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News 11 Jul, 2014

We explore the UK's top performance car contenders in the countdown to the Auto Express New Car Awards on July 15th

News 11 Jul, 2014

We explore the UK's top executive car contenders in the countdown to the Auto Express New Car Awards on July 15th

Sales of new cars in Russia plunged by the most in more than four years in June as a weaker ruble curbed demand. Automakers sold 199,398 vehicles last month, down 17 percent from a year earlier.

Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover says it has developed - with the help of the latest artificial intelligence technologies - a "self-learning vehicle" that can offer a "completely personalised driving experience".

Four projects by Germany, Spain and Hungary are being examined by the European Commission concerning the compatibility with EU state aid rules for Volkswagen, BMW and Ford.

Nissan has priced its Pulsar compact hatchback to undercut equivalent versions of the Ford Focus and VW Golf, the segment's top-selling models.

Callaway's formula for making the C7 Corvette even more potent should be familiar to anyone who's followed the cars coming out of this tuner. For the Corvette, Callaway has added a 2.

Bugatti may build a hybrid successor to its 1,200-hp Veyron, sources said. The new model will beat the top speed of Bugatti's Veyron Super Sport, the sources added.

Bugatti may build a hybrid successor to its 1,200-hp Veyron, sources said. The new model will beat the top speed of Bugatti's Veyron Super Sport, the sources added.

News 10 Jul, 2014

All-new Ingenium engines to go in Jaguar XE first and join Disco Sport range in late 2015

Sales in the once-strong volume mid-sized sector are forecast to fall to less than 500,000 in western Europe this year, down from more than 800,000 in 2011, as pressure from premium alternatives mounts.

Sales in the once-strong volume mid-sized sector are forecast to fall to less than 500,000 in western Europe this year, down from more than 800,000 in 2011, as pressure from premium alternatives mounts.

FIAT's North American branch is premiering a new web series titled “Neighbors” in conjunction with the comedy video website Funny Or Die. Starring the 2014 Fiat 500L, the five webisodes can be viewed at www.funnyordie.com/fiat.

The action starts when a hip Italian couple in their thirties move into a house in the suburbs next to a middle-age American couple. The series follows the four characters through a number of adventures (or misadventures).

"The FIAT brand's playful personality and Italian heritage give us license to find new ways to tell our brand story. Partnering with Funny Or Die, which has a huge built-in fan base and social media following, has proven to be a winning formula for us,” said Olivier Francois, Chief Marketing Officer - Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat Group Automobiles Head of Fiat Brand. “The reaction to our ‘Backseat Italians' video proved the power of great content and a passionate fan base that Funny Or Die brings to the partnership. Since the launch of this latest series of videos, we've seen an uptick in web traffic, and this deeper engagement with our brand ultimately leads to FIAT Studio visits.”

FIAT is also sponsoring “Funny Or Die Soccer Week,” a special weeklong programming event featuring soccer-themed videos and articles.

From press release

Albatec Racing returns to full strength in round six of the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy in Belgium this weekend (12&13 July), when both two-litre, 16v Albatec Peugeot 208s are back in action.

Following a heavy test crash in Sweden by former F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve last month, Team Principal Andy Scott gave up his own car for the French-Canadian to drive in the three Scandinavian rounds. Now though, the Dumfries businessman will be reunited with the #26 MacDuff-backed motor as he bids to return to semi final form and challenge for his first outright World RX win.

Now restored to a two-car attack as the season approaches the midway point, hopes are high of a return to form for the team that showed semi final pace in the opening two rounds for former British Rallycross Vice-Champion Andy, and for lady luck to shine on Jacques who has consistently proved his speed behind the wheel of the 600bhp French powerhouse.

Jacques Villeneuve. (Photo: Albatec Racing)

The new Circuit Jules Tacheny track should suit the Peugeot and Jacques well, being largely road-based. In the last three rounds he showed outstanding pace, posting the fastest single lap time in heat one, and the second in heat two in Norway. In Finland the 1995 Indycar World Series Champion looked set for a semi-final slot, only to have a puncture end his progress, while last time out in Sweden, even a heat win and a rapid pace on day two was not enough to secure a semi final place, as crash damage sustained on Saturday ruled him out.

Being new to the championship also means the track is unknown territory for everyone, offering a level playing field across the huge 37-strong Supercar field. The Mettet track located near Charleroi was originally built for motorcycle racing in 1927, and since then has hosted two and four wheeled events. While new to the Rallycross schedule, the organisers have spent considerable time and money on preparing the track to FIA standards, and indications are that the weekend will offer up another superb action-packed event.

