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From GMM

F1 legend Alain Prost doubts struggling engine supplier Renault can catch dominant Mercedes in 2015.

Having faltered at the start of the new turbo V6 era, Renault - whose prominent F1 partner is the outgoing world champion team Red Bull - can upgrade its 2014 engine to the tune of 48 per cent under the existing 'freeze' regulations.

But Mercedes' rivals are arguing for the 'freeze' to be further relaxed.

"It will be hard for them (Renault) to catch up with Mercedes," quadruple world champion Prost, a Renault ambassador, told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"But it also depends on whether there is a change in the development timetable (the engine freeze) by the FIA.

"A total freeze as it is now is synonymous with stagnation," Prost argued. "But just opening up everything is too expensive. A good compromise is needed.

"We should not make a final judgement about Renault until next year," he added.

Renault Sport F1. (Photo: WRi2)

At the same time, Prost thinks it is understandable that Renault fell behind Mercedes just as the rules changed so dramatically, given Red Bull's run of title domination at the end of the V8 era.

"It was almost inevitable that Mercedes would start with an advantage," he said.

"Last season I was saying that it would be hard to beat them as they started developing much earlier.

"Renault was always defending a world title in the last years," Prost explained, "while Mercedes was able to concentrate fully on the new project."

From GMM

It is perhaps the burning question in F1 at present -- what is Fernando Alonso going to do next?

Hopeful rookie Carlos Sainz Jr, a fellow Spaniard, summed up the mood of the entire paddock when he told AS newspaper on Wednesday: "I have no idea."

In fact, some F1 protagonists believe they know what is going to happen.

Italy's specialist La Gazzetta dello Sport declared on Wednesday that new Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne will travel to Austin this weekend for a double announcement -- Alonso's exit and the arrival of Sebastian Vettel.

That may be the case, but the inner workings of Alonso's apparently inevitable departure from the Maranello team are probably more complicated.

Fernando Alonso, out of Ferrari? (Photo: WRi2)

Michael Schmidt, the highly respected correspondent for Auto Motor und Sport, thinks he knows the answer, having written it down in two recent articles.

The crux of the matter is that with German Vettel having apparently already signed for 2015, Ferrari also has valid contracts for next season with Kimi Raikkonen and Alonso.

It is the manner in which Alonso's contract is terminated that is apparently the cause of the current and mysterious delay.

If the 33-year-old is the one who pulls the plug, he can walk off to McLaren-Honda, another team, or a sabbatical.

But if Ferrari is the one that legally calls off the deal, the Italian team will have to compensate Alonso to the tune of tens of millions of euros -- just as it had to do at the end of 2009 when Raikkonen was farewelled ahead of time.

"Rumours have it that the Spaniard has a choice: either drive (in 2015) or take the severance," said Schmidt.

"But Ferrari does not want this. Why pay someone who himself wanted to leave the team? He will not drive, because they already have two drivers in Vettel and Raikkonen.

"Mediation talks have brought no breakthrough until now. Both parties want to avoid going to court and instead find a noiseless compromise."

From GMM

As F1's two backmarker teams collapse, 2016 newcomer Haas' plans continue to take shape.

The teams that were ultimately known as Caterham, Marussia and HRT are all now gone, but Nascar team co-owner Gene Haas is determined not to make the same mistakes as his North Carolina based Haas F1 Team takes its next bold steps.

"They wound up making a lot of mistakes," the Californian told CNN. "Inevitably they didn't have the resources, or the cars weren't properly put together, because they rushed things."

Rushing is something Haas is not doing, having turned down the chance to debut in 2015. The year after, the team will debut with Ferrari support and power.

"We'd be very proud to be a Ferrari 'B' team because that would certainly teach us how to run in formula one," said Haas, 61, whose successful machine tool company is already an on-car Ferrari sponsor.

HAAS brand on the Ferrari F14 T. (Photo: WRi2)

Haas has now announced that it has signed up Adam Jacobs, who managed the Budweiser sponsorships in Nascar, to be chief marketing officer.

"It's a great opportunity to develop and launch a global brand in an organisation led by someone as driven and accomplished as Gene Haas," said Jacobs.

Haas, meanwhile, says he has no regrets about starting a team just as some sections of the media are declaring that F1 is on the brink of a financial crisis.

"It was insane the number of people coming by saying 'Great to know you, great to know you're involved in formula one'," he told USA Today, recalling a recent visit to a Chicago trade show.

"Everybody sees we're aligning ourselves with (the) ultimate motor sports project."

Gene has declared that his ideal 2016 driver lineup would be an experienced F1 driver alongside an American.

"Even in the Nascar garage," the co-owner of the Stewart-Haas team smiled, "most of the drivers now are shaking my hand. I think they're interested."

Nonetheless, he also understands the scepticism, particularly with F1's three newest teams all now out of business, and the last attempt by an American team - USF1 - having never even turned a wheel.

"There's good reason to doubt it -- it's a big undertaking," said Haas.

"Lots of people before us have failed. It's a natural scepticism. That's just a natural human trait not to believe it until you see it."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that sales of the electric Model S rose 65 percent in North America last month and reached a 'record high' worldwide.

General Motors has confirmed that the company's Warren Transmission Plant will build the electric drive unit for the second-generation Chevrolet Volt.

It's a burning question for auto marketers on Twitter: Are our tweets influencing people to buy cars? To tackle this question, the social network released new data today that attempts to show just how much 140 characters are worth.

ASEAN's new vehicle market continued to decline in the third quarter of 2014, with sales in the region's six main markets combined falling by 10.5% to 767,419 units, from 857,051 in the same period of last year, according to data compiled exclusively for just-auto by AsiaMotorBusiness.com.

AutoNation has stopped selling used vehicles that are subject to the Takata airbag recalls and warnings. The action affects fewer than 400 cars, AutoNation said today.

The acting chief of the NHTSA, the top federal automotive safety regulator, is unlikely to be nominated for the job and an active search is under way to fill the position, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

James Verrier, BorgWarner Inc. CEO since January 2013, is working to double the size of the giant supplier from $7.5 billion in revenue to $15 billion by 2022.

Automotive safety technology supplier TRW Automotive Holdings, preparing for its $13.5 billion acquisition by ZF Friedrichshafen, today said its third-quarter revenue dropped 1 percent to $4.

European supplier body, CLEPA's new CEO, Paul Schockmel, says he believes the automotive sector is well-poised to secure the benefits of any Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

News 28 Oct, 2014

Economical Plug-In version of the new Mercedes M-Class spotted testing

Falling sales and hefty incentives undercut North American profit at Honda in the latest quarter, as the automaker trimmed its full-year sales and profit outlooks.

VW Group says it will launch more than 20 EVs and plug-in hybrids in China over the next few years. The automaker previously said it planned to offer more than 15 green vehicles in China by 2018.

VW Group says it will launch more than 20 EVs and plug-in hybrids in China over the next few years. The automaker previously said it planned to offer more than 15 green vehicles in China by 2018.

Takata knew at least as early as 2001 of manufacturing defects that could lead its airbags to explode, U.S. drivers claimed in lawsuits.

AutoNation said it will launch its digital storefront in December in the south Florida market with a new pricing moniker it calls Smart Choice.

Improvements in all segments of the business drove AutoNation's net profits up 15 percent to $106.5 million during the third quarter.