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Stirling Moss drove the 1956 Mille Miglia in a heavy rain that came down in sheets; no visibility, no brakes. Spectators lined the streets regardless.

Normally, the

It's been six months since some 500 cars from the gigantic Lambrecht Chevrolet stash found new homes, and many of them are well into their restorations.

PSA outlined plans to cut its model lineup by almost half and to make Citroen's DS unit a separate brand in a bid to restore the automotive division's profit.

VW is determined to keep improving how it launches vehicles and how it uses the massive amount of analytical data it gathers as it strives to reach 10 million vehicle sales this year, Simon Thomas, VW's marketing VP, told Automotive New Europe.

Bosch says it will start producing an automatic parking system -- a step toward autonomous driving -- in 2015 for a customer it did not identify.

A battle is shaping up among Honda, Acura and their dealers for control of Google shoppers. Competition for keywords can drive up Google ad prices. It's a quandary Honda Motor Co. and its Acura brand seem intent on tackling.

At the time, many of the crashes now tied to faulty General Motors ignition switches looked like the predictable consequences of drunken driving, speeding or inattentiveness late at night.

About 150 dealerships that lost Chrysler franchises during the company's 2009 bankruptcy won a round in federal court last week.

If there is any question about whether smart engineering is on its way back at Honda Motor Co., one need look no further than the second-row "magic" seats of the 2015 Honda Fit.

With the redesigned Nissan Murano, which debuts at the New York auto show this week, Nissan Motor Corp. aims to replicate some of the design magic that worked wonders for rival Hyundai Motor Co.

A Shakespeare soliloquy might seem out of place in a car ad, but Jaguar wants to make a key point -- that it is a quintessentially and unapologetically British challenger to BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Nissan's U.S. chief is convinced that a dealer sales incentive program launched nationally on April 1 will make his retailers bigger and richer, and propel Nissan toward its goal of a 10 percent U.S. market share.

Dodge will defy industry convention this week with its "Double-Up" deal on the Charger and Challenger. The one-year lease on the outgoing 2014 editions comes with an incentive to switch to next year's refreshed models.

Hyundai will roll out its 2015 Sonata while Toyota offers an aggressive midcycle freshening of the Camry at the New York auto show this week. And Subaru will pit its redesigned 2015 Outback crossover against the next Nissan Murano.

Toyota Motor Corp. will unleash a blitz of 14 new gasoline engines through 2015 in a long-awaited powertrain overhaul that aims to boost fuel efficiency by at least 10 percent.

From press release

Ron and Loretta Thiering, promoters at Edmonton International Raceway (located in Wetaskiwin) announced the return of the popular NASCAR Canadian Tire Series to the Edmonton area.

On July 11, NASCAR race fans can watch Canada's best stock car drivers such as defending series champion Scott Steckly, two-time champion D.J. Kennington and past Indy 500 pole sitter Alex Tagliani go head-to-head local stars including Noel Dowler and James Van Domselaar in a 300-lap battle for western supremacy.

Multi-time Edmonton International Raceway champion and local product Erica Thiering, from Sherwood Park will be making her Canadian Tire Series debut, as well.

Erica Thiering. (Photo: Edmonton International Raceway)

"We are thrilled to make this announcement today," said Ron Thiering.

"Loretta and I have been long-time supporters of NASCAR through the Whelen All-American Series and Home Tracks program. We started the dialogue with NASCAR about hosting a Canadian Tire Series event over two years ago. Now it's a reality and we can't wait to bring Canada's premier racing series to Alberta's oval track fans."

The popular Super Stocks and Stacker Cars local divisions will share the stage with the Canadian Tire Series on that Friday date which will also include practice and qualifying for the feature series.

The Super Stocks will line up again the next evening and be joined by the Thunder Cars, Mini Cups and Baby Grands.

"In preparation for this new venture, we have invested in improvements around the facility," said Loretta Thiering.

"New pit road walls, concrete corners and a full repaving in May will make the track a treat for competitors while a new scoreboard, additional bleachers and corporate hospitality suites will enhance the entertainment experience for fans and sponsors."

Tickets are on sale now through the track's website, edmontonraceway.com.

