Auto News 5

News 2 Oct, 2012

Join the audience at the BBC studios in Salford this Saturday evening

Spyker CEO, Victor Muller, insists he is not throwing money "into a black hole," insistsing the Dutch automaker will win its US$3bn lawsuit against General Motors, despite the American automaker's filing of a Motion to Dismiss in relation to Saab's bankruptcy last year.

Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) said it would not build the next generation Jazz (Fit) from 2014 "to benefit from production economies of scale and fully [use] Honda's global production resources".

News 2 Oct, 2012

Clearest pictures yet of the more practical BMW 3 Series GT

Pictures 2 Oct, 2012

News 2 Oct, 2012

Our spies have caught the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder together

Pictures 2 Oct, 2012

News 3 Oct, 2012

Super exclusions in your insurance policy can see your cover voided

News 2 Oct, 2012

New entry-level hybrid CT 200h S model emits just 87g/km of CO2

Magna International is likely to lose some future production work with Mini as parent BMW looks to concentrate output of new-generation Minis in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

VW Group may face a strike at its Bratislava plant after offering employees half the pay increase demanded by the factory's unions.

Magna International is likely to lose production work with Mini as parent BMW looks to concentrate output of new-generation Minis in the UK and the Netherlands.

Canada's Magna International plans to buy Ixetic Verwaltungs GmbH, a German maker of automotive vacuum, engine and transmission pumps, for about 308 million euros ($397 million).

Johnson Controls has picked former Ford executive Alexander Zaytsev to head its operations in Russia.

From GMM

Jenson Button's Japanese grand prix aspirations have already taken a dent, with news the McLaren driver will move five places down the Suzuka grid.

Writing in the Daily Mail, journalist Simon Cass said the British team has had to change the 2009 world champion's damaged gearbox.

The report said the problem identified was the same one that caused teammate Lewis Hamilton to retire from the lead in Singapore.

Lewis Hamilton's retirement at Singapore for gearbox failure. (Photo: WRi2)

Button's bad news comes mere days after the 32-year-old called on McLaren to improve the reliability of its MP4-27 car, after two mechanical retirements in as many races.

"It is such a shame because the team in every other area are doing such a good job," he told Press Association Sport.

From GMM

Robert Kubica has taken yet another step on his long road back to formula one, by winning the Citta di Bassano rally in northern Italy.

"I still have a long road in front of me," the former BMW and Renault driver said afterwards.

"But this shows the road is not as long as we thought," added Kubica, referring to his extended recovery from an horror rally crash in early 2011.

The main problem for the 27-year-old now is the mobility of his right arm.

Turning a steering wheel inside the narrow confines of a single seater is currently not possible for Kubica.

Robert Kubica's Subaru for the Rally Citta di Bassano. (Photo: First motorsport)

But his arm surgeon Igor Rossello is confident.

"Currently, we estimate his recovery at 50 per cent," he told the Polish source Gwizdek24.

"I assume that we will make it back to 75 to 80 per cent, which would be quite sufficient to drive a formula one car," added Rossello. "I have spoken with his manager Daniele Morelli, who is as excited about his progress as I am. I am convinced that it (returning to F1) is possible, although the recovery can often take many months and years."

With the news of Lewis Hamilton going to the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team next year, it is interesting to note that the Briton started racing karts and single-seaters under the colours of Mercedes-Benz and AMG.

(Photo: Sebastien Blin/Sportimage)

Hamilton and Nico Rosberg raced under the Team MBM.com banner (MBM standing for Mercedes-Benz McLaren) and the pair contested the 2000 Formula A Championship.

Associate sponsors and partners of the McLaren F1 team financed the operation such as AMG and Mobil 1. The karts were already decorated as Silver Arrows.

(Photo: Sebastien Blin/Sportimage)

Hamilton then graduated to car racing, driving silver cars again in the British Formula Renault 2.0 series and then in the Formula 3 Euroseries (a Dallara powered by a Mercedes engine), with sponsorship from AMG, Mercedes, Dekra and Mobil 1.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton (Photo: Sebastien Blin/Sportimage)

So, in 2013 Hamilton will actually come back home in the Mercedes-Benz family with hopes experiencing similar success.

