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A joyride and police chase in Syracuse, Utah, on May 31 ended with a jacked-up Ram pickup literally running over the fleeing

Awards 3 Jun, 2014

Vote for your favourite car company advertising campaign in our poll. The winner will be crowned Auto Express Ad Campaign of the Year 2014

German supplier Osram has opened a plant in Wuxi, eastern China, to package LEDs in housings for automotive customers.

The French car market was flat in May (+0.1%) according to data released by the CCFA.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche's decision to expand Mercedes's compact lineup into a five-model range is capturing new customers for the brand -- and at minimal risk of diluting its premium positioning.

The UAW union will 'start anew' at VW Group's Chattanooga assembly plant in the U.S. to represent workers there, Frank Patta, the chief labor representative to VW's works councils worldwide said.

Google's promo for its self-driving car prototype that made headlines last week was a hit.

Automotive News Europe salutes the winners of the 2014 Rising Stars awards. Every day through today two of the 14 winners will be featured. The Rising Star for Sales OEM is Lars Himmer of VW Group.

Automotive News Europe honors the winners of the 2014 Rising Stars awards. Every day through today a pair of the 14 winners will be featured. The Rising Star for Sales non-OEM is Robert Schnell of Faurecia.

Pros: The all-new 2014 Bentley Flying Spur V8 (despite dropping “Continental” from its name, the platform is the same) presents a muscular, yet elegant, exterior design. Inside, Bentley's famous craftsmanship is evident throughout, while touchscreen access to the latest in-car technology is provided for both driver and passengers. You can also expect ultra-high levels of luxury, comfort, and power. Likewise, consider the Flying Spur V8 if you're looking for good fuel economy from a Bentley.

Cons: While technically the most affordable 4-door Bentley in the lineup, this car's still expensive, even by luxury standards. Its sheer size also requires care and patience when driving in tight spots.

Photo: Bentley

2014 Bentley Flying Spur V8 Price: Contact your local dealer for detailed pricing.

2014 Bentley Flying Spur V8 Fuel Economy: The official ratings for the Flying Spur V8 have yet to be announced, but they should be similar to those of the Continental GT V8 coupe, which burns 13.7L/100km in the city and 8.3L/100km on the highway. Credit goes to fuel-saving features like cylinder deactivation, intelligent thermal management, and electrical recuperation.

Improvements and Changes: Complementing the flagship, W12-powered Flying Spur, the new V8 sedan provides the opportunity to experience the Flying Spur's unique blend of sculpted, sleek coachwork, exquisite craftsmanship, and advanced on-board technology. It will draw new customers to Bentley, looking to upgrade from a premium sedan.

Subtle styling differentiates the Flying Spur V8 from its W12 sibling. Figure of eight chromed exhaust finishers evoke the alternative powertrain, while the famous Bentley winged badge receives the usual red centre to denote the V8 engine.

2014 Bentley Flying Spur V8 Powertrain: The 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8 engine under the hood produces 500 of power and 487 lb-ft of torque. Coupled with Bentley's renowned all-wheel drive system and a smooth, quick-shifting, 8-speed automatic transmission, it delivers exhilarating performance (0-100 km/h in 5.2 seconds; top speed of 295 km/h). Said all-wheel drive system employs an advanced Torsen differential and a 40/60 rear-biased torque split.

Don't miss: Buyers who want a little more luxury can opt for the Mulliner Driving Specification which adds, among other bespoke features, diamond-quilted leather, an indented leather headliner, power rear seats, and 20” wheels.

Safety: The 2014 Bentley Flying Spur V8 comes standard with a full suite of airbags and electronic nannies including front, side, and curtain airbags, as well as anti-lock brakes, traction and stability control.

Comparing the 2014 Bentley Flying Spur V8: Rivals include the Aston Martin Rapide S, Audi RS7 and A8 4.0T, BMW M6 Gran Coupe and 750Li xDrive, Jaguar XJR, Lexus LS 600h L, Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG and S 63 AMG, as well as the Porsche Panamera Turbo.