Pros
The Toyota Tacoma is a well-built, small truck with a large range of models and equipment available. Dealers have plenty of accessories, as do the aftermarket suppliers, to ensure you can personalize your truck to suit your needs.

Cons
Handling isn't great, and the jump seats in the Access Cab could be improved. Some Tacomas have a poor feel to the brake pedal which does not inspire confidence under hard braking.

Photo: Toyota

2014 Toyota Tacoma Price
MSRP for a basic 4-cylinder, 2WD Access Cab starts at $22,350. For a 4-cylinder, 4WD Access Cab prices start at $27,125. The V6 Access Cab starts at $28,110 and the V6 Double Cab starts at $29,600.

2014 Toyota Tacoma Fuel Economy (city/highway/combined in L/100km)
Manual

• 4-cyl 2WD: 9.9/7.5/8.8
• 4-cyl 4WD: 11.3/9.0/10.3
• Automatic
• 4-cyl 2WD: 10.8/7.8/9.4
• 4-cyl 4WD: 11.6/8.9/10.4
• V6 4WD: 13.1/9.8/11.7

Improvements and Changes
The Toyota Tacoma comes into 2014 unchanged. The last major revision was in 2012. Minor adjustments through trim packages and adjustments to the MSRP are hard to notice.

Exterior styling
The Toyota Tacoma Access Cab is the best looking due to vehicle proportions, moulded wheel wells and the 6' truck box. Double Cab models just don't look as good, although the more you pay the more bling you get. Blacked-out grille and front fascia try to provide a work-oriented look on the Toyota Tacoma. Along the sides the black theme continues along the wheel arches front and rear. Only the flat aluminum alloy wheels provide any relief from the paint.

Interior
The only significant difference between Access Cab and Double Cab is the extra space in the rear seat and extra doors. The jump seats in the Access Cab are suitable for children or willing adults for a short distance. The Double Cab rear seat is a proper rear seat suitable for long-term trips. Trim level and optional equipment significantly shapes the look of the interior. Leather interior, heated seats, and all the electronic hook-ups are available.

Cargo/towing/payload capacity
Maximum towing capacity is 1,587 kg (3,500 lb). Cargo capacity ranges between 475 kg (1,050 lb) and 540 kg (1,200 lb) for the 2014 Toyota Tacoma.

Safety
Dual front, front seat side impact and curtain airbags are standard in the 2014 Toyota Tacoma. All seating positions have three-point lap belts. A STAR safety system includes stability control, traction control, ABS brakes, electronic brake force distribution, brake assist with smart stop technology is standard, as are four-wheel disc brakes. Tire pressure monitoring system and LATCH system for anchoring a child seat is standard. On the Double Cab, child-proof rear door locks are standard.

Comparables
Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon.

Ed Carpenter Racing's Mike Conway won the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach by literally surviving a chaotic race marred by numerous accidents all through the race.

The action started when polesitter Ryan Hunter-Reay showed a bit of impatience while trying to pass Josef Newgarden as he exited the pits with cold tires.

The Andretti Autosport driver tried to sideline Newgarden with an ill-conceived lunge at Turn 4, only to clatter into the Sarah Fisher Hartmann car and bounce off the wall.

His teammate James Hinchcliffe had nowhere to go but into the wreckage, triggering a chain reaction that also accounted for Jack Hawksworth, Tony Kanaan and Takuma Sato.



Many drivers were able to get through the traffic jam but Helio Castroneves, who at first was able to avoid the accident, was clipped by Hunter-Reay's car as it bounced across the track.

Other drivers would have their share of problems as Simon Pagenaud was hit by Will Power mid-race and Sebastien Bourdais did the same on his own by making two trips into the wall that put him out of contention.

Scott Dixon took the lead in the latter stage of the event but was running low on fuel and had to make a 'splash & go' in the pits but not before putting Justin Wilson, who was running second, into the wall when the pair accidentally made contact on a late restart.

Conway took over the lead and kept Will Power at bay for the final two laps to secure the win.

Rookie Carlos Munoz claimed third ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud.

