Auto News 5

Porsche's experience of recovering from the brink of insolvency two decades ago to become a profit engine for Volkswagen has helped it with the development of a consultancy business with a growing list of high-profile clients.

Warren Buffett's entry into automotive retailing may mean more overall competition for acquisitions, but public dealership groups expect no interruptions to their growth plans.

Despite slowing sales growth in China, General Motors is doubling down on the country with a bold expansion plan that could make it Cadillac's biggest market within six years.

The owner of a Hyundai Genesis with a sunroof that repeatedly opened and closed on its own has won a new trial in his lawsuit against Hyundai Motor America and the California dealership from which he leased the car.

Porsche's experience of recovering from the brink of insolvency two decades ago to become a profit engine for VW Group has helped it with the development of a consultancy business that has a growing list of high-profile clients.

Renault could sell the Eolab ultra fuel-efficient concept for a similar price to a diesel-powered Clio, if it decided to build the car, said Thierry Bollore, the company's chief competitive officer. The Clio DCi 90 costs 18,500 euros in France.

Canadian driver Lance Stroll enjoyed quite a year in 2014, despite having just moved on from karting.

Driving for Prema Powerteam, he secured 10 wins and 14 podium finishes in only 17 starts to grab the title in his rookie season.

Stroll, who will turn 16 next week, took the time to acknowledge how much his team helped him throughout the year, before moving to his next challenge: the European F3 championship.

Lance Stroll, Italian F4 Championship (Photo: Prema Power team)

"I believe we had great preparation from everyone. Prema couldn't have made a better car and as well they thought me many things over the winter testing that made me come to the first race more prepared than ever.

"Ferrari driver academy supported me very well during the season. Not only in one particular aspect but many: physically, mentally and as well at the track with Luca (Baldisserri, head of the programme) and Franck (Francesco Pon, technical director).

"Next year I expect mainly more competition from all the drivers since it's FIA Formula 3 European Championship and it's quite a high level of formula car racing."

Lotus Formula 1 Team cars will be powered by Mercedes V6 turbo hybrid power units starting next year.

The entire Enstone team is busy working on the new car.

“Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains has already made a positive impression and we believe that it will be a key ingredient for future success,” said Deputy Team Principal Federico Gastaldi in a team press release.

“It has become obvious this year that they have the most competitive package on the engine side. Their strengths, allied to ours, will form a potent combination in 2015 and create a special E23 Hybrid package. The partnership also forms a key ingredient for the long-term future of Lotus F1 Team,” Gastaldi explained.

Lotus has switched its focus to next year's car, the team's technical director, Nick Chester said (Photo: WRI2)

Lotus F1 Team Technical Director Nick Chester explained that almost all resources are put on the design and the fabrication of the new car.

“Nearly all of the resources are on the E23 now and a good chunk of them have been for some time,” said Chester.

“We are starting to laminate the first race chassis, which is on schedule. Gearboxes have been cast and will be machined shortly. We have pretty much finalised the cooling system. We have also been discussing various aspects with Mercedes while we finalise the power unit installation.

“Most of the suspension is designed now, so we are really a good way along,” Chester explained.

From GMM

Marussia will join fellow F1 straggler Caterham in not racing in Austin next weekend, Bernie Ecclestone has announced.

The news follows the sport's chief executive giving Caterham special dispensation to miss the US-Brazil double header as it enters administration.

But we had reported on Friday that the grid may in fact shrink from its usual 22 to just 18 cars in Austin, because Marussia - grief-stricken after the Jules Bianchi crash - was struggling to find a necessary cash injection to ship its cars and equipment from the UK for the trek to America.

"This is happening while the owner Andrey Cheglakov wants to sell," Auto Motor und Sport's Michael Schmidt had claimed.

Marussia will not be in Austin, according to Bernie Ecclestone (Photo: WRI2)

Referring on Saturday not only to Caterham but also Marussia, Ecclestone was quoted by the BBC: "Neither of those two teams are going to go to America."

