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Jun
25th

Ferrari boss sees profit rise in 2012

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Ferrari expects to boost profit this year and has no immediate plans for a share listing, its boss told an Austrian magazine.
Jun
25th

Toyota will supply BMW with hybrid technology, reports say

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Toyota plans to supply BMW with hybrid drivetrain systems and hydrogen fuel cell technology, as the two partners deepen a green car development tie up they forged last December, media reports say.
Jun
25th

Toyota will supply BMW with hybrid technology, reports say

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Toyota plans to supply BMW with hybrid drivetrain systems and hydrogen fuel cell technology, as the two partners deepen a green car development tie up they forged last December, media reports say.
Jun
25th

GM, Ford must stop the bleeding in Europe

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Do General Motors and Ford still need to compete in Europe -- building and selling cars in a market that has shifted from low growth/low margin to no growth/no margin? It's not such a crazy question, given that GM effectively would have pulled out...
Jun
25th

Chevy Spark outdoes rivals’ content, space

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Chevrolet, best known for its trucks and sports cars, hopes to burnish its small-car bona fides with the upcoming launch of the Spark minicar.
Jun
25th

Toyota’s towering defense task

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Stack eight Empire State Buildings on top of one another. That would represent the height of the tower of documents Toyota expects to produce in response to hundreds of lawsuits claiming that its vehicles suffered from unintended acceleration.
Jun
25th

Honda finance arm is a leasing powerhouse

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American Honda may be No. 5 in sales in the United States, but its captive finance arm is No. 1 in an increasingly important arena: leasing.
Jun
25th

The quality killer: Voice technology

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Cars and trucks have never been built better, but frustration with audio, infotainment and navigation features on new vehicles has never been worse. That's the big takeaway from the 2012 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study.
Jun
25th

Shuffle kicks off race for GM’s top design job

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Last week's shuffle of General Motors' lead designers seems to set up a horse race to succeed Ed Welburn, GM's design chief for nearly a decade.
Jun
25th

Carmakers love the clicks and chatter that a Facebook presence generates — but how many of those clickers are just tire kickers?

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Automakers love marketing on Facebook. They share videos, photos and chatter with millions of fans of their brands. But converting Facebook fans into paying customers? Well, that's a work in progress.
Jun
25th

Aston Martin dubs its new flagship Vanquish

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Aston Martin is reviving the name Vanquish for the DBS coupe replacement that will debut in August at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
Jun
25th

Should General Motors and Ford pull out of Europe?

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Do General Motors and Ford Motor still need to compete in Europe? Do they really need to keep building and selling cars in a market that has shifted from being low growth/low margin to no growth/no margin? Why continue losing money in Europe when...
Jun
25th

NASCAR: Clint Bowyer proves revenge is a dish best served cold at Sonoma

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Clint Bowyer, and crew chief, Brian Pattie's dominating win at the Sonoma road course might be considered a revenge is a dish best served cold type of day.

Bowyer, who was let go from Richard Childress Racing, and his crew chief, Brian Pattie who was let go from Chip Ganassi Racing, proved that for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Driving a Toyota Bowyer led 71-laps of the 112-lap race around Sonoma Raceway one of two NASCAR road courses. “Not bad for Kansas boy who comes from racing on dirt,” he said after his first road course win and first win of the year.

“Very nerve racking times in the wintertime,” Bowyer said. “Basically kind of lost my ride at RCR, walked into a new program with a lot of unknowns, and I had a lot of confidence in what was going on. I still had confidence in myself.”

Pattie agreed about the win “It means a lot; it means a lot to me,” he said. “I was in the same boat he was, he lost his ride and I lost my job.”

“We are a place for refugees,” Bowyer added.

Team owner grinned adding “these two didn't have anywhere to go,” to the laughter in the post race interview.

NASCAR Clint Bowyer Road America
Clint Bowyer leading the race, ahead of Kurt Busch. (Photo: NASCAR)

Not that the winner had an easy day of it.

First he held off a determined charge by the volatile Kurt Busch. But Busch made a mistake which nearly ended his race. The former champ explained “I just made a little mistake there in turn 11. Those tires than have never been bolted down, ever, I clipped the tires and broke front suspension and rear panhard bar.”

Amazingly he held on to the crippled car, but, on the restart on the second and final caution was his undoing as reigning champ, Tony Stewart took second place. “I was watching him (Busch) and honestly I don't know how he kept it on the racetrack with how much the rear end was moving around on that car. He did a phenomenal job of just hanging on to what he had.

The race which usually has seven cautions because it's so difficult to pass was unusually clean with only two.

Bowyer's margin of victory was .829 seconds.

