Autoweek Daily Drive — Friday, June 22, 2012

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTO SHOWS   |   VIDEOS   |   COLLECTOR   |   SUBSCRIBE Friday, June 22, 2012                  According to Chevrolet, 20 percent of Sonics sold are equipped with a manual transmission.... Let Chevrolet teach you to drive a stick Chevrolet is celebrating last year's surprising rise in U.S. sales of manual-transmission vehicles with a contest for those unfortunate souls who never learned what their left foot is for. To enter, contestants must first play some kind of Facebook game and then submit a video showing why they need the assistance of an...   GM recalls 413,418 Chevrolet Cruze models to modify engine shield, prevent fires General Motors is recalling all Chevrolet Cruzes sold in the United States for a fix aimed at preventing engine-compartment fires. GM said the recall covers 413,418 Cruzes, or all of the cars sold in the United...   Mercedes claims world record with golf ball catch in car If this video wasn't made for the viral Web, we don't know what is. In the clip, Mercedes-Benz shows off a nifty trick involving a 571-hp SLS AMG...   Vettel fastest at European Grand Prix practice Sebastian Vettel set the pace on Friday in Valencia, Spain, in practice ahead of Sunday's Formula One race, but it's too early to proclaim the defending world champion as the driver to beat at the European Grand Prix. Wild temperature swings have...   Loeb in lead at Rally New Zealand Eight-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb holds a slender lead after a day one of the four-day Rally New Zealand. Loeb grabbed the lead from his teammate Mikko Hirvonen, after the two Citroën drivers swapped positions all day on the fast and flowing roller-coaster roads....   Historic Grand Prix to be support series for U.S. Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas on Friday announced the Historic Grand Prix as the first support series for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix set for Nov. 16-18. The Historic Grand Prix organization is made up of more than 50 owner-drivers of authentic,... You May Have Missed...   F1 team representatives talk to the media Several Formula One team representatives talked to the media on Friday in preparation for the weekend's Grand Prix of Europe.Franz Tost (Toro Rosso), Riad Asmat (Caterham), Norbert Haug (Mercedes), Luis Perez Sala (HRT) and Eric Boullier (Lotus). The transcript of the press conference follows:Franz,...   Kneel before Zetros, destroyer of lesser motor homes Summer is the perfect season for cross-country RV touring, and the mobile luxury afforded by modern motor homes means you don't need to leave behind air conditioning or high-definition television to experience the wonders of nature.But the moving hotel rooms masquerading as recreational vehicles...   The Corvette challenge: What would you change? Usually, Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter is the guy answering the questions.He answered most of mine recently as we hammered a 2013 Chevrolet Corvette 427 convertible on the roads around the General Motors Proving Ground in southeast Michigan.Of course, he skillfully dodged my attempts to...   2013 Ford Focus ST: Drive review What is it?The 2013 Ford Focus ST picks up where the SVT version left off after the 2004 model year by transforming the pedestrian Focus--a nice but otherwise serviceable car--into a true enthusiast's ride, stuffing a high-output engine underhood, installing a sport suspension underfoot, dressing...   Win one of four cars with 2013 Ford Mustang configurator The 2013 Ford Mustang configurator is back online with new features. Now, normally, this wouldn't warrant a mention. But the contest in which you could win a new Mustang, Mustang GT, Boss 302 or Shelby got our attention.After you've designed your dream 'Stang on your computer or on the smartphone...   Porsche Exclusive to offer Powerkit and Aerokit for 911 Carrera S Porsche's in-house Exclusive custom division on Thursday introduced new power-enhancement and aero-enhancement kits for the 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera S. The Powerkit boosts the 3.8-liter flat-six engine's output to 430 hp, up from 400 hp.The extra power comes courtesy of redesigned cylinder heads...   Land Rover fomalizes deal with off-road partner Bowler Land Rover finalized a deal with Bowler on Thursday that formalizes an existing arrangement as Bowler—a U.K.-based builder of rally raid cars—has been a working with Land Rover for more than a decade.Bowler competition vehicles will now compete with “Powered by Land Rover”...   Corvette Racing at Le Mans--We'll be Back! The 24 Hours of Le Mans: National Geographic named it the world's No. 1 sporting event. Bigger than the Olympics. More epic than the Super Bowl. It even trumps the World Cup. Those are all, clearly, huge events, but I have no doubt that Le Mans indeed belongs among those other world-famous...   Ferrari raises $2.3 million for charity: Autoweek TV Also in this episode: J.D. Power rankings have been released, National Insurance Crime Bureau car-theft stats are out and we have video of an SCCA car going inverted.TRANSCRIPT-- A Ferrari rakes in a ton of money for charity.-- The latest study on quality is out.-- And California has plenty of...   Formula One drivers talk with the media about Grand Prix of Europe Formula One drivers Heikki Kovalainen, Daniel Ricciardo, Kamui Kobayashi and several others talked to the press Thursday about the upcoming Grand Prix of Europe. The following is the transcript of the press conference.Heikki, you made some comments in your preview that this isn't your favourite... 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.