Auto News 5

Auto123.com talked today with François Dumontier, promoter of the Grand Prix du Canada, about the new 10-year contract with Formula 1.

The future of the Canadian Grand Prix is secure until 2024. The new contract specifies that a new pit building has to be built. When will that happen?

“A clause of the new contract specifies that the City of Montreal agrees to build new garages in time for the 2017 Grand Prix. The whole project will be headed by the City of Montreal and the Parc Jean-Drapeau [the island where the circuit is located]. However, we will be consulted as we will be the users of the building and we are well aware of the requirements of the FIA,” stated Francois Dumontier, president of Groupe de course Octane inc., and promoter of the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada.

Les stands du circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. (Photo: René Fagnan, Auto123.com)

Where will the new garages be located?

“They will most likely be built around the same place. They will not be located on the other side of the track, near the beach,” he added.

There's not been a second race held at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit since you cancelled the NASCAR Nationwide race. Will we see a second race soon?

“Our agreement with Parc Jean-Drapeau allows us to stage a second race every year. However, considering the major work required to build the new garages for 2017, it's not a good idea to try to secure a second race at this stage. It will be impossible to use the track for a certain period of time. One more thing: In 2017, Montreal will be celebrating the 375th anniversary of its foundation. That would be a good time to stage a second race...” Dumontier said.

There are wild rumours circulating that Montreal billionaire, Lawrence Stroll, is interested in buying into a Formula 1 team. Is that true or not?

“Honestly, I haven't talked to Lawrence Stroll for quite a long time. We also know his love and passion for motorsport, so if he becomes involved with an F1 team, that would be fantastic for us, especially if he runs it under a Canadian banner. Now, in regards to his son Lance, it's great news that he has clinched the title of the Italian Formula 4 series. It would be great for us to have a Canadian, and a Montrealer, in Formula 1 one day,” Dumontier told Auto123.com.

Bernie Ecclestone et François Dumontier. (Photo: WRi2)

Are you offering new tickets for the 2015 edition of the Canadian Grand Prix?

“Yes, indeed. We are trying to widen our price range. We are selling trios of the third year in succession. These tickets allow you to change seat every day, in different grandstands. For 2015, we're introducing the ‘Econo' trio at $255, which allows the holder to have a reserved seat in grandstand 31, 33, and Popular, located after the hairpin corner. We'll have other exciting news in the coming months,” Dumontier concluded.

The new Sochi Autodrom, home of the Russian Grand Prix, will feature two DRS zones.

So far, the 18-corner Sochi layout has been likened to a mix between the Valencia Street Circuit and the Korean International Circuit.

Blending medium and low-speed corners with two long fast sections, the signature corner may turn out to be the long, fast, left-hand arc around the Medal Arena.

The circuit will feature two Drag Reduction System zones.

The first detection point will be just after the start-finish line with the activation point located just after Turn 1.

The second detection point will be before Turn 9, with the detection point just after the same corner.

From GMM

A week ago, the 'silly season' seemed much clearer.

Sebastian Vettel announced his shock departure from Red Bull, and everyone - including his current employer - simply assumed he would be heading to Ferrari.

Ferrari, however, has been completely silent on the issue ever since, despite deafening speculation it is replacing Fernando Alonso with Vettel.

But nothing has been announced.

Again, on Thursday in the shiny new Sochi paddock, Ferrari is saying nothing.

And neither is German Vettel.

"I have nothing new to say," he told reporters in Russia, "but I hope to announce something soon.

"When the thing is out, you are probably clever enough to understand why I had to wait," Vettel added.

Stand Red Bull. (Photo: WRi2)

The reigning world champion's comments follow the latest round of sensational 'silly season' rumours in the wake of the developments of last week.

McLaren rejected claims Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton visited Woking to sign a contract, but also rumoured is that Vettel might not be Ferrari-bound after all.

One report suggested McLaren's next driver lineup might be Alonso alongside Vettel.

Fascinatingly, when he was asked about the Ferrari rumours at Suzuka exactly one week ago, Vettel answered: "I think there has always been rumours over the last couple of years, especially around this time of the season.

