Auto News 5

Former Formula 1 driver, Timo Glock, who drove for Marussia until the end of last year, has found a new home with BMW in the DTM series.

This season, Glock drives a BMW M3 DTM for the new MTEK team. In his third race of the season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria last weekend, Glock captured his best result of the season, finishing third behind race winner, Bruno Spengler and Marco Wittmann.

“My last visit to the podium was after the Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore in 2009. I had almost forgotten how good it feels to be up there. The team's celebrations, the fans, the emotions: moments like these are why you take up motorsport. I enjoyed it and would quite happily have driven home in my champagne-soaked racing overall,” said Glock.

Photo: BMW Motorsport

The German, who's essentially raced single seaters during his career, had to quickly get used to have a roof above his head!

“To be honest, I never saw that as a big issue. The DTM is a challenge for any driver, regardless of where he has driven before. Maybe this result will help banish this topic for a while,” he said.

Glock, who also drove for Toyota in F1, admits he must make progress.

“I still have an awful lot to learn about the DTM, and have a lot of room for improvement,” he added.

“During the preparations I certainly had a few moments when things did not go so well, and I had to rein in my expectations. However, I am feeling more and more comfortable with every race. The result at the weekend shows the performance is there when everything comes together. That is a good feeling, and gives you a lot of confidence,” Glock explained.

Photo: BMW Motorsport

We'll have to wait until late 2016 to get a compact sedan from Tesla, according to CEO Elon Musk.

He also said the car would offer a range of 200 miles (around 320 kilometres) and cost half the price of the Model S ($62,400 in the U.S.), making it a direct rival for the Nissan LEAF.

Apparently, the sedan will sport a “family resemblance” and might have “some autopilot or self-driving elements.” However, Musk cautioned that those features might not be ready when the car first goes on sale.

In other news, Tesla is currently working with Panasonic to develop an electrochemical battery for automobiles.

Right now, the U.S. demand for Tesla's Model S is a steady 15,000 units annually. It will hit Europe in late June and Asian markets in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Source : www.autonews.com

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

As expected, Panther Racing announced today that veteran Oriol Servia will drive the team's No. 4 National Guard Chevrolet both at Texas Motor Speedway and during the June 23rd event at Iowa Speedway.

Servia became available after his former team Dreyer & Reinbold announced that it was suspending its racing operations after last month's Indianapolis 500 due to a lack of funding.

The Catalan was an obvious choice having been the driver of DRR for the last two seasons which already had a technical partnership with Panther Racing.

Photo: Dreyer Reinbold Racing

Servia is presently 8th in the standings with more than 179 starts in major open wheel racing over a career that saw him race in CART, ChampCar and Indycar.

Ryan Briscoe, who was on duty last week-end in Detroit is expected to be back also.

In the meantime, Panther is not expected to name a full-time replacement for the remainder of the 2013 season but it could take this occasion to test a number of drivers to assess who could become the best option for the squad and for its sponsor National Guard for the coming years.

Following an investigation that started back in 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently asked Chrysler to recall 2.7 million 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Liberty SUVs that may be at risk of catching fire in rear-impact collisions. The NHTSA even reported 15 related deaths and 41 injured people.

However, Chrysler does not agree with the NHTSA and won't recall the vehicles cited in the investigation, claiming they are safe and not defective.

“We believe NHTSA's initial conclusions are based on an incomplete analysis of the underlying data, and we are committed to continue working with the agency to resolve this disagreement,” the automaker said in a statement.

If Chrysler doesn't cooperate, the NHTSA can hold a public hearing and ultimately force the company to recall the affected Grand Cherokee and Liberty models.

Source : www.thedetroitbureau.com

Photo: Jeep

Toyota Canada announced a voluntary safety recall involving approximately 4,085 Toyota Prius and Lexus HS 250h hybrids from 2010.

The affected vehicles are equipped with a brake pressure accumulator that may develop a crack on an internal part due to vibration. No accidents or injuries associated with this condition have been reported, however.

Owners will receive a notification by first class mail. Dealers will inspect the brake booster pump assembly to see if it is equipped with an involved accumulator. If so, they will replace the brake booster pump assembly with an improved one at no cost to the customer.

Photo: Justin Pritchard

From GMM

Bridgestone, F1's official tire supplier before Pirelli, has joined Hankook in playing down the prospect of a formula one foray for 2014.

