Auto News 5

Melanie Snow and her 17-year-old son Madison have written a new page in the history book of the fabled 24 Hours of Daytona.

They became the first mother-son duo to ever enter the twice-around-the-clock race.

The pair is fielding a Porsche GT3 Cup, which they will co-drive with factory drivers Sascha Maassen, Klaus Bachler and Marco Siefried in the GT class.

Madison and Melanie Snow.

Melanie and Madison Snow both have raced Porsche cars many times before, albeit never in the 24 Hours of Daytona. For instance, Melanie's resume includes a class win at the 1999 12 Hours of Sebring, alongside her husband.

Madison became, at 15, the youngest champion of a Porsche one-make series, back when he clinched the Gold Cup championship of the 2011 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge.

"I was never able to race at Daytona before, as when I had other opportunities, I was pregnant or had a baby with me," said Melanie, explaining why the 51st edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona will be her first.

Not many drivers can say that !

Small is the current big thing, and Lincoln has been never one to talk small. They've been all about big cars since the inception of the company mid-1917.

This is about to change.

The introduction of the Lincoln MKC Concept demonstrates that Lincoln is ready and about to jump into the industry's fastest-growing segment: small luxury utility vehicles. Last year alone, this category grew by 60% and has grown by more than 200% in the last four years. This, my friends, is where it's at. In fact, in this relatively short period of time, the small luxury utility segment has crushed all other luxury segments. And this is far from the end, as the segment is expected to continue to expand over the next four years.



The Lincoln MKC Concept is immediately identifiable as a Lincoln in large part thanks to its split-wing grille which has been a Lincoln signature since the famed Zephyr of the 1930s. As it stands, the MKC Concept is muscular and well proportioned. The hood, wheel arches and beltline are the elements to thank for the MKC's proper look.

Dimension-wise, the Lincoln MKC Concept's wheelbase, at 2,717.2 (106,9") is roughly 10cm (4") shorter than that of the 2013 Ford Edge. As well, the MKC is marginally shorter height- and length-wise than the aforementioned Edge. From a width standpoint, they are identical.

The Lincoln MKC Concept's cabin is further proof that Lincoln and Ford are masters at the art of craftsmanship and luxury. High-end materials cover every surface and they include leather, chrome and wood jewelry.

The dashboard is elegant and looks production-ready. This 4-seater Lincoln MKC Concept (more than likely, it will be a 5-seater upon production) features a distinctive push-button gear shift selector, first introduced by Packard and Chrysler right around 1956. The idea is to increase console stowage space.

No real word yet as to what will power the Lincoln MKC Concept, although we guess that the powertrains currently available in the Ford Edge are likely candidates. If Lincoln can keep the weight in check, a 2.0T EcoBoost with AWD sounds very likely. A 3.7L V6, as with the MKZ, makes sense as well.

Photo: Lincoln

From GMM

Kimi Raikkonen didn't make his formula one comeback with Williams because Lotus were offering him a more competitive car.

That is the claim of Adam Parr, the former Williams chairman who now admits to trying to secure the services of the 2007 world champion at the end of 2011.

Ultimately, the Williams talks collapsed and former McLaren and Ferrari driver Raikkonen, now 33, return to F1 after a two-year rallying hiatus last year with Lotus.

Famous for his laconic and truly unique personality, he surprised many in 2012 by winning in Abu Dhabi and finishing his return season with third place in the world championship.

Briton Parr, who left his role as Williams chairman early last year and is now promoting a book, confirmed he had talks with the Finn about driving for the famous British team in 2012.

"I wanted to bring Kimi to Williams in 2012," he is quoted as saying by Italy's Autosprint, "but I could not guarantee a competitive car for him. When I spoke with him, I was impressed by his hunger and his determination. Nevertheless, his value at the time remained unclear, and we didn't know just how strong our car would be."

Pastor Maldonado driving the Williams FW34. (Photo: WRi2)

In 2012, Pastor Maldonado won the Spanish grand prix and, alongside Bruno Senna, the pair helped Williams to finish eighth in the constructors' world championship.

With Lotus, Kimi Raikkonen also won just a single race but also an impressive tally of 207 points.

We at Auto123.com rarely go forth and book long term test cars. The principal reason is not that these extended evaluations have no worth -- in fact, it's quite the opposite -- it has to do with logistics.

Be that as it may, we were and are so enamoured by the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe that we wanted more time with it. These First World problems obviously did not deter us from getting our hands on our favourite 2013 compact utility vehicle of the year.

Truthfully, the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe has been the talk of the segment from the moment we laid eyes on the first renderings that circulated the web in late 2011. The real deal has, so far, not let us down.

The real deal has, so far, not let us down. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Santa Fe in da house
So here it is: The unit that Hyundai Canada has graciously loaned us for 10,000 km (or 6 months, whichever comes first) is the same vehicle I reviewed a few months ago and, clearly, loved.

My neighbour also loved the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe for a 20-minute test drive while it was in my custody, as it was enough to convince him to take delivery of one only a few weeks later.

