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Things are spiralling down for General Motors following a claim that 303 deaths are possibly related to now-recalled GM vehicles where the airbags did not deploy, and another 12 casualties resulting from an ignition switch failure.

The automaker today announced three new recalls affecting more than 1.5 million vehicles in North America. These aim to address various issues related to airbags, seat belts, and brakes.

“Today's announcement underscores the focus we're putting on the safety and peace of mind of our customers,” insisted GM CEO Mary Barra in a news release on Monday.

GM estimates that it would take a US$300 million charge in the first quarter of this year to fix the various problems.

More specifically, the latest recalls affect:

• 300,000 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans (25,000 in Canada) due to instrument panel issues related to unbuckled passengers;
• 63,900 Cadillac XTS sedans (1,446 in Canada) due to brake booster corrosion that may result in overheating;
• 1.18 million Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse and Saturn Outlook SUVs (70,000 in Canada) due to side airbags that may not deploy during a crash.

Further details about these recalls will come shortly.

Source: thestar.com

From GMM

Lewis Hamilton is still in the hunt for the world championship despite failing even to finish in Australia.

That is the view of Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, who revealed he consoled the Melbourne pole-sitter by harking back to his own F1 history.

After Hamilton retired at Albert Park only to see his German teammate Nico Rosberg go on to win, Lauda said: "I hugged him (Hamilton) and said 'This was only the first race.

"'In 1984 I also failed in the first race but I was world champion in the end'," Lauda recalled telling Briton Hamilton.

Indeed, while Lauda retired in the pits at Jacarepagua in Brazil, his McLaren teammate Alain Prost won the race.

But Niki Lauda went on to win the 1984 title by half a point.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG. (Photo: WRi2)

Asked how Mercedes has managed to get off to such a strong start in 2014, Lauda told the Osterreich newspaper: "Because we have been best with the new engine regulations.

"Also last summer, when Red Bull was still focusing on the 2013 season, we were already developing our new car," he added.

Italy's La Repubblica declared after Sunday's Australian grand prix: "The F1 revolution has its leader."

But Mercedes chief Toto Wolff expects Red Bull to catch up.

"With these new cars," he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper, "the development curve is much steeper than usual."

He said the reigning world champions had already "caught up massively" between the winter season and Melbourne.

And Red Bull's increasingly confident Dr Helmut Marko said: "We know what is still to come in our car and the (Renault) engine.

"On the engine we are still nowhere near the maximum," he insisted.

McLaren's Jenson Button, however, thinks that at the moment, F1 has a clear leader.

He said: "Right now we seem to be able to fight against everyone -- except one."

After narrowly escaping bankruptcy in 2011, Bertone continues to face major financial setbacks. In fact, the famous design studio could indeed go bankrupt this time around.

Despite more than €20 million in revenue last year (mostly from China), several employees and suppliers are still waiting to be paid.

Autocar reports that Bertone, which recently fired 160 workers, is facing a number of lawsuits from creditors.

Former design chief Michael Robinson resigned in December, leaving Bertone out in the cold.

All hope is not lost, however: A Turkish company is reportedly willing to purchase Bertone for €2.7 million. Seven other firms from Italy have shown interest, too.

Source : gtspirit.com

Aston Martin Rapide Bertone prototype (Photo: Bertone)

From press release

This weekend, Western Fair District prepares for a show that is sure to get any car enthusiast's motor running.

The Speed & Custom Car Show, March 22 and 23 will fill over 85,000 square feet with old classics, bright racers, impressive model cars, as well as shiny new dream cars, sure to please the gear head in all of us.

Fanshawe College will be onsite to present their interactive display, where visitors can participate in a virtual painting demo, hydraulic and AC trainers in car, truck and farm fields.

The 1st Canadian Army Veterans Motorcycle Unit and Jet Aircraft museum have teamed up to present a display of their vintage military vehicles, including an airplane fuselage, tanks and motorcycles that are sure to attract attention.

