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Volkswagen said sales of its core passenger-car brand slipped 0.4 percent in October to 517,400 vehicles, weighed down by declines in Latin America and Russia.

Volkswagen said sales of its core passenger-car brand slipped 0.4 percent in October to 517,400 vehicles, weighed down by declines in Latin America and Russia.

News 11 Nov, 2014

New 10-speed gearbox is one part of VW’s bold ambition to become world’s most sustainable carmaker by 2018

BMW Group vehicle sales increased by 11 percent in October on strong demand from China, which helped 10-month deliveries rise 7 percent to 1.71 million, keeping the automaker on course to reach 2 million sales this year.

BMW Group vehicle sales increased by 11 percent in October on strong demand from China, which helped 10-month deliveries rise 7 percent to 1.71 million, keeping the automaker on course to reach 2 million sales this year.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE boosted group profit to EUR2.49bn euro in the nine months to 30 September 2014 compared with EUR1.99bn the previous year.

Helped by new entries such as the BMW i3 and Tesla Model S, the market for electric cars in Europe may rise to 150,000 with a "high scenario" of 250,000 by 2020 in a total global market forecast to be 19.3 million, analysts LMC Automotive predicts.

Ralf Lamberti, manager of the connected-car area at Daimler, says the car is becoming a part of the Internet, meaning it will be "able to communicate with its environment and other vehicles."

The first production version of the aluminum-body 2015 Ford F-150 pickup rolled off the line today at a Ford plant in Michigan after years of preparation.

Self-driving cars are coming, but few people will hand over control to the vehicle unless the computer can match the way they like to drive.

Land Rover could take on Tesla with a battery-powered Range Rover model, according to a report. The electric vehicle would be based on one of the smaller models in the lineup rather than the Range Rover flagship.

Magneti Marelli supplies the Alfa Romeo 4C roadster with the technology that helps optimize the performance of its six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Honda's latest entry to rank in our weekly viral video list is a two-in-one surprise.

The first production version of the aluminum-body 2015 Ford F-150 pickup rolls off the line today at a Ford plant in Michigan after years of preparation.

Mercedes is overhauling the names and nomenclature used to identify its vehicles to overcome consumer confusion as its product lineup expands.

Former Spice Girl Gerri Halliwell is now officially engaged to Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner.

British newspaper The Times published the notice.

Halliwell's notice reads: "The engagement is announced between Christian, son of Mr and Mrs GM Horner and Geraldine, daughter of the late Mr LF Halliwell and Mrs A Parkinson."

No wedding date is included in the announcement for Gerri Halliwell and the former race car driver turned into a team director.

Halliwell has been seen alongside her partner at F1 races around the world since the couple got together last March.

Christian Horner and Gerri Halliwell in Montreal, June 2014. (Photo: WRI2)

Despite years of development and research, aerodynamics remains some sort of black magic, especially in the case of race cars.

When running at speed on a road course, a Formula 1 car brakes, turns, accelerates, rides on kerbs, and follows other cars, all of which is far from being a perfect environment.

For that reason, testing the aerodynamic performance of an F1 car is an extremely complex task.

CFD image of the air flow around the Sauber F1 car. (Image: Sauber AG)

British publication F1-Monitor found out that a few years ago Honda F1 team [now Petronas Mercedes AMG] opted to use a water tank - more normally home to boat hulls - to test some characteristics of rear wing flows.

Analysing their track data, Honda wanted to find out if normalised downforce levels fell when the car was decelerating.

Honda's simulation methods could not be relied on to accurately predict such subtle transient flows, so the engineers decided to use a full-sized rear wing in a water towing tank.

The tank used for the test was 200m long, 10m wide and 5m deep. The rear wing assembly was placed in the tank, inverted and attached to a six-component load cell, 1m below the surface.

Water provided here a huge advantage over air, because of the differing densities.

The key benefit of such a test is the fact that water's higher density effectively allows flows to be simulated in slow motion. Roughly speaking, for the same dynamic pressure across the wing, the speed of water flow over the wing element need only be 1/30th of that if it were in air.

Honda conducted tests with this system to assess the rear wing flows under deceleration, and was able to conclude that the wing was operating as it should at all times.

From press release

Just as the 2014 karting racing season completed its final event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, heavy equipment rolled onto the site to begin upgrading the popular venue to enhance the presentation of the facility to its customers for 2015 and beyond.

In addition to the new facility entranceway, the transformation includes track design changes, re-grading, new paving, trackside kerbing and other enhancements featuring new administration and operating buildings.

"Most of auto racing's stars and high-level performers learned their craft in kart racing while at the elementary school age," said Ron Fellows, co-owner of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Photo: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

In addition to the physical upgrades, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park brings in new energy to the management of the Kart Centre. Daniel and Marco Di Leo will assume responsibility for the karting operations.

The Di Leo's are well-known for having transformed North America's oldest kart track, Goodwood Kartways, into a popular and successful facility.

