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Italy's Supreme Court has ordered two close advisers of the country's powerful Agnelli family to stand trial again on charges of market manipulation relating to a deal that allowed the family to keep control of the carmaker Fiat.

GM will nudge up the price of the base model Chevrolet Malibu when the next-generation family sedan goes on sale in August. The 2013 Malibu, which features GM's new 2.

Looking for new and intense thrills or maybe just a change of scenery? Then consider Aventures Plein Air in St. Hippolyte, just a few kilometres north of St. Jerome, Quebec. The owner, Alexandre Saey, partnered with François Peloquin, director of Auberge du Lac Morency, to offer visitors a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Specialized in ATV rental, Aventures Plein Air has been renting Jeeps for three years now. ''This is not a tourist trap,'' Saey quickly insists. ''We have real challenging trails with lots of mud, rocks, and river crossing.''

You don't need to be an avid off-roader to take part in one of the various outings, however. Most participants are first-timers, and many of them have never even stepped into a Jeep.

Photo: aventuresenpleinair.com

Of course, you won't be left alone out there. Three options are on the table: you can either hop in the same Jeep as your guide, rent a vehicle and follow him on the trails (with radio contact at all times), or bring your own Jeep and set up a raid with a guide.

The vehicles on hand have all been modified to handle the demands of off-road driving. Suspension travel is increased, and various parts have been added to make sure participants safely enjoy the adventure.

The trails used during the summer are reserved for Aventures Plein Air customers. For more information about the company including rentals, activities, tours and raids, visit www.aventurespleinair.com.

Have a great trip!

J.D. Powers has established Lexus, at 73 Problems Per 100 vehicles (PP100), had the lowest problem rate of all car manufacturers. Jaguar and Porsche, which scored 75 PP100, stand second. MINI (139), Fiat and Smart (151 each) posted the three worst scores.

For the first time in 26 years of recorded history, car owners have reported more problems (24% increase) with audio, entertainment and navigation systems than with any other type of equipment; partially because of the rapid introduction of new technologies, such as speech recognition softwares. Furthermore, problems regarding hands-free devices have increased by over 137% in four years.


Source: J.D. Power and Associates

From GMM

McLaren played a role in developing a $1.4 million armoured vehicle for British troops to use in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Sun newspaper said the British formula one team, as well as BMW and world rally engineers, helped with the design of the new Foxhound truck, which arrived in Afghanistan last week.

The Foxhound has a top speed of 113kph, a V-shaped bottom to deflect bomb blasts, can be driven even with a missing wheel, and can have an engine replaced in just half an hour.

"This government has spent 270 million pounds on 300 of these high-tech, British-built vehicles to help keep our troops properly protected," said British defence secretary Philip Hammond.

Photo: Sergeant Andy Reddy, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012

From GMM

Pirelli has indicated its desire to stay in formula one beyond its current contract.

The sport's controversial sole tire supplier returned to F1 at the beginning of last year, having won a three-year tender from governing body the FIA.

"Our current contract ends at the end of the 2013 season, but we still want to be in F1 in the medium and long term," motor sport director Paul Hembery is quoted by the French-language website autohebdo.fr.

"If the sport wants us to stay and we can convince the management to continue, then we intend to keep going," the Briton reportedly added.

Jaime Alguersuari driving the Pirelli R30. (Photo: Pirelli)

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, the 1995 Indy 500 winner and 1997 Formula 1 World Champion, will contest the next round of the exciting V8 Australian Supercars Championship.

Villeneuve will fill-in for Greg Murphy in the No. 51 Pepsi Max Crew Commodore at next month's Sucrogen Townsville 400.

Jacques Villeneuve. (Photo: Australian V8 Supercars)

Murphy is unfit to driver as he recently underwent surgery to fuse two vertebrae.

“I feel for Greg Murphy having to miss a number of races in the championship as there is nothing worse for a race driver than sitting on the side lines with an injury and not being able to accumulate points in the series,” said Villeneuve from his home in Montreal.

“When this opportunity came up only one week ago, the stars all aligned and thankfully my commitments with the NASCAR Nationwide Penske team in America and Porsche Supercup in Europe allowed me to grab the Pepsi Max Crew seat for the Townsville race in an instant,” Villeneuve added.

