AutoWeek Daily Drive — Tuesday, June 1, 2010

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTOSHOWS   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   MARKETPLACE Tuesday, June 01, 2010                  Toyota president Akio Toyoda confers with his driving mentor, Hiromu Naruse, at the Nürburgring in Germany.... Akio Toyoda: Toyota's top car guy has a lifelong driving passion As Akio Toyoda climbed the ranks at the automaker his grandfather had founded, many Toyota Motor Corp. managers treated the scion with kid gloves. Not Hiromu Naruse. Naruse, a certified Master Test Driver who commands cultlike reverence within the company, sneered at the young executive's claim to be a true car guy. "He told me, 'I don't want to hear what you have to say about cars...   Nissan says the Leaf electric car will snag Toyota Prius owners Owners of Toyota Motor Corp.'s fuel-efficient Prius hybrid will succumb to the charms of the Nissan Leaf electric sedan, predicts Nissan Division Vice President Al Castignetti. More than half of the 130,000 hand-raisers who have expressed an interest in the Leaf so far have been Prius owners,...   The 2010 Cadillac CTS Performance, an AW Drivers Log EDITOR WES RAYNAL: The first thing I'd do is opt out of these seats. Yeah, I know they're Recaros and I guess to some that's supposed to mean performance or something, but frankly they're not that good. Support is in the wrong places, and I can't adjust them to a comfortable position. Maybe...   Mustang ad blitz aims to beat Camaro Chevrolet Camaro sales have blazed ahead of the Ford Mustang through April. To catch up, Ford Motor Co. plans an aggressive advertising campaign. The challenge is convincing buyers that Ford has changed the 2011 Mustang despite a lightly changed exterior. "It's pretty simple: Powertrains...   Dealer's belief in Porsche led to $5 million store Car dealer Jack Daniels IV is used to seeing the grins on people's faces when they hear his name. And he's OK with it. "People have said, 'It's my favorite drink, so I thought I'd buy a car from you,' " says Daniels, who in April opened the largest Porsche dealership in America. No, he's... You May Have Missed...   Kurt Busch gives Roger Penske a Memorial Day victory in Charlotte The Captain was right there, front and center in Kurt Busch's mind in the final laps of Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Earlier on Sunday, in Indianapolis, team owner Roger Penske hadn't had a very good time. After starting the Indianapolis 500 with so much optimism, his...   Mike Conway to miss three months after Indy 500 crash Izod IndyCar Series driver Mike Conway had surgery at Indianapolis Methodist Hospital on Sunday night following his terrifying crash on the last lap of the Indianapolis 500.Indy Racing League director of medical services Dr. Michael Olinger said that Conway required surgery to repair fractures to...   Indy 500 drivers and teams receive big checks at victory banquet Dario Franchitti and Simona De Silvestro were the big winners in Monday night's Indianapolis 500 victory banquet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.Franchitti collected a check of $2,752,055 for Ganassi Racing, which also won $377,305 for Scott Dixon's fifth-place finish.De Silvestro was voted the...   Dario Franchitti wins the Indianapolis 500 Another Indianapolis 500 win on Sunday for Dario Franchitti and Chip Ganassi, and this one is historic.Franchitti scored his second victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and gave Ganassi an unprecedented double: Ganassi's team also won NASCAR's Daytona 500 this season with driver Jamie McMurray....   Angelelli and Taylor win combined Grand-Am race at Lime Rock Sports-car stalwart Max Angelelli helped Ricky Taylor score his first Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype win on Monday in the Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park. In GT, rookies Adam Christodoulou and John Edwards teamed to score their first victory in the No. 68 SpeedSource...   IndyCar: Davey Hamilton won't race in Texas Indy Racing League veteran Davey Hamilton will not compete in the Izod IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, as originally planned.The 47-year-old, who failed to complete the opening lap in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday after clashing with Tomas Scheckter, was to drive one more... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the AutoWeek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other AutoWeek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add AutoWeek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.