Auto News 5

Renault's international expansion strategy is bringing results with the group setting a new international sales record last year, thanks in no small part to the success of the Dacia brand.

Nissan's new GBP200m battery plant in Sunderland has begun producing batteries for electric vehicles at the factory next to its Wearside car plant.

Nissan's new GBP200m battery plant in Sunderland has begun producing batteries for electric vehicles at the factory next to its Wearside car plant.

Videos 18 Jan, 2013

Aston Martin celebrates its 100-year anniversary in spectacular aerial style

Fiat said it had signed a final agreement with Mazda for the Japanese automaker to build a two-door roadster for its Alfa Romeo brand.

Fiat said it had signed a final agreement with Mazda for the Japanese automaker to build a two-door roadster for its Alfa Romeo brand.

Videos 18 Jan, 2013

Dacia hopes a simple approach to advertising will help it sell a new range of cut-price cars

Sales data released by JATO shows that the premium brands performed relatively well in Europe's declining new car market last year.

They're just mine, other people will have other memorable lines from a week in Motown, but here's a snapshot, in no particular order, of a week in Detroit.

The media preview day of the Montréal auto show took place on 17 January.

There were two world premieres at the Montréal auto show; one each from Honda and Mitsubishi Motors.

Mini executives admit they're not sure of their target customer for the new three-door Paceman, which is based on the Countryman SUV.

Viktor Mizo is all smiles and speaks fluent English as he explains why the Republic of Macedonia would be an excellent spot to build an auto parts plant. Mizo can rattle off his country's virtues faster than you can take his business card.

French car orders fell 3 percent last month, led by declines at Renault and U.S. automakers, according to a dealership survey. The French auto market is expected to decline by up to 5 percent this year.

Fiat will reach full employment of its work force at Italian plants in the next three to four years, CEO Sergio Marchionne said.

PSA plans to negotiate an accord with unions in the next few months to permit more flexible work conditions at its French factories as part of the effort to turn around the money-losing carmaker.

Sales of VW brand cars in Russia rose 40 percent year-on-year in 2012. This helped VW Group, which also includes Skoda, Audi and Seat, boost its 2012 volume in the country 39 percent to 317,700 vehicles.

The IndyCar Series has finally received applications for 22 entries which are applying to be part of the Leaders Circle program for the upcoming 2013 season.

As Auto123.com had revealed earlier, Ganassi Racing did not re-apply for its No.38 car driven by Graham Rahal in 2012 as well as KV Racing Technology did not go thru with its application for its No.8 DW-12 that was in the hand of Rubens Brichello last season.

As expected, Team Penske applied for three Leaders Circle positions even though it has announced programs for only two drivers (Helio Castroneves and Will Power).

Also applying for a Leaders Circle spot was Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (for driver Josef Newgarden) and Dragon Racing (for Sebastien Bourdais).

It is also expected that Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports will expand to a two-car program in 2013. Simon Pagenaud has already been confirmed while a second entry could be driven by either current Indy Lights champion Tristan Vautier or Ryan Briscoe.

Even though Andretti Autosport applied for its three Leaders Circle spots, we have learned that the squad is still working on a fourth entry.

Dale Coyne Racing will have Justin Wilson in one car but it still has to announce a program for the second car.

Leaders Circle confirmed applications:

Chevrolet teams
Team Penske (3): Helio Castroneves, Will Power, third TBD.
Panther Racing (1): JR Hildebrand.
Panther DRR (1): Oriol Servia.
KV Racing Technology (2): Tony Kanaan, Simona De Silvestro.
Andretti Autosport (3): Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe.
Ed Carpenter Racing (1): Ed Carpenter.
Dragon Racing (1): Sebastien Bourdais.

Honda teams
Ganassi Racing (3): Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Charlie Kimball.
Dale Coyne Racing (2): Justin Wilson, second driver TBA.
A.J. Foyt Racing (1): Takuma Sato.
Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports (1): Simon Pagenaud.
Bryan Herta Autosport (1): Alex Tagliani.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (1): Graham Rahal.
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (1): Josef Newgarden.

From WTCC

The Honda Racing Team J.A.S. started track activity in view of the new season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) with a three-day test at Valencia.

From Wednesday, Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro are taking turns at the wheel of the Honda Civic WTCC test cars on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. They completed 280 km on day 1 and 225 on day 2, with no technical issues says the press release. The test continues today.

This is also the first occasion for Tarquini to evaluate the progress made by the car, following Monteiro's participation in the three last events of the 2012 season.

Photo: FIA WTCC

Same weight to all cars in 2013

All cars that will take part in the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship will run on the same minimum weight of 1150 kilos, including the driver.

The decision was taken last week by the FIA Touring Car Committee, and a list of the eligible cars has been published in the Appendix 1 to the championship's Sporting Regulations.

The list includes BMW 320 TC, Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T, Ford Focus WTCC, Honda Civic WTCC, SEAT León WTCC and all other cars that took part in the 2012 championship.

Compared to last year, the weight of BMW and Chevrolet cars has been reduced by ten kilos, putting them on the same level with the other machines.

The only car still missing is the LADA Granta Sport, as the Committee will decide about its weight after the homologation formalities are accomplished.

The new 2014 Jeep Patriot achieves 6.6L/100km on the highway with the 158-horsepower, 2.0L four-cylinder engine, and 7.0L/100km with the 172-horsepower, 2.4L unit.

Photo: Jeep

For the first time ever, the 2014 Jeep Patriot will be available with an electronically controlled, six-speed automatic transmission developed by PowerTech, allowing optimum performance and fuel economy.

The 2014 Jeep Patriot also offers new side airbags up front, Hill Start Assist, UConnect with 6.5'' touchscreen, iPod interface, power sunroof, and two articulating liftgate speakers, among other features.

Photo: Jeep

Pricing has yet to be announced for the 2014 Jeep Patriot, which is scheduled to go on sale in Canada in the second quarter of this year.