Auto News 5

One of Toyota's newest board members says the city of Detroit's bankruptcy serves as a warning to Toyota and other automakers that would dare ignore changing market trends and react slowly to economic downturns.

Pickup truck and SUV specialist Great Wall Motor said it expected its first half net profit to rise 73.7% year on year.

New vehicle sales in Malaysia fell by 5.3% to 53,631 units in June, from 56,650 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

News 1 Aug, 2013

The Bentley SUV is due on sale in 2016, with a price of just over £100,000

News 1 Aug, 2013

The Bentley SUV is due on sale in 2016, with a price of just over £100,000

News 19 Jun, 2014

The Bentley SUV is due on sale in 2016, with a price of around £140,000

Volkswagen group's Bentley Motors has confirmed it will develop an SUV, the company's fourth model line.

Automotive acoustic and thermal management provider, Autoneum, has posted a first half rise in net profit of CHF19.1 (US$20.4m) to CHF31.3m.

Russia's car market will likely decline by up to 4 percent this year as the economy falters, Russia's deputy minister of trade and industry said.

Details on the new Alfa Romeo Spider continue to come in.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has sold its 100,000th "zero-emission" car. In other words, electric.

Bentley said it will go ahead with the development of the brand's first SUV. The model will go on sale in 2016 as "the most powerful SUV in the market," the company said.

Bentley said it will go ahead with the development of the brand's first SUV. The model will go on sale in 2016 as "the most powerful SUV in the market," the company said.

News 23 Jul, 2013

New SEAT Chairman is interested in an SUV but rules out a sports car

Hyundai may increase production capacity to 300,000 at its plant in Izmit, Turkey, as it starts output of the new i10 minicar in September.

Faurecia says it provides the new Volkswagen Up with seats that are up to 20 percent lighter than those in rival minicars.

Chevrolet's new "Strong" campaign features scenes of ruggedly hard-labor enterprises that the redesigned 2014 Silverado is meant for.

Faurecia says it provides the new Volkswagen Up with seats that are up to 20 percent lighter than those in rival minicars.

From GMM

A lack of sponsors are keeping former podium-getters Vitaly Petrov and Kamui Kobayashi out of formula one.

After losing his Caterham seat and also the services of former manager Oksana Kosachenko, Russian Petrov has revealed he is now working with a new manager "from the West".

And the former Renault driver told Russia's Championat he is already in talks with several teams.

"They said that they are willing to cooperate, willing to negotiate," he revealed. "But to continue these talks, I need some support."

Another driver currently on F1's sidelines is Kamui Kobayashi, the hugely popular Japanese who lost his Sauber seat a mere five races after standing on the podium.

Kamui Kobayashi driving the Ferrari F10. (Photo: Ferrari)

Today, he is a sports car driver for Ferrari, and whilst demonstrating a F1 car for the famous marque in Moscow last weekend, he lost control and crashed.

Still, he yearns for real F1 action again.

"At the moment," said Kobayashi, "there are many teams who prefer to choose their drivers based on how much money they can bring, rather than on their ability on track. I hope this trend will change, because my aim is to be back there as soon as possible and I am working hard to succeed."

From GMM

Sergey Sirotkin, set to smash the record next year as the youngest ever F1 racer, has hit back at claims he is a "pay driver".

The 17-year-old's father is a key figure among the Russian entities that have bailed out the ailing Sauber.

Currently just ninth in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, behind highly rated drivers like the McLaren-backed Kevin Magnussen, and the likely next Toro Rosso driver Antonio Felix da Costa, Sirotkin's fast-track to the grid has earned him the 'pay driver' label.

Sergey Sirotkin. (Photo: Renault Sport)

"That is completely wrong," Sirotkin told Basler Zeitung newspaper.

"There is much more to it. We are talking about a big project, where another driver could have been selected. It's not an investment in me, it's about the big picture," he insisted.

"It's not that I'm going to drive in F1 for fun, I have been selected because of my performance. I want people to respect what I do. It's about the promotion of formula one in Russia. And it's also quite normal that the driver also brings a sponsor, just as Fernando Alonso brings Santander bank to Ferrari," added Sirotkin.

But some of the criticism of Sirotkin's 2014 move to Sauber is also because of his age -- currently, he is still just 17, too young to apply for a road drivers' license in Russia.

Asked if he is arguably too young for F1, he admitted: "Yes, that's right. It may be that I'm not 100 per cent ready, but I still have half a year to prepare.

"That should be enough," Sergey Sirotkin added. "Maybe our results in the World Series are insufficient, but you can still see that we have the speed. We just need a little bit more luck in the races."

One of those questioning Sirotkin's preparedness for F1 is Jenson Button, who in the past has admitted that, at 20, he himself made his debut too early.

Jenson Button, McLaren. (Photo: WRi2)

"I began racing at 8," the Briton is quoted by Russia's Championat, "but even at twenty, realistically speaking, it was too early. I had to learn about the sport from the inside.

"On the one hand, it's good, but on the other hand, you can't hide.

"I think another year in the junior categories would have helped me come to formula one much more prepared," added Button.

"I was not ready at 17. Maybe he is, I don't know, but he needs to be careful. Formula one is a tough business."