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Renault says its net prices last year were higher than domestic rivals Citroen and Peugeot. Now the company wants to narrow the gap with Europe's price leader among volume brands: Volkswagen. Carlos Tavares explains how Renault will do this.

Porsche said today its global vehicle sales rose 19.8 percent to a record 14,494 units in March on strong demand in Germany, the United States and China.

An automotive supplier majority owned by China's SAIC Motor Corp. is in talks with Johnson Controls Inc. about acquiring the U.S. supplier's electronics business, a daily Chinese business newspaper reports.

Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co.'s sales in March rose 20 percent year-on-year to 49,009 Peugeot and Citroen vehicles.

With sales slowing and government debt a growing crisis, the European auto industry is in for a rough ride over the next few years.

Pirelli plans to offset weakening demand in Europe for its premium tires by shipping tires produced in Europe to emerging markets, where demand is growing, said an industry source on Sunday.

The expressway from downtown Seoul to the city's auto show venue is lined with tank traps, barbed wire and guard towers. Mounting tensions with North Korea are a chilling reminder why.

Renault says its net prices last year were higher than domestic rivals Citroen and Peugeot. Now the company wants to narrow the gap with Europe's price leader among volume brands: Volkswagen. Carlos Tavares explains how Renault will do this.

There seems something strange about Formula 1 this year. Much like it was after the opening races of 2006; there's no Michael Schumacher, a man who had become part of the F1 furniture after 21 years of involvement in the sport and two careers.

Whilst Schumacher failed to reach the successes he experiences with Ferrari during his return to the sport with Mercedes, there was something comforting about having him back. It was like having a favourite pair of shoes; an element of comfort, if you will...

... and now he's gone. And that's sad.

Whilst Michael - in the early to mid 2000s - didn't manage to win himself any fans by dominating Formula 1 in a fashion we're unlikely to ever see again, it's this dominance which is something worthy of celebration.

Michael Schumacher, F2002. (Photo: Ferrari)

Instead of lambasting him for making the sport boring, how he managed to make Ferrari an organic entity, a place where driver and team, car and tyres became one unit should be saluted.

In light of the Multi-21 scandal at Red Bull and his retirement, it seems an appropriate time to give one of F1's most polarizing characters a revision. History has a habit of being kind to winners.

It seems impossible to think that Schumacher would have gone against the team in such a fashion like Vettel or publically trashed the team like Webber in the aftermath. Whilst Schumacher put in some ethically dubious performances in his career, it seems unthinkable that he would have bitten the hand that made him the statistically most successful driver in history.

It was Schumacher's spirit in losing that galvanized the team to do their best for him because they knew that irrespective of triumph or defeat, he would make sure they lose together and win together. Naturally, the relationship between team and driver became one of the closest in history and when people are happy, they perform at their best.

This is why the Ferrari/Schumacher era should be celebrated; it was a time of joy within Ferrari, a unit of people striving for one goal, a time when the relationship between driver, car and team was so symbiotic they reached a level of perfection which is unlikely to ever be witnessed again in F1.

So whilst Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull could be well on their way to usurping Michael's seven titles and 91 wins by turning in consistently stunning performances and smashing records, the Red Bull/Vettel partnership is something that isn't yet on a par with the dominance shown by Michael and Ferrari. The division of camps Vettel and Webber in Milton Keynes are evidence of this and for as long the team continues to operate in this fashion, then Red Bull will have a long way to go in terms of reaching the level of perfection achieved by Schumacher and Ferrari in the mid to early 2000s.

One-two finish in Malaysia, but no joy at Red Bull. (Photo: WRi2)

Universal Pictures has released the official trailer of the new Ron Howard movie, "Rush", expected to hit the screens in September 2013.

Ron Howard and writer Peter Morgan have worked extensively on this Formula 1 movie that is a re-creation of the merciless 1976 rivalry between McLaren driver, James Hunt and Ferrari man, Niki Lauda.

The epic action-drama stars Chris Hemsworth as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives.

No active driver does it better in Martinsville than Jimmie Johnson. Driving a Chevrolet SS the five-time Sprint Cup champion won, from the pole, at the paper clip-shaped track for the eighth time leading 346-laps of the 500 lap event at the half-mile oval.

