Auto News 5

Ford is the latest automaker to borrow ideas from tech giant Apple. The automaker is rebranding 500 European dealerships as Ford Stores ahead of launching its new Vignale premium trim line.

Ford and Chevrolet #8212; both looking to claw back market share they have relinquished this year #8212; have touched off an earlier-than-usual round of late-summer incentives.

In its recall-induced quest to strip customers' key chains of any dangling tchotchkes, GM has raised the alarm about promotional key tags.

The services of Chaplain Roy Inzunza is part of the spiritual and wellness benefits for employees of the 12-franchise dealership group.

Sonic Automotive is naming its new used-vehicle business EchoPark and eventually aims to put the stand-alone stores in more than 50 markets across the country.

The long-awaited decline in used-vehicle prices has finally arrived, only it may turn out to be steeper drop and a bigger threat to the overall market than almost anyone expected.

Aston Martin's U.S. stores could be put out of business when a new federal safety rule lands next month, a top dealer said in a petition.

Ford Motor Co. is trying to take the guesswork out of dealership inventory ordering, using advances in big data technology to offer its stores sophisticated recommendations for their orders. Some dealerships are resisting.

So much for Tom Finelli's honeymoon phase as Chrysler Group's new purchasing chief for North America. The protégé of the late and highly respected Dan Knott has little time to win the trust of wary suppliers.

Cadillac dealers nationwide are frustrated over the choppy rollout of the '15 Escalade, the first redesign of the luxury barge in eight years.

Jaguar Land Rover's recently created Special Operations unit last week unveiled its Lightweight E-Type, an exact replica of an aluminum-body E-Type racecar first produced in 1963, with plans to complete the originally planned production run.

From Speedway 660 PR

On Saturday night Alexandra O'Blenis became the first lady driver to ever win a Sportsman feature at Speedway 660, located in Geary, New Brunswick.

Alexandra, who also won her Martin's Home Heating Sportsman heat race, won the 30-lap feature ahead of Drew Greenlaw and Brent Roy. Jason Shannon won the other heat race and the dash.

"I am so pumped right now and can't believe I just won a Sportman feature at Speedway 660, this team has worked so hard to give me a great car and to do this as a rookie is just incredible" said a jubilant O'Blenis from the Riverview Ford Victory Lane. "A couple of weeks ago I led most of the Sportsman feature and got passed with three laps to go, but tonight there was no way I was going to let that happen."

Alexandra wasn't the only O'Blenis to visit victory lane on Fan Appreciation Night, which was presented by the New Hot 92.3 - Fredericton's Number One Hit Music Station.

Her sister Courtney dominated the Westwood Estate Apartments Bandolero feature to pick up the win. And that put the pressure on their Father Dave who had to drive the wheels off his race car to get to victory lane in the Re/Max Group Four Realty Pro Stock feature.

Cole Boudreau had another great run to take second in the Pro Stock feature, while Brady Creamer finished third. Brian Gillespie won his heat race and the dash, while Big Kevin Moore took the other heat. Cole Tanner and Levi Rossiter finished second and third in the Bando feature. Rossiter also won his heat race and Ashton Tucker took top spot in the other heat.

Geoff Tugwell continued his streak of strong performances in the DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock division. Tugwell picked up the Jensen Financial Hat-Trick Award by winning his heat, dash and feature. Benji Ruff was second in the feature, followed by Tyler Seveck who also won the other Street Stock heat race.

Matt Crocker continued his winning ways by taking another Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter feature. Crocker crossed the finish line ahead of Jeremy Doran and Malcolm Suley. Curtis Collins and Kyle MacKinnon won the Sharp Shooter heat races.

Next Saturday, it's the Night of Champions at Speedway 660. Rookie of the Year Awards and Championship will be decided in all five divisions. And then it's SpeedWeekend 2014 from August 29 until September 1.

Mercedes F1 Lewis Hamilton's younger brother Nicolas announced his plans to compete in the exciting British Touring Car Championship in 2015.

He would become the first disabled driver to compete in the highly competitive BTCC.

Hamilton "Junior" was born with cerebral palsy and used to follow his older brother on the Formula 1 circuits.

Despite his lack of experience, he made his racing debut in 2011 as part of the Renault Clio Cup. He also raced in the
European Touring Car Cup last year.

