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Ah, the minivan; such turmoil, such bittersweet acceptance at the dealership. Sure, you're getting a vehicle that's as family-friendly as they come (after all, how else do you expect to cart around four kids and the family dog?), but... it's a minivan. Unmatched in terms of interior volume, interior height and overall practicality, the minivan really is the ultimate family transportation device.

To check out our full Top 10: Minivan Alternatives, head on over to Auto-Venus.com.

Photo: Subaru

From GMM

Ferrari will have an all-new car for 2015 but it still might not be enough to match Mercedes, technical boss James Allison has admitted.

After the departures of team boss Stefano Domenicali and engine chief Luca Marmorini, Marco Mattiacci has pinned Ferrari's recovery hopes on Allison, the former Lotus designer.

The 2015 car, which will succeed the disappointing F14 T, will be the Briton's first full Ferrari project, and Allison reveals that it will be completely different.

He said it is simplistic to say the biggest problem with the 2014 car is the underpowered V6 engine.

"Mainly, we are behind our rivals Mercedes in terms of power, but also when it comes to aerodynamic downforce," said Allison.

"Every part of the car has to be improved so that it can become more competitive next year," he added, revealing that the 2015 machine will be different "in every area".

The two Ferrari F14 T at Spa-Francorchamps. (Photo: WRi2)

Allison said he is not worried the so-called engine development 'freeze' will hinder Ferrari's ability to recover, as the rules allow manufacturers to change 48 per cent of the 'power unit' for 2015.

"Our problem is not the rules, it's the time needed to close such a big gap," he explained.

"But as I said at the start, it's not just the engine which has to improve, the chassis needs to also, as does the suspension and every part of the car. I don't know if we can close the gap in just one year," Allison admitted.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari's top driver who despite intense speculation has now committed to Ferrari for 2015, has a similar view.

"What's certain is that we must reduce the gap over the winter and much more than in other winters, because it's a gap of around one and a half seconds (to Mercedes)," said the Spaniard.

"I don't know if it's possible to do that in six months."

Marussia Formula 1 team driver, Briton Max Chilton has confirmed in Monza that his race seat is secure and safe until the end of the 2014 season.

Chilton's place at Marussia seemed to be in jeopardy when the small team announced in Belgium two weeks ago that American Alexander Rossi was to drive Chilton' car.

Lengthy negotiations led Chilton back in the seat of the Ferrari-powered car for the race however.

Now in Monza, Chilton declared that his position is safe for the final seven Grands Prix of the year.

"What happened was a commercial decision which got changed, and we are now back to normal.

"It's all been sorted out and it's now in the past. We're now looking forward as we're still in an amazing position as a team.

The best thing we can do now is focus on staying ahead of Sauber,” Chilton told the journalists in the paddock of the Monza circuit.

"We are now back to normal and moving on. I am definitely in for every single race, although FP1 sessions are open - and that is the team's decision.

"As long as I get informed the week before that I am missing FP1, it is not a problem,” the Briton said.

Max Chilton, Marussia MR03-Ferrari, Spa-Francorchamps. (Photo: WRi2)

The driver is convinced that what happened in Belgium has not endangered his standing or position in the team.

"No, not at all," insisted Chilton.

"At the end of the day it was a commercial decision made by both parties, something that was agreed.

"From the outside it looked like it was a bit messy, but from the inside we knew what was going on. It hasn't changed anything on our side,” he explained.

As you probably know, last night was the global debut of the all-new 2016 Mazda MX-5 in the U.S., Spain and Japan. While the company didn't reveal any details about the engine of the fourth generation, the car's styling should keep fans and the media buzzing for quite some time.

Wider, lower, and 100kg lighter than the outgoing model, the 2016 Mazda MX-5 is also the most compact of any generation so far.

Photo: Mazda

At first glance, the new MX-5 closely resembles other Mazda products of late, with a sloping hood and a front grille that's reminiscent of the Mazda3's, minus the chrome.

Adopting both Mazda's SKYACTIV technology and KODO—Soul of Motion design language, the 2016 MX-5 rides on 16'' wheels and features a clean dashboard that integrates the very latest technologies.

The car will be on display at the Paris Auto Show in October before hitting dealerships next year at a yet-to-be-determined price.

Source : Mazda

Photo: Mazda

From press release

The 2014 Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS series resumes this weekend at Italy's Mugello Circuit following a lengthy summer break, one that was used to the maximum by Canadian Luke Chudleigh.

The 19-year-old Milton racer suffered a Bennett's Fracture to his thumb in Round 5 in Monza, also in Italy, back in July so the gap between ALPS events proved to be the silver lining to his injury allowing him adequate time to heal and rehab before returning to open-wheel action this weekend.