Adapted from GMM

There is a lot of discontent within the Formula 1 paddock in 2014.

One of the main problems has to do with the Pirelli tires, and not even ultra-dominant Mercedes AMG drivers are unhappy with the situation.

"Nico (Rosberg) and Lewis (Hamilton) are probably a bit happier (than the rest) as they have a better package, but even if you speak to them privately they say the driving experience is not as pure as it was," said David Coulthard.

In Barcelona, the 2014 F1 car was on average more than 4 seconds slower than in 2013. The main blame there fell on new rules that have curbed downforce.

On tight and twisty Monaco, however, the cars were also much slower than before, but the problem in the Principality was undoubtedly the tires.

A look at Sauber's numbers is dramatic. At Ste. Devote, cornering fell from 96 km/h in 2013 to just 90 km/h last weekend, while at the spectacular swimming pool, the cars shed 8 km/h in just a single season.

Elsewhere, it was even worse: the fast Casino curve dropped by a massive 15 km/h, while at Bureau de Tabac, F1 cars that had cornered at 149 km/h in 2013 were now doing just 135 km/h in 2014.

Pirelli engineer checking tires. (Photo: WRi2)

Pirelli has taken a much more conservative approach to 2014, following heavy criticism of its formerly 'aggressive' tires of the past, including the calamitous 2013 season.

The situation has been made even worse by a lack of track testing, with Pirelli moving to ensure its formerly delicate tires can cope with the extremely high torque of the turbo V6s.

But the result is an arguably much-too-hard tire.

"We could easily be using the compounds that we had in the second half of last season," Felipe Massa is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Correspondent Michael Schmidt, however, said Pirelli is not ruling out making some mid-season corrections to its current design.

"With only four compounds for all 19 circuits, we had to compromise," the Italian supplier's F1 boss Paul Hembery said. "We would have liked more options."

Schmidt reported: "Hembery is not ruling out changes within this season."

From WEC

Aside from it being the biggest and most famous sportscar race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is for the third consecutive season the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

As the longest race of the year, it carries a double allocation of points compared to the seven other rounds on the calendar, and success here can have a significant effect on a team or driver's world championship title hopes.

In LMP1, Toyota and its No. 7 driver line up of Davidson-Buemi-Lapierre are currently at the head of the World Endurance Championship classifications, with Rebellion Racing being uncontested in the bid for another FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Privateer Teams.

G-Drive Racing, having won at both the 6 Hours of Silverstone and WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, lead the LMP2 standings with Rusinov-Pla-Canal all hoping that the 24 Hours will deliver as positive a result for them.

While the above-mentioned teams and drivers have a clear lead in their respective categories, the classifications for the LMGTE classes are a lot tighter.

Just one point separates Ferrari and challenger Porsche in the LMGTE Manufacturers' World Cup, and AF Corse's Bruni-Vilander pairing have a 3 point lead over Bergmeister-Pilet of Porsche Team Manthey in the GT Drivers' Championship. Drivers from Aston Martin, Porsche and Ferrari follow in close succession, and there's all to play for at Le Mans.

In LMGTE Am, Aston Martin Racing's Heinemeier Hansson-Poulsen duo hold a 9 point lead over AF Corse's Luis Perez-Companc-Cioci-Venturi but the challenges from Danes' Aston Martin Racing team mates is fierce.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is notoriously challenging for both men and machines, but the rewards are high... not least in points towards a world championship title!

Before flying to Montreal, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso spent a few days in the factory at Maranello, helping the team prepare for the race. At the same time, his teammate Kimi Raikkonen was involved in sponsor work in Scandinavia.

“After Monaco I felt a good atmosphere in the factory,” said Alonso on Ferrari.com.

