Auto News 5

After considering proposals from at least four states, Volkswagen decided instead to enlarge the Taubaté manufacturing site 81 miles/130km east of São Paulo City. The automaker even considered investing in the state of Pernambuco, a less developed region, like Fiat did.

News 23 Jul, 2012

The revised Fiat 500 gets new paint and trim options, and is available to order now

Pictures 23 Jul, 2012

Eaton is developing technology for the home refuelling of natural gas powered vehicles.

Malaysia's second national car company, Perodua, plans to increase exports to 20,000 units annually by 2015, once its MYR1.5bn (US$488m) spend on its plant in Rawang, Selangor, has been completed.

BASF says it is investing to expand and modernise its emissions catalysts production facility in Nienburg, Lower Saxony, Germany.

Toyota has dropped its Europe-only, 'long-nose'Hiace van will instead buy rebadged PSA vans built at Sevelnord, France.

We are seeing a one-of-a-kind occurrence in the 126-year history of the automobile: Opel is being consciously and deliberately ruined.

Renault has appointed Beatrice Foucher as the new head of its electric vehicles unit just months before the key launch of the Zoe, Renault's first mass-produced EV.

How has VW Group been able to boost its western European market share to 23.8 percent after five months this year from 18.1 percent in 2004? Rival automakers and market watchers say the increase has been fueled by massive Chinese profits.

No one could have imagined a good outcome after a tornado wiped out Fletcher Auto Group's Toyota and Nissan stores in Joplin, Mo., 14 months ago.

General Motors is readying an onslaught of new and redesigned cars and trucks, many of which were snagged by GM's 2009 bankruptcy. By the end of 2013, 70 percent of GM's nameplates will be new, redesigned or refreshed, the company says.

AutoNation Inc. CEO Mike Jackson generally is bullish on the rest of 2012. But throw in a presidential election in November and the federal government's automatic spending cuts and expiration of Bush-era tax breaks on Jan.

More dealers will get a shot at vehicle leads generated by Yahoo Autos and AOL Autos now that the giant search engine and media companies have moved away from TrueCar Inc. to alternative shopping services.

Surging North American auto sales are pushing some suppliers to expand and hire more workers -- steps they have resisted since the recession. Despite worries about declining demand in Europe, U.S.

As Ford pushed further into social media marketing for the crucial 2013 Fusion launch, it found that new media offers exciting possibilities and unexpected problems.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American operations have a new, unprecedented assignment: Develop cars. On your own.

Mike McKenna, 79, has been a U.S. Marine, race track operator, drag racer, newspaper publisher, restaurateur, car dealer and animal lover.

D.J. Kennington was able to benefit from a collision between the first and second-place cars of Scott Steckly and JR Fitzpatrick in the final moments of the Edmonton 100 to earn a record fourth consecutive victory in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

Once in the lead, Kennington dominated the final two laps for his 15th career series win, which puts him in a tie with Andrew Ranger for the most career series wins.

DJ Kennington leading the race. (Photo: NASCAR)

Jason Hathaway was second. Steckly, the pole-sitter, managed to recover from his contact with Fitzpatrick to finish fourth behind Trevor Seibert. Another good showing for Martin Roy who ended-up fifth.

Double NCTS champion Andrew Ranger, who had been constantly either second or third, finished in seventh place. An incident involving Ranger on an initial restart led to another caution and the subsequent restart when Steckly and Fitzpatrick came together.

Andrew Ranger. (Photo: NASCAR)

In the championship point standings, Kennington extended his lead to 35 points over Scott Steckly, who moved into the second position. Ranger remains in third place - 37 points in back of the leader - while Fitzpatrick fell to fourth.

Next race will be presented exceptionally this Wednesday July 25th at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Sask.

I finally took my 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX Spec R1 wagon to the track recently, and in no time flat I struck up conversations with a bunch of like-minded young chaps who love to go fast, the right way.

I nearly forgot about the camaraderie that surrounds this activity. Then again, any hobby or pastime has its legions of fans and followers. Tracking road cars is no different.

As I pitted in, I headed straight towards the gorgeous, and freakin' fast, 2000-'01 Impreza 2.5RS coupe that lapped the crap out of me. We briefly talked about Subarus, mods and I repeated how great his car was -- not that he didn't already know.

A little while later, a gentleman (possibly in his late 40s or early 50s) walked by my car and began discussing cars and the track. We talked about his EVO X MR that had transmission overheating issues, and about how he remedied the situation.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR (Photo: Mitsubishi)

The point I'm trying to make is that spending weeks and months on forums is all fine and dandy, but nothing replaces direct human interaction. This is how new friendships are formed. I've got 1,500+ followers on Twitter, but I call only a small handful of them actual friends.

Cars bring people together. This is true. In this season of summer, the sheer number of car shows is proof-positive that humans like to mingle with enthusiasts or simply those who are curious about whatever it is they and others drive.

I love car shows. I've left said scenes behind in the past, but this year I hope to get out more. I say “scenes” because I'll hang with the Euro guys, talk trash with the JDM bad boys, and sip brandy and smoke the pipe with the classic-car gentlemen.

If ever you feel bored or lonely this summer, make your way to the nearest car show. You'll love hanging out with other car peeps. They're the best kind!

I profess my love for cars!