With the grid dipping below 20 cars, the very real prospect of top teams having to field three-car teams has now emerged.

But reports indicate that with teams needing 60 days notice for the triggering of the third car provision, the FIA has ruled out the measure being introduced in the very short term.

Motorsport sensation Ken Block returned to stage rallying after an 8-month break, this week-end as he entered Rally Spain, round 12 of the WRC season.

The American has not been shining as much as he might be used to, behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC. But he is enjoying the mix tarmac and gravel stages in the Salou area.

At the end of Saturday, Block was sitting 12^th overall, over 10 minutes down on overall lead Sébastien Ogier.

"Incredible fun. I wish I had been a little faster and could commit to the corners, but it's been three years since I've raced on tarmac," commented Block.

"Perhaps we will turn it up a bit tomorrow - the car can do much more."

Ken Block, Ford Fiesta RS WRC (Photo: WRI2)

From NASCAR.com

When the green flag waves to start the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, it won't be a Chase driver who leads the field to the start/finish line.

Touring the .526-mile short track in 18.954 seconds (99.905 mph) in his No. 1 Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, Jamie McMurray upstaged the championship contenders on Friday in winning the pole for the first race in the Eliminator Round of the Chase.

In claiming his second Coors Light pole award of the season, his second at Martinsville and the 11th of his career, McMurray beat title contenders Joey Logano (99.605 mph) and Matt Kenseth (99.318 mph) for the top spot.

Jamie McMurray (Photo: Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images)

"We tested here a couple of weeks ago, and I thought we had one of the best tests that I've been a part of, really since I started racing," McMurray said. "Really well organized... We made the car better throughout the test and hit on a couple things that really had a lot of speed in it.

"So I was pretty excited about getting here this weekend. Our cars have been so quick the past two or three months—really all year, but more so in the past few months. This is a great track for me, and we had a really good test. When things are going well, you get excited to come back to the track.

"It was really great that we were able to take that test and use that toward earning the pole today."

From press release

Formula E fans can once again cast their vote for the "FanBoost".

Unique to the FIA Formula E championship, FanBoost allows the fans to indirectly participate to the race, as the three drivers who get the most votes receive a five-second power boost per car, per driver.

The three drivers can then use this speed burst, which increases the power of the car from around 200 horsepower to 243, to overtake or defend a position.

Who's your favourite Formula E driver? (Photo: WRI2)

"FanBoost is something that is not only unique to the FIA Formula E Championship but all sporting events as it allows fans to potentially influence the outcome of the race and to interact with the drivers rather than just watching at home," says Benoit Dupont, Formula E's sporting manager.

"For race two, we have introduced voting in Chinese and Japanese languages with more languages available soon."

Click here to vote.

New Ford CEO Mark Fields, with the renewed backing of Executive Chairman Bill Ford and the company's board, has committed the automaker to a multiyear, multibillion-dollar overhaul of Lincoln that includes a significant investment in a new premium...

GM persuaded a federal appeals court to uphold the dismissal of a $3 billion lawsuit in which Spyker accused it of derailing a plan to sell the Swedish automaker Saab to a Chinese company.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could find it tough to meet its 2014 profit guidance and may cut forecasts when it reports quarterly results next week as slowly recovering North America profit margins may fail to fully offset weakness in Europe and Latin...

The agency that botched a campaign to publicize a potentially lethal Takata airbag defect affecting 7.8 million U.S. cars is reviewing its safety culture, according to a senior Obama administration official.

Ford has rejected a proposal to invest in engine plants in Windsor, Ontario, and decided to put the money in Mexico as the automaker originally planned, the head of Canada's autoworkers' union said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will brief members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee next week on the agency's investigation and recalls of Takata airbags.

News 24 Oct, 2014

Tesla's Model 3 compact executive car will lead a new range of smaller electric models to take the fight to BMW and Audi

Opinion 27 Oct, 2014

VW's employees are busier, cleverer and hungrier than we thought, says columnist Mike Rutherford