“I am excited to announce my ambitions to become the first disabled athlete to compete in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in 2015,” he declared on the series' official web site.

From BMW

Former Formula 1 and ChampCar driver, Alessandro Zanardi is preparing to tackle his next big challenge: a triathlon. On 11th October, the BMW works driver and Brand Ambassador will participate in his first ever long-distance triathlon, which will be held in Hawaii.

Forty seven-year-old BMW works driver Zanardi is one of the best paracyclists in the world, a fact he has proven by winning two gold medals at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London and by being crowned a double paracycling world champion in 2013.

Alex Zanardi (Photo: BMW AG)

The triathlon on the Hawaiian Island of Big Island though will be another tough challenge for the Italian.

The competition consists of three parts: First, a 3.86 kilometre swim in the open ocean awaits the competitors. Zanardi, who has had both legs amputated, will be allowed to swim with a wet vest.

Then the competitors have to cycle for 180.2 kilometres. Zanardi will tackle this stage with his handcycle, with which he won his Paralympic gold medals. The triathlon will be completed with a 42.195 kilometre marathon, which Zanardi will contest with an Olympic wheelchair.

So in total, the former ChampCar champion will have to complete 226.255 kilometres - solely by the power of his arms.

We wish him all the best. Go Alex!

Alex Zanardi (Photo: BMW AG)

From nascar.com

Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon held on to win Michigan after passing Penske's Joey Logano on final restart.

Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, and Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet. (Photo: Getty Images/NASCAR)

Kurt Busch hit the Turn 2 wall shortly after a lap 178 restart and the ensuing yellow flag bunched the field for a final sprint to the finish.

Gordon, who faced questions about his struggles on restarts earlier this season, passed Joey Logano at the start of lap 183 and kept his Chevrolet in front when Logano got next to him on the following lap.

Logano fell back after falling out of a draft and Gordon never was challenged again as he rolled to his third series victory of the season.

Jeff Gordon's win at Indianapolis last month followed a similar script.

Kevin Harvick was second for the fourth straight race here, followed by Paul Menard, Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt, who started the day with a four-point series lead on Gordon, dropped to second after the checkered flag.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet triggered a pile-up. (Photo: Getty Images/NASCAR)

A lap 26 crash that began with Danica Patrick's spin in Turn 1 collected eight other cars, including Matt Kenseth, who started the day third in the Sprint Cup standings but still needing a victory to guarantee a spot in the new Chase for the Sprint Cup Series format.

Sprint Cup point standings:
1 . Jeff Gordon, 816 points
2 . Dale Earnhardt Jr., 813
3 . Brad Keselowski, 733
4 . Joey Logano, 714
5 . Matt Kenseth, 709

Scuderia Toro Rosso announced that the newly recruited Red Bull Junior Team member, 16-year-old Max Verstappen will drive for the team from the start of the 2015 Formula 1 season, alongside Daniil Kvyat.

After becoming karting world champion, Max, the son of former F1 driver Jos, made a smooth transition to the highly competitive FIA Formula 3 European Championship, proving his ability by winning 8 of the 27 races held to date, which puts him in contention to take the title.

This means that Jean-Eric Vergne has to find a new home.

“Jean-Eric has produced strong performances, but unfortunately he was also hindered by some reliability problems, especially in the first half of the current season. We hope that we have resolved these problems and that he will be able to end the second half of this season on a high note and thereby show that he still deserves another opportunity in Formula 1,” said team principal, Franz Tost.

Lexus has finally kicked off production of its compact crossover NX in Japan. The first examples have left the production line from the Miyata plant last week.

It will be the first time that Lexus offers a vehicle in this segment. Similarly, it will also be the first time that the manufacturer offers a turbocharged engine, one of the two options including a hybrid powertrain.

For now, about 6,500 Lexus NX have been pre-ordered in Japan; tens of thousands of reservations are expected to come from other markets.

Source: Lexus

From GMM

Gerard Lopez has lashed back at reports suggesting Lotus team owner Genii is in dire financial health.

The Luxembourg newspaper Tageblatt reported recently that Genii, headed by Lopez and his business partner Eric Lux, is recording ever-growing losses and debts.

