Auto News 5

Automakers are increasingly strengthening their relationships with video-game manufacturers as they seek to promote their vehicles and woo young gamers as future customers.

Blowing off media speculation that its bold ambitions for electric vehicles might have cooled, Nissan says it will expand its global EV product line to five models.

As dealership buy-sells heat up, large privately held dealership groups are bidding aggressively against the large public groups, even for the largest deals.

Nissan Motor Co. may be working on a more aggressive-looking Maxima sedan with a sportier tapered rear roofline and new front-end design and headlight treatment.

General Motors is footing a $5 million bill for 60 days so its 4,324 dealers can test adaptive Web site software that automatically adjusts photos and content based on a visitor's online search history.

Big data is turbocharging the old-fashioned business of direct-mail marketing, giving dealers the ability to pinpoint prospective customers.

Osamu Nagata, the troubleshooting Toyota executive who now heads North American manufacturing and randd, is on a mission to boost capacity and do it quickly -- first by expanding existing factories and then probably adding an assembly plant in Mexico.

Don't blame the test. That's the EPA's message in the wake of Ford Motor Co.'s decision to restate fuel economy estimates on its C-Max Hybrid.

Torque and towing, payload and ponies: They've long been the weapons of choice in the pickup wars.

For more than a year, Volvo's U.S. sales arm and its dealers pressed executives in Sweden to reverse a decision not to sell the V60 station wagon in the United States.

Automakers are increasingly strengthening their relationships with video-game manufacturers as they seek to promote their vehicles and woo young gamers as future customers.

Blowing off media speculation that its bold ambitions for electric vehicles might have cooled, Nissan says it will expand its global EV product line to five models.

Automakers are increasingly strengthening their relationships with video-game manufacturers as they seek to promote their vehicles and woo young gamers as future customers.

Automakers are increasingly strengthening their relationships with video-game manufacturers as they seek to promote their vehicles and woo young gamers as future customers.

From Rally America

Hoonigan Racing's Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino built a commanding lead at the Ojibwe Forests Rally in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota on August 23-24th, and finished first overall - the first ever career Ojibwe Forests Rally victory for Block and his third straight overall win in the Rally America National Championship.

Block drove a relatively problem-free event and enjoyed being first on the road with a dust-free ahead of him. The other teams were not as lucky as hope for rain never materialized to minimize the dust. Block pushed hard to establish his lead and finished 5m33.2 over second place Subaru Rally Team USA.

Ken Block. (Photo: Alex Haugen)

Subaru Rally Team USA's David Higgins and Craig Drew had a chance to lock up the Rally America title, but battled through blinding dust on the first day of the event.

A scary moment occurred on the second day when Higgins lost power steering and injured his hand, which painfully prevented him from shifting the car smoothly. In addition a vehicle rolled over Higgin's ankle during a roadside repair and Higgins walked around service with a noticeable limp. But the team pressed on to a hard fought second place podium spot.

Notable top national teams failed to finish the Ojibwe Forests Rally that gave others opportunities to capitalize. Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team's Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard entered with a new Subaru rally car and held third overall until an electrical failure prevented the car from starting at stage 9.

While the top two Ojibwe finishers were powerful all-wheel-drive Open Class rally cars, a Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) Ford Fiesta R2 took the third podium position. Australian's Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth drove a clean race and capitalized on the misfortunes of those above them to land on the overall podium and won the 2WD category in the process. This is Reeves and Smyth's fourth consecutive 2WD victory.

The Lake Superior Performance Rally - the seventh and final round of the Rally America National Championship- takes place on October 18-19th in Houghton, Michigan.

From press release

Lucas di Grassi and Nico Müller will get the opportunity to test the Audi RS 5 DTM this week at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg (Austria).

Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz complete a multiday test at the race track in Styria in preparation for the final spurt beginning at Oschersleben on September 15.

Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller starts the final dash as championship leader with a 35-point advantage. Rockenfeller and Mattias Ekström are in action for Audi in Spielberg. At the same time, Audi Sport offers two young racing drivers the chance to test the Audi RS 5 DTM.

The former Formula 1 driver and GP2 runner-up Lucas di Grassi belongs to Audi's sportscar driver line-up since mid 2012. The Brazilian clinched a podium position on his Le Mans debut in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro in June 2013.