Andy Scott, Team Principal and Driver, Albatec Racing #26: "The damage sustained to Jacques car in Sweden was extensive, but it's now been completely rebuilt and ready for race action, and we're pleased to have both cars back out in Belgium. Over the last three races we've suffered with only running one car, having two naturally doubles the chances of progressing to the semi finals, as well as providing double the opportunities to further develop the car.

"I believe Jacques has the potential to shine in the second half of the year, he's already shown his speed, we just need to harness that and convert it into consistent results across the heats. The upcoming tracks should suit his driving style, while the new Mettet track offers a level playing field across the board for everyone. Personally I can't wait to get back in the driving seat too, it's been incredibly tough being at the track and not racing."

Jacques Villeneuve, Driver, Albatec Racing #25: "I'm looking forward to Belgium and the subsequent races, which are held on road courses transformed into rallycross circuits which should suit my driving style better, and where one bad race doesn't have such an effect on the overall results. We need to find a little bit more speed, but I'm confident we can do so as I think we have a good base from which to progress."

The recently unveiled Mercedes-Benz “Future Truck 2025” prototype is fully autonomous, making it the first driverless truck in the world, the company says.

In the following video, you'll see the truck negotiating highway traffic. There's a man in the driver's seat, but he's not touching the steering the wheel. Instead, he writes some notes on a clipboard and surfs on the internet using his tablet.

While the test drive was fairly short (5 km), Mercedes-Benz has shown how autonomous driving technology can successfully be applied to large trucks.

Source : autoblog.com

Pirelli's new 18-inch concept tires formed the centre of attention at Silverstone, with Lotus F1 Team reserve driver Charles Pic giving the new design its debut on Wednesday morning.

Pic headed out shortly after 9am in the current Lotus E22 equipped with the new 18-inch tires and completed 14 laps of the Silverstone circuit. With the concept tire designed principally to showcase aesthetics rather than performance, and a general-purpose compound, the lap times were not the focus. Instead, the objective was to gauge reaction to the very different new design, which received the thumbs up from most observers.

Charles Pic aboard the Lotus E22, equipped with Pirelli 18-inches tires. (Photo: WRi2)

Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “In our view, the new tires looked stunning fitted to the Lotus, and the reaction has already been felt all over the world. These are just a prototype concept, but if the teams decided that they wanted us to proceed in this direction, we have the capability to carry on development in this area and come up with a production-ready version in a comparatively short space of time. We've heard a lot of opinions already and we look forward to canvassing other opinions in the coming weeks and months.

"Even though performance wasn't by any means priority here, the new tires still behaved exactly in line with our expectations, so we're clearly potentially at the beginning of a huge development curve, with the wheel and tire size rules having remained unaltered for many years."

Comparison 13-inches vs 18-inches tires. (Photo: Pirelli)

The new tires were designed and built in accordance with Pirelli's premium strategy in Milan. The key technical advantage of an 18-inch tire is a stiffer sidewall that helps maintain the structural rigidity of the tire and also makes it easier for the tire to maintain a constant pressure - as there is less actual air inside the tire. The new tire is physically bigger, which makes it much more relevant to the Ultra High Performance tires that are seen on the road, leading to greater technology transfer.

The new tires tested today have the same width as the current 13-inch tires (245mm at the front and 325mm at the rear) but a diameter that is bigger by 30mm. The weight is approximately the same as the 13-inch tire, because although the diameter is bigger, there is a smaller sidewall. The total weight, including the rim, is around 4 kilograms heavier.

Charles Pic aboard the Lotus E22, equipped with Pirelli 18-inches tires. (Photo: WRi2)

Leaving a child inside a car on a hot summer day can have tragic consequences, which is why a 12-year-old boy named Andrew Pelham came up with a simple device to help parents not accidentally forget their young children on the back seat.

The EZ Baby Saver is a series of rubber bands attached together and wrapped in brightly coloured duct tape. One end hooks onto the driver's door, while the other attaches to the back of the child seat.

"When you open the car door and get out of your car, you're blocked by the brightly coloured EZ Baby Saver and you remember, 'oh, my child is still in the car,'" Pelham explained to Fox News.

Due to the long, expensive process of securing a patent, he said he'd rather just raise awareness and encourage parents to design their own EZ Baby Saver at home. It's already working, as evidenced by the numerous emails and Facebook comments Pelham has been receiving since making his invention public.

