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News 4 Sep, 2013

Vauxhall Adam supermini fails to score full five stars in latest round of crash testing

UK car sales have risen for seventeen consecutive months and local automaker bosses believe the volume gains will continue as competitive finance deals and low interest rates drive sales.

Renault's Dacia brand has given its best-selling model, the Duster SUV, a face-lift to make the model more rugged looking to increase its appeal.

Ford of Europe will launch a badge called Vignale for upscale cars at the Frankfurt auto show with a concept based on the new Mondeo.

The executives chosen as 2013 Automotive News Europe Eurostars achieved success by exceeding expectations. Gestamp Chairman Francisco Riberas is this year's Eurostar winner for Supplier CEO.

The idea that General Motors would be interested in buying more PSA shares, as rumored earlier this summer, defies common sense. Even more ridiculous is the rumor of the Peugeot family selling off to the Chinese.

The idea that GM would be interested in buying more Peugeot shares, as rumored earlier this summer, defies common sense. Even more ridiculous is the rumor that the Peugeot family will sell off to the Chinese.

Ford of Europe will launch a badge called Vignale for upscale cars at the Frankfurt auto show with a concept based on the new Mondeo.

The Frankfurt Auto Show will serve as the backdrop to the world premiere launch of the all-new Lexus LF-NX crossover.

The LF-NX is powered by a modified version of the Lexus hybrid system. Its bold, muscular styling and marks the next evolution of the manufacturer's design philosophy. The trademark hourglass front grille and independent headlights remain immediately recognizable.

The black wheel-well protectors and brushed-metal silver paint finish add to the overall ‘'robustness'' of the LF-NX. The interior is definitely driver-focused, thanks to the Lexus L-finesse ‘'Human Oriented'' design concept. The Lexus LF-NX is equipped with the latest touch-sensitive electrostatic switches.

Make sure to catch the latest updated information regarding the LF-NX on September 10th.

Photo: Lexus

The British track PFI did not disappoint lovers of beautiful races. The insolent domination of the Dutch driver Max Verstappen in the first round of the KF World Championship did not give any hope to his opponents, and removed the suspense of the final, but the Dane Nicklas Nielsen, however, had a day that made him one of the protagonists of the competition.

Départ de la finale. (Photo: CIK/KSP)

The British circuit, situated near the town of Brandon in Lincolnshire, hosted the first of two rounds in the CIK-FIA World Championship, reserved for the KF category.

Max Verstappen won the final in front of Nicklas Nielsen and Ben Hanley. Canadian Lance Stroll, driving a Zanardi-TM-Vega finished 5th, 5.032 seconds behind the winner.

For 14-year-old Lance Stroll, the youngest driver in the Ferrari Driver Academy, it was a very positive experience.

The second round of the world championship is scheduled for November 23 in Bahrain.

The Frankfurt Auto Show will be the scene, next September 10th, of the world-premiere launch of the Porsche 918 Spyder. The plug-in supercar, which develops 887 hp, and can reach 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds (for a top speed of 340 km/h) has astounding fuel economy ratings of 3.0 and 3.3 L/100 km.

Porsche will also be presenting the new-generation gasoline-powered, hybrid, and diesel Panamera. The Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Edition will also be among the featured vehicles.

Photo: Porsche

From GMM

A management reshuffle at Renault could impact the French carmaker's formula one programme, according to media reports.

Renault, whose racing arm Renault Sport supplies engines to multiple F1 teams including world champions Red Bull, has announced that chief operating officer Carlos Tavares is stepping down to pursue "personal projects".

"In order to reinforce Renault's industrial and commercial performances, an adaptation of the management's organisation will soon be decided and announced," Renault added.

A report in the Business Standard reports that motor racing enthusiast Tavares' exit coincides with "tough times" for Renault's road car operations "in the European market".

Another report at Racecar Engineering added: "It is almost certain that this change of leadership will have some impact on Renault's motor sport activity."

The Renault V8 engine sitting in the Red Bull RB9. (Photo: WRi2)

On September 4th, 1997, the final 10th generation Thunderbird was to roll off the assembly line at the Ford plant in Lorain, Ohio. The Thunderbird has enjoyed a rich history, from its 1955 model onwards.

