Auto News 5

New vehicle sales in the Philippines increased by 32.6% to a new monthly high of 22,278 units in October, from 16,800 units a year earlier, according to member data released by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI).

Faurecia is targeting sales of more than 4 billion euros ($4.97 billion) in China by 2018, up from the 2.3 billion euro estimated for this year. The supplier says it will invest 400 million euros in the country over the next five years.

Denso will open a new US$6.7m, 160,000 square-foot shipping warehouse in Nashville, Tennessee, next April, creating around 20 new jobs.

TMC has just announced 18 November as the date when it will reveal the production version of its fuel cell car.

Volvo Cars says it will expand its Daqing plant in China's northeast, adding production of "an all-new premium Sedan". This is likely to be the S90L, the successor to the S80L.

The battle for the dashboard will intensify as companies fight to supply the brains and technology behind increasingly sophisticated infotainment systems in a western European market that IHS Automotive believes will be worth 3 billion euros by 2020.

The UAW union said it expects Volkswagen to announce soon a policy change that would allow for union representation at the company's U.S. plant in Tennessee, where the union has faced challenges organizing workers.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says his company has no plans to increase its stake in Aston Martin or involve itself in operational matters at the UK sports car maker. Daimler supplies Aston Martin with electric and electronic parts and V-8 engines.

Ram has released pricing and fuel economy ratings for the 2015 ProMaster City commercial van, scheduled to arrive in the United States early next year. The cargo version will start at $24,125 and the five-seat wagon version will start at $25,125.

A Formula 1 car travelling at high speeds generates massive downforce - a vertical load that pushes the car down to the tarmac. We prove it here with two photos.

An F1 car works like an inverted wing located close to the ground. The diffusor located at the rear of the car creates suction while the rear wing pushes the car down because of the difference in air pressures.

At high speeds, the rear axle of the car is submitted to a vertical force that reaches something like 1000kg.

While in Austin for the US Grand Prix, I took two very interesting photos of the Mercedes W05.

The first photo was taken between corners 10 and 11, before the hairpin, when Lewis Hamilton almost stopped his W05 on the race track to find a gap in traffic.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05 (Photo: René Fagnan)

We can see the impressive rake of the car when it's not moving (the rear end is located quite high in the air).

I took the second photo underneath the bridge that is located between turns 2 and 3, where the Mercedes was running at some 280 km/h (according to the FIA map of the circuit).

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05 (Photo: René Fagnan)

Notice how low the rear end of the car is. The downforce was powerful enough to completely squash the rear suspension. The ride height of the rear end is reduced to just a few millimetres.

From GMM

Even with F1 speeding towards its intriguing double-points title finale, money remains the big off-track topic of the moment.

Although no longer trading and having laid off its workforce, Manor - formerly Marussia - is said to be in talks with investors about returning in Abu Dhabi.

It's a similar story at Caterham, where administrators have already raised more than half of the $3.7 million they need to revive the green team for the season finale, thanks to the controversial crowdfunding scheme.

The team might also have another $55,000 in the kitty if it accepts an offer from the grandfather of British female driver Alice Powell, who wants to pay for a Friday practice drive in Abu Dhabi.

"I am really hoping the administrators come back with a positive response," Jim Fraser, Powell's grandfather, told the Daily Mail newspaper.

But if Marussia and Caterham do ultimately fail, talks about boosting the depleted grid with three-car teams will become louder.

Currently, the F1 teams are awaiting a response from Bernie Ecclestone and F1 owner CVC's Donald Mackenzie.

It is believed they are considering releasing more funds, but who will actually receive the money is not clear.

F1 supremo Ecclestone said in Brazil last weekend that the struggling small teams, including Lotus, Sauber and Sahara Force India, will not get the touted 'fighting fund'.

"We give these teams enough," he said. "Not enough to survive in the way they are surviving, but enough to survive.

"The way forward is very easy -- don't spend as much," said Bernie Ecclestone.

