Auto News 5

Renault has posted a 25% increase in half-year Group operating profit to EUR729m (US$980m), but warns of a "sharp slowdown" in emerging markets.

Magna International has announced the expansion of its interiors manufacturing facility in Trnava, Slovakia, to accommodate recently awarded additional automotive interiors business.

Reports that VW may buy Fiat-Chrysler sound improbable, but the idea certainly has its appeal for both automakers. It would allow VW to overcome its weakness in North America in a single stroke and offer Fiat Chrysler a safe haven if its strong U.S.

Reports that VW may buy Fiat-Chrysler sound improbable, but the idea has appeal. It would allow VW to overcome its weakness in North America and offer Fiat Chrysler a safe haven.

European luxury car brands have cut new car and aftersales prices in China as a result of the government's investigation into anti-competitive activity, launched earlier this year.

News 29 Jul, 2014

Kia has teased the upcoming third-generation Sorento with a set of design sketches

News 29 Jul, 2014

Drive to lower air pollution would see diesels and older petrol cars penalised in urban areas by 2020

Honda's quarterly operating profit rose 7 percent to $1.94 billion as lower sales in the United States were offset by costs cuts and the company's stronger focus on Asian markets.

Honda's quarterly operating profit rose 7 percent to $1.94 billion as lower sales in the United States were offset by costs cuts and the company's stronger focus on Asian markets.

Renault reported a 25 percent jump in first-half operating profit thanks to cost-cutting even as currency headwinds and mounting inventories hurt sales and cash flow.

Honda's promotion for its summer sales clearance offered the only new video on our viral video list this week, but three videos from Toyota, Jaguar and Ford broke back into the top 10.

For General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan and other carmakers, Russia is an emerging market with huge strategic significance. But the risks are there too, and like Russia itself, they are enormous.

Skoda has given its Fabia subcompact a more dynamic, sharper and sportier design. The latest-generation Fabia will debut at the Paris auto show in October.

Daimler has reached a labor agreement that will allow it to sell some Mercedes dealerships in Germany as part of a wider plan to overhaul its sales network in the market.

From GMM

Jacques Villeneuve makes comments designed deliberately to trigger sensational headlines.

That is the claim of Oskari Saari, a commentator for the Finnish broadcaster MTV3 who says he knows the 1997 world champion well.

"Jacques is a great guy," he said. "I always like to see him because I like to argue with him! He is always in a happy and positive mood when I see him."

Former Williams and Honda driver Villeneuve is now a regular television pundit for Sky Italia, but he also makes regular print headlines with his biting observations.

Recently, he added fuel to the silly-season by suggesting Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are on the move, and after Hungary accused Nico Rosberg of trying to "destroy Lewis' race".

Jacques Villeneuve drives in the FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2014. (Photo: Albatec Racing)

MTV3's Saari thinks he has figured Villeneuve out.

"Last season he criticised Valtteri Bottas heavily," he said, referring to the young Finn who in a competitive Williams has emerged in 2014 as a true star.

"Last weekend I asked Villeneuve about that and he admitted that this year is going a little more smoothly for Bottas than last year! I have the feeling that Villeneuve throws these things out there just for fun, just for the colour of the stories and for the headlines," Oskari Saari charged.

The Jetta has always been a car for American tastes. Basically a Golf with a bulbous behind, the Jetta took the US market by storm when it was first introduced.

The compact Volkswagen sedan, in GLI guise specifically, enters 2014 celebrating 30 years of providing a four-door trunked alternative to the hatchback GTI.

Thirty years. Volkswagen must be doing something right.


What is the Volkswagen Jetta GLI?
If the Jetta GLI were curry, it would rank at two-out-of-three chilies on the bottle. It's not scalding hot, but it gets served along with some German spice.

Based on the normal Jetta, Volkswagen replaced the 2.5L 5-cylinder of the previous GLI with a new 2.0L TSI 4-cylinder last year. This year, that same powerplant gets a slight bump of 10 horsepower (for a total of 210 hp). The GLI also receives a sport-tuned suspension and a larger wheel package than more plebian Jettas.

Edition 30 models, available only this year, offer a few more extras.

2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Price and Specs
All GLI models are powered by a 2.0L TSI with 210 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque (the 2015 GTI will have the same horsepower but 258 lb-ft of twist). The turbo mill can be teamed with a 6-speed manual or VW's ubiquitous 6-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic.

