Auto News 5

Bosch has posted a comparison chart which helps motorists decide between purchasing a gas- or a diesel-powered vehicle.

By comparing the advantages of both types, Bosch offers a cornucopia of tasty tidbits to the undecided, who can then take into account the data that best suits their personal situation.

Both engine types offer advantages, according to Rolf Bulander, member of the Bosch Board of Management. “Both have their strengths in different vehicle classes. A modern gasoline engine makes even affordable compact cars efficient, while an advanced diesel engine can keep consumption low and driving enjoyment high in a larger vehicle.”

Source : Bosch

Photo: Bosch

From IndyCar.com

The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series testing regulations recently released include no in-season on-track team activity but the re-introduction of Open Tests before selected races.

Provisions have been made in the rulebook for potential Firestone tire tests, new Verizon IndyCar Series teams and first-year drivers.

The regulations apply from Aug. 31 through Sept. 20, 2015. A team is permitted a total of 14 test days, comprised of engine manufacturer tests, team tests, Open Tests and full-size wind tunnel tests.

Full-season entrants are allocated a maximum of 10,000 total miles for use in all on-track activity from the first race or Open Test of 2015 to the end of the race season.

The first Open Test is scheduled for March 16-17, 2015, at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. It will be the initial opportunity for teams to test manufacturer road and street course aero kits to debut at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 27-29.

Other Open Test venues include the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Sonoma Raceway. Open Test days were incorporated in the 2013 testing regulations.

The 2014-15 offseason on-track testing period opens Sept. 16. Six days of manufacturer aero kit testing with selected teams will be conducted from Oct. 6 to Jan. 18, 2015. Teams take delivery of the road and street course aero kit March 1.

Four-time Canadian Rally Champion Pat Richard missed the Rallye Auto Baie-des-Chaleurs in June and has announced today his retirement from the sport.

On his Facebook page, Patrick wrote: “Yes, I have to retire from competitive driving.

“I have a serious neurological illness believed to have been caused by a series of head injuries. Although I am now out of the hospital after a two-month stay, I am mostly confined to my home. I'm hopeful I'll recover fully but it's really unlikely I'll be driving competitively again.

Pat Richard, Subaru Impreza WRX STI (Photo: René Fagnan)

“This has been a very difficult decision to make but it's for the best. Huge thanks to Subaru Canada for an entire career's worth of support, to the well-respected and hard-working posse at Rocket Rally, and to everyone involved in the sport -- you guys have all made it a great ride!

“Subaru Rally Team Canada and the Rocket Rally crew will most definitely be at Rallye Defi; though I won't be driving I'm still involved with the team and I'll be supporting them from a distance.

“I hope to get to a rally soon to start my new career as most annoying know-it-all service crew guy ever”.

From Classic Lotus

Classic Team Lotus is very sorry to report the death of Len Terry, one of the great Team Lotus designers and a leading figure in motorsport design in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Len first worked for Lotus in the 50s, during the Hornsey days. He returned to Team Lotus in the early 60s, developing the Lotus 25 into the Lotus 33, which was used by Jim Clark to win the World Championship in 1965.

The same year Team Lotus won the Indianpolis 500 in the Lotus type 38, which Len designed almost single handed.

Jim Clark's 1965 Indianapolis 500 Winner, Lotus-Ford 38/1 (Photo: Ford)

In 1966 Len was hired by Dan Gurney to design the Eagle chassis which would serve for both Formula 1 and Indycar racing. Len's design is often cited as one of the most beautiful F1 cars of all time and it was quick too, famously winning the 1967 Belgian GP at Spa.

Len enjoyed an up and down relationship with Colin Chapman. They respected each other's abilities and Len was a strong character who had confidence in his 'talent and ability' and would not be intimidated.

Ford has begun an eight-week closure of its F-150 pickup plant near Detroit to overhaul it for a new, aluminum- bodied version of the top-selling vehicle line in the United States.

About 300 unionized workers at a Johnson Controls interiors plant in Ontario ratified a new three-year contract, heading off a potential strike at the factory and work stoppage at General Motors' Oshawa assembly complex.

A123 Systems LLC is in the midst of a recharge.

Subaru today christened a glistening new global headquarters more befitting of the hot brand's bigger international profile. The glass-and-steel digs, in Tokyo's trendy Ebisu district, replaces a cramped, gloomy 48-year-old monolith it sold in 2010.

Two years out of high school, Evan Fischbach is earning $40,000 a year. His secret: shop class. Fischbach, 19, has known he wanted to work on cars ever since he took an automotive class in his junior year of high school in Saline, Mich.

Hyundai Motor's management is meeting workers today to resolve differences over wage demands after losing two days of extra weekend shifts to a boycott.

Suppliers who have colluded for years to inflate parts prices for automakers, dealers and repair shops in a global market with annual sales of more than 80 million vehicles, are now being exposed in a worldwide sweep by regulators.

Russia's AvtoVAZ said it plans to cut production of its Lada cars in the next three months by 25,000 because of rapidly declining demand for new vehicles in the country.

China has told three German suppliers they can no longer manage their Chinese units independently but need to form partnerships with local peers, the CEO of auto parts maker ElringKlinger told a German newspaper.

As German premium brands lose their exclusivity in a chase for volume, revived premium brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Maserati are challenging the luxury-car market dominance of BMW, Audi and Mercedes.

Companies that draw on Chicago's historic strengths in electronics design and manufacturing, wireless communications and mapping, are well-positioned for a key role in the development of the connected car.

Robert Hegbloom, the new head of the Ram brand, will get a crash course in the van market next year.

Matthew McConaughey is collaborating with Ford's luxury brand to promote a very different kind of Lincoln: The 2015 MKC compact crossover.

Continental's pick-up of Google executive underscores how the supplier sees specialized software and services as increasingly crucial to its future.

The rivalry between Ford's venerable F series and Chrysler's hard-charging Ram truck brand is heating up again.

In the auto design world, there are the suave, black-turtleneck types and there are guys like Dave Marek, a chatty hot-rodder who'd rather skip a fancy dinner than get dressed up for it.