Auto News 5

The need for larger vehicles in North America is still very much alive. Be it for carrying people, gear or a combination of the two, few cars can replace what a crossover can do for the family. The minivan remains the best “do-anything” tool on four wheels, but we all know how uncool they are.

The Toyota Highlander landed in dealerships in 2001 and has known a fair amount of success from the onset. The promise of versatility, Toyota reliability, and a handsome design were all strong elements in its favour.

2014 marks the arrival of the 3rd generation of the Highlander. Revamped in its near entirety, the new evolved Highlander brings more ‘tude to the table, a sharper cleaner cabin and a surprisingly good driving experience.


What is a Toyota Highlander Hybrid?
The 2014 Highlander is Toyota's other midsize CUV, along with the 4Runner. The Highlander is meant to be the more urban option, while the 4Runner offers true off-road potential.

The Highlander was Toyota's first CUV to be equipped with an optional 3rd row of seating, not to be mistaken with the Sequoia, which is nothing short of a massive SUV. The arrival of the hybrid version in 2006 demonstrates Toyota's commitment to this green and efficient technology.

2014 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Price and Specs
The basic 2014 Highlander Hybrid LE brings with it a laundry list of features for $43,720. On top of AWD, the LE includes three-zone automatic climate control, a smart key, 18” wheels, and more. The XLE drops in at $46,145 and adds navigation, 19” wheels, and more.

My tester was a top-line Limited, which starts at $52,695, includes a slew of active safety measures such as a pre-collision system and intelligent cruise control, heated rear seats, and JBL audio among many other accessories.

All Highlander Hybrids are powered by the same 3.5L V6 mated to Toyota's highly evolved Hybrid Synergy drive system. An electronically controlled CVT box manages the power to the front wheels. The rear wheels are motivated by an electric motor that is itself controlled by an on-board computer when added rear wheel traction is required.

The hybrid's total output is rated at 280 horsepower and can tow up to 1,587kg (3,500lb). Current fuel consumption numbers are 7.2L (highway) and 6.7L (city) per 100km.

Driving the 2014 Toyota Highlander hybrid
A funny thing happened where I booked a Highlander Hybrid, but ended up with a regular gas-powered Highlander Limited. This is a testament to how smooth Toyota's highly utilised 3.5L V6 engine is. In the regular Highlander, its 270 horsepower are so effortlessly and quietly delivered that it took two short drives and an overnight to realize that I was not in possession of my Hybrid but of a regular Highlander... I had noticed that the EV mode was absent, but then I thought I was simply being too hard on the throttle, which wouldn't be the first time.

Once I finally got my scheduled 2014 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the change in the drive was obvious. Toyota's 2-mode Hybrid Synergy Drive system allowed me to travel a short distance on electric power alone, at least until I put my right foot down a little deeper. Activating EV Mode will allow for more electric action, however, acceleration must remain mild.

The CVT transmission does a fine job at being inconspicuous. It blends in well with the electric and gasoline engines. Despite a Sport/Manual mode, it prefers to take things easy. The whole purpose of the 2014 Toyota Highlander Hybrid is to get things done comfortably and as “greenly” as possible.

The Highlander's ride is cozy and controlled enough for daily highway jaunts and broken city-street cruising. Brakes, with regenerative function, work well and are not especially disruptive. A fine driver, the Highlander Hybrid is.

Inside and Out of the 2014 Toyota Highlander hybrid
I've touched on the added ‘tude now applied to the face-lifted 2014 Highlander and must say that it works. The front end is now more truck-like and thus, by default, a little more masculine.

As tested, in Limited trim, the Highlander wins out with larger wheels, a little more chrome and, all in all, it works.

The 2014 Highlander Hybrid's reason for being is hauling people and their stuff around. Toyota's put in an enormous effort on this front. The fold-down cup-holder shelf in the second row is interesting and the enormous centre-console bin is ideal (a slight pain to open though...), but the real thoughtful part is the parcel shelf that runs from the middle of the dashboard to the end on the passenger side. It is perfectly divided and even features a wire pass-thru for recharging phones.