Lewis Hamilton, Manor Motorsport, Formula 3 (Photo: WRI2)

From GMM

New Jersey governor Chris Christie is not worried plans for a formula one street race next June are set to collapse.

Bernie Ecclestone triggered the uncertainty by revealing that the race organisers currently do not have a contract, despite the fact a June 16 date for the 'grand prix of Jersey' was ratified by the FIA at the end of last week.

The New York race, however, was listed with an asterisk denoting 'TBC' (to be confirmed).

Governor Christie said he phoned chief organiser Leo Hindery after reading about the reported uncertainty.

"He (Hindery) told me that it's absolutely happening," Christie told reporters. "I called and reached out and he told me there's not a problem. It's on the schedule."

A spokesman for Leo Hindery insisted there would be no comment "on financial arrangements with formula one".

Indeed, Christie admitted he didn't know why the FIA listed the New Jersey race with an asterisk.

"No one can explain it to me," he said. "But I called the guy (Hindery) who's in charge of the group that's running the race and he told me it's definitely happening, no problem."

F1 chief executive Ecclestone told the Wall Street Journal on Monday that some provisions of the original New Jersey contract "went unfulfilled". But he added: "If they get together with all the provisions, everything will be ok."

Leo Hindery said: "We expect to fully satisfy all of F1's requirements in the weeks ahead."

Yup, I drove another hybrid. I know, shocking. But in today's market where EVs and hybrids are all the rage (and all the focus of carmakers), it's kind of hard to avoid 'em. So, I took a deep breath and prepared for my week behind Toyota's latest holier-than-thou, environmentally friendly Prius, the c -- the smallest of the Prius family.

Despite my deepest of breaths, I still wasn't fully prepared for life behind the wheel of a hybrid such as the Prius c, especially an econobox such as this one.

Let's start with the good, shall we?


Money, money, money... Saved!
If nothing else, the 2012 Toyota Prius c saves some serious dollars at the pumps. After a week behind the wheel, I've never spent as little filling up a car as I did in the Prius c... at least not since I drove my Sentra GXE in 2002 and gas was selling at 0.87 cents a litre.

Driving an average of 100km a day to work, plus a few trips to-and-from my home to my parent's (roughly 120km total each time) cost me approximately $50 in gas for the entire week. By my books, that's bloody fantastic. The best fuel mileage I achieved after a drive was 3.7L/100km and my average over the week was about 4.0L/100km. Again, fabulous numbers.

If nothing else, the Prius c brought a smile to my face simply because it saved me money. Keeping an eye on the digital power band on the dash became something of an obsession all week. And keeping the car in EV mode, even more so. I think they add those little monitoring devices on purpose in hybrids and EVs because they know how the videogame generation function: see a challenge, must win it.

The 2012 Toyota Prius c saves some serious dollars at the pumps. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Not for drivers
Here's the thing about this hybrid: It is not, by any stretch of the imagination, built for drivers. It is meant to be functional, money-saving husk. It is here to save the environment and boost your green cred. It is not meant for spirited jaunts through the country (believe me), nor is it meant for spirited driving of any kind.

Even when I got completely fed up of driving like a hybrid owner (by about day 3), I couldn't make the Prius c "perform." Pushing the throttle to the floor did little more than push that green bar into the red "power" (ha ha) zone and reduce my ECO score to a failing grade. Not very satisfying.

Driving the Toyota Prius c is all about gentle starts and cruising speeds. The car wants you to leave a stop slowly (keeping it in EV), till the engine gently comes on. Then you can accelerate to get some momentum and let off the gas completely to coast. The Prius c is the ideal coasting car. It doesn't slow down as quickly as most vehicles when you let off the gas, which means you'll travel a greater distance. Then, pop the gear lever into "B" mode to brake and charge the battery more quickly before applying the brakes for a complete stop. Repeat.

Like I said; I lasted all of about three days like that.

What powers the 2012 Toyota Prius c? Well, apart from the electric motor, the Prius c also boasts a 1.5L 4-cylinder Atkinson Cycle gas engine that combines to create Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive. Together, both motors produce 99 hp.

What powers the 2012 Toyota Prius c? Well, apart from the electric motor, the Prius c also boasts a 1.5L 4-cylinder Atkinson Cycle gas engine. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Hybridized looks
Why automakers choose to design their hybrid and electric vehicles to look so strange, I'll never understand. We get it; it's a different car. You don't need to make it unattractive too.

