Auto News 5

The only thing that could have marred Austin Dillon's breakthrough NASCAR Nationwide Series win at Kentucky was a penalty.

And, on Monday, NASCAR officials issued a six-point penalty against Dillon and his car owner after his race-winning Chevrolet failed the post-race inspection for being too low in the rear.

While Richard Childress, grandfather of Dillon, and entrant of the car said it was due to a broken bolt; Dillon said, on a radio broadcast, it was a broken clamp.

The penalty drops Dillon back down to second place behind teammate, Elliott Sadler, by four points in the series standings.

Austin Dillon. (Photo: NASCAR)

As a result crew chief Danny Stockman Jr. has been fined $10,000 in addition, Stockman and car chief Robert Strmiska continue to remain on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

Ironically Sadler had the same penalty for a similar infraction, in May in Iowa, but the Richard Childress Racing team thought that they had fixed the problem.
As Dillon explained, on the radio program on Monday before the penalty was announced, “everything passed tech,” at NASCAR's research center in Concord, NC.

"It was just too low in the back. It stinks because it happened to Elliott in Iowa. It's been fixed and it won't happen again.”

Turner Motorsports is moving up the NASCAR Sprint Cup ladder with Bill Elliott.

Although it's only a one-race deal “Awesome Bill” is entered in a Chevrolet for Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

The team which is usually found in the junior Nationwide and Truck Series is getting backing from retail giant Wal-Mart for this effort

Turner Motorsports currently fields three Nationwide teams and three Truck Series teams. Recently Nelson Piquet, Jr. won the Nationwide race at Road America in another one-off deal.

“Everyone at Turner Motorsports is looking forward to this weekend's races in Daytona,” said Steve Turner a Texas businessman. “Obviously, Bill Elliott knows how to get to victory lane and I can't think of a better ambassador to help us make our NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut.

Bill Elliott ready for NASCAR Sprint Cup. (Photo: Turner Motorsports)

This is just another milestone for Turner Motorsports. We have had a great first half of the NASCAR season winning six times and putting all of our entries in position to battle for the championship as we move into the fall. As an organization we have made great strides our first three years of NASCAR competition and are looking for great things this weekend at of Bill and the Wal-Mart Chevrolet.”

Bill Elliott, 56, has 59 starts at the high-banked track with four wins, three in the 500 and one in the 400. His last pole at DIS was in 2001.

Despite his semi-retired status the Georgia native is looking at a competitive run in the restrictor plate race.

"I'm looking forward to being a part of Turner Motorsports Cup debut and to celebrating Wal-Mart's 50th birthday,” said Elliott. “This has been a pretty cool deal to be a part of. I know we're going to have a good, competitive car. We just have run a smooth race and put ourselves in the right position at the right time."

Trent Owens will be the crew chief. Owens comes into the weekend on a high note after Piquet Jr's, victory and James Buescher's debut win in the February Nationwide race at this track.

"It's exciting to be part of Turner Motorsports first Cup race with Bill Elliott and support from Wal-Mart. We've come a long way in just the last two years, so to take this step is really going to be a milestone for everyone who works so hard for this team every day."

Former Peugeot Sport and Citroën Sport boss Olivier Quesnel will join JN Holding Group as competition activities director.

Olivier Quesnel and Jacques Nicolet. (Photo: OAK Racing)

Quesnel will be in charge of international expansion within existing and future worldwide endurance championships, as well as the diversification of the team's motorsport activities. OAK Racing is part of JN Holding Group, directed by Jacques Nicolet, owner of the racing team.

Former driver Sebastien Philippe remains general director of OAK Racing.

So, I like blogging about fuel mileage. Maybe because it's such a hot topic, or because virtually all automakers claim their latest umbrella of gas-saving technologies will deliver a hundred miles per gallon and 0-60 in 3 seconds.

Or (and probably) because my weekly test commute of over 2,000 kilometres gives me a fantastic way to compare new vehicles with said technologies to each other in the real world. Somewhat accurately, too.

Every week, Highway 69 (which connects Sudbury with Southern Ontario) becomes my little proving ground, where test-car fuel consumption is compared to each other in real life.