Launched as a two-seater, it was rivalled only by the Chevy Corvette, released two years earlier. The Thunderbird's classic features included a 292 cu. in. V8 engine cranking out 202 hp. This Ford could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 10 seconds, with a maximum speed of 180 km/h.

Ford had already pre-sold 4,000 models before its plant pumped out the first Thunderbirds on October 22, 1954. The basic model was sold for $2,750, but you could add on a canvas top for the tidy sum of $70.

The ‘T-Bird' was wildly popular for decades. However, the oil crisis was the downfall of this classic car and others like it, which came to be viewed by consumers as over indulgent and costly oil guzzlers.

Ford decided to end production on September 4th, 1997. However, from 2002 to 2005, Ford re-launched the T-Bird, though only 1,500 models were produced, for its 50th anniversary.

1995 Ford Thunderbird and 1955 Thunderbird (Photo: Ford)

McLaren Young Driver and Formula Renault 3.5 championship contender, Stoffel Vandoorne spent the weekend of the Belgian Grand Prix as part of the McLaren team.

The Belgian, who won the F4 Eurocup 1.6 in 2010 and the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup in 2012 had a chance to be part of the McLaren family at Spa-Francorchamps.

Vandoorne was introduced to McLaren Matt Bishop by former F1 driver Alex Wurz two years ago. Then, Bishop had talks with team engineers Sam Michael and Phil Prew about this upcoming racer.

Stoffel Vandoorne. (Photo: McLaren)

“Early 2012, Matt invited me to the McLaren Technology Centre and introduced me in person to Sam and Phil - just a general chat. Then, at the end of 2012, when I won the Formula Renault 2.0 championship, Sam called me and asked me if I wanted to join the McLaren Young Driver Programme. I said yes, of course!” Vandoorne said in a McLaren feature.

“Over the six months I've been with McLaren I've made big progress in the fitness side, and I'm confident that I can improve even further from now on too. Also, on the technical side, it's really good to be having discussions with the McLaren engineers - to really learn about race engineering - as well as to just chat about racing with them in general,” the Belgian added.

He also confirmed that his career is now managed by Richard Goddard, Jenson Button's manager.

“Like almost every single-seater racing driver, they want to be an F1 world champion,” Vandoorne continued.

“At the moment that's still quite far away for me, I know that, but I'm trying to work my way up there. I'm currently driving in World Series by Renault 3.5, which is a very good formula. And this season is going quite well for me so far. So, hopefully, one day I'll be able to take the step up to F1 and then be able to fight for an F1 world championship. But I'm certainly not under-estimating what a big task that will be,” he said.

Sam Michael and Stoffel Vandoorne. (Photo: McLaren)

In his first season in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, Vandoorne is competing against another member of the McLaren programme, Kevin Magnussen.

“Kevin and I have had some really good battles on track this season, and we're each other's main rivals at the moment, and I have a lot of respect for him. He's a very good driver. And, yes, probably it's going to be a McLaren Young Driver who's going to be the winner of the Formula Renault 3.5 championship this year, which is great for McLaren. Hopefully that'll be me, of course!”

“I'm only in my first year in the Formula Renault 3.5 championship, my goal is absolutely to win races and to try and win the championship first time out. At the moment I'm lying second in the championship table, but there's still a lot to play for,” Vandoorne concluded.

Bentley will be adding a member to the Continental GT family next September 10th at the Frankfurt Auto Show, the GT V8 S, available in both coupe and convertible versions. It's powered by a twin-turbo 4.0 liter V8 that produces 528 hp and 680 lb-ft torque at 1,700 rpm. The engine is mated to a close-ratio 8-speed ZF automatic transmission.

The Bentley Continental GT V8 S goes from 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds (4.7 for the convertible) and has a top speed of 309 km/h (308 km/h for the convertible).

The first deliveries of the Bentley Continental GT V8 S are planned for early 2014.

Photo: Bentley

Photo: Bentley

The IndyCar Series has confirmed that veteran Ryan Briscoe has been asked to join Graham Rahal to conduct test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on September 4th.

