Car FYI

Photo Credit: 304945 Matt Sullivan/Getty Images Earlier this year at the Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR's Speedweeks opened on a controversial note. For the 2015 Daytona 500, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series adopted a multi-car group qualifying style that had debuted last season for most races. Designed to provide a more dramatic and faster-moving method departing from the single-car qualifying fashion used for decades, the new method for deciding the pole position as well as the positions for the Budweiser Duel 150 races definitely caused buzz. Unfortunately, much of the reaction after the qualifying concluded was not favourable. A Daytona 500 pole qualifying consisting of two groups of cars, it was a bizarre spectacle to watch as some vehicles drove through the infield grass to immediately to placed with a drifting partner and competitors waiting for the last possible moment to set a fast lap. This...

Through much of Lincoln's history, Ford Motor Company's luxury brand best vehicles came when they were deliberately competing against General Motors' premium car make Cadillac. The 1950s and 1960s had Lincoln attempting to boldly define itself from its main rival creating memorable designs. Diagonally-stacked headlights and suicide doors were some eye-grabbing features used by Lincoln to present their idea of luxury. With Cadillac preparing  a super-luxury CT6 sedan for 2016 , it appears the time has returned for Lincoln to directly attempt to best their old American luxury foe. At the New York International Auto Show, the Continental Concept will debut as a production-ready vision of a new luxury flagship sedan. A strikingly modern, high-class four-door, the elegance on display with the Lincoln Continental Concept is crafted with great purpose. Years ago, the Continental name one of the cornerstones of luxury in Nor...

Photo Credit: Chris Owens Having already introduced you to the 16 races part of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar schedule , it's time to shed light on the drivers and teams contending for the various trophies. With the entry list for the season-opening race in St. Petersburg posting a healthy 24-car field, drivers connected to the superteams of Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport are still the favoured forces to be reckoned with. However, expansion and consolidations for 2015 has the potential of creating some surprising developments as the IndyCar season progresses.  The following tidbits of information considers the 2015 Verizon IndyCar season as a whole discounting all the special deal put together for the Indianapolis 500. Reigning Champion Power Accepts #1 Photo Credit: Chris Owens For only fourth time in 15 years, the defending champion of the IRL/IndyCar Series has decided to accept a special perk. Wi...

Photo Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar The start of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar season was delayed three weeks due to the cancellation of the opening round in Brazil. Having planned to run the feature race on March 8th at  Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, the round was withdrawn by promoters. Reportedly, government funding to the race was pulled resulting the IndyCar season having to wait until March 29th's race in St. Petersburg to open the 2015 series. With 16 points-paying races including 'the month of May' festivities at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series tour consists of ten road courses and six ovals. Big Easy Debut One new race venue added to the 2015 Verizon IndyCar tour is the series' first-ever stop in the state of Louisiana. To be held on a 13-turn, 2.74-mile course at NOLA Motorsports Park, the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana is taking place at facility opened just four years ago. Located in Avondale, the race tr...

While most of the AJAC (Automobile Journalists Association of Canada) awards were handed out at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto, one special honour awaited a vehicle connected to an all-new category for this week's Vancouver International Auto Show. An appropriate prize handed out inside the environmentally-conscious province of British Columbia, the first Canadian Green Car of the Year would be bestowed on one vehicle. From a group of four finalists chosen for fuel efficiency, low emissions and reduced overall minimized impact on the environment. Becoming the first recipient for the new award, the Kia Soul EV prevailed as the choice for 2015. An all-electric equivalent to the gasoline-powered MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) version of the Kia Soul, the Soul EV substitutes the fuel-burning powertrain for a 81.4-kw AC synchronous permanent magnet motor and 27-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Capable of travel up to 105 miles (roughly...

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR Almost every time Chip Ganassi enters a new form of racing, the Chicago businessman and former driver has a given tendency of spending time in victory lane. Amassing victories and championships in the Verizon IndyCar Series as well as sports car racing, Chip Ganassi Racing has also won several NASCAR race in the Sprint Cup Series and the tour currently known as the Xfinity Series. March 18th, the habitually winning team has announced entrance into Red Bull Global Rallycross. Interested in the younger crowd attracted through the sport, team owner Chip Ganassi speak highly of Red Bull Global Rallycross' existence. “As a fan of motorsports I’m particularly interested in the GRC cars, their horsepower levels and the absence of traction control but make no mistake about it, we are in this series to win – both on and off the race track. Also, GRC has proven to be a very inno...

Last year in New York, BMW teased a concept of their X5 sport activity vehicle operating on a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Combining the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine using BMW TwinPower Turbo technology combined with an electric motor, the X5 eDrive Concept was one of many interesting ways to envision BMW's top crossover vehicle. Recently, a diesel-powered version of the BMW X5 was imported into North America allowing owners to explore greater distances between fuel stops. Less than a year since the X5 eDrive Concept debuted, the vehicle has been granted the production green light as the 2016 BMW X5 xDrive40e. Employing a similar powertrain layout displayed on the concept, the 2016 model year X5 xDrive40e operates primarily on an electric power before relying on a gasoline engine for longer range driving. From concept to production, the BMW plug-in hybrid vehicle has undergone some gains as well as some loses. The one gain made with the showroom-ready version of the ele...