Starting grid in Brazil. (Photo: Pirelli)

Another potential solution, although initially seemingly counterintuitive, is to give more money to the bigger and more stable teams.

It is said Ferrari has already agreed to run a third car next year, but Red Bull is baulking at the apparent price-tag.

"It's between 35 and 40 million euros (to run a third car)," team boss Christian Horner is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, claiming the Briton wants CVC to pick up the tab.

Horner is also quoted by Italy's Tuttosport: "We could not deploy the third car within our current budget, so at the moment it's not something we're thinking about."

Mercedes, meanwhile, is not at all keen on the third car idea, but team chairman Niki Lauda is quoted as saying: "The distribution of money is first and foremost a matter for CVC.

"We can do nothing but wait for suggestions. If CVC has a reasonable plan, we can talk about everything," said the F1 legend. "Even free engines for the (customer) teams."

From GMM

India is unlikely to return to the F1 calendar until at least 2017, a senior official at former race promoter Jaypee has admitted.

The circuit near New Delhi hosted three consecutive races until 2013, but fell off the calendar this year amid financial issues and complex governmental hurdles relating to tax and red tape.

But Jaypee's senior vice president Askari Zedi said: "We are keen on bringing the grand prix back to the country.

"Talks are going on but there are certain tax issues which we have to deal with," he is quoted by the New Indian Express.

"So nothing is in our hand, we are doing everything that is possible."

Zedi acknowledged that India will not be on next year's busy calendar, and "nothing could be said about 2016, but we are trying our best to hold the race by 2017".

After Caterham F1 team decided to crowdfound its return in Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi, Alice Powell's grandfather is ready to invest his own money to see her take part in Friday's first free practice session of the Grand Prix, November 21st.

Twenty-one-year-old Alice Powell was the Formula Renault BARC Champion in 2010 and is the only female to have scored points in the GP3 series.

Caterham is currently in administration and Powell's grandfather, Jim Fraser, wrote to Smith and Williamson offering to pay a reported £35,000 ($55,000) if they let her drive in free practice 1 in Abu Dhabi.

“My grandfather, who has helped me throughout my racing career, has decided he is going to help put some money towards Caterham if they allow me to test in practice 1,” Alice Powell told Sky Sports News HQ.

Whilst the deal is currently just for Friday's first practice outing, the Oxford native isn't ruling out contesting the rest of the weekend.

However, there is a (major) hurdle to that project.

Alice Powell needs to obtain her Super Licence to take part in an official session at the Yas Marina Circuit, and she needs to cover at least 300km in a recent F1 car under the supervision of an official of the FIA to get it.

“I'm pretty confident,” she declared.

“It will be tough, there are people who have arrived at the circuit in the past to test and have been turned away and been told ‘you don't have a Super Licence, we aren't giving you a Super Licence' so it will be very tough.

“But I think it would be good for the sport to get a female out there racing or even testing again. We've obviously had Susie Wolff this year who did a great job so I think it would be really good for the sport.”

Caterham is currently trying to raise $3.7 million by Friday through crowdfunding to race in Abu Dhabi.

Michael Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, reminds us that November 13 remains a special day in the sporting life of the German driver, and that his web site will be relaunched.

Statement of Sabine Kehm, manager of Michael Schumacher:

November 13, 1994, is a special day in the sporting life of Michael Schumacher - 20 years ago he was the first german to ever win the Formula One world championship title, his first of seven titles.

Michael Schumacher, world champion 1994, in Australia. (Photo: WRi2)

To mark the 20th anniversary of his first world champion title we will reactivate Michael's homepage. We hope to thus give the many fans from all over the world, whose sympathy is still unbroken after his accident, a home.

The newly designed homepage features many pictures and stories of Michael's unparalleled career, all races, data and facts. There is also a fan-area where fans can send their twitter-messages to.

www.michael-schumacher.de will be online from thursday 13 November 09:00 o'clock MEZ onwards.

From GMM

Officially, Fernando Alonso is still deciding if he should leave Ferrari for another team.