The pre-event test at the 15-turn Mugello track confirmed to Chudleigh, who competes for the French-based Tech1 Racing outfit, that all was normal with his thumb as he enjoyed a solid outing at the high-speed circuit.

The penultimate round of the ALPS series will see Luke continuing to build on his form and target a maiden podium finish, having secured several top-six finishes this season already with a series of hard charging races.

“Passing's hard at this track due to its flat out configuration,” explained Luke. “It's a high speed track which is great but it makes overtaking that much more of a challenge. The best way to set myself up for some great races is to ensure we're fast out of the box this weekend. We've struggled sometimes in qualifying but proved time and again that we have excellent pace during the races. I want to hit the ground running and be fighting at the front and not having to race my way to the front!

“Ultimately I'm just happy to be back in the car at Mugello. It's been a productive summer break for me, not least with the rehab on my thumb, which felt absolutely fine during last week's test. I've also been working hard on securing sponsorships for next season as we look to 2015 and the best path to continue my European campaign. Things are looking positive on several fronts which is encouraging and I'll be supported this weekend by Trevor Wickens which is always fun. He's taught me a lot from karting into cars and having him on-site is always a bonus.”

Luke sits 8th overall in the 2014 Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS standings - and the lead Tech1 Racing entrant, with Dutchman Nyck De Vries continuing leading the title battle.

From McLaren Group

Financial results of the McLaren Group show that revenues were up 7.5% in 2013.

The results made public show that the Group recorded an £18.8m pre-tax profit, resulting from increased revenues of £268m.

The Group made significant progress towards becoming a global and increasingly diversified high-technology company. It is on a solid financial footing, is continuing to invest heavily in R&D and is well placed to deliver future growth.

McLaren Group revenues grew by 7.5% in 2013 as the businesses continued to apply its cutting-edge technologies into new markets, while also increasing income from sponsorship and Formula 1 prize money.

The McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team continued to be extremely well supported by its partners, who include blue chip companies such as SAP, ExxonMobil, Santander, Hugo Boss, GSK, Hilton, AkzoNobel, Tag Heuer and Diageo, many of whom have partnered with McLaren for decades.

During 2013 McLaren engaged in exciting technology projects, including participating in a deep technology partnership with GSK, supporting Team GB in its build up to the Winter Olympics and supplying electronic systems to all teams in Formula 1, NASCAR and IndyCar.

In May 2013 Honda Motor Company announced its planned re-entry into F1 with McLaren in 2015. This signals a significant transition for McLaren from its arrangements with Daimler to its new and exciting partnership with Honda.

McLaren operates a unique F1 business model achieving high revenues from both prize monies and sponsorship. Remaining independent whilst maintaining a strong partnership with a global automotive OEM has been key to the company's success and will continue to be so in future.

Adapted from fia.com

Round 13 of the 2014 FIA Formula 1 World Championship moves the action to its traditional early September date at Monza, home of the Italian Grand Prix.

Monza is F1's premier speed circuit, the last of its kind, a flat-out blast through parkland that sees cars, configured for low downforce, reach their highest velocities of the year. Its reputation as F1's fastest track is likely to be enhanced this year.

While 2014's technical regulations have produced cars with less downforce than those of recent years, the corresponding decrease in drag may see cars hitting 360kph on the long straights.

DRS
There will be two DRS zones in Italy. The detection point for the first zone will be 95m before Turn Seven, with the activation point 210m after Turn Seven. The second detection point will be 20m before Turn 11, with the activation point 115m after the finish line.


Racing on home ground, Pirelli brings its two hardest compounds to Monza.

The fast Parabolica corner places high lateral energy demands on the tire, while the stop-go nature of the chicanes means Monza also makes high longitudinal demands on the rubber. Even so, the presence of the hard and medium tires combined with the long pit lane time makes this a good place to try a one-stop strategy.

From GMM

F1 should thank the warring Mercedes teammates for their spicy championship battle in 2014.

That is the view of Norbert Haug, the former Mercedes chief who is today removed from the stresses that his successors Toto Wolff, Paddy Lowe and Niki Lauda are facing as they manage the imploding relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Indeed, Mercedes has apparently struggled to handle the fallout of the silver-clad duo's clash in Belgium two weeks ago, but Haug sees the controversy differently.

Unlike Wolff and Lauda, who heavily criticised and actually formally reprimanded Rosberg, he thinks the incident at Spa-Francorchamps was nothing out of the ordinary.

"It should not happen, but it can happen -- even among teammates," Haug told Sport Bild.

"Especially when they are the only opponents for the world title and - rightly - when they are racing without team orders. Hamilton and Rosberg are battling it out on the track, which I see as particularly valuable for the Silver Arrows."

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

Mercedes' new management has regarded the Spa crash as bad for the German marque's image, but Haug thinks any damage will be quickly forgotten.

