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2011 Chinese Grand Prix packs the action into Shanghai [spoilers]

Filed under: Motorsports, China

2011 Chinese Grand Prix

2011 Chinese Grand Prix – Click above for high-res image gallery

After a solid month’s worth of previews, the Shanghai Motor Show will finally open its doors this week. And when it does, it will feature an unprecedented number of world debuts. But as central as the Chinese port city has become to the international auto show circuit, the expo wasn’t the only event of worldwide interest occurring there this week.

Shanghai also played host this weekend to the Chinese Grand Prix, the third race in this year’s Formula One World Championship. And with rivalries so closely contested, it was still anyone’s guess as to how it would unfold. Follow the jump for the full play-by-play.

Gallery: 2011 Chinese Grand Prix

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2011 Chinese Grand Prix packs the action into Shanghai [spoilers] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jeep Grand Cherokee to get 3.0L diesel V6 in North America by 2013

Filed under: SUV, Europe, Jeep, Diesel, Off-Road

Jeep CRD diesel engine

Autoblog just heard it straight from the Italian-Canadian horse’s mouth: The hot new Jeep Grand Cherokee in North America will – somewhere between soon and the end of 2013 – be getting the same recently improved 3.0-liter V6 turbo-diesel engine that Europe gets. In the Grand Cherokee, this oil-burning powerplant is good for 237 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, the latter of which is fully delivered between 1,800 and 2,800 rpm. This is music to all Jamboree and Rubicon fanatics everywhere.

It has not been decided whether or not there might be a special six-speed manual shifter offered alongside the W5A580 five-speed overdrive automatic transmission, and an eight-speed automatic is in the works, as well. But the manual with the Quadra-Drive II transfer case on a Trail Rated Grand Cherokee would bring the glee Stateside even moreso.

Fiat Auto CEO Sergio Marchionne is fast becoming the new Bob Lutz in his ability to cast aside all carefully kept secrets of the communications team and talk about the good things that are coming. Only minutes after Jeep’s international bosses artfully skirted the issue of a common-rail diesel GC here in North America, Marchionne assured us that one would, in fact, be coming. We respect the Jeep leaders. We dig Sergio.

Not only does the latest generation of the 3.0-liter CRD engine with Multijet II management – built by VM Motori in Italy based on specifications from Fiat Powertrain Technologies – get 19-percent greater fuel efficiency than the previous mill, it produces 20-percent less CO2 emissions. Towing capacity is quoted at just over 7,700 pounds, the maximum for any current Grand Cherokee trim.

But will the Wrangler get the European 2.8-liter CRD inline-four good for 197 hp and 302 lb-ft of torque, paired with the NSG370 six-speed manual and Rubicon Rock-Trac transfer case? Because that, folks, is the holy grail item. Even Sergio was mum on this.

Gallery: Review: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Image: Matt Davis/AOL]

Jeep Grand Cherokee to get 3.0L diesel V6 in North America by 2013 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Mustang Boss 302R captures first Grand-Am victory

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Ford, Racing

Multimatic Motorsports Mustang Boss 302R

Multimatic Motorsports Mustang Boss 302R – Click above for high-res image gallery

Ford has been quite successful in Grand-Am’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, most recently winning the championship in 2009 with the FR500C Mustang. Last year, Ford Racing introduced the Mustang Boss 302R into the series, but as with any new race car, it had various kinks and bugs to work through. The Boss 302R ended the 2010 race season without a victory, and the championship went to the BMW M3.

Things are looking up once again for the Mustang, however, with the Mustang Boss 302R taking its first victory this past weekend at Barber Motorsports park. Multimatic Motorsports drivers Scott Maxwell and Joe Foster brought home the win, while the Roush Boss 302R of Jack Roush Jr. finished in third place. The Multimatic Motorsports team is currently five points behind Turner Motorsports and its BMW M3.

You can read full details about the Boss 302R’s first victory in the press release after the jump, or hit up the gallery below for your full of high-res road racing pony cars.