My weekly drive is hardly a scientific, controlled or exhaustive mileage test - but it's an interesting comparison if nothing else.

Recently, the real-world fuel economy I recorded in the new 2012 BMW 335i Sedan proved noteworthy. After 2,200 kilometres of city driving and highway cruising at a good clip, the tester burned an average of 8.7L/100km. That's measured by hand, not using the often-optimistic on-board computer.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

I don't know where that figure stands in relation to government ratings, because I don't check government ratings. I find they're generally out to lunch for my locale and driving habits because I'm not a Yoga enthusiast who attempts to achieve maximum mileage at all times.

But I digress. A glance at my notes showed higher overall consumption recorded in cars like the Volkswagen GTI, Subaru Impreza, Audi A7, Chevrolet Camaro RS and others. So for a 300-hp, turbocharged sport sedan, my overall figure of 8.7L/100km of premium unleaded is pretty darn good. I was impressed.

Someone from BMW once told me that it's not a single ‘magic' technology that will make a gasoline engine vastly more efficient on its own. Instead, numerous technologies that trim bits of fuel consumption are employed.

Case in point? In the 335i, direct injection reduces consumption and bumps output. Ditto the 8-speed automatic. And ditto the Brake Energy Regeneration system, which effectively only engages the 335i's alternator when the car coasts or brakes. Twin Power Turbo technology ramps up performance and overall efficiency, too. End of the day, it all turns in more power to the road and less fuel burned. And, as evidenced by my fuel consumption numbers, the above technologies work.

There's even an ‘Eco Pro' mode on the new 2012 3 Series Sedan that helps drivers visualize their current level of ‘greenness' and offers up tips to encourage fuel-efficient motoring. It lets drivers get involved with achieving good mileage.

A few days after I returned the tester, I checked out a busted-up old 3 Series from the eighties that a friend bought for $900 to turn into a drift car. Inside, amidst the ripped leather, cracked dash and squeaky door hinges, I noticed an interesting “L/100km” gauge in the instrument cluster.

Hmm.

I'm no BMW fanboy, and although I was aware of this fuel economy gauge on newer models, I was surprised to see it installed on a car as old as me. It reminded me of a very early and primitive version of the ‘Eco Pro' mode in the new 3 Series.

So, I guess BMW's Efficient Dynamics mantra isn't just marketing fluff. Apparently, they were into advancing efficient performance before it was even trendy to do so. Neat stuff.

From GMM

Williams and Sauber could be in the mix for victory at Silverstone this weekend.

It is believed the high average corner speeds at the British track will suit the Williams - after Pastor Maldonado won the team's first race in seven years on the similar Barcelona layout - and Sauber's tidy C31, which has been on the podium twice in 2012 so far.

"The pace of the car in Valencia was very promising and we have a number of updates expected for this race," said Maldonado.

And Peter Sauber told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport: "We should look good at Silverstone."

The German magazine said the Swiss team is "secretly hoping for its first grand prix victory" this weekend, after GPS measurements showed the C31 was the fastest car overall through the similar Circuit de Catalunya's sweeping curves in May.

Start of the 2011 Silverstone's race. (Photo: Pirelli)

Championship leader Fernando Alonso won at Valencia, becoming the only multiple race winner in 2012 and the clear championship leader. But his Ferrari is not the best single seater this season.

The otherwise fast and consistent Lotus is expected to struggle with Northamptonshire's cooler temperatures this weekend.

McLaren, though, is quite confident. "The car should suit the circuit," said Jenson Button this week. "It is a bit random (in 2012) but I feel it should work."

Arguably with the best chance, however, is Red Bull, after Sebastian Vettel's utter dominance at Valencia recently was stopped only by a broken Renault alternator.

"The pace he had at the last race was ridiculous," said Lewis Hamilton.

"20 seconds in 10 laps or something -- ridiculous," the Briton is quoted by the Guardian. "It is going to be Red Bull, Ferrari and us -- but maybe some other people."

From GMM

Four-time former world champion Alain Prost has admitted hindsight proves it was a "good decision" for formula one to race in Bahrain earlier this year.

