface event, leading from the first stage to take victory by 5min 15.8sec from Saudi Arabian Yazeed Al Rajhi. 

Robert Kubica, Citroën, in Spain. (Photo: WRC)

It was the fifth WRC 2 win of the year for Kubica, who drives a Citroen DS3 RRC, and gives him an unassailable lead in the championship ahead of November's final round in Wales. 

“This wasn't the target at the start of the season but somehow I knew that if I was able to learn quickly on gravel I could do a good result,” he said. 

“I was pretty sure that on tarmac I was quite competitive but the rallies in the World Rally Championship are completely different to each other. In the end we managed five wins and one second place from the six rallies that count for the championship - so all good.” 

Robert Kubica, 2013 WRC2 world champion. (Photo: Citroën Racing)

Me: I write about cars. Because of this, I get the same question over and over: “How did you get this gig, and how do I get in on it?” It's not easy; and it takes patience, knowledge, and passion. And, you have to be into S&M as well.

Patience is something we're born with and, to a certain extent, can gain. I've seen a number of newcomers, fresh out of school, jump on the bandwagon and immediately expect Jags, Porsches, and trips to Monte Carlo. If you do manage to stick it out this way, you truly belong in the business, but the fact is that I've witnessed some fall flat on their faces shortly after thinking they'd hit the big time. Everybody needs to pay his or her dues.

Knowledge comes with patience, and a desire to learn. It is one thing to be able to fire off all the specs for a 2013 Lamborghini Gallardo and Ferruccio's life history, but it is quite another to actually understand what you are saying. Reading up and repeating what was read will only take you so far. Learn about cars, learn how they work; gain knowledge, and most importantly, never stop learning.

Finally: passion. I could have included writing skills, but I myself consider my abilities to be average on my best days. One can learn how to write, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to “write.”

Passion is what brings it all together and makes it possible. My mother-in-law is passionate about plants. She can revive them all and make them grow with little or no effort; it is within her to do so. She also makes a mean apple pie...

Passion is what makes it all seem so easy. If you're a budding auto journalist, or journalist in any other discipline, and doing the job is tedious and frustrating then you're doing it wrong or are in the wrong business. You can't make it happen, it just is.

There are exceptions to every rule, obviously. Some have a command of the written word that I can scarcely comprehend, others are gifted with memory, while others still can talk the talk, but can't walk the walk -- they all manage to get by.

I won't pretend and say that a little bit of luck doesn't help, because it does. The fact remains that this career, like all careers, has to be earned through dedication and hard work. And I wasn't kidding about S&M: It's 11:48 p.m. and I'm just finishing up this blog now so that I can file it via email by deadline so that, technically, it won't be late...

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

From GMM

F1's attention will turn from Sebastian Vettel's fourth title to the inside of a courtroom early this week.

Reports say that while German prosecutors have not decided whether the bribery affair will go to criminal trial, a separate civil action will get underway in London on Tuesday.

Bloomberg news agency said German prosecutors "may be watching for anything that will help their case", as media company Constantin sues F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone for $171 million for the alleged bribing of jailed banker Gerhard Gribkowsky.

"It's not ideal, it would be better if it wasn't happening, but we can't change the court system," Ecclestone, who is scheduled to appear and give evidence in the trial, said.

Former Minardi team owner Paul Stoddart said he is backing the British magnate, who turns 83 on Monday.

"I've not seen an ounce of credible evidence that proves he is guilty," he said. "F1 will be much poorer the day Bernie is not there."

From GMM

F1's uneasy relationship with its tire supplier Pirelli became even more strained in India.

At the tail end of the Italian marque's highly controversial 2013 campaign, the tire situation was stark in India as the soft or 'option' tire failed to last more than a few mere laps.

"Teams say the blistering here is worse than it has ever been in the Pirelli era," the BBC's Andrew Benson said on Sunday.

The situation was so alarming that Pirelli, having only a tentative green-light by the FIA to stay in the sport beyond 2013, issued a recommendation to the teams that the soft tire not be used for more than 15 laps on Sunday.

