Auto News 5

A European research project called AdaptIVe (Automated Driving Applications & Technologies for Intelligent Vehicles) has been launched at the MobileLifeCampus in Wolfsburg, Germany. The project has been formed from a consortium of 29 partners and aims to achieve "breakthrough advances" that will lead to more efficient and safe automated driving.

Peugeot will unveil a sports car concept at the Beijing auto show. The concept is a further development of the Onyx supercar prototype unveiled at the 2012 Paris show.

News 4 Feb, 2014

New Honda Civic Tourer ad celebrates spacious interior of new estate car

Magna International Inc., through its Magna Exteriors operating unit, and Chongquing Guangneng Rongneng Trim Co., Ltd., have announced the formation of a 50/50 joint-venture partnership for the assembly of front-end modules (FEMs).

News 5 Feb, 2014

Rolls-Royce reveals sketch of a new Waterspeed Collection Phantom Drophead edition, limited to only 35 models

New-car sales in Germany rose 7 percent in January as Europe's biggest market joined France, Italy and Spain in reporting higher year-on-year registrations.

French minority shareholders' group ADAM has written to PSA to criticize the terms of a planned capital hike that will see Dongfeng and the French state take big stakes in the carmaker.

Last week, we ran a story detailing Volkswagen's first foray into America.

-- It's the 50th anniversary of Excalibur, the company with fine craftsmen who keep the neoclassical motoring dream alive, or in some vaguely zombielike semblance thereof.

News 4 Feb, 2014

Next-generation Ferrari California to be unveiled on February 12, with possible turbocharged engine

Toyota reported a fivefold increase in net income for the October-December quarter as huge foreign exchange windfalls powered profits higher. Net income increased to $4.99 billion in the company's fiscal third quarter ended D ec. 31 from $949.

Toyota reported a fivefold increase in net income for the October-December quarter as huge foreign exchange windfalls powered profits higher.

The drop in U.S. light-vehicle sales in January has left dealers with higher-than-normal piles of unsold vehicles just as factories are cranking up production.

BMW plans to strengthen internal synergies between its BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands as it aims to make permanent its nine-year reign as the world's No. 1 premium automaker.

Mercedes, the top-selling luxury-auto brand in the U.S. in 2013, started out the year ahead of No. 2 BMW with record January sales.

The first numbers are in and Hyundai is leading the pack in the post-Super Bowl viral video brawl.

The new Ferrari-powered Sauber C33completed 193 laps of the Jerez circuit last week and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said the Swiss team is quite happy with the first outing of the turbo hybrid car.

“We are satisfied with the first test. Our car was ready just in time. We wanted to see if the mechanical components and all the systems were working. The cars are very complex this year because of the new power unit, but, as a matter of fact, we have reached a good level already,” Kaltenborn said in a team press release.

Adrian Sutil, Sauber C33-Ferrari (Photo: WRI2)

She confirmed that the lap times are almost meaningless because every team ran a different programme, including different fuel loads. She also confirmed that the loss of downforce due to the new technical regulations was causing some problems with the Pirelli tires.

“The tires were another important factor to consider. Both our drivers struggled to get temperature into the tires. And it certainly didn't help them that we only had a provisional aero package with limited downforce on the car,” she said.

“However, this didn't come as a surprise to us. We know what to expect. It was our top priority to be ready from the first day of testing, so to be able to drive and collect as much data as possible,” Kaltenborn added.

“Fundamentally, the C33 has a very extensive aero package. We plan to have most of the parts on the car for the first test in Bahrain. This includes new front and rear wings, side pod deflectors, as well as several other small elements on the car. A few other parts will follow for the second test in Bahrain,” she concluded.

Kia Canada is recalling 1,852 Sportage crossovers from the 2014 model year because the certification label does not contain correct tire pressure information. Depending on tire size, the label may indicate 1-2 psi below the correct tire pressures.

Consequently, Kia dealers will install a partial label overlay to block out the error. In addition, a sticker with the correct tire pressures will be affixed to tire pressure information in the Owner's manual.

Source: Transport Canada

Photo: Kia

On February 12th, Ferrari will host the world debut of what is currently known as the ''149M Project.'' The rumour mill is spinning quite a bit about this model, which may turn out to be a modified version of the California, codenamed ''F149.''

According to Supercar Team and World Car Fans, the Ferrari 149M Project could get the Maserati Quattroporte's 3.8L twin-turbo V8 engine that produces 552 horsepower.

Look for more details next Wednesday, as well as on March 4th when the 2014 Geneva Auto Show kicks off.

Sources: supercarteam.com, worldcarfans.com

From GMM

Romain Grosjean is not so sure Fernando Alonso will have an easy time alongside new Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen in 2014.

The Frenchman's comments follow those of Alonso's last teammate Felipe Massa this week, as the Brazilian tipped Alonso to be faster this year because he "combines talent with brains".

Romain Grosjean, however, may also be well placed to comment, given that he too has been paired in F1 with both Alonso (2009) and more recently with Raikkonen at Lotus.

"Good luck to them!" he grinned to Brazil's Totalrace.

"They are two very strong personalities. It will be interesting," said Romain Grosjean. "Kimi is very much like Fernando in several respects. Both like to be number one, so we'll see what happens. If there is something I could learn from Kimi and Fernando it is that they never quit. Whenever they get into the car, they get 100 per cent from it, whether it is a good car, bad car, if it's dry, wet."

Eric Boullier and Romain Grosjean, Lotus. (Photo: WRi2)

Meanwhile, the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat reports that Grosjean, 27, will no longer work with his manager Eric Boullier, after the former Lotus boss moved to McLaren.

The Lotus-linked management stable Gravity is now headed by Gerard Lopez, but correspondent Heikki Kulta cited sources in claiming Boullier's long-term successor will be appointed before the forthcoming Bahrain test.