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Young adults want to own vehicles, a survey by the industry's largest rental car company found. And they use car rentals as extended test drives.

From GMM

Ferrari has announced a trio of F1 test drivers for 2014.

Existing trio Pedro de la Rosa, Marc Gene and Davide Rigon are all staying put, the Italian team said.

Italian Rigon, 27, has signed for two years, Ferrari added, and he will also drive a works 458 GT2 in the Le Mans endurance series.

All three drivers, however, will be available to "work on the F14 T and other racing and promotional activities", Ferrari announced.

Photo: Ferrari

On Tuesday NASCAR officials announced an ambitious procedure to codify infractions penalties, and appeals in black letter specific details for the first time in its' 66-year history.

Under the previous system a technical violation would result in the piece of equipment or entire car being removed by NASCAR. Days later penalties would be announced, but, the severity wasn't quite explained.

The new system lists six levels of technical infractions and their penalties. NASCAR officials also announced that repeat offenders would see the penalties ramped up.

While the new structure is commendable, and for the first time itemizes specific types of infractions and penalties, it also comes with new terminology and charts adding to the plethora of new names announced last week for the new Chase for the Sprint Cup Rules.

When Bill France Sr. founded NASCAR rules were enforced out of the spotlight of public opinion. But, as the series outgrew its' regional roots and emulated sports like the National Football League, it also out grew arm twisting and other suggestive means, to maintain an even playing field.

Steve O'Donnell NASCAR's Executive Vice President of Racing Operations, explained how the procedures came about, “I think one of those things was we sometimes put ourselves in tough spots with penalties not being listed in the rule book, and where did NASCAR come up with this particular penalty, and it's never our intent to have those "gotcha" moments. We don't want to penalize anyone, but when we have to, we want to be as transparent as possible.”

One big area which has not been set down in tabular form is driver conduct. As Robin Pemberton, the Vice President of Competition Racing Development, NASCAR explained “Behavioral infractions are still handled on a case‑by‑case basis and are not built into this particular system.”

What Pemberton means is licensed competitor conduct. Examples of “behavior infractions,” include (from 2013) Denny Hamlin's penalty for stating that his team's Gen 6 car was not as competitive as the previous one. Or the suspension of Michael Waltrip executive, Ty Norris, for manipulating his drivers' finishes at the second race at Richmond to get Martin Truex, Jr. into the NASCAR playoffs called “The Chase.” No doubt intentionally wrecking a rival would be considered a behavioral infraction.

NASCAR has renamed its' governance of technical matters the NASCAR Deterrence System and that's just the beginning of new jargon for governance.


And the sanctioning body has also revamped its' appeals procedure, replacing John Middlebrook as the chief appellate officer. Middlebrook, a former General Motors executive, had overturned or reduced a huge percentage of NASCAR-imposed penalties previously.

Bryan Moss, who is president emeritus at Gulfstream Aerospace, has been named the “final appeals officer.” Mr. O'Donnell went out of his way to state that the naming of a new appeals officer had nothing to do with the outcome of previous appeals, but, Moss's technical knowledge was more appropriate to decide appeals.

And, of course, the new appellate system comes with new names, too.

In the end NASCAR may have begun to set up a structure that will ensure predictable results for infractions in the future. Only the amount of new names and procedures makes Formula One governance look simple by comparison.

Antonio Fuoco, member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, captured Tuesday his maiden win in the Florida Winter series.

The race was held on Palm Beach's 3.273km road course.

Fuoco started the 26-lap race from pole position, with Canadian Nicholas Latifi in second place and Max Verstappen in third.

Fuoco led all laps to finish first in front of Verstappen and Ed Jones.

Canadian Lance Stroll finished 6th, one place in front of his fellow countryman, Latifi.

The next two rounds will be staged today, Wednesday.

From press release

Canadian race car veteran, Alex Tagliani will be on hand at the Canadian Motorsports Expo in Toronto to unveil his new ride in the 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

Tagliani and Pfizer Canada Inc., the Canadian distributor of The EpiPen Epinephrine Auto-Injector, will introduce their new No. 18 Team EpiPen sponsored by Dicom Express entry in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series for the 2014 season Friday February 7, at 1:30 pm.

Alex Tagliani, who has lived with food allergy since childhood, is a strong advocate for anaphylaxis awareness and management and has partnered with EpiPen to promote food allergy awareness and safety for a Summer of TAG.

The Summer of TAG (Treating Allergies with Genuine Care) supports Alex's charity of choice, Anaphylaxis Canada, in their efforts to engage Canadians in conversation about effective management of food allergies and what to do in the event of a reaction.

Tagliani will also be on hand at The Expo for a special question and answer session with NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Director Alex Nagy on Saturday February 8th from 12 noon to 12:40 pm on the Main Stage.

He will then greet fans during an autograph session at the NASCAR Canada display/booth directly after the Q&A session at 12:45 pm.

The upcoming Chicago Auto Show will feature three Ford Mustang-themed pinball games designed by Stern Pinball.

