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News 21 Nov, 2013

Toyota has unveiled a new accident prevention system which will automatically steer a car to avoid hitting pedestrians

The Renault-Nissan alliance has delayed its goal of selling 1.5m electric vehicles world wide by two to three years, Nissan president and chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn said.

Mazda Motor president Masamichi Kogai has apologised to the victims of a test drive crash and said the company would redouble efforts to ensure safety of its vehicles.

Faurecia and Magneti Marelli have signed a cooperation agreement for the design, development and manufacturing of advanced human-machine interface (HMI) vehicle interior products.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen may close an assembly line at its Mulhouse plant in eastern France unless production picks up to more profitable levels. The automaker will also review production at its Poissy plant near Paris.

Citroen wants its DS cars to exude success from every fiber. That means one smell is banned from the upscale line of vehicles: plastic.

UK car production rose 17 percent last month, its fastest rate so far this year, with most of the growth destined for domestic consumption rather than export.

The Los Angeles show held its first connected car expo, attracting dozens of exhibits showing the latest automotive technology.

UK car output in October rose 17.4% year on year to 160,854 units, for the largest monthly increase so far this year.

Volvo is staking its police-car fleet ambitions in Europe and beyond on a newly upgraded chassis underpinning the

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and Renault will end a partnership on engines and transmissions that is their last production alliance in France.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and Renault will end a partnership on engines and transmissions that is their last production alliance in France.

BMW's GT models are aimed at countries such as the U.S. and China, while Europe is the main market for the automaker's station wagons.

As competition in the industry becomes ever more cut-throat, partly as gaps in quality and technology narrow, automakers need bolder, edgier designs to differentiate. From a global talent pool, South Koreans stand out.

Steel makers are offering lighter, more durable products to maintain their dominance against aluminum and plastics producers as the preferred raw material used in vehicle production.

One might say that there are three seasons in NASCAR. There's the racing season. Then there's silly season - when rumors fly about where drivers are headed. Now comes crew chief musical chair season.

Early in the week Stewart-Haas Racing announced that Chad Johnston, previously at Michael Waltrip Racing, would replace Steve Addington as crew chief for the recuperating Tony Stewart.

The team also announced Daniel Knost has been promoted from race engineer on the No. 39 team to crew chief for the No. 41 Haas Automation team with Kurt Busch.

The team also announced that Matt Borland has been named vice president of engineering. “In this role, Borland will oversee all of the team's technical initiatives and various research and development projects. He will also transition from being an active crew chief (of the departed Ryan Newman) to that of a mentor,” the team said -- specifically in regard to Knost's new role.

Greg Zipadelli who was formerly Stewart's crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing, has been named vice president of competition where he will manage all four Sprint Cup teams (Stewart, Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Danica Patrick), with each crew chief reporting to him. Previously the team announced that Rodney Childers would be Harvick's crew chief on the No. 4 car.

What happened to Addington? He's been named competition director for the Phoenix Racing and crew chief of the No. 51 Chevrolet with a driver to be named later.

Stewart, who once fired his then current crew chief, Darian Grubb, weeks before he won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship told the Associated Press why he's changing his crew chief for the third time in six years. "It's literally results. I don't think we were ever on pace to be where we needed to be," he said.

"It's a moving target and I don't think you could bring Ray Evernham back to Jeff (Gordon) and get the same results now. I think it's a constant moving target. The relationship is one aspect of it, but still the moving target is the technology side of it.

"The more pieces you add to the puzzle, the harder it is to put the puzzle together. When we had two crew chiefs and two drivers, it was at a certain level. And then the third team and now the fourth team. Now you have to make sure, instead of just getting two crew chiefs to communicate, now you have four. The equation gets more complicated."

And, over at Roush Fenway Racing, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. will be reunited with Mike Kelley who was the crew chief on Stenhouse's two Nationwide Championships (2011 and 2012).

The iconic Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG supercar is about to retire from the market with a limited production run of 350 GT Final Edition models. They will go on sale in March 2014 at a price that has yet to be determined.

Currently on display at the Los Angeles and Tokyo Auto Shows, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Final Edition uses a 591-horsepower 6.3L AMG V8 engine to sprint from 0-100 km/h in four seconds and reach a top speed of 330 km/h. It rides on 19'' front and 20'' rear tires while making good use of a carbon fibre-effect hood with central air outlet, a carbon fibre front splitter, and a fixed carbon fibre rear spoiler.

