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Articles 23 Dec, 2014

Limited run Mustang GT500 Super Snake conversion boosts power to more than 840bhp and costs nearly £30,000

News 23 Dec, 2014

We find home breath test kits prone to inaccuracy. Our campaign calls on drivers not to drink at all when driving

Thermal management systems specialist Gentherm said on Tuesday (23 December) it will expand production capacity in Asia by opening a new factory close to the Vietnam capital Hanoi.

Orio AB, formerly Saab Automobile Parts AB, said it had signed a contract with Nevs and has acquired all the tools located at suppliers and used for producing original [OEM] spare parts for all existing models.

News 23 Dec, 2014

One off Gulf-inspired P1 designed by McLaren Special Operations will go to super-rich Canadian businessman

General Motors' ignition switch-related compensation fund has approved 42 accidental death claims, its latest report said.

Opinion 24 Dec, 2014

The rise and rise of Skoda looks set to continue with well-judged new models and tempting tech in the pipeline

It's still 2014, but not for much longer. In the global automotive business, plenty happened in 2014. Seasoned observer Dave Leggett offers a personal take on some of the year's most significant developments. This instalment considers major markets, corporate developments and people.

The insurance industry's list of cars and trucks that do the best job of keeping owners alive in a crash jumped 82 percent this year against a backdrop of US recalls of older models that were killing their passengers.

BMW has expanded a US regional recall for some vehicles with Taka driver's side air bag inflators to cover the entire country, after other automakers took similar steps.

New vehicle sales in Malaysia increased by 5.9% to 55,313 units in November, from 52,252 units in the same month last year, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

News 23 Dec, 2014

Government announces six-year road investment plan to fix potholes, junctions, bridges and street lighting

Well, here we are again. It's that time of the year when many of us check out of our offices for a long festive break that takes in the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The UK could once again have a major auto show after organizers announced dates for an event in 2016. BNC Special Events plan to stage an event for car enthusiasts in London.

Automakers' growing use of aluminum body parts to save weight and fuel could create an opportunity for dealership FandI departments to sell more paintless dent removal policies, some FandI experts say.

Nissan expects to increase European sales of the Leaf electric car by "double-digit" percentage points in 2015 following record sales this year.

Seven new videos make their debut on our Viral Video list this week, but the No. 3 video of the week -- a new entrant from Ford -- doesn't feature a vehicle at all.

It appears America's Haas F1 Team has decided to set up a base in Europe.

Not long ago, Gene Haas was saying he wanted his new F1 team to operate from the United States. But the American team just purchased Marussia's factory in Branbuy, UK, according to Racecar Engineering.

It is also understood that data regarding the 2015 Marussia car, which will never race, was included in the transaction.

The new outfit had been keeping an eye on the recent auction, where many tools and other equipment was sold to pay off Marussia's debt. Although the factory was not sold through the auction.

Haas F1 Team, which is set to race for the first time in 2016, already had its own factory, in North Carolina.

From GMM

Ferrari has admitted it is entering the 2015 season on the back foot.

The fabled Italian team has swept clean the figureheads of Ferrari's disastrous start to the turbo V6 era, having pushed hard for the rule change but ending 2014 without a single win.

Facing reporters on Monday, new bosses Sergio Marchionne and Maurizio Arrivabene admitted that reacting to Ferrari's problems has even delayed the 2015 car.

Marchionne said key "mistakes" were made in 2014, and one of them may have been appointing the inexperienced Marco Mattiacci as axed Stefano Domenicali's successor.

"I have enormous respect for what he has done for the company in the commercial area," the new Ferrari president said, "but F1 is something else.

"He was still learning the job but in the situation Ferrari was in, we could not rebuild the team waiting for the boss to gain experience," Marchionne added.

On the personnel front, the shakeup has been revolutionary. Ferrari confirmed on Monday that the latest arrival is an engineer who in 2014 helped Lewis Hamilton win the world championship - Jock Clear.

The team is now negotiating with Mercedes for an early end to the Brackley veteran's 'gardening leave' so that he can take over from the departed Pat Fry soon.

Ferrari did not win a single race in 2014. So expectations are low ahead of 2015 (Photo: WRI2)

Mattiaci's successor Arrivabene, meanwhile, denied speculation Bob Bell, Adrian Newey or Ross Brawn will be the next high-profile arrivals at Maranello.

"The team is there," he insisted. "There is no great news to be announced, no surprises. We have to believe in the people we have."

But president Marchionne said that while the radical shakeup was taking place, the nuts and bolts of the design of the 2015 car were put behind schedule.

"Unfortunately," he said, "god does not build racing cars."

He said "mistakes" were made in the basic foundations of the 2015 project, which is now essentially set as the car has passed all of the mandatory FIA crash tests.

"The previous team leadership made strategic decisions that I disagreed with," Marchionne is quoted by Italian publications.

"Decisions relating to the car of 2014 and the preparation for 2015. For me, considering how we finished, how much we spent and where we are, in short, it was a mistake.

"That is why we are now coming from behind because of choices made by other people. 2015 will be a difficult year that will put a strain on the whole team," La Repubblica quoted him as saying.

So for Sebastian Vettel's first season in red, expectations have been set historically low for F1's most famous and arguably best-resourced team.

"If we win two races, it would be a success," said Arrivabene. "Three is a triumph."

And Marchionne quipped: "Four, we are in paradise."

From GMM

Kimi Raikkonen will need to prove in 2015 that he deserves another year at Ferrari.

That is the warning of new Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene, following recent reports that the Finnish driver wants to stay at Maranello not only next year but perhaps also in 2016.

35-year-old Raikkonen, however, struggled notably on his return to the Maranello team from Lotus this season, with a points haul one third the size of Fernando Alonso's and not a single podium appearance.

"Last season was difficult for Kimi," Arrivabene is quoted by Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper, "but that does not mean that he has lost his speed.

Ferrari still believes in Raikkonen (Photo: WRI2)

"He is a former world champion, and more importantly he won the title driving a Ferrari.

"I want to emphasise that next season Kimi needs the time to show that he is capable, and after that it will be possible to make a decision about the future."

Raikkonen's teammate in 2015 will be his friend Sebastian Vettel, F1's quadruple consecutive world champion for Red Bull between 2010 and 2013.

"For sure," Arrivabene insisted, "drivers are not a problem for us."