Gallery: Multimatic Motorsports Mustang Boss 302R

[Source: Ford | Images: Grand-Am]

Continue reading Ford Mustang Boss 302R captures first Grand-Am victory

Ford Mustang Boss 302R captures first Grand-Am victory originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Malaysian Grand Prix points the way forward [Spoilers w/poll] Updated*

Filed under: Motorsports

2011 Malaysian Grand Prix

2011 Malaysian Grand Prix – Click above for high-res image gallery

Variety, they say, is the spice of life. So what does that mean in motor racing? Well, sometimes it’s the epic battles between the established front-runners that provides the most gripping race action. And this year’s Malaysian Grand certainly had plenty of that. But it’s the variety – those wild cards from which you never know what to expect – that throw us all for a loop.

Heading into the second round in the 2011 Formula One World Championship, defending champion Sebastian Vettel had already staked his claim for Red Bull and the lead in the standings, with McLaren close behind and the remade Lotus Renault GP following surprisingly in third. Would the same players dominate the field once again, or would new challengers mix it up so early in the season? Follow the jump to read on.

Gallery: 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix

[Images: Clive Mason, Paul Gilham, Mark Thompson/Getty | Mark Baker, Raymond Ho, Vincent Thian, Aaron Favila, Eugene Hoshiko/AP]

Continue reading 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix points the way forward [Spoilers w/poll] Updated*

2011 Malaysian Grand Prix points the way forward [Spoilers w/poll] Updated* originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 10 Apr 2011 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SCCA World Challenge Grand Prix of St. Petersburg live stream

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Cadillac, Racing

2011 Cadillac CTS-V Racecar

The SCCA World Challenge series is some seriously exciting stuff that doesn’t get nearly enough television exposure. With actual street cars duking it out on tight courses, it’s door-to-door racing at its finest.

Catching the races live on TV can be impossible, particularly on basic cable. To stem that problem, World Challenge TV streams each race live on its website. Today’s race starts at 4:20 PM EDT, and will be available for live viewing at WorldChallengeTV.com.

There’s a 49-car field vying for the top spot, including two factory-backed Cadillac CTS-V Coupes.

[Source: WorldChallengeTV]

SCCA World Challenge Grand Prix of St. Petersburg live stream originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Australian Grand Prix comes straight from a land Down Under [Spoilers]

Filed under: Motorsports, Australia

2011 Australian Grand Prix

2011 Australian Grand Prix – Click above for high-res image gallery

And they’re off, ladies and gentlemen. After a tumultuous offseason that saw Robert Kubica sidelined from a rally crash, two Lotus-Renault teams embroiled in a naming rights dispute, the arrival of Pirelli tires to replace Bridgestone and the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix due to political unrest, the 2011 Formula One World Championship has kicked off in earnest with the Australian Grand Prix.

Heading down under to Albert Park, both titles are Red Bull’s to defend. But preseason testing showed strong competition coming from the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes GP. Would reigning champion Vettel and company be able to hold them back to start off their defense as strong as last year? Follow the jump to find out.

Gallery: 2011 Australian Grand Prix

[Images: Clive Mason, Paul Gilham, Vladimir Rys/Getty | Rob Griffith, Andrew Brownbill, Vincent Thian, David Callow, Daniel Munoz/AP]

Continue reading 2011 Australian Grand Prix comes straight from a land Down Under [Spoilers]

2011 Australian Grand Prix comes straight from a land Down Under [Spoilers] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 06:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Dodge Grand Caravan gets new $23,995 base MSRP, now least expensive minivan in U.S.

Filed under: Car Buying, Minivan/Van, Dodge

2011 Dodge Grand Caravan

2011 Dodge Grand Caravan – Click above for high-res image gallery

Chrysler has announced that the 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan will get lob $1,000 off of its base MSRP, making it the least expensive minivan in the United States. This savings applies to the base Express model, which is now priced at $23,995, not including the $835 destination charge.

The slightly higher-grade Mainstreet model (no, the naming structure doesn’t make sense to us, either) also benefits from a bit of cost savings, taking $250 off of its base price. The mid-range minivan now wears a $25,745 sticker price.