Our 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe is a 2.0T Sport SE AWD version which is one step up from the best selling version that is the 2.0T Premium AWD.

The SE lined Santa Fe retails for $35,299 and features a large number of goodies that are especially appreciated at this time of the year. Namely, it includes heated front and rear seats as well as a heated steering wheel. Other niceties are satellite radio, rear-view camera and a massive panoramic sunroof.

A base 2.4L FWD 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe starts at $26,499 and tops out at $38,499 for the loaded 2.0T Limited version.

In the future
We plan on putting together a number of updates over the next few months including photo galleries and perhaps even a few videos if you guys are good...

We'll report on the turbocharged 2.0L 4-cylinder's fuel consumption as well as assess the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe's family friendliness by throwing in a number of baby seats and strollers for fit and good measure. Miranda, of Auto-Venus.com, will be in charge of these tests.

Our 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe is a 2.0T Sport SE AWD version for $35,299. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

On the road
So far, our 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport SE has weathered a massive one-day 45cm dumping of snow, frigid temperatures and everything else winter could possibly throw at us with impressive ease.

Those who have spent time with the Santa Fe have so far praised the heated everything and the overall performance afforded by the 2.0T.

More on the way
Yes, there will be much more. Our Multimedia team will use the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe as their occasional service vehicle, and so it will be put to work.

We intend on accumulating comments from Auto123.com staff members and will neatly compile the lot in a number of published updates over the coming months.

As always, we welcome your comments, especially if you currently own a Hyundai Santa Fe.

Nasser Al-Attiyah was forced to retire from the Dakar rally after he suffered a broken engine during the 9th stage, his team announced on Tuesday.

Al-Attiyah and his navigator Lucas Cruze were running in second place, only three minutes behind race leader Stephane Peterhansel (MINI) before the 9th stage between San Miguel de Tucuman and Cordoba, Argentina.

The man from Qatar, who hit a tree earlier on, was forced into retirement after he suffered a broken hydraulic pump on his buggy. A few days earlier, his teammate Carlos Sainz was also forced to pull out of the Dakar with mechanical issues.

Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz (Team Qatar Red Bull) were both forced to retired with engine troubles. (Photo: Dakar)

This leaves Stephane Peterhansel alone out in front. The Frenchman, who won last year's race, is now first, some 50 minutes ahead of Giniel de Villiers (Toyota), who moved up to second position ahead of MINI drivers Leonid Novitskiy and Juan Roma after being fastest on Monday's stage.

From Ferrari

Ferrari Formula 1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa enjoy some free time in Italy, and they are taking part in “Wrooom”, the Press Ski Meeting organised by Philip Morris International.

“Wrooom” Ferrari 2013 (Photo: Ferrari)

Taking place on the slopes of Madonna di Campiglio, this is the 23rd time that it marks the symbolic start of the Formula 1 and MotoGP seasons.

Brazilian Felipe Massa had a busy day skiing, while his teammate, Spaniard Fernando Alonso worked on his training in the gym. Both drivers have a fleet of brightly painted Fiat Freemont cars to shuttle between the glamorous and elegant Chalet Fiat, at an altitude of 2000m and the main area of the event.

“Wrooom” Ferrari 2013 (Photo: Ferrari)

Following meetings, press conferences and diners, the F1 drivers will be joined by their two-wheeled colleagues for the kart race on the frozen lake, which provides the setting for the spectacular closing ceremony of this week of activities.

“Wrooom” Ferrari 2013 (Photo: Ferrari)

“Wrooom” Ferrari 2013 (Photo: Ferrari)

“Wrooom” Ferrari 2013 (Photo: Ferrari)

“Wrooom” Ferrari 2013 (Photo: Ferrari)

From GMM

Considerations about "money" played a role in McLaren choosing Sergio Perez.

That is the claim of Paul di Resta, the Sahara Force India driver who admits to having talks with McLaren when the British team was deciding Lewis Hamilton's 2013 replacement.

"I'm not going to give away too much, but yes, there were discussions," 26-year-old Scot di Resta, who is staying at Force India for a third consecutive season this year, said.

"Unfortunately in this sport now there's a little bit more to it. There's a commercial side and money's tight. Perez has some good backing," he is quoted by the Daily Mail.

Sergio Perez and Martin Whitmarsh at Woking. (Photo: McLaren)

Paul Di Resta is undoubtedly referring to Perez's former backing by Carlos Slim's Mexican telco Telmex, the company that while staying at Sauber this year has been linked with a future tie-up with McLaren.

"I've got a great relationship with McLaren," di Resta said.

"Martin Whitmarsh was actually the key person who put my name forward for Force India, and also I've been part of Mercedes-Benz for a lot of years. Our paths may cross," he said at the Autosport International show in Birmingham.

The fifth decade of world class rallying kicked off today with a snowy shakedown ahead of the 2013 Rallye Monte-Carlo, round one of the 2013 World Rally Championship.

Forecasters had predicted that snow would sweep across France during the night and they were right.

