Group Lotus will no longer sponsor Lotus F1, according to Autosport.com. The manufacturer pulled its endorsement shortly after parent company Proton announced the sale of Group Lotus to DRB-Hicom. Additionally, Proton won’t purchase 50 percent of the race team as previously agreed.
The good news, however, is that Lotus F1 will continue to compete. Team owner Genii Captial has said it believes in the name, and that while it would prefer to not have to fund the team completely by itself, it is prepared to do so. The team has already signed Unilever and Microsoft as sponsors, though there’s still room for a title sponsor to step through the door.
If that happens, Lotus F1 will have more cash flow than the team has ever had in the past.
As Autosport.com points out, Gerard Lopez, Genii Capital owner, had previously expressed interest in owning Lotus. Now that the company has a new owner, that seems to be more feasible. Even so, Lopez says he’s not certain what the new owners intend to do with the brand.
Your nitro-fueled R/C racer may look all badass and be really fast, but it’s got its limitations. Namely, walls. The Sand Flea robot shown above, developed by Boston Dynamics, won’t win any races or beauty contests, but it laughs at walls. More precisely, it just leaps over them.
The little bot, which scoots around like a regular all-terrain R/C car, is equipped with a CO2-powered piston that gives it the ability to leap 30 feet in the air. When presented with a challenge, the Sand Flea stops, tilts, and launches up and over the obstacle in front of it. The video showing it in action, , is simultaneously astonishing and hilarious (especially when you to each leap). On a full charge, the Flea can make 25 jumps. A gyroscope keeps it stabilized while airborne, and its wheels act as the cushion upon landing.
Funding for the project comes from , the , and the Army’s , and it’s meant to bolster the military’s ever-expanding arsenal of reconnaissance tools. As such, that the Sand Flea is headed to the for safety certification, after which several examples will head to Afghanistan for some real field testing.
Despite the unusually warm winter we’re having this year, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have Jessi and Patrick check ice racing off . So we sent them to New York to meet our good friend and ice-racing expert, editor-in-chief Tim Stevens, for an inside look at this very special and frigid sport. Thanks to the courtesy of the , they were able to get in and complete their objective before the warm temperatures returned the track back into a lake.
As Tim explains in the episode, the great thing about ice racing is the amount of time you actually spend racing. And with two classes that cover both stock and modified vehicles, anyone can race with whatever they’ve got in their garage. But as Jessi and Patrick learn, racing on ice is easier said than done.
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Azure Dynamics, which develops electric-drive powertrains for automakers such as , said this week that it will file for financial protection from its creditors under Canadian law and will cancel its plans to sell shares in what may be a precursor to a bankruptcy filing.
Azure is the company that adds the all-electric powertrain to Ford’s practical little Transit Connect Electric. For now, no new TCEs will be made. Azure’s Mike Elwood that production of the Transit Connect Electric has stopped as a result of the restructuring and that, “While we go through our restructuring there will be no TCE activity until we present an approved plan.” We’re told that warranty issues for those who have already purchased a Transit Connect Electric will be a part of this plan.
Ford’s Wes Sherwood told AutoblogGreen that Azure’s filing does not affect Ford’s overall EV and green-vehicle strategy. “Our priority is to ensure that Azure’s Transit Connect Electric customers continue to have support throughout their ownership experience,” he said. “Our Ford electric vehicle product plans remain on track, as part of our commitment to provide customers the power of choice for fuel economy solutions across our lineup – from EcoBoost-powered vehicles and hybrids to plug-in hybrids and full electrics.”
Azure Dynamics joins a list of companies that were looking to capitalize on an increase in demand for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles but have had problems staying afloat. Extended-range plug-in utility vehicle maker last month amid its claims that the federal government took too long to process the $400 million in loans promised to the company, while , which makes the extended-range plug-in Karma, has faced questions about its own future and most of the federal government loans earmarked for the company .
Italy’s Superstars Series may have seemed like an insignificant championship in the past, but drivers and manufacturers alike are beginning to take notice of what is rapidly emerging as Italy’s equivalent of Germany’s DTM, Japan’s Super GT or Australia’s V8 Supercars series. One of those drivers is Tonio Liuzzi, and one of those manufacturers is .
The German automaker had been represented in the series before, but is now launching an officially factory-sanctioned works effort with a specially-prepared touring car fielded by Caal Racing. And it has lined up an experienced driving talent to man the wheel.
A veteran of 80 grands prix, Vitantonio Liuzzi has driven for Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT, but unfortunately failed to distinguish himself with a single podium finish, pole position or fastest lap in the span of his six years in Formula One. Prior to ascending to the pinnacle of motorsports, he had won the International Formula 3000 championship, and has also tried his hand at A1GP (representing Italy) as well as the Speedcar Series (a stock car series held briefly in the Middle East).
