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February new vehicle registrations in New Zealand of 7,946 were up 10.6% (761 units) on February 2012 (7,185). Commercial vehicle registrations of 2,148 units were up a noteworthy 38.4% (596 units) on February 2012 and the highest monthly February sales since 1982. Passenger car registrations of 5,798 were up 163 units (2.9%) on February 2012.

Severe weather and government shenanigans couldn't keep Americans from visiting dealer lots last month. February light vehicle sales were up 3.7%, surpassing 1.19m and producing a SAAR of 15.38m units. This is the fourth consecutive month the SAAR has been above 15m.

The new issue of the Automotive News Europe monthly e-magazine is ready for you to view.

New Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann is standing behind Opel's restructuring. Neumann has seen the Drive 2022 plan and wants to implement it without major changes, sources close to Opel said. Opel was the major contributor to parent General Motors' $1.

Renault and PSA will use the Geneva auto show as the launching pad for models that are forecast to go to the top of Europe's fast-growing small SUV segment.

Some luxury brands are giving AutoNation the OK to put the AutoNation brand name on their dealerships.

As Mercedes-Benz's U.S. marketers brainstormed in 2009 about how to attract youthful buyers with a compact sedan then being developed, it quickly became clear what they needed most -- an un-Mercedes-like sticker price.

Chrysler Group said it was going for a "polarizing design" with the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. Mission accomplished, judging from the torrent of comments that streamed into the Twitter feed of Ralph Gilles, Chrysler's head of design.

Google is poised to expand its online car-shopping service to dealers throughout California and enter more states, sources say. By expanding the pilot, Google is signaling its intention to be a more significant force in online auto shopping.

Tim Mahoney, Chevrolet's new global marketing chief, knows something about putting spark into struggling brands and giving focus to confused marketing. He comes to General Motors after a two-year stint at high-flying Volkswagen of America.

General Motors is spending tens of millions of dollars to buff up its dealership network in metro New York, where its sales badly lag rivals.

A new SRT Viper and an upcoming Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Alfa Romeo 4C and Acura NSX. If consumers didn't know better, they might think that all is well in the sports car business. It's not.

The Mercedes-Benz A class suffered a surprisingly decisive defeat in the 2013 European Car of the Year contest won easily by the Volkswagen Golf.

The European auto industry is in for a rough ride over the next few years. What are the solutions? Which companies will emerge as winners? The 16th Automotive News Europe Congress will explore answers to those questions on June 12 in Paris.

New Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann is standing behind Opel's restructuring. Neumann, who took over his new post on Friday, has seen the Drive 2022 plan and wants to implement it without major changes, sources close to Opel said.

Some luxury brands are giving AutoNation the OK to put the AutoNation brand name on their dealerships.

Eight Southern states, organized by a Michigan research group, are forming a coalition to encourage overseas automakers and suppliers to locate randd centers in the Southeast.

After losing the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship to a tie-breaker Carl Edwards started the 2012 as the man to beat. When he won the pole for the Daytona 500 last year that confirmed it.

Then the wheels virtually fell off after that. Actually his last win went back to 2011at Las Vegas and that drought continued for 70-races ending at the one mile Phoenix International Raceway oval.

Photo: NASCAR

On Sunday in Phoenix Carl declared he was back, back in word and back in deed. He lead 122-laps of the 316-lap race, including the final 78, for his 20th career win in Sprint Cup.

In Victory Lane, after his Carl Edwards-patented back flip and victory jaunt into the grandstands, Carl Edwards said “I'm telling you we're back.”

“This win feels as good or better than any win I've ever had so I'm excited about it,” Edwards added.

Coincidentally Edwards ended a previous 70-race losing streak by winning the fall race in 2010 in Phoenix.

Despite all those laps led the win wasn't as easy as it sounds. The race ended with a green-white-checkered finish which saw third-place Denny Hamlin make a potentially dangerous dive into the dogleg area to challenge Jimmie Johnson, last week's Daytona 500 winner, who ended up second.

Johnson said “Denny got a huge run, cleared us (and Brad Keselowski who finished fourth) both. I thought I had a chance just to beat him back to the finish.

Photo: NASCAR

I didn't expect Denny to get up in front of us like he did.  I thought we were going to enter three wide, and I was going to be in the worst spot.” 

If the race went to Edwards the single performance of the day belonged to Hamlin.

Describing his daredevil-like maneuver Hamlin said “I wasn't concerned too much. I was committed. I just hope that I would have slid in front of Johnson, but, you'd get punted (if you don't do it well). I held my line and thought I did the right thing. We overachieved a ton today.”

Pole sitter, Mark Martin, the second oldest driver in NASCAR to do so, led twice for 75 laps but the wrong choice of tires, two instead of four, in the pits eventually put him out of sequence. He finished 21rst.

Danica Patrick, who turned the NASCAR on its' ear last week leading laps from the pole at Daytona, struggled to 40th in qualifying then had a tire problem in the race which caused a big wreck with multiple wall contacts on lap 185. She would finish 39th.

"Obviously I blew a right front,” Patrick said adding “no real warning.”

As for the intensity of the hit “Oh, probably Daytona (last year) was a little bit bigger. And it was on the right and the left. So whenever those right-fronts go, they always hit hard because you don't broadside. You kind of hit more straight on. But I took a hard hit on both side, but I'm fine.”

Photo: NASCAR

Although Edwards and new crew chief, Jimmy Fennig were concerned about having enough fuel to go the distance Edward appeared to have the race in a bag when Ken Schrader brought out the final caution on lap 311 that set up the three-lap shoot out.

“The first thing that came to my mind was, ‘now, if we win it, we really earned it,” Carl Edwards said.