Both the Dodge Grand Caravan and its Chrysler Town & Country twin were substantially refreshed for the 2011 model year. In addition to the higher-quality, more comfortable interior, both minivans now use the automaker’s 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, which produces 283 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. We still aren’t sure if either of the Chrysler vans are the best-in-segment players, but with a new ultra-low MSRP, the Grand Caravan should now be a bit more attractive to prospective buyers.

Gallery: Review: 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan

2011 Dodge Grand Caravan

[Source: Chrysler]

2011 Dodge Grand Caravan gets new $23,995 base MSRP, now least expensive minivan in U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrysler looking to boost Japanese sales by 21% with launch of new Grand Cherokee

Filed under: Japan, Crossover, Chrysler, Jeep

Jeep Grand Cherokee

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is selling like hotcakes here in the States, with sales of the new crossover up 130 percent in January. Chrysler hopes the Grand Cherokee will find similar success overseas, with Automotive News reporting that the automaker is hoping the new Jeep will help boost sales by 21 percent in Japan.

By the numbers, this means that Chrysler is counting on the Grand Cherokee to bump sales up from 2,350 units in 2010 to something closer to 3,000 in 2011, with the Jeep accounting for anywhere between 500 and 1,000 of those transactions. That’s only a few days worth of sales here in the United States, but considering the fact that Jeep sold only 88 units in all of 2009 in Japan, being able to move 1,000 units is indeed a big step forward.

We can see how Japanese car buyers would be interested in the Grand Cherokee, but the attractive and capable ‘ute isn’t the most popular vehicle in Japan. That honor goes to the Jeep Patriot, with 760 sales in 2010.

Gallery: Review: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Chrysler looking to boost Japanese sales by 21% with launch of new Grand Cherokee originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Demonstrations in Bahrain cause Grand Prix cancellation

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Middle East

Demonstrations in Bahrain

Politics and racing don’t go together. Whether it’s former FIA president Max Mosley’s fascist sympathies or the dispute over Cyprus being played out on the podium of the Turkish Grand Prix, there’s just no place for it in motorsports. But with political unrest spreading across the Arab world, it looks like revolution has gotten in the way of racing once again.

On the back of successful regime change in both Tunisia and Egypt, protestors have been taking to the streets across the Middle East in an effort to overthrow corrupt regimes in their respective countries. Little of this has anything to do with racing, except in Bahrain. The Gulf state is home to the Sakhir circuit that hosts, among other events, the Bahrain Grand Prix that was originally set to kick off the Formula One season in just a few weeks. Now, however, track organizers have confirmed that Bahrain Grand Prix will not be held. “We felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest,” said Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.

Organizers have already had to call off the GP2 Asia Series race that was supposed to take place there this weekend, and are being forced to do the same with the F1 pre-season test that was due to follow. This cancellation means that the 2011 Formula 1 season will now start on March 27 in Australia.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Hassan Ammar/AP]

Demonstrations in Bahrain cause Grand Prix cancellation originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrysler fixes Grand Cherokee handling issue identified by Consumer Reports

Filed under: SUV, Etc., Safety, Chrysler, Jeep

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee – Click above for high-res image gallery

According to Consumer Reports, Chrysler has addressed a handling issue with the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee that the publication discovered during independent testing. During a double-lane-change emergency maneuver, CR testers noted a considerable amount of skidding and hopping at the very limit of traction. Chrysler engineers then went to the magazine’s test track to review the findings before returning to Auburn Hills to come up with a solution. In December, the automaker released a software update for the vehicle’s stability control, and all Grand Cherokee models manufactured since then have come from the factory with the fix.

Consumer Reports was recently able to put the updated 2011 Grand Cherokee through its paces at the track once again and found that the issue had been corrected. The big SUV managed to maintain an average speed of 50 mph through the course and behaved itself at and beyond the limits of the vehicle’s traction. The fix has helped to improve the vehicle’s Consumer Reports rating for the Grand Cherokee from a 66 to a 71.

Gallery: Review: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Chrysler fixes Grand Cherokee handling issue identified by Consumer Reports originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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