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From GMM

Ross Brawn on Thursday denied speculation he is set to join McLaren as its new chief executive.

The great British team announced this week that Eric Boullier is switching from Lotus to be the new 'racing director', but the Frenchman will report to an as-yet unappointed chief executive.

Ross Brawn, having stepped down at Mercedes, has been mentioned as the obvious candidate.

But when asked by Britain's Sky on Thursday about the McLaren speculation, the Briton responded: "I'm focused on my fishing at the moment -- no discussions, no comments.

"Come the summer I may take stock and things may change - never say never - but it's not my plan. Any approaches I've had I have replied with a polite rebuff.

"I am very flattered but simply I don't want to get involved or engaged," Ross Brawn insisted.

From GMM

The FIA, the Federation internationale de l'automobile, is reportedly unhappy with some of the nose solutions of the new Formula 1 cars that are currently being tested laps at Jerez.

Germany's Sport Bild reported on Thursday that a major row is brewing in southern Spain, after top teams Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing unveiled cars with mainly conventional low noses for the new season.

Red Bull RB10. (Photo: WRi2)

But other teams, notably Sahara Force India and Toro Rosso and co, have been attracting phallic descriptions of their 'anteater' thin noses.

Those with the more conventional noses argue that, while the thin noses may comply with the letter of the regulations, they pose a spear-like danger to rival cars in collisions.

Other rivals argue that some cars may effectively submarine under others in rear end collisions.

Toro Rosso STR9. (Photo: WRi2)

Sport Bild said the top three teams want the FIA to re-write the rules to disallow the thin noses on safety grounds.

But the publication said it knows that FIA president Jean Todt is preparing to take the small teams' side.

Sahara Force India VJM07. (Photo: WRi2)

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, on the other hand, said the governing body has launched an investigation, aiming to conclude whether some teams have "gone too far" with their 2014 noses.

And the report said even the low-nosed Red Bull and Mercedes teams are being put under the microscope, since the very tips of the noses are almost paper-thin, with the actual crash structure located much further back -- and higher, contrary to the intention of the new rules.

"This fills the letter but not the spirit of the regulations," an FIA source was quoted as saying.

Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2)

From press release

Officials from the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) announced Thursday a 10-round, four-venue schedule for the 2014 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin season.

The series will run alongside the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series for two events and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for one. In the third event of the season, the series runs with the IndyCar Series at the historic Honda Indy Toronto Street Circuit.

For updates on the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada Series, follow @IMSA on Twitter with the hashtag #GT3CAN and Facebook. The latest news can be found by visiting the newly launched imsa.com website.

Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin schedule:
• May 17-19 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario
• June 21-22 Calabogie Motorsports Park, Ontario
• July 19-20 Honda Indy Toronto, Ontario
• August 9-10 Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
• August 30-31 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario

From GMM

Renault, engine supplier to reigning world champions Red Bull, has admitted it has kicked off F1's radical new V6 era with a significant problem.

"Obviously we do (have a problem)," the French marque's Remi Taffin told reporters at Jerez on Wednesday.

World champion Sebastian Vettel had left the southern Spanish circuit with only a handful of laps under his belt with the title-defending RB10, while key Mercedes and Ferrari-powered rivals collected far more mileage.

"Annoying!" Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko told Bild newspaper.

"The problem is in the communication between the two KERS systems," he explained. "So, like in a computer if the hardware and software are not working with each other."

Also struggling are Renault's other F1 customers, including Toro Rosso, the Red Bull sister team whose new STR9 failed even to emerge from the pits on Wednesday.

Caterham is the other affected Renault team.

"The (Renault) cars sound like rattling lawn mowers," said veteran F1 correspondent Roger Benoit, in Blick newspaper. "Renault was even thinking about not coming here."

Photo: WRi2

Taffin, however, is confident the problem can be fixed.

"We've got the parts, we have the people, we have the means to solve the problem," he insisted. "We are confident that tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 9am, our customers will take to the track.

"This is high technology, which is why we have to be cautious. But I am happy with the solution we have found," added Taffin.

Crucial track time already lost, however, Red Bull is now having to look ahead to the second test in Bahrain.

Team boss Christian Horner played down the impact.

"Our expectations coming into this test are purely system checks -- the proper testing will be in Bahrain," he is quoted by F1's official website.

Horner denied that Red Bull is already pushing for the Jerez test to be extended into Saturday, but there are also rumours Renault is paving the road for a delay of the FIA's 'power unit' homologation deadline.

"We will be relying extremely heavily on our engine partner," admitted Horner.

Ford is encouraging its more than 3,000 dealerships and their employees and Ford company employees to help create buzz for an advertising spot scheduled to air before the Super Bowl, and sustain it for several weeks after.

Some of us around the AW office mostly refuse to be moved by modern Lamborghinis, clinging to the wacky 'n' weird minimal-production maintenance horrorshows of our youth.

Gentex, a supplier of rearview mirrors and automotive safety, lighting and electronics components, said today that its fourth-quarter net income rose 76 percent from a year earlier while its annual profit surged 32 percent.

We are a generation seemingly obsessed with the environment, eager to cover our carbon footprints in any way possible--or at least give off a green vibe visible to our neighbors).

The very last Volkswagen Type 2 Kombi Last Edition bus rolled off the line on Dec. 20, 2013, at the automaker's plant in Brazil.

Volkswagen of America said today it has rehired former COO and sales chief Mark Barnes as vice president of sales, bolstering VW's executive team as it plots the next step toward a goal of nearly doubling sales in the United States by 2018.

The Chevrolet Volt-based

News 29 Jan, 2014

Association of Chief Police Officers breathalysed a record number but fewer tested positive than 2012

Fiat and Chrysler will now be called Fiat Chrysler, ending any speculation as to what the new merged carmaker would be named.

The 2015 Chevy Silverado HD Super Bowl ad hits all the right buttons for truck buyers: farmhands, cowboys, bulls and 'Merica.

Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan will star in a Chrysler commercial during Sunday's Super Bowl, following celebrities such as Eminem, Clint Eastwood and Berry Gordy, according to Billboard magazine.

News 29 Jan, 2014

The Porsche P1, the first Porsche ever made, goes on public display at the Porsche Museum this month

News 29 Jan, 2014

The new Nissan NV200 London taxi is to be built by ADV Manufacturing in new Coventry plant

PSA Peugeot Citroen says it will offer what it terms an "inter-generational contract" for up to 3,500 employees in France who wish to leave by 2016.

Fiat detailed plans to merge with Chrysler to create the world's seventh-largest automaker.

Fiat detailed plans to merge with Chrysler to create the world's seventh-largest automaker.