Auto News 5

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Toyota Motor's Indian unit is planning to expand in rural India to boost sales of slow selling compact models, following rivals Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor which do well outside major cities.

Honda Cars India (HCIL) is considering launching an SUV.

Mercedes is using a cloud-computing setup to protect data generated by vehicles as the industry moves toward driverless cars. Automakers are looking for ways to stop hackers from gaining information or even hijacking vehicles by remote control.

American supplier association, OESA, says a positive spin-off to emerge from the catastrophic downturn of a few years ago, is a better understanding of the component industry by Washington.

Honeywell Turbo Technologies has opened its new turbocharger plant in Wuhan, tripling capacity in China where turbo adoption in new vehicles is expected to increase "significantly" from 23% now.

Bentley is adding new models in South Korea as the brand sees increased competition for ultraluxury cars in the market. The automaker says its dealership in Seoul has seen a 133 percent jump in deliveries so far this year.

The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said it plans to oversee larger nonbank auto finance companies for the first time at the federal level after claiming to have uncovered "auto-lending discrimination" at banks.

TRW says it needs its own suppliers to support a global footprint as OEMs increasingly move to worldwide platform production.

SsangYong will preview two subcompact SUV concepts in Paris next month, ahead of the launch of a production model, the X100, next year. SsangYong is the latest automaker to join the fast-growing small SUV segment.

Pictures See all 12 pictures 18 Sep, 2014

Opinion 18 Sep, 2014

Mazda has perfected the MX-5 in such a way that not even Ferrari could do better, says Mike Rutherford

Magna Powertrain supplies the all-wheel-drive system for the new Mercedes-Benz GLA. The supplier eliminated seal rings and bearings in the system to reduce drag by about 14 percent and decrease weight by more than 2kg.

Deliveries by the Volvo Group's truck operations in August 2014 fell 8% year on year to 11,809 vehicles.

Mentor Graphics is a major supplier of software tools that help engineers design electronic systems and components. Headquartered in Oregon, US, Mentor generates annual revenues of some US$1bn. Its tools are involved in the design of almost every electronic gadget you can think of. To find out about its automotive business, Matthew Beecham spoke to Martin O'Brien, General Manager, Integrated Electrical Systems Division Mentor Graphics.

ZF, which agreed to buy TRW Automotive Holdings for $11.7 billion, sees a need for more acquisitions as even the largest auto suppliers seek size and technology.

The executives chosen as 2014 Automotive News Europe Eurostars rose above the rest by pushing their companies to new heights. Toyota Europe CEO Didier Leroy is this year's winner for European Operations CEO.

Toyota will unveil the C-HR concept at the Paris auto show. The concept previews a potential new entry in Europe's booming crossover segment.

Mexican Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez says he is “very close to committing” to Force India Formula 1 team for 2015.

However, he admits anything could happen until the deal is signed.

In the FIA press conference Thursday in Singapore, Perez declared: “I think we should be very close to committing to next year with the team, but you never know and I have experience in the past so you never know what is going to happen.”

Sergio Perez, Sahara Force India. (Photo: WRi2)

Perez feels Sahara Force India can move ahead of McLaren this weekend in the constructors' standings in the battle for 5th place.

“We are really optimistic for this weekend,” he continued.

“We have a good upgrade package and definitely our target is the McLarens which we are fighting really close and hopefully we can score more points than them this weekend with both cars and hopefully the upgrade package will give us some boost,” he added.

McLaren is currently 5th in the standings with 110 points, one more than Sahara Force India. Mercedes V6 power units power the cars of both teams.

My first car -- the one that took me to high school -- was a 1985 Mazda 626 LX coupe. I bought it in 1993 for a mere $500. I subsequently dropped well over three times that much on an audio system for the thing, but that's not the point.

My gently used 8-year-old clunker took me to-and-fro school every day without problem; it required gas every now and then and the occasional tightening of trim panel screws because the base would eventually get the best of them.

Point is, a good used car is a highly viable alternative to a new car to get to school and to work. My suggestions are as follows:

10 - Hyundai Sonata
Compared to most of the cars on this list, the Sonata is a larger car and thus is roomier and offers a slightly smoother ride. Retail prices are usually very reasonable, so basically you're getting a midsize car for the price of a compact.

Photo: Hyundai

Continue reading Top 10: Used cars for teens