The vast level of amenities is another selling point and they include the available active safety systems. The 3rd is accessible and well thought out, the second row perches are decent for adults, comfy for children, and the front seats are sufficiently supportive for long hauls. The trunk, with the 3rd stowed is positively capacious, not so much when that row is up.

Comparing the 2014 Toyota Highlander hybrid
Toyota's 2014 Highlander Hybrid marches solely with the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, as far as three-row hybrids go. The Chevrolet Traverse, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe XL, and Ford Explorer are other direct competitors.

The choice to make here is not that simple. All of these have highs and lows, but the regular Highlander may the better overall product.

From GMM

Giedo Van der Garde has played down rumours linking him with a race seat at Sauber.

The 29-year-old Dutchman is currently the Swiss team's reserve driver, having lost his Caterham race seat at the end of last year.

He will drive the C33 at Hockenheim on Friday morning.

Giedo Van der Garde, Sauber C33-Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

But there have been paddock rumours in recent weeks about struggling Sauber's existing 2014 race lineup, comprising Adrian Sutil alongside Mexican Esteban Gutierrez.

Reports have said van der Garde's sponsors, including the fashion label McGregor, are offering "many millions" to Sauber if he is promoted to the race seat.

De Telegraaf newspaper quotes van der Garde as saying: "I'm just focusing entirely on the first free practice on Friday."

Van der Garde, who is married to billionaire backer Marcel Boekhoorn's daughter Denise, added that he is also ready should "the team have other things for me to do".

From press release

28 competitors from all over North America will take part in one of Toronto's favourite summer events on the grounds of Exhibition Place, rounds 5 and 6 in the Super Series and rounds 7 and 8 in the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship.

To date, Eureka MO's Tristan DeGrand has had it all his way in both the Quebec based Formula Tour, where he has won 5 of 6 events and on the Toyo Tires circuit where he is unbeaten in 6 races.

DeGrand has been challenged at times. In the first two rounds of the Super Series Chase Pelletier and Zacharie Robichon both showed good speed but DeGrand seemed to have the measure of everyone by the halfway point of the race. In the Montreal rounds of the Super Series he waged an epic battle with Olivier Bedard, the young Quebecer, but his car faded late in the race with a wheel bearing issue.

Tristan DeGrand leading the pack. (Photo: Formula 1600)

DeGrand is joined by his Exclusive Autosport teammates Max Hanratty, Jayson Clunie and Jeffrey Kingsley. Hanratty has been collecting podium finishes all season and looks ready to take the next step. Clunie is fresh off a pair of Masters class podium finishes on Quebec and Kingsley, although a rookie and just 16 years old sits 3rd in the points and gets faster with each week.

In a surprise, last minute decision the Toyo Series reigning Champion, Jack Mitchell, Jr., makes his return to competition north of the border. Mitchell has been concentrating on the F1600 Championship in the US but could not resist the challenge of trying to unseat his young countryman in front of a large and enthusiastic Indycar crowd.

Chase Pelletier, 2nd in points, is coming to grips with his new Britain West run Mygale and was bullet fast in his last outing. He has been very aggressive this season and should be a factor. He is joined by teammates Yves Beaudoin, Formula Tour Series owner Marcel Lafontaine and Brian Fowler.

Olivier Bedard, usually in a Spectrum when racing in Quebec, couldn't resist the chance to race in front of the Indycar fans and has done a deal to race one of the Britain West Van Diemen Hondas for this event.

Brian Graham Racing / Team Grote have brought the ever improving Bruno Chapinotti to this race with renewed confidence after a solid podium finish in his last Toyo Series race.

Zacharie Robichon, also with BGR Team Grote, returns to the series but not in his recognizable orange Piper. This time out the speedy youngster, who just missed out on winning the championship last year, will be behind the wheel of a Van Diemen Honda. Veteran owner Brian Graham has a lot or experience winning races and championships with the trusty Van Diemen so Zach will most certainly be in the hunt from the drop of the green flag.

