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The 2014 One Show Automobile Advertising of the Year award finalists have been announced, covering media from broadcast TV to experiential marketing. The One Club teamed up with the

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: I've always liked Subaru vehicles. I had a yellow GL wagon in college as I've written too many times to count, but I loved that car. Put a couple hundred thousand miles on it.

Hertz Global Holdings rose to a record high after the largest publicly traded rental-car company said it adopted a so-called poison pill upon seeing 'unusual and substantial activity' in its stock.

Brutish, German luxury sedans are a sign, at least in America, that you've made it. Sure, Cadillac is making some inroads, big ones actually, but in cultural epicenters, Teutonic is still the way to go.

A slowdown in emerging markets will extend into the new year, compounding uncertainty over demand in China and at home, according to a group representing Japan's auto manufacturers.

While change is a necessary evil, and something select people thrive on, it's not always a good thing. Take for example, Volkswagen. From the beginning they've been known for reliable, long-lasting cars that get the job done.

Their latest version of the Jetta is no exception, especially with a TDI engine and in Highline trim. With a price just north of $30k (as tested), it's a bargain when you look at the bigger picture.


Forget the colour
And look at the car instead. While I had no trouble with the Toffee Brown Metallic paint adorning my 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, it seems some did. I found it quite sophisticated to look at, and it matched the autumn backdrop surrounding me all week as the leaves rapidly changed.

Beneath the paint lies a vehicle that's classy, with clean lines and a look that says "I'm corporate, but I still let my hair down on the weekends (under the right conditions)." The 2013 Jetta TDI isn't necessarily sporty, but it's got some interesting detailing (simplistic chrome front grille, subtle shoulder line and sculpted hood) that give it the right amount of attitude on the road.

Inside, my 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI was tricked out in Highline trim which meant the whole nine yards, and then some. With all of Volkswagen standard equipment (A/C, heated front seats, fog lights, engine block heater), plus 17" alloy wheels, leather seats, Bluetooth and standard start/stop keyless entry, the Highline trim level might seem expensive (sitting nearly $12,000 above the base Jetta price), but when you consider everything it entails, it turns the Jetta into a car you'll want in the family for years.

Inside, my 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI was tricked out in Highline trim which meant the whole nine yards, and then some. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Volkswagen's staying power
Which brings me to my next point: There's something about a Volks that just screams "well-built." As it was Thanksgiving weekend when I piloted the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, I decided to put it to the "family" test and pack everyone in for a trip to my parent's place. With four adults and a 10-month-old in his rear-facing child seat, plus a trunk full of baby paraphenalia, pumpkin pies and wine, we hit the road.

And everyone immediately had the same reaction to the Jetta: What a solid, well-built car.

From the unyielding "thunk" the door makes as it closes, to the grounded, sure-footed grasp it has on curvy country roads (no matter how full), the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is secure. It feels like a good place to be.

And the 2013 VW Jetta TDI engine helps with that stable, long-lasting sense. Equipped with a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbocharged direct injection engine, it pushes out 140 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. Coupled with Volkswagen's 6-speed DSG automatic transmission, the Jetta TDI is a joy to drive.

The first day I picked up the keys, I took the 2013 VW Jetta on a 400km road trip. From the moment I left the first stop sign, I was in love. Throttle response is fantastic, and that diesel torque is smile-inducing as is the dual-clutch DSG gearbox that makes spirited driving so rewarding (even for an automatic).

Equipped with a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbocharged direct injection engine, it pushes out 140 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

The beauty of a diesel
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Diesel is amazing. Throughout the week I was constantly shocked at the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI's gas mileage. Why? Because diesels are so few and far between here that I'm not used to it.

After a week behind the wheel of normal driving (I wasn't trying to be economical in any way), I averaged a combined 5.9L/100km and managed close to 900km on one tank. I hit the gas station with one bar left on the 55L tank read-out. Was I impressed? Very. Do I want a Jetta TDI in my driveway now? Yes.

Who cares if it smells a little at the pumps and sounds a bit like a tractor when the windows are down, the distance you'll travel between pumps is enough to put it all into perspective and justify the price of the vehicle in the long-run.

Throughout the week I was constantly shocked at the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI's gas mileage. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Volkswagen for all
From the very beginning Volkswagen has been about creating a car that everyone could own. And not a car that's so affordable that it'll fall apart in a year's time. Volkswagens are built to last and the new 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is no exception when it comes to Volkswagen doing what they do best: Building cars for the masses, but meant for a select few who truly understand the meaning of a purpose-built vehicle made to last.

This 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Highline review was originally published on Auto-Venus.com.

How come there's lap time difference of some two seconds between two Formula 1 cars powered by the same engine and shod on the same type of Pirelli tires?

Here are the data obtained from the F1 timing system at Barcelona during this past weekend's Spanish Grand Prix*.

Qualification session, 2013 Grand Prix of Spain, Barcelona
Driver                      Car                        Best time       Top speed
Vettel                       Red Bull RB9         1m21.054      306.2 km/h
Raikkonen                Lotus E21             1m21.177      313.1 km/h
Maldonado               Williams FW35      1m23.318      312.2 km/h
Van der Garde         Caterham CT03     1m24.661      310.8 km/h

*We used the qualification session as our benchmark since all drivers are pushing really hard unlike during the race where they have to save their tires. All these cars are powered by the same Renault engine.

Caterham CT03-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

From the data shown above, it is interesting to note that Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull RB9 had the slowest top speed of all four cars. Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus E21 was a full 7 km/h faster than the RB9 at the Barcelona speed trap. However, their lap times are practically identical.

So, if the engines, gearboxes, tires, and driving conditions are similar the only variables left that can explain the difference in lap time come from the drivers, the suspension geometries, the chassis, and the aerodynamics.

