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Here's a thought: If you've ever wanted to be buried in what you're driving, it's a boon if your car is already shaped like a coffin.

-- Jay Leno, presumably back from filming McQueen's Jaguar XKSS, now places his chin atop the front seat of

Another major car show in the eastern hemisphere, another special edition Rolls-Royce Phantom.

and#8220;The Million Dollar Mustangand#8221; is not about how much these great cars go for at auctions in today's heady times, but about what made them worth so much in the first place.

French brand Renault is making an assault on the Nürburgring front-wheel drive lap record this summer. In a post on its Renault Sport and Facebook pages titled #Under8, it featured the words and#8220;two months to go.

Mats Fägerhag, the former head of R&D for Saab, is now the CEO of China Euro Vehicle Technology AB (CEVT). This small firm's engineers are quietly creating the new CMA scalable architecture for C and B segment Geely and Volvo models.

British car production returned to growth in March, boosted by increased demand in Europe and by automakers completing retooling to build new models. Output increased 12 percent last month.

Johnson Controls, which counts on Europe for about half of its sales, reported a 59 percent jump in quarterly profit, helped by higher sales in its automotive unit.

GM's first-quarter net income sank 86 percent from a year earlier to $125 million amid heavy costs related to the recall of 7 million vehicles. In Europe, GM lost $284 million, nearly double the $152 million it lost a year earlier.

Johnson Controls, which counts on Europe for about half of its sales, reported a 59 percent jump in quarterly profit, helped by higher sales in its automotive unit.

Rising demand for subcompact-sized SUV-styled models has driven Kia to put more emphasis on the latest Soul's crossover characteristics.

Varney Motor Speedway, the ¼-mile bullring situated north of Guelph, ON, will have a new owner just in time for the 2014 season.

Gord Bennett, an experienced racer and the former General Manager of Ohsweken Speedway, will formally take the reins of the track on May 1.

Re-branded as Full Throttle Motor Speedway, the Durham, Ontario facility will begin its weekly racing schedule on May 23 and continue to the season finale on September 21.

Races for the seven home divisions, plus various touring classes, will run on Friday nights before switching to a Sunday afternoon program following Labour Day.

General Motors of Canada has issued a recall on 17,267 Pontiac Vibe hatchbacks from 2009-2010 after discovering that the electrical circuitry in the steering wheel assembly may become damaged. As a result, the driver's airbag may not function as intended, causing the instrument panel airbag warning lamp to illuminate.

Since failure of the driver's airbag to deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury, GM dealers will replace the spiral cable assembly.

Source: Transport Canada

From GMM

A debate is raging inside Mercedes.

The dominant German team declared proudly after the Bahrain grand prix that letting Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg go wheel-to-wheel in a thrilling battle was the right decision for the sport.

But on Thursday, boss Toto Wolff has been quoted as saying team orders might soon have to come into play.

The Austrian told the BBC that Bahrain was "a very particular situation", due to Mercedes' dominance.

But "The narrower the margin gets, the more you have to look out," said Wolff.

"Our rule is that the competition is enemy number one, not your teammate, so there might be situations in the race where you have to consider that, but we will see what happens," he added.

Paddy Lowe and Toto Wolff, Mercedes AMG. (Photo: WRi2)

Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, however, told British television Sky in China last Sunday that he fundamentally disagrees with "Toto and Paddy".

Paddy Lowe is another team boss at the Brackley based team.

Niki Lauda said: "They (Hamilton and Rosberg) are racing drivers. Leave them alone, unless they hit. Which they won't."

Tesla is on a roll and its Model S is selling like hot cakes despite a steep price. One man in Norway actually owns seven Teslas, more than any other individual in the world.

Jens Kratholm, a 56-year-old ophthalmologist, lives in Narvik where the average annual temperature is just 3.8 degrees Celsius and the roads are often covered in snow or ice. Yet, that didn't stop him from purchasing six Tesla Roadsters and one Model S.

Kratholm gave one of the Roadsters to his wife as a birthday gift, and shares the rest among his six adult children, who drive the cars when they come visit. He also offers test drive opportunities to patients at his clinic.

The Kratholms love the app that allows them to remotely warm up the Model S, and they're pleased with the available range: Jens and his wife once travelled 200 kilometres to get to a Swedish hotel by a temperature of -40 degrees ― trains didn't work, and diesel in local buses was frozen!

Of course, they eagerly await the launch of Tesla's Model X crossover.

Photo: Tesla

Canadian motorsport icon Oliver Clubine passed away after a lengthy illness at the Brantford General Hospital on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014 in his 78th year.

Beloved husband of Sandra (née Telfer). Loving father of David and Laura. Devoted grandfather of Connor and Abby.