Will he prove himself a greater talent in touring cars than he did in F1? We’ll have to wait and see, but given the factory support in a privateer-dominated series and the number of championships Caal Racing has won, things are looking up for Liuzzi and Mercedes. for the official announcement (in Italian) and check out the batch of official high-resolution images in the gallery above.
California Assemblyman Mike Gatto has introduced , which could eventually return three kinds of vintage license plates to California roads: yellow and black plates from the mid 1950s, black and yellow plates from the 1960s – such as the sample 1963 plate pictured – and blue and yellow plates from the ’70s.
The initiative is called the Legacy License Plate Program, but before you collectors and period-correct enthusiasts salivate over – or lament – the possibilities, it has a few hurdles to clear. First, the bill has to be passed when its put to a vote on April 9, which is expected. Then it would only come into effect after 2,500 people had signed up for the plates, assuming that the DMV did its math correctly and had enough money to pay for it. Finally, once all of that got checked off, the program would begin in 2014.
Current regulations mean that in California, the license plate has with the car since new, so if you see a black plate on a 1966 Corvair, then that tag was minted the same year as that Chevrolet. The plates will be updated to modern standards, e.g., reflective paint, so they won’t look just like the old timers, but we figure vintage-minded owners won’t be fussed at all.
Those of us who are fortunate enough to have never suffered through cancer likely don’t realize how the disease can turn some of life’s simplest acts into huge hurdles. Just getting to treatment appointments can be daunting with the onset of symptoms and side effects. One cancer survivor in Austin, Texas has set up a network of exotic and classic car owners to make getting to the hospital a little bit easier and more fun at the same time.
Ken Adams noticed a large number of cancer patients who were forced to take public transportation or rely on friends and family to make it to treatments while he was waiting for his own doctor. Adams then hatched the idea for volunteers to help get those patients from home to the hospital, and was born.
Patients get to ride in everything from vehicles like the to the and even the Ferrari Enzo. For patients who may be going through some of the darkest days of their lives, the chance to ride in some of the world’s greatest pieces of engineering is also a chance at a valuable smile.
We’ve been plenty guilty of balking at supercars in the past, and while they remain firmly out of grasp for the vast majority of the human race, they also represent just what mankind is capable of with the right motivation. We’re just glad to see some of their owners have a similarly impressive capacity for compassion.
If you don’t own a supercar but still want to help, Your Ride Is Here relies entirely on donations, which can be . They’ve also made an excellent video that best explains their purposes, which can be viewed .
Few know performance and racing like Jost Capito. The speed-obsessed auto exec started out developing high-performance engines for , then headed the motorsport department at before taking up senior management positions with the Sauber Formula One team.
He also won the Dakar rally as a co-pilot, but his most recent post has been with . There he oversaw the amalgamation of the company’s global performance divisions – including SVT in the States and RS in the UK – and ushered such vehicles as the , Focus RS, new Fiesta ST and the into production, all the while managing Ford’s effort in the World Rally Championship.
The Ford chapter in Capito’s considerable career, however, is drawing to a close as Dearborn has announced his departure and Wolfsburg his arrival. Effective May 1, Capito will be heading up Motorsport, taking over for Kris Nissen, who managed the back-to-back-to-back victories Volkswagen took at Dakar.
In his new capacity, Capito will presumably be running the company’s new WRC effort, but we wouldn’t mind seeing his footprint on the next generation of GTI and R models, either. for the official announcement.
Plugging A Hole With A Seven-Passenger Synthetic Cork
Consumers looking for a sports coupe, sports sedan, sporty five-passenger crossover, luxury five-passenger crossover, trailer-capable SUV, sporty convertible or hybrid luxury sedan have been able to drive out of showrooms very satisfied. The automaker offers a well-curated family of vehicles for each of these genres, without question.
However, affluent families seeking an import luxury seven-passenger crossover – without a traditional truck lineage – have been forced to shop elsewhere. Many of Infiniti’s missed opportunities end up holding keys to an , or . Aiming to close a gaping leak in its product range, Infiniti officially introduced the world to its all-new at the just a few months ago.
The new arrival has been engineered to “excel in the areas that luxury crossover buyers desire most – interior flexibility and roominess, safety, and advanced hospitality features,” says Infiniti. But to us, some of those qualities seem to stray from the company’s ‘Inspired Performance’ tagline. Intrigued by the new arrival, we climbed aboard an airliner and flew to Charleston, South Carolina, for an introduction and test drive of the JX crossover.
Under its current management, has proven nothing if not ambitious. Lotus can’t achieve its goals without help from the outside, however, and thus has has teamed up with established racing teams to field cars under the Lotus name in countless motorsport series, hunted for new capital from external investors and collaborated with Mansory to customize its vehicles. It’s that last joint venture that the British automaker is now preparing to expand.
