Auto News 5

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."

Bromont, QC -- I love the connection between horsepower and actual horse power. I've experienced it before when I attended the Kentucky Rolex Event early last year. This time it was a little closer to home, and on a bit of a different scale, but the atmosphere was the same as was the experience.

Hosted at what was the site of the 1976 Olympic games equestrian events, the Bromont CCI is a prestigious affair that invites future Olympic hopefuls (meaning the best of the best in the horsey world) to compete in a three-day event. It tests both rider and steed in a mélange of skills that include: dressage, cross-country, and finally show jumping.

Photo: Lesley Wimbush

Some of the world's top riders were present in Bromont, and the location and grounds were nothing to shake a crop at. As I toured the stables where teams and their faithful, all-around-athlete, horses were kept I managed to ask a few how they felt about the location. From South America to sunny Californian shores, everyone was duly impressed with the grounds and said the Bromont CCI was top-notch (and this on the last day of the five-day total stay).

It wasn't just the grounds and facilities that intrigued the riders and crowds, but also one of the sponsors who were dutifully (and accessibly) on-site the entire time: Land Rover.

With a storied history in equestrian sports, Land Rover is a proud sponsor in a multitude of horse events from supporting the British Eventing Team straight down to the newly added Bromont CCI. Equestrian eventing is a true test for both horse and rider, and requires all-around skill and precision, something Land Rover and Jaguar also believe in very highly when it comes to their brand.

So, how were they present at the Bromont CCI? Well, besides displaying their tenacious little Evoque around the cross-country course, as well as a few dead sexy Jaguar F-Type Coupes, they also opened their car doors to the adoring public. All you had to do was walk up to the Land Rover tent sign up on an iPad, and off you'd go behind the wheel of a brand new F-Type Coupe or on a rather impressive and telling off-road course behind the wheel of a Range Rover Sport.

You see, equestrian eventing and anything horse-related really can be seen as something quite snobbish. Take it from someone who knows. And for a brand like Land Rover -- one that also caries that stiff-upper-lip, holier-than-thou stereotype -- participating in an event such as this one, but opening their doors to the general public in that way offers them a whole slew of new followers and potential buyers. Their cars aren't just on display and locked. You can touch them; you can hear them and you can drive them. It also helps Land Rover maintain already loyal customers who use an LR4 to trailer the horses, but are looking for a cute little weekend roadster and want to try out the F-Type.

Some marriages are meant to be, and the union between Land Rover and the equestrian world is one I've not seen the likes of in ages. Like Elizabeth and Andrew, Posh and Beckham, Laurel and Hardy, LR and horses just mesh; and this latest coupling in Bromont is just the beginning of another beautiful, long-term relationship.

From GMM

F1's chief legal officer ended her day in tears after appearing as a witness during the Bernie Ecclestone bribery trial.

Earlier this year, it emerged that, with Ecclestone's powers diminished during the scandal and high-profile trial, 44-year-old Sacha Woodward-Hill would help her boss with the day-to-day running of the sport.

"She'll be Bernie's rock," an insider told the Daily Mail in April.

But in Munich on Wednesday, Woodward-Hill found her emotions in turmoil.

The German news agency DPA reports that, as she was repeatedly questioned as a witness by the prosecution, Woodward-Hill had to have a break after succumbing to tears.

The outburst was triggered by squabbling between the respective legal teams, who argued over the accuracy of the translation of her testimony from English to German.

Ecclestone's lawyers stressed that Woodward-Hill's testimony be meticulously translated, because - as a close colleague of the 83-year-old and one of the Briton's few confidantes - she is a highly important witness.

For instance, when Woodward-Hill told the court she is "unmarried", the translator - who was replaced within an hour of testimony - thought she had said "I'm married".

The Ecclestone camp also quibbled over the translation of her English word 'cordial'.

Not surprisingly, Woodward-Hill backed Ecclestone's claim that the disputed $44 million payment to Gerhard Gribkowsky was paid because the now jailed banker was threatening to go to the British tax authorities.

"My impression," she said, "was that Mr Gribkowsky knew very well that a tax audit could have very serious consequences (for Ecclestone)."

From GMM

Even amid the denials, the story suggesting Red Bull is considering designing its own formula one engine will not go away.

All year - ever since it became clear the reigning world champions would struggle to win the first title of the all-new turbo V6 era - Red Bull has been pointing a steady finger of blame at its 'power unit' supplier, Renault.

In the past weeks and days, the speculation has reached fever pitch.

The rumours were pushed along in Austria last weekend by Dr Helmut Marko, who appeared to confirm reports Red Bull is thinking about making its own bespoke engine.

