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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles expects a new plant in Brazil to boost its profitability in that market by 2017 after a cut to subsidies and currency effects hit profits there last year.

News 7 Mar, 2014

David Beckham joins Jaguar as brand ambassador for the Chinese market

Pictures See all 12 pictures 7 Mar, 2014

PSA's incoming CEO, Carlos Tavares, hustled around the Geneva auto show this week in a way that didn't suggest he was taking one of the toughest jobs in the auto industry. 'I'm a lucky guy,' Tavares said.

PSA's incoming CEO, Carlos Tavares, hustled around the Geneva auto show this week in a way that didn't suggest he was taking one of the toughest jobs in the auto industry. 'I'm a lucky guy,' Tavares said.

Toyota reconfirmed its commitment to its minicar alliance with PSA even though the French automaker has agreed a capital tie-up with China's Dongfeng.

Car sales in Western Europe grew by 5.1% in February, the sixth consecutive month of expansion, according to data released by LMC Automotive.

Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi's technology boss, sees alternative powertrains such as plug-in hybrids as the future for his unit.

BMW has unveiled details and photos of its new X4 crossover with coupe styling. The vehicle is scheduled to make its world debut next month at the New York auto show.

Citroen has added a sedan to its DS line, the DS5 LS. The model has been designed for the Chinese market and will initially only be sold there.

The VW Golf retained its position as Europe's best-selling car after sales grew 28 percent in January.

Joe Oliver, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, has announced a new protocol to determine vehicle fuel consumption, and the result is 15% to 20 % higher ratings that those advertised by car manufacturers.

Consequently, 2015 model year vehicles and others to follow will have to undergo new tests that take into account additional elements such as sudden acceleration and braking, the use of air conditioning, and cold-weather operation.

Natural Resources Canada is offering a new interactive tool to calculate fuel consumption for vehicles from 1995 to 2014.

I checked to see how my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan would fare. From initial ratings of 12.2L/100km in the city and 7.9L/100km on the highway, it jumped to 13.7L and 9.4L/100km, respectively. That's much closer to the numbers I usually get, but still a tad too optimistic.

What about your car?

Source : protegez-vous.ca

From GMM

The promoter of the Indian grand prix has vowed to meet with Bernie Ecclestone and try to get the New Delhi race back on the 2015 calendar.

Following the sport's gripes with the Indian tax situation since the inaugural race in 2011, F1 chief executive Ecclestone said this week he does not plan to reschedule the race - which will also not take place this year - for 2015.

"At the moment, India won't be on for next year for sure. Probably 2016," Bernie Ecclestone said.

Sameer Gaur, boss of the race's non-governmental promoters Jaypee, said that in the wake of Ecclestone's comments, he will arrange a meeting with the 83-year-old.

"I will soon set up a meeting with Mr Ecclestone and talk to him directly over the matter," he told the Hindustan Times. "As I have said earlier, I would want the race to return next year but let us see what comes out of the meeting with Mr Ecclestone."

Buddh International Circuit. (Photo: WRi2)

The main issue for F1 in India is that the government has not officially recognised grand prix racing as a sport.

The sanctioning body Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) is pushing hard for a change.

"It's unfortunate but once the government gives the recognition I am very hopeful that Mr Ecclestone's concerns will be satisfied," said FMSCI chairman Akbar Ebrahim.

Toyota's replacement for the Yaris will not only borrow its platform from the new Mazda2, but also its SKYACTIV engine. The new sub-compact car will therefore become one of the few direct-injected models within the large Toyota family.

The Salamanca assembly plant in Mexico, which began Mazda3 production in January, is expected to start building the new Mazda2 in mid-2014. Total capacity is set at 230,000 units annually, 50,000 of which will be allocated to Toyota. Deliveries will commence sometime between April 1st, 2015 and March 31st, 2016.

The deal between Mazda and Toyota will help make the Salamanca plant profitable and further promote Mazda's SKYACTIV technology.

Toyota is used to platform and engine sharing, having developed its Scion FR-S sports coupe alongside the Subaru BRZ, and relied on a Yamaha powerplant to drive the defunct Lexus LFA.

Source: autonews.com

If you love drifting, you'll definitely want to see Vaughn Gittin Jr.'s garage and backyard in this short but spectacular video, which also includes some actual drifting by the master himself.

Enjoy!

Visitors at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show can marvel at the Ferrari FF as well as the new Ferrari California T, which made its global debut earlier this week, featuring Apple's innovative CarPlay system.

The California T uses a 3.8L turbocharged V8 engine rated at 560 horsepower to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds. Despite the 70-horsepower increase, fuel consumption is down 15% ― amazing.

Ferrari's F1-Trac system maximizes acceleration when exiting corners, and reduces braking distances (100-0km/h) to 34 metres.

The Mercedes-powered Williams FW36s will sport a special Ayrton Senna logo during the 2014 Formula 1 season.

Since the tragic death of Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Williams has placed the iconic Senna double S logo on its racing cars as a mark of respect.

To commemorate 20 years since his passing and to celebrate his legacy, the Williams Mercedes FW36 will be adorned with the new 20th anniversary Senna logo for the 2014 season.

Traditionally placed on the front wing struts of each Williams' car, the new logo will be placed on the left hand side of the FW36's nose cone and feature a picture of Ayrton alongside the words "Ayrton Senna Always", "Ayrton Senna Sempre" in Portuguese.

Designed by the Ayrton Senna Foundation, the logo will be present at a number of events organised by the Foundation this year to honour the life, legacy and values of the three times Formula One World Champion.

Photo: Williams Martini Racing

From GMM

A week before F1's brave new era begins in earnest, not everyone is excited.

At the Geneva motor show, former F1 driver Jean Alesi admitted he is no fan of the 'greener' era of energy-recovery boosted cars.