The collaboration goes back a little over a year when Lotus brought Mansory in to with some extra carbon fiber bits that debuted at the 2011 . That led to the production Evora GTE (pictured above) and subsequent special editions based thereon, but now Lotus and Mansory are preparing to roll out an entire customization range not only for the , but also the and models.
The catalog, according to Lotus, will include custom “bodywork, trim and special finishes”, although not much more information was released at this point. The collaborative effort, however, is gearing up to unveil a new variant at the come September, so for the full press blast and watch this space for more.
Wait a second… a diesel Ducati? Has gone through and the TDI engine made its way onto two wheels already? In a word: no. This isn’t diesel with a small D, but Diesel with a capital D – as in the Italian house of denim.
Diesel signed on last year as a sponsor of the Ducati racing team in the MotoGP series, and has now taken the partnership to a new level by giving the Monster 1100EVO the same kind of treatment it’s applied to the . That means a military theme with Diesel’s trademark matte green paint, yellow brake calipers and rear spring, and blacked-out frame, engine covers, exhaust and forks.
The special edition model is, of course, being launched with a range of biker gear including everything from jacket to jeans, all in typical Diesel style but with an added dose of burnt rubber. for the full press blast and check out the trio of images in the gallery for a closer look.
Mazda’s new compact crossover is coming out of the gate strong, with the garnering generally good reviews that include . Now, can tout a Top Safety Pick designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as well. The CX-5 snagged “Good” ratings across the board, including front, side, rollover and rear crash tests.
The CX-5 joins its stablemate, the , on the 2012 Top Safety Pick list, which is growing rapidly. Just in the small SUV class that the CX-5 is categorized in, eight models are now listed, including the , , (with optional side torso airbags), , , and .
Click to read the full press release from Mazda, as well as watch the CX-5’s IIHS crash testvideo.
News of an impending automotive debut, especially one as big as the next , generally come straight from the mouths of the automakers. Interesting, then, that the is the first bit of confirmation we’ve seen that the 2014 Impala will be making its worldwide debut in The Big Apple.
All we have to go along with that confirmation is the teaser image you see above (click on the pic to enlarge), so we can’t glean too many details just yet. We can see a Hofmeister-esque kink in the C-pillar, strongly accented in chrome trim, along with the well-known leaping impala emblem.
Past that, have revealed that the front-wheel-drive Impala will boast plenty of passenger room from its Epsilon-II architecture, the same guts that underpin the and . We’re also expecting GM’s well-regarded 3.6-liter V6 underhood, along with a possible turbocharged four and e-Assist hybrid setup.
This news comes on the heels of by General Motors that it plans to replace the Impala in its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series effort with a new nameplate that will also see a production model offshoot, leading to renewed speculation that the automaker will not only sell a new full-size Impala, but potentially a large rear-wheel drive sedan to offer as well, possibly based on the company’s Zeta platform that underpins the Holden Commodore and recently introduced law enforcement special.
The is slated to kick off on April 4, but in the meantime, feel free to go over the teaser above with a fine-toothed comb, and stay tuned for any more details we find ahead of its debut.
UPDATE: GM has confirmed the Impala with the issuance of a press release and official image. In addition, it has confirmed that a revamped crossover will also bow in New York. The Traverse will be available with GM’s new front, center-mount airbag first revealed in the updated , the Traverse’s twin. See the official release after the jump and note the addition of a Traverse interior image above.
confirms 2014 Chevy Impala debut via Facebook [UPDATE]
Formula One may be headed toward an initial public offering worth a staggering $10 billion, according to Bloomberg. CVC Capital Partners Ltd., the majority owner of the Formula One Group, has hired Godlman Sachs Group to look into the motorsports empire’s value. The deal would involve selling a portion of CVC’s 63.4 percent stake in F1, likely with an IPO in Singapore. The news comes courtesy of an unnamed source familiar with the discussions.
Meanwhile, F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said that he will remain in his position regardless of CVC’s course of action. He is not expected to sell his 5.3-percent stake in the Formula One Group. The CEO is reportedly in talks with current F1 teams over contracts that expire this year, offering big names like and Red Bull up to $45 million to stay on. Currently, it’s unclear whether any teams have agreed to the new terms, but Ecclestone says those talks won’t need to be concluded for the IPO to progress.
In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re now actively using your suggestions for new episodes of . We started the series with a few of our own, but have been flooding our inbox since the first episode. ? That was your idea. ? Your idea. And so is today’s episode: Drive the PCH.
California’s Pacific Coast Highway is known as much for its amazing views as it is for the enjoyable cruising that can be had along its asphalt. It’s the type of drive where the destination is less meaningful than the trip that got you there and people you met along the way. In this episode of The List, Jessi and Patrick are given the keys to a suitably ostentatious droptop and sent north from Los Angeles to discover what the PCH has in store for them.
