Auto News 5

Ford will recall 13,493 imported Edge SUVs in China on a possible fuel system leak that could lead to a fire, China's quality watchdog said.

Andreas Renschler, who quit his post as production chief at Mercedes, may move to Volkswagen to head its trucks business, according to a report.

Veteran Daimler executive Andreas Renschler, who quit his post as production chief at Mercedes, may move to Volkswagen to head its trucks business, according to a report.

Tsubakimoto Chain, a Toyota supplier, forecasts China auto parts sales to more than double in four years as carmakers including GM and Volkswagen raise orders to diversify supply chains.

I have to say I'm somewhat intrigued by today's news from India and Japan: Suzuki will build a new car plant of its own to supply Indian affiliate Maruti Suzuki with 100,000 cars a year.

Fiat reported fourth-quarter earnings below analysts' expectations and cut its 2014 guidance more than expected, as a profit drop in Latin America overwhelmed gains by Chrysler.

Fiat reported fourth-quarter earnings below analysts' expectations and cut its 2014 guidance more than expected, as a profit drop in Latin America overwhelmed gains by Chrysler.

Chrysler Group reported an increase in earnings for the fourth quarter as the launch of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee and higher sales in the United States helped the automaker to its third straight annual profit.

Chrysler reported an increase in earnings for the fourth quarter as the launch of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee and higher sales in the United States helped the automaker to its third straight annual profit.

Suzuki Motor has announced plans to spend JPY50bn ($486.3m) on a new 100,000-unit car plant in India to supply Maruti Suzuki India on an OEM contract basis, allowing the Indian affiliate to focus more on product development and marketing.

Maruti Suzuki said vehicle sales in the third fiscal quarter to 31 December, 2013 slipped 4.4% year on year to 288,151. Third quarter exports were off 38.6% to 19,966 cars.

A gang of factory workers at Nissan's UK factory have been jailed after stealing almost GBP1m (US$1.6m) of satellite navigation equipment and selling it on the internet auction site eBay.

Andreas Renschler, the man many expected eventually to take over at the helm of Daimler, has left the company suddenly for personal reasons.

Is the future of cars decidedly old school?

News 29 Jan, 2014

Video surfaces online appearing to reveal the production version of the Lexus LF-NX concept

Honeywell's turbocharger in the new Renault Clio helps the car's new 90-hp 1.5-liter dCi diesel achieve fuel consumption as low as 3.2 liters per 100km and emissions of 83g/km, down from previous best of 106g/km and 3.

The likelihood that Renault-Nissan will appoint a single executive to succeed Carlos Ghosn to run both automakers is remote. Will the alliance unwind if the automakers are headed by two different CEOs?

Compromise is something car buyers must often deal with when it comes to picking out the one vehicle they're apt to spend the next four or more years with. The most powerful car may be the most cramped; the most economical is likely to be the slowest; the most utilitarian, the ugliest and bulkiest, and so on.

Few if any other segment of cars offers the fewest compromises as do minivans. All hugely capable space-wise, and all reasonably comfortable, the concessions here typically revolve around the drive and performance, especially where any kind of pleasure is concerned.

Year after year, Honda's Odyssey returns as most auto critic's choice as the best driving minivan around. On top of that, the current design is fairly attractive, both inside and out. The Odyssey's major issue is always price, based largely on value when assessed against some of its competitors.


What is the Honda Odyssey?
The Honda Odyssey started out as the rebirth of the sadly defunct Accord wagon. In a few short years, it grew to become a very popular and sought after minivan for its design and handling. In fact, on the used car market, the Odyssey is the most sought after, and the one that retains the highest resale value.
Though a few reliability issues hindered the Odyssey in the early 2000s, it nevertheless flourished into what is the better minivan in a segment that has lost many players in the last five years. It is, and has been, Auto123.com's best minivan for a while.

2014 Honda Odyssey Price and Specs
All good things come at a certain price, and the 2014 Honda Odyssey is no different. To get into a new 2014 Odyssey, one must dish out $29,990 for the base LX. There are seven trims to select from for all budgets, and that's key.

As tested, a buyer would have to dish out $46,490 for the Touring, the top-level trim.

The Honda Odyssey has been faithfully served by a 3.5L V6 for the better part of a decade. Once one of the most powerful V6s in the segment, its 248 horsepower position it at the bottom of the list. The standard issue transmission is a 6-speed automatic.