But behind the scenes, the Spaniard's switch to McLaren-Honda for next year is definitely done.

It is believed he will be at Woking on Wednesday, where the multi-year contract with suitable exit clauses and valued at up to EUR 35 million per season may be physically signed.

An announcement before the season finale in Abu Dhabi is expected.

There are other signs that the Alonso move is definitely happening. It has emerged this week that the 33-year-old could be taking his Ferrari race engineer, Andrea Stella, with him to McLaren.

Italy's Autosprint also claims that up to 15 McLaren employees are leaving, with correspondent Alberto Antonini suggesting the British team is "making room" for Fernando Alonso.

Indeed, there are rumours Alonso may also be taking Ferrari's sporting director Massimo Rivola with him and several other engineers including Edoardo Brosco.

Spain's Marca, meanwhile, reports that the Spanish mobile phone operator Movistar is keen to link up with Alonso to McLaren, following "several meetings" between representatives of both sides.

McLaren building at Woking. (Photo: McLaren)

Finally, a McLaren source has denied reports that what amounts to a 'B-car' penned by new team aerodynamics chief Peter Prodromou will be taken to Abu Dhabi and tested in Friday practice.

The source said it is "spot-on" to surmise that the reporter for Britain's Sky simply misinterpreted Spanish reports that said McLaren's Honda-powered interim car may make its debut at the post-race Abu Dhabi test.

When asked about the Honda car, team boss Eric Boullier had told the Marca daily in Brazil: "We will take the decision in ten days but it (the debut) could be in Abu Dhabi.

"If we are not ready then we go to plan B or C," the Frenchman added.

The McLaren source said the decision about whether to take the Honda car to Abu Dhabi for the post-race test has not yet been taken.

Adapted from nascar.com

Police in Dover, Delaware released a statement Friday, confirming that an investigation of alleged domestic assault involves NASCAR driver Kurt Busch.

His ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, has accused him of bashing her head against a wall in Busch's motorhome while he was despondent over the outcome of qualifying at the Dover International Speedway in September, according to news reports.

"He was verbally abusive to her and said he wished he had a gun so that he could kill himself," the documents say.

An attorney for Busch said the allegations are false and brought by a rejected ex-girlfriend "who has refused to accept the end of a relationship." A hearing has been set for December 2nd.

Kurt Busch, Kyle's older brother has a reputation for being temperamental. The former Sprint Cup champion has been fined and/or suspended for verbally abusing reporters and for altercations with other drivers.

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel has unofficially confirmed that he will be a Ferrari driver in 2015.

At present, even though his switch from Red Bull to Ferrari has been signed and sealed for weeks and is an open secret in the paddock, neither side is able to actually announce it.

That is apparently because of a contractual impasse between the Italian team and its current driver Fernando Alonso.

But it is believed Alonso is currently en route to Woking, where he will sign his McLaren deal and open the door for Ferrari to finally confirm Vettel's impending arrival.

The German driver may have already jumped the gun.

In Brazil, the Italian broadcaster Sky reportedly gave Vettel a fun questionnaire to test his grasp of the Italian language.

The first question was: "Sebastian Vettel is", and the 27-year-old completed the sentence with the hand-written answer "A driver for Scuderia Ferrari".

Nonetheless, Ferrari is not ready to lift the lid on the news officially.

Ferrari fans. (Photo: WRi2)

At the presentation of the new Fiat 500x this week, Ferrari's new president Sergio Marchionne reportedly told Italian media: "Will we (Ferrari) announce the future strategy at the Abu Dhabi grand prix?

"I don't know. It is important first to finish the last race. It was a tough year and Sunday at Interlagos was not a good day," he added.

It does appear, at least, that Kimi Raikkonen will be Vettel's 2015 teammate, despite a season of struggle for the Finn alongside Alonso.

Team boss Marco Mattiacci has been quoted as hailing Raikkonen's performance in Brazil, where he finished seventh, just behind Fernando Alonso.

Italian reports quote Mattiacci as saying Raikkonen's weekend at Interlagos was "fantastic" and "extremely positive".