Oliver was a charter member of the Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada, past president of the Grand Valley Car Club.

His long time association with sports cars and racing led him to establish, with his son David, Britain West Motorsport which caters to the racing community.

He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered.

TORONTO, Ont. -- When Ford introduced the Mustang 50 years ago, it was the beginning of an enduring and much-loved cultural icon. To celebrate the birthday of this legendary pony car, more than 125 members of the Golden Horseshoe Mustang Association and GTA Mustang Club gathered at Ontario Place, and 25 classic Mustangs formed a giant "50" for a commemorative aerial shot.

When the Mustang arrived in 1964, it created a new segment: the pony car.

Small, economical and with a modicum of practicality, the Mustang was a new type of muscle car, an attainable one, a sports car for the masses.

Photo: Lesley Wimbush

Of all the competing pony cars that followed in its wake, the Mustang was the only one that continued production -- uninterrupted, until this day. Undeterred by the fuel crises and emissions restrictions of the ‘70s and, later on, company budget cuts the Mustang's popularity with legions of fans enabled it to soldier on through the tough years. Models such as the late ‘60's Shelby, the 1970 Boss Mustang, the Mach I and II and later on, the SVT Cobras all earned iconic status as collector cars.

However, the cars that cemented its place in the annals of automotive history were the humble runabouts. While Ford's then GM, Lee Iacocca would have loved to produce a hot two-seater sports car he was wise enough to realize that the Mustang's success depended on volume sales.

There was absolutely nothing exotic about the Mustang -- in fact, quite the opposite. Assembled by the people, for the people, the original pony travelled the same production line and shared parts with such run-of-the-mill family cars as the Falcon and Galaxy -- but therein lays its appeal.

Photo: Lesley Wimbush

The introduction of the Mustang at the 1964 New York World's Fair coincided with the beginning of the Boomer generation's coming of age. While its unibody structure shared the same underpinnings as the Falcon, the long hood, short deck and grille-mounted pony badge were an instant hit during a time when youth were celebrating a new freedom. And at roughly $2,400 for a 6-cylinder notchback coupe, the Mustang was economically within reach for a lot of people.

Fewer than 560,000 Mustangs were sold that first year to an infatuated public whose enthusiasm showed no signs of waning. However, with such mundane underpinnings, they were far more show than go, and the original pony cars were little more than attractive family runabouts. There were several available engines, the base was an anemic 2.8L straight-6 with only 101 hp, and the most powerful was a "K-code" 4.7L V8 with 271 hp.

Ford enlisted the help of Carroll Shelby -- the Texas racer whose name became synonymous with Ford performance -- to create a Mustang worthy of the racetrack. To comply with homologation rules, Shelby took 100 2+2 fastback coupes and transformed them into the GT 350 -- a modified two-seater with 306 hp (360 hp for racing versions) special suspension, performance brakes, and fiberglass hoods.

Over the next few years, the Mustang grew larger and more powerful in response to new rivals in the segment it had created. With the arrival of the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, and Plymouth's Barracuda, the pony car wars had begun.

Photo: Lesley Wimbush

By 1969, the Mustang became a rather large pony. Design changes included four headlights on the long nose and sheet metal that was scalloped with fake scoops and inlets. The legendary Boss 302, designed to compete in the Trans Am road racing series, was introduced

By the time the second generation rolled out in 1974, it had grown too large to be considered a real pony car and its less than distinctive appearance never really resonated with Mustang lovers. By then, it had fallen victim to the triple-headed sword of tough emissions regulations, the fuel crisis, and higher insurance rates. Power output was dropped to 88 hp for the base six, and topped out with a paltry 150 hp in the V8s.

If the second generation Mustang was a disappointment, the third goes down in history as one of the worst cars ever made. Re-engineered to compete with the arrival of compact, fuel-efficient Japanese cars, the "Mustang II" featured an unremarkable design on top of a Pinto body. For the first time, the Mustang was available with a 4-cylinder engine and no V8. Yet, as mediocre as the Mustang II was, it sold extremely well and its success helped Ford through those tough years.

Photo: Lesley Wimbush

The third generation "Fox" body Mustangs enjoyed 15 years of success, although its square, compact shape in no way resembled the original pony.
By 1994, Ford decided a refresh was in order, and a new body style harkening back to the Mustang's roots was introduced. The fuel crises of the ‘70s long past, it later featured several high-performance versions, including a "Cobra," "Bullitt" and "Mach I."

However, it was the fifth generation -- introduced in 2005 -- that captured the public's hearts with its retro design that so clearly paid homage to the original. Rekindling the pony-car love was the reintroduction of such iconic nameplates as the GT 500 and Boss 302.