Nico Müller had previously impressed Audi at the wheel of an Audi A4 DTM at a driver test for budding talents in spring 2012. The 21-year old Swiss now receives the opportunity to drive a current DTM racecar for the first time. Müller currently races in Formula Renault 3.5 and won the series' highlight of the season in Monaco this year. 
 

“We are intrigued to see just how Nico (Müller) and Lucas (di Grassi) get to grips with our RS 5 DTM,” says Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “Nico is a promising young driver whose career we have followed with great interest for some years now. Lucas has impressed our sportscar team with his speed and knowledgeable technical feedback, which is why he is regarded as excellent test driver.”

2005 to 2007 Honda Accord Hybrid

Photo: Honda

The Draw: All of this generation Honda Accord's sensibility and style was available powered by a high-performance hybrid system for a short lifespan. The big draw here was the Accord using its available hybrid system as a performance enhancement -- as it was only available with the V6 engine and turned up the performance a notch, netting 255 horsepower or an improvement of 15. Other than the extra power and badging, the Accord Hybrid functioned, looked, and operated like a standard Accord, which is a good thing.

The Common Issues: Perhaps the most common issue reported dealt with a vibration or “tone” emitted from the Accord Hybrid's engine compartment. This appears to be caused when the vehicle's “Active Noise Cancellation” circuitry conks out, thereby failing to cancel out unwanted engine noises when the V6 runs on three cylinders to save fuel. If you notice any strange or unwelcome noises like these from the engine compartment on a test drive, be sure to find out why.

Further, some drivers report a “clunking,” “surging” or “vibration” from the transmission when shifting gears, though it's not completely clear whether this is normal -- given the nature of hybrid models and how they blend gas and electric power to propel the vehicle. If the Accord Hybrid you're considering doesn't feel like it's shifting properly, be doubly sure to have it inspected by a hybrid-certified dealer mechanic.

Photo: Honda

Continue reading Part II: Used Hybrids at a Glance

Ford announced last week that it will send $895 to purchasers of the 2013 C-MAX as well as $595 to lessees to compensate for erroneous fuel-economy ratings. The refund concerns hybrid models but does not apply to plug-in vehicles.

Average fuel-economy ratings have been raised, to 4.5L/100 km, furthermore, Ford has promised to revise the method used to obtain fuel-economy ratings. A series of minor chassis adjustments will also be performed on 2014 models, including the addition of front-wheel and hatch deflectors as well as improved sealing for the front hood.

Ford has yet to release the latest fuel-economy ratings for the new C-MAX, as testing is still underway.

Source: LaPresse

Photo: Michel Deslauriers

From GMM

Christian Horner and Daniel Ricciardo have denied Mark Webber's suggestion the decision about his 2014 successor is already made.

Obviously referring to his young compatriot Ricciardo, Le Mans-bound Webber said just before Sunday's Belgian grand prix that the news is "good for him and good for Australia".

Red Bull team boss Horner, however, hit back: "I have never known a driver sign another driver.

"We have not yet made a decision," he insisted, according to Express newspaper.

The British broadcaster Sky said at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday, however, that Ricciardo has indeed been signed, with the news to be announced within days.

Christian Horner also denied that.

"We will take a couple of weeks to think things over," he insisted. "It's not a football transfer window, so no rush," he told the BBC.

Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing. (Photo: WRi2)

24-year-old Ricciardo also denied Webber's news.

"He really said that?" the Toro Rosso driver was quoted on Sunday by Russia's f1news.ru.

"We all know Mark -- he likes to make predictions, sometimes they are right, sometimes they're not. It's nice that he supports me, so I take his words as a compliment. But I'm sure if I had a contract, I would know about it. I don't think we're going to have to wait long for the team, but I still haven't heard anything," added Ricciardo.

Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel has taken his 31st career victory at the 2013 Belgian Grand Prix, held Sunday on the longest circuit of the year - Spa-Francorchamps.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing. (Photo: WRi2)

Vettel's latest win means that he draws level with Nigel Mansell in terms of overall victories.

The 26-year-old Red Bull driver, who also set the fastest lap of the race, claimed the lead from second on the grid and now extends his championship advantage to 46 points over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

Lewis Hamilton of the Mercedes-AMG team finished in third place.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG. (Photo: WRi2)

Photo: WRi2

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus. (Photo: WRi2)