Craig Willis has had some great runs and podium finishes this season so great things are expected of him, along with Caitlin Johnston who has surprised no one with her pace this year. She had a pole position in the last event.

The AVR Motorsport duo of Reid Arnold and Andre du Preez, Jr., have been impressive in their rookie seasons so it will be interesting to see how they adapt to the fast street circuit.

Two drivers to keep an eye on will be Sam Chastain and Brandon Newey, two ultra fast young Americans with IndyCar heritage in their blood and leading their team. This pair, along with Canadian Steve Bamford will be the wild cards this weekend. They are no stranger to victory lane in the U.S. but will have to adapt to the Toyo tire that is run here in Canada.

The B Class will also be a hotly contested affair. Connor Wagland has a comfortable lead in the Toyo Series B points but Steve Bodrug will be making his first start of the season. He and Wagland had some monumental battles last season. They will be joined by the consistent Amy Castell, Mike Lee and David Graham who gets faster every time out after a long hiatus from the sport.

Things get rolling early Friday with a practice and then late in the day the competitors will qualify. Saturday will be race 1, with the final race of the weekend immediately following the Indycar event.

From press release

The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team is delighted to announce that it signed a multi-year contract extension with Nico Rosberg on 14 July 2014.

Nico joined the team when the Silver Arrows returned to the sport in 2010 and is currently in his fifth season with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS.

Since then Nico has taken six victories, 17 podium finishes and eight pole positions with the Silver Arrows since 2010. He currently leads the Formula One Drivers' World Championship by four points.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2)

Nico Rosberg: "I am very proud to drive the Formula One Silver Arrow of the modern era. As a German, the heritage of Mercedes-Benz is very special for me, and I am proud to be able to represent the best car brand around the world. It has been a difficult road to get to where we are now. We have an awesome team and I am confident that we have the right people in place at every level. I'm looking forward to the next years together, when we will keep pushing to win even more races - and, hopefully, championships."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Nico has been part of the Silver Arrows project since day one and he has a big stake in the development of the team since 2010. With his performances in 2014, Nico has demonstrated to the outside world what we knew already in the team: that he is one of the very top drivers in Formula One. This new contract brings us important stability and continuity for the future and I am delighted to be able to make the announcement in time for the home race of Mercedes-Benz and Nico in Hockenheim."

From GMM

The "phones have been running hot" ahead of the German grand prix, according to Hockenheim boss Georg Seiler.

That is because, before Germany's shocking 7-1 victory over Brazil in the recent world cup semi-final, the circuit was offering a bigger ticket discount every time the national team scored a goal.

"You can't even imagine it, but I was pleased with every goal anyway," Georg Seiler smiled.

"It's nice when we can do something good for the formula one fans," he told SID news agency.

Seiler said he is expecting a crowd of about 55,000 on Sunday.

It is F1's first visit to the Hockenheim since 2012, as per the alternating scheme with the Nurburgring.

But it might be one of the last at Hockenheim, after Bernie Ecclestone revealed he has been negotiating exclusively with the Nurburgring regarding 2015 and beyond.

Start of the 2012 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. (Photo: WRi2)

An earlier-furious Seiler says he now has "nothing new" to report about that, except to reveal that he will have "confidential discussions" with the F1 supremo this weekend.

For some, however, Hockenheim would be no great loss to F1, as the once unique and terrifyingly fast layout was made much more conventional with an upgrade more than a decade ago.

"It seems like a different level of craziness compared with today," said grand prix veteran Jenson Button, "but it was a lot of fun. The re-designed circuit could never be as mighty as the old Hockenheim, but it's a fun little track, and it's been purposely designed to encourage racing."

The man tasked with modernising Hockenheim was the well-known F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke, who originally wanted to "keep as much as possible" of the old track's unique charm.

"At that time the restrictions and possibilities the site offered were not clear however and the idea eventually proved unfeasible," he told F1's official website.