"After a clean 1-2 victory at Monza, Spa will be yesterday's news," he said.

And, anyway, he thinks that without the Hamilton-Rosberg battle for 2014 glory, "the world championship would not be even half as interesting in my opinion".

He says incidents like Spa are unavoidable when a wheel-to-wheel battle for the title is taking place.

"You don't make omelette without breaking eggs," Norbert Haug is quoted by Germany's Sky.

"I have seen it with David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen, with Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen, with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Fighting between two teammates was not invented this year!" he exclaimed.

Norbert Haug also said that if Mercedes had decided to impose team orders after Spa, the value of championship victory at the end would have been "less than half".

According to team Niki Lauda, the idea is to get the Mercedes duo clear of any third party title rival by the Abu Dhabi finale and then release Hamilton and Rosberg to fight unfettered for the drivers' crown.

"Then, sparks can sometimes fly, because we do not care which of them is first and which is second at the end," the F1 legend told Auto Motor und Sport.

From press release

The Tech 1 Racing team, four-time Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, has joined forces with Canadian Nicholas Latifi for the next two rounds of the World Series by Renault.

The 19-year-old Canadian will be part of the Toulouse-based outfit with Dane Marco Sorensen, Lotus F1 team reserve driver.

Tech 1 Racing will run a second car at the Hungaroring and Paul Ricard events to back up the experienced Marco Sorensen. It will be driven by young Canadian Nicholas Latifi, one of the front-runners in the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

Nicholas Latifi, Formula 3 European Championship. (Photo: Twitter/Nicholas Latifi)

After a career in karts, which ended with the title in the Florida Winter Tour with the Rotax DD2, Latifi learned the ropes in single-seaters in the Skip Barber Series before taking a big leap and made his European debut in the Italian F3 Championship.

He has also raced in the British and European Championships as well as in the Toyota Racing Series and Florida Winter Series.

The driver from Toronto is currently in the top 10 in the ultra-competitive FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

From GMM

Jean Todt is concerned about the viability of next month's inaugural grand prix.

That is the claim of Ari Vatanen, an FIA official who once stood against Todt for the presidency of F1's governing body but is now one of his closest allies.

Russia and its controversial president Vladimir Putin, who Bernie Ecclestone describes as a "super guy", are in the global headlines at present over the escalating aggression against Ukraine.

The Financial Times this week claimed Europe is considering recommending new sanctions against Russia to include the boycott of key sport events, like the inaugural grand prix at Sochi scheduled for mid October.

Daniel Johnson, the F1 correspondent for the Telegraph newspaper, believes Finn Vatanen is "testing the waters" with his comments on behalf of a more reserved Todt.

"Of course Jean knows about my comments, we spoke about it," Vatanen said. "We are friends. I think he partly shares my view. It is true that his hands are tied. I can say things much more openly and freely than he can."

Photo: Sochi Autodrom

F1 chief executive Ecclestone, who personally agreed the race deal with Putin, consistently refers to his binding contract with Sochi organisers and the fact that sport and politics should not be mixed.

Ari Vatanen said: "It is often said that formula one should not mix politics and sport, but the Russian regime is already mixing politics and sport in a blatant way, so we have to respond. It is for Bernie and the owners to cancel the race."

As the current situation worsens, Putin has in the past days even threatened nuclear war as the West exerts increasing pressure.

"It is an unprecedented situation since the second world war," said Vatanen, a former rally world champion and European parliamentarian, "and we have to ask ourselves how history will remember us and what we did or did not do.

"Do we support the regime who is masterminding this bloodshed? Or do we say this is not correct? It would send a message of acceptance if we went to Russia. It would say we condone, effectively, maybe not explicitly, but by our actions we condone what is going on because it is used in propaganda," Ari Vatanen concluded.

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel is reportedly chewing over the interest in his services expressed by McLaren-Honda.

In the media, Ron Dennis' desire for a truly top driver to spearhead the new McLaren era beginning next year has centred on Fernando Alonso.

But the Spaniard has effectively ruled himself out of the running this week, as he said he is not only committed to the rest of his Ferrari contract, but is even eyeing an extension to the deal.

And insiders believe Lewis Hamilton is unlikely to abandon his coveted seat at Mercedes, even if teammate Nico Rosberg goes on to secure the 2014 title.

"Lewis is not having any discussion with any other team, so this is why we trust each other," team boss Toto Wolff insists.

McLaren's hopes might therefore be pinned now on Vettel, the reigning quadruple world champion.

The German has struggled at Red Bull this year as the champion team's engine partner Renault faltered at the start of the new turbo V6 era.

