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Mercedes' new top-of-the-range S-class Pullman will be larger and cost over twice the price of the extended wheelbase version of the Rolls-Royce Phantom when it goes on sale next year.

Ram has taken the wraps off the ProMaster City, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' answer to the

Honda is partnering with 3DXCITE to bring new crash test visualization software to the table.

News 26 Jun, 2014

Aston Martin’s virtual-only DP-100 Vision teased ahead of Goodwood reveal

Pictures See all 3 pictures 26 Jun, 2014

Daimler and Nissan have finalized a joint venture deal to build future Mercedes and Infiniti compact cars in Mexico, sources said today as the automakers called a news conference to unveil the plans.

Daimler and Nissan have finalized a joint venture deal to build future Mercedes and Infiniti compact cars in Mexico, sources said today as the automakers called a news conference to unveil the plans.

News 26 Jun, 2014

Vauxhall Chairman Tim Tozer explains the motives behind plan for a new Vauxhall Viva city car

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen will stop selling the Peugeot 807 minivan as part of plans by CEO Carlos Tavares to eliminate unprofitable models from the automaker's product lineup.

When it arrives in dealerships early next year, the 2015 Ram ProMaster City will give Chrysler Group dealers a small commercial van to compete with the Ford Transit Connect. The front-wheel-drive van will be powered by the same 2.

Swedish supplier SKF has opened a new bearings factory and randd campus in the Jiading district of Shanghai in China.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed kicked off today in the U.K., and McLaren Special Operations (MSO) used the event to confirm a production run of bespoke examples of the McLaren 650S following the strong reaction to the 650S Coupe Concept shown in China earlier this year.

Photo: McLaren Automotive

Only 50 units will be available globally, in either Coupe or Spider (convertible) body style. The latter happens to be making its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed where it will take part in the famous hill run.

The MSO 650S is available in three paint finishes, all featuring a heavy metallic content: Papaya Spark (orange), Agrigan Black, and Sarigan Quartz. The exterior is fitted with a number of carbon fibre elements with a satin finish, including extended MSO side blades giving a subtle and purposeful look. A 3-piece rear bumper and a set of Palladium-coloured,10-spoke Super Lightweight alloy wheels complete the look.

The cockpit of the new MSO 650S is upholstered with carbon black leather and Alcantara, while stylish carbon fibre detailing extends throughout the driver and passenger areas. A contrasting gloss finish has been applied to the air vents and controls.

As for pricing, the 650S Coupe starts at £252,500 while the Spider retails from £272,500 in the U.K.

From GMM

Investigators are closing on the identity of the individual attempting to sell Michael Schumacher's stolen medical file.

Bild newspaper reports that the dossier, reportedly a doctor's letter outlining the F1 legend's precise condition prior to his recent transfer from Grenoble to Lausanne, is being touted to media outlets for about EUR 50,000.

The report said the seller is contacting the international outlets and publications by email, signing off with the name 'Kagemusha'.

Kagemusha, literally 'Shadow Warrior', is a Japanese term ordinarily meaning a political decoy.

It is also the title of a 1980 film, and according to the movie database IMDb it is about a "petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord".

From GMM

Just like struggling world champions Red Bull, fellow F1 grandee Ferrari is also looking for a way out of its engine problems in 2014.

Unlike Red Bull, however - who rely on separate partner Renault for its turbo V6 power - Ferrari makes both its chassis and engine under the same Maranello roof.

But that's not to say Ferrari does not also lean heavily on others.

For instance, Autosprint is reporting that Ferrari has commenced talks with potential alternative suppliers for components of its struggling formula one engine.

"Ferrari has its historical partners," said Italian correspondent Alberto Antonini, "but something has to change."

Antonini claimed that the current turbocharger design, supplied to Ferrari by the American company Honeywell, has been identified as a main culprit.

"To win in formula one, our powertrain system must have no weak links," Ferrari's engine boss Luca Marmorini said earlier this year.

But team boss Marco Mattiacci said this week: "I do not want to point the finger at any one sector or another. It would not be right.

"But there is no doubt that the Mercedes power unit is working better," he added.

Motorhome Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

According to Mattiacci's predecessor Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari is facing a long road back to recovery.

Having kept a low profile since his Ferrari exit, Domenicali re-emerged this week in Munich for an FIA conference.

He said: "As I said last year, it was clear that the teams that were strong at the beginning would keep that advantage for the season because of the step change in technology.

"Mercedes have done a great job and they will keep this advantage for a long time," Domenicali predicted.

"To close the gap in a situation where the regulation is more or less frozen is very difficult."