Villeneuve last sampled a V8 Supercar at the 2010 Armor-All Gold Coast 600 when he shared The Bottle-O Falcon with Paul Dumbrell.

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has hit back after German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky this week sensationally admitted he received millions in bribes from the F1 chief executive.

Gribkowsky recalled the diminutive Briton telling him that, "In formula one, the practice is you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours".

German media reports said the former BayernLB risk officer also told the court that Ecclestone said he had the power to re-shuffle contracts so that the bank's stake in the lucrative sport would be diluted.

At the same time, Ecclestone reportedly told Gribkowsky that "If you help me to sell formula one, I will employ you as a consultant".

Ecclestone, whose conduct amid the sport's sale some years ago is also being probed by the Munich prosecutors, responded to Gribkowsky's court admission by telling the Telegraph that the jailed banker is trying "to save himself".

"I suppose he would say that, so maybe he gets seven years instead of 14 years," the 81-year-old explained.

"The poor guy has been banged up for 18 months. He would have said anything to save himself. He was going to be locked up whatever happens," Ecclestone added.

In a separate Telegraph article by journalist Christian Sylt, Ecclestone said he was considering whether to take legal action against Gribkowsky.

Widespread media reports confirmed that Gribkowsky's admission means he now faces a maximum of nine years in jail, rather than many more.

The judgement is expected next week.

Three-time World Touring Car champion Yvan Muller will make his oval debut during the fourth round of the Euro Racecar championship presented at Tours, July 7.

The Frenchman, who leads the provisional WTCC standings, will drive a Chevrolet Camaro powered by a 5,7 litre V8 engine developping 450 horses under the colours of team Still Racing, managed by Eric Helary, the reigning Euro Racecar champion.

Photo: Racecar Euroseries

"After 33 years of racing, I'm still learning new things, so I'm very happy to be part of this experience," said Muller.

"I join the series as a rookie and will have everything to learn about oval racing. I don't know a great deal about it so I'm free to embark in this adventure without pressure."

Muller will also contest the Le Mans Classic that same weekend, a race that features cars that made history at Le Mans.

From GMM

McLaren sounds confident it has solved the issue that risks derailing Jenson Button's 2012 title bid.

The 2009 world champion admitted he was "confused and very lost" after the recent Canadian grand prix, when he was lapped by the identical car driven to victory by his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

"(Since Canada) There's been a huge amount of work carried out back at the factory, analysing the data to check everything was as we thought it was," team operations director Simon Roberts told reporters on Wednesday.

He said no flaws were found on Button's MP4-27 or even with the basic setup, "But, subtly, there are differences with these cars," he confirmed.

"And I think going into Valencia we are quite optimistic we have identified them. I think we can have a slightly different way of getting Jenson's car under him for both qualifying and the race," added Roberts.

Jenson Button, McLaren MP4-27, winner in Australia. (Photo: WRi2)

Some analysts claim the 'topsy-turvy' results seen so far in 2012, with seven different winners including Button winning the opening seven grands prix, is due to the Pirelli tires only working within a tiny operating 'window'.

"We think we've stepped nearer to understanding it all," Roberts continued. "Whether we've cracked it, only time will tell.

"It's been a painful but interesting learning exercise for us."

From wrc.com

Jari-Matti Latvala admits he will start Brother Rally New Zealand this week still not completely recovered from the broken collarbone he sustained in a cross-country skiing accident back in April.

Speaking in Auckland on Wednesday evening following the three-day reconnaissance, which was affected by light rain, the factory Ford driver said: “The power is 90 per cent, the movement 100 per cent and the healing at about 80 per cent. Another two to three weeks everything will be 100 per cent so definitely I will be ready by the time we get to Rally Finland [in August].”

Latvala is a distant fifth in the WRC title chase following a largely frustrating campaign in the Fiesta he shares with co-driver Miikka Anttila. He says he's hoping for a trouble-free event.

Jari-Matti Latvala, Ford Fiesta. (Photo: WRC)

“We had a good fight in Greece then unfortunately I had a puncture but in the end I finished third,” he said. “For sure, I would be hoping to fight for the victory here but I need also a clear rally. So if the speed is not enough and things don't feel right then I won't push.”

Latvala says the route of this year's event will provide a stern test for the stars of the FIA World Rally Championship and highlighted the opening day around the surfing town of Raglan south of Auckland as being particularly tough.