We are excited to introduce the Hagerty Youth Judging Program to this year's event. 15 kids, each day, will be selected and have the opportunity to learn what it takes to judge the best-of-the-best, and will have their own opportunity to judge the cars for themselves with the help of Hagerty. The Hagerty Youth Judging Program winners will be presented each day at 4pm on our main stage.

S&L Auto Wreckers have crushed a car into a cube for us, but we can't guess what make and model it is. If you have an eye for detail, maybe you can "Guess the Car" to WIN.

Holy Toledo Batman! Back by popular demand; don't miss the return of the Bat-Mobile from the Classic Adam West Era Batman television series.

Another custom car will be appearing at the show, but this one gets its muscle from the sun. Western University's solar-engineered car, the "SunStang", will be showcased at the show. This car has competed in 8 international solar car competitions and is gearing up for the World Solar Challenge next year in Australia.

When you come to the Speed & Custom Car Show you experience more than just great looking cars; you'll be immersed in car culture including the lifestyle, music, fashion and car accessories.

In "Pinstripe Panorama", you can see the unique artwork of the Pinstripers community and even bring in your own items to be striped. In addition, the Kustom Kulture artwork will be for sale all weekend, with a live auction at 6:00pm on Saturday with all proceeds going to Autism Dog Services.

Car accessories like subwoofers, amplifiers, subwoofer enclosures will be for sale at blow-out prices from Kicker Audio. Just in time for spring, so you can "soup up" your own vehicle before the summer months.

With approximately 100 vehicles on display, the competition will be tight for awards such as "Best in Show", "Best Club Display", "Cool Pics" and many, many more. Winners will be crowned on our main stage Saturday evening at 7pm.

Show Information: Dates & Times: Saturday March 22 10am-10pm; Sunday March 23 10am-6pm

Location: Western Fair District: Progress, West Annex and Canada Buildings, 900 King St, London, Ontario

Tickets: $12 in advance at westernfairdistrict.com (until 11:30pm Friday March 21) // $15 at the door // $7.50 for students with valid student card // Children 10 & under are free

Parking: FREE

Social Info: Twitter hashtag #LDNCarShow

From press release

Race Time Radio (RTR) is back for the 2014 season with the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour, bringing fans far and wide closer to the action with five races confirmed to be streamed live via www.racetimeradio.com.

RTR has been streaming races on the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour since the 2012 season, making Canadian motorsports history at the IWK 250 that year by airing the event live to Satellite Radio, which became the first stock car race in Canada to be aired live on the platform.

Two races at Riverside International Speedway and a trio of races at Scotia Speedworld will be streamed live this season, which include some pivotal events within the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour season. The season opener on Saturday, May 24th and season finale on Saturday, September 13th will be live via www.racetimeradio.com, along with both extended 250-lap events on the season, the IWK 250 on Saturday, July 19th and the 15th Annual Atlantic CAT 250 on Saturday, August 9th.

The first race at Riverside International Speedway this season, the Ron MacGillivray Chevrolet Buick GMC 150, will also be live to air on the RTR website on Saturday, June 14th.

Race broadcasts will be available for listeners absolutely free, no subscription necessary via www.racetimeradio.com by clicking the "Listen Live" links in the upper right of the page, or by downloading their smart phone App, for iPad, iPhone, & Android.

Over 30,000 fans streamed the 2013 Atlantic CAT 250 live, which was won by Terence Bay, Nova Scotia's Craig Slaunwhite.

The season comes to life at Scotia Speedworld on Saturday, May 24th. Racing action begins at 4:00 pm. For more information on this event, or any of the 12 races on the 2014 schedule, visit www.maritimeprostocktour.com.

The Verizon IndyCar Series held its first open test of the upcoming season at the Barber Motorsport Park.

The Penske squad showed its great form by finishing with the three fastest times in a session that was cut short due to poor visibility in the morning.

Will Power ended-up at the top of the chart followed by his teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves.

Juan-Pablo Montoya, Penske-Chevrolet. (Photo: LAT / IndyCar)

Reinging IndyCar champion Scott Dixon was fourth for Ganassi, while AJ Foyt Racing's Takuma Sato rounded up the top five in the fastest Honda-powered car.