He certainly did.

From GMM

Luiz Razia insists he is not losing any sleep, despite coming tantalisingly close to realising his dream of racing in formula one this year.

In fact, he was even the subject of a Marussia media announcement and began testing his 2013 car recently in Spain, only to be let down by a crucial sponsor.

"I will sleep tonight, knowing that the failure was circumstantial," the 23-year-old Brazilian told O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

Elsewhere, Razia even sported a smile and a humorous sense of irony, wearing a t-shirt bearing the words 'Dream Killer' for an interview with Brazil's Globo.

"Two individuals who have a company signed a contract with Marussia. They paid the first instalment, then they had problems," he explained.

Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio estimated the missing payment at EUR 6 million.

"It's been hard for me, of course," Razia admitted. "I need to regroup. But I have faith and sometimes these things happen for us to grow spiritually. Right now I am returning home to Milton Keynes to think about what to do with my life."

Returning to his brush with F1 racing stardom, Razia continued: "It was bad luck, not because of a lack of commitment or professionalism on my park. I did as much as anyone could do."

Jules Bianchi, Marussia MR02. (Photo: WRi2)

He said he is sure Jules Bianchi, his Ferrari-linked replacement at Marussia, is also well sponsored.

"It would be funny if someone didn't think that," insisted Razia. "If that wasn't part of it, I'd be sitting in the car now."

For Marussia at least, there could be a silver - or scarlet - lining.

Frenchman Bianchi is highly rated but he is also crucially backed by Ferrari's driver development 'academy', at a time when the currently Cosworth-powered Marussia is openly on the hunt for a supplier of V6s for 2014.

Livio Oricchio said: "Do not be surprised if in 2014 Marussia is competing with a Ferrari engine and transmission."

There may also be an engine link in Adrian Sutil's return to F1 with Sahara Force India.

Oricchio said: "I have learned that Sutil has a longstanding relationship with Toto Wolff, now a partner and head of the Mercedes team. It could explain why Vijay Mallya decided on Sutil and not Bianchi."

There's this little thing in Canada we call: winter. It usually lasts about 5 months (four if we're really, really lucky) and it's absolutely brutal. From frigid temperatures to driving conditions some of the most veteran drivers would fear, we Canadians put up with a lot of sh— er, stuff throughout the hellish days of winter.

So, it always shocks me when I hear of a friend or family member looking to buy a new car who isn't considering all-wheel drive. I feel I have to remind them of where we live then check their temperature.

Here's the down-low on AWD (or 4WD/4x4; any type of drivetrain that will have all four wheels working and receiving power from the engine to keep you safely on the road an on the right course instead of suffering from understeer or a fabulous-looking fishtail as your back end flies out): It's fantastic. It's meant to keep you moving forward when you want to be (i.e., from a stop) and taking you through a corner with far more control than a typical 2WD vehicle.

After years behind the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRX, and briefly a base Impreza as well, I know the benefits an AWD system can truly have. If nothing more than a solid, grounded feel when the conditions get sloppy, AWD offers a level of confidence that could keep you out of harm's way. My parents pilot a Nissan Rogue, and my mother has told many a story of her sturdy little crossover getting her through some tough country road condition thanks, in no small part, to its AWD.

I think the aversion comes with a few misconceptions people have about AWD. Here are a few:

An AWD vehicle is so much more expensive.
In some cases, this may be true. For example, the difference between a FWD and AWD 2013 Ford Fusion is around the $2k mark. Granted that small gap makes the prie jump from the 20s to the 30s (which could scare a few buyers), the extra is well worth it. And we're comparing apples to apples: same trim, same engine, just the drivetrain is changed. And when you consider the fact that you can have a perfectly acceptable AWD vehicle in the $20k region via the likes of Subaru and Suzuki, you'll realize that you really don't have to pay that much more. And in my opinion, paying a “premium” for something like AWD is much more acceptable than paying that same extra for a brand name or look-faster exterior upgrade kit.

AWD vehicles are horrible on gas.
As the years go on and manufacturers play the “who can burn less gas” game, the number differences are quickly diminishing. Take for example the Suzuki SX4. In 2WD trim the estimated highway mileage rating is 8.2L/100km; in AWD setup that number only jumps to 9.0L/100km (as per Suzuki). Our recent crossover compare showed a higher reading than that, but it was still in the decent zone for an AWD vehicle, and not far off from FWD vehicles we've driven in the same segment.

Sure, AWD vehicles are heavier, but not by much. Let's look at the Suzuki SX4 again. In FWD it weighs in at 1,691 kg (3,721 lbs) and the AWD version only weighs 170 lbs more. So, it's kind of like having your partner riding shotgun all the time, which isn't so bad.

Only SUVs come with AWD and I want a smaller car.
Alright, well, as soon as I wipe the shocked look off my face, I'd be able to tell you that in fact there are a plethora of sedans, hatchbacks and even compact crossovers currently on the market, all available with hard-working, well-crafted AWD systems. From the Subaru Impreza to the MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 to the Golf R, there's something for everyone and every budget.

AWD vehicles are no good in the summer months.
Again, this is a horrible misconception. With the right summer tires, piloting an AWD vehicle in the hotter summer months feels no different than any other time of the year (you'll just have more traction and control when those April showers start).

Once you've driven an all-wheel drive vehicle in the slushy, snowy months I can guarantee you'll never want to go back to a 2WD vehicle again (at least not in the winter). If you're in the market for a new ride and you live in Canada where snow blankets the ground for more than a few months, please consider your AWD options. It'll be awdsome and you won't regret it, I promise.

Photo: Philippe Champoux