Auto News 5

Cooper-Standard says it has appointed Christine Krathwohl as vice president global supply chain.

Infiniti says it recorded the global sales of more than 186,200 vehicles in 2014, up 13.5% from the previous year.

Volkswagen Group said sales at its VW brand fell 2 percent in December because of "challenging market conditions." Full-year deliveries rose 3 percent to a record 6.1 million.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra has said the company expects light vehicle sales in the US to reach 16.5m-17m units in 2015.

News 9 Jan, 2015

New, larger version of the MINI Clubman estate aims for Golf practicality with retro style. Spied testing ahead of September release

Salvers working on the stricken car ship, Hoegh Osaka, are toiling in semi-darkness to establish the condition of the 1,300 vehicles on board as forecast winds of 55mph tomorrow (10 January) threaten to hamper any quick solution to the situation.

Honda President Takanobu Ito, beset by record recalls last year, told suppliers the carmaker will examine operations to improve quality and safety standards.

Eighteen months into a recall of Jeeps with exploding gas tanks, drivers of the affected models are still dying and more than 1 million of the vehicles remain unfixed.

News 9 Jan, 2015

MINI's topless version of its latest hatch has been snapped with only minimal camouflage, set for November release

BMW outsold Audi and Mercedes in December to round off a 10th year as global luxury car-sales champion but its two German rivals have reduced its advantage.

General Motors stands by its target to return to profit in Europe in 2016, CEO Mary Barra said. Barra's stance contrasts with Ford, which last autumn cut its outlook for Europe due to steeper losses in Russia.

BMW Group has said it achieved record worldwide sales in 2014 with a total of 2,117,965 vehile deliveries, up 7.9% on 2013's total.

Honda has said it will pay $70m in penalty fines to the US government for failing to report hundreds of injuries and deaths involving its cars.

New vehicle sales in Taiwan increased by over 12% to 423,829 units in 2014, from 378,456 units in the previous year, based on registration data released by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

ZF supplies the new-generation Maserati Quattroporte's eight-speed automatic transmission, which is 4kg lighter than the six-speed transmission used in the car's predecessor.

Tesla expects Europe to play a big part in its bid to hit production targets by the end of 2015, but the region presents unique challenges, as the electric carmaker's global sales boss, Jerome Guillen, explained to Automotive News Europe.

Seven-time Canadian Rally Champion Antoine L'Estage will drive an Impreza WRX STI for Subaru Rally Team Canada in 2015.

L'Estage and co-driver Alan Ockwell will join Subaru Rally Team Canada (SRTC) in their quest for their 11th Canadian Rally Championship for Marques during the 2015 Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) season.

Subaru Impreza WRX STI (Photo: René Fagnan)

Hot off the heels of a highly successful 2014 CRC season, L'Estage created history by becoming the first driver to win every CRC event in one year and capture the driver's championship, while Alan Ockwell, who co-drove with L'Estage from the second CRC event forward, won the co-driver title for 2014.

“I'm delighted to be given such an opportunity,” said Antoine L'Estage.

“I cannot wait to start working with Subaru Rally Team Canada and Rocket Rally Racing.”

Subaru Rally Team Canada will continue to be managed in cooperation with Rocket Rally Racing (RRR) and Patrick Richard, based out of Squamish, BC, for the 2015 season.

The 2015 CRC season kicks off on February 6th at the Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki, in Maniwaki, Quebec, marking the 50th anniversary of the event.

From GMM

McLaren looks set to launch its Honda-powered 2015 car with an event at the British team's Woking headquarters on January 29.

International media reports are suggesting the McLaren launch could then be followed a day earlier or later by the official presentation of the new Ferrari.

Unlike the McLaren event, however, which will feature journalists attending an actual car unveiling, Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport said the Ferrari 'launch' will in fact simply be the release of multimedia items on the internet.

The report tipped the Ferrari livery to again be red and white with a touch of black carbon, adding that behind-the-scenes rumblings from Maranello suggest the latest wind tunnel results are "encouraging".

"There is optimism that much of the aerodynamic deficit has been bridged," said La Gazzetta. "And combined with the political victory on the engine side that will improve performance and economy, there is a feeling of moderate optimism."

Friday, Ferrari confirmed it would launch the new car on the Scuderia's web site and on its digital and social platforms on Friday January 30th. The code name of the car has not yet been released.

From GMM

Paul Hembery, official tire supplier Pirelli's F1 chief, is expecting the field to speed up significantly in 2015.

Last year, the Italian marque took a deliberately conservative approach to its 2014 rubber, having gone through a tumultuous 2013 and with the uncertainties of the new turbo V6 era in mind.

As a result, and with the high-downforce, V8 powered era in the past, lap times last year generally suffered.

"Last season," Hembery agreed, "the power unit manufacturers, the teams, and ourselves (Pirelli) learned a lot.

"It will be very interesting to see what awaits us in Australia," he is quoted by Russia's f1news.ru. "Only then will we get a real idea of the scale of changes that have occurred.

"At Pirelli we already have specific information about what we can expect in the new season, and I can say that some of it is very interesting, and that is to put it mildly.

"We expect a significant increase in pace, and when you consider how much laptimes normally improve through a season, I think by the end of 2015 we will be getting close to breaking records," Hembery added.

From press release

After entering two Hyundai i20 WRC cars for Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month, Hyundai Motorsport will switch to a three-car entry for Rally Sweden in February in order to raise its game in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).

Belgian crew Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul and Spaniards Dani Sordo/Marc Martí will continue behind the wheel of the No. 7 and No. 8 Hyundai Shell World Rally Team cars respectively.

Hayden Paddon will take part in his first event of the year at Rally Sweden, driving the No. 20 Hyundai i20 WRC alongside compatriot co-driver John Kennard, as the Kiwi crew remain with the team this year in an expanded role.

Hyundai Motorsport carried out a preparatory test in Sweden in mid-December with Neuville and Sordo each driving two days in the Hyundai i20 WRC.

Paddon will test the car for one day during the week prior to the rally, with the Belgian and the Spaniard also getting some extra time in the Hyundai i20 WRC with a half-day test each.

Hyundai i20 WRC. (Photo: Hyundai Motorsport)