While the PCH is arguably one of the best roads in the country for cruising, every state has a similar road that shows off their unique, natural beauty. What’s the best cruising road in your state? Let us know in Comments so we can try it out the next time we’re in the neighborhood.
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is shutting down the lines at its today, after a fire struck a nearby parts supplier. According to Reuters, the Kia plant will be closed for two days, with production scheduled to resume on Wednesday morning.
Kia builds its sedan and crossover at the Georgia facility, and it also provides its corporate cousin with crossovers. The plant operates three full shifts and has an annual production capacity of over 300,000 vehicles.
The fire broke out at a factory owned by Daehan Solution on Saturday, according to a local TV report, which described the damage as “major,” including a partially collapsed roof. Nobody was injured in the blaze, which is suspected to have started when a hot piece of metal was not allowed to cool before being discarded.
While a Kia spokesman told Reuters that the interruption would have a limited impact on sales, due to the plant’s inventory, Hyundai officials can’t be happy about the down time. for months, as the company’s rapid growth in recent years has led to speculation that in the U.S.
According to a report from Reuters, has been sued for allegedly selling pickup trucks and vans with defective fuel tank linings. The suit alleges that Ford knew about the problem and continued to sell affected vehicles over a 10-year period.
According to the complaint, the fuel tank lining of Ford’s full-size trucks and vans built between 1999 and 2008 can “separate and flake off,” clogging the fuel system and causing the truck to stumble or stall. Further, Ford is said to have issued a “secret” technical service bulletin to dealers about the problem, but never issued a recall or offering to fix customer vehicles for free.
The complaint, brought on by Coba Landscaping and Construction Inc of New Jersey and its principal Galo Coba, is said to be seeking class-action status on behalf of all owners of affected models. Considering that the Ford F-Series pickup was the best-selling vehicle between 1999 and 2008, that’s a heck of a lot of owners.
Ford has yet to comment on the issue, saying it has not received the complaint. Apparently, the issue is unrelated to the found by certain F-Series owners in snowy climates.
Linsanity’s next stop could be your local neighborhood dealer. If you live in China, that is.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Jeremy Lin, the sophomore NBA sensation is in talks with the Chinese-owned carmaker about signing up to endorse the brand overseas. Lin, the bilingual point guard from Harvard, has entered the NBA limelight this season while playing for the New York Knicks.
According to Bloomberg, Lin is the first American of Chinese descent to play in the NBA. Former NBA All-Star Yao Ming, a Chinese national, remains one of the most popular celebrities in China after his retirement from pro basketball last summer. Tapping into the NBA’s growing popularity in China could help boost Volvo, which is not as well known as more established luxury brands like or .
For Lin, capitalizing on his nascent success with Volvo would have to be seen as a positive move, given the fickle world of sports endorsements. As talented as Lin is, the annals of the NBA are littered with flash-in-the-pan guys who had but 15 minutes of fame before fouling out of celebrity life forever.
When Cerberus Capital Management owned , it put former CEO Bob Nardelli in charge of The Pentastar. When Nardelli left, shortly after Chrysler came out of bankruptcy, he stepped across the corporate drawbridge and into , heading its . Now, Bloomberg reports that he’s leaving that role in order to focus on his own investment and consulting firm, XLR-8, although he’ll remain a senior advisor to Cerberus CEO Stephen Feinberg. Nardelli will also give up the , a position he’s held for two months at the Cerberus-owned firearms maker.
This is Nardelli’s third departure in five years, having left The Home Depot in 2007 and Chrysler in 2009, but this time it’s without any obvious controversy after a quiet tenure. His own firm, XLR-8, will keep him in the private equity ranks, as his company’s mission is “to raise money to acquire underperforming companies, and to help them operate more profitably and improve their enterprise value.” He will maintain a connection to Cerberus through his own company, with the private equite house expected to transactions.
According to Automotive News, is looking to expand its dealer network in a big way. The luxury Italian automaker intends to double its dealers by the end of next year in an attempt to take advantage of a rash of new models heading for production. All told, Maserati intends to have around 500 showrooms open by the time the new vehicles roll in, and CEO Harald Wester says that the majority of the growth will happen this year. While the automaker sold just under 6,200 units last year, Wester wants to see that number swell to 40,000 in 2014 and 60,000 by 2015.
That’s a substantial jump, but with an all-new on the way as well as a production version of the not-yet-named Kubang, Wester believes the numbers are attainable. Maserati has also made it clear the company will offer an entry level sedan positioned below the big Quattroporte, which will likely do a smart job of bringing in even more customers.
Few know performance and racing like 