With a brand new, sixth-generation model due to arrive this fall, the Mustang celebrates 50 years of uninterrupted success.

Photo: Lesley Wimbush

From press release

The motorsport industry's indispensable companion for the past decade has once again been thoroughly updated ahead of the 2014 season. The ‘Who Works in Motorsports 2014' guide is now available.

Seasoned professionals should know the score by now: 1032 pages crammed full of details on the key movers and shakers working across 15 international racing series. We're talking 3650 individuals, all featuring handy colour mugshots, as well as more than 600 teams, companies and suppliers.

Featured championships: DTM, Eurocup FR2.0, Euro-Racecar NASCAR, Formula One, Formula Renault 3.5, GP2 and GP3 Series, IndyCar, NASCAR Sprint Cup, USCC, V8 Supercars, WEC, WRC, World Rallycross Championship and WTCC.


Ever wished there was one place you could find the emails, phone numbers, postal addresses and social media profiles of teams, drivers, circuits, team principals, engineers, sponsors, marketing and press officers, photographers, journalists, officials and other key personnel? Or even precise car and engine specifications?

In short, Who Works In Motorsports 2014 is the essential encyclopaedic reference tool for those who need to be in the know, now!

Savvy motorsport pros can order this year's 10th anniversary edition from www.whoworksin.com , by emailing info@whoworksin.com or calling +44 (0) 20 7193 0686.

At the recent 2014 edition of Auto China, Volkswagen stepped up to the plate and put forward a very good foot. Given the importance and sheer scale of the 2014 Beijing Auto Show, it made every ounce of good sense for the German giant to show off a little bit of everything.

Every one of the VAG's brands had something on display from Bentley's Mulsanne Hybrid concept to Seat's big-selling Octavia. Porsche displayed spicy versions of their Cayman and Boxster known as the GTS. Reviews on these two hot little numbers will come in the future. We promise.

Volkswagen's New Midsize Coupe
As for the actual Volkswagen brand, they started the show with the introduction of the NMC or New Midsize Coupe. Although (at first) not slated for North America, it would seem that it will be built in Puebla, Mexico, and in China for both our and the Chinese markets.

Photo: Volkswagen

The NMC is based on VW's modular and highly used MQB platform and is expected to slot itself below the CC as a competitor of sorts to the Mercedes CLA-Class.

Physically, the NMC is the prettiest of the compact/midsize 4-door coupes that I've seen. The 20” wheels and colour combo accents the car's superb lines, and I suspect the car will be a hit (albeit a low volume one) when it arrives as a 2016 vehicle. I'd go so far as to suggest to VW to cancel the CC in Canada and concentrate on the NMC.

The next versions of the Volkswagen Touareg and Jetta
Both of these important players on our market receive mild facelifts for the 2015 model year. Nothing more than a refresher, both now have revised head and taillights as well as some new interior and exterior colours.

Photo: Volkswagen

The Touareg TDI also now features a coasting function. The TDI motor decouples from the 8-speed autobox to reduce engine braking thus enabling true coasting while using as little fuel as possible.

The Volkswagen Golf R400
This is newsworthy. This is a car. This is wow. This is me wanting it.

As if the fabulous Golf R weren't enough, Volkswagen teased VW performance car fans the world over with their stunning R400.

Photo: Volkswagen

This super-duper Golf utilizes the Polo WRC's 2.0 TSI engine, which in this instance develops 400 PS or 395 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. All of this mojo is sent to all four wheels via VW's superb 6-speed automated manual DSG gearbox.

This power is sufficient to catapult the R400 to 100 km/hr in as little as 3.9 seconds. Top speed is rated at 278 km/hr.

At the time of unveiling, the R400 was not supposed to be built; however, that has changed in a few short days. The R400 will likely turn into the expected Golf R EVO expected to make an appearance at the upcoming Wörthersee show in Austria at the end of May.

I can't wait to report on that.

Stay tuned for much more from Volkswagen!

Nissan in Europe has begun tests on innovative nano-paint technology that repels mud, rain, and everyday dirt, so drivers may never have to clean their car again.

The specially engineered, super-hydrophobic and oleophobic paint, currently being marketed as Ultra-Ever Dry and sold by UltraTech International Inc., has been applied to the all-new European-spec Nissan Note to create the world's first self-cleaning car. By creating a protective layer of air between the paint and environment, it effectively stops standing water and road spray from creating dirty marks on the car's body.

For demonstration purposes, Nissan engineers applied the revolutionary coating to one half of the Note and conducted tests on wet and muddy surfaces. The result speaks for itself.