"The world champions desperately need what it otherwise promises: energy," German newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung, referring to the fact Red Bull is an energy drink company, said after the team's poor performance at its home grand prix last weekend.

However, with the 'Red Bull engine' reports soaring, team boss Christian Horner and team owner Dietrich Mateschitz issued clear denials -- along the lines that 'Red Bull does not want to become an engine manufacturer'.

But perhaps there is more to it than that.

Renault - also supplying Lotus, Toro Rosso and Caterham - revealed recently that some of its F1 customers are not paying their engine bills on time.

And the latest rumour is that Lotus, who have struggled even more than Red Bull with the troubled Renault engine, is considering a switch to field-leading Mercedes for 2015.

"Apparently the only thing missing is a bank guarantee," said the German magazine Sport Bild.

There were whispers in the Red Bull Ring paddock last weekend that Renault's F1 facility based at Viry-Chattilon, in the southern suburbs of Paris, is for sale.

So rather than 'become an engine manufacturer', perhaps Red Bull is simply a potential buyer.

"We have no desire to be an engine manufacturer. But we do want to work with a strong partner, be competitive and run at the front," Horner is quoted by Spain's El Confidencial.

Renault F1's factory at Viry-Chatillon, France. (Photo: Renault Sport)

Red Bull, and its second team Toro Rosso, have played an active role - also financially - in solving Renault's deep pre-season crisis this year.

According to Sport Bild, Red Bull does not want to be an engine manufacturer, but it does want to be "independent" as it tracks further success in F1.

Gerhard Berger, famously close to Red Bull and Mateschitz, is quoted as saying: "As a chassis manufacturer, Red Bull gets delivered an engine as it is. Just as an engine manufacturer has to make do when a team builds a bad chassis."

The solution, then, could be simple: Red Bull buys Viry-Chattilon and therefore takes control of an existing F1 engine supplier's personnel, decision-making and budget.

One key personnel change could be Mario Illien, the founder of Mercedes' F1 engine facility in Brixworth, UK.

That could tie in with Red Bull's newly-announced 'Advanced Technologies Centre', to be headed by Adrian Newey.

Marko said: "The contact between Adrian and Mario is still very good."

A good example of the need for Red Bull to think again about its approach to the new 'power unit' era in F1 is McLaren.

The famous British team is struggling this year despite using the field-leading Mercedes engine -- as a mere customer.

But next year, works Honda engines will power the McLaren cars.

"Having a works engine allows you to play with much more channels and possibilities than if you have a customer engine," team boss Eric Boullier told reporters this week.

"If you take the example of Mercedes and Red Bull, we all know Red Bull's chassis is very good and maybe slightly better than the Mercedes one, but the big the difference is the Renault engine, which is not a works engine," he said.

Takata could face a $500 million charge and a net loss this year -- its second in three years -- as a widening recall of airbag inflators begins to kindle worries despite its deep pockets.

John Holt, an Internet pioneer in auto retailing, is retiring from ADP Dealer Services to climb mountains with his daughters.

GM told dealers in the United States and Canada to halt delivery of some 2013-14 Chevrolet Cruze sedans because of a potential problem with an airbag supplied by Takata, hampering sales of the company's top-selling car amid an end-of-the-month sales...

A Detroit man and his beloved 1979 Corvette will be reunited after more than 30 years after General Motors' head of global product development heard the man's story today on the radio.

Claiming commitments from most of the world's most popular car brands, Google Inc. today revealed Android Auto, an in-car control system for smartphones that will compete with Apple Inc.'s new CarPlay interface.

As car enthusiasts, we sometimes -- maybe, every once in a while -- exceed the speed limit. Take it from us: If we don't have tickets at our desks right now, we have colleagues who do. That's where our handy friend the

More than seven years ago, GM fixed two design flaws that allowed the key in some Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions to come out of the ignition while the engine was on, but the company didn't notify existing owners about the problem until an April...

The 24 Hours of LeMons season is in full swing, which means that I'm traveling the country in

Racing mogul Don Panoz, who sued Nissan last year alleging that the company copied the unusual shape of his DeltaWing race car, is stepping up his campaign with a series of print advertisements aimed at Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Continuing just-auto's series of interviews with tier one manufacturers of cockpits and instrumentation, Matthew Beecham spoke to Faurecia's David Weill about consumer expectations, materials trends, touch screens, HUDs and tomorrow's instrument cluster.

Spontaneous deployment of air bags. Not a nice thought, especially for a young woman in Georgia.

A pair of very dusty Aston Martin DBS coupes from the 1970s have recently hammered for double their respective estimates at the Silverstone Auctions sale in the U.K.

UPDATE: Now with reveal video from Goodwood

A few days before the Goodwood debut of the Special Vehicle Operations-designed

Toyota introduced its