Auto News 5

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) boosted domestic sales year on year in December 2014 to 11,740 units while a top executive hinted there would be price rises should excise duty concessions be cut.

Volkswagen of America has announced a voluntary safety recall to check for fuel leaks on 2015 Golf and Golf GTI models and 2014 and 2015 Beetle, Beetle Convertible, Jetta and Passat variants with 1.8T and 2.0T engines.

China's dealers are warning of excess supply in the slowing Chinese market and conditions that are forcing excessive discounting.

News 2 Jan, 2015

Final run of existing Mazda 2 models add more kit and better value for money

News 2 Jan, 2015

The AA made around three million callouts in 2014 and there were some crazy stories behind the stats

Two senior executives at a Honda joint venture in China are reportedly facing punishment following a probe into corruption by the Chinese Communist Party's corruption watchdog.

Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) has decided to keep production of the new Subaru XV Crosstrek in Japan rather than transfer the model to its Indiana plant in the US as had been previously announced.

The Indian government will require new passenger car models of all sizes sold to undergo crash tests and meet minimum safety standards from October 2017, according to the Times of India.

Hyundai Motor confirmed it plans to begin construction of two new car plants in China in 2015, in addition to the three factories it already operates in the country.

News 2 Jan, 2015

The crucial new Jaguar XE meets its arch BMW 3 Series rival ahead of launch and we reveal all the stats

Hyundai Motor Group, including Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, has set a global sales target of 8.2m vehicles for this year, after sales exceeded 8m units for the first time last year.

Honda plans to relaunch the Jazz [aka Fit] and Accord in India, the Economic Times reported, citing an unnamed source.

Volkswagen plans to launch the new generation Passat in India by the end of 2015.

GAC Motor, part of China's Guangzhou Automobile Group, plans to step up its overseas expansion from 2015 by setting up overseas assembly plants and targeting new markets such as North America and Europe.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors forecast their weakest sales growth in nine years as they run out of capacity to increase output and competition intensifies in major markets.

General Motors announced three new recalls affecting nearly 84,000 SUVs and pickup trucks, saying their ignition systems may have problems that could affect engine power and airbag deployment.

GM said it will record a charge of about $800 million in the fourth quarter to redeem all 156.1 million of its outstanding Series A preferred shares.

Unlike categories such as Formula 1 and Le Mans LMP1 where each competitor must design and build their own race cars, there are other race categories in which street cars are modified for competition.

This week, our top 10 features race cars that are based on production vehicles and that can be purchased.

We arranged them in order of price, starting with the cheapest (for under $100,000) to the most expensive (ranging in the several hundreds of thousands of dollars).

Ford Fiesta R2 rally car
4 in-line, 1.6 litre Zetec, 16v, 170 bhp, 5 speed sequential gearbox, 1030 kg, 65 000$

Continue reading Top 10 race machines based on production cars

In an interview published in L'Equipe, French driver Franck Montagny admitted he tested positive for a cocaine derivative during the Formula E Putrajaya ePrix, round of the FIA Formula E electric Championship.

Montagny, who drove for Super Aguri in Formula 1 and for Peugeot in endurance racing, normally competes for Andretti Autosport this season.

The newspaper indicates that the Frenchman did not request a B-sample.

“I tested positive for a derivative of cocaine in Malaisia. I made a stupid thing. I am guilty”, said Montagny.

He explained he took the drug because he did not felt well before the Malaysian race, November 22nd.

“I flew back after the race. I went shopping for two days. I didn't want to be alone at home. Then I called my parents to tell them. I was ashamed,” he said.

As a consequence, Montagny is automatically suspended from motor racing until a sanction is handed down. “Motor racing may well be over for me”, he admitted.