“Yeah, we had a great weekend and I know that the stats clearly show that,” said Johnson. “But probably the most calm, relaxed thought‑out weekend that we've had as the 48 (team), and mature weekend we've had.”

Photo: NASCAR

The only time the race was in doubt was on a restart with eight laps to go after Kurt Busch's car went into the wall catching fire and red-flagging the race. “Something let go in the brakes,” explained Busch. "The brakes got real spongy and then the pedal went straight to the floor. I had to turn the car to the right otherwise I was going to hit harder than what we did.

On the final restart Johnson had to watch out for Clint Bowyer and teammate Jeff Gordon who finished second and third respectively.

“I mean, I had a real nice comfortable lead at that point, and didn't want to see a caution at all and give those guys another chance at me, to get alongside of me,” Johnson explained.

“But over the years, I feel like I've learned that there will be cautions, that things you do inside the car to kind of preserve the life of the tire, and then also how to restart and run your best laps, best five, ten laps, whatever it is, on old tires. It's not an easy thing to do. And I've given away a few races over the years, really lost them to Jeff with his great experience here and how awesome he is at this track, and I've learned to adapt,” Johnson added.

Photo: NASCAR

Clint Bowyer felt an earlier incident, which damaged his car, hurt his chances at the win.

"We did -- disappointed for sure. We had a fast car all weekend long and really thought we were maybe going to be walking out of here with a Grandfather clock (Martinsville's iconic winner's trophy). I tore the car up pretty bad over here off of (turn) four. I checked up and I got hit from behind, pushed into the 1 (Jamie McMurray) and all hell broke loose. All in all, second place isn't bad, but it sure sucks right now."

Four-time Cup champion, Jeff Gordon, who was tied with Johnson and Rusty Wallace at seven times in Victory Lane, was just a bit envious of the winner. “Congratulations to Jimmie (Johnson, race winner) though; yes he is so impressive here but the thing that impresses me the most are those darn poles! Where did that come from? He used to at least give us a shot when he would qualify like 15th. So when those guys get that number one pit stall they're almost impossible to beat,” Gordon said.

With the victory Johnson moved into first place in the standings by six points over Brad Keselowski who finished sixth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. who previously led the points fell to third with a 24th place finish.

From GMM

Kimi Raikkonen filled in the time between the recent Malaysian grand prix and round three in China this weekend with a spot of motocross.

Founded alongside his rallying team during his two-year F1 sabbatical, Raikkonen's 'IceOne' squad also includes a motocross arm.

Photo: ICE1Racing Team

So the Finn pulled on his leathers and goggles last week - during the three-week break between Malaysia and China - and headed to Belgium, according to the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

Photo: ICE1Racing Team

There, the 2007 world champion participated in the gravel practice session, with images depicting him in full airborne tilt.

Photo: ICE1Racing Team

Motocross riding would ordinarily be deemed too dangerous for F1 teams to allow, but Lotus team boss Eric Boullier admitted last week that "One of our drivers is famous for doing pretty much what he wants".

Photo: ICE1Racing Team

IndyCar current champion Ryan Hunter-Reay fought among the leaders all thru the race to finally earn his first 2013 IndyCar victory at the Barber Motorsports Park.

Hunter-Reay took the lead for the last time with 15 laps to go, taking advantage of his softer red tires to move pass Helio Castroneves (Team Penske) who was struggling but soon enough found himself prey to Ganassi's Scott Dixon insistent assaults.

The American was able to maintain his leading spot and crossed the finish line with only 0.6s to spare.

Castroneves finished third followed by Dixon's teammate Charlie Kimball and his own squad partner Will Power.

Ryan Hunter-Reay. (Photo: LAT/IndyCar)

Having had to start the race back in the 20th spot, St Petersburg winner James Hinchcliffe was involved in a clash with Oriol Servia and Graham Rahal only to be forced to retire early on.

Forced home also was Dario Franchitti (Ganassi Racing) who had also his share of problems with a qualification that placed him a distant 17th.

AJ Allmendinger's single-seater return ended with him finishing 19th after running in the top 10 early on.