Britain's Independent newspaper said Lopez, although based in Luxembourg, flew in his private jet to Genii's London headquarters to "put the record straight".

"It's absurd to say that Genii has financial problems," he insisted. "Yes, Lotus has lost money, like every other F1 team in the world."

Lopez said the Enstone based team cost Genii "about EUR 50 million" last year and debt is currently about 100 million, but "the rest of Genii is profitable".

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E22 (Photo: WRI2)

"We support Lotus with debt, not sponsorship like the other big teams," he explained. "People are trying to compare apples with pears when it should be apples and apples."

The newspaper also said Lotus' accounts for 2013 will show improved figures.

"What's amusing to us," Lopez continued, "is that Lotus - the David against the Goliaths - is always in the public eye more than the big teams like Red Bull and Ferrari.

"But F1 is a bitchy world and smear campaigns between rival teams are commonplace."

From GMM

Luca Marmorini has lashed out at Ferrari after being ousted as the fabled team's engine boss.

Also well known for his position at Toyota, the Italian's F1 career dates back more than two decades to Maranello.

But he was ousted by new team boss Marco Mattiacci a few weeks ago, amid the general feeling that he was to blame for Ferrari's underpowered turbo V6 'power unit'.

Marmorini told Italian F1 insider Leo Turrini that he had no intention of getting involved in any "needless controversy" in the wake of his departure.

"Unfortunately there are people in Maranello who should be silent who like to blame," he said. "So I open my mouth in response to a series of provocations."

Marmorini hit out the hardest against the notion that "all the woes of the F14 T are the fault of the power unit.

"As if a company with the history of Ferrari has forgotten how to make engines!

"I mean, I accept any criticism, but do not tell me that there are people at Maranello who do not know the business of turbos, hybrids.

Ferrari F14 T (Photo: WRI2)

"Let's set the record straight -- with my colleagues I made a smaller size (engine) than Mercedes and Renault because that is what Mr (Nikolas) Tombazis, the project manager of the car, asked for.

"He said he wanted a very compact PU, with small radiators, because the reduced power would be compensated by aerodynamic solutions that give us an advantage over the Mercedes and Renault cars.

"It was exactly like that, except that when we found the competition, we had less power but the compensation from the aerodynamics was not there."

Marmorini said he was dismissed by Mattiacci, even though "in three months we saw each other twice -- first for a greeting, the second when he gave me a letter that confirmed my departure from the company".

"Look, I don't want to accuse anyone," he added. "Really. But Ferrari is entrusting its racing department to inexperienced people who are putting blind faith in certain people who so far have shown nothing."

Marmorini said he is referring to Britons Pat Fry and James Allison.

"Ferrari also runs the risk of damaging the bedrock on which the many past successes were built," he added. "I don't speak for me as I'm already gone.

"But I'm sorry for the good engineers who are still there and demoralised."

Marmorini also responded to reports his future lies at Renault, another marque that has struggled at the start of F1's all-new 'power unit' era.

"It's not true that I have signed already with Renault," he insisted.

"Indeed, at the moment in a Formula 1 that imposes an engine freeze, I like it very little. But I'm honest -- grands prix have their charm and maybe in a month I will change my mind," said Marmorini.

From GMM

Sauber Formula 1 driver Esteban Gutierrez has revealed his management is in talks with "other teams" about 2015.

With the prominent backing of Telmex, the 23-year-old has driven for the struggling Swiss team since last year.

When asked about 2015, he told local media whilst in his native Mexico at the weekend: "We are in negotiations with Sauber and we have opened discussions with other teams.

"We are in a period of evaluation to see what direction we want to go," added Gutierrez, who like his teammate Adrian Sutil is yet to score a single point in 2014.

Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber C33 (Photo: WRI2)

He continued: "Over the next two months we have to make a decision and now we are evaluating all the possibilities that we have open.

"Sauber is happy with me and wants to go on," he revealed.

Gutierrez also admitted that he expects the next two grands prix, in Belgium and Italy, to be difficult for the Ferrari-powered 2014 Sauber.

"The car itself is very difficult to drive, it is a very complex car in many respects, but I think we have improved it since the start.

"But the truth is that we have difficulties especially on the straights. In the short term, Spa and Monza will not be good for us," he acknowledged.