Also in this episode: Audi's U.S. boss leaves for another job, the American Le Mans Series books a date with the racetrack in Austin, Texas, and we check out the New York garage of Ralph Wilson.
TRANSCRIPT
-- Mazda goes racing with its diesel engine.
-- Audi loses its U.S. chief.
-- The Austin, Texas, track gets another event.
-- And we'll take a look inside the classic garage of New York's Ralph Wilson.
I'm Jake, getting your week off to a fast start with a Monday edition of Autoweek TV. Here comes the news:
--
Over
the weekend, Mazda announced that it will make its Skyactiv-D diesel
engine available for racing in the Grand-Am series, beginning next year.
The race engine will use the stock block for the 2.2-liter diesel, along with dual turbochargers.
As
Audi and Peugeot have demonstrated in Le Mans racing, diesel engines
can dominate the field with excellent power and greater range between
pit stops.
--
Late on Friday, Audi announced that its U.S. boss, Johan de Nysschen, was leaving the company.
The announcement said that de Nysschen's exit was immediate and that he was leaving to take a new job.
De
Nysschen had been running Audi of America for the past seven years, as
the luxury brand of Volkswagen racked up big sales gains and added
several new vehicles to its lineup. He had been with Audi for nearly 20
years.
--
The Circuit of the Americas track outside
of Austin, Texas, is racing to be ready in time for its first Formula
One race this November.
But the track has added an American Le Mans series race to its schedule of events, beginning next year.
The
first ALMS race will be run in Austin in spring 2013. The series joins
Formula One, MotoGP and V8 Supercars as major series to visit the track.
--
That's the news for today.
Before you go, take a couple of minutes to check out the garage of Autoweek reader Ralph Wilson of New York. Your guide is correspondent Phil Berg.
We'll see you back here tomorrow. Enjoy the drive.