The FIA refused to enforce it, on the grounds that some teams have the advantage of being better able to manage Pirelli's heavily-degrading tires.

Photo: Pirelli

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said Sahara Force India driver Adrian Sutil, for example, made the soft tire work for almost 20 laps on Sunday for his one-stop strategy.

The report said sporting director Otmar Szafnauer, who admitted stretching the tire's life to 19 laps was "remarkable", also 'shook his head' at Pirelli's recommendation.

Pirelli boss Paul Hembery said afterwards in an official statement: "We are disappointed to see that some teams went against our recommendations and used the compounds for longer than we advised them to do."

In India, Pirelli renewed its threat to quit F1 if teams do not agree to more pre-season running prior to 2014, but the BBC reports that the tire supplier is refusing to pay for that testing.

"It's fair to say that Pirelli is not exactly winning many friends in F1 at the moment," Andrew Benson added.

Pickups are the backbone of North America. Pickups could be credited as being the most instrumental tool that built both the modern US of A and Canada. Their importance on our automotive landscape is paramount.

For the recuperating Big 3, their pickups are a sign of strength of enduring presence of health. The more they manage to put on the streets, the deeper their pockets are and the better the bottom line gets. In fact, the condition of the economy is often mirrored by pickup take rates. If business is bad, sales decline. If sales decline, business is bad...

Workhorse
Thousands upon thousands of small- to medium-size companies depend on their work trucks, their pickups. They are their livelihood and, in many cases, their most valuable asset. It is with this in mind that manufacturers continue to improve upon the old recipe that is a pair of frame rails, a bed, and a cabin. In fact, so good and well-rounded have pickups become that many, if not most, find double duty as both family and "heavy" duty vehicles.

The rate at which modern pickups have evolved is as rapid if not more so than the average automobile. No longer are pickups unrefined, crude, and loud. Save for an exception or two, other than the ability to tow a house and carry all of its furniture, these trucks are usable on a daily basis -- without compromise.

Competition never lets up
2013 was a very big pickup year. With only five manufacturers playing in the full-size segment, and all making important announcements or changes to their offerings, the time was ripe for a comparison test.

With the notable exception of the Nissan Titan (Cummins diesel engine coming next year), the four players in this game were the GMC Sierra (very much new), the Ford F-150 (facelift and trims), the Toyota Tundra (facelift and more) and Ram 1500 (new engine and more).

Test days
The evaluation of these rigs took place over two days and involved a number of exercises. Day 1 was dedicated to on-road driving experiences and some very mild off-road shenanigans.

Day 2 was trucking day. We loaded each truck up with bails of hay and hitched them to a trailer. The results of these tests were highly conclusive and genuinely made the better trucks shine while the others suffered.

Here we have the final scores along with a breakdown of the highs and lows for each truck. They are ranked in order and, frankly, we were not surprised to see who came out on top; however, we did expect more from some especially given the way some were spec'd out. Read on.

Photo: Philippe Champoux

Continue reading 2013 Pickup Comparison Test

From wrc.com

Sébastien Ogier delivered a driving masterclass today to overturn a 45sec deficit and win an absorbing Rally de Espana in a Volkswagen Polo R.

The Frenchman's eighth victory of the year guaranteed Volkswagen Motorsport the manufacturers' world title in its first season, adding to the drivers' crown that Ogier secured in France earlier this month.

Team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala survived late dramas to finish 32.9sec behind Ogier and Mikko Hirvonen completed the podium in a Citroen DS3, another 40.8sec behind. Former leader Dani Sordo's hopes of victory in his home rally ended in the penultimate test with broken suspension in his DS3.

Sebastien Ogier, Volkswagen, winner in Spain. (Photo: WRC)

After losing almost a minute and the lead with a broken wheel rim yesterday, Ogier began today's third and final leg in fourth place.

Gravel tracks replaced the asphalt of the opening two days, and his lower start position guaranteed faster roads as his rivals ahead swept them clean of stones. However, dust hanging in the still morning air negated the advantage and combined with blinding low sunshine to restrict visibility.  