“Everyone is very motivated and hungry for good results. We are realistic and well aware of where we are at the moment, but from now on, we want to be in a position to get better results and enjoy our race weekends a bit more and everyone is working in one direction to improve the car”.

Most of the work was devoted to suit the Ferrari F14 T to the circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

“We have been improving the car on the aero side, while in the simulator, we have done a lot of work on the set-up with the aim of arriving in Canada with a better car,” revealed Alonso.

“It has only six or seven corners, but each one has something special. They have an element of danger and getting them right brings you a lot of lap time. There is definitely no room for error, as all the walls are very, very close. You can feel the city of Montreal has a lot of passion for the race and everyone gets involved in some way,” Alonso explained.

An Israeli company named Phinergy has teamed up with Alcoa to unveil a new electric car powered by an aluminum-air battery. Its estimated range is a whopping 1,600 kilometres.

Fifty aluminum plates react with water and air within the battery to extract energy from the aluminum itself. A single plate produces enough energy to power the vehicle over a distance of 32 kilometres.

Phinergy claims this technology delivers significantly higher performance than current EV systems at roughly the same cost. CEO Aviv Tzidon believes it will solve the problem of range anxiety which has limited EV sales so far.

Source : ici.radio-canada.ca

From GMM

F1's cost-saving efforts will shift into a higher gear in the month of May.

Ever since the powerful 'Strategy Group' teams nixed plans for a mandatory budget cap, the tension with the angry and disenfranchised small teams has been palpable.

FIA president Jean Todt wants to lock in some cost-saving regulations for 2015, but the final deadline is the end of June.

A few days before that, in just three weeks from now, the World Motor Sport Council would have to rubber-stamp any proposals.

So far, little progress has been made.

"I would think so far we've probably saved about 10,000 euros, but we're going in the right direction," said Christian Horner, boss of the big-spending reigning world champions Red Bull.

For the big teams in particular, the risk of failing to appease their struggling rivals by the June deadline is that the FIA will then be free to introduce whatever rules it likes in 2016.

Curiously, Horner suggested that is exactly what should happen.

"I think the promoter and the regulator need to get together and say 'This is what formula one is going to be', and then the teams have the choice of whether they enter the championship or not," he said.

F1 trucks. (Photo: WRi2)

But Monisha Kaltenborn, boss of the two-decades-old team Sauber that last year almost collapsed, hints that many in the second half of the grid cannot wait that long.

"It's not about us wanting to be equal, and not even an attempt to improve our competitive position," she insisted to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. "It's about not letting formula one drift into an untenable financial dimension, so that the smaller teams are constantly wondering if they are still racing from one month to the next."

Monisha Kaltenborn is a staunch supporter of a budget cap, even if it begins with a high ceiling of EUR 200 million next year, and is then steadily tightened.

"Formula one has this image of a money-consuming machine," she said. "It puts sponsors off and in 2009 it drove the car manufacturers away -- because losing was too expensive. If a prestigious team like McLaren is still looking for a main sponsor, there must be something wrong."

TomTom has just published its 2013 Traffic Index, and Vancouver tops the list of the most congested cities in Canada with an annual delay of 87 hours for the same 30-minute commute.

What's more, traffic shortcuts drivers take to avoid congestion are actually ''long cuts,'' adding 50% more travel time to journeys.

Around the world, commuters are spending an average of eight working days a year stuck in traffic, TomTom says.

"Traffic congestion is nothing new, and continues to be a global challenge. The traditional responses to congestion, such as building new roads or widening existing ones are no longer proving to be effective. Real time traffic information can help drivers find the quickest shortcut on their journey, and assist governments to make smarter decisions to improve traffic flow for their cities," said Harold Goddijn, CEO of TomTom.

Here are the seven most congested cities in Canada based on the 2013 TomTom Traffic Index:

1. Vancouver
2. Toronto
3. Ottawa
4. Montreal
5. Calgary
6. Quebec City
7. Edmonton

Source : TomTom