Author: autoevolution

Fifteen years after the introduction of the Volkswagen Sharan, the second generation of the model finally broke cover, thanks to these photos leaked ahead of tomorrow Geneva Auto Show debut. As we can see from the photos, the new Sharan features the same front end as all the new generation Volkswagen vehicles.

According to autoblog.nl, compared to the current generation the new MPV has grown in size, reaching 4.85 meters in lenght and 1.9 meter in width. The increase has been dictated by the… (read more)

Boosting new car sales has been an important issue for many governments around the world, especially the American one. As officials are still looking for solutions to keep the auto industry going, Governor Edward G. Rendell told the members of the Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia that cutting the state sales tax will help car sales.

"My proposal lowers our sales tax rate by a third, increases the fairness of our business and sales tax systems and helps our state avo… (read more)

In the early weeks of January, several rumors that appeared in the media suggested that Spanish teenager Jaime Alguersuari would probably lose his seat at Toro Rosso due to lack of sponsors. Although the speculations was hardly believed by many of the Spanish fans out there, Jaime’s father yesterday confirmed that his son was very close to ending his F1 career before it even started.

Talking about that period of time, Jaume Alguersuari told Spanish newspaper El Pais that he looked desperately… (read more)

Ford will use the upcoming 2010 Geneva Auto Show to present the new Focus Station Wagon that will go on sale in Europe in the months to come. Carscoop writes that the car might be globally launched in the near future in case it attracts positive feedback after the European debut at Geneva.

There are no details on the Focus Station Wagon for the time being, but the car is likely to rely on the same engine lineup as the regular Focus, obviously while providing more interior space and a larger t… (read more)

German tuner Techart announced that the 2010 GTStreet R based on the Porsche 911 Turbo will be presented at the Geneva Auto Show. The GTStreet tuning program has been highly successful, as the modified car offers street performance as well as full on-track capability.

According to the tuner, the TECHART TA 097/T3.1 performance kit raises the power of the standard model from 500 to 660 hp. At 4,500rpm, this means that a maximum torque of 860Nm can be transmitted to the permanent four-wheel dri… (read more)

The team at Gale Banks Engineering announced that it is heading to Wittmann, Arizona, to beat the Speedworld Dragstrip for NHRDA’s Desert Diesel Nationals. The team has prepared their Banks Sidewinder Top Diesel Dragster for the challenge and will attempt a new world record on March 6, 2010.

The dart-shaped, rear-engined, full tube-framed, single-seater is aimed at quarter-mile runs in the mid-low 6-second range with anticipated trap speeds exceeding 200+ mph.

Armed with an even more power… (read more)

Another Formula One season will pass without an Argentine driver competing in the Great Circus. According to several media reports in the South American country, Jose Maria Lopez’ negotiations for a race switch from US F1 and Campos Grand Prix have failed, as the deadline for reaching an agreement has expired over the last weekend.

According to the Clarin daily, it seems that Lopez’ financial backing from the Argentine government wasn’t enough to secure him a seat with Campos Grand Prix, as t… (read more)

After in last weekend’s race at Las Vegas teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray hit each other while fighting for a position in the top ten, the former decided to have his say on what happened.

During lap 94 of the Sprint Cup run on Sunday, McMurray hit Montoya’s left rear corner while entering turn three and sent the latter into a spin. Both of the cars ended hitting the barrier.

"Jamie plain and simple just wrecked us," Montoya said according to Autosport. "Ever… (read more)

The worries that one team might pull a Brawn move on the other title contenders in the starting rounds of the 2010 Formula One season have once surfaced within the F1 paddock, following the media reports that Mercedes GP (practically the same Brawn GP team, but only with a different name an more money into their account) will debut a brand new double diffuser in Bahrain.

Bear in mind that this is the very team that brought the double-decker diffuser into the public eye last year, stealing the… (read more)

Koenigsegg’s booth at the Geneva Auto Show was somewhat an enigma for us, although the Swedish manufacturer confirmed that it will bring "something new" at the show. Well, the company recently revealed the Agera, a new supercar "aimed to take the Koenigsegg experience to the next level, both on the road and the track," as the manufacturer said in a statement.