Photo: Ford

The first one pays tribute to the 1965 and 2015 models, the second is inspired from the Mustang Boss 302, Boss 351 and Boss 429 models, while the third celebrates the iconic muscle car's 50th anniversary.

The good news for Mustang fans is that all three of these unique pinball games will go on sale (pricing TBD).

Source : leblogauto.com

From press release

For the first time ever, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host more than 500 of the world's finest and most historic racecars as they compete on the recently reconfigured road course as well as running exhibition events on the famed 2.5 miles oval as part of the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association's Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational to be held June 6-8.

The races will showcase a wide variety of cars including cars that competed in past Indianapolis 500s, cars from the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, Formula One, Grand-Am prototypes and Trans-Am.

In addition, American racing cars from makes like Chevrolet will compete with historic racecars from Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, MG and many others in twelve different classes of racing. A special class will also feature open-wheel race cars with Indianapolis 500 or other historic racing background.

Racing at IMS will be virtually non-stop each day from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. The cars will be on display in the infield and open to all fans providing up close access to the racecars.

A complete racing schedule for the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational will be announced at a later date.

The event will begin with a practice day on Thursday, June 5 with free admission for everyone, with racing throughout the weekend beginning on June 6.

Emerson Fittipaldi's Penske Chevrolet (Photo: René Fagnan)

The highly popular Honda Civic's lineup expands with the addition of the 2014 Civic Hybrid and Civic Natural Gas models. They will go on sale in the U.S. today and on February 15th, respectively.

Photo: Honda

Expect the 2014 Honda Civic Hybrid to land in Canada later this year. As for the natural gas variant, don't count on it.

Both new models come standard with a 7'' touchscreen and the latest generation of HondaLink, as well as an expanded view driver's mirror (with available LaneWatch display), keyless entry with push-button start, and many more features.

The 2014 Honda Civic Natural Gas can be equipped with heated leather seats and a 6-speaker premium sound system in the U.S.

Photo: Honda

Consumer Reports' annual Car-Brand Perception Survey is out, and Toyota and Ford lead the way, followed by Honda and Chevrolet. Rounding out the top 5, surprisingly, is Tesla.

The survey reflects the perception of each brand in seven categories including quality, safety, performance, value, fuel economy, design/style, and technology/innovation.

Ironically, while the top 5 is mostly dominated by entry-level brands, the bottom 5 is loaded with premium makes such as Land Rover (worst), Maserati, Jaguar, and Rolls-Royce.

Consumer Reports also identified quality (90%) and safety (88%) as the most important factors when buying a new car.

2014 Car-Brand Perception Survey

Brand	Score
Toyota	145
Ford	120
Honda	109
Chevrolet	105
Tesla Motors	88
Subaru	87
Mercedes-Benz	82
Volvo	80
Cadillac	78
BMW	73

Source : consumerreports.org

From GMM

Marcus Ericsson has kicked off his F1 career with a diet.

The Swedish rookie, set to make his debut in 2014 for the backmarker Caterham, revealed that his engineers have tasked him with losing weight before Melbourne.

"They haven't said I need to be any particular weight," said the 23-year-old blonde, "but I'll go down as much as I can, ensuring I can still race for two hours."

Marcus Ericsson, Caterham F1 Team (Photo: WRI2)

Eurosport Sweden reported that Ericsson, 180 cm tall (5' 11") and 69 kilograms (152 lbs), has entered a diet programme with a specialist Italian clinic renowned for helping single-seater drivers lose weight.

"We will work closely making sure I am at the right level," he said, "as you still need the highest concentration for two hours. It is extremely hot and with high G-forces, so it's impossible to be a skeleton. I won't be eating burgers for lunch and dinner but I still need to eat, because I train hard every day."

Marcus Ericsson lamented the situation in F1, where a significant increase in the weight of the cars for 2014 has not been greeted with a corresponding minimum weight-limit change.

"It's a shame the FIA and F1 can't just make a decision and increase the weight by 10 kg," he said. "Then it wouldn't be a big deal and everyone would have the same opportunities.

"But what can you do? I can't chop off a leg. Three kilos is a tenth per lap in this game, and my teammate (Kamui Kobayashi) is 7 or 8 kg lighter than me."

Various police corps in Europe hope to some day be able to remotely stop a vehicle that's been stolen and involved in a pursuit, for instance.

Using satellite systems, they could slow down and even bring a car to a full stop at the simple push of a button, from the comfort of their police headquarters.

It's all wishful thinking at this point, but the project may become a reality by 2020. More likely than not, fitting the required technology to all new vehicles will cause an uproar among Big Brother critics.

Source : techno-car.fr

From GMM

Adrian Newey, the fabled designer of Red Bull's troubled RB10, expects the 2014 season to be dominated by the new powertrain rules.

At Jerez last week, the reigning world champions struggled even to run the new car due to problems mating the Renault V6 and related energy-recovery technology with Newey's famously extreme aerodynamic packaging.

"At least in the early part of the season," Newey is quoted by Italy's Autosprint, "we will be talking about an 'engine formula'.

"Reliability, power, fuel consumption -- they will be decisive factors," he added.