Ogier set an incredible pace, overhauling Sordo early this afternoon before moving ahead of overnight leader Latvala in the penultimate test. He sealed victory with another crushing performance in the final stage.

An emotional Ogier dedicated his win to Sean Edwards, leader of the Porsche Supercup championship, who died in a testing accident 12 days ago. Edwards was Ogier's team-mate during his guest appearance in the Supercup race at the Monaco Grand Prix in May.

“I realise sometimes that there are more important things in life. I lost a really good friend and I want to dedicate this victory to him and to his family,” he added.

Latvala was lucky to finish after completing the penultimate stage with a fire in the engine bay of his Polo R. Marshals reacted quickly to extinguish the flames, caused by a leaking fuel pipe, but the Finn also had a differential problem, which he carried through the final stage.

Mikko Hirvonen enjoyed a quiet day and looked set for fourth, despite a small spin this afternoon. However, team-mate Sordo's demise as he battled to stay in touch with Latvala and Ogier, promoted Hirvonen onto the podium.

“It was a shame for Dani. It would have been nice to see him on the podium at his home event,” said a generous Hirvonen.

Thierry Neuville, Ford Fiesta M-Sport. (Photo: WRC)

Thierry Neuville finished fourth in a Ford Fiesta RS. The Belgian struggled with his car's set-up on asphalt and was similarly unhappy this morning, when he also dropped a minute with a puncture. Changes to the differentials improved his confidence and he stays second in the drivers' standings, 14 points ahead of Latvala.

Team-mates Evgeny Novikov and Mads Ostberg were fifth and sixth in Fiesta RS cars, the duo separated by 25.0sec. Ostberg was happier on gravel and posted a string of top three times.

Czech driver Martin Prokop was seventh, almost two minutes ahead of Hayden Paddon. The Kiwi was relieved to finish his World Rally Car debut but spent the entire event modifying the set-up on his Fiesta RS after virtually no testing. 

WRC 2 winner Robert Kubica was ninth, with Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, normally his rival for the category title but driving a Fiesta RS World Rally Car here, completing the top 10.

A majority of pickups are purchased for their abilities or better yet, their capacities. It would be pointless to evaluate these trucks without giving them something real to do.

Before I go on about how these truck fared loaded and with a trailer, consider the sheer importance of these trucks in the automotive business world. As I outlined in Part I of this comparison test, trucks are beacons of the industry's success, and here are numbers to support what I wrote.

The following stats stem from 2012 sales in Canada. Are you ready for this?

Ford Motor Company Canada delivered 275,953 new vehicles of which 106,358 were F-Series trucks. They therefore accounted for 38.5% of all new Fords sold. In other words, nearly 2 in 5 Ford vehicles were trucks... Think about that for a moment.

In the same period, 226,825 GMs sold, including 78,655 Sierras and Silverados. Their share of all sales was 34.7%. Chrysler's RAM trucks accounted for 69,255 out of a total 243,845 units or 28.4%. Now for Toyota... 3.8% total sales were branded Tundra or 7,241 out of 192,058 deliveries. When I said that Toyota is not a truck company, this is what I was referring to.

Workhorse, part II
The thousands of small- to medium-size companies that depend on their work trucks need them to perform and deliver the goods -- quite literally. Other than those with a business -- be it an electrician, plumber or delivery guy -- there are also those who purchase pickups for leisurely reasons.

Our very own, Miranda Lightstone's family has a hobby often associated with trucks: Horses. It is thanks to this connection that we were able to pretend for a day that we were all horse-people, lugging around horse trailer and hay.

The weight
The drills were quite simple, actually. We loaded each pickup with 10 bails of hay or roughly what two 1,000lbs horses would consume in a weekend. The weight represented by the hay was somewhere between 450 and 500lbs.

The trailer weighed in at just under 2,000lbs and in it, we stuffed 25 bails of hay or another 1,250lbs, or the equivalent of one average American Standard horse. There was no way we were chancing harming a horse. Had we taken the chance, my head would have been on the chopping block care of Miranda's Mum... The final total weight added to each pickup reached 3,750lbs.

