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Meritor has posted fourth quarter net income of US$3m, down from US$41m.

The death toll linked to defective Takata airbags grew to five today with Honda disclosing the first fatality outside the United States and calling back more cars.

Features 19 Nov, 2014

MINI has long led the way in Great British design. These are the ideas that brought the Mini and the MINI to life

Takata has modified the composition of an air bag propellant that contains a volatile chemical at the centre of a recall of millions of cars worldwide, the supplier told the Reuters news agency.

A Senate Committee hearing into the recalls of defective Takata airbags that have so far been linked to five deaths is slated for next Thursday, the committee announced today.

Russia October new passenger cars and LCVs sales improved markedly last month as the effects of the country's recycling scheme fed through, although were still 10% down compared with 2013.

Following an 18-month research and investment project, BMW Group Financial Services has unveiled a new business model for its network of 147 BMW and 143 Mini retailers across the UK.

Daimler's Mercedes-Benz plans soon to fit 84 LEDs per headlamp instead of the 24 in the current gridded high beam module in the CLS headlamp to boost light quality. In the medium term, as many as 1024 pixels per LED will enable optimum illumination of the road at every speed and in all traffic conditions - and without dazzling other road users, the automaker claimed.

Features 13 Nov, 2014

Our man buckles up for a super-sideways blast around Fiorano with F1 iceman Kimi Raikkonen. Watch the video…

The parent of Subaru said it will reach its mid-term sales target in North America at least three years ahead of plan, helped by demand for the Forester crossover and Legacy sedan.

News 13 Nov, 2014

Designer Henrik Fisker is bouncing back from the ill-fated Karma, and bringing what looks like a Mustang rival to Los Angeles this month

Daimler's Car2Go car-sharing unit will have more than 1 million registered users by the end of the year, a company executive said, up from 900,000 now.

The VW Group plans to add a proving ground for autonomous driving to its test track in Ehra-Lessien, Germany, Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche has learned from company sources.

Hoping to harness customer data to offer more services without eliciting an outcry over the misuse of personal information, major automakers today agreed to industry-wide principles to handle consumer data and safeguard individual privacy going...

Hoping to harness customer data to offer more services without eliciting an outcry over the misuse of personal information, major automakers have agreed to industrywide principles to handle consumer data and safeguard individual privacy going...

The Mini five-door variant targets customers who need more space. Available for the first time with the option of a head-up display and adaptive cruise control, Mini says the five-door hatchback could become its best-seller.

A new policy at Volkswagen's U.S. assembly plant would let organized labor groups hold regular meetings at the factory and engage with plant executives but stops short of extending collective bargaining rights to any particular labor union.

Verizon IndyCar Series entrants have submitted a 25% deposit of the $75,000 package price with their aerodynamic bodywork kit order to respective suppliers Chevrolet and Honda.

Manufacturer track testing of prototype components opened Oct. 6 and continues through Jan. 18, 2015, which is the same date as homologation.

Production will ramp up to meet the March 1 deadline for one road and street course/short oval kit to be delivered to each entrant.

The speedway aero kit, according to the INDYCAR timeline, will be delivered by April 1.

The 2015 aero kit (Image: IndyCar)

From GMM

Yet another week is threatening to pass with Fernando Alonso's future still unclear.

Most insiders are utterly convinced that the Spaniard is heading to McLaren-Honda, amid reports the 33-year-old is even scheduled to visit Woking this week to sign what is expected to be the most lucrative deal in F1 history.

But Fernando Alonso has posted photos to his Facebook and Twitter accounts of what is obviously a post-Brazil break in Dubai, some 7,000 kilometres from the UK.

"Sunny in Woking today!" one of his Facebook followers commented cheekily.

At the same time, Ferrari is also continuing the apparent contractual impasse with its number 1 driver.

New president Sergio Marchionne, pressed by the media about Alonso this week, is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport: "I do not talk about the drivers, that is the task of the team management."

The uncertainty is also prolonging the wait for Jenson Button, who could be the existing McLaren driver who is pushed aside for Alonso and out of F1 altogether.

"Hopefully soon I'll be able to give you more info about my future," the Briton said this week on Twitter, adding the hashtag 'ExcitingTimes'.

If his 15-year F1 career does end, it is believed 34-year-old Button will either become a full-time triathlete or switch to Le Mans prototype sports cars.

Speed Week linked him with the 2015 Le Mans competitors Porsche, Toyota, Audi or Nissan.

Mark Webber, who made the switch from F1 to Porsche this year, 'tweeted' to Button: "Matey, just sign that sports car contract and get on with it.

"Be mega to have you with/against us next year," the Australian added.

From press release

Tom Blomqvist claimed provisional pole for this Saturday's qualification race for the 61st running of the Macau Grand Prix.

The runner-up in this year's FIA Formula 3 European Championship moved up to the top of the timing screen around the halfway point in the 40 minutes' first qualifying session at the 6.12 kilometres long Guia street circuit and managed to hold on to this position until the chequered flag was out.

In second place, Italian Antonio Giovinazzi completed the 1-2 for the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin team.

In the closing seconds of the session, Nick Cassidy moved up into third place from Lucas Auer.

Tom Blomqvist (Photo: Macau GP)

The final starting grid positions for the qualification race will be known after second qualifying tomorrow at 15.10 hrs local time (8.10 hrs CET). The fastest time set by each driver in any of the two sessions will decide on the grid position.

Rather unusually for Macau, the entire qualifying session ran without any red flags.

The only major incident were impacts by Tatiana Calderón, who crashed into the barriers at the police station corner and damaged the front suspension of her car, and a crash by Martin Cao who hit the barriers at Fischerman's Bend early in the session.

After free practice, Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Esteban Ocon (SJM Theodore Racing by Prema) were given penalties for failing to come in for their cars to be weighed. The two will be dropped two places each on the grid for Saturday's qualifying race.