Auto News 5

Continuing just-auto's series of interviews with tier one manufacturers, Matthew Beecham spoke to James Zizelman, engineering director gasoline powertrain, Delphi about fuel injection systems and briefly with Andrew Lasley, director electronic controls advanced engineering, Delphi about electric vehicles.

Twenty-one years ago, Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara, decided to return the racing started by his grandfather, the ninth Duke of Richmond, to the family's fabled estate at Goodwood. He had that long driveway, after all.

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: The HD Silverado takes all the light duty truck's improvements and applies them to the big rig.

News 30 Jun, 2014

More new SUVs on the way, with new Volkswagen Tiguan on the horizon

U.S. buyers of the new Porsche Macan, which went on sale in May, face a wait of more than six months for delivery. So the company is trying to keep potential Macan buyers happy by putting them in other Porsches during the wait.

Toyota has delayed the launch of its fourth-generation Prius hybrid from the second to the fourth quarter of 2015. A source said the carmaker was continuing to work on maximizing the car's fuel economy.

The Automotive News PACE Awards, which honor game-changing innovation by suppliers, is accepting applications for the 2015 competition. The application deadline is Aug. 29. Go to autonews.

Toyota Motor Corp. has delayed the start of production for the fourth-generation Prius from next spring until December 2015. Engineers are sweating the details of a new vehicle architecture and the company's next-generation hybrid system.

A sparse refueling network won't be the only hurdle facing Toyota Motor Corp.'s new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. A generous dollop of government subsidies will also be necessary for the car.

Chrysler dealers eager to crank up sales of the redesigned 2015 200 will have to wait a few more months.

Governments have mainly tried to fight distracted driving with laws banning handset use or texting in the car -- laws that are widely flouted. Google and its partners from the auto industry are taking an approach that's more carrot than stick.

If recalls are a kind of a manufacturer do-over, this month's recall of some Chevrolet Cobalts and HHRs for a power-steering defect was a do-over of a do-over.

Toyota is seeing a strong shift into two-year leases this year, a trend that promises quicker customer turnarounds and fuller used-car inventories down the road.

After shaking up the industry with the previous Sonata's swoopy sheet metal, Hyundai engineers focused most on improving driving dynamics for the mid-sized sedan's seventh generation.

Alan Mulally's departure from Ford Motor Co. on July 1 will be a big change for the automaker and its new CEO, Mark Fields. But especially, it will open a new chapter for Bill Ford.

The lounge inside Burns Hyundai in Marlton, N.J., offers red-carpet perks to Genesis and Equus buyers. It has been essential to winning over customers from brands such as Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

General Motors announced on Monday that it will conduct six new safety recalls in the U.S. and Canada involving more than 8.4 million vehicles. That brings to nearly 30 million the number of units recalled by GM so far this year.

“We undertook what I believe is the most comprehensive safety review in the history of our company because nothing is more important than the safety of our customers,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. “Our customers deserve more than we delivered in these vehicles. That has hardened my resolve to set a new industry standard for vehicle safety, quality and excellence.”

GM is aware of seven crashes, eight injuries and three fatalities. The fatal crashes occurred in older model full-size sedans being recalled for inadvertent ignition key rotation. There is no conclusive evidence that the defect condition caused those crashes.

Photo: General Motors

From GMM

A saga involving a controversial pre-season test is now over.

Last month, an unnamed whistleblower circulated letters to the FIA and some rival teams about an allegedly illegal six-day test on Austrian automotive company AVL's indoor 'rolling road' facility.

It subsequently emerged that the test involved Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso but possibly also Red Bull test driver Antonio Felix da Costa.

Engine supplier Renault's Remi Taffin confirmed: "We just had to work with our partner AVL, because our own facilities were at full capacity."

Renault argued that the 'test' was in fact just perfectly legal engine bench running, amid reports the Toro Rosso was not fitted with front or rear wings.

Nonetheless, an FIA spokesperson said three weeks ago: "We will look into the matter carefully and then answer any questions."

Photo: WRi2

It appears the investigation is now over, with all parties reportedly cleared of any wrongdoing.

Even Red Bull's arch-rival Mercedes admits the test appears to have been above board.

"We do not suspect anything against the regulations," team boss Toto Wolff told the Austrian magazine Sportwoche a week ago, "especially as the wings were removed from the car."

And at around the same time, Wolff also told Kleine Zeitung newspaper: "We were made aware of it with an anonymous letter.