As we had already revealed, this test has been organised by the IMS and the IndyCar Series to gather information about the track's different configurations as part of the planning process for what is estimated to be a $100 million upgrade program.

The IMS officials as well as IndyCar are in the process of evaluating the idea of holding an IndyCar event on the road course.

Meanwhile, Graham Letterman Lanigan Racing will be testing Indy Lights frontrunner Jack Hawksworth at the Sebring road course on September 17th.

With two races remaining Hawksworth is currently fourth in the Indy Lights standings, albeit just nine points behind current leader Sage Karam.

Graham Rahal at Indianapolis. (Photo: IndyCar)

I had an interesting conversation with a Volkswagen rep over Californian wine while staying in Napa Valley, recently. I asked him if VW was “worried” about other car companies finally waking up to bringing affordable, well-performing diesel cars to North America. Since the German automaker has, essentially, held a monopoly over that market in NA for decades now, the idea of competition must make them a bit nervous, no?

No.

Don't think he was being all haughty about Volkswagen's superiority, he wasn't. The German juggernaut isn't worried because they hope companies like Honda, Mazda and Chevrolet will work with them to bring out more diesel buyers in general.

Instead of competition, VW sees the Chevy Cruze diesel, the upcoming Mazda6 diesel and the (hopefully soon) upcoming Honda Accord diesel as allies, a means to bringing more diesels to North America even if they aren't under the VW badge.

Instead of splitting an already small market percentage amongst the different diesels that will be available on the market in the near future, VW just wants to make that percentage grow overall. Instead of 3.4% diesels in Canada, let's make it 10.1% spread across a few different brands. That's the goal here.

Why? Because North America truly is a fabulous market for diesels, we've just not opened our eyes wide enough to the idea yet. Just like that dreadful word “wagon,” we've got to warm up to the idea of diesel and how good they can truly be -- and the fact that they aren't just for pickup trucks and commercial vehicles.

Our aversion to diesel always kind of baffled me. It used to be a cheaper gas option, lasts longer in the tank, and the torque is generally quite fun - so what's the problem? The engine is a bit loud? So what. The gas can smell a bit rank while you're pumping? Keep gloves in your car or carry hand sanitizer in your glove box. The exhaust is dirty and causes the rear bumper to turn black? Um, nope, not anymore. Manufacturers have gone to great lengths to develop clean diesel that not only keeps your car exterior clean, but the environment, too.

As a final thought, the Volkswagen gentleman I was having this conversation with said that one other reason VW truly isn't worried, and is more excited about the prospect, about other manufacturers offering diesel models is their variety of diesels. They've got six different models available with diesel engines. Perhaps that monopoly's not quite over after all. In fact, 75% of diesel passenger cars and SUVs carry a VW badge in the US. If you add Audi and Porsche, that number jumps to well over 80%.

Here's to diesels for all; time to wake up and smell the burning lowered-sulfur.

Photo: Alexandra Straub

From press release

Hyundai Motorsport's intensive testing schedule continued as the i20 WRC car made its tarmac debut in France, as well as a productive test on the high-speed gravel conditions in Finland.

Test drivers Bryan Bouffier and Juho Hänninen were both in action over a total of ten days with both drivers sharing duties on tarmac before gravel specialist Hänninen assumed control on his home turf.

The latest iteration of the i20 WRC car hit tarmac roads for the first time in the Vosges region of France from August 12 to 16 with the main objective of gathering experience and data on this terrain.

Photo: Hyundai Motorsport

“For our first time with the 2014-spec i20 WRC on tarmac, we adopted a deliberately broad test plan with the main goal of defining the base set-up for that surface,” explained Team Principal Michel Nandan. “We completed good mileage with no major issues, and obtained valuable feedback from both Bryan and Juho, which will allow us to concentrate next on fine-tuning the individual components. Overall, it was a very positive tarmac debut”

From the tarmac test, the team moved to Finland last week to tackle the fast gravel roads and the well-known jumps, which characterise Rally Finland, one of the most technically demanding rallies of World Rally Championship. With local hero Juho Hänninen behind the wheel, the test featured an upgraded version of the 2014-spec of the i20 WRC.