From GMM

Boss Toto Wolff has played down a spat between Mercedes' race drivers over championship leader Nico Rosberg's nationality.

Recently at Silverstone, Briton Lewis Hamilton thrilled his fans with a popular home victory, closing the championship gap to just 4 points due to teammate Rosberg's gearbox breakdown.

Contemplating the next race at Hockenheim, Hamilton said the German grand prix is "not really his home race", as Rosberg's father is Finnish and he has spent most of his life living in Monaco.

Rosberg, who has since been posting Germany-themed photos on Twitter and Facebook to mark the world cup and will wear a special helmet this weekend, hit back that he considers himself "100 per cent German".

Nico Rosberg's helmet, special World Cup. (Photo: Nico Rosberg/Facebook)

Mercedes boss Wolff, however, said the saga triggered by Hamilton's comments has been overblown.

"It was meant as a joke," he said during an interview with the German news agency DPA.

"It (Hamilton's comments) was not reproduced in the way that he intended it. But they are fighting each other for the world championship, so there are bound to be situations that are less spectacular in reality than they are presented to the public," Toto Wolff added.

Asked if he was surprised by the reaction to Hamilton's comments, the German answered: "Formula one has an incredibly high media presence, and so if something sounds controversial then this effect is only multiplied.

"Then there can be a momentum that is impossible to stop. For us, the important that was to discuss this internally in a very timely and transparent way. In this case it was resolved quickly," said Wolff.

Until Silverstone, German Rosberg appeared to have regained the upper hand in the title scrap, apparently with a clear emotional and psychological edge over Hamilton.

But Hamilton's British grand prix win has now closed the gap to within four points.

"It's almost a fresh start heading into the second half of the season and it's going to be a really close battle between us," the British driver said on Tuesday.

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

Toto Wolff also denied that Nico Rosberg still has the psychological edge.

"Both of them are incredibly strong mentally," he insisted.

"Every time we talk about one of them having momentum on his side, it flips around to the other one again. So it's difficult to see any pattern," Wolff explained.

Automakers intending to bring driverless cars to market need to work as much on software design as mechanical engineering, the researcher leading Nissan's automated-vehicle program says.

Automakers intending to bring driverless cars to market need to work as much on software design as mechanical engineering, the researcher leading Nissan's automated-vehicle program says.

GM's top lawyer said his staff made mistakes in handling an ignition-switch defect and delayed recall that spurred U.S. government investigations.

Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally has joined the board of directors of Google as the technology giant develops a self-driving car and tries to get its software into more automobiles.

Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally has joined the board of directors of Google as the technology giant ramps up development of autonomous light vehicles.

Warren Buffett, who has made himself and others enormously wealthy by investing in some of America's biggest brands, says he's not about to go with Japanese wheels, no matter how practical.

Eight dealerships in New Jersey owned by Carmelo and Ignazio Giuffre have reached a $1.8 million settlement with the state's Division of Consumer Affairs.

While it might operate under the same umbrella organisation - Hyundai America Technical Centre Inc (HACTI) - as the California proving ground, Kia's Design Center America (KDCA), adjacent to the brand's national sales company in Irvine, California, has been happily divorced from its parent company's design facility since 2008 and operates completely independently.

While it might operate under the same umbrella organisation - Hyundai America Technical Centre Inc (HACTI) as the California proving ground, Kia's Design Center America (KDCA), adjacent to the brand's national sales company in Irvine, California, has been happily divorced from its parent company's design facility since 2008 and operates completely independently.

News 15 Jul, 2014

Consultation currently open to make decision on banning smoking in cars with children present

News 15 Jul, 2014

First images of the Cadillac ATS-V, designed to tackle BMW’s M3

Pictures See all 6 pictures 15 Jul, 2014

President Barack Obama highlighted government-backed research on technology being developed by companies including Ford and Toyota to allow cars to communicate with each other.

Volkswagen AG plans to cut costs and boost productivity at the VW brand by $6.8 billion a year by 2017 to lift sagging profitability.