Auto News 5

Ssangyong's agent in China has said the South Korean car manufacturer could set up a manufacturing plant in the country if sales there rise to 50,000 vehicles annually, up from an expected 20,000 this year.

Ssangyong's agent in China has said the South Korean car manufacturer could set up a manufacturing plant in the country if sales there rise to 50,000 vehicles annually, up from an expected 20,000 this year.

News 8 Sep, 2014

Jaguar’s new baby saloon, the XE, will debut at an event in London this evening, and it appears to have arrived in style

Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra is exploring alliance opportunities with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and the maker of Saab cars, NEVS, according to a newspaper report.

Volkswagen says fuel cell cars will probably struggle to catch on outside Japan where the government has invested in measures including a fuel-station network and generous subsidies that are too high for other countries to match.

BorgWarner has opened a new turbocharger production facility in Taicang, China.

Ford sales in China are running ahead 30% so far this year at 717,537, up from 551,738 in the first eight months of 2013. Last month it sold 77,506 vehicles, up from 71,183 sold in August last year.

VW will reduce production at its Russian factory in Kaluga to 150,000 vehicles this year from 200,000 originally planned, according to sources. VW will halt production at the plant for 10 days this month.

Grupo Antolin wants to become the world's largest supplier of automotive interiors, passing rivals such as Magna International, Faurecia and Johnson Controls. The Spain-based supplier is already global No. 1 for vehicle headliners.

Mazda Motor Corp. unveiled a shorter and lighter MX-5 Miata to burnish its brand image with a sportier yet more fuel-efficient roadster.

August culminated one of the best four-month periods ever for the auto industry, as surging demand for SUVs and other light trucks propelled the industry to its highest annualized selling rate since January 2006: 17.5 million.

GM says dealers ordered 28,000 Colorados and another 14,000 Canyons during the first 30 days after it began taking orders, more than five times its forecast.

Big recalls by General Motors and Toyota Motor Corp. in recent years raise questions about whether dangerous problems could lurk in little-noticed service bulletins or customer-satisfaction campaigns.

By converting its best-selling F-150 pickup from a steel body to aluminum, Ford is replacing the tried-and-true spot-welding process with a far more complex technique that uses a combination of rivets and industrial adhesives.

Since the Viper's reintroduction at the 2012 New York auto show, the sports coupe has moved fast everywhere except where it matters most: off dealer lots. Now Dodge has a plan to boost Viper sales.

For employees in a dealership's finance and insurance office, spotting a potentially fraudulent deal is top priority. A mistake not only can cost a dealership a vehicle, it can hurt the store's reputation and its relationships with lenders.

GM stores are by far the most sold and acquired in the dealership buy-sell market this year. Buy-sell expert Alan Haig says "it's a sign that their profits are strong, and buyers are seeing momentum in the GM brands that didn't exist in prior years."

Wireless telecommunications giant Verizon today announced plans to introduce a new smartphone app that would allow rental car customers to unlock a vehicle.

Buick dealers recently were given a sneak peek of a Buick-badged Opel Cascada convertible, which is slated for a U.S. launch in late 2015 as a '16 model.

Antoine L'Estage and his codriver Alan Ockwell of the Yokohama Canada Rally Team won the 2014 edition of the Rallye Defi by winning every stage of the rally.

They drive their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO to overall victory on the hard packed gravel roads in the Quebec Laurentians.

The Rallye Defi was the third round of the Canadian Rally Championship and it featured over 175km of competitive special stages split over two days of racing.

“It's been a textbook rally for us,” said L'Estage. “We did have some problems with the car today, so we had to turn down the boost to make sure it stayed reliable to the finish.

“The Yokohama tires were really good in the rough stuff yesterday and today. I've been with them for ten years, and they're a big part of our success.”

Reportage photos René Fagnan, Paul Fagnan et Delphée Benoit.

Martin Rowe and Nathalie Richard contested Rallye Defi as their first event competing together. The Subaru Rally Team Canada duo debuted the new 2015 Subaru Impreza STI rally car.

Despite some teething issues that at points caused the team to drop out of a podium position, a late charge on the final loop of stages was enough to claim second place.

Third place went to Joel Levac and Stephanie Lewis. The result matched their finishing position from the Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs two months ago. Driving a MINI Countryman [a former WRC race car], the two found they were forced to push themselves faster than ever before.

The two-wheel drive class was full of strong competition.

Chris Greenhouse and Billy Irvin drove through rough conditions on the first day of racing to carve out a small lead over their rivals. The team built on their advantage over the balance of the first day to a lead of two minutes.

Rallye Defi Final Results
1. Antoine L'Estage - Alan Ockwell - one hour, 30 minutes, 01.8 seconds
2. Martin Rowe - Nathalie Richard - 1:33:30.5
3. Joel Levac - Stéphanie Lewis - 1:33:33.8
4. Maxime Labrie - Anick Barrette - 1:34:20.1
5. Jean-Sebastien Besner - Yvan Joyal - 1:35:48.0
6. Sylvain Vincent - Simon Vincent - 1:37:33.8
7. Marc Bourassa - Daniel Paquette - 1:38:00.4
8. Martin Donnelly - Angela Cosner - 1:44:27.6
9. Chris Greenhouse - Billy Irvin - 1:47:04.9
10. Simon Dube - Pat Lavigne - 1:49:11.0