Auto News 5

New vehicle sales in the ASEAN region's six largest markets jumped by over 28% to 941,279 units in the first quarter of 2013, from 733,522 units a year earlier, as strong domestic economic growth continued to offset sluggish exports and weak commodity prices.

Parc data produced by Polk for the US Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) shows a strong rise in registrations (vehicles in use) for diesel cars and hybrids in the US in the two years to the end of 2012.

News 30 Apr, 2013

The new limited-edition Land Rover Defender LXV celebrates the manufacturer’s 65th birthday

Volkswagen Group is feeling the effects of mixed fortunes for automotive markets around the world. The group announced last week that first quarter revenue and operating profit were down, but has now provided further detail revealing a drop of 46% to operating profit at the Volkswagen passenger car brand in the quarter.

Daimler and Renault said they are holding discussions to build a large van together as part of a possible expansion of their existing partnership.

Porsche SE, the family-owned company that controls a majority stake in Volkswagen, remains confident of success in lawsuits in a German court over alleged market manipulation during a failed takeover of VW in 2008.

The Motor City is gearing up for a summer of events that celebrate the region's automotive heritage.

At last week's politically charged congressional hearing on the troubles of Fisker Automotive, Rep.

General Motors resisted the urge to jack up the price on the 2014 Corvette Stingray, despite major enhancements on the seventh-generation sports car.

Volkswagen expects sales in China this year to outpace total sales volume in the market, which the carmaker believes will increase 6 percent to 8 percent.

Former Renault COO Patrick Pelata had plenty of job possibilities after leaving automaker. He now sells customer-retention software from an office in San Francisco.

Volkswagen expects sales in China this year to outpace total sales volume in the market, which the carmaker believes will increase 6 percent to 8 percent.

Former Renault COO Patrick Pelata fell on his sword to save his boss and friend Carlos Ghosn -- and maybe his company. Pelata left the automaker after a botched espionage investigation.

PSA has received the backing of five of its six main unions to push ahead with plans to eliminate 11,200 jobs and shutter a French factory, a central part of wide-ranging reforms at the French carmaker aimed at halting ongoing losses.

Former Renault COO Patrick Pelata had plenty of job possibilities after leaving the French automaker last summer.

The five companies that form the McLaren Group are located under one roof at the stunning McLaren Technology Centre, located on a 50-hectare piece of land situated approximately three kilometres north of Woking, Surrey in Great Britain.

Group photo of the Processia guests at the MTC, with the Auto123.com representative third from the left.

Auto123.com was the only North-American media invited by Canadian company Processia Solutions -- new technical partner with the McLaren Formula 1 team -- to visit the McLaren Technology Centre.

The building is stupendous. A height limitation was given for the building -- 11 metres above ground level -- and so the low-built building was sunk into the landscape. The main floor is above the ground and there are two underground levels, serviced by an impressive number of huge elevators capable of lodging a complete F1 car.

The building is very bright, essentially made from aluminum and glass, and the walls are painted off-white. The amount of glass found inside is simply breathtaking. In certain places, it is possible to see through the entire building.

The floors are almost entirely covered with perfectly aligned tiles, and there's just a hint of carpet in certain administrative areas.

There is a strict dress code in effect: dark Hugo Boss t-shirts for the workers (with their surname embroided on the front pocket), and shirt-tie-jacket for the executives, engineers and administrative staff.

The bean-shaped building is split in two by a long corridor that runs from one end to the other, called the Boulevard. Along this alley are aligned some of the most successful McLaren race cars and road vehicles. At the other end are located the numerous and huge cabinets storing the trophies won by the team along the years.

This glass and aluminum structure creates a very peaceful working environment.

All Formula 1 factories basically house the same departments: R&D, a wind tunnel (or sometimes two), design offices, administrative offices, machine shop, composite departments with a certain number of autoclaves, quality control, 7-post rig, storage, race bays for assembling the cars, and more.

McLaren has all this. However, every little detail counts in the McLaren Technology Centre. Everything is outstandingly immaculate, more than any other factories I visited in the past.

Attention given to details is crucial. The off-white paint is used everywhere, from the floor tiles to the working surfaces, from the tool cabinets to the numeric tooling machines, and from the autoclaves to the vein of the wind tunnel!

Photo: McLaren Group

Continue reading An exclusive tour of the McLaren Technology Centre

From GMM

Flavio Briatore has played down the prospect of a return to formula one.

The flamboyant Italian left the sport amid disgrace and the 'crashgate' scandal, but in the wake of his lifted ban he has been linked several times with a return.

But Briatore, 63, told the British magazine F1 Racing: "I know everything that's going on and I know to have a team at this moment makes no sense financially. So, there is no reason for me to come back to F1.