Reigning champion Scott Dixon, Ganassi-Chevrolet. (Photo: LAT / IndyCar)

Ryan Briscoe was sixth quickest in the second Ganassi car, ahead of Justin Wilson, Simon Pagenaud, James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who completed the top 10.

James Hinchcliffe, Andretti-Honda. (Photo: LAT / IndyCar)

Pos  Driver  Team/Engine  Time Gap  Laps
1. Will Power  Penske/Chevy  1m07.6492s   48
2. Juan Pablo Montoya  Penske/Chevy   1m07.7170s   +0.0678s   55
3. Helio Castroneves  Penske/Chevy  1m07.7214s  +0.0722s  51
4. Scott Dixon  Ganassi/Chevy  1m07.8225s   +0.1733s  40
5. Takuma Sato   Foyt/Honda  1m07.8619s  +0.2127s   39
6. Ryan Briscoe  Ganassi/Chevy  1m07.8834s   +0.2342s   44
7. Justin Wilson  Coyne/Honda  1m07.8863s  +0.2371s   31
8. Simon Pagenaud  Schmidt/Honda   1m08.0682s   +0.4190s  35
9. James Hinchcliffe   Andretti/Honda   1m08.1629s  +0.5137s  32
10. Ryan Hunter-Reay   Andretti/Honda  1m08.3194s  +0.6702s   30
11. Charlie Kimball  Ganassi/Chevy  1m08.3209s  +0.6717s  41
12. Tony Kanaan  Ganassi/Chevy  1m08.3254s  +0.6762s  42
13. Mike Conway   Carpenter/Chevy  1m08.4734s  +0.8242s   42
14. Graham Rahal   Rahal/Honda  1m08.4907s  +0.8415s  37
15. Josef Newgarden  Fisher/Honda   1m08.5798s  +0.9306s   25
16. Sebastian Saavedra   KV/Chevy  1m08.6539s  +1.0047s  50
17. Marco Andretti   Andretti/Honda   1m08.6688s   +1.0196s  28
18. Mikhail Aleshin  Schmidt/Honda   1m08.7296s  +1.0804s  28
19. Jack Hawksworth   Herta/Honda  1m08.9223s  +1.2731s  36
20. Carlos Munoz   Andretti/Honda  1m08.9299s  +1.2807s  42
21. Oriol Servia   Rahal/Honda  1m09.2164s  +1.5672s  7
22. Sebastien Bourdais  KV/Chevy  1m09.6668s   +2.0176s  11

Takuma Sato, Foyt-Honda. (Photo: LAT / IndyCar)

If we in the West think much about Vladivostok, it's mainly as a punch line when a faraway, frigid place serves to help a joke land; a Timbuktu of frigid climes.

As bad as the General Motors ignition switch recall is, the storm still doesn't match the hysteria whipped up four years ago by Toyota's unintended-acceleration crisis. The Toyota recall was, and still is, the benchmark mammoth recall of our time.

The Italian design house Bertone is reportedly nearing bankruptcy again, according to a report from

Porsche recalled all 785 2014 GT3s on the road last month for

Audi revealed a few TV ads for its newest A3 sedan, which we reviewed last week.

Consumer Reports has named its best used vehicles for the 2004-13 model years, and the Toyota family is a favorite, with 11 vehicles named to the list.

Porsche AG said it achieved record deliveries, sales and profit in fiscal 2013.

Pictures See all 8 pictures 17 Mar, 2014

Hyundai revamped its fuel numbers on its Sonata sedan on March 4, and on Monday it issued an apology for misleading buyers. This is the second time in two years the company has needed to make amends for false numbers.

Honda is to recalling almost 900,000 Odyssey minivans in the US because of a potential fire hazard.

General Motors, under intense public pressure over its slow response to an ignition switch defect in its small cars, said today that it will recall more than 1.

Pictures See all 14 pictures 17 Mar, 2014

General Motors on Monday (17 March, 2014) announced three more recalls totalling almost 1.55m US produced vehicles "as a result of [CEO] Mary Barra's request for a comprehensive internal safety review following the ignition switch recall".

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