Auto News 5

Renault said it will build the next Nissan Micra at its plant in Flins, near Paris. Production will begin in 2016 at an estimated annual volume of 82,000 vehicles.

News 26 Apr, 2013

The first picture of the production-ready, seven-seat Fiat 500XL has appeared on a Spanish forum

Following successful negotiations with the once radical Greater São Paulo's São Bernardo do Campo metalworkers union, Ford is back spending money on its oldest plant in Brazil. This town saw the birth of the Brazilian auto industry back in November 1956.

News 26 Apr, 2013

Prices and specs have been announced for the all-new Range Rover Sport, and it starts at £51,500

Malaysia's DRB-Hicom and Volkswagen plan to jointly invest up to MYR1bn (US$330m) in a new car manufacturing facility in the Malaysian company's automotive hub in Pekan, according to prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Videos 26 Apr, 2013

Shanghai Motor Show: the not-so-good, the bad and the plain ugly star cars on video

Videos 26 Apr, 2013

Shanghai Motor Show 2013: our video highlights from the show

Honda posted a 6.6 percent rise in quarterly net profit, helped by strong U.S. sales of its Accord and CR-V models.

Honda posted a 6.6 percent rise in quarterly net profit, helped by strong sales of its Accord and CR-V models the United States.

Toyota affiliate Denso, the world's second-largest auto parts supplier, booked operating profit of 74 billion yen ($748 million) for the January-March quarter, down 5 percent from a year earlier when it was still recovering from an earthquake that...

Johnson Controls, citing weaker automotive production in Europe, posted lower profits during its most recent quarter, but reaffirmed its financial outlook for the year.

GM CEO Dan Akerson's compensation mix was changed in 2012 to accommodate the possibility he may retire before his long-term restricted stock vests in three years, the company said.

The Mercedes Citan van has been given three out of five stars in a EuroNCAP crash test. It is the worst safety score for one of the automaker's vehicles in more than 15 years.

Hyundai apologized for an ad that sought to promote the zero carbon emissions of a fuel-cell powered ix35 by featuring a man failing to commit suicide using a hose attached to the exhaust.

Mitsubishi forecast its operating profits will jump 48 percent in the fiscal year that began April 1, lifted by a favorable yen exchange rate as well as an anticipated sales surge in the United States.

Juergen Stackmann, new boss of VW's Seat brand, must discover what the ailing brand really stands for.

PSA named veteran industry executive manager Yves Bonnefont as Citroen's deputy CEO. Bonnefont will lead the expansion of the upscale DS subbrand as well as the new positioning of Citroen's C-line of vehicles.

From Audi

With a seasoned driver squad whose combined tally reflects a total of 478 races, 34 victories and four titles plus an Audi RS 5 DTM that has been optimized in many details, Audi is entering the 2013 DTM season on May 5.

Photo: Audi Motorsport

Technical innovations such as the use of option tires and a rear wing that can be adjusted by the driver on track make for an additional thrill this year.

The DTM has rarely ever before entered a new season with so many unknown quantities. Accordingly, there is a high level of suspense in the Audi Sport squad and Audi Sport Teams Abt Sportsline, Phoenix and Rosberg.

Photo: Audi Motorsport

After a winter of intensive work and positive track tests in the past few weeks, the mechanics, engineers and drivers are all looking forward to the first real comparison of strengths with BMW and Mercedes-Benz this year.

A rookie again, despite his 83 DTM races, is Jamie Green, who will be competing at his first race weekend as an Audi factory driver at Hockenheim. The Briton, who has previously won eight rounds - including four events at the Norisring - is the only newcomer to the driver squad of the brand based in Ingolstadt.

Other Audi drivers are Filipe Albuquerque, Mattias Ekstrom, Miguel Molina, Edoardo Mortara, Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Scheider and Adrien Tambay.

Photo: Audi Motorsport

In line with the compact schedule, the timing of the two most important events of the weekend has slightly changed as well: Qualifying starts at 14:30 on Saturday, May 4 and the race on Sunday at 13:30.

Sixteen-year-old Alex Guenette has confirmed that he will be part of the 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driving a Dodge car prepared by Dave Jacombs and backed by major sponsors Motos Illimitées and DLG.

Last year, Guenette took part in the Pro Truck Series where he earned Rookie of the year title. During the summer he lives and races in Quebec and in Florida for the rest of the year, where he competes in various winter series and completes his schooling.

In his rookie season in stock cars in 2012, Guenette won four of the 10 races. This past February, Alex raced in the NASCAR-sanctioned World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Beach Raceway in Florida, in the highly competitive Pro Late Model Class, where he finished the series tied for second place in points. 

The team will be on track for a preseason testing session on the road course at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, on April 30. The first race of the 2013 Canadian Tire Series season will be held at the same track, on May 19.

Photo: Alex Guenette Facebook

From GMM

Formula one testing has resumed at the Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire, UK.

There has been no F1 running at the Imperial War Museum facility since Maria de Villota was seriously injured, and lost an eye, in a crash whilst testing for Marussia last July.

But an unnamed team was in action on the runway at Duxford on Friday, and the local Haverhill Echo newspaper said more test days are booked for next Wednesday and also in May, June and August.

On Friday, Spaniard de Villota said in Madrid that she thinks Fernando Alonso will win this year's world championship.

"Soon everything will line up for him and he will not have so much bad luck; for me he is the most complete driver on the grid -- the perfect combination of talent, passion and work," she is quoted by the EFE news agency.