With Pirelli fending off criticism of its controversial 2013 tires, and now embroiled in the 'test-gate' saga, the Italian marque is yet to sign a new deal for 2014 and is threatening to quit the sport.

A Bridgestone spokesman is quoted by metro.co.uk: "We have no current plans to re-enter formula one."

Photo: WRi2

From GMM

The only missing link as Lewis Hamilton adapts to life at Mercedes is time, team boss Ross Brawn insists.

With Nico Rosberg notching up a hat-track of poles at Monaco, and going on to win the prestigious grand prix, many pundits are analysing teammate Hamilton's apparent slump -- and pointing the finger at his 'hip-hop' lifestyle and the bizarre sight of his bulldog being walked in the paddock.

Briton Hamilton, meanwhile, left Monaco vowing to get his "sh-- together".

Ross Brawn, however, is not concerned: "I think it is quite a subtle thing," he is quoted by AFP news agency, "but it will just be time, quite frankly.

"Nico has been with the team four or five years and he knows exactly what buttons to press. We have a very good group, very experienced people working with Lewis. It just takes a bit of time," he added.

Nico Rosberg leading Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG W04. (Photo: WRi2)

The 15th and 16th rounds of the World Touring Car Championship, which were initially scheduled to be held in Curitiba July 28, will finally be staged in Argentina, August 4 at Termas de Rio Hondo.

The circuit of Curitiba hosted the WTCC series since 2006. It has been dropped this year in favour of a renovated circuit, located in North West of Argentina, which will host its first international event.

Circuito Termas de Rio Hondo, Argentina. (Photo: MotoGP)

Tesla Motors will launch its smaller electric sedan in late 2016, with a range of at least 200 miles and a price point "half" of the flagship Model S, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said.

The Chevrolet SS sports sedan will carry a sticker price of $44,470, including shipping, making it Chevy's priciest sedan when it goes on sale in the fourth quarter.

May 2013 Auto Sales

Summer starts off hot.

After slowing a bit in April, U.S. auto sales are accelerating heading into summer. The annualized sales pace was back over 15 million units in May, driven by continued strong pickup truck sales, residual demand, affordable and available financing, and also some fairly hefty incentives. The industry overall beat last May by a robust 8%. With trucks a major factor -- thanks particularly to a fast-rebounding housing market -- the domestic automakers did particularly well. Nissan and Subaru also were two import brands that enjoyed a particularly strong month. But automakers that saw modest gains overall had at least something to boast about in press releases. It looks like the start of a sizzling summer.

Photo Gallery: May 2013 Auto Sales - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: May 2013 Auto Sales - Automobile Magazine

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From Russia--presumably--comes this aptly titled video, "Bear Crosses Unforeseen and is Impacted. Falling with Style Breakdance." There isn't much to say about it aside from that.

Volvo introduced the widely used three-way catalytic converter in 1976, with its four-cylinder models made for California.

Billionaire megadealer Norman Braman's two-tier pricing lawsuit against General Motors appears headed for a settlement.

Chutes and ladders seem to be par for the course at Tesla.

The Mint 400 bills itself as the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America. It was started in 1967 by Norm Johnson, who wanted to promote The Mint Hotel in Las Vegas.

2014 Chevrolet Impala Great Lakes Circle Tour: Lake Superior

Give me Gitchee Gumee

This is the final installment of a five-part series chronicling our Great Lakes Circle Tour in the 2014 Chevrolet Impala. We started with Lake Erie. Day two brought us around Lake Ontario. Then we hit Lake Huron. Thursday we skirted Lake Michigan.

Photo Gallery: 2014 Chevrolet Impala Great Lakes Circle Tour: Lake Superior - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Chevrolet Impala Great Lakes Circle Tour: Lake Superior - Automobile Magazine

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AutoNation, the largest U.S. dealership group, said its new-vehicle retail sales rose 11 percent in May compared to last May. AutoNation retailed 26,372 vehicles last month, compared with 23,763 units in May 2012.

Mr. Smith didn't make it to Washington. He didn't even make it to West Los Angeles.

Chrysler has refused to recall 2.7m Jeep Liberty (exported as Cherokee) and Grand Cherokee vehicles as requested in a letter from NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).