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PSA Peugeot Citroen and the French government have rushed to pour cold water on the possibility Paris could step in and take a stake in the stuggling automaker.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAKE LINGEMAN: After being in the big daddy Mercedes-Benz GL450 the other day, I can really appreciate this right-sized ute.

Suzuki Motor plans to resume vehicle production in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, in May.

Tata Steels is starting a EUR2.3m facility at its Ijmuiden site in The Netherlands to develop crash-resistant steels.

Audi India's sales increased 10.5% to 737 units in January. The company aims to achieve 20% growth in 2013, and targets sales of 10,800 units.

Porsche has said that it reported record sales in China in 2012, boosted by strong sales of the Panamera and Cayenne models alongside a sales network expanded to second and third-tier cities.

BorgWarner has opened a new 86,000-square-foot (8,000-square-metre) facility in Manesar, India, near New Delhi to produce exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers, tubes, valves and modules.

BMW said it aims for a third year of record sales in 2013 after January sales got off to a good start.

Honda Automobile Thailand (HATC) is to build a new car plant with an annual production capacity of 120,000 units. The factory will be located within the property that Honda recently acquired in Prachinburi Province (approximately 120km east of Bangkok).

Nissan reported a 35-percent drop in third-quarter profit after sales tumbled in China and new models trailed rivals in the United States.

A French government minister said the state may take a stake in PSA/Peugeot-Citroen as the struggling automaker announced second-half writedowns of 4.13 billion euros ($5.53 billion).

The French government may buy a stake in PSA/Peugeot-Citroen if it is necessary to save the ailing automaker, a minister said. The comment came after PSA announced second-half writedowns of 4.13 billion euros ($5.

General Motors confirmed that the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible will make its world debut at the Geneva auto show on March 5.

Peter Brown, publisher of Automotive News, has announced his retirement effective April 30.

Optimism about electric cars is fading as manufacturers scale back investment in response to weak sales. Just 8 percent of auto executives said their companies would invest in pure battery technologies over the next five years.

Optimism about electric cars is fading as manufacturers scale back investment in response to weak sales. Just 8 percent of auto executives said their companies would invest in pure battery technologies over the next five years.

The Smart ForFour will share a rear-wheel-drive platform with Renault's future Twingo, executives at Smart said.

Daimler is determined to build its Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars in half the time it took just six years ago. Back then, the average production time at the Daimler subsidiaries was 60 hours, excluding the powertrain.

From GMM

Pastor Maldonado, who in 2013 enters his third F1 season with Williams, thinks new teammate Valtteri Bottas will get quickly up to speed.

Actually, 23-year-old Finn Bottas is a rookie, and - once the Grove team gets its 2013 car up and running in Barcelona this month - he will have just four days at the wheel before making his grand prix debut in Australia.

But Venezuelan Maldonado told the MTV3 broadcaster: "Valtteri has been actively involved in the development (of the FW35) and has done a lot of long days in the simulator. He is not a complete rookie. I believe he will enjoy this season and will be immediately competitive."

Indeed, one of departed Williams driver Bruno Senna's complaints was that, despite racing throughout 2012, he usually had to give up his car to Bottas on Friday mornings at grands prix.

Valtteri Bottas driving the Williams FW34 in 2012. (Photo: WRi2)

Before and after those race weekends last year, reserve driver Bottas was often seen helping the Williams mechanics and truckies set up and dismantle the garage.

The Finn told British Sky television at Jerez: "I promised the guys, even though I am racing now, at least once I will come and help them again."

Ryan Dalziel will be driving a Viper GTS-R from SRT Motorsports this year in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).

The 30-year-old was signed to replace Ryan Hunter-Reay as teammate of Tommy Kendall, Marc Goossens, Kuno Wittmer, Dominik Farnbacher and Jonathan Bomarito.

"Ryan Dalziel is an excellent addition to our SRT Motorsports team," confirmed Beth Paretta, director of marketing and operations for SRT.

As part of the team, Dalziel will also get to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In the past, the Scot has raced in many other series, including the World Endurance Championship, where he won the LMP2 title last year. On his resume, also features an overall win at the 24 Hours of Daytona, back in 2010.