F1 technical directors have agreed to make so-called 'double diffuers' illegal from 2011. Reports said the decision to ban the controversial rear aerodynamic solution was taken by the teams at a meeting of the Technical Working Group late this week.
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Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Fiesta S2000) clinched victory in rally Montecarlo, the first round of the Intercontinental Rally Championship.
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USF1 will announce on Monday that it has signed Argentine driver Jose Maria Lopez for 2010. The American team reached a deal with the 26-year-old touring car driver late last year, dependant on the finalisation of his sponsorship package believed to be worth around $8m.
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Nick Heidfeld will be the reserve driver for Mercedes GP in 2010, a report quoted his manager as saying on Friday. Auto Bild claims the appointment of the 32-year-old grand prix veteran, who would complete an all-German lineup for the former Brawn team, will be announced officially in Stuttgart on Monday.
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The boss of Valentino Rossi's MotoGP team is worried the charismatic Italian will be lured to formula one by Ferrari. Amid rumours the 30-year-old has received an offer for the 2011 season from arch rivals Ducati, Yamaha team manager Davide Brivio said: "The greatest danger is Ferrari."
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Mobile phone giant Nokia launched free satellite navigation in a direct challenge to Google at the same time hitting market leaders, the Dutch firm TomTom and the US firm Garmin.
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Well, at least one outstanding General Motors matter in Europe got finally sorted out this week although that would have come as no comfort to the 2,300 or so workers at the Antwerp plant in Belgium who finally confirmed for sure yesterday their services will soon no longer be required after the usual 'consultations' between automaker, unions and works councils end and they find themselves looking down the barrel of unemployment. Who'd be jobless in this economy, this market?
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Japan's scrappage scheme has given its domestic market a massive boost - particularly with its extension to September this year - but the automotive sector must brace itself for a fall once the incentive ends.
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The UK car market is forecast to decline by 11% in 2010 according to the SMMT.
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The SMMT has announced that UK car production in December was up 58.5% on the same month of 2008 when volumes were exceptionally depressed.
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Power steering components and systems supplier China Automotive Systems (CAAS) on Friday announced it had begun shipments to its first global OEM customer, Chrysler Group.
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A British man is attempting to make it into record books by hand painting an entire car with nail varnish, a press release from Fiat UK said.
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The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) expects Malaysia's vehicle market to grow 2.4% to 550,000 units in 2010 due to an improved economic outlook.
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Plug-in hybrid concept teased ahead of it's public debut at next month's Chicago show.
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Online retailer of ex-fleet cars carsite.co.uk has announced the appointment of Sir Trevor Chinn as chairman. He is also an investor in the company.
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European trade policy should ensure Asian automotive competitors did not enjoy overwhelming advantages with the European Commission (EC) providing industry support, said German Automotive Industry Association (VDA) president Matthias Wissmann.
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Toyota Motor Sales USA (TMS) last night said it would recall about 2.3m Toyota branded vehicles to correct sticking accelerator pedals, a move separate from the current recall of around 4.2m Toyota and Lexus vehicles to reduce the risk of pedal entrapment by incorrect or out of place accessory floor mats. The announcement came just hours before ABC News aired a prime time news report about unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles followed later in the evening by a separate investigatory programme.
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Car sales in the so-called BRIC markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China will grow from 19m units last year to 27m units in 2014, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group with General Motors and Volkswagen in the best position to take advantage of that growth because they are already well-established there.
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