"Now I have a son, three years old, I'm working 20 hours a day for different businesses, different investments, different situations, both here and over in America; I'm very happy," he added.

Fernando Alonso and Flavio Briatore, world champion 2005 and 2006 with Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Nico Hulkenberg has admitted Sauber is struggling on the aerodynamic front so far in 2013.

Off the back of the Swiss team's strong form last year, German Hulkenberg switched from Force India.

But it is Silverstone based Force India that is performing more impressively so far this year, causing some to wonder if Hulkenberg is regretting his move.

"No," the 25-year-old told the Swiss website 20 Minuten. "There have been only four races. Definitely we are not satisfied, and neither am I, but the season is long -- you can't write it off. There is still potential in the car, and when we find the right parts, we can turn the season around."

Nico Hulkenberg. (Photo: Sauber F1 Team)

Nico Hulkenberg said the main issue with the Ferrari-powered C32 is the aerodynamics.

"The flow is not exactly the same as the engineers expected," he revealed.

There has been speculation the situation was worsened by Pirelli's 60 per cent scale wind tunnel tires.

"Generally, some teams might have a problem because the (wind tunnel) tires are not exactly as they are in the races, so there could be a discrepancy," said Hulkenberg.

On the bright side, Hulkenberg has so far utterly dominated his struggling rookie teammate Esteban Gutierrez.

"Currently in qualifying it is 4-0," said the German, "which is something I keep my eye on. But Esteban is a rookie, and everything is as new to him as it was for me in 2010. He is often quite quick on a lap, so he's still gathering his experience and will surely get better."

Hulkenberg said he is not getting frustrated, even though he is the same age as Sebastian Vettel, who is the reigning triple world champion.

"Sometimes you just have to be patient," he told Brazil's Totalrace. "There are many others who also had to wait for their time to come. I'm comfortable where I am now."

McLaren Formula 1 driver and 2009 F1 World Champion, Jenson Button drove Monday a totally unspectacular car: a Lada!

Button, used to the 750 horsepower of the Mercedes-powered McLaren took the Russian Lada for a few runs at the Driving Camp in Zsambek in Hungary as part of a promotional event for McLaren sponsor Vodafone.



The original Lada was intended as a "people's car" for consumers of the Eastern Bloc - lacking in most luxuries expected in Western-made cars of its era.

Originally based on the Fiat 124, and dated from the early 1970s, the VAZ-2101 is powered by a carburetor-fed, 1.3-litre four cylinder engine that produces just 63 horsepower.

"I love old cars, but I think the scariest moment in my life is just about to arrive!" said Button before the event.

Button was reported to have a great fun driving the Lada.

"I feel sorry for the people who own these cars, because we didn't look after them very much," Button joked. "I don't know if it's normal, but there's a lot of flashing failure lights on the dashboard...

"It was good fun. The handbrake works really well. That's the most important thing in an old car, and it is amazing."

From GMM

Daniel Ricciardo has moved into pole position to succeed his Australian compatriot Mark Webber at Red Bull next year.

Particularly in the wake of the 'Multi-21' affair and subsequent rumours that Webber could sign for Porsche's Le Mans effort, the signs that Sebastian Vettel will have a new teammate in 2014 have been growing.

The early favourite was Kimi Raikkonen, but Red Bull's driver manager Dr Helmut Marko insists he is in "no hurry" to make a decision.

"Many drivers want to drive for Red Bull, and we have two very good juniors. I'm not worried that we will have something other than two top drivers in the end," he is quoted by APA news agency at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Spielberg, Austria on Monday.

The 'two very good juniors' referred to by Marko are Toro Rosso duo Ricciardo, 23, and the similarly-aged Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne.

"In general we are happy with both drivers," Marko said. "Ricciardo is currently the better one. Vergne is too impetuous, asking too much of these sensitive tires in qualifying."

Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso STR8. (Photo: WRi2)

Like team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, Marko does not completely rule out re-signing Webber for 2014.

He denied the 36-year-old's relationship with Vettel is now untenable, insisting there is tension but only because both drivers are "alpha dogs".

"They work constructively together, and that's enough," said Marko. "As long as it stays that way, we don't have to worry. They've never been great friends, but they have a working relationship that still works."

In the meantime, Ricciardo has vowed to try to influence Marko's decision, which will be made around summertime.

"Well," the Australian told Speed Week, "the seventh (place) in Shanghai definitely didn't hurt me. But I know that I need to do more if I want to have a good chance of getting the place at Red Bull. I have to show that it wasn't just a flash in the pan."

He admitted the stakes, and the pressure, are high.

"I see it as an incentive, not a burden," said the Perth-born driver. "My goal is to get the promotion, and I know that a lot is expected of me. It's up to me to get the results."