Notable was Brian Vickers, who had raced in LeMans and is a part-time driver for the MWR who finished fourth. “I haven't had many Cup races this year but, I made the most of them,” Vickers said. Martin Truex Jr. could have been the third MWR car in the top-five only he was spun out and finished 22nd.

Jimmie Johnson, the winner here in 2010, followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon who leads with five wins at the road course.

Polesitter, Marcos Ambrose finished eighth.

Matt Kenseth retains the points' lead over his teammate, Greg Biffle by 11 points while Dale Earnhardt Jr., last week's winner, fell to third 14 points down.



Jun
25th

Canadian Touring: Sasha Anis masters ICAR

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Anis traded fastest laps over the weekend with Benjamin Distaulo (No. 6 Honda Civic) and Philip Fayer (No. 3 Pontiac Solstice), but came out on top of both round 5 and 6 in overall and Super Touring standings. Similarly, Distaulo and Fayer crossed the finish line second and third respectively both Saturday and Sunday.

Rémy Audette, the reigning US F2000 champion making his debut in the CTCC this season appeared on pace in only his second race, but didn't manage to crack the top 3.

In Touring class, top runners were Michel Sallenbach (No. 46 MINI Cooper), Damon Sharpe (No. 84 Honda Civic), Jacques Bélanger (No. 29 Honda Civic) and first-timer Adam Isman (No. 47 MINI Cooper). Sallenbach and Bélanger each took their own win.

The story of the B-Spec class was once more all about Nick Wittmer (No. 91 Honda Fit). The 2009 and 2010 Super Touring champion won each round, followed to the checkered by Simon Dion-Viens (No. 17 Honda Fit) and James Bergeron (No. 2 Mazda 2).

For the first time since the inception of the series, timing problems during qualifying forced the official to revert to setting the grid according to the points standings.


Jun
25th

F1: New Jersey ”definitely” off for 2013 says Bernie Ecclestone

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From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has, for a third time, questioned the viability of next year's scheduled New Jersey street race.

Organisers have consistently sounded puzzled by the F1 chief executive's continual scepticism.

The 81-year-old's latest comments prompted race president Tom Cotter to insist that preparations for the event amid the Manhattan skyline are actually ahead of schedule.

But when asked if the race will go ahead next year, Ecclestone told the BBC on Saturday: "No. Definitely, no."

Confusingly, he then added: "If they can get it (the circuit) completed and confirm to us it will be done, for sure, they'll be on the calendar."

Sebastian Vettel New Jersey Manhattan F1 Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel on the New Jersey track's layout, in front of the Manhattan skylines. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

After the recent Canadian grand prix, Sebastian Vettel and David Coulthard travelled to New Jersey for a promotional event to sample in road cars the curves of the proposed layout.

"The circuit is not anywhere near close to being ready," Red Bull driver Vettel admitted, "but as I said, it would be great."

Former grand prix driver Coulthard added: "They think they're ahead of schedule. They're talking about 12 months from now, but it's a lot of work -- the road is so bowed in the middle."




Jun
25th

F1: Schumacher keeps podium, penalty for Maldonado, Kobayashi and Vergne

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From GMM

Michael Schumacher has kept hold of his first podium in over 2000 days, following a stewards' inquiry in Valencia late on Sunday.

Red Bull had pressed the case that the Mercedes driver should have his trophy stripped away, after Mark Webber spotted Schumacher deploying his 'DRS' overtaking system amid waving yellow flags.

"For the same offense Vettel was penalised in Barcelona with a drive through penalty," the team's Dr Helmut Marko told Bild newspaper.

Schumacher answered: "I assume that there will be no penalty. It can be seen in the data that I slowed down for the yellow flags."

Mark Webber hit back: "I'm sorry, but a rule is a rule."

The FIA stewards including former Sauber driver Mika Salo, however, ruled that Schumacher did indeed slow down for the yellow flags, despite his wing flap being open.

"This incident differs substantially from that in round 5", the stewards' report added, referring to Vettel in Barcelona.

F1 Michael Schumacher Mercedes
Since his comeback, Michael Schumacher clinched in Valencia his first Mercedes podium. (Photo: WRi2)

Meanwhile, Williams' Pastor Maldonado was handed a 20-second post-race time penalty for his late crash on Sunday with Lewis Hamilton.

Maldonado had slammed an overly "aggressive" Hamilton, but former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari pinned the blame on the Venezuelan.

"He was entirely outside the limits of the track and, honestly, there was no room to overtake at that point," the Spaniard told Mundo Deportivo newspaper.

Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi will move five places down the grid at Silverstone next month for crashing into Felipe Massa on Sunday, while the stewards came down even harder on Jean-Eric Vergne.

The Frenchman was seen to jink to the right before crashing with Heikki Kovalainen, and so a rare double-penalty was imposed. Not only will Vergne have to pay a EUR 25,000 fine, he faces a ten-position grid penalty for Silverstone after stewards took a dim view of the "serious nature of the incident".