Of course, the device will only serve its purpose if parents remember to install it before hitting the road. However, you have to admire the efforts of a kid who imagined a safety system that no automaker has even developed yet, let alone made standard in vehicles.

Some of today's cars feature advanced technologies like driver drowsiness detection, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and smartphone apps to remotely program air conditioning before you get to your car. It makes no sense that a much more basic solution to prevent children from being left in the car hasn't been integrated yet.

Source : foxnewsinsider.com

From GMM

Jo Ramirez, McLaren's former long-time team manager, has slammed fellow Mexican Sergio Perez.

McLaren ousted Perez, 24, after a single season at the end of last year in favour of Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen.

"As a driver Sergio was actually not bad (at McLaren)," Ramirez, a former advisor to Perez, told motorline.cc. "I think he was also getting better.

"Sergio was just not good enough as a person. He didn't really cooperate with the team, he was too cocky. His attitude was very bad," he claimed.

"He was unpopular with the engineers, with everyone. I often criticise him in the media, but I do not criticise him as a driver. He's a good driver."

"It's such a shame," Jo Ramirez continued. "I was at the Jerez test this year and spent time with McLaren and Sauber, and no one was able to say something good about Sergio. They all say that he needs to change his attitude if he wants to stay in formula one."

Sergio Perez in the McLaren garage, in 2013. (Photo: McLaren F1 Team)

Pros: With its signature soft top, which opens in a mere 15 seconds and takes just two seconds longer to close, the 2014 Audi S5 Cabriolet brings open-air freedom to the heightened performance of the S5. The three-layered design of the acoustic roof gives it outstanding noise and heat insulation properties. This convertible also stands out with a lowered and tightened suspension, sexy and discreetly aggressive looks, standard all-wheel drive, a powerful V6 that's commendably fuel-efficient, as well as a rich combination of luxury, refinement, and technology.

Cons: Once again, the MMI controls will not prove user-friendly to all drivers. The back seat is pretty tight, and the coupe's manual gearbox is nowhere to be found in the cabriolet.

Photo: Audi

2014 Audi S5 Cabriolet Price: As was the case last year, the lineup includes two trim levels -- Progressiv and Technik. The first one starts at $68,800, and the second retails from $74,100.

2014 Audi S5 Cabriolet Fuel Economy: Expect to burn 11.8L/100km in the city and 8.0L/100km on the highway with the S5 Cabriolet.

Improvements and Changes: The newly available Audi Drive Select helps you customize individual vehicle components at the push of a button and thus alter the dynamics of the car. Other changes are in the areas of enhancements to packages and standard-equipment lists.

Powertrain: The 2014 Audi S5 Cabriolet accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 5.5 seconds thanks to a 3.0L supercharged TFSI V6 engine with direct injection that channels its 333 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque through a 7-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission. As mentioned earlier, power is distributed to all four wheels by way of Audi's acclaimed quattro system.

Cargo Capacity: When the top is stowed away, it has little effect on the trunk thanks to its intelligent Z-fold design. That means you get 288 of the S5 Coupe's 346 litres of cargo room.

Safety: Front and side airbags keep 2014 Audi S5 Cabriolet occupants protected, while stability control helps secure the trajectory at all times. In the event of a collision, intelligent sensors automatically unlock the doors, switch on interior and hazard lights, and cut off fuel flow to the engine. Adaptive cruise control and a rear parking system are available.

Comparing the 2014 Audi S5 Cabriolet: The BMW 435i xDrive Cabriolet, Lexus IS 350 C, and Infiniti Q60 Convertible all compete against the S5 Cabriolet.

From GMM

Patrick Head has applauded Mercedes for letting its drivers race in 2014.

Williams co-founder Head, 68, is now only a rare sight in the F1 paddock, having effectively retired from the sport.

But he was spotted during the British grand prix weekend, telling Germany's Auto Motor und Sport that dominant Mercedes is doing "the right thing" by letting Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg go wheel-to-wheel rather than imposing team orders.

"A team that is so dominant, has a duty to the sport," Head said.

"Williams and McLaren know that, and we always did, often at a high price. Only Ferrari in the Schumacher era believed that it was bigger than the sport," the Briton added.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG, in the streets of Monaco. (Photo: WRi2)

Meanwhile, Head said he is happy with his life post F1, answering "no chance" when asked if he might be considering a return.

"I'm going sailing now," he grinned.