Auto News 5

Chinese manufacturer, Youngman, says it will invest EUR10m (US$12.5m) in Spyker to produce a SSUV to be launched in 2014 as well as further models.

Chinese manufacturer, Youngman, says it will invest EUR10m (US$12.5m) in Spyker to produce an SUV to be launched in 2014 as well as further models.

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is to expand its supply of semi-knocked down (SKD) kits to Thailand and Indonesia.

Ferrari is "on track to make this year another record year," according to Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. He foresees the Fiat supercar subsidiary setting new all-time highs for both unit sales and operating profit.

Ferrari is "on track to make this year another record year," Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said. He foresees the Fiat supercar subsidiary setting new all-time highs for both unit sales and operating profit.

Ford Motor Company has announced that it will begin exports of Lincoln vehicles to China from 2014. The firm believes sales of luxury vehicles will reach 10% of the local market by 2020.

Mando says it has received an order from General Motors worth Won 340bn (US$299.5m) for the supply of electronic parking brake systems.

AAA Auto's majority owner, Anthony James Denny, plans to sell most of his stake in the used car retail group that he built and listed on stock exchanges in Prague and Budapest.

Ford is losing market share and piling up losses in Europe as it struggles to compete against newcomers like Hyundai and Kia. High wages and aging plant infrastructure are making it increasingly difficult for the U.S. carmaker to remain competitive.

The Peugeot unit of PSA/Peugeot-Citroen is joining automakers such as BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Lotus by creating a business unit that offers design services for non-automotive products.

So much for the much-hyped South Korea free-trade agreements. Separate deals with the European Union and United States were brokered only after much wrangling to ensure that automakers from those regions would get fair access to Korea.

A Florida man says the long-lost 1960 Chevrolet Corvette race car that made a brief public appearance in Carlisle, Pa.

From GMM

Ferrari has confirmed reports it already has a V6 engine up and running.

We reported a fortnight ago that F1's likely three engine manufacturers for 2014 - Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes - are hard at work on their new turbo designs for the radical new regulations.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said their plans are now "in phase two", meaning they are no longer working only with prototypes.

"We have now run a V6 and the programme is more or less in line with our planning," Renault Sport's Rob White said recently.

Italy's Autosprint quotes Ferrari's engine boss Luca Marmorini as saying a 1.6 litre F1 engine is now running on the Maranello test bench.

He said it is therefore an unusually busy time for engine makers, as they are still working on 2012, preparing for the final V8 season in 2013, and developing the V6 at the same time.

"Our V6 has just gone onto the dynamometer, and ourselves and our suppliers are learning a lot of things.

"Although 2014 seems far away, making an engine from scratch is a long process and the deadline is closer than it seems," said Marmorini.

It is believed Mercedes has also begun bench-testing its V6.

Russian automaker AvtoVAZ is jumping on the electric car bandwagon with the Lada Kalina EL, which will make its debut this week at the Moscow Auto Show.

For now it's just a concept, but with positive feedback from visitors, the Lada Kalina EL could begin testing as a taxicab on the streets of Stavropol.

The vehicle uses a 13 kWh battery pack to feed a 60 kW (82 hp) electric motor and allow a range of about 150 kilometres. A full charge takes up to eight hours.

The Lada Kalina EL sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 13 seconds and reaches a top speed of 130 km/h.

Further information on the car's equipment and global availability will be provided at the Moscow Auto Show.

Source: leblogauto

From GMM

McLaren may also be preparing a 'double DRS'-like system for this weekend's Belgian grand prix.

We reported early this month that the British team looked set to follow Mercedes and Lotus' lead in developing an iteration of the straightline speed-boosting concept.

"It's not like the Lotus one, but we are studying such a system," McLaren's sporting director Sam Michael was quoted as saying.

Mercedes debuted the concept early this season, and after practicing with a similar system at recent races, Lotus' technical boss James Allison revealed this week that the black and gold E20 could race its "device" for the first time at Spa.

And Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio now reports that, while the news is much quieter than Lotus', McLaren has similar plans to run a double-DRS at the high speed Belgian track.

The O Estado de S.Paulo journalist said it is not clear how McLaren's system differs to those fielded by Mercedes and Lotus.