Alabama Indy Results - 90 laps:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Dallara-Chevy
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 0.6363s
3. Helio Castroneves Penske Dallara-Chevy + 17.6821s
4. Charlie Kimball Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 20.6166s
5. Will Power Penske Dallara-Chevy + 26.6469s
6. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Dallara-Honda + 27.2995s
7. Marco Andretti Andretti Dallara-Chevy + 27.7175s
8. Justin Wilson Coyne Dallara-Honda + 30.5504s
9. Josef Newgarden Fisher Dallara-Honda + 41.1029s
10. Tristan Vautier Schmidt Dallara-Honda + 50.6449s
11. Alex Tagliani Herta Dallara-Honda + 58.0458s
12. EJ Viso Andretti Dallara-Chevy + 1m01.4334s
13. Tony Kanaan KV Dallara-Chevy + 1m01.6834s
14. Takuma Sato Foyt Dallara-Honda + 1m03.1151s
15. Oriol Servia Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy + 1m03.1495s
16. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon Dallara-Chevy + 1m07.6880s
17. JR Hildebrand Panther Dallara-Chevy + 1m09.7447s
18. Simona de Silvestro KV Dallara-Chevy + 1m09.9130s
19. AJ Allmendinger Penske Dallara-Chevy + 1m11.0558s
20. Sebastian Saavedra Dragon Dallara-Chevy + 1m11.6523s
21. Graham Rahal Rahal Dallara-Honda + 1m14.0385s
22. Ed Carpenter Carpenter Dallara-Chevy + 1 lap
23. James Jakes Rahal Dallara-Honda + 4 laps

Retirements:
Ana Beatriz Coyne Dallara-Honda 65 laps
Dario Franchitti Ganassi Dallara-Honda 42 laps
James Hinchcliffe Andretti Dallara-Chevy 3 laps

Adapted from Toyota Racing

Toyota Racing begins its first full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship at the Six Hours of Silverstone this weekend.

The team based in Cologne, Germany competed in only six of the eight WEC rounds last season - five with only one car - and won three races, including the final two events of the season.

Photo: Toyota Racing

Toyota Racing arrives at Silverstone, where it set a new LMP1 lap record last year, with reason to be confident at the start of an eight-race season which concludes in Bahrain on November 30.

With development of an updated TS030 HYBRID continuing at Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in Cologne, the team heads to Silverstone with two cars in 2012 specification. The updated car is planned to make its debut at Spa-Francorchamps next month.

Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre will share the No. 7 car, with Kazuki Nakajima starting the defence of his Super Formula (formerly Formula Nippon) title at Suzuka this weekend. Anthony Davidson, Stéphane Sarrazin and Sébastien Buemi are reunited in the No. 8 car for the first time since Le Mans last June.

Photo: Toyota Racing

Toyota Racing is once again unique in using super capacitor technology in its hybrid powertrain. This fast charging/discharging technology delivers 300hp of boost under acceleration and was a key factor in last year's race victories.

Action at Silverstone begins on Friday with two 90-minute practice sessions (12.25-13.55 and 16.26-17.55) before a final one-hour session on Saturday morning (09.00-10.00).

Qualifying takes place on Saturday afternoon (12.40-13.00) with the starting position for each car determined by the aggregate of two drivers' two fastest laps. The race begins at 12.00 on Sunday.

Ryan Briscoe will join Chip Ganassi Racing to compete  in the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 while Team Penske confirms that AJ Allmendinger will race in the upcoming Long Beach Grand Prix.

At the end of last season, Briscoe lost his drive with Team Penske and found himself without a drive for the 2013 IZOD IndyCar season.

But the Australian did not stand still and soon joined Level 5 Motorsports for the 12 Hours of Sebring in the American Le Mans Series.

Ryan Briscoe. (Photo: LAT/IndyCar)

Last year, Briscoe earned the pole position at Indy and he will now join defending Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, alongside Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball in the Honda-powered team.


Meanwhile, we have learned that IndyCar returnee, AJ Allmendinger will get one more race under his belt at Long Beach before making his Indy 500 debut. He may also contest one more race in the month of May. 