"The driver is being completely overshadowed by the new technology," said the Frenchman.

"It is a challenge for the engineer but not the driver. We have entered an era in which only the tools count," added Alesi, who raced more than 200 times until 2001.

"Now a driver cannot trust his instinct to attack his opponent because he is just one small element of the machine."

Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team

Jean Alesi said it is no surprise Mercedes looks set to dominate early in 2014.

"That has not happened by chance," said the French-Sicilian. "As (Ferrari boss) Stefano Domenicali has said, Mercedes is a giant who did an extreme preparation for this championship."

Also not overjoyed at F1's new era is Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who said the changes for 2014 have been "very expensive for teams but changing little for the viewer".

But FIA president Jean Todt insists formula one had to change.

"If you go to the Geneva motor show," he told Italy's La Stampa, "you see that cars are different now. There are hybrid and smaller engines, fewer cylinders. The automotive world has changed, and F1 must be a laboratory of technologies rather than a showcase of aerodynamics."

He is even unapologetic about F1 losing its iconic engine 'scream'.

"The sound of the turbo has its own charm," Todt insisted, "but in addition we have powerful cars that consume much less fuel -- it was an inevitable revolution. And if Honda has decided to come back, it means the revolution is working."

Photo: WRi2

At the same time, Jean Todt said, Formula One must reduce its costs.

"It is absurd," he said, "that half of the drivers in the maximum category of automobile racing are paying to drive. I know of no other sport in the world where that happens."

The apparent solution is a mandatory cost cap, and the details are being discussed now. Not supportive at all is McLaren's returning supremo, Ron Dennis.

"If you can't afford to be in F1," he said on Thursday, "don't be in F1."

Ron Dennis also accused the FIA of being hypocritical about costs, having imposed the "most expensive engine in the history of motor sport" on the teams.

"The same people who took us down this path are now going down another path, saying we need to reduce costs. How contrary to logic is that?" he asked.

From Pirelli

Following the agreement between Pirelli and the 11 Formula 1 teams, with the approval of the FIA, here is the schedule of the dedicated days (one per team) that each team will devote to tire testing this year, within the existing 2014 in- season test calendar.

April 8-9
Bahrain
Day1 CATERHAM
Day2 MERCEDES and WILLIAMS

May 13-14
Barcelona
Day1 SAUBER and TORO ROSSO
Day2 McLAREN and FORCE INDIA

July 8-9
Silverstone
Day1 FERRARI and LOTUS
Day2 RED BULL RACING and MARUSSIA

The agreement, which was finalised during the final pre-season Bahrain test (from February 27 to March 2), stipulates that each team will devote one day per year exclusively to testing the latest products and developments from Pirelli, within the framework of the existing test calendar. The definition of this tire test schedule has been agreed by all parties involved.

For the last two days of this year's test calendar (Abu Dhabi, November 25-26) Pirelli will supply all the teams with prototype tires in preparation for the 2015 season.

Each team will have to devote one day of testing this year to tires for 2015, as written in the latest sporting regulation (under article 22.6h).

This new rule is the result of requests from Pirelli to Formula 1's rule-makers at the end of last season. The tires that each team will use during its nominated tire test days will be supplied by Pirelli and will not form part of the 135 allocated sets for testing purposes each year.

Auto123.com asked Nico Rosberg a few questions less than a week prior to the opening round of the 2014 Formula 1 season in Australia.

The Mercedes AMG W05 driven by Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton set some very fast lap times in testing while being quite reliable, especially in Bahrain.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

Rosberg stressed that the W05 is not (yet) bulletproof.

“It is a whole new car; even the steering wheel has been completely redone with new buttons, switches, and screen. In general, we are happy with the testing. We're looking good. Reliability is still a concern, we're not at 100% yet. It's going to be a big challenge. The W05 is made up of about 3,500 different components. All these parts can go wrong, even little things such as plastic caps and bolts. If they fail, they can ruin an entire weekend. It's nearly impossible to ensure that they're all 100% reliable,” Rosberg said.

Question: What's going to be your biggest challenge this year?
Nico Rosberg: Integrating all the procedures: We can adjust so many things now. We have a brake-by-wire system at the rear, and I can adjust it from my steering wheel. It has a major impact on the balance of the car from the braking point to mid-corner. We can have perfect braking force and balance with that system. The challenge will be to drive at the limit while adjusting all these things.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

Q: Did you have to change your driving style?
Rosberg: The biggest difference comes from the turbo lag. It takes a bit of time for the most horsepower to arrive. The rest is a bit like last year, but with more low-rev torque. But now I have to drive to save fuel. I lift my foot off the throttle 100m before the braking point and I coast until I hit the brake pedal. This saves fuel without hurting lap times.

Q: Last year, the Mercedes AMG team was good in qualifying but was facing tire trouble during the actual races. Have you found a cure for that?
Rosberg: Last year, everything was related to the tires. We understand them much better this year. It's a moving target, however, and it's tough to always be right. The biggest challenge this year will come from fuel consumption. If you have a powerful engine that burns too much fuel, you're going to have to slow down.

Q: Mercedes AMG is a clear favourite for this year's title, right?
Rosberg: Everyone's saying that we're the favourites. I focus on my job. I've been with this team since day one, and I can see the progress we've accomplished. We are much better prepared than we were on this day last year. I hope to win more races in 2014.

Q: What's your opinion on F1 going “green” with this new turbo-hybrid powerplant?
Rosberg: Formula 1 must get closer to the automobile industry. F1 must be “greener” and use less fuel. We must push in that direction. We have amazing batteries in the car that are incredibly small and powerful. This year we have roughly the same amount of power as last year while burning 33% less fuel. For me, that's the way to go.