Author: autoevolution

One of the most impressive performances of the 2010 Australian Grand Prix was, no doubt about it, Fernando Alonso’s surge from 22nd to 4th place at the chequered flag. Although he started the race from 3rd place, an incident in the first corner saw the rear of his car being tipped by Jenson Button and spinning on the track.

He had to wait for the entire field to pass him and only after, start his own race at Albert Park. By the time the safety car came in – following an incident involving Ka… (read more)

American manufacturer Ford announced today it has started production of the PowerShift dual-clutch automatic transmission for the 2011 Ford Fiesta. The new dual-clutch automatic transmission is produced by GETRAG Americas at a new facility in Irapuato, Mexico. This is the same plant that will supply PowerShift units for the new Ford Focus.

However, production of Focus transmissions will begin later this year, when the plant will have 400 workers, double the amount that it has now.

"We… (read more)

It took the Red Bull mechanics only 15 minutes to identify the cause of Sebastian Vettel’s problem in the Australian GP, and the result has been confirmed a while back. It seems it’s not a braking issue that caused Vettel to lose control of his car and record his first DNF of 2010, but a damaged wheel mounting.

Midway through the race, the German was comfortably leading the race at Albert Park, when he suddenly lost control of his RB6 and hit the gravel. In his first conversation with the tea… (read more)

This weekend’s Australian Grand Prix has been full of controversial moments, among which we’d reported Michael Schumacher’s public frustration about Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso blocking him in qualifying. During the last practice session on Saturday, Pedro de la Rosa was also fined by the FIA for impending another driver.

However, it seems that those incidents did not happen because of the drivers’ will to slow down their rivals, but because the visibility in the new mirrors fitted to … (read more)

The second Fiesta Movement campaign kicked-off this weekend, as the 20 teams of two agents received their first assignment: showing off why Fiesta is all about urban adventure. This time, missions are centered on each team’s city, with agents being forced to get help by their local communities to fulfill their quest.

Agent teams will create a wallscape mural that will also work as a guide to their 10 favorite places and activities in their city. According to Ford, many teams have partnered with… (read more)

No more American-Swedish-Chinese automotive nail biting or rephrased press releases: Ford announced that it has reached a final agreement to sell Volvo and all the related assets to Geely.

The sale process is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of the current year and will follow customary closing conditions, including receipt of current regulatory approvals. Geely will pay Ford a total of $1.8 billion: the transaction will be initiated through a $200 million note of amount, with th… (read more)

Ford’s World Headquarters in Michigan went dark for one hour yesterday evening in support of Earth Hour, a global initiative to raise awareness of energy conservation and climate change. All interior, parking and signage lights have been turned off during this time, except required emergency lighting.

The American manufacturer has therefore joined millions of people, organizations, corporations ad governments around the world in this initiative.

"More than ever, we at Ford Motor Company a… (read more)

The new Jaguar XJ is a very difficult vehicle to tune, as it features an exquisite design and targets premium buyers, but this has not stopped the Germans at STARTECH.

The tuner has developed an exterior and interior enhancement program for the new XJ, aiming to offer performance-orientated appearance to the car

The front of the XJ has received a bumper add-on featuring generous air intakes and LED daytime running lights. The tuning house has also replaced the sedan’s front fenders with a … (read more)

There was really one leader of the Kroger 250 race at Martinsville Speedway, and his name was Kevin Harvick. The owner of the No. 2 Chevrolet and the No. 33 Hornaday led the pack for 187 of 250 and clinched his second Camping Truck win this season in as many starts.

"It was a lot of fun for me, just for the fact that the thing was so dominant to drive," Harvick said according to NASCAR. "I didn’t really have to do a whole lot different – I just drove my line every lap, and we… (read more)

Ford Motor Company is offering additional financial support for the Oakwood Helathcare System heart disease prevention project, as the company announced that it will make a new $225,000 donation to allow the completion of the health study.