"The FIA is looking into it to make sure everything was lawful, but to our knowledge, it was not an aero test," he added.

Every year since 1999, the International Engine of the Year Awards recognize the best powerplants in the auto industry. The jury, which consists of 82 members from 34 countries, has four Canadian representatives including David Booth, Jim Kenzie, Marc Lachapelle, and Richard Russel.

Using their driving impressions and technical knowledge, these car experts take into consideration fuel economy, performance, noise, refinement, and fun factor. They all have 25 points to allocate to their five favourite engines in each category, with a maximum of 15 points and a minimum of one point for any given engine.

Below are the top three finishers in each category. Click here for the full results.

International engine of the year:

1. Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost (351 points)
2. Ferrari 4.5-litre V8 (281 points)
3. Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger (254 points)

Sub 1-litre:

1. Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost (505 points)
2. BMW 647cc 2-cylinder electric-gasoline range-extender (261 points)
3. Volkswagen 999cc 3-cylinder (239 points)

1-litre to 1.4-litre:

1. Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger (360 points)
2. FIAT 1.4-litre MultiAir turbo (202 points)
3. Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI (170 points)

1.4-litre to 1.8-litre:

1. BMW/PSA Peugeot Citroën 1.6-litre turbo gasoline (267 points)
2. BMW 1.5-litre 3-cylinder turbo (256 points)
3. Volkswagen/Audi 1.8-litre TFSI (196 points)

1.8-litre to 2-litre:

1. Mercedes-AMG 2.0-litre turbo (271 points)
2. Audi 2.0-litre 4-cylinder TFSI (235 points)
3. BMW 2.0-litre 4-cylinder twin-turbo diesel (211 points)

2-litre to 2.5-litre:

1. Audi 2.5-litre 5-cylinder turbo (357 points)
2. Mazda 2.2-litre SKYACTIV-D (340 points)
3. Mercedes-Benz 2.1-litre CDI (221 points)

2.5-litre to 3-litre:

1. BMW 3.0-litre 6-cylinder TwinPower Turbo (254 points)
2. Porsche 2.7-litre DI (228 points)
3. BMW M 3.0-litre turbo (174 points)

3-litre to 4-litre:

1. McLaren 3.8-litre V8 (351 points)
2. Audi/Bentley 4.0-litre TFSI (245 points)
3. Porsche 3.8-litre flat-6 DI (231 points)

Above 4-litre:

1. Ferrari 4.5-litre V8 (380 points)
2. Ferrari 6.3-litre V12 (271 points)
3. Mercedes-AMG 5.5-litre turbo V8 (148 points)

Green engine:

1. Tesla electric motor (248 points)
2. BMW 647cc 2-cylinder electric-gasoline range-extender (189 points)
3. BMW electric motor (145 points)

New engine:

1. Mercedes-AMG 2.0-litre turbo (225 points)
2. BMW 1.5-litre 3-cylinder turbo (154 points)
3. BMW electric motor (138 points)

Performance engine:

1. Ferrari 4.5-litre V8 (289 points)
2. Ferrari 6.3-litre V12 (220 points)
3. McLaren 3.8-litre V8 (136 points)

From press release

Caterham F1 Team has confirmed that Indonesia's Rio Haryanto will drive on day two of the sixth 2014 F1 test At Silverstone on July 9th, joining Will Stevens who drives day one.

Rio joined EQ8 Caterham Racing in January to contest the 2014 GP2 championship and is currently tenth in the standings with 26 points after a good start to his season. He will now step up to an F1 seat for the third time in his career, having previously taken part in F1 tests in Abu Dhabi in 2010 and Silverstone in 2012.

Caterham CT05-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

Rio Haryanto: “I can't wait to be back in an F1 car and I'm delighted it's with Caterham F1 Team, the senior team to EQ8 Caterham Racing. The last time I drove an F1 car was at the young driver test at Silverstone in 2012 and with the new engine regulations this year I'm sure it'll be a very different experience. The goal for me is to use this day as another learning experience, another chance to build on the F1 laps I've already done, and while my focus before the test is obviously to do the best job I can in GP2, I will be 100% ready to work to the plan the team set and help them develop as best I can.”

"I would like to take this chance to thank Pertamina for their continued support during my GP2 season with EQ8 Caterham Racing, which has provided me with the opportunity to test the Caterham F1 Team car."