After a recent performance dip, Lewis Hamilton entered the August break as F1's last-start winner, having secured his second victory of the 2012 season in Hungary.

"I think it's still difficult to predict accurately who'll win the next grand prix, but I reckon the coming few weeks ought to give us a much clearer idea of the destination of the world title," the McLaren driver said last Friday.

"There's no team with a clear advantage, although we're all pushing hard to catch Fernando (Alonso) in the drivers' championship, so there's still everything to play for," he added.

From GMM

Force India's drivers may have gone without pay so far in 2012, according to rumours.

Austria's Sportwoche reports speculation that Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta are the latest victims of team owner Vijay Mallya's struggling Indian airline Kingfisher.

As the 2011 season kicked off, German Hulkenberg said the airline's high profile financial problems have "nothing to do with us".

"This is formula one, not an airline," he insisted.

Business Book GP 2012 estimates Hulkenberg and his Scottish teammate di Resta's salaries this year at EUR 500,000 and 200,000 respectively.

But Sportwoche cited more than one paddock source in suggesting that the duo have not been paid anything yet.

The magazine said only the payments from title partner Sahara are keeping the Silverstone based team afloat.

DTM reigning champion and BMW driver Martin Tomczyk was given a five-place grid penalty ahead of the next race, in Oschersleben, for his move on Gary Paffett during the wet race of Zandvoort.

Tomczyk and Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) were fighting when, on lap 28 at the approach of the Tarzan corner, Tomczyk collided with Paffett, spinning the Brit around.

Tomczyk was apologetic after the race, and accepted both the blame and the penalty.

"My wheel locked as I braked into the corner. I wanted to go round Gary Paffett but didn't manage it[.] I feel sorry for Gary. I am a fair sportsman and immediately apologized to Norbert Haug, who accepted the apology," said the 2011 champion after the race.

"Afterwards I also went to see Gary. Personally I think the penalty is too harsh, but I accept it."

Paffett, meanwhile, deeply regretted the incident that costed him a potential podium finish since, as a result of the spin, since it meant he finished behind championship rivals Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz) and Bruno Spengler (BMW), and saw his lead in the standings shrink accordingly.

"Seventh place is not the outcome I had planned for this weekend at Zandvoort," admitted Paffett. "I was extremely disappointed after the contact with Martin Tomczyk and the subsequent incident when I spun, but at least we did a little catching up in the closing stages to limit the damage."

The official poster of the 2012 Paris Auto Show looks like the work of science fiction movie editors with its electric colours and night sky background.

The car's silhouette appears to be transforming and evolving right before our eyes. And although the slogan is the same as the 2010 edition's, Le Futur, Maintenant (the future, now) hints at the newest technologies in the auto industry.

The 2012 Paris Auto Show will take place from September 29th to October 14th at Porte de Versailles.

From GMM

Heikki Kovalainen has revealed Caterham needs to improve "a lot" in the area of aerodynamics.

Having expected a major step forward in performance terms for the 2010 startup this year, speculation suggests the Finnish driver may be seeking a faster team for the 2013 season.

Finland's Turun Sanomat has published a summary of the 30-year-old's career so far, contrasting his four podiums with Renault and McLaren with his four best 13th-place finishes for Caterham (nee Lotus) since 2010.

Kovalainen has been strongly linked with Sauber for 2012, but the Suomussalmi-born driver also revealed that he has "seen" Caterham's "preliminary plans" for its 2013 car.

"It (the project) is all concentrated around the aerodynamics," he said.

"There is no greater element that influences the whole car. We need to improve the aerodynamics a lot," added Kovalainen.

Like last year, there will be just one DRS zone at Spa-Francorchamps for the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Belgium.

Team Williams' engineer Xevi Pujolar, who works with Pastor Maldonado, wrote on his Twitter page (@xevipojolar) the information about the Drag Reduction System zone.


During the race, the DRS detection point (in blue on the illustration) will be located 235m before T2, and the activation zone (in green) will begin 270m after T4, on the main straight.

The Spanish engineer also indicated that the DRS will always be disabled for the treacherous Eau Rouge corner, between 200 and 1500m.