Although the Penske team has not confirmed anything for Allmendinger after Indy, he's rumored to have as many as eight total races planned in the No. 2 Dallara.


The Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program that was to be held April 11th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been postponed to a later date due to poor weather forecast for the coming days.

Officials will announce the rescheduled date for the rookie program soon.

AJ Allmendinger (Team Penske), Conor Daly (A.J. Foyt Racing), Carlos Munoz (Andretti Autosport) and Tristan Vautier (Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian) are scheduled to participate.

Allmendinger and Vautier are entered in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 19-21, while Munoz will compete in the Firestone Indy Lights race on the temporary street course. Following Long Beach is the Sao Paulo Indy 300 in Brazil on May 5.

What is fuel injection?
Fuel injection is what makes vehicles go. How? By spraying fuel and mixing it up with air, said mixture gets compressed and ignites (courtesy of the spark plugs), pushing the piston back down and engaging the crankshaft which, in turn, engages the drive shaft that connects the driving axles.

There are two different ways to achieve this momentum: multi-port injection or direct injection. The latter can be found in Ford's EcoBoost engines and Mazda's SKYACTIV engines, for instance. It's widely acclaimed for maximizing combustion efficiency and fuel economy while reducing emissions in the process.

What are the main differences? What motivated engineers to develop direct injection technology? Let's see...

Direct injection (Illustration: Ford)

Carburetors
Older engines used carburetors to create the aforementioned air-fuel mixture. It all worked mechanically, with a butterfly valve controlling the air flow through the carburetor and orifices (referred to as “jets”) distributing the fuel from the intake manifold to the cylinders. Injection timing lacked precision and, consequently, the amount of unburnt fuel was significant.

Electronic injection
Since the 1980s, the quest for more precise systems has led engineers to replace carburetors with electronically controlled fuel injectors. Soon enough, automobiles transformed into mobile computers.

It was a big step forward, but equally big ones could still be made. The reason is simple: Cylinders operate alternatively, not simultaneously. Engineers used an average to send fuel to all cylinders at the same time. As a result, fuel often got trapped until the intake valves opened up, which led to poor fuel atomization. Instead of fine particles, that fuel returned to liquid form as it touched the walls of the intake manifold. It could not blend perfectly with air, and therefore went to waste as unburnt fuel.

Multi-point injection
In order to achieve optimum combustion, fuel injection needs to happen as close to the combustion chamber as possible. Engineers decided to give each cylinder a dedicated injector, a setup that's now known as multi-point fuel injection and allows precise fuel metering. By shortening the fuel flow, atomized fuel is less likely to return to liquid form.

Most modern cars like the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Subaru Impreza rely on multi-point injection.

However, since the fuel injectors are still outside the cylinders, those engines are unable to burn every single drop of fuel. Unburnt fuel creates pollution in the exhaust system, meaning that the catalytic converter needs to be at the top of its game.

Direct injection
Some smart and crafty folks came up with the idea to inject fuel directly into the cylinders (as opposed to the intake manifold). We see it a lot with diesel engines, like Volkswagen's. For more precise injection timing, fuel is pressurized at a whopping 1,500 pounds per square inch (PSI) instead of just 50. And that goes for turbo engines, too, which already rely on compressed air. The result is more effective ignition and combustion.

The most sophisticated injectors are amazingly precise, up to a single millisecond, even at 7,000 rpm.

Direct injection considerably reduces the amount of greenhouse gases vehicles release into the environment. With increasingly strict emission standards, this technology looks to be the way of the future for internal combustion engines.

From GMM

Jules Bianchi has refused to rule out speculation his impressive pace with Marussia so far in 2013 could lead to a future at Ferrari.

Having missed out on the Force India seat for his F1 race debut this year, the 23-year-old was snapped up instead by Marussia, after Luiz Razia's sponsorship dollars failed to arrive.

Bianchi and Marussia then emerged as an early surprise package of 2013.

Jules Bianchi, Marussia MR02. (Photo: WRi2)

Backed by Ferrari, as the cream of the famous Italian marque's development 'academy', Bianchi is now being tipped by some to be the next Ferrari driver.

