Auto News 5

News 5 Mar, 2013

Chevrolet has given the Captiva a mid-life facelift, and the revised car has been unveiled at Geneva

Brussels Trade Commissioner, Karel de Gucht, says he has made it clear to Japan there will be no Free Trade Agreement (FTA) unless the contentious issue of its tariff barriers is addressed.

NEWS EDITOR GREG MIGLIORE: I analyzed the 2013 Chevrolet Volt from both of its sides during my one-night stint.

Videos 1 Mar, 2013

Our sister magazine, evo, has pitted the new MINI JCW GP against three track-focused rivals

Spanish car sales fell 10 percent year-on-year in February, mirroring January's decline, car manufacturers' association Anfac said on Friday.

Toyota's UK engine plant, in Deeside, North Wales, has celebrated the creation of 70 new jobs in order to meet increased engine demand.

Ferrari revealed what we hope is the last teaser for its Enzo successor on Friday.

Although advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are increasingly fitted to new cars as drivers request them, Euro NCAP's tightened safety requirements will boost such installed equipment rates over the next few years. In this interview, Matthew Beecham talked with executives of Ficosa to get a better understanding of the market for certain camera and sensor based ADAS, namely lane departure warning systems, cruise control systems and traffic sign recognition systems.

Getting a close look at the Alfa Romeo 4C when it debuts in Geneva will be a challenge if there is a repeat of what happened two years ago at the same show.

News 5 Mar, 2013

SsangYong has revealed a stylish new VW Tiguan-rivalling SIV-1 concept, as well as an all-new version of the Rodius

News 6 Mar, 2013

The Toyota FT-86 Open Concept has made its world debut at Geneva

GAZ Group - part of Russian Machines - the machinery and engineering holding of Basic Element - recently started Chevrolet Aveo production at its Nizhny Novgorod facility 250 miles east of Moscow and also produces vehicles for Volkswagen and Skoda.

News 1 Mar, 2013

CarBuyer.co.uk has crowned the Dacia Duster its Car of the Year for 2013

ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany's biggest steelmaker, said an antitrust watchdog in the country raided its offices in the western city of Duisburg.

This year's Geneva auto show highlights how automakers are increasingly pushing into new market niches as they seek to maximize showroom sales and profits.

Give credit to the organizers of the Geneva auto show, they know better than to mess with Ferrari.

European automakers are marking record achievements in the United States. Jesse Snyder, a former editor for Automotive News Europe, explores why in this segment from Automotive News TV's First Shift newscast on Feb. 26.

Tristan Vautier (Schmidt Motorsports) proved once again that he was a fast driver by leading a 1-2-3 sweep for France at the IndyCar test at Sonoma.

Vautier ramked first ahead of the Chevy-powered Dragon Racing entry of Sebastien Bourdais and his teammate Simon Pagenaud.

“I didn't set any expectations for myself before. Before that last run, I was a bit further off, so the good lap at the end was a big step, which was good, but none of these times count when the season starts,” said Vautier.

The French trio was followed by Tony Kanaan who lost the morning session after a fire broke out in the engine bay of his KV Racing Chevy.

Panther DRR's Oriol Servia finished fifth followed by Dragon Racing's Sebastian Saavedra, KV's Simona de Silvestro, Panther Racing's JR Hildebrand and Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing).

Day 2 of the last Formula 1 winter test session of 2013 at Barcelona saw Frenchman Romain Grosjean set the best lap time in the Renault-powered Lotus E21.

Grosjean set his best performance in the afternoon (1m22,716) on a set of soft Pirelli tires.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus (Photo: WRI2)

The team completed system checks, temperature monitoring, data correlation, assessment of the performance of the car with its initial aerodynamic package and new rear suspension set-up evaluation.

Jenson Button, McLaren (Photo: WRI2)

Jenson Button was second in the Mercedes-powered McLaren on a set of medium tires, four tenths of a second slower than Grosjean.

Pastor Maldonado ranked third in the Williams-Renault, also on a set of soft tires. Reigning World Champion, Sebastian Vettel made a late improvement and was fourth for Red Bull Racing, almost a full second down to Grosjean.

Pastor Maldonado, Williams (Photo: WRI2)

Nico Hulkenberg, in the Sauber, Adrian Sutil (Sahara Force India) and Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) followed in order.

Rookie Max Chilton enjoyed another great day of running in the Marussia-Cosworth, claiming the 8th fastest time ahead of some famous names, including Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari).

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber (Photo: WRI2)

Pos. Driver Car Time* Laps
1 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:22.716 88
2 Jenson Button McLaren 1:23.181 72
3 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:23.628 75
4 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:23.743 65
5 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber 1:23.744 79
6 Adrian Sutil Sahara Force India 1:24.215 62
7 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:25.483 61
8 Max Chilton Marussia 1:25.598 75
9 Giedo Van Der Garde Caterham 1:26.316 48
10 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG 1:26.655 120
11 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:27.878 102
*Unofficial timing

Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso (Photo: WRI2)

A DRS, Drag Reduction System will be tested on the DTM cars during the collective tests at be held at Barcelona at the end of the month.

In order to improve the show during races with more overtaking, the DTM organizers are looking to introduce the DRS this season, although nothing has been confirmed yet.

The 2012 fixed rear wing of the BMW M3. (Photo: René Fagnan)

The three car manufacturers involved in the DTM championship, Audi, BMW and Mercedes will test the system during the collective tests held in Barcelona, March 26 to 29.

Reigning DTM champion, Canadian Bruno Spengler will take part in this important test session.

If the tests are successful, the DRS could appear on the DTM cars as soon as the opening round opf the season at Hockenheim in May. If introduced, the DRS could only be activated in one section of the race track.

Unlike Formula 1, the teams would use a standard DRS system provided by the series' organisers.