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How come there's lap time difference of some two seconds between two Formula 1 cars powered by the same engine and shod on the same type of Pirelli tires?

Here are the data obtained from the F1 timing system at Barcelona during this past weekend's Spanish Grand Prix*.

Qualification session, 2013 Grand Prix of Spain, Barcelona
Driver                      Car                        Best time       Top speed
Vettel                       Red Bull RB9         1m21.054      306.2 km/h
Raikkonen                Lotus E21             1m21.177      313.1 km/h
Maldonado               Williams FW35      1m23.318      312.2 km/h
Van der Garde         Caterham CT03     1m24.661      310.8 km/h

*We used the qualification session as our benchmark since all drivers are pushing really hard unlike during the race where they have to save their tires. All these cars are powered by the same Renault engine.

Caterham CT03-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

From the data shown above, it is interesting to note that Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull RB9 had the slowest top speed of all four cars. Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus E21 was a full 7 km/h faster than the RB9 at the Barcelona speed trap. However, their lap times are practically identical.

So, if the engines, gearboxes, tires, and driving conditions are similar the only variables left that can explain the difference in lap time come from the drivers, the suspension geometries, the chassis, and the aerodynamics.

“The most crucial factor is aerodynamics,” told us Frank Dernie, former technical director for several F1 teams -- a career that lasted between 1976 and 2009.

“[There's] probably a little bit of driver difference, too; maybe a touch of set-up ignorance, too. I learned back in the ‘70s that the suspension geometry makes little or no difference to lap time. It does influence driver feel and tire wear, but not lap time,” Dernie revealed.

Dernie, who spent most of his career with F1 teams Williams, Lotus, and Toyota says chassis stiffness does not come into play.

“It is pretty well impossible to make a chassis strong enough to pass the safety tests which isn't stiff enough,” he explained.

So, difference in lap time boils down to efficient -- or inefficient -- aerodynamics.

“I first began to suspect this from testing in the mid-‘70s. The only things we changed which could actually be seen on the stopwatch were aerodynamics. Nothing I experienced since has countered this observation,” Dernie confessed to Auto123.com.

Despite the fact that to most fans, one F1 car looks exactly the same as another (such as the Red Bull RB9 and the Caterham CT03 pictured here), there are thousands of subtle discrepancies between them.

Red Bull RB9-Renault. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

Caterham CT03-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

Knowing that downforce squares with speed (meaning that doubling speed makes four times as much downforce), little changes to aerodynamic components will generate huge differences in vertical forces (and drag) at high speeds.

“However, aerodynamics is much more complex than most people imagine, particularly on an open-wheeled car,” Dernie added as a warning, knowing that it is too easy to pinpoint just one reason to explain such a complex problem.

Getting aerodynamics slightly wrong is a lot easier to achieve than getting them right!

While change is a necessary evil, and something select people thrive on, it's not always a good thing. Take for example, Volkswagen. From the beginning they've been known for reliable, long-lasting cars that get the job done.

Their latest version of the Jetta is no exception, especially with a TDI engine and in Highline trim. With a price just north of $30k (as tested), it's a bargain when you look at the bigger picture.


Forget the colour
And look at the car instead. While I had no trouble with the Toffee Brown Metallic paint adorning my 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, it seems some did. I found it quite sophisticated to look at, and it matched the autumn backdrop surrounding me all week as the leaves rapidly changed.

Beneath the paint lies a vehicle that's classy, with clean lines and a look that says "I'm corporate, but I still let my hair down on the weekends (under the right conditions)." The 2013 Jetta TDI isn't necessarily sporty, but it's got some interesting detailing (simplistic chrome front grille, subtle shoulder line and sculpted hood) that give it the right amount of attitude on the road.

Inside, my 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI was tricked out in Highline trim which meant the whole nine yards, and then some. With all of Volkswagen standard equipment (A/C, heated front seats, fog lights, engine block heater), plus 17" alloy wheels, leather seats, Bluetooth and standard start/stop keyless entry, the Highline trim level might seem expensive (sitting nearly $12,000 above the base Jetta price), but when you consider everything it entails, it turns the Jetta into a car you'll want in the family for years.

Inside, my 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI was tricked out in Highline trim which meant the whole nine yards, and then some. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Volkswagen's staying power
Which brings me to my next point: There's something about a Volks that just screams "well-built." As it was Thanksgiving weekend when I piloted the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, I decided to put it to the "family" test and pack everyone in for a trip to my parent's place. With four adults and a 10-month-old in his rear-facing child seat, plus a trunk full of baby paraphenalia, pumpkin pies and wine, we hit the road.

And everyone immediately had the same reaction to the Jetta: What a solid, well-built car.

From the unyielding "thunk" the door makes as it closes, to the grounded, sure-footed grasp it has on curvy country roads (no matter how full), the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is secure. It feels like a good place to be.

And the 2013 VW Jetta TDI engine helps with that stable, long-lasting sense. Equipped with a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbocharged direct injection engine, it pushes out 140 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. Coupled with Volkswagen's 6-speed DSG automatic transmission, the Jetta TDI is a joy to drive.