"I think probably more for (McLaren driver) Jenson (Button). He already has 17 teammates for next year.

"I have been one of them a couple of weeks ago, maybe next week I will be again."

Alco Prevention Canada has signed a deal with an Australian company to supply breathalizers to local drivers in an effort to prevent drunk driving.

Other partnerships were sealed recently, including with the U.S. Army.

“We were chosen because of our super-effective and highly accurate system,” said Stéphane Maurais, general manager of Alco Prevention Canada. “Over the past 25 years and more, we've developed a product that effectively prevents accidents and even casualties.”

Single-usage breathalizers allow people to find out their blood alcohol content and determine whether it's safe to take the wheel.

Alco Prevention Canada has over 2,000 sales outlets across Canada and the U.S., along with a distribution network in France, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Guatemala, and Austria.

Source : Alco Prevention Canada

Despite heading two companies that have the potential to build flying cars (Tesla and Space X), Elon Musk doesn't believe in this futuristic means of transportation.

"I'm not sure about the flying cars," Musk said during an apperance at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit. "If the sky was full of cars flying all over the place, it would affect how things look. It would affect the skyline. And it would be noisier and there would be a greater probability of something falling on your head. Those are not good things."

Of course, Musk admitted that people in flying cars could go from one place to another faster. However, he also said that we could see similar gains in travel speed through easier methods, for instance eliminating traffic "choke points" and constructing giant systems of underground tunnels.

Tesla's CEO is a modern-day adventurer who has a dream to travel on Mars. "It would just be the greatest adventure ever," he said. "And we need things in life that are exciting and inspiring. It can't just be about solving some awful problem. There have to be reasons to get up in the morning."

Source : theverge.com

As part of its effort to allow Internet users to visit some of the most remote places on Earth, Google recently used a dromedary to take pictures in the desert of Liwa, U.A.E.

According to 01.net, Google's Trekker system was fitted onto the back of the animal, which then trotted across the vast dunes along with a Bedouin.

Excited to explore the desert, yet?

Source : 01net.com

From nascar.com

Richard Petty Motorsports announced it has tabbed veteran Sam Hornish Jr. to succeed Marcos Ambrose as driver of its No. 9 Ford Fusion for the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season and beyond.

The pairing brings together the 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner Hornish with one of stock car racing's legends and lands the former open-wheel champion his first full-time ride at the Sprint Cup Series level since 2010.

RPM's Ambrose will return to his native Australia next year to race Roger Penske' entry in the Australian V8 Supercar series.

After finishing runner-up in the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship driving for Penske Racing, Sam Hornish Jr. purposely did not compete in NASCAR full-time this year despite having offers.

When he found out he would not be retained by Penske at the end of 2013, Hornish said he would rather wait out a good, competitive situation than rush to take just any job.

Instead, he has driven part-time in the Nationwide Series this season making eight starts for Joe Gibbs Racing, winning at Iowa Speedway in May and earning the pole position at Talladega, Alabama and his hometown Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Interbrand today released its 15th annual Best Global Brands report. While Apple (No. 1) and Google (No. 2) dominate the rankings, automakers like Toyota (No. 8) and Mercedes-Benz (No. 10) managed to crack the top 10.

When determining the top 100 most valuable brands each year, Interbrand examines three key aspects that contribute to a brand's value:

• The financial performance of the branded product and service;
• The role the brand plays in influencing customer choice;
• The strength the brand has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company.

Here are the various automakers that appear in the rankings:

BRAND	2014 RANK	% CHANGE IN BRAND VALUE
Toyota	8	20.00%
Mercedes-Benz	10	8.00%
BMW	11	7.00%
Honda	20	17.00%
Volkswagen	31	23.00%
Ford	39	18.00%
Hyundai	40	16.00%
Audi	45	27.00%
Nissan	56	23.00%
Porsche	60	11.00%
Kia	74	15.00%
Chevrolet	82	10.00%
Harley-Davidson	87	13.00%
Land Rover	91	NEW

Source: Interbrand

From GMM

F1 drivers will wear helmet stickers to show their support for injured colleague Jules Bianchi this weekend in Russia.

