Auto News 5

Ford Motor Co. and its finance arm had their credit ratings upgraded one level by Moody's Investors Service because of demand for the company's new models and a lower cost structure. Full story...

I'm going to be blunt, mean even. If you thought that the recent past, including the tough times in the auto business, have purified the process of building a car, you'd only be partially right. Badge engineering is well and alive. "What's that?" you ask. Take identical platforms, powertrains, near-identical interior and exterior designs and call one Pineapple, and the other Papaya. General Motors has made an exact science of this exercise. Full story...

Jeremy Mayfield's legal challenge, against his NASCAR suspension, for failing a random drug test was dismissed by a Federal Court in Charlotte, North Carolina. Full story...

Lotus is almost ready to begin fighting with F1's established teams, according to Heikki Kovalainen. Full story...

Epsilon Euskadi has a better chance of winning a spot on the formula one grid now that Max Mosley has departed. Full story...

One of the three stewards on duty in Monaco last weekend has revealed the officials were too busy to consider giving Rubens Barrichello a penalty. Full story...

Twenty-year-old Venezuelan driver E.J. Viso crashed heavily at Turn 1 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the closing minutes of the six-hour free practice session on Tuesday. Full story...

Both drivers dream of Ferrari, but is it the good time to switch to the Italian team. Full story...

A rather special driver made his debut Wednesday afternoon on the Scuderia Ferrari simulator in Maranello, Italy. Full story...

Japanese car manufacturer Toyota, which quit Formula 1 at the end of last year, has no intention whatsoever of returning to the series that is described as the "pinnacle of motorsport". Full story...

Munich. Sun, rain, ice and snow "at the push of a button" - all climate zones of the world in one building in northern Munich. This piques curiosity and provides for optimal conditions for a special type of photo shoot. "I heard you can make weather here." With this sentence, the two-time Olympic champion Katarina Witt greeted the Manager of Efficient Dynamics at the BMW Group, Dr. Johannes Liebl, during her visit to the BMW Group's Energy and Environmental Test Centre (ETC). "I'd like to have some sun - I've had enough ice and snow this last winter." Full story...

When Apple's iPad hits European markets in a few days' time Mercedes-Benz will be ready for the launch with a whole range of free programs available through the App Store. Already available for the iPhone, the applications have been technically optimized to ensure that fascination for the brand with the star is just as good an audio-visual experience on the new tablet device too. Full story...

As if the plain-jane Veyron wasn't enough, Bugatti and the crazies at Château St. Jean in Molsheim, Alsace, France, have decided that 1,200 was the new 1,001, horsepower that is. The most powerful production car will, again, be the most powerful production ever... Full story...

Seoul, Korea -- I couldn't decipher the road signs nor the street names, traffic was nightmarish and most city streets were as tight as alleyways. Yet I experienced one of my greatest moments ever in an automobile as the little Kia Soul took me through downtown Seoul, capital of South Korea and a world-class shopping mecca. Full story...

The Renault F1 Team boss Eric Boullier said he is confident Robert Kubica will not switch to a rival team at the end of 2010. Full story...

No, Ford has not created an army of alien-human-DNA soup-mix-monsters to infiltrate the natives. Although the program used to create SANTOS, a highly realistic virtual worker, was created for the U.S. Department of Defense, in an effort to simulate and ease physical strain on the soldiers. Full story...

Thanks to scrapping incentives, Russia's sales jumped 20 percent in April -- the country's first year-on-year increase since October 2008. Full story...

AM General LLC, best known as the maker of military Humvees and Hummers, is going greener with a new foray into the electric vehicle business. The South Bend, Ind., company will handle final assembly of Ford Motor Co.' Full story...

A fake bomb that prompted the evacuation of a southern Indiana post office today was the fourth since Friday sent to Toyota Motor Corp.'s U.S. headquarters and production plants in three states, a company spokesman said. Full story...

General Motors announced this week it plans to offer compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas- powered versions of the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans to fleet and commercial customers starting this year. Full story...