The first day I picked up the keys, I took the 2013 VW Jetta on a 400km road trip. From the moment I left the first stop sign, I was in love. Throttle response is fantastic, and that diesel torque is smile-inducing as is the dual-clutch DSG gearbox that makes spirited driving so rewarding (even for an automatic).

Equipped with a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbocharged direct injection engine, it pushes out 140 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

The beauty of a diesel
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Diesel is amazing. Throughout the week I was constantly shocked at the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI's gas mileage. Why? Because diesels are so few and far between here that I'm not used to it.

After a week behind the wheel of normal driving (I wasn't trying to be economical in any way), I averaged a combined 5.9L/100km and managed close to 900km on one tank. I hit the gas station with one bar left on the 55L tank read-out. Was I impressed? Very. Do I want a Jetta TDI in my driveway now? Yes.

Who cares if it smells a little at the pumps and sounds a bit like a tractor when the windows are down, the distance you'll travel between pumps is enough to put it all into perspective and justify the price of the vehicle in the long-run.

Throughout the week I was constantly shocked at the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI's gas mileage. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Volkswagen for all
From the very beginning Volkswagen has been about creating a car that everyone could own. And not a car that's so affordable that it'll fall apart in a year's time. Volkswagens are built to last and the new 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is no exception when it comes to Volkswagen doing what they do best: Building cars for the masses, but meant for a select few who truly understand the meaning of a purpose-built vehicle made to last.

This 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Highline review was originally published on Auto-Venus.com.

Perhaps it's not as impressive as John Hennessey's recent 200mph blast down Houston's new Grand Parkway in a warmed-up

A unit of Wanxiang Group, China's largest auto parts company, made a surprise bid for Fisker Automotive just days before the bankrupt maker of the Karma plug-in hybrid sports car was to be sold to a Hong Kong tycoon, according to court documents.

Every day this week we'll be looking back on a number of memorable classics as the calendar rolls over to 2014, and each day will be devoted to cars from a particular country of origin.

Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are a big part of our life here in the northern states, and we take them seriously when they come through our office. Are they an enthusiast's dream? Depends on the enthusiast. Can they be fun to drive? Absolutely.

In our last agonizing foray into the Hell Garage, we gave you the opportunity to choose one of two

The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Mich., is one of those hidden automotive gems that dot the Great Lakes states, and

DIGITAL EDITOR ANDREW STOY: It's a great time to have $65K burning a hole in your pocket for a midsize luxury car. The Mercedes E-class,

We've got car enthusiasts of all stripes here at Autoweek: Some prefer to stay topside, evaluating new cars and trucks, while some are happier hammering the bugs out of 30-plus-year-old sheetmetal.

If you want to have the rarest Fiat at the next Italian classic car event, this 2300S Coupe may be for you.

GAZ Group says it has appointed Vadim Sorokin as president and CEO, effective from 1 January, 2014.

GAZ Group says it has appointed current LCV division head, Vadim Sorokin, as president and CEO, effective from tomorrow (1 January).

The development of artificially produced noise for electric cars has become more critical to carmakers as regulators look to require warning noises as soon as next year, while the rollout of more and more models forces manufacturers to seek ways to...

Hyundai Motor Co. has gone global -- in the truest sense of the word.

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From GMM

More information about Michael Schumacher's fight for life after his skiing accident will be forthcoming on Tuesday.

The SID news agency reports that an update about the seven time world champion's medical condition will be given from the hospital in Grenoble early in the day.

It is not known if the great 44-year-old German's condition has changed since the press conference on Monday, but rumours and speculation are rife.

In the meantime, Schumacher's family - his wife Corinna and two children - are at his bedside, and there are reports his brother Ralf and father Rolf are also at the hospital.

38-year-old Ralf Schumacher, who drove for Williams and Toyota until 2007, has blacked out the home page of his personal website.

A French media report said Schumacher's helmet cracked in the high speed impact with rocks, which has left the winner of 91 grands prix in a coma and fighting for his life with lesions on both hemispheres of his brain.

"The family is not doing very well, obviously," Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm said.

She hit back at reports that Schumacher, a lover of skydiving, swimming with sharks and motorcycle racing, took one risk too much on the snow on Sunday.

"It was not an off-piste track," said Kehm. "They (Schumacher and his son Mick) were skiing on pistes, but in the moment that it happened, it was not on the piste."

One British neurosurgeon told the Guardian newspaper that if Schumacher recovers, it will take him "weeks, even months".

"He's a perfect man, a solid man, an outstanding guy," said triple world champion Niki Lauda. "He would not take unnecessary risks. He's not stupid."

The F1 presenter for German television RTL, Kai Ebel, agreed: "I have seen Michael skiing dozens of times, but I would not call him a gambler. Michael takes only calculated risks, within his precisely set boundaries. I would never call him reckless."

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, however, told French television Itele: "Michael has this need to push himself."

Schumacher's plight has united the F1 and sporting worlds, and the wider community in kind tribute to his talent, achievements and personality.