Some knowledge
Each truck received comments on the same exercises, and all were driven back-to-back on identical roads in the same conditions. Of note: all were equipped with a back-up camera, ABS brakes, stability control, towing packages, and automatic transmissions. The RAM featured the optional air suspension and the Sierra an off-road package. The F-150 was equipped with the EcoBoost V6, the RAM had the 3.6L V6, and the others, V8s. All specs can be found in these pages.

The quarter mile flat-out run with the total load was measured solely via the speedometer. No special equipment was used to verify terminal speed or time at the end of the 400-metre run. Braking comments are the result of stopping drills completed on a dry, paved surface with the trailer in tow.

Photo: Philippe Champoux

Continue reading 2013 Pickup Towing & Loaded Comparison Test

Jeff Gordon's convincing victory at the half-mile Martinsville, VA track was his way of saying that he's still in the title hunt.

Gordon's eighth win at the track tied him with spring winner, Jimmy Johnson, who finished fourth for most wins at the paper clip-shaped track. And it was his 88th NASCAR Sprint Cup victory and first of the year.

“Man, what a great race car,” Gordon said. “I thought we'd given it away a couple of times there; and I'm just so proud of how we fought. We had great pit stops and just that never give up attitude. I thought I got too loose there at the end, running with Matt (Kenseth). Every time he slipped the tires I just tried to let off a little bit.”

Gordon passed Kenseth with 21 laps to go and easily held off Kenseth for the win.

“Right now there are two that are in it. Our job is to go to Texas and make it three," said the four-time series champion

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet SS, winner in Martinsville. (Photo: NASCAR)

Of course he was referring to Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson who are now tied in the points standings with only three races remaining in the Chase to the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Kenseth, who considered Martinsville his worst track, had a career-tying best finish of second place after leading the most laps and struggling with the handling of his Toyota.

"I have nothing to complain about, just you always feel bad when you're leading at the end and your crew puts you out front and you can't hold on to win,” said Kenseth. “So, I'm disappointed about that. But, just Jeff's (Gordon) experience here got me. I'm just not that experienced running upfront here and I had something that was working but I was kind of hurting the rear tires and I hurt the front tires too. Just went away from me there at the end.”

Clint Bowyer finished third and five-time series champ, Johnson, who finished fourth tired to contain his disappointment at not taking home another race trophy.

“Just like it's been,” Johnson said. “ It's been a great battle with the No. 20 car (Matt Kenseth) and the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) is really showing that he wants to be a part of this deal, as well; and there are some other guys back there kind of close. So, it's going to be a dogfight to the end. The way that I would want to go racing for a championship, and I know that's exactly what the fans want to see.”

Photo: NASCAR

Gordon, who was added as the thirteenth driver in Chase, after a NASCAR ruling following the Richmond race, is now 27 points behind the leaders in third place followed by Kevin Harvick, who finished eighth is 28 points back with three races remaining.

“Good tracks in three weeks, “said Harvick who joins Stewart-Haas Racing next year. “We just have to do what we have to do.”

General Motors said it plans to step up promotions of the Chevrolet brand in China and bolster the lineup of GM's SUVs to defend its lead in the world's largest auto market.

TrueCar dropped Honda of Annapolis from its network of participating dealerships after the store failed to finance enough vehicle sales through USAA, a TrueCar partner.

TrueCar expects participating dealerships to sell 400,000 vehicles this year from the shopping site, up 60 percent from the 2012 total, CEO Scott Painter said last week.

Doesn't it seem like there's a vehicle safety recall practically every other day? Actually, there is. This year, automakers announced 143 recalls in the 273 days through September, affecting as many as 18.

Fiat's Turkish joint venture plans to start manufacturing a new passenger car in the second half of 2015. Istanbul-based Tofas also will invest $520 million to more than double production to 580,000 vehicles by 2023, exporting a third of the total.