"Kimi is a great professional," he added, "and does not need any kind of pressure to do well. We work very well together, and Raikkonen is one of the best drivers out there.

"We are building our future together step by step," Marco Mattiacci insisted.

From press release

The FIA and World RX Championship promoter IMG Motorsports have jointly agreed on a draft calendar for next year's FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy.

The provisional calendar will consist of 12 events including a new round in Barcelona, which will be staged at the F1 circuit September 18-20. Some of the existing events have also been given a reshuffle to help improve logistics for the teams.

The supporting RX Lites Cup will be made up of seven events: Portugal, Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Turkey and Italy.

The RX Lites cars will also be present in Trois-Rivieres, Canada in the stand alone Intercontinental Cup event.

2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship*

1 Portugal  Montalegre  April 24-26
2 Belgium  Mettet   May 15-17
3 Great Britain  Lydden Hill  May 22-24
4 Germany  Estering   June 19-21
5 Sweden  Holjes  July 03-05
6 Canada  Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres   August 07-08
7 Norway   Hell   August 21-23
8 France  Loheac   September 04-06
9 Spain  Barcelona  September 18-20
10 Turkey  Istanbul  October 02-04
11 Italy  Franciacorta   October 16-18
12 Argentina  San Luis  November 27-29

*Calendar subject to confirmation by the FIA World Motor Sport Council next month.

From GMM

Flavio Briatore thinks his friend and regular business partner Bernie Ecclestone has pulled off a masterstroke with 'double points' in 2014.

Actually, the innovation - where the title is kept artificially alive right until the dying moments by offering twice as many points in the season finale - is highly controversial and almost universally unpopular.

Even Nico Rosberg, who stands to gain the most from double points, is no fan.

"I find it artificial and I don't like it in general," said the German after winning the Brazilian grand prix.

"Of course, now, with the way it is, it's great for me now but that's just because of the situation."

Indeed, championship leader Lewis Hamilton says that - with his current 17-point advantage usually enough to nearly guarantee him the title over Rosberg - he thinks the new system ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale is not "fair".

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2)

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff thinks Ecclestone has even changed his mind about double points now, having admitted in Brazil that he originally wanted the system to apply for the last three grands prix of the season.

"That would have been better and fairer," Hamilton told Ecclestone in a double interview posted at F1's official website.

Wolff told reporters: "I don't think Bernie likes it, so it is probably something we should be getting rid of for next season."

But double points does have at least one fan -- the outspoken and controversial former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore.

The flamboyant Italian told Rai radio this week: "The double points is a smart tactic.

"For the next two weeks it is all anybody will take about. Bravo, Bernie!" said Briatore. "Abu Dhabi is going to be talked about an awful lot."

Following talks held last weekend in Brazil, Formula 1 smaller teams claim that Bernie Ecclestone proposed the idea of filling up the F1 grid with upgraded GP2 cars.

The sport would move to a two-tier F1 in the future with on one side the usual constructors, and on the other side customer teams that would run upgraded GP2-type single-make cars.

Earlier this season, the fastest GP2 cars (with ballast, restricted engines and different tires) were almost as fast as the Marussias and the Caterhams.

Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley declared the idea had been laid out as a possibility, and that it had increased fears that Bernie Ecclestone wants the smaller teams in financial difficulties out of the sport.

"The clear direction we are getting is that there is a desire to have five constructor teams and five customer teams, which will be the best way that they [the sport's owners] feel to go,” Fernley declared.

Monisha Kaltenborn, director of Sauber, thinks that the vision of a customer scenario like Super GP2 is worrying because it shows Ecclestone and CVC are looking at a future without smaller outfits.

"These things are changing every day. But the fact is it cannot go on like this, it's no way we want to work and can work," Kaltenborn told Autosport magazine.

"The more these ideas are coming up, the more we three get the feeling that maybe some people don't want us to be around and maybe the sport is supposed to be changed in a very different way,” she declared.