Morgan Caron, an official for the French motor sport federation FFSA, said the initiative to show the F1 drivers' support was championed by Bianchi's fellow Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne.

"Jean-Eric was deeply affected by what happened and good friends with Jules, so he took the initiative to make a sticker," Caron told France's RMC Sport.

"It will be distributed to the entire paddock at Sochi. In GP2, GP3 and F1, everyone will support Jules with a small message during the weekend in Russia," he revealed.

Sticker "Tous avec Jules". (Photo: Facebook/Jean-Eric Vergne)

As was the case when Michael Schumacher lay in his coma earlier this year, publications and fans are now turning their hopes to the words of medical specialists after the nature of Bianchi's serious head injury was revealed.

But one such specialist, Japanese Shinji Nagahiro of the university of Tokushima, said the wait for more information about Bianchi will continue for some time.

"In general a prognosis cannot be given earlier than one month after the accident," he is quoted by Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper, "but it may take longer."

It has been revealed that Bianchi suffered a diffuse axonal injury, and Nagahiro said "The patient may regain consciousness and recover completely, or suffer after-effects. It all depends on the severity of the injury and the location of the damage."

From GMM

F1 has made the 8,000 kilometre trek from Suzuka to the all-new Sochi Autodrom, but many are not in the mood to celebrate the sport's latest destination.

That is not just because the Russian grand prix is controversial in the shadow of the Ukraine conflict, with president Vladimir Putin slated to attend.

The German broadcaster RTL said it has resisted calls to boycott the race.

"For us as a broadcaster, the question of a boycott does not arise because we are obliged contractually," a spokesman told the German newspaper Welt. "We will, however, raise the issues in the presentation and also ask those at the track how they feel about the situation."

Bernie Ecclestone has argued consistently that F1's first visit to Russia should not be mixed with the country's political situation.

Former world champion Mika Hakkinen agrees.

"On the political side, I would not like to take a position," he said in his latest interview for sponsor Hermes.

"When I think of formula one and motor sport, we should evaluate it positively in my opinion that we are finally racing in Russia -- a new country and a new market," said Hakkinen.

Photo: Sochi Autodrom

Richard Cregan, the former Abu Dhabi race boss who now oversees the organisation in Sochi, admitted that the political questions had been affecting ticket sales for the inaugural grand prix until mere weeks ago.

"There was lots of discussions about sanctions and all these things and then suddenly, when all that seemed to be in the past in relation to our race, then we were selling between 500-800 tickets a day," he told Reuters.

Richard Cregan also admitted that Jules Bianchi's crash has overshadowed the build-up to Russia's first race, "and rightly so".

"We just have to make sure we never stop looking for improved safety measures. We're trying to learn from everything," he is quoted by the Telegraph.

Sauber summed up the grim mood in the Sochi paddock by forgoing its usually-upbeat pre-race press preview, with boss Monisha Kaltenborn admitting the Swiss team is setting up at Sochi "in a very depressed mood".

"We are still shocked by the events of last weekend, and it is simply not possible to simply move on to day business. Everything we do at present seems unimportant," she added.

However, life in F1 goes go on, starting with Russia. Caterham announced that Kamui Kobayashi will once again be racing, with the hopeful Spanish rookie Roberto Merhi still limited to Friday morning duties.

The second-generation Porsche 911 Carrera GTS will soon hit the market in four variants -- a coupe and a cabriolet, each with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. They will arrive in Canada by year end with prices starting at $130,300 for the Carrera GTS, and $137,900 for the Carrera 4 GTS.

All GTS versions have the 911 Carrera 4 body with wide-flared rear wheel arches and a wide track, plus standard 20” wheels with centre wheel locks that are painted in an exclusive matte black finish. Darkened headlights, black trim strips on the customized GTS air intake screen, and black chrome-plated exhaust tailpipes are other exterior highlights.

Inside the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, the driver and front passenger sit in an exclusive Alcantara cockpit with leather-trimmed sport seats whose centre panels are made of Alcantara following the trend seen on the other GTS models by Porsche.