Asked about Toro Rosso's struggles since dumping both of its established drivers at the end of last year, Alguersuari said only: "Thankfully it's not my problem."


Jun
25th

F1: Dr Helmut Marko admits safety car conspiracy theory

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From GMM

Dr Helmut Marko has confirmed Red Bull's suspicion that the safety car was called onto the Valencia circuit on Sunday to aid 'the show'.

After retiring from a comfortable lead with a broken Red Bull on Sunday, an angry Sebastian Vettel said he thought the safety car period was called not just to clear debris but also "to break our neck".

Indeed, the neutralisation of the race allowed Romain Grosjean to catch up and thereby breathed life into the contest, and it also may have contributed to Vettel's terminal car problem.

"It just went to sh**," Vettel shrugged. "I think it was clear to see that (until then) we were pulling away without problems."

Red Bull's motor sport consultant Marko backed Vettel's theory.

"Vettel was too far ahead and so the field was brought back together," the Austrian is quoted as saying on German television, "just as they do in American racing."

German Sky television pundit Marc Surer, however, doubted Red Bull's conspiracy theory is true.

"I don't think it was intentional against Vettel," said the Swiss, insisting it was right to give marshals the cover of the safety car to clear the track of crash debris.

"But I am sure it is going to be discussed," he added.

Surer also played down the new controversy about the legality of the RB8's latest developments; namely the 'double floor' that was credited for Vettel's pole gap and winning pace in Spain.

"It is being discussed," said Surer, "but I remember that Toro Rosso had a false floor like this and no one said anything."


Jun
25th

F1: Shame victory chance slipped for Grosjean says Patrick Tambay

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From GMM

Romain Grosjean on Sunday lost his chance to become F1's eighth different winner.

The Frenchman was running comfortably behind eventual winner Fernando Alonso at Valencia when his Renault alternator failed -- the same component that halted Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull charge.

"We need to hold our hands up and apologise," said Renault's Remi Taffin.

Former F1 driver Patrick Tambay told France's RMC: "It's a shame, because the opportunities for victory are rare and you can't let them pass.

"Today it passed for Romain but it wasn't his fault," he insisted. "Until then his race was truly remarkable; his pass on Hamilton, the wisdom of his duel with Alonso in the heat.

"There are many positive things to take away for Romain. Unfortunately the next race will be more difficult because of the cold in England, which does not really suit Romain's Lotus. But I think that in Budapest we can really count on him again," added Tambay.

F1 Lotus Romain Grosjean Kimi Raikkonen Lewis Hamilton
Romain Grosjean ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen. (Photo: WRi2)

Grosjean's Lotus teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished second on Sunday.

"Lotus continues to demonstrate its ability in 2012 with a car that has great grip and little tire degradation," Jaime Alguersuari said in Mundo Deportivo newspaper.

"Both Grosjean and Raikkonen are potentially the eighth winner of this season. For them it's about time," the former Toro Rosso driver added.


Jun
25th

GP2: Luiz Razia wins Valencia race 2

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Luiz Razia won a thriller of race, followed at the finish by James Calado and Fabio Leimer.

James Calado, who started from pole position, led the main part of the race. The Brit first had to withstand pressure from Ryo Haryanto for several laps, before the pair collided, which forced Haryanto to retire while Calado was able to continue.

Then it was Fabio Leimer's turn to pressure Calado, in the last part of the race. The Swiss driver was able to overtake the leader, but not without overshooting the chicane: he had to give his position back.

GP2 Series Luis Razia
Luis Razia. (Photo: GP2 Series)

But, Razia took advantage of Calado lifting to let Leimer back through. And, taking advantage of the draft produced by both cars, Razia moved into the lead, in the very last lap.

Thanks to this victory, Luiz Razia now stands only one point behind championship leader Davide Valsecchi.

Race 2 results - GP2 (Valencia)
1. Luiz Razia (Arden) in 46min07.255s
2. James Calado (Lotus) + 1.179s
3. Fabio Leimer (Racing Engineering) +1.587s
4. Max Chilton (Carlin) +2.425s
5. Nathanael Berthon (Racing Engineering) +2.957s
6. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) +4.969s
7. Simon Trummer (Arden) +8.415s
8. Julian Leal (Trident) +9.501s
Etc.

Championship:
1. Valsecchi 141 points, 2. Razia 140, 3. Calado 95, 4. Chilton 93, 5. Van der Garde 89, etc.



Jun
25th

Weekly Recap on Auto123.com: 2012 Chevrolet Orlando, 2012 BMW 335i

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2012 BMW 335i Sedan Review

2013 smart fortwo electric drive First Impressions

2012 Chevrolet Orlando LTZ Review

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