Auto News 5

News 2 Dec, 2014

Maserati celebrates its centenary this month, we round up the brand's prettiest ever models

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and Renault have criticized the French government's plans to end its diesel-friendly policy for new cars. PSA/Peugeot-Citroen said the policy change will hurt its competitiveness against German rivals.

European automotive supplier body, CLEPA, says it will fight for access to some of the estimated EUR3bn (US$3.7bn) available through the EU's Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation Programme.

Japan's investigation into dangerous airbags is leading to a remote scrapyard in the central Gifu prefecture, where the explosion of a car model not included in current recalls suggests automakers may have to yet again expand their safety...

Sales of the Camry - which will be the final Toyota model built in Australia when car and engine production end in 2017 - have passed the 850,000 mark.

Car sales in Germany fell by 2 percent in November, mirroring a drop in France, in a sign that the European auto-market recovery remains fragile amid weakening economic growth in the region.

When it comes to electric vehicles, the science that discharges power from charged up batteries is proving stubborn.

News 3 Dec, 2014

Vauxhall Viva to sit below the Adam and offer a £7k entry price for Vauxhall ownership

European automakers' credit profiles will be helped by a modest global increase in vehicle sales, including growth in Europe of up to 4 percent next year, Fitch Ratings says.

European automakers' credit profiles will be helped by a modest global increase in vehicle sales, including growth in Europe of up to 4 percent next year, Fitch Ratings says.

European automakers' credit profiles will be helped by a modest global increase in vehicle sales, including growth in Europe of up to 4 percent next year, Fitch Ratings says.

CEO Mary Barra feels good about how GM handled a major restructuring of its product safety after millions of cars were recalled for an ignition fault. Now her sights are set on a broader cultural change.

Mary Barra feels good about General Motors' urgent restructuring of product safety after millions of cars were recalled for an ignition fault. Now the GM CEO's sights are set on a broader cultural change, which she says will take five years.

2014 is almost over, and that means it's time for the annual car company boasting ritual.

2014 is almost over, and that means it's time for the annual car company boasting ritual.

From GMM

Romain Grosjean says he was in talks with teams including Ferrari until the 2015 driver market was "shaken up" by Sebastian Vettel.

The Frenchman, who could have left Lotus due to a team performance-related clause in his contract, has now re-committed to Enstone for another year.

He admitted to France's RMC: "There were some discussions (about my future). Eventually I think the market was quite shaken when Sebastian Vettel said he is leaving Red Bull. It surprised everyone.

"We are still waiting to see what McLaren will do, but there are other big names in formula one like Ferrari and Mercedes. There were discussions," Romain Grosjean added.

Motorhome Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

Now, the 28-year-old is looking ahead to the 2015 season, when Lotus will enjoy title-winning Mercedes power after struggling this year with Renault.

But he cautions: "We will not know until after the first winter test, although even early this year, we really thought we had a good car.

"You never really know how it is going to be. There are ups and downs but this is still a good team," said Grosjean.

From GMM

Toto Wolff thinks there is little danger the F1 grid will fall below 18 cars for the 2015 season.

Backmarkers Caterham and Marussia stumbled financially at the tail end of last season, although a controversial crowdfunding scheme put Caterham back on track for the Abu Dhabi finale.

Administrator and acting team boss Finbarr O'Connell says he is now talking to potential buyers and clearing hurdles so that Caterham can race in 2015.

Delays have pushed development of the 2015 car way behind schedule, but at key F1 meetings in Geneva last week, O'Connell proposed that Caterham be allowed to race the 2014-specification car and Renault engine next year.

"It was proposed as something to help Caterham and Marussia but will be available to any team if they want to apply to the FIA," he confirmed.

The next step is to urgently find a buyer.

"I am honestly talking to somebody who would like to take this over within the next month," O'Connell revealed.

Starting grid at Interlagos, Brazil. (Photo: Pirelli)

Wolff, the team boss at Mercedes and also still a minor owner of the Williams team, said he thinks Marussia and Caterham failed because their financial models were "not sustainable".

He thinks the next three most endangered teams, however - Sauber, Force India and Lotus - will all survive.

"I do not believe that we will lose any more teams," Wolff told the German trade magazine Sponsors. "At least that is the feedback that I get from the teams. Now we are simply talking about how the cake can be divided up differently."