“The roads are in a very, very good condition but the first day in the south has quite a lot of loose gravel on the top,” said Latvala. “Then the second and third day are very good. They are a bit cleaner so the grip is better. Friday is a hard day - it is 100 kilometres stage kilometres, then there is a remote service and another 100 kilometres so it's really 200 kilometres which is 50 per cent of the rally. But then on Sunday there are a couple of new stages and it'll be very challenging. Girls School is very demanding stage, not “girly” at all!”

From GMM

If this weekend's Valencia street race is the Spanish city's last, the cries of disappointment will be barely heard.

Instead, the opposition to the race has been shrill in the build-up to the 2012 running.

A residents group calling itself 'Circuit Urba No' has published a letter to Fernando Alonso complaining bitterly that the race should be scrapped amid Spain's financial crisis.

"The grand prix creates an illusion of fantasy accessible to very few people," the letter to the Ferrari driver pleaded.

All the signs indicate that Valencia will not be on next year's schedule, with Mexico slated to take up the 2013 date if as expected F1's two Spanish hosts move to an annually-alternating scheme.

Photo: Pirelli

The first Valencia street race in 2008 was attended by well over 110,000 fans, but organisers this year are struggling to fill the vastly-culled 45,000-capacity.

The latest dark sign for the event is that some firefighters are refusing to accept 'volunteer' status for their duties this weekend.

The city "has turned its back on formula one", the El Pais newspaper headlined, estimating that actual attendance on Sunday could be below 30,000.

'Circuit Urba No' urged Alonso to "take off your helmet" in order to discover "the humiliation, inconvenience and hardship" endured by those around the circuit.

And a spokesman for another opposition group urged Valencia president Alberto Fabra to "stop looking the other way" in order to realise that F1 is "a disaster for all Valencians".

From GMM

Cosworth could be set to exit formula one.

Currently, with F1's existing V8 formula facing its final season in 2013, there are four engine suppliers on the grid -- Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Cosworth, the British independent.

But the rules are changing radically, as from 2014 cars and drivers must be powered by turbo V6s complemented by sophisticated KERS systems.

Late in 2011, there were rumblings Cosworth - left with just two customers this year in the form of struggling Marussia and HRT - might not be able to commit to expensive V6 research and development.

The F112 powered by Cosworth. (Photo: HRT F1 Team)

Indeed, even the viability of Cosworth staying around for the final V8 season has been the subject of recent paddock speculation.

"Cosworth, for sure, are finished," Renault's Jean-Francois Caubet is quoted now by German-language website motorsport-total.com.

And Craig Pollock, whose new PURE foray is developing a V6 for 2014, agreed: "Cosworth cannot be there in 2014."

"They just can't make it in time now, no matter what anybody says," he told the Dutch website gpupdate.net. "It's an absolute impossibility."

Recently, Cosworth lost its best customers - Williams and Caterham - to Renault, as the French supplier pushes harder for the FIA to further relax the rules about how many partners each carmaker can supply.

"I am pushing for an open market because we are in formula one and regulations cannot solve all the problems," Caubet was quoted as saying last year.

From GMM

'2012 tire lottery' is not a term one would hear seriously deployed this season within the garages of traditional midfield teams including Sauber, Lotus and Williams.

Until now, as an unprecedented seven different winners scooped the honours at the opening seven grands prix of the year, top teams including McLaren and Red Bull have referred constantly to the tiny 'window' of operation of Pirelli's 2012 tires.

But "The window for the tires has not become smaller," Sauber's technical director Matt Morris is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport as insisting.

"No, it's the cars' (operating window that has changed)," he argued.

His boss Peter Sauber said the top teams "underestimated" the cost of losing the advantage their blown diffuser and flexible front wings had previously given.

Pirelli engineers analysing Ferrari tires. (Photo: Pirelli)

Indeed, even Dr Helmut Marko, energy drink Red Bull's motor sport consultant, had to admit all the talk about the tires has been overstated.

"Sauber seems to understand them (the tires) -- and almost all of the time," said the plain-speaking Austrian.

Pirelli motor sport director Paul Hembery agrees it is not true that the top teams don't "understand" the tires.

He said it's just a matter of balance.

