Auto News 5

General Motors has named Stephen Girsky vice chairman, corporate strategy and business development. Girsky, 47, will remain on the GM board to which he was appointed last July. Full story...

The 'Proton Concept' car, to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next week, will showcase an advanced series hybrid drivetrain, designed and developed by Lotus Engineering. Full story...

China's BYD aims to boost its car exports this year to feed improving demand in a recovering global economy. BYD aims to sell its clean-technology cars in Western Europe next year, following plans to export electric cars to the U.S. later this year. Full story...

BMW Group has confirmed that it is developing BMW Plant Leipzig to produce an electric vehicle while also making additional investments in a number of facilities in Bavaria. Full story...

Continental held out the prospect of a return to an underlying profit this year, as it battles the effects of the global auto downturn and its own multi-billion euros debt load. Full story...

China's biggest automaker, SAIC Motor Corp. today said it had won approval from the Chinese stock regulator to acquire a 1 percent stake in its Shanghai 50-50 car venture with General Motors Co. Full story...

Turkish automaker Tofas beat forecasts with a 105 percent rise in 2009 net profit to 360 million lira ($239 million) on sales up 6 percent to 5.10 billion ($3.34 billion.) Tofas had been forecast to make a 293 million lira ($192.2 million) profit. Full story...

China's Tengzhong could use an offshore investment vehicle to buy GM's Hummer brand if it fails to win Chinese regulatory approval for the ambitious but controversial plan that has met with cooling government appetite. Full story...

China's biggest automaker, SAIC Motor Corp. today said it had won approval from the Chinese stock regulator to acquire a 1 percent stake in its Shanghai 50-50 car venture with General Motors Co. Full story...

Electricity prices and labor costs in euro zone member Slovenia are too high, the local unit of French car maker Renault SA said. "A comparison of electricity costs among factories in the Renault group shows that we are among the most expensive ... Full story...

Subaru's Outback line firmly established its reputation a while ago. Now dissociated from the Legacy models, the successful Outback has garnered quite a following in the country. In fact, the Outback is so popular that the head honchos over at Subaru decided to drop the simple wagon version of the Legacy, so limited were its sales over the past few years. To say that the Outback fills the needs of many Canadian consumers is an understatement. Full story...

F1 is reportedly working to convince its official tyre supplier Bridgestone to stay in formula one beyond this year. Full story...

Fernando Alonso says he looks back on his ill-fated season with McLaren in 2007 as an experience that was "good for my career". Full story...

As Michael Schumacher or Pedro de la Rosa did, both drivers were expecting returning to Formula One this season. Full story...

Toronto - Toyota Canada today announced that it will install a brake override system on an expanded range of customers' vehicles to provide an additional measure of confidence. This braking system enhancement will automatically reduce engine power when the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal are applied simultaneously under certain driving conditions. Full story...

The PROTON Concept car, to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, showcases an advanced series hybrid drivetrain, designed and developed by Lotus Engineering. Full story...

The largest automotive organisation in world, German ADAC, has carried out an extensive comparison test of different automatic speed and distance control systems. Volvo XC60 clearly won the test in which six different models were compared. Full story...

Development of the groundbreaking McLaren MP4-12C is entering its final phase. The bespoke high-performance sports car is due to launch in 2011, and right now the latest Experimental Prototype (XP) 12Cs are undergoing intensive appraisal at a number of test locations around the world. Full story...

I'll admit it. I have Olympic Fever! Ever since I was a little girl, living in a home equipped with only rabbit ears, I have always enjoyed watching the Olympic Games: both Winter and Summer editions! This year has been particularly exciting for me since my hometown of Vancouver is currently playing host to the whole world. I support any individual who has discovered their talent and passionately pursues it-- and I think every Olympic athlete qualifies! Full story...

The Rotax Max Western Canada Challenge (WCC) has released information on this year's events with trips to Rotax Max World Finals on the line. Full story...