"Ten years ago we began our venture into the business of karting," explained Daniel DiLeo.

"Through this period we gained valuable experience to better understand the growing demands of running a successful kart track. These lessons will be put to the test early at the new Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Karting Centre and we are very excited about the opportunities that come with a facility that is second to none in Canada."

From GMM

For the first time since 2007, Fernando Alonso will make a visit to Woking this week, authoritative media sources are reporting.

Spain's El Mundo Deportivo claims that after a deal between the Spaniard and McLaren was finally struck in Brazil, he is set to travel to the team's British headquarters on Wednesday to sign what is probably the most lucrative contract in F1 history.

Flavio Briatore, involved in Alonso's management throughout his F1 career, hinted at the McLaren move in an interview with Italian radio Rai.

"Fernando wants to go to a team where there is the possibility to win in the future, even if it is not immediately," said the Italian.

Briatore suggested Alonso's patience with Ferrari had slowly faded over five championship-less seasons.

"Ferrari will always remain in Alonso's heart, it is a team he loves, even though every year it was always spoken about the next one and nothing happened. There was also a little disappointment in not seeing an aggressive recruitment of engineers and staff that could raise the bar of the team," Briatore added.

It is believed the only obstacle to a McLaren-Honda announcement being made now is the collaboration's decision on who will be Alonso's teammate.

Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button, the 2014 McLaren's drivers. (Photo: WRi2)

On the face of it, and judging by his comments and body language in Brazil last week, Jenson Button looks set to be ousted, leaving the young Dane Kevin Magnussen as Alonso's teammate.

But Alonso is said to prefer to have Button on his side, as the former world champions' combined experience will push along the development of the new Honda V6 engine.

"I hope he (Button) stays (in F1)," France's Le Figaro quotes Alonso as having said at Interlagos. "He is a very talented driver and a good person. People like him are good for our sport."

Jenson Button, however, is not so sure Alonso will have the power to influence the decision.

"It's a tricky one. Who knows what's going on inside Fernando's head?" Button is quoted by British newspapers after the Brazilian grand prix.

In the end, McLaren's decision could be a financial one, with Button costing the team multiple millions per year more than the rookie Magnussen.

Jenson Button, however, has hinted that he might be prepared to take a pay-cut.

"I still want to earn money from it," he said, "but I'm not a driver who takes the mick and I will race somewhere even if I'm not getting the big bucks, unlike a few drivers who are out there."

If he does go, it will be a sad farewell for F1's long-serving Button, who might be forgiven for sounding disappointed in McLaren for not going him more notice after an illustrious 15-year career.

"It's like if your parents were to turn round and say 'We're not sure we want you at Christmas this year. But your brother can come, he's great'," Jenson Button said.

"Feeling part of a family is more important than money."

Jenson Button, McLaren, at Monza. (Photo: WRi2)

Former McLaren driver David Coulthard agrees that McLaren has treated Button disrespectfully, having accusing the Woking team of seeing drivers as "light bulbs".

"Maybe it (that comment) has had some reaction from the team, but I stand by my view," the Scot told the Telegraph newspaper.

"The right thing is to treat people well. To have him (Button) hanging on like this is unfair. Going into the last race should be a celebration - if it is to be his last - but we may not know. He deserves better," Coulthard added.

Lotus Formula 1 Team technical director Nick Chester talked about the preparations for 2015's Lotus E23.

The 2015 project started a long time ago.

“We started working on the 2015 project in January this year. We have various cut off dates throughout the year: when certain parts need to be released by the aero department to go to design and then from design to production. Our first chassis is being laminated now and we will gradually produce all the parts for the car. We will be starting to build the E23 in early January,” Chester explained.

The design of the Mercedes-powered E23 requires massive work from the engineers, but less than it was for the E22.

“The E23 project is somewhat reduced due to more stable regulations and although we have a new power unit the architectural changes are much less challenging than changing V8 to V6 turbo,” he declared.

“There are still a few rule changes for 2015 like the front of chassis dimensions, which also has a bearing on suspension installation and also a significant change to nose regulations”.

The Lotus E22 sporting the new nose at Austin. (Photo: René fagnan(

Switching engine suppliers - from Renault to Mercedes - means integrating a brand new power unit to the chassis.

“There are a number of differences that we need to take into account like the packaging, the heat rejections, and the cooling requirements'. Chester said.

“In some ways, it will be relatively painless as Mercedes are quite fixed about what they need for their power unit installation. It means that there won't be too much iteration, at least less than when the V6 was introduced last year. It is a more defined programme,” the British engineer said.

He also confirmed that the new car would look different than the current E22.

“The nose will look different as we could already see during the practice session test we did in Austin last week. I guess that it can be described as more conventional. The bodywork of the E23 will be a bit tighter: the engine cover and the rear wing will be different. The front wing should look quite different too by the first race,” he declared.