But the great Frenchman, whose record of 51 wins was eclipsed only by Michael Schumacher, admits that in the days and weeks before the highly controversial event in the troubled Gulf kingdom, the right course was not so clear.

Photo: WRi2

"I remember in 1985 when we went to South Africa, as a human and a driver you were attacked because you were there," 57-year-old Prost, referring to apartheid, told the Telegraph at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

"The main thing is, is it worse not to go? Or is it better to go and try and help people to make things more normal? I am in the middle because I did not have all the information," Prost said.

He said he actually sympathised with both sides of the argument, but ultimately decided not to go to the Bahrain grand prix.

"To be honest I didn't want to," said Prost, "because with all the controversy it's better to be outside. But I don't want to say we shouldn't have been there or we should have gone there. I think, in the end, when everything went well, you can say 'ok, it was a good decision'," he smiled.

Fisker Automotive, a maker of luxury plug-in hybrid cars, hired a former Ford and Dana executive as its chief financial officer as the company works to overcome funding and quality challenges.

Also in this episode: Brad Keselowski is the first to win three NASCAR events in 2012, pickup manufacturers

Tony Posawatz, the public face of the Chevrolet Volt since before the plug-in hybrid made its debut as a concept car, has retired from General Motors.

Longtime Florida dealer Ed Morse, who expanded his dealership group into one of the largest in the state, died Friday. He was 91. Morse died of natural causes, Ed Morse Automotive Group said in a statement.

Bigger than the post-World War II baby-boom generation, Generation Y includes an increasing number of people for whom driving is less an American rite of passage than an unnecessary chore.

In this short animated clip created by Ruf Blacklock, we witness the evolution of Formula One cars from 1950 to 2012.

As Orson Welles reminds us above, French champagne has always been celebrated for its excellence. And fermented grape products are as indelible a signifier of Gallic culture as fine cheese, very fast trains and the hydropneumatic suspension.

As driving video games have improved, so have the devices we use to play them. In our first Autoweek How-To, we'll teach you how to build a video game driving rig inexpensively and in one afternoon.

Bonhams set an auction record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Friday, selling Tim Birkin's 4.

Roadster Roundup: Porsche Boxster S vs. Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG vs. BMW Z4 sDrive35is

Forty-five degrees with a cold wind blowing and showers in the forecast -- bad timing for the new Porsche Boxster S to meet its two closest rivals? Far from it.

Forty-five degrees with a cold wind blowing and showers in the forecast -- bad timing for the new Porsche Boxster S to meet its two closest rivals? Far from it. For a start, there's no weather you can't beat by pulling out an appropriate set of clothes. Second, putting the roof down is not mandatory -- we would not have seen an indicated 287 kph (178 mph) in the Porsche and 291 kph (181 mph) in the SLK with the wind in our hair and tears in our eyes. And a bit of precipitation is actually not so bad; wet tarmac lowers the limit of adhesion and lifts the spirits of those who like a bit of attitude when tackling a set of twisties. So we ignored the puffy gray clouds that seemed to almost touch the sun visors, cranked up the seat heaters, and pretended that a couple of blue patches in the sky were a sign that summer was just around the corner.

Photo Gallery: Roadster Roundup: Porsche Boxster S vs. Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG vs. BMW Z4 sDrive35is - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Roadster Roundup: Porsche Boxster S vs. Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG vs. BMW Z4 sDrive35is - Automobile Magazine

Roadster Roundup: Porsche Boxster S vs. Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG vs. BMW Z4 sDrive35is | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Powertrain supplier Federal-Mogul, the owner of the Champion spark plug brand, said today it has agreed to buy BorgWarner's Beru spark plug division for an undisclosed price.

Imagine crossing an Arabian stallion with a hippo. The result would certainly be interesting - but most likely not very pretty.

Tyres have frequently, if rather unfairly, been described as round, black and boring, the least sexy part of any vehicle.

General Motors will use Gefco, the wholly-owned subsidiary of strategic alliance partner PSA Peugeot-Citroën, for most of its logistics business in Europe from next year.