The “base” GLI (which is actually quite feature-laden) starts at $28,290 with a 6-speed manual transmission, 17” wheels, and cloth seating. Automatic 6-speed DSG models add $1,400. Adding all the bells and whistles in the Technology Package (which includes both Sport and Leather Packages) brings the MSRP up to $35,490.

Edition 30 GLI models, which get a host of no-change extras, start at $31,275 with the same 6-speed manual, but are equipped with leatherette seating and 18” wheels. Fully sauced, the Edition 30 with 6-speed DSG and navigation rings in at $34,245, the exact price of our tester.

Driving the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI
While the plethora of GLI badges may con you into thinking its going to blow the doors off other cars, don't be fooled. Much like its overall appearance, the GLI is quite civilized in its power delivery.

The 2.0L TSI four-pot does motivate the GLI much better than other offerings in the range, and certainly better than the old 2.5L 5-cylinder, but its no WRX or Lancer Ralliart. Instead, equipped with the DSG automatic, the GLI wafts you away with a slight turbo whistle.

Unlike Ford's emphasis on turbocharging for fuel economy, the GLI is tuned to give you as much power as possible throughout the rev-range. That low-end torque, which never grows old, does come with a price: gas consumption.

Rated at 8.9 city/6.2 highway L/100km, the GLI is fairly efficient on paper, but my torque addiction brought that number up to 9.8L/100km overall. It becomes an even pricier proposition when you realize the GLI runs on premium fuel.

Under the incredibly stiff and solid chassis, the GLI Edition 30 I tested rode on 18” wheels with an independent MacPherson strut setup up front and fully independent four-link suspension in the rear. It's all given a sport tune, making the ride slightly harsher, but compared to other “hot” compacts, it could be a lot worse.

Braking was also admirable, providing a significant level of feel and performance without requiring a lot of pedal travel.

Unfortunately, our tester had a slight steering issue, with the wheel sitting off to the left about 5 degrees, though it didn't seem to be an alignment issue as the car was not working against me. Otherwise, pointing the Jetta was quite effortless, offering up just the right amount of wheel weighting.

Inside and Out of the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI
Volkswagen takes their own approach when it comes to interiors. When you sit inside one, you definitely know it's a Volkswagen, and the GLI is no exception.

Instead of a gussied-up dash and more visual toys than you can pay attention to, Volkswagen's approach of simplicity works quite well in the GLI. The seats, while leatherette and quite supportive, aren't overly styled or finished. The dash is fairly typical Jetta fare, except for a couple of discreet touches.

Noise, vibration, and harshness are kept to a minimum, though I do wish more engine noise made it into the passenger cabin, particularly while at full-trot. It was hard to notice the whistle of the turbocharged engine in the car, a noise I actually want to hear.

Outside, Volkswagen loyalists will either say the latest Jetta is a classically styled iteration of the compact sedan or they will flat out call it boring. However, thanks to some very sharp 18” wheels, unique front fascia, LED daytime running lights, and other touches giving the GLI a sportier appearance, nobody could call this version of the Jetta boring.

While the GLI may not be the hottest sedan on the block, it's far from boring or bad. If anything, it's a bit grown-up; it's the performance compact car for those of us who don't want rock-hard, track-ready suspension setups or twitchy accelerator pedals.

Actually, it's a GTI Lite with a trunk. Is that really a bad thing? Not at all.

Comparing the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI
Surprisingly, the Volkswagen Jetta GLI isn't the only four-door compact sedan on the Canadian market with over 200 hp. The mildly hot people's car with a trunk goes head-to-head with the Honda Civic Sedan Si, Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, Subaru WRX Sedan and, to a lesser degree, the Acura ILX Dynamic, Audi A3 2.0 TFSI, and Mercedes-Benz CLA 250.

From GMM

Lewis Hamilton has hit back at suggestions he was wrong to ignore team orders during Sunday's Hungarian grand prix.

Niki Lauda, who after Hamilton's qualifying fire had cheered the Briton up over pizza, insisting with typical clarity that the driver was "right" and the German team "wrong".

"Lewis ignored it because he remembered before the season that we said they could fight freely against each other. That's why he did the right thing," the great Austrian told Bild newspaper.

Not everyone is as convinced.

The headline in the major German daily Welt claims Mercedes is the victim of "Hamilton's ego-show".