The Honda Odyssey started out as the rebirth of the sadly defunct Accord wagon. In a few short years, it grew to become a very popular and sought after minivan for its design and handling. (Photo: Honda)

Driving the 2014 Honda Odyssey
For a recent trip to Toronto, I called upon the services of Honda's minivan as I had a large number of boxes to transport to go along with my personal luggage. As I was in no mood for a bout of Tetris to make everything fit in a CUV, I selected said people-mover for not only its functional cargo space, but for the way it can gobble up kilometres of road.

Honda has always benefited from a reputation for building cars that drive well. I am convinced that the engineers who worked on the Odyssey's suspension and drivetrain were reminded of this fact before they even put pen to paper. They done good.

The 2014 Honda Odyssey is very squat over its wheels, conferring the minivan with a low-ish centre of gravity that greatly aids in limiting body roll. The vehicle's fully independent suspension does an admirable job of keeping tire and tarmac in constant contact without an iota of discomfort felt by occupants.

What's more, the Odyssey's V6 and 6-speed autobox thoroughly enjoy working together. In occasional frustration on the 401, I'd find myself requiring a good bout of acceleration. A generous dose of throttle would rush the box down a pair of cogs, and off the minivan would go. To boot, the V6's song is quite pleasant, very Honda in fact.

I spent very many hours at the helm of the Odyssey, over 1,400 km, and was never uncomfortable or wanting more. Traction is good when shod with the proper rubber (Blizzaks in this case) and the minivan stays true to the set course. I would have liked a little more weight behind the steering wheel but otherwise the entire solo experience was very good. Truthfully, I may have set a personal best, time-wise, on the road home... In a minivan, no less.

Honda has always benefited from a reputation for building cars that drive well. (Photo: Honda)

Inside and out of the 2014 Honda Odyssey
The redesigned-for-2011 Honda Odyssey set a precedent where a minivan need not necessarily fit into a mould. Far more dynamic and visually appealing than anything else out there, Honda revised the van for the 2014 model year.

The result is, well, nearly impossible to point out, but the bottom line is that 2014 Honda Odyssey is cool, as far as minivans are concerned.

The huge cabin is fabulous. For four passengers, no other type of vehicle will deliver more room and overall comfort. With the 3rd row stowed, there's practically no limit to the amount of stuff that can be hauled.

With the Touring comes every conceivable bit of technology that Honda has up its sleeve. The more interesting are HondaLink with a touchscreen. At first, it can be confusing, as similar information can be displayed on the two screens (upper contains navigation), but after a short while I'd figured out how to make them both work for me. The kicker is the Touring-only HondaVAC (yes, a vacuum in a van), perfect for family messes.

The huge cabin is fabulous. For four passengers, no other type of vehicle will deliver more room and overall comfort. With the 3rd row stowed, there's practically no limit to the amount of stuff that can be hauled. (Photo: Honda)

Comparing the 2014 Honda Odyssey
Other than the Honda, minivan buyers have the choice between the Dodge Grand Caravan and the others. Truly, this is the way it is. Chrysler's magic wagon remains the one to beat (that will never be beat) in this segment, and for many good reasons.

The Toyota Sienna and Nissan Quest, along with the Odyssey, are merely suggestions. Be that as it may, for those searching for a little “drive” on their drive to soccer practice can depend on the Honda Odyssey to deliver.

From GMM

World champion Sebastian Vettel has flown out of southern Spain after a miserable opening two days of running in 2014.

He cancelled his appointments with the media and leapt into his much more reliable Infiniti road car just after lunch.

"At this stage it really makes no difference which driver is sitting in the car," team boss Christian Horner told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Early testing of the all-new V6-powered cars has been fraught, and after getting less than a handful of laps under its belt on Tuesday, Red Bull packed up early on Wednesday with a "Renault energy store problem".

Other Renault-powered cars have reportedly also been affected, including the Caterham and the Toro Rosso.

Christian Horner confirmed that sister team Toro Rosso suffered the same problem on Tuesday.

Photo: WRi2

Mercedes-powered cars were much more prolific, including Jenson Button (McLaren), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and Sergio Perez (Force India), all with several dozen laps under their respective belts.

Vettel, on the other hand, managed just 11 laps with the RB10 over his two days, and now hands over to teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

"It was always likely that this (lack of running) was going to be the case," said car designer Adrian Newey, referring to the massive change in regulations since the end of the team's dominant display in 2013.