“The most crucial factor is aerodynamics,” told us Frank Dernie, former technical director for several F1 teams -- a career that lasted between 1976 and 2009.

“[There's] probably a little bit of driver difference, too; maybe a touch of set-up ignorance, too. I learned back in the ‘70s that the suspension geometry makes little or no difference to lap time. It does influence driver feel and tire wear, but not lap time,” Dernie revealed.

Dernie, who spent most of his career with F1 teams Williams, Lotus, and Toyota says chassis stiffness does not come into play.

“It is pretty well impossible to make a chassis strong enough to pass the safety tests which isn't stiff enough,” he explained.

So, difference in lap time boils down to efficient -- or inefficient -- aerodynamics.

“I first began to suspect this from testing in the mid-‘70s. The only things we changed which could actually be seen on the stopwatch were aerodynamics. Nothing I experienced since has countered this observation,” Dernie confessed to Auto123.com.

Despite the fact that to most fans, one F1 car looks exactly the same as another (such as the Red Bull RB9 and the Caterham CT03 pictured here), there are thousands of subtle discrepancies between them.

Red Bull RB9-Renault. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

Caterham CT03-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

Knowing that downforce squares with speed (meaning that doubling speed makes four times as much downforce), little changes to aerodynamic components will generate huge differences in vertical forces (and drag) at high speeds.

“However, aerodynamics is much more complex than most people imagine, particularly on an open-wheeled car,” Dernie added as a warning, knowing that it is too easy to pinpoint just one reason to explain such a complex problem.

Getting aerodynamics slightly wrong is a lot easier to achieve than getting them right!

Renault Sport F1 explains here the various components of next year's V6 turbo power unit that will propel the Formula 1 cars starting next season.

Rob White, Deputy Managing Director at Renault Sport F1 explained that the next generation of F1 cars will be powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 internal combustion engine of around 600 bhp plus around 160 bhp of electrical propulsion from the energy recovery system, meaning the term ‘engine' will no longer fully describe a car's source of propulsive power. It is more relevant to refer to the complete system as a ‘Power Unit.'

Photo: Renault Sport F1

TURBOCHARGER
A turbocharger uses an exhaust driven turbine to drive a compressor to increase the density of the intake air consumed by the engine and so make more power for a given displacement.

The residual heat energy contained in the exhaust gases after expansion in the cylinders of the engine is converted to mechanical shaft power by the exhaust turbine. The mechanical power from the turbine is used to drive the compressor, and also the MGU-H (see below).

As the turbocharger speed must vary to match the requirement of the engine, there may be a delay in torque response, often known as turbo-lag. One of the great challenges of the new Power Unit is to reduce this to near zero to match the instant torque delivery of the current V8 engines.

WASTEGATE
A wastegate is often used in association with a turbocharger to control the system. It is a control device that allows excess exhaust gas to by-pass the turbine, to match the power produced by the turbine to that needed by the compressor to supply the air required by the engine.

DIRECT FUEL INJECTION
With direct fuel injection (DI), fuel is sprayed directly into the combustion chamber rather than into the inlet tract upstream of the inlet valves. The fuel-air mixture is formed within the cylinder, so great precision is required in metering and directing the fuel from the injector nozzle. This is a key sub-system at the heart of the fuel efficiency and power delivery of the Power Unit.

Top view of power unit. The front of the car is towards the left. (Photo: Renault Sport F1)

MGU
A motor generator unit (MGU) is an electrical machine. When operating as a motor, the MGU converts electrical energy to mechanical energy. When it operates as a generator the MGU converts mechanical energy to electrical. The 2014 Power Unit uses two MGUs; an MGU-H (H for Heat - exhaust energy recovery) and MGU-K (K for Kinetic - kinetic energy recovery during braking).

MGU-K
The MGU-K is connected to the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine and is capable of recovering or providing power (limited to 120 kW or 160 bhp by the rules). Under braking, the MGU-K operates as a generator to slow the car (reducing the heat dissipated in the brakes) and so recovers some of the kinetic energy and converts it into electricity. Under acceleration, the MGU-K is powered (from the Energy Store and/or from the MGU-H) and acts as a motor to propel the car.

MGU-H
The MGU-H is connected to the turbocharger. Acting as a generator, it absorbs power from the turbine shaft to recover heat energy from the exhaust gases. The electrical energy can be either directed to the MGU-K or to the battery for storage for later use. The MGU-H is also used to control the speed of the turbocharger to match the air requirement of the engine (e.g. to slow it down in place of a wastegate or to accelerate it to compensate for turbo-lag.)

ERS
The Power Unit's ERS (Energy Recovery System) uses the MGU-H and MGU-K plus an Energy Store, plus some power and control electronics. Heat and Kinetic Energy recovered can be consumed immediately if required by the other MGU, or used to charge the Energy Store. The stored energy can be used to propel the car by the MGU-K or to accelerate the turbocharger by the MGU-H. Compared to 2013 KERS, the ERS of the 2014 Power Unit will have twice the power (120 kW vs 60 kW) and a performance effect 10 times greater.

The contributors of Auto123.com Racing are sending you their best wishes for a Happy New Year.

Wishing you a New Year
That brings luck and prosperity
Fills your home with joy and spirit
Happy New Year to all

Wishing you an exciting 2015 racing season!

Originally developed for use in hybrid vehicles, Stop/Start technology is rapidly trickling down to every other market segment. In fact, Navigant Research is predicting that the number of vehicles equipped with Stop/Start technology around the world will jump from 8.8 million to 55.4 million by the early part of the next decade.

“The challenge for automakers is to get the biggest efficiency benefits from the smallest cost increment,” Navigant Research senior analyst David Alexander told The Detroit Bureau.

Source : thedetroitbureau.com