Oakwood’s Healthy Hearts for Women was created in 2005 through a $1 million donation made by Ford’s charity division, Ford Motor Company Fund. With the support of the second donation, the research study will reach a 100 percent completion percent by 2012.
… (read more)

It would appear the torn anterior cruciate ligament Denny Hamlin managed to get during a basketball game this January is more serious than even Hamlin himself wanted to admit. Despite his repeted claims he will not miss any races this season because of the injury, Hamlin was forced to accept the facts and announced he will undergo surgery on Monday morning, following the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500.

"We were going to wait until the end of the season, but just decided that it wasn’t a goo… (read more)

After discovering a very serious flaw with the alternator in some 5,000 heavy-duty Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana passenger and cargo vans, American manufacturer GM announced the recall of the affected models, as well as a halt in production and sales of the vans until a proper fix for the fault is found.

The alternator issue seems to be pretty serious, as it can cause a fire in the engine compartment. GM is advising (they use the "we are urging" phrase) all retail and fleet custom… (read more)

After back in 2009, during the bankruptcy process, American manufacturer Chrysler tried to shed as many of its "uncompetitive" dealers as possible, 2010 brings hope back to some of those dealers. In a move dubbed by Chrysler "mutually beneficial," the carmaker announced it has sent letters of intent to 50 of the dealers rejected last year.

 "In an effort to find a mutually beneficial resolution in situations that make sense for the customer, the dealer and the company,… (read more)

The first in a family of new Chevrolet small and compact cars designed to offer excellent fuel economy and safety, the 2011 Cruze Eco was unveiled this weekend at the 2010 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS). Powered by an Ecotec 1.4L turbocharged engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission, the Cruze Eco achieves an estimated 40 mpg on the highway.

City fuel economy, as well as estimates for the Cruze Eco equipped with an available six-speed automatic transmission, will be finalized… (read more)

Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton had a frustrating Sunday in Melbourne, as the two drivers were the only ones in the leading pack to make two pit stops for tire changes. That eventually cost them big time in the battle for a podium finish, despite their late surge in the race.

While exchanging positions for the fastest man on the track – and posting lap times almost 2 seconds faster that the Ferrari’s in front of them – the two ended up in the gravel with two laps to go, after Webber stepped on… (read more)

Lewis Hamilton will certainly leave Melbourne later today with plenty of frustration on what happened during the course of this weekend. After getting in trouble with the Victorian police for careless driving – and having his car confiscated for 48 hours – and starting 11th on the grid, the Brit managed a magnificent recovery midway through the race and was on his way to a potential win at Albert Park.

Nevertheless, due to the fact that he was called to the McLaren garage for a second pit sto… (read more)

Taking a step further in showing its dedication to create top-quality vehicles, the Toolmaking Division of Audi AG opened an extension building and with it the implementation of a synchronized production system.

Audi’s Toolmaking Division is largely responsible for creating high quality panels for their vehicles’ bodies. Moreover, the new system implemented at the inaugurated toolmaking building ensures that all work steps are better coordinated for an even leaner and more efficient productio… (read more)

Jenson Button scored his first win at McLaren this weekend, in Australia, where a superb pit stop strategy from his team gave him his first personal victory over teammate Lewis Hamilton. The Albert Park circuit therefore becomes the first venue on which the 30-year old Brit scores back-to-back wins in Formula One.

Button did not have a great first few laps in Australia, as the slight drizzle in Melbourne caused quite a chaos after the start. While Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher touche… (read more)

With every race that unfolds in the 2010 Formula One championship, there seems to be a brand new technical-related controversy coming up. After McLaren’s F-duct system in Bahrain, here comes Red Bull’s suspension, suspected to feature some kind of an active ride design that creates a huge advantage for the RB6 in qualifying without affecting the car’s behavior in the race.

To be more precise, some suspicions have been raised inside the F1 paddock that Red Bull’s RB6 uses a suspension that can… (read more)

Michael Schumacher admitted his frustration after the Saturday qualifying session at the Albert Park circuit, but not so much because of his poor 7th best time in the Q3, but because he was blocked a couple of times in his attempt to score some fast laps by either Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton.

In the late stages of the Q2, Hamilton reportedly blocked the German’s way when he was trying to score a fast lap, while Alonso did a similar thing in the last few minutes of the Q3. Of course, thi… (read more)