Inside the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Final Edition, the centre console sports an "AMG FINAL EDITION - 1 of 350" badge, an Alcantara-trimmed AMG Performance steering wheel, and sport seats that feature an embossed AMG emblem on the head restraints.

Mercedes SLS AMG GT Final Edition. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

From press release

Formula E's new fully-electric race car, the Spark-Renault SRT_01E, completed is successful test debut recently at the La Ferté Gaucher circuit near Choisy-le-Roi, France.

Unveiled earlier this year (September) at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the new single-seater was driven by Lucas di Grassi who will be undertaking the early test and development work. The zero emission car completed around 40 laps over two days with the initial task of checking all systems were functioning correctly. For the test, the car was fitted with a 50kw battery which is a quarter of the maximum 200kw power (270bhp equivalent) the final car will produce.

"It is a great feeling to be driving the Formula E car for the first time," said Di Grassi. "I can assure all the drivers will have a lot of fun with this car - even with just a quarter of the power, it has quite a lot of grip and the electric motor produces huge torque."

The SRT_01E has been designed and built by French based Spark Racing Technology together with a consortium of the leading manufacturers in motorsport, and will compete in the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship - the world's first global electric race series beginning in September 2014. The chassis has been constructed by Dallara, with McLaren Electronics Systems providing the electric motor, gearbox and electronics, Williams Advanced Engineering the batteries, Renault the overall systems integration and Michelin the tires.

From GMM

Felipe Massa has likened F1 pay-drivers to prostitutes.

After eight years with Ferrari, the Brazilian will switch to Williams after this weekend's 2013 season finale in his native Sao Paulo.

It was thought that Massa, 32, was bringing some Brazilian sponsorship backing to the seat currently occupied by the heavily PDVSA-backed Pastor Maldonado.

But Massa insists he will remain a "professional" racing driver in his own right at Williams.

"For all that I've gone through, and everything I've achieved, it makes no sense to pay to race," he is quoted by Brazil's Globo.

However, Massa said he would help Williams - the once-great F1 team - to find some new sponsors.

"Of course, I will do all I can. Money is good for improving the car and I have great relationships with some companies, some of them Brazilian. The crisis has hit all teams, big and small," added Massa.

Felipe Massa. (Photo: Williams F1 Team)

He said he also negotiated with "Lotus, Sahara Force India and McLaren" about 2014.

"But (Lotus team boss Eric) Boullier did not do anything as though he really wanted to do something (for 2014). Then Williams came after me. The first conversation was 'We want you'. And that was very important for me."

Felipe Massa said he was not interested in becoming a 'pay driver', in the sense that a driver's services are inextricably linked to his financial backing.

"I don't know if this is how I should describe it, because it is a very strong word," Massa said.

"But the word is 'prostitute'," he is quoted by UOL Esporte. "Not having to do that - pay to drive - is my greatest pride. It is logical to help with sponsors, but I will not be a prostitute," added Massa.

From GMM

Jenson Button has given his departing McLaren teammate Sergio Perez a strong recommendation as the Mexican seeks a new seat for 2014.

The 2009 world champion has admitted he was surprised when he learned the great British team had decided to oust Perez after just one season in favour of the in-house development rookie Kevin Magnussen.

Perez, 23, is now struggling to find an alternate seat for next season, but Button thinks he would be a wise signing by any team that is on the market for an "intelligent" and "complete" driver.

"I feel that Checo has learned a lot this year," Button is quoted by France's L'Équipe.

"McLaren did a very good job in providing everything necessary for him to achieve his objectives," he added. "To absorb everything at once can be very difficult, but Checo was able to do it."

Sergio Perez and Jenson Button, fighting in Bahrain. (Photo: McLaren F1 Team)

When asked his opinion about the young Dane Magnussen, Button said of his new teammate: "The decision about who is in the other car is not mine.

"All I can say is that Checo did a great job this year. Any team with a seat available should consider him, because he is not only fast, he's also intelligent. He is a complete package," added Button.

This weekend in Brazil, 33-year-old Button will become the most experienced British driver in formula one history by competing in his 247th grand prix.

But at the end of an appalling season for McLaren, the Briton admitted he is not too excited about beating David Coulthard's old record.

"I am obviously doing something right if I've been around that long," Button is quoted by the Mirror. "It's interesting more than anything else. Right now a podium would mean a lot more than reaching 247."