Race results - 80 laps:

Pos Driver Team/Engine Time/Gap
1. Mike Conway Carpenter/Chevy 1h54m41.6418s
2. Will Power Penske/Chevy +0.9005s
3. Carlos Munoz Andretti/Honda +1.5591s
4. Juan Pablo Montoya Penske/Chevy +2.0226s
5. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt/Honda +2.8169s
6. Mikhail Aleshin Schmidt/Honda +3.8574s
7. Oriol Servia Rahal/Honda +4.9621s
8. Marco Andretti Andretti/Honda +8.1948s
9. Sebastian Saavedra KV/Chevy +8.9029s
10. Carlos Huertas Coyne/Honda +24.2295s
11. Helio Castroneves Penske/Chevy +30.0552s
12. Scott Dixon Ganassi/Chevy +30.7310s
13. Graham Rahal Rahal/Honda +1 lap
14. Sebastien Bourdais KV/Chevy +3 laps
15. Jack Hawksworth Herta/Honda +3 laps

Retirements:
Justin Wilson Coyne/Honda 64 laps
Ryan Briscoe Ganassi/Chevy 60 laps
Tony Kanaan Ganassi/Chevy 55 laps
Josef Newgarden Fisher/Honda 55 laps
Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti/Honda 55 laps
James Hinchcliffe Andretti/Honda 55 laps
Takuma Sato Foyt/Honda 55 laps
Charlie Kimball Ganassi/Chevy 41 laps

Pros: Hyundai starts its vehicle range with a well positioned, value packed subcompact sedan still offering a manual transmission and the choice of foregoing air conditioning. And while Hyundai may not be able to claim many “best in class” attributes for the Accent, it's still a tempting purchase thanks to careful packaging, such as heated seats standard on mid-trim models.

Cons: Your choice of transmissions immediately disappears once leaving the base L trim, as all upper trims include six-speed automatics as standard equipment. Also, to the determent of the Accent, Kia essentially sells the same car across the street in an arguably better looking wrapper.

Photo: Hyundai

2014 Hyundai Accent Sedan Pricing: Pricing for the Accent Sedan (4-door) $13,499 for the base model L trim and manual transmission. GL models jump to $17,199 and add a six-speed automatic transmission, air conditioning, cruise control, front heated seats, Bluetooth, steering wheel audio controls, telescopic steering wheel, and 60/40 split-folding rear seats. GLS models receive leather wrapped steering wheel, power sunroof, 16-inch alloy wheels, automatic climate control, and fog lamps starting at $18,699.

2014 Hyundai Accent Sedan Economy: While only available with a single motor - a 1.6L direct injection four-cylinder - both six-speed manual and automatic transmissions are offered. On the EnerGuide cycle, manual transmission models are rated at 7.5/5.3/6.5L (city/highway/combined) per 100 km. Automatic transmission models rate almost exactly the same at 7.6/5.2/6.5L (city/highway/combined) during the same testing.

Improvements and Changes: For 2014, Hyundai's subcompact gets some additional equipment. All trims now get an included sliding sun visor. A voice activated audio system with Bluetooth trickles down from the GLS trim and is now available on GL models. Those looking for telescopic steering can now find the feature on both GL and GLS models.

Don't Miss: Adding air conditioning to the base L model tacks on an additional $2,005.95. Unless you really want a manual transmission, just opt for the GL, and enjoy all the additional goodies for not much more cash.

2014 Hyundai Accent Sedan Powertrain: Only one engine is offered, however it is fairly modern and features direct injection. The 1.6-litre four-cylinder mill produces a class-leading 138 hp at 6,300 RPM while coaxing up 123 lb-ft of torque at 4,850 RPM. It's slightly thirstier than some of its subcompact competitors, but the increased power more than makes up for it. Also, the Accent is the only car in its class to offer six-speed transmissions in both manual and automatic flavours.

Safety: The Accent Sedan comes standard with six airbags (front, front seat-mounted side, and side curtain) available on all trims. Vehicle Stability Management, Electronic Stability Control, and Traction Control System will do there best to keep you between the ditches, as will the standard four-wheel disc brakes and ABS. However, should you find yourself on the other side of a guard rail, front active head restraints work in conjunction with the six standard airbags.

Comparables: The Accent sedan competes with its crosstown rival, Kia Rio sedan, as well as four-door versions of the Chevrolet Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Nissan Versa.