Auto News 5

No NHTSA employees have been fired or disciplined even though it seems that GM's ignition switch recall complaint data was handled improperly, The Detroit News said.

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne quashed all speculation of a possible tie-up with Volkswagen, saying the idea had never been on the agenda.

South African component representatives are stressing the vital nature of the country's so-called 'peace clause' that appears to be the sticking point in the country's delicate search to find a solution to the four-week old metalworking strike.

Italian brakes manufacturer Brembo will build a new foundry in Michigan to expand its manufacturing capability in the United States, betting on the continued strength of the country's automotive sector.

News 23 Jul, 2014

Latest Driver Awareness Research Vehicle from Toyota has debuted in Colorado, targeting improved safety when using in-car tech

New BMW Group UK managing director Graeme Grieve is a former sales director of the British unit and starts on 1 October 2014.

Daimler booked a EUR2.2bn net profit in the second quarter of 2012 after boosting unit sales 4% to 628,900 and revenue 6% to EUR31.5bn. EBIT rose 12% to EUR2.5bn.

New vehicle sales in Malaysia increased by 9.2% to 58,561 in June, from 53,631 units in the same month of last year, according to data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

Ford's Fiesta is now the UK's best-selling vehicle nameplate of all time after total sales topped 4,115,000 this month, 37 years after launch.

News 23 Jul, 2014

Hot Wheels has produced a full-size car based on Darth Vader from Star Wars

News 23 Jul, 2014

Ford confirms Fiesta nameplate is now the UK’s best-selling car of all time, exceeding 4,115,000 sales since 1976

Daimler said second-quarter profit rose 12 percent as Mercedes S-class sales doubled and the company scaled back spending.

Volkswagen faces a battle with workers over cost cuts at its biggest car division, a central plank of its drive to meet profit margin targets.

Bentley named VW Group executive Marlies Rogait as its new head of human resources.

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn was addressing thousands of workers at the automaker's biggest plant today as he attempts to win their support for cost cuts at the VW brand.

Bentley has named Marlies Rogait as its new head of human resources. Rogait, 57, has spent 20 years working in human resources, quality assurance and purchase for parent Volkswagen Group.

Head-up displays with "augmented reality," the technology that employs much of the windshield as a display area for data and images, is poised to significantly change how drivers see the road.

Although he was not taking part in the Tour de France, Mercedes AMG F1 Team chairman Toto Wolff was injured Tuesday in a cycling accident.

The news was released via the team's official Twitter account: “A bit of a carambolage during yesterday's bike ride resulted in a fractured shoulder, collar bone, elbow and wrist...”

Wolff, now nicknamed #Totonator (because of the metal plates et screws now in his arm), added: “We've decided to leave it to the pros now. Lewis & Nico are better wheel to wheel at 300 km/h than we are at 30 km/h!"

Wednesday morning, his wife, Williams' development driver Susie Wolff, posted this photo and wrote: “My husband the hero! As we know, boys will be boys... Looks like I am on nurse duty for the next few weeks!”

Toto Wolff (#totonator) (Photo: Susie Wolff)

Renault Sport F1 and Total engineers were asked if it would be a smart idea to put Formula 1 lubricant into an everyday car. He is their answer.

“You would have to regularly change the oil of the engine!” they said in a Renault press release.

“An F1 lubricant is in fact too elite for regular, everyday usage as it is designed to protect an engine for just 3,000km. Some detergents used to clean parts or dispersants designed to keep foreign bodies in suspension are absent or much too low grade in an F1 lubricant to ensure proper protection of the engine in the traditional interval between oil changes on a standard vehicle.

“In addition, F1 cars are always run in very hot temperatures, while the Clio must start in all weather. The lubricant therefore needs special ‘cold' properties that an F1 version does not need.

“The overall objective is however the same between the two universes. They share similar viscosity grades, whether 0W30 or 5W20, with comparable values under high shear at 150°C”.

A team of drivers representing Edmunds.com has just completed a cross-country trip from California to New York in 67 hours and 21 minutes with a Tesla Model S. They beat the previous record of 76 hours and 5 minutes set by Tesla staffers.

Edmunds.com Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds and Photo Editor Kurt Niebuhr achieved the feat in less than three days while stopping at 23 Tesla Supercharger stations along the way. They drove all alone, with no support team to back them up in the event of a technical problem or accident.

"The key to breaking the record wasn't to drive fast; we had to drive smart," said Dan Edmunds. "Fast, aggressive driving will only succeed in sucking down an EV's battery. We had to drive responsibly to make sure we had enough juice to get from one charging station to the next. And we saved time by charging only a little more than what we figured was necessary to get to the next Supercharger."

Edmunds and Niebuhr travelled 5,362 kilometres at an average speed of 101.7 km/h. They actually drove for 52 hours and 41 minutes, and spent the remaining 14 hours and 40 minutes at Supercharger stations to charge the battery. They made no other stops.

The 1.06 Megawatt-hours of electricity consumed by the Model S didn't cost them a thing since those Superchargers are free of charge for all Tesla owners.

Amazingly, the duo returned home the day after arriving in the Big Apple, and completed the round-trip adventure in less than a week — 6 days, 23 hours and 4 minutes, to be exact.

Source : Edmunds.com