Photo: Hyundai Motorsport

“In Finland we used an evolution of the 2014-spec car, different from the one which we used in France,” added Nandan. “We applied some changes to the shape of the body and during the test we worked on the aerodynamics of the car. The i20 WRC was fitted with a new aerodynamics package and we focussed our efforts in finding a good balance. We wanted to check that all aspects of the car worked properly at high speed, as well as on the jumps, which are extremely demanding. The car can reach extreme acceleration through these jumps so it is essential to study the behaviour of the car and all of its components upon landing. We've also tried different suspension and differential solutions to develop the best set-up for next year's rally.”

With test sessions planned almost every two weeks, Hyundai Motorsport now faces the busiest time of the development phase ahead of its entry into next year's FIA World Rally Championship.

Former Indy car and Formula 1 champion, Jacques Villeneuve is involved in a new track project based in British Columbia, called South Okanagan Motorsports Club's Area 27.

In an article written by Andrew McCredie of the Vancouver Sun, the author explains that the project is a country club for driving enthusiasts.

The consortium is made of Villeneuve, South Okanagan Motorsport Club founders David King and Bill Drossos and Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie.

The location of the Area 27 facility is 20 kilometres north of Osoyoos in Oliver, the self-proclaimed wine capital of Canada, and sits on land owned by the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB).

The consortium behind the proposal needs to sign up members to the private club. And while 300 is their target, the SOMC president says 200 will be enough to get Phase 1 of the planned four phases completed.

The concept will offer members to drive their performance cars on a purpose-built track, with on-site facilities to service, fuel, store and detail their machines.

Bill Drossos thinks the new track will be able to host four racing events each year, categories such as the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Canadian Superbike and vintage racing.

McCredie says the estimated cost of Phase 1, expected to take between six to eight months when approved, is $7.5 million. The overall budget is $10 million to $12 million. The group hopes the first cars will take to the track as early as the summer of 2015.

From GMM

Mario Andretti, F1's world champion of 1978, has backed Red Bull's decision to sign Daniel Ricciardo.

Some, including the German newspapers Welt and Bild, have criticised the signing of young "nobody" Australian Ricciardo over a champion candidate like Kimi Raikkonen.

But Andretti insisted: "I can understand the decision absolutely. They have this training team, Toro Rosso, that has already created Sebastian Vettel.

"So why would they have a training team if not for situations like this?" said the 73-year-old, referring to Mark Webber's departure for Le Mans.

"This is a great signal to all young racing drivers that there is a way without having a big name," Andretti told Welt.

Daniel Ricciardo. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

And, anyway, some take serious issue with the description of 24-year-old Ricciardo as a "nobody".

"He is one of the most talented drivers," said Colin Kolles, who was Ricciardo's first F1 team boss at HRT.

"His driving style is similar to the young Fernando Alonso and Ayrton Senna," he added.

However, even if Ricciardo does live up to that promise, it is unlikely he will be fully up to speed by the very first race of 2014 in Australia.

Dr Helmut Marko has said the Australian will be given a grace period of "three to five races", by which time he will be expected to get "at least enough points for the constructors' championship".

Indeed, while Marko has revealed Ricciardo's contract is for "at least three years", Italy's Autosprint said the deal would include an initial assessment at the mid-point of next season.

One thing Ricciardo can bank on, however, is a pay rise.

Andrew Heathcote, rich list editor at the Australian business magazine BRW, said the driver's current $600,000 salary will rise to "about $2 million" now that he is at Red Bull.

That is an awful lot cheaper than Raikkonen, but another factor may also have played against the laconic Finn.

"A very important consideration is the new set of rules next year," Marko told Austria's Servus TV.

"This requires a lot of work with the technology and in the simulator, for both drivers. This made a difference for Daniel," he said, perhaps hinting that blase Raikkonen's work ethic would not have been as good.

Finally, Red Bull designer Adrian Newey played down the saga about Ricciardo's wide hips, insisting the 24-year-old will fit in the 2014 car.

"Actually it's slightly easier now," said the Briton, "as he is not as tall as Mark."