"With his disobedience, Hamilton weakened the authority of the team leadership and provoked his teammate Nico Rosberg, for a comparatively low reward."

Lewis Hamilton leading Nico Rosberg in Hungary. (Photo: WRi2)

But according to Hamilton, that's not the point. On Monday, he insisted he is "hired to race".

"It is not questioning authority," the 2008 world champion explained. "I am hired to be me, and race my heart out."

Team boss Toto Wolff and Rosberg agreed after the race that Hamilton's defiance had cost Mercedes a race win.

Again, Lewis Hamilton doesn't see it that way.

"I did not cost Nico a win," he insisted. "I was racing against him! Why would I be concerned for him? I don't think I was being ruthless. I was not even being bloody minded. I was doing my job. I tried my hardest to be ahead and I don't feel as though I was obligated to help."

John Watson, a former F1 driver turned commentator, thinks the problem is home grown.

"Is Toto Wolff more interested in projecting himself?" he wondered. "Does he really have the authority?" the former McLaren driver told the Daily Mail.

"Paddy Lowe is a fantastic guy, but he is not the person to deal with this. Lauda is a very clever man, but I don't know what authority he has. If there was one person who could kick ass in that team, it is the person that they let go, Ross (Brawn)," said Watson.

From GMM

Mercedes chiefs are heading into the month-long summer break scratching their heads at how to deal with an escalating driver battle.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo may have won in Hungary, but Toto Wolff admits that it was Nico Rosberg who probably should have held the biggest trophy aloft -- if only Lewis Hamilton had obeyed a clear and repeated team order.

German media sources report that even though German Rosberg is determined to play cool, calm and controversy-free, he 'poked his tongue out' at the outcome of Sunday's race by uncharacteristically wearing his cap backwards in his post-race meeting with reporters.

He was asked if Wolff is right to say the defiant Hamilton spoiled his victory in Budapest.

"That's so theoretical. I don't know," said Rosberg, before changing his mind.

"Ah, no, no -- let's go with what Toto said. He's looked at all the data -- let's go with his opinion. He's the best person to know that."

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG. (Photo: WRi2)

It's as close as the controversy-dodging Rosberg will come to accusing Hamilton of ruining his race.

But he did admit that he thinks Hamilton should have obeyed the order.

"Lewis didn't let me by although he was ordered to," said Rosberg, "so that's obviously not good."

Beyond that, he closed the door on the topic.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't want to say anything on the subject. I don't know what Lewis said.

"You all saw what happened," Nico Rosberg added. "It's pretty obvious, it was all on the radio, but it's better if we discuss everything behind closed doors."

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone thinks formula one needs to act now to prevent a downward trend of unpopularity.

Before qualifying in Hungary, amid a climate of paddock doom about dwindling spectator and television numbers, the F1 chief executive met with team bosses.

Afterwards, it emerged that Ecclestone would revive the F1 career of Flavio Briatore in the wake of his 'crash-gate' ban by appointing him the head of a new 'popularity working group'.

When asked about the flamboyant yet divisive Italian figure, Ecclestone is quoted by Italy's Tuttosport: "We'll see. We'll see what we can do."

Ecclestone is following up the Hungarian meeting with another meeting involving the governing FIA this Thursday, after Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo urged the need for a crisis 'summit'.

Confirming that team boss Marco Mattiacci will be there, Maranello based Ferrari confirmed on Monday that the meeting is to "look at the general situation of formula one and how to increase the sport's appeal".

Bernie Ecclestone added: "We simply want to see if there is the possibility to look at the rules, because there has been so much negativity. We need to have a look at all of this and clear some things up."

Buick has just announced a brand new midsize CUV that will slot between the smaller Encore and the larger Enclave. Called Envision, it's based on the concept that debuted at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show.

The Buick Envision will first launch in China this fall with a 2.0L turbo engine rated at 256 horsepower, a 6-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive.

North American customers will have to be a bit more patient and wait until the first half of 2015. Out here, the Envision could very well offer the 2.0L unit plus the same 3.6L V6 engine that currently powers the Chevrolet Equinox.

Europe may also get the Envision as a replacement for the Opel Antara.

Buick has yet to give details about the Envision's interior, standard equipment list and price range. Look for more information to be posted on Auto123.com in the next few months.

Source : leblogauto.com

Photo: Buick