It has been reported that Mercedes is prepared to make some concessions in order to help the struggling teams.

But Toto Wolff said Mercedes' attitude is not unanimous.

He revealed: "Ferrari and Red Bull take the position that 'This is not our problem but that of the (affected) teams'."

Wolff does not, however, overly criticise that attitude, saying it is people like Christian Horner's job to argue for the exclusive wellbeing of their employers.

"We cannot have a socialist system," he said. "In the end, teams like Marussia and Caterham are ultimately responsible for their failure.

"If a team is in a situation where it is crushed by a mountain of debt, you have to wonder if they were properly managed," said Wolff. "If you spend more than you have, you must have a plan to repay it."

So while Caterham clings to survival in the weeks before Christmas, it appears the forthcoming auction of Marussia's team equipment marks the end of the line.

British team driver Max Chilton is quoted by Speed Week: "We knew all season how tight things were. Every race felt like our last.

"I know that it will be very difficult for me to get a cockpit somewhere else," he acknowledged.

Former Formula 1 driver, Australian Mark Webber has been released from the Bandeirantes hospital after the crash that took place Sunday during the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, Brazil, final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Webber lost control of his Porsche 919 Hybrid late in the race, slammed into the AF Corse Ferrari 458 of Matteo Cressoni and then went straight into the Turn 14 wall.

The Australian suffered bruising and concussion in the crash, but was deemed well enough for release from the Brazil hospital on Monday afternoon.

Cressoni, who spent a night at the same hospital, was discharged earlier in the day.

On his Twitter account, Webber wrote: “Yesterday I was a lucky boy. The correct angle of impact saved me. Thanks everybody for your incredible messages and support”.

Mark Webber's Porsche after the crash. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

2014 engine rivals Renault and Ferrari appear unlikely to close the gap to dominant Mercedes before the start of next season.

The struggling marques pushed hard for the current development 'freeze' regulations to be relaxed ahead of 2015.

But Andy Cowell, the engine boss at Mercedes, insists there is no good reason for the German carmaker's rivals to be complaining about the current rules.

"The situation is clear," he is quoted by Spain's El Mundo Deportivo.

"You can develop the engine all year long and then race your great evolution at the beginning of next season. There is a very long list of development opportunities for our opponents to take a big step forward," he added.

V6 turbo hybrid. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

But according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, Renault and Ferrari are now running out of time to prepare meaningful upgrades to their 'power units' before 2015.

The report said neither engine maker even looks set to use all the available 'tokens' of allowed performance upgrades by the end-of-February freeze deadline.

"They started to develop their 2015 engines too late," said Auto Motor und Sport.

A baffled Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda said: "Why didn't they start already in Melbourne, when they knew how far behind they were?"

The report said Renault, for instance - although now enjoying the input of engine guru Mario Illien - has run out of time to mimic Mercedes' components layout.

Auto Motor und Sport said Ferrari, on the other hand, will enter the 2015 season with a more Mercedes-like layout.

But the boss of Renault's works team Red Bull, Christian Horner, sounds defeated already.

"We expect a slight increase in performance," he is quoted by El Confidencial. "We know we cannot reach Mercedes' level, but we want to be closer."

Ferrari is also expecting 2015 to be another struggle.

Reports suggest Mercedes' engine chief Cowell turned down an offer to switch to Maranello, while Ferrari's designer Nikolas Tombazis is understood to be close to the exit.

Sebastian Vettel at Maranello. (Photo: Ferrari)

New Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel described his first taste of a red cockpit as "magical" on Saturday, but others are more realistic.

"In the midst of all this euphoria," a Ferrari engineer told the insider Leo Turrini, "we should not forget to apologise in advance to Seb and Kimi for the car they will drive in 2015."

It has emerged that Kimi Raikkonen will have a new race engineer for 2015, but fellow Finnish champion Mika Hakkinen remains worried about his countryman.

"I watched Kimi in Abu Dhabi and I could see that he had no pleasure of driving," Hakkinen said in his latest interview for sponsor Hermes.

"One can only hope that Ferrari is preparing a much better car for Kimi. If Ferrari stays at this level, it will affect the motivation of both drivers," he added.