The WRC cars were off to run the 3.58km shakedown stage. The clerk of the course authorised the use of studded tires for this morning's test.

Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R. (Photo: Michelin)

Not all the top crews were on studded tires for the first pair of runs, however. All the Citroën runners had chosen the tiny metal tips, for example, as did VW's Latvala and Ford's Hanninen, but Ogier, Ostberg, Novikov and Neuville went out on snow tires.

For the second visit later in the morning, the Citroëns remained on studs, Latvala switched to snow tyres, Ogier tried studs, and all the Ford drivers opted for Michelin snow tires.

So Neuville emerged quickest, in front of Sebastien Loeb and Evgeny Novikov.

Shakedown times:

1. Neuville (Ford), 2m26.1s.
2. Loeb (Citroen), +2.6s.
3. Novikov (Ford), +2.7s.
4. Hirvonen (Citroen), +3.3s.
5. Latvala (Volkswagen), +4.3s.
6. Ogier (Volkswagen), +4.4s.
7. Sordo (Citroen), +5.7s.
8. Ostberg (Ford), +6.8s.
Etc.

From GMM

Giorgio Ascanelli, the well-known F1 engineer who last year left his post as Toro Rosso's technical director, is set to return to the sport.

But Autosprint, the Italian magazine, played down reports the 53-year-old Italian has decided to go back to Ferrari.

Ascanelli began his career at Ferrari in the mid 80s, and was Gerhard Berger's engineer. He moved to Benetton and McLaren, at the latter team working alongside the great Ayrton Senna.

Giorgio Ascanelli returned to Ferrari in 1995, staying until 2001. It is known he is very good friends with the team's new technical boss, Pat Fry, and Autosprint said he recently met with the Briton.

"But he will not go (back) to Ferrari," said correspondent Alberto Antonini. "(But) Ascanelli is about to return to F1; the team's name is not yet known."

Autosprint said Ascanelli left Toro Rosso, who replaced him with James Key, "after an argument" with team boss Franz Tost.

Which F1 team will join Giorgio Ascanelli? (Photo: WRi2)

The 2013 FIA World Rally Championship will begin this week with the prestigious Rallye Monte Carlo held in Southern France.

Citroen
Nine-time World Rally Champion, Sebastian Loeb will contest the Rallye Mont Carlo. This is be one of the four events he will compte in this season. Loeb will be one of the favorites to win. His teammate, Mikko Hirvonen will also be to watch, but third driver Dani Sordo may also cause a real surprise as he returns to Citroen after driving for MINI.

Photo: WRi2

Volkswagen
After a full year of testing, the new VW Polo R WRC will contest its first real rally. The team's number 1 driver, former Citroen driver, Sebastian Ogier is hungry for victory. The Frenchman spent the last season driving a Skoda Fabia S2000 in the WRC while developping the Polo R. His teammate will be Ford's transfuge Jari-Matti Latvala. The Finn is undoutedly fast, but he really needs to avoid crashing like he did so many times during his years with Ford.

Photo: WRi2

Ford
Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport has lost the support of Ford but has managed to attact Nasser Al-Attiyah and the sponsorship of Qatar. Two young drivers, Norvegian Mads Ostberg and Russian Evgeny Novikov will be contesting the entire season in the team's Ford Fiestas RS.

Photo: WRi2

Weather conditions
There's been a lot of snow falls in the region recently and the roads will be very slippery. Sebastien Loeb is virtually unbeatable on dry tarmac but the Nordic drivers, such as Hirvonen, Latvala and Ostberg could well cause a surprise if the roads remain covered with snow.

Action starts tomorrow, Wednesday.

The snow covered paddock. (Photo: WRI2)

Chrysler Group is pressuring suppliers to the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee to increase capacity after bottlenecks cost the company 60,000 to 70,000 lost sales globally in 2012, Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said at the show on Monday.

News 15 Jan, 2013

Chevrolet will build right-hand-drive versions of the Corvette Stingray for the first time, Auto Express has learned

News 15 Jan, 2013

CEO confirms that the first plug-in hybrid Bentley will arrive by 2016, but rules out a diesel model

News 15 Jan, 2013

Volvo is keen to add a third, smaller member to its SUV line-up, based on the current V40 hatch

News 14 Jan, 2013

CEO says Mercedes isn't interested in a premium supermini, but won't rule out tie-up with Aston

Mazda will likely outpace industry growth in 2013, Mazda's North American CEO said in an interview at the show here on Monday.

Fiat's new generation of Alfa Romeo high-performance sedans will have a feature that is uniquely described by its CEO -- a "wop engine."

Chrysler's Jeep brand is working to find the right solution to produce vehicles in China and in Russia, but has nothing specific to announce at the moment, Chrysler Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne told reporters here at the Detroit auto show Monday.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally was all smiles this afternoon when he took a few minutes to check out the just-unveiled 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray.

Nissan Motor Co. will cut the base price of the slow-selling Leaf electric car by 18 percent, or $6,400, the automaker said Monday.