Auto News 5

The UK has overtaken France to become Europe's second-biggest car market following strong November and 11-month sales.

Twenty-five years after the first US made Honda car was exported, the automaker's Marysville plant built the millionth unit for shipment.

New vehicle registrations in New Zealand in November continued their strong run towards the end of the year, a local automakers' association said.

Videos 6 Dec, 2012

Jaguar's promotional film for its new XFR-S sees the super-saloon sliding around a twisty Alpine road

Private equity fund Investindustrial is near an agreement to buy an Aston Martin stake to shore up the finances of the British sports-car maker.

Private equity fund Investindustrial is near an agreement to buy an Aston Martin stake to shore up the finances of the British sports-car maker.

Daimler said vehicle sales at its Mercedes-Benz Cars unit rose 5.3 percent to 128,768 in November, as rising U.S. volumes offset a decline in China.

Toyota Australia has opened a new engine plant, claiming to be the first Australian automaker to produce both petrol and hybrid engines.

The Indonesian capital Jakarta saw further demonstrations against the country's controversial practice of labour outsourcing by global manufacturing companies.

The UK car market continued to buck the European downturn with growth of 11.3% in November, according to data released by the SMMT.

Daimler has announced that it is to sell half of its 15% stake in European defence and aerospace consortium EADS this month.

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: What a great little commuter car this 2012 Ford Fiesta SES Hatchback makes.

Renault and Nissan's $750-million deal to Renault effective control of Lada maker AvtoVAZ is expected to be signed next week.

Daimler is selling half its remaining stake in the European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Co. (EADS) to focus on cars and trucks. The sale will raise about 1.66 billion euros ($2.17 billion).

BMW is expanding the numbering system it uses to identify its models. The 4 series will launch next year but we can expect another new number.

BMW said its vehicle sales will probably reach a third consecutive annual record next year, when the automaker will introduce the 4-series coupe.

Daimler is selling half its remaining stake in the European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Co. (EADS) to focus on cars and trucks. The sale will raise about 1.66 billion euros ($2.17 billion).

Alco Prevention Canada, a Laval-based company that specializes in instruments that measure blood alcohol content, developed a special headset with drowsiness detection called ''SOS Fatigue.''

Helping drivers realize they're about to fall asleep behind the wheel, the earpiece monitors head movements and produces a sound alert when the head tilts forward by more than 15 degrees.

Driver drowsiness is the third leading cause of road casualties in Quebec after drunk driving and speeding, according to the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).

Photo: SOS Fatigue

In the early days of motorsport, aerodynamic studies were performed by sticking wool tufts on the race cars to show surface aerodynamic flows at speed. Nowadays, a special paint is applied on certain components of the car to visualise the flow of air.

Photo: WRi2

Aerodynamicists are fully aware that work in wind tunnel and CFD programs can provide great virtual results, but it is safer to double check the behaviour of air at speed on the race track.

Flow visualisation paint -- better known as “flow viz” -- is a fluorescent powder suspended in a light oil, often paraffin. This paint is liberally applied by a spray gun to bodywork up-stream of the area engineers want to investigate.

Photo: WRi2

Before the paint has a chance to dry, the car runs at high speed around the circuit. As it does so, the air flow across the car moves the paint around, where it subsequently dries and shows detailed air flow patterns across the car.

Comparison of the relative movements of the dye particles provides an indication of the relative strengths of the air flow acting on the surfaces of the component under test. Intense stripes of coloured paint indicate the zones in which the velocity is higher.

Photo: WRi2

Nine-time FIA World Rally Champion, Frenchman Sebastien Loeb will contest the 2013 GT Sprint series behind the wheel of a McLaren.

Loeb will be driving an MP4-12C of the GT3 category, the supercar produced by the McLaren Group.

McLaren MP4-12C GT3. (Photo: McLaren Group)

The Frenchman already drove one alongside Gilles Vannelet at the circuit of Paul Ricard Le Castellet in Framce last October in the last round of the French GT-Tour. The MP4-12 was run by Von Ryan Racing but entered under the Sebasien Loeb Racing banner.

The GT Sprint series will replace the World GT Championship from 2013. The series features two one-hour races over a weekend, with two drivers per teams and pit stops of tires.