Autoweek Daily Drive — Wednesday, August 1, 2012

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTO SHOWS   |   VIDEOS   |   COLLECTOR   |   SUBSCRIBE Wednesday, August 01, 2012                  2012 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 Touring review notes EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: What a kick! This 2012 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 has to be one of the best values in hot-hatch performers for less than $30,000 on the market today. The car is very well-equipped as tested, with blind-spot detection, pivoting headlights, navigation, mongo audio, keyless entry and ignition and...   Penske Racing releases A.J. Allmendinger Penske Racing on Wednesday released A.J. Allmendinger as driver of the No. 22 Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Cup Series. Allmendinger was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR last week for a positive drug test. Penske Racing released the following statement on Wednesday morning: “Penske...   GM, Ford sales fall on lower fleet shipments UPDATED -- General Motors and Ford Motor Co. reported declines in July U.S. sales tied to falling fleet deliveries while smaller rivals posted sharp gains. GM's sales dropped 6 percent last month, with deliveries to retail customers off 3 percent. The company said total fleet deliveries declined ...   Sonoma IndyCar layout modified to allow for more passing The raceway at Sonoma is getting a new look designed to create more passing zones for the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Aug. 26. Steve Page, president and general manager of the raceway in Sonoma, and   Vehicles for Veterans Why these special stories on mobility? According the U.S. Census, nearly 10 million people age 18 to 64 have an ambulatory difficulty that could affect their ability to drive. So we put modified Toyota vans and the factory-built wheelchair-accessible MV-1 to the test, and explore the needs of...   Rod and custom photos from the Woodward Dream Cruise Pictures tell a thousand words, but they still don't do justice to the number of hours likely put in to these hot rods seen at the 2011 Woodward Dream Cruise. Whether or not they're your thing, these custom cars still win our hearts by virtue... You May Have Missed...   Briggs Cunningham's Le Mans Corvette race car found in Florida: Car that was lost for decades will be shown at Carlisle event in August One of three 1960 Chevrolet Corvettes campaigned by Briggs Cunningham at the 24 Hours of Le Mans--a car whose whereabouts have been unknown for more than 30 years--has been found.The car, which wore the No. 1 for the Le Mans race with drivers Cunningham and William Kimberley, will be shown publicly ...   Which track should serve as America's Nürburgring? On Monday, General Motors announced that the new track-oriented Chevrolet Camaro 1LE lapped Virginia International Raceway in 2 minutes, 58.34 seconds. It's a fine time, in line with a 2005 Corvette Z06 or a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.But should VIR stand as America's Nürburgring, the de facto...   Engine dyno failure videos to enjoy It may seem frivolous, but we spend copious amounts of time scouring the depths of the Internet, in places our mothers would not recommend, looking for automotive videos. Since we spent more than a few minutes this afternoon watching videos of engines blowing up, we thought we'd compile a few of...   IndyCar's Castroneves favored to win another Dancing with the Stars trophy Izod IndyCar Series driver Helio Castroneves has been installed as the betting favorite to take home the mirror-ball trophy in season 15 of Dancing with the Stars.Castroneves, who won the title in season five with professional dance partner Julianne Hough, is one of 15 celebrities—each former ...   Pantano to replace Kimball for Mid-Ohio IndyCar race Giorgio Pantano will replace the injured Charlie Kimball for this Sunday's IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio.Kimball suffered a broken bone in his right hand in a crash during testing on July 26 at Mid-Ohio. The injury is not considered serious, but Kimball needs more time to heal. The break is on the back...   Porsche 918 Spyder sports Martini Racing colors: Autoweek TV Also in this episode: Lexus reveals its flagship 2013 LS 460 sedan and Volkswagen opens a new plant in China.TRANSCRIPT-- Porsche is testing the 918 Spyder in Martini livery. -- There's a new Lexus.-- And Volkswagen is getting even more serious about China.I'm Greg Migliore. This is Autoweek TV for ... 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.