"He is probably spot on," said German journalist Michael Schmidt. "Lotus, Sauber and Williams are not shining because of a special trick, but because of well balanced aerodynamics."

Pastor Maldonado won the Spanish Grand Prix with Williams. (Photo: WRi2)

TOYOTA Racing arrived at the Le Mans 24 Hours for its very first race in the FIA World Endurance Championship, expecting a challenge for its new TS030 HYBRID prototypes.

The cars qualified third and fifth. After six hours of racing, Nicolas Lapierre executed a dramatic overtaking move to lead the race. However, seconds later a heavy accident for Anthony Davidson eliminated car No. 8 and changed the mood.

Then, Kazuki Nakajima made contact with another car soon after the Safety Car came in, while an alternator problem caused a delay in the pits. Ultimately, an engine failure after 10-and-a-half hours forced the retirement of car No. 7.

Photo: Toyota Racing

Team president Yoshiaki Kinoshita talked about the race in a press release published by the team based in Cologne, Germany. “It was very promising but ultimately disappointing. It was our dream to lead the race and to do so, even for only a short time, was fantastic. Of course Anthony's accident was a scary moment, and a turning point in the race. We all wish him a speedy recovery; it was difficult to enjoy the race after that,” Kinoshita said.

“Unfortunately we faced some problems on car No. 7 and had to retire. It is normal we had to deal with some technical issues in the race because our car is very young and we have not had enough testing, but nevertheless it was an extremely sad moment for us. We leave Le Mans with several areas to improve for future races but we can also be proud; the whole team gave everything they had and I want to say thank you for their great efforts,” he added.

He said he was happy that the hybrid system worked well during the race. “In the first place, it is a significant achievement from Motor Sport Division and the TOYOTA Motor Corporation Hybrid Department to bring such technology to Le Mans. In terms of performance we are happy with how the hybrid system contributed to our overall speed. I think we showed that our concept has strong promise and we continue to work hard on reliability,” Kinoshita said.

“We will compete in the rest of the FIA World Endurance Championship races with one car. That means five races in which to learn about our car and hopefully improve; our target is simply to show our best possible performance at each race,” Kinoshita ended.

So says a report published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a World Health Organization (WHO) body.

It was first classified as a potential carcinogen in 1988. Now that the IARC has proved beyond any doubt that exposure to particles contained in exhaust fumes of diesel engines significantly increases risks of lung cancer, the classification was reviewed and changed to "certain".

Director of powertrain and chassis engineering, Christian Chapelle immediately voiced his answer to the report: "Conclusions made by the WHO are based on old data, and new diesel engines, including my group's, cannot be regarded as such."

In Eastern Europe, diesel vehicles accounted for 55.7% of new car sales in 2011; in France, the numbers ramp up to 72.4%. Luxembourg, Norway and Belgium follow closely behind in the statistics. In Canada, according to 2009 data, diesels only powered 3% of all vehicles (heavy equipment excluded).

Source: cnetfrance.fr

From GMM

Mexico is not quite ready to confirm the country's return to the formula one calendar, key figure Carlos Slim has revealed.

We reported a month ago that the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City, the scene of the last Mexican grand prix in 1992, is being lined up to host formula one again in 2013, replacing Valencia.

The original report in Spanish sports newspaper Marca said the race will be backed by many of Sauber driver Sergio Perez's sponsors, including billionaire Slim.

Photo: Sauber F1 Team

Telmex's Slim, however, told Marca this week that he cannot confirm the news.

"There are many variables to make a grand prix a reality," he insisted. "We still need a few more things before we come to a formal proposal and everything takes its time. Hopefully it can be a reality soon."

But Slim agreed that Mexico has proved it deserves a place on the calendar, given the amount of tickets for the forthcoming US grand prix that have been bought by Mexicans.

And amid the economic troubles elsewhere, Slim argued it is a "great time" for Mexico, which has "all the characteristics to (host) large events".

"We are working on a formal proposal," he reiterated. "As far as I know everything is being done in optimal time."

Where I'm from, driving anywhere requires lengthy travels on boring highways with fairly high speed limits. It's easy to go into ‘auto-pilot' mode and zone out, especially if you drive said highways extensively, and often, and at night.

So, the other night when a large black bear got in front of my 2012 Subaru Impreza tester just south of Sudbury, Ontario, I was glad I hadn't zoned out.