"The aerodynamics will only really count once these new V6s have matured. But it has to be said that we are relying on the 'power unit' not only on Renault -- there are many other suppliers. And each of them will have to adapt to the development speed of modern formula one," said Newey.

The 55-year-old Briton is undoubtedly the most famous technical boffin in the F1 paddock, and he said preparing for 2014 was "the biggest challenge of my career".

"We had a small amount of time for such a complex car," he admitted.

Red Bull RB10. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Despite Bernie Ecclestone's recent warning, Gene Haas is pushing ahead with his plans to enter F1 in 2015.

After Haas, a Nascar team co-owner, responded to the FIA's invitation to fill the vacant team slot, Ecclestone said publicly he doubts the Californian is prepared to spend what it takes to compete in F1.

"He doesn't think we will get the license, so my chances probably aren't that great of a shot," Haas responded.

Nevertheless, Italy's specialist Autosprint reports that Haas is pushing ahead.

Correspondent Alberto Antonini said Haas is preparing to meet the FIA's next application deadline of February 10, including demonstrating its ability and willingness to compete with an adequate budget.

Autosprint also said Haas, whose project involves the former F1 personality Gunther Steiner, is pushing ahead with plans to field a Dallara chassis in 2015, mated to Ferrari's V6 and energy-recovery 'power unit'.

"We look forward to future developments," Antonini added.

From GMM

German authorities are pushing ahead with preparations for Bernie Ecclestone's criminal trial.

The Suddeutsche newspaper reports that the trial, following a long investigation into the Gerhard Gribkowsky bribery affair, will begin in Munich on 24 April.

Authorities are reportedly expecting lengthy proceedings and so have initially reserved 26 days in court, according to Wednesday's edition of the Munich-published daily.

Suddeutsche Zeitung said the proceedings will take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so that F1 chief executive Ecclestone's attendance at grands prix is not affected.

The trial will take a break between mid August and mid September, the report added.

From GMM

Honda will fill any financial void at McLaren, after the great British team unveiled its new silver and black MP4-29 without replacing departed title sponsor Vodafone.

We reported recently that the Woking team and Lotus are tussling for a major sponsorship deal, rumoured to be Sony Playstation.

Kevin Magnussen, McLaren MP4-29. (Photo: WRi2)

But even if McLaren - whose sponsorship asking price is probably higher - fails to secure the deal, the respected correspondent for Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, Michael Schmidt, says the team is financially secure.

That is because incoming works engine partner Honda is coming on board with a whopping EUR 100 million per year in financial backing.

That package includes free engines, EUR 50 million in cash and a 50 per cent contribution to the drivers' salaries.

"Apparently, the money will already be flowing this season," said Michael Schmidt.

From GMM

Peter Prodromou may not move to McLaren after all.

McLaren signed Red Bull's highly-rated aerodynamics chief late last year, but the reigning world champions insisted that Prodromou's full contract be run out.

Now, the German-language Speed Week reports that Red Bull has used that time wisely in trying to convince the Briton to stay put.

"The story is circulating that Prodromou has changed his mind and now wants to stay with Red Bull," the report said.

Prodromou, however, signed a binding contract with McLaren last October, and so a legal battle may ensue unless the great British team is prepared to accept a financial settlement.

Peter Prodromou and Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Lotus will not wait until the next official test in Bahrain to get its delayed 2014 car on track.

Having not attended the first test at Jerez, the Enstone team will give its E22 a track debut this Friday and Saturday at the southern Spanish circuit, Italy's Autosprint reports.

Officially, the Lotus outing at Jerez will be for promotional 'filming days' on demonstration Pirelli tyres, allowed under the rules regulating the sport's strict limits on track testing.

But correspondent Roberto Chinchero said the session will actually be a crucial outing for engine supplier Renault, following the Jerez test debacle.

It will also be the first time Lotus' novel asymmetrical, double-pronged nose solution sees the light of day.

Photo: Lotus F1 Team

From GMM

Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez has played down reports McLaren refugee Martin Whitmarsh is definitely headed to Enstone.

With Eric Boullier having moved to McLaren to be 'racing director', it was reported that Briton Whitmarsh was the obvious choice to replace the Frenchman.

"There have been contacts with Martin," Lopez is quoted by Italy's blogf1.it, "but he is not necessarily the only one. We have talked to at least three other people."

The report said the Whitmarsh deal could fall over on the issue of his salary, given recent staff cuts at the financially-troubled team.

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren. (Photo: WRi2)

Meanwhile, after Lopez said recently Lotus has a new sponsor in the form of Russia's Yotaphone, it emerges that the parent company has in fact bought a stake in the Enstone based team.

"This is not a mere sponsorship, we have acquired an equity stake," the spokesman for Yota Devices is quoted as saying.

Mitsubishi Motors has shuffled its top executives. Osamu Masuko, who has revived the automaker as president over the past nine years, becomes chairman and CEO. Tetsuro Aikawa will be president and COO.

Mitsubishi Motors has shuffled its top brass. Osamu Masuko, who has revived the automaker as president over the past nine years, becomes chairman and CEO. Tetsuro Aikawa will be president and COO.