But he has even failed to match his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo, with some believing Vettel may now be open to a change of stimulus as Red Bull plots its future with younger stars including Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB10-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

The specialist Italian sources Italiaracing and Omnicorse report this week that McLaren-Honda's interest in Vettel has definitely reached the 27-year-old German.

Italiaracing claims he is likely to resist the call and stay at Red Bull in 2015.

Omnicorse, however, believes Vettel has responded to the noises from Woking by seeking "certain guarantees" about the new McLaren-Honda project, particularly about the likelihood of a package capable of taking on Mercedes in 2015.

"Rumours in Italy suggest that the Red Bull driver has asked for a period of reflection before giving his answer to McLaren," the report said.

Counting in McLaren's favour is that a man central to Vettel's success at Red Bull in recent years, aerodynamics chief Peter Prodromou, started work at Woking a few days ago.

"It (Prodromou's arrival) will bolster our revitalised aero team," Dennis said recently, "so I'm not concerned about aero performance next year. It will come right."

And Honda has also made clear this week that, contrary to rumours it is currently missing its target of matching Mercedes' dominant engine performance, the Japanese marque intends to win as soon as possible.

"I have confidence that we will match Mercedes," chief Yasuhisa Arai told F1's official website.

"Formula one is a very important part of our strategy -- and winning is very important for Honda," he added.

"We want to raise the awareness of our brand and I trust - I am a firm believer - that we will win races next year."

Mercedes AMG Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg talked to the reporters Thursday in Monza as they participated in the mandatory FIA press conference.

A journalist asked if the Mercedes AMG team was divided.

“What has happened in the past is in the past and it is what it is. It is important for us to keep a good rapport between us so we can keep the team lifted up - we don't want one side of the team to want to do one thing,” Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ.

“That is our job and we have to remember we are ambassadors for one of the biggest brands in the world, Mercedes Benz, so it is really important how we shine a light on that and that is what we are paid to do”.

Rosberg explained it took him five days to apologize to the team after the incident.

“Time and the opinion of others,” Rosberg explained, thereby denying that he had been pressurised into doing so by the team.

“They can't make me apologise, it was definitely a decision that came from me. After looking at it again, I felt that it was my responsibility. I was not proud in Spa of how it went. I really want to contribute to our sport because I want F1 to be the most entertaining sport in the world,” Rosberg added.

“I am really excited about the races going forward and fighting hard as always. It has not been the easiest or smoothest season, but I wouldn't have it any other way,” Hamilton said at the end.

However, neither driver shot a single sideward glance during the 40-minute conference.

Mexican driver Sergio Perez said in Monza that he is close to clinching a deal to remain with Force India Formula 1 team next season.

Perez expects to stay with the team based in Silverstone despite rumours linking Force India reserve driver Daniel Juncadella with his seat.

“All I can say is that for me we are still discussing on a deal for next year - Juncadella I really don't know anything, that is for the team or Daniel himself,” Perez told the journalist in the Monza paddock.

“I think we are closer to the end than we were before.”

The Mexican admitted he did not talk to any other team.

“There are not really many options and I am happy and the team is really progressing well - and I know what we are doing for next year especially - so I would like to have a second year in this team ideally,” Perez explained.

“When you move teams so much you really don't establish yourself in a team so I would like to establish myself in a team and I think to do that in the second year is the best thing,” he added.

Remember that mysterious front grille partially revealed by Infiniti last month? Well, it belongs to the all-new Q80 Inspiration Concept, which will make its debut at the Paris Auto Show in early October.

Hinting at a bold new high-end model, Infiniti said that “the intent of the low-slung, ingeniously aggressive 4-passenger fastback is to demonstrate to the premium world just how Infiniti aims to play its part.”

The Q80 Inspiration may wind up competing against the likes of the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe.

As for powertrain details and available features, we'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out.

Source : fr.cars.yahoo.com

Photo: Infiniti

Toyota Division plans to make active safety technology -- including anti-collision systems -- available throughout its entire lineup in the United States by 2017, said Bill Fay, Toyota Division's general manager.

CarMax said it is recruiting for more than 1,000 positions to fill across the country. The used-car retailer said in a statement Wednesday it is offering full- and part-time permanent positions.

Toyota, in a move to expand its digital media marketing efforts, began sponsoring a new entertainment Web program that debuted Wednesday.

Riding strong U.S. demand for crossovers and big pickups, automakers sold almost 1.6 million light vehicles in August, up 6 percent from a booming year-ago period. In August 2013, auto sales jumped 17 percent.

Tesla Motors is expected to announce Thursday that it has selected Nevada to be the site of its "gigafactory," the large-scale lithium ion battery manufacturing plant estimated to cost up to $5 billion to build.

Ford of Canada said today that it was the country's top seller of new vehicles in the month of August, as sturdy truck demand helped it maintain leadership for a fifth consecutive month.