Maybe Yogi was trying to escape the ravages of infinite droves of mosquitoes, activated by late-spring rain across Northern Ontario. Maybe he was just confused. Or maybe, he forgot to look both ways. Whatever the case, this is a common occurrence in my neck of the woods - and one that can be fatal if not handled properly.

Anyhow. Yogi.

Alight, Justin.

Don't tense up. Gently onto the brakes, locate the escape path behind the bear, gently steer towards that escape path, eat the gravel shoulder a little, gently back onto the pavement. Breathe again. Then, jam on the horn to hopefully scare Yogi off the road. Engage four-way hazard lamps to advise oncoming motorists of the potential threat if not.

Crisis averted.

I'm not a driving instructor, nor do I have superhuman driving skills. What I am is a northerner that puts on thousands of kilometres a week, each and every week in a variety of different cars that sometimes face a variety of different wildlife.

Here are a few tips I've learned (and been taught) to help evade wildlife-related accidents on the road.

1) Be able to see and react well. Do your eyes a favor at night and have a properly-aimed lighting system, preferably of the xenon-fired variety. Note that a quality set of driving glasses during the day will keep your eyes ‘fresh' into the evening as well. Fight eye fatigue - as it can prevent you from quickly recognizing hazards up ahead.

2) Don't go Hollywood. Stabbing and thrashing at the brakes and steering, respectively, is a good way to plow directly into what you're trying to avoid. Apply the brakes and steering inputs smoothly and you'll have more grip for evading dangerous situations.

3) Dodge to the rear of the animal if you can. Most animals don't like to walk or run backwards.

4) Be prepared and don't panic. Use an empty stretch of road to practice slamming on your brakes and steering quickly and smoothly when it's safe to do so. You'll be more confident and successful when a situation requires this reaction for real.

5) Maintain your braking firmly, even if you're taking the gravel shoulder. Be firm but smooth with the inputs.

6) Don't cause an accident for a bunny. If faced with running over a small critter or having to dodge into oncoming traffic, the animal loses. An unfortunate fact of life.

7) Eyes up for advanced warning. Look as far as you can up the road. Your peripheral vision is more sensitive to changes on the edges of your sight (ie, in the bush), anyways. Look to the end of your headlights, and let your peripheral vision locate hazards to the side.

8) Get off the road. If you hit an animal and suffer an accident, engage your four-ways, and pull as far as you possibly can onto the shoulder.

Following a string of disappointing results in the early season, Brazilian Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa has been smiling a lot more since the last few Grands Prix.

“It's true, I'm much happier, because I can drive the Ferrari F2012 much more in the way I like now,” Massa said to Ferrari web site.

“This means I am much more pleased with my driving, and with the balance of the car and the pace I can run at. When that happens, of course, you feel good and for sure, all the modifications and updates introduced on the car helped in this process, but also important was the way we worked on the set-up with my engineers. We changed many things in terms of the balance and found a good direction that suits me,” he said.

Felipe Massa (Photo: Ferrari)

Massa admitted that the set-up that suits his teammate Fernando Alonso does not necessarily fits him. “Every driver has his own style, the way he turns the steering wheel, or uses the throttle pedal and if you don't feel comfortable with something then it definitely doesn't help,” Massa added.

“You know how it is with Formula 1 and in fact, not just F1 but all sports at the top level, it involves working on the very small details. When something is not working for you, you move away from the right direction and lose performance, as you are not operating at 100% yourself.”

The Ferrari F2012 has improved considerably in recent weeks, however, it is still not the quickest car on the grid. However, Massa is pleased with the current rate of development work.

“For sure, we have many new parts, compared to the beginning of the season when we were far from how happy with our development. In the last three races, things have started to move much more in the right direction, with the right level of development producing a good level of performance. We have seen that in Barcelona, Monaco and Canada and from now on, I know there are many more updates coming and I expect that improving trend to continue,” Massa explained.

The recent good from of the F2012 is not only due to running soft tires.

“Certainly, if we could choose, we still prefer soft tires,” conceded Felipe.

“This year the tires are much softer than last year, but anyway this year's car struggles much less than in the past when it comes to bringing tires up to temperature quickly. So, running the medium and soft this weekend in Valencia should be fine for us.”

Marketing veteran Scott Keogh is taking the helm of Audi of America.