The 2012 Prius c is, essentially, a big Prius that's been shrunk in the wash. It's more compact, but retains the traditional Prius shape and style. The split rear window is lost (thankfully) and the rear lights are a bit more stylized than its big brother's. Otherwise, the looks remain the same. Some may appreciate the car's mug, while others may think it rather unbecoming.

I don't mind the car's stance and size, in actual fact. And just the elimination of the split rear window gives the Prius c a nicer line.

Inside, that's where things get a bit dicey. The moment I entered the Prius c and heard the clunky, clanky door close (like metal on metal) I knew I was in for a treat. The materials throughout the Toyota Prius c are clearly the bargain bits and pieces. Everything is plastic, read: everything. And I'm not talking soft-touch plastics here. The steering wheel feels like corrugated siding and the seats aren't only uncomfortable, but the material feels pretty cheap as well.

I understand that the Prius c is Toyota's econobox in the Prius family, but come on now.

Space inside the Prius c is passable. I packed up the kid for a weekend at the grandparent's without much trouble. Though, the stroller is the only thing that fit in the trunk. There was no room leftover after I shoved it in.

And as for a baby seat install; the baby seat anchors in the back seat of the Prius c didn't accommodate my particular child seat, so I had to use the seat-belt restraint. Not the end of the world, but odd that the restraints weren't universal as they are in most cars.

The steering wheel feels like corrugated siding and the seats aren't only uncomfortable, but the material feels pretty cheap as well. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

Prius still top of its game?
While the Prius may have been the hybrid winner over a decade ago, the game has since changed. With multiple hybrids available (and some with a much better ride such as the Lexus CT200h) as well as full EVs like the LEAF and i-MiEV, it's hard to justify purchasing a Prius.

Granted, the Toyota Prius c is just a smidge over $20,000 which is a fantastic price for what the vehicle offers in terms of fuel saving, I'm still not convinced it's worth it. If you live in the city and never use the highway or travel very far then get a fully electric vehicle. And if you do a great deal of highway driving and long distances get a diesel.

This 2012 Toyota Prius c review was originally published on Auto-Venus.com.

Toyota Motorsport GmbH's (TMG) TMG EV P002 electric car set a new electric record on the legendary 20.8km Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany.

Using TMG's motorsport-tuned electric powertrain in the Radical chassis, driver Jochen Krumbach set a lap time of 7m22.329, breaking the electric record set by TMG last August by over 25 seconds.

Photo: TMG

The press release indicates that this achievement marks the second milestone for TMG's electric powertrain this year following its new record at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

As with the Pikes Peak success, TMG's latest electric milestone used pioneering off-board battery-to-battery charging technology.

The TMG DC Quick Charger was developed in partnership with Schneider Electric to meet the challenge of recharging an electric race car at tracks without reliable access to grid power. This technology also gives the opportunity to charge with CO2 emission-free electric power from renewable sources.

Mounted in the rear of a TOYOTA Hiace van, the TMG DC Quick Charger uses Schneider Electric's EVlink(tm) technology and includes a 42kWh lithium ion battery, which can be charged direct from the AC power grid.

Photo: TMG

After an overnight charge, the TMG DC Quick Charger is able to quickly deliver high levels of power to a battery-based electric car without additional installation or infrastructure, making it the perfect solution for electric motorsport.

"Since our Nurburgring record last year, we have developed our electric powertrain to deliver more power, more consistently, over a longer distance by managing the temperature of batteries, motors and inverter," said Ludwig Zeller, TMG General Manager Electrics and Electronics.

"Pikes Peak was a clear illustration of the improvements and we have now reinforced that at the Nurburgring. But this achievement is not only about on-track performance; we are also very proud of the DC Quick Charger which again provided a reliable power supply in a remote location. This is an aspect of electric motorsport which has not been discussed at length but it is very significant; electric race cars need to be charged and it is a challenge to have the right infrastructure at race tracks, particularly temporary street circuits. Together with our partners at Schneider Electric, we have developed a solution to charge a race car literally anywhere in the world. This, along with the TMG EV P002 powertrain, represents a major step forward for electric motorsport," said Zeller.