Auto News 5

Andretti Autosport team owner Michael Andretti admitted he'd like to have former NASCAR champion Kurt Busch back to drive in the 2015 Indy 500.

According to a report published on FoxSports.com, Andretti said the door is open for Kurt Busch to return for a second consecutive attempt at “The Double” on May 24: Racing in the Indy 500 in the early afternoon and then competing in NASCAR's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway that evening.

“Right now, our focus is on putting a fourth car together but there is still a possibility for something to come together for Indy. I would love to do it with Kurt Busch again. He was a pleasure to work with,” Andretti told FOXSports.com.

“Busch was a real professional and learned a lot to the point where I think he would be a real factor in the race if we put something together. He did a hell of a job last year without experience.

“Now, with one more year of experience, I think Kurt Busch could be a real factor in the Indianapolis 500 in 2015,” Andretti added.

Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah (MINI) extended his lead in the Dakar Rally after taking his third stage victory Friday in six days of competition.

However, Al-Attiyah was followed closely by his main rival so far, Giniel de Villiers, who finished just 37 seconds behind the rally leader on the 277-km special.

Al-Attiyah now leads the 2015 Dakar by 11m12 from de Villiers' Toyota and by over 28 minutes from Yazeed Al-Rajhi, who lost over eight minutes on Friday.

Peugeot had another disastrous day and, despite a promising start to the special, Stephane Peterhansel stopped with mechanical problems 89km in. He managed to reach the end of the stage but lost over half an hour.

Overall standings (after day 6):

1 Nasser Al-Attiyah, MINI, 19h30m44
2 Giniel de Villiers, Toyota, +11m12
3 Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Toyota, +28m44
4 Krzysztof Holowczyc, MINI, +1h00m53
5 Bernhard Ten Brinke, Toyota, +1h04m23

Veteran Formula 1 driver, German Adrian Sutil is likely to compete in endurance racing this season in an attempt to return in Formula 1 in 2016.

Sutil is apparently ready to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship this season before trying to return to Grand Prix racing with the new Haas F1 Team the following year.

Some motorsport web sites insist that Haas F1 Team director, Gunther Steiner, is a fan of Sutil, especially because of his huge experience of the Ferrari engines.

Rumour has it that Sutil recently travelled to Stuttgart, Germany to pay visit to the Porsche Motorsport directors.

Sutil may join his fellow countryman Nico Hulkenberg in the third Porsche 919 Hybrid at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans this spring.

Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team has spent several millions of dollars for making the acquisition of several dynamic test benches.

According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari has purchased and will install four dynamic test benches provided by Austrian company AVL for a total cost of $40 millions.

A dynamic test bench allows testing of the complete car as if it was running on a race track, but in a closed environment.

It is generally destined to validate hardware and software running of the V6 turbo hybrid power unit in conditions close to reality, including heat and vibrations.

Last year, Red Bull Racing tested his troublesome RB10-Renault at AVL's facility in Graz.

An Audi road car running on an AVL test bench. (Photo: AVL)

A planned three-month shutdown of Fiat Chrysler Automobile's Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant starting in mid-February could leave dealers scrambling to find minivans.

Additional federal scrutiny of company processes is emerging as a key part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's arsenal for reining in automakers that violate federal auto safety laws.

General Motors plans to make GM Financial its preferred lender for subsidized leases, a big step toward elevating its in-house lending arm into a full-line captive finance provider to enhance GM dealers' ability to sell vehicles.

Demands for compensation from Chinese car dealers hit by a market slowdown have become an industry-wide issue, BMW's board member for sales said today, adding relations were not simply about "holding hands and walking into the sunset."

Never underestimate the value of an email. And an educated guess. At least if you're Amanda Morvan, general manager of O'Regan's Kia Dartmouth in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Chevrolet will bring new energy and plenty of stories to next week's Detroit auto show with video on massive screens, flashy lighting and upbeat music.

News 12 Jan, 2015

The Alfa Romeo 4C sports car gains an open-topped Spider version at the 2015 Detroit Motor Show

China's Guangzhou Automobile Group will show an autonomous hybrid concept and an SUV at the Detroit auto show Monday afternoon. The autonomous concept, called the Witstar, is powered by a battery and a gasoline engine.

Having refused to rule in or rule out production of a Galaxy replacement only weeks ago, Ford of Europe has today stated that "an all new Galaxy seven passenger vehicle will go on sale in mid-2015".

The newly redesigned GMC Canyon already has a new special edition. The Canyon Nightfall will be offered on both two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive SLE crew cab models and will come in Onyx Blac

News 11 Jan, 2015

Japanese premium brand Infiniti has released more pictures of its stylish Q60 Concept

Dodge will begin offering 'one-of-one' customized Vipers next month to customers, complete with a personalized name tag embossed into the instrument panel.

News 11 Jan, 2015

The Jaguar F-Pace SUV is coming in 2016 to rival BMW's X3 and Audi's Q5, Jag reveals at Detroit Motor Show 2015

Shanghai may ban sexy models from posing at its auto show this year so that visitors to the biennial event can focus on the vehicles on display.

NXP Semiconductors has unveiled a follow-on investment in Cohda Wireless, a software specialist for automotive safety applications.

FEBIAC, the promotor of the 'European Motor Show - Brussels', is continuing to add to its list of vehicle world premieres for this year's event. The media preview day is 15 January.