Using a 430-horsepower engine and PDK transmission, the 911 Carrera GTS sprints from 0-100 km/h in 4.0 seconds (Cabriolet: 4.2 seconds). The top speed of each GTS model is beyond the 300 km/h barrier; the fastest at 306 km/h is the Coupe with a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive.

Other standard features include:

• Sport Chrono Package;
• Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM);
• Bi-xenon headlights with the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS);
• Sport exhaust system.

Source : Porsche

Photo: Porsche

Dana Point, CA -- The Kia Sedona was a latecomer to the van wars, and has made up for lost time. “Sedona” may not be the household word that Grand Caravan is, but Kia intends to challenge that with the new 2015 iteration. This van has made huge leaps forward in quality, ranking just below Toyota in defects per 100 vehicles, and well above Ford. Kia intends to take on both the volume leader (Grand Caravan) and the quality leaders (Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey). After driving the 2015 Sedona, I think they are ready.


What is a Kia Sedona?
The Kia Sedona is a seven- or eight-passenger minivan that is versatile enough to be considered a Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV). The all-new platform has more high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel than the previous generation, making the chassis much more rigid. Kia was able to do this because they own their own steel mills and all of the steel and a significant portion of the powertrain were all manufactured in-house.

2015 Kia Sedona Price and Specs
Kia has given the Sedona a broad market appeal by providing seven trim levels that span in price range. The basic Sedona L is considered a value leader and starts at $27,495. Trim levels in this grouping include the L, LX and LX+. A midrange Sedona starts with the SX and the additional trim level is the SX+. At the top is the SXL with the SXL+ doing duty as the premiere trim level coming in at $45,995.

The Sedona L may come with steel wheels and wheel covers, but the cloth interior, standard back-up camera and very comfortable seats mean there is no wrong decision when trying to decide which trim level to purchase. Move up to the SXL+, the cloth has become leather and the front bucket seats are both heated and cooled. In addition, an Infiniti sound system, GPS, satellite radio, and connectors for most personal entertainment devices are included.

Driving the 2015 Kia Sedona
Kia provides one powertrain, namely a 3.3L GDI (gasoline direct injected) engine that puts out 276 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque and is mated to a 6-speed, electronically controlled automatic transmission. The trim level doesn't affect driveability very much. However, fuel economy does change depending on the trim level. The L and LX models are rated at 13.2L/100km in the city and 9.7L on the highway. The SX and SX+ are rated at 12.9L and 9.5L/100km for city and highway, respectively. The SXL and SXL+ are 14.2L and 10.5L/100km. Kia explains that the differences are due to electric power steering on the SX and SX+ versions, while the SXL and SXL+ versions carry extra weight due to increased equipment levels.

Everyday driving is what the Sedona does best. Visibility is excellent all around. The engine has enough power that changing lanes in traffic or getting up to speed on an on-ramp will never be an issue.

Inside and Out of the 2015 Kia Sedona
Designers managed to give the 2015 Sedona a much more powerful looking stance than the previous generation while making it look balanced and comfortable. Kia installed its traditional style grille up front, while the rest of the front fascia is designed to minimize the drag coefficient (down to .33) which helps provide better fuel economy. At the rear, a clean and smooth fascia incorporates large taillights as well as a full-height liftgate.
Inside, the SXL interior has leather-faced bucket seats up front and in the second row. A third row of leather (which can fold into the floor) can hold three if they are friendly. Second-row seats do not fold into the floor. Kia engineers found that they could not make “stow and go” seats as comfortable as the method they chose which has been dubbed “Fold and Stow.” When needed, a single actuating lever lets the seat slide forward and stand up against the backs of the front-row seats.
All the expected electronic items are present at various trim levels. Bluetooth™ is standard on all but the base L model, as are inputs for most personal music players. The only item not provided from the factory is a dealer-installed rear entertainment system.

Comparing the 2015 Kia Sedona
Given the price range of the Kia Sedona, the main competitors would be the Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey, and Toyota Sienna. In terms of value for every dollar spent, the 2015 Kia Sedona is more than competitive at all levels.

