Michael Schumacher, the seven time world champion with Ferrari with 91 race wins in his kitty is struggling to work up his magic with the Mercedes moniker. The former champ who is on a comeback after a three year lag hasn’t managed to start better than 6th in Bahrain and differs by a whopping 26 points when compared to his team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Nico has managed a podium finish so far and a front row start. As per Mercedes’ competition director Haug, Michael’s stint this time around will not be cut short because of his disappointing season this far. He believes that Michael is motivated enough to be successful for a long-term with Mercedes and he will start working his magic as far as his car does it for him.

His results until now haven’t been his fault and the experts know exactly the problem causing the whole “limitation”.

Felipe Massa is working wonders for Ferrari this season ahead of much hyped teammate Fernando Alonso and the 28-year old Brazilian driver might be rewarded with a contract extension sometime soon. As per the rumor mill, Massa is being extended for three years and his new contract will run through to the end of 2013 which will make him even more secure than Alonso. It was earlier being speculated that Robert Kubica could replace Massa as Alonso’s teammate in 2011. Massa has turned out to be the star performer this season and Ferrari is in no mood to let him go. Indeed, Stefano Domenicali told German magazine Sport Bild that Ferrari wants “to build with Felipe into the future”.

The Tourer category of vehicles draws a lot of interest and the Opel Astra Sports Tourer is no stranger to the fact. Ideal for family needs, the Opel Astra variant is up for a facelift and its 2011 model prototype has been spotted by spy photographers.

The images reveal a camouflaged rear end but one can still make out the detailing at the rear as similarities can be drawn with the current generation model. There is no extension from the rear side window and even the tail-lights are similar to the current variant but the lower reflector lights have been moved into the bumper. The prototype reveals a production ready model and there is every chance that this sports tourer might start selling within a matter of months. [Images via WCF]

They say Lamborhinis are hawt and that they know how to attract a crowd of onlookers.They say the Murcielago is the last true Lambo and that it is the last of a breed of hairy chested, fire breathing supercars. They even say it looks like a bat flying through the fiery gates of hell even while its just standing on the side of the road.

All we know is don’t play with matches around one of them because apparently they’re made from really flammable stuff…

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Nissan has gone ahead and released the first teaser image of the Redesigned Nissan Quest which is slated to hit the US market early next year. The Japanese will be more familiar with the Quest as it is based on the El Grand van. Nissan describes Quest as the perfect vehicle for buyers needing the size, safety, functionality and comfort that a minivan has to offer, without sacrificing style or driving pleasure.

The new Nissan Quest will be powered by a 3.7-liter VQ V6 engine capable of rendering up to 300hp and while the FWD will be standard, there might be an AWD variant that will be optional.

The New York International Auto Show came as a pleasant occasion for VW as the Polo was named the 2010 car of the year out of three finalists that was announced last month. A total of 30 cars were selected for the award and later the competition was scaled down to three contenders after careful adjudication of all 30 automobiles.

The other two finalists challenging the Polo were Mercedes Benz E Class and the Toyota Prius. The mandatory conditions for the cars to be nominated included sales in at least two continents in the year 2009 and a minimum of 500 units of each nominated vehicle produced in 2009.

As per one of the jury members, the VW Polo MkV is one of the classiest small VWs ever been built. The winner even achieved 5-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating. Chevrolet Camaro also managed to bag the World Car Design of the Year prize while the entire Volkswagen BlueMotion lineup was awarded the World Green Car of the Year.

Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in the history of F1 is still a competent threat to his rivals as per the new generation F1 drivers. He may be struggling this season with three bad races, but he will soon be back to his best. Nico Rosberg mentioned that he has the best team-mate he could ask for and Schumacher will soon get back to business. He has been out fort three years and that is a very long time and therefore a proper comeback will take time.

Nico gave his Mercedes team the first podium finish of the season as Schumacher again failed to impress. Michael himself believes that he is not a magician and he will require more races to get back the winning touch. He did acknowledge that he was pacing the car, but at the moment the car is not where he wants it to be. When he was a champion, he had the car to do it which is an important aspect.

The Mercedes unit is on schedule when it comes to developing a driver specified racer and soon the results will start getting better.

What do you guys think? Is Schumi still a threat to other pilots in Formula One?

As expected, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid broke cover at the ongoing New York Auto Show and Hyundai was understandably excited about the unveiling. As per the company sources, the Sonata Hybrid is more powerful than the Ford Fusion, Lexus HS250h, Nissan Altima, and even the Toyota Camry. Hyundai was however clear in the stating that its fuel efficiency is not as good as the Ford Fusion Hybrid though the other three hybrid commuters fall short of the standard the Sonata sets. Sonata Hybrid features a combination of an all-aluminum 2.4-liter engine that churns 169hp and a 40hp electric motor. The combination is mated to a new six-speed automatic transmission.