Asked if he has spoken to Stefano Domenicali after impressing in Australia and Malaysia, Bianchi told Sky: "I am still speaking to Ferrari as I am still part of their driver academy, so for sure they look at what I am doing."

"But I don't want to put any extra pressure -- I am with Marussia now, I want to do a good job for them and then we will see what happens," he told the British broadcaster.

Asked, however, if a Ferrari seat is an eventual goal, Bianchi admitted: "It is something we have in mind because I already have a contract with them in the academy, so we want for sure to do something in the future.

"But it is too early to know about that. We have done only two races, we still have 17 races to do and we will see what happens," he added. "I need to stay at this level first of all and improve. We will see next year what happens, but I would be pleased to stay with Marussia next year again."

If he is called up by Ferrari - whose existing driver Felipe Massa is also managed by Frenchman Nicolas Todt - Bianchi insists he would be ready for life at the front of the front.

"Yes, I think every driver when you are in formula one, you are one of the best drivers in the world, so you can jump into a top team like Ferrari. I think you just need more experience when you are a young driver, but then when you are doing good races, you show people you deserve to have that opportunity," he said.

So, when exactly is your engine due for an oil change?
You can find the easiest -- and safest -- answer in your owner's manual which lists the manufacturer's recommended maintenance intervals. Overall, though, it all depends on your engine's design and the type of oil used.

Past 5,000 kilometres or so, engine oil gets considerably dirty and loses most of its lubricating properties. This leads to premature wear of the internal components. Oil deteriorates because it constantly has to deal with high pressure, heat, fuel vapours, moisture, and various contaminants.

The million dollar question (so to speak): Should you use synthetic or mineral oil?
Each engine works best with a specific type of oil. Again, refer to the owner's manual to find out the recommended type of oil for your car. If the vehicle you purchased came with synthetic oil, then stick with that. More upscale or higher-performance models often use synthetic oil.

Mineral oil: pros and cons
Mineral oil comes from crude oil through a refining process. It contains saturated hydrocarbons; some of them are quality substances, while others are less than appropriate as they don't withstand heat as well. To reduce the risk of oxidization at high temperatures additives must be incorporated, usually in a proportion of 10%-25%. Mineral oil's biggest advantage is its low cost.

Synthetic oil: pros and cons
Synthetic oil uses synthesized chemical compounds, which means it's artificially produced from carbon and hydrogen. There are two categories: pure synthetic oil and semi-synthetic oil (also called “synthetic blend”). The latter blends mineral oil with up to 20%-30% synthetic oil for improved performance. It may not be as heat-resistant as pure synthetic oil, but it's cheaper. Consider it a best-of-both-worlds solution.

Meanwhile, synthetic oil can either be manufactured using chemically modified petroleum components (rather than whole crude oil), or synthesized from other raw materials. A certain number of additives are thrown into the mix to increase quality. In addition to superior heat resistance, synthetic oil boasts low-viscosity at low temperatures to protect the engine upon starting, while its stable viscosity and reduced oxidization, even at high temperatures, make it last longer. Moreover, synthetic oil does a better job of lubricating engine parts, thereby reducing friction. On the other hand, it's almost twice as expensive as mineral oil.

What you need to know
Engine oil is a vital fluid that finds its way everywhere. Its main function is to lubricate moving parts, but it also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.

There are various grades of oil (based on viscosity) on the market, and they can all influence your car's fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The oil grading system consists of two numbers (example: 10W30): The first refers to the oil's viscosity at low temperatures, and the second at high temperatures (100°C): the higher the number, the thicker the oil.

Beyond the engine itself, seasons also determine the type of oil you should use. During winter, for instance, your best bet is an oil grade with a low first number so as to oppose less resistance to the crankshaft and, more importantly, allow the oil to quickly reach every part of the engine.

Honda and Acura will unveil two new concept cars at Auto Shanghai 2013, which kicks off in two weeks.

Honda's concept will show the direction of an all-new model the company will be introducing to the Chinese market in the future, while Acura's is announced as a global model.

Other than these design sketches, we currently have no official information to report about the two vehicles.

Photo: Honda

Photo: Honda