From GMM

Mere days after the Suzuka race, F1 authorities are continuing to withhold official video footage of Jules Bianchi's horror crash.

So far, despite widespread reports that the sport's commercial rights holder FOM did film the incident with its high definition trackside cameras, the footage has not been released.

Even the now widely-circulated amateur footage of the crash has been repeatedly removed from social media sites at the request of FOM, ostensibly for reasons of copyright.

But it has also been suggested that F1 and the governing FIA are reluctant for the official footage to be seen because it might implicate the sport's authorities amid the controversial circumstances surrounding Bianchi's crash.

Questions are being asked about the rain conditions, the fading light, the pre-race discussions about re-scheduling to avoid typhoon Phanfone, the waving of green flags near the crash site, and whether Charlie Whiting should have deployed the safety car when Adrian Sutil's incident brought out the recovery vehicle.

Doctors around Jules Bianchi, after the crash. (Photo: WRi2)

But Michael Schmidt, the highly respected correspondent for Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, claims the reason the FOM footage is not being released is for one reason only: "Consideration for the victims of the accident."

Schmidt is referring not only to the seriously injured French driver, but particularly his parents and family as they cling to hope Bianchi, 25, will pull through.

Schmidt claims the official footage shows that the Marussia driver lost control of his car after "driving too fast under yellow flags".

"F1 is not protecting itself, but Jules Bianchi himself. The footage of the accident and the telemetry data may prove that it was the driver to blame," he added.

Schmidt quoted an F1 official as saying: "It (releasing the information) would be unfair to Bianchi, because he cannot defend himself at the moment."

Separate to the circumstances of the crash, however, is a discussion about arguably the last remaining true vulnerability when it comes to F1 cars -- the drivers' exposed heads.

After Felipe Massa's 2009 crash, and again in 2012 when Mario de Villota crashed during a Marussia test, F1 and the FIA looked deeply into the possibility of enclosing the cockpits with a forward roll-cage or canopy.

But Germany's Bild newspaper reports this week that Red Bull and Mercedes were the most opposed to the idea, with Red Bull boss Christian Horner saying the proposed solutions were "shockingly ugly".

The issue was then sidelined completely when Bernie Ecclestone argued that closed cockpits were contrary to the basic idea of F1, Bild claims.

"Try telling that to the Bianchi family, though," correspondent Oliver Brown wrote in the Telegraph. "The sanctity of no sport is worth protecting so ferociously that it compromises the sanctity of human life."

On the other side, there are those who insist F1 should not overreact after Bianchi's crash.

One of them is Mika Hakkinen, even though his life-threatening crash in 1995 preceded F1's move to raise cockpit sides to better protect the drivers' heads.

"After this (Bianchi's) accident, there will certainly be a comprehensive analysis," the Finn, who went on to win two titles after returning in 1996, said.

"But we also should remember that there have been no deaths in formula one races for more than 20 years," he said in an interview with his sponsor Hermes. "That's a long time."

Mercedes-Benz will get extra credit on U.S. fuel economy standards for putting start-stop systems in its luxury cars -- but not as much as the automaker had hoped.

Mitsubishi Motors expects to meet its full-year guidance for operating profit for the 2014-15 financial year, but is not yet certain it can meet its forecast for sales, a spokesman for the company said on Wednesday.

The average fuel economy of cars and light trucks, driven by wider use of technology, rose to a record 24.1 mpg in the 2013 model year, though the pace of improvement slowed. Fuel economy will average 24.

Johnson Controls fired a consulting firm after learning that one of its principals had an extramarital affair with CEO Alex Molinaroli.

News 8 Oct, 2014

Toyota's seven-seat Prius+ hybrid gets new styling, equipment and suspension upgrades as part of a 2015 facelift

Videos 8 Oct, 2014

We brought you all the biggest cars from the Paris Motor Show as it happened. Now check out our A-Z ultimate guide on video

Opinion 8 Oct, 2014

Britain is impressing in the draft list for the World Car Awards, says Auto Express columnist Mike Rutherford