Newey is known for getting his new cars up and running at the eleventh hour, but even the famous Briton admitted he might have got to work earlier in the second half of last season, when Vettel was in the midst of his nine-race winning streak.

Photo: WRi2

"With hindsight, perhaps in the second half we could have afforded to stop developing the car a little bit sooner," he is quoted by Britain's Sky, "but we weren't to know that at the time.

"So we kept pushing and had less time to work on this year's car."

From GMM

Roger Benoit, one of the longest serving F1 correspondents in the paddock, said Tuesday's events at Jerez were "embarrassing".

"I have not experienced a start to a new test season such as that in 45 years in formula one," Benoit, who writes for the Swiss newspaper Blick, told Germany's Bild-Zeitung.

As the new hybrid and V6-powered single seaters - featuring bizarre and often rude-looking nose appendages - broke down, hit the barriers or failed even to emerge from the garages, Benoit said F1 had "pulled its pants down in front of the whole world".

"Why do we always make everything more complicated?" he lamented.

Marc Surer, the expert pundit for German television Sky, agreed: "I had not imagined it would be quite this bad."

Where usually up to 100 laps per day and beyond is de rigueur in F1's era of tightly limited testing, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was Tuesday's most prolific runner, with 31 laps in the bag.

And his best lap was 10 seconds off the pace of a normal Jerez test, even though he insisted that "doesn't mean anything".

"We are only learning a new car and driving as much as we can," said Raikkonen.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari F14-T. (Photo: Ferrari)

The bulk of the rest of the field could count their tallies on the fingers of one hand, including the bizarrely double-nosed new Caterham, whose Marcus Ericsson managed only a single outlap in the entire test day.

"If it's slow but beautiful then what's the point of that?" rookie Ericsson said.

At the moment, however, 'ugly' and stationary is the only conclusion to draw from F1 2014. McLaren's MP4-29 didn't leave the garage even once.

Jean-Eric Vergne, in the unseemly new Toro Rosso, managed 15 laps and was happy, "because just getting the car on track was an achievement".

World champion Sebastian Vettel was stranded in the pits nearly all day after mechanics installed one of the new Red Bull's components upside down.

The German did not point a finger at his crew, however, telling Welt newspaper that this year's cars are "like a puzzle" to put together.

"Before, F1 cars were not so close to rocket science like they are now," he is quoted by F1's official website.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB10. (Photo: WRi2)

Toro Rosso chief Franz Tost said: "When we ran the car at Misano, it became clear how difficult it was to get all the systems interacting with each other."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said at Jerez: "There's probably 40 per cent more drawings required to produce the car and therefore that many more parts to be made and tested.

"I don't know how the little teams are coping," he told the BBC.

It is obvious to say that, given the team's former dominance, Red Bull would have preferred the regulations stay the same in 2014.

"It is clear that F1 must evolve and be relevant to the automotive industry," Horner is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace, "but we do need to question the timing of this change. There are several cars here without many (sponsorship) stickers."

The boss of one of those smaller teams, Toro Rosso's Tost, admitted that the necessary annual budget had increased by 25 per cent over the winter.

"And that money is only to build a car and perform at about the same level as last year. In short, the situation is difficult," the Austrian told Russia's f1news.ru.

He predicted, however, that the farcical sight of constantly-waving red flags would eventually end.

"I think in Melbourne it will not happen," said Tost. "I think already here, on Thursday and Friday, we will be hearing the fantastic music of the new turbo engines. This is only the first test day in January -- there is plenty of time until Melbourne."

Some, however, are not impressed with the milder V6 tones, Nico Hulkenberg admitting Tuesday's proceedings reminded him of a DTM touring car test.

Mercedes' Toto Wolff, however, said early testing is not a good judge, as the engines are not running at full tilt.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05. (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

French driver Vergne agreed: "I would say that we were trying everything in a 'safe mode'."

Finally, as Tuesday's most prolific runner, the spotlight fell on the taciturn Raikkonen to deliver the verdict on how 2014 feels from the cockpit.

"It's definitely different," he said, "but it's not like night and day."

And what does he think of F1's brave new era?

"The rules are what they are," Raikkonen told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3, "and the cars are built to whatever the rules are. It makes no sense to complain now."