"I only hope he pulls through, so that he can see all the nice things people are saying about him," former rival David Coulthard wrote in the Telegraph.

Until then, the world is hanging on the words of respected medical professionals, like Dr Dino Altmann, the Brazilian grand prix doctor.

He compared Schumacher's accident to Felipe Massa's near-fatal 2009 qualifying crash, from which the Brazilian made a full recovery.

"They are somehow simular because they are both trauma," Altmann told Globo. "But the spring hit Felipe where there is larger resistance from bone defences.

"Felipe's trauma, although severe, was much lighter than Schumacher's. Even without knowing the exact severity of his injury, we know that he was agitated and not answering questions. This already demonstrates a very severe trauma," he said.

However, Altmann takes some comfort in the fact that, contrary to some recent reports, Schumacher has only undergone one brain operation so far.

"If he has not had a second surgery in these first hours, it means that the cranial pressure is under control," he said.

"The more time that passes without another surgery is good for Schumacher. It means he is in the best conditions for his recovery."

Nissan has announced the world debut of its new Sport Sedan Concept at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. This vehicle, which previews the company's future sport sedan, will be joined by the North American debuts of the Nissan IDx Freeflow and IDx NISMO concepts.

Once again, expect sports car design cues to be applied on a four-door body. More details and photos will follow immediately after the unveiling, which is scheduled for January 13th, 2014.

Photo: Nissan

Highlights*
Versatility, increased passenger room and cargo capacity, easier access, and sliding rear seats make the 2014 Fiat 500L (long wheelbase) a hip new alternative for small families.

Lowlights*
The Fiat 500's charm has somewhat been lost in the process, interior trim quality fails to impress, and the extra size increases weight transfers and body roll in certain situations.


Pricing
While pricing for the 2014 Fiat 500L has yet to be announced, you can bet that it will undercut its main rival, the MINI Cooper Countryman.

Key upgrades
The 500L stands out from the regular 500 in a number of ways. As mentioned, the rear seats independently slide fore and aft, for either maximum cargo or legroom.

Styling
Taller and beefier, the 2014 Fiat 500L shares many similarities with the 500, starting with a minimalist front grille and round headlights. The rising beltline and squared-off, sloping roofline add some flair to the profile. At the same time, the 500L is 60 cm longer, 15 cm wider and 17 cm taller than the regular 500.

Fiat loves customization, and so do 500 buyers. More than 330 colour combinations and options are available with the 2014 Fiat 500L.

Cargo capacity
With 42% more interior room overall, the larger Fiat 500L can swallow up to 400 litres of cargo. Drop the seats, and that number jumps to 1,308 litres. Moreover, the front passenger seat folds flat to accommodate long items inside the car.

Powertrain
The 2014 Fiat 500L gets the same 1.4L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine as the current Abarth model. Expect 160 horsepower, along with 184 lb-ft of torque. Available transmissions include a 6-speed manual (standard) and a 6-speed, dual-clutch unit (optional).

For now, the company has only announced a FWD version. However, a Fiat 500L AWD is reportedly being developed as you read these lines.

Lineup
In addition to the base model, the 2014 Fiat 500L will offer a Trekking model in the near future. Look for more adventurous styling, increased ground clearance, 17” wheels, and black accent cladding.

Sales forecast
Fiat executives are confident that this new 500L will double the automaker's sales in North America.

Competitors
MINI Cooper Countryman

Photo: Fiat

* Based on expert reviews

From GMM

Antonio Felix da Costa deserved to move up to formula one in 2014.

That is the view of Brazilian driver Luiz Razia, who almost secured the Marussia race seat this year, before running into sponsorship issues.

Portuguese da Costa, 22, was the hot favourite to replace Daniel Ricciardo at Toro Rosso for next season, until backer Red Bull actually plucked the Russian teenager Daniil Kvyat straight out of GP3.

Daniil Kvyat. (Photo: WRi2)

Razia told Brazil's Totalrace that he thinks da Costa, who was a frontrunner in Formula Renault 3.5 this year and has now been signed as a F1 test driver, deserves the Toro Rosso seat more.

"The strange thing is not the fact that he (Kvyat) is coming from GP3. A driver can demonstrate his talent in many categories," he explained.

"What I'm saying it that there is a loss of momentum," said Razia, insisting that da Costa showed every sign of being prepared to take the final step into F1.

"Antonio won a third of the races he contested in the World Series. The Arden team is good, but it had some problems in this season, but even so, he finished the championship third," he added.

Antonio Felix da Costa. (Photo: WRi2)

Luiz Razia, the 2012 GP2 runner-up, said he thinks other factors played in Kvyat's favour when Red Bull was making its choice for 2014.

"I'm the devil's advocate because I'm Antonio's friend, but I think he was in a much stronger position (to debut in F1).

"But we all know that is not all -- it is very clear that next year there is a race in Russia, and F1 needs a Russian. It (F1) is a very political category, and he (Kvyat) is even sponsored by a Russian bank. Toro Rosso has difficulties, as everyone does, so it was a situation where everything fell into place for him," he added.