Technical wise, the engine is a 4.7-liter V8 that produces 898 horsepower at 6,850 rpm and 1,100 Nm of torque at 5,… (read more)

The Ford Fiesta and the Ford Ka have posted high January & February sales figures, exceeding the carmaker’s expectations. As a result, Ford Motor Co. has decided to increase its European production target for the first quarter of the current year, as Bloomberg reports.

Ford’s production is scheduled to reach 460,300 units, a figure that can be translated into a 4.6 percent growth as compared to the initial target. Thus, Ford’s will produce 117,000 more vehicles than it did last year.

Howev… (read more)

The second phase winners of the annual Lexus Eco Challenge launched on September 28, 2009 were announced. They comprise fifteen middle and high schools teams, each of them awarded with $10,000. Moreover, they also secured an invitation to participate in the Final Challenge for a chance at one of two $30,000 grand prizes and 14 $15,000 first-place awards.

All award money is shared among the students, teacher advisor and school. The entry deadline for the Final Challenge is March 16, 2010.
 
… (read more)

Bad luck or not, it would appear the start of the season is not going so well for Danica Patrick. For the second time in three races, she managed to crash, this time at Sam’s Town 300, after driving right into the damaged car of Michael McDowell.

The accident occurred on lap 85, when McDowel says he gave Patrick an indication to go take the outside lane. Apparently, she didn’t and when McDowell steered to the inside, Danica was still there.

Tape all over the left rear bumper of McDowell… (read more)

The Arabian Drag Racing Championship is a highly fierce competition. Therefore it’s impressive to say the least that 23 year-old Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar has won the Arabian Drag Racing League’s 2009-’10 Pro Extreme championship. Al-Thani drove a 3,000-horsepower, supercharged 1968 Camaro tuned by legendary American drag racer Frank Ace Manzo.

In the last race of the championship, the Sheikh faced defending series champion Von Smith and fellow American Alex Hossler as drivers… (read more)

Although his teammate Fernando Alonso showed a lot of optimism when referring to his Ferrari F10 prior to the Barcelona testing last week, Felipe Massa tries to keep his feet on the ground ahead of the season opening round in Bahrain. According to the Brazilian driver, naming a favorite until the first race of the new campaign is absurd, given that all the big teams have shown some positive signs of improvement during the 4 days of running on Circuit de Catalunya.

Today the timesheet says (Le… (read more)

One of the most challenging quests put up by Nissan and PlayStation takes place these days at the Silverstone circuit in the UK. No more than 18 winners from the 17 participating countries are gathered there to compete against each other until the best two competitors are selected.

The two winners of the Silverstone event will then start an intensive two-month driver training programme. This will allow them to qualify for an international race license, while also learning racing technique.
… (read more)

Volvo will bring the new S60 at the Geneva Motor Show this week, but alongside the regular model, the Swedish manufacturer will also display a sporty and so-called "naughty" version of the car. Leaving the company’s situation aside – Ford is expected to reach a deal with Geely anytime soon and thus hand Volvo’s owners to Chinese – Volvo rolled out two video teasers to give us a glimpse into how the future models will look like.

Well, only a little can actually be seen in the clips b… (read more)

Way to early, we know, to make any calculation on who will break what record in this year’s Sprint, but that doesn’t appear to be stopping Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson.

After at the end of 2009 Johnson became the holder of a new record in NASCAR, with 4 consecutive Sprint Cup Series championships to his name, he is back at it in 2010 and would appear there’s no stopping him.

Last weekend, following an incredible lucky pit stop timing which brought him the win, Johnson proved… (read more)

The last day of testing on the Barcelona track on Sunday marked the official finale of the off-season test in Formula One. Less than two weeks from now, the cars will rejoin an official race track to battle for the first points of the new season, meaning that most of the work should have already been finalized in the garage by now.

If the test on the Spanish track has been quite successful for teams such as McLaren, Ferrari or Red Bull, the newly entrants have suffered for most of the time du… (read more)

The new Ford Fiesta is scheduled to enter the U.S. market this summer and Ford is doing its best to market the car. The company launched the Fiesta Movement, a social media initiative aimed at rising the American public’s Fiesta awareness.

The Fiesta Movement has now reached its second chapter: 40 people will share their own Fiesta vision with the inhabitants of 16 U.S. cities. These have been selected from over 1,000 applicants and have been split into 20 teams. The teams will build the Fie… (read more)