From IndyCar.com

IndyCar announced that it will live stream all Verizon IndyCar Series practice activity for the remainder of the 2014 season on IndyCar.com, the official website of the sanctioning body. The package also includes the IMS Radio Network broadcasts, anchored by legendary motorsports announcer Paul Page, and real-time Timing & Scoring.

Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying and race activity is televised on NBCSN, and will continue to be streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices and tablets.

“We're thankful to our partners at NBCSN for allowing us to stream Verizon IndyCar Series practice on IndyCar.com,” Hulman Motorsports CMO C.J. O'Donnell said. “INDYCAR fans across the globe are unbelievably passionate about our sport and we're happy to be able to provide them with additional live coverage from our events.”

The Verizon IndyCar Series practice live stream can be viewed at RaceControl.IndyCar.com. Practice sessions for this weekend's Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston presented by the Greater Houston Honda Dealers are Friday, June 27, from 11-11:45 a.m. and 3-3:55 p.m. (ET).

Photo: LAT for IndyCar

Toyota has released the first official picture of its all-new fuel cell sedan, which was first unveiled as a concept at the Tokyo Motor Show last year.

Photo: Toyota

The car will initially hit the Japanese market next April starting at around 7 million yen ($73,700 CAD). Sales will be limited to regions where a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure is being developed.

Preparations are underway for launches in the U.S. and European markets in the summer of 2015. However, prices have not yet been decided.

In case you didn't know, Toyota has been developing fuel cell vehicles in-house for more than 20 years. In 2002, the company began leasing the Toyota FCHV, a fuel cell SUV, on a limited basis in Japan and the U.S.

The first Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar cars have left the Torslanda factory plant in Sweden. They will soon land in driveways all around the world.

“We are very happy to see the first ever complete production cars from Polestar be built in the Volvo factory. It is a satisfying result of many hours of work by the people of Polestar and Volvo behind this,” said Henrik Fries, S/V60 Polestar Technical Project Manager.

Photo: Polestar

A total of 750 units will be produced this year, heading to customers in Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. Canadian prices have not been announced yet.

The Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar combine all-wheel drive with a 350-hp turbocharged 6-cylinder engine to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited at 250 km/h.

“We are all very excited and proud over our launch of two new cars as yet another step towards a range of Polestar Engineered Volvo cars available for people like us around the world. To do it together with Volvo, one of the world's leading car manufacturers, is greatly satisfying and we look forward to an exciting future,” said Christian Dahl, CEO of Polestar.

A few days ago, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that Daimler and Nissan are on the verge of signing a major deal that will unite their forces in the development of new vehicles, including two compact luxury models.

Production will take place at Nissan's Mexican plant, and the first units will start rolling out around 2017. It looks like the run will begin with an Infiniti-branded product, followed by a comparable Mercedes-Benz model.

The partnership will considerably lower investment and production costs for both companies.

Back in 2010, Nissan and Daimler teamed up to build powerplants for the former. This time would be different, since the two have never designed, developed and manufactured complete vehicles before.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is in full swing, and patriotic fans all over the world show their allegiance by mounting the flag of their favourite country to their car.

Well, a new study reveals that those little flags caused the burning of an extra 1.22 million litres of fuel and led to three million extra kilograms of CO2 emissions in England alone during the 2006 World Cup. That's the equivalent of an extra litre of fuel every hour!

A Canadian engineer, Dr. Peter Ostafichuk, says you don't have to be driving on the highway: The increased drag kicks in as low as 40 km/h because flags flap at that speed.

Incredible, don't you think? Plus, in Canada, we also have these flags during hockey season...


_{Source: TreeHugger}

Dealers can still sell units that don't have the defective part. The stop-sale order for those faulty Cruzes will remain in effect until further notice.Chevrolet Cruze sedans in the U.S. and Canada have been put on halt because of a potential defect in airbags made by beleaguered airbag supplier Takata -- the same company that forced Honda, Nissan, and Mazda to announce massive recalls over the past few days.

Photo: General Motors

"Certain vehicles may be equipped with a suspect driver's airbag inflator module that may have been assembled with an incorrect part," GM spokesmen Jim Cain said in a statement. "We are working diligently with the supplier of the defective part to identify specific vehicles affected and expect to resume deliveries by the end of this week once those vehicles are identified."

A total of 33,000 Cruzes may be affected.

Dealers can still sell units that don't have the defective part. The stop-sale order for those faulty Cruzes will remain in effect until further notice.

So far this year, General Motors has recalled more than 20 million vehicles and agreed to pay a record fine of $35 million for failing to notify regulators in a timely manner about an ignition switch defect.


_{Source: USA Today}