Auto News 5

Ford is to invest an additional GBP190m at its Dagenham London site to produce a new advanced technology 2.0-litre diesel engine for cars and commercial vehicles.

Ford is inviting suppliers to help benchmark other companies' vehicles and parts before it launches new models. Ford has performed the benchmarking program twice over the past year for the next Fiesta and Focus cars.

The owners of a small dealership near New York City have won a legal challenge stymieing General Motors' bid to terminate his franchise, a ruling that could help other dealers targeted by automakers for subpar sales.

The advent of autonomous cars is forcing automakers to rethink the traditional proving ground and strike a balance between existing test tracks and the realities of today's bustling cities.

Ford is inviting suppliers to help benchmark other companies' vehicles and parts before Ford launches new models -- a move that is starting to pay dividends.

Robert Kubica is still making progress, nearly four years after his horrific rally crash.

With only two rallies left in the WRC season, many are wondering how the Pole's right hand is doing after nearly a full season at the highest level in rallying.

"The arm and hand are OK," Kubica is quoted saying by the BBC.

"From a mobility point of view, there have been some improvements. From a limitation point of view, it's pretty much the same."

The biggest question of course is whether or not Kubica's condition is improving enough for the former Renault and BMW driver to consider a return in F1.

It's been a long time since we've seen Robert Kubica race in F1 (Photo: WRI2)

"Once the season is over I will look at everything," he added, also saying that: "Formula 1 would be a dream to come back but we have to stay realistic."

"If I decide to try and come back I will have more surgery this winter and maybe with the help of the doctors, and with some luck, it will be possible."

From press release

The 2014 DTM season came to an end with an overwhelming victory for Audi.

The brand from Ingolstadt had a clean sweep of the first three places in the season finale at Hockenheim and secured the manufacturers' title in the most popular international touring car series.

Victory in the race went to Mattias Ekström, who concludes the season as the runner-up in the drivers' standings.

Mattias Ekström, Audis RS 5 DTM (Photo: DTM.com)

“Winning the race in front of such a great crowd is fantastic. After such an eventful year, bowing out of the season with a success is a good feeling. Over the year, we had many ups and downs. Today, once again, it was hard, but fair. That is simply a part of the DTM,” the Swede said after his second consecutive victory.

Mike Rockenfeller and Jamie Green rounded out the podium after finishing second and third respectively.

Mattias Ekström (Photo: DTM.com)

Marco Wittmann had already secured himself the championship title in the Lausitzring round. After a successful season, the German had a rather patchy final race meeting.

Fifth place for the BMW driver in the season finale at Hockenheim was the result of a race with plenty of progress for the BMW driver. After a disappointing qualifying, the German only started 13th into the race.

Marco Wittmann, BMW M4 DTM (Photo: WRI2)

“I reckon I got the maximum out of it. My starting grid position for this race wasn't the best. In the DTM, things are so close that it is difficult to make progress. As a result, I can be all the more happy with my fifth place,” the four times' race winner looks back upon the season.

DTM finale in Hockenheim (Photo: DTM.com)

Race results* - Hockenheim (round 10 of 10)
1 - Mattias Ekstrom (Audi RS5) - Abt - 42 laps in 1.08'37"604
2 - Mike Rockenfeller (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 2"402
3 - Jamie Green (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 3"914
4 - Paul Di Resta (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 4"163
5 - Marco Wittmann (BMW M4) - RMG - 4"962
6 - Timo Scheider (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 6"540
7 - Martin Tomczyk (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 7"526
8 - Robert Wickens (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 10"344
9 - Miguel Molina (Audi RS5) - Abt - 11"104
10 - Antonio Felix Da Costa (BMW M4) - MTEK - 12"198
11 - Gary Paffett (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 14"781
12 - Timo Glock (BMW M4) - MTEK - 15"179
13 - Bruno Spengler (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 15"838
14 - Nico Muller (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 15"973
15 - Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 17"497
16 - Joey Hand (BMW M4) - RBM - 17"769
17 - Augusto Farfus (BMW M4) - RBM - 23"024

Antonio Felix da Costa, BMW M4 DTM (Photo: WRI2)

Retirements
Vitaly Petrov
Adrien Tambay
Pascal Wehrlein
Daniel Juncadella
Edoardo Mortara
Maxime Martin

*Unofficial results

From DTM.com

Both Canadians racing in the German DTM championship received post-race penalties, Sunday in Hockenheim.

The stewards of the meeting added 30 seconds to Robert Wickens race time as a substitute for a drive-through penalty. The Mercedes-Benz driver got the penalty for causing a collision with Augusto Farfus (BMW).

As a result, Wickens drops back from eighth to 17th place. Due to this decision, the Canadian loses valuable points and drops back from ninth to twelfth place in the final drivers' standings.

Robert Wickens, Mercedes C-Coupe (Photo: DTM.com)

Bruno Spengler was also penalized by the stewards of the meeting after the race.

After a collision with Daniel Juncadella, the Canadian deliberately had braked so hard that the Spaniard couldn't avoid a collision. For this unsporting behaviour, Spengler has to do three hours of charitable work, to be carried out in consultation with the DMSB.

In 22 seasons of Formula 1, Sauber has never had such a difficult year.

That is the claim of team principal Monisha Kaltenborn.

Having yet to score a point in 2014, the Hinwill based team is behind even back marker Marussia in the manufacturers' standings.

"I would say it's the worst season we've had," she told Crash.net

"We've had seasons before where for quite a while in the season we were last or second last, but yes, being there without points and in some situations circumstances resulting to it which are out of our control makes it very difficult to react in any way.

"So, yes, I think the worst season."

Kimi Raikkonen, Nick Heidfeld, Sauber C20. 2001 (Photo: WRI2)

Interestingly, in 2000, Sauber scored just 6 points on its way to 8th place in the championship.

The following year, with Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen, it bounced back and scored 21 points to secure fourth, its best ever result as a privateer team.

Many people are still on the team today, and Kaltenborn is confident the team can bounce back again.

"Well we see ourselves here next year and we will also definitely be in a better shape," she said.

Ken Block will be back in a WRC car for the first time in over a year, next week-end in Spain. His aim is to simply enjoy the experience.

Block has spent his time mostly doing rallycross this year, which means he's only had the time to do one stage rally in 2014: the 100 Acre Wood, in the Rally America series.

He knows getting back in a WRC car will be a challenge.

"I haven't had any seat time in (a WRC car) in over a year so I'm certainly at a bit of a disadvantage compared to the rest of the field," Block told WRC.com.

"But I'm doing this event for fun, the stages in Spain are absolutely amazing, as are the fans."

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

Friday, Block covered 170 kilometres of testing behind the wheel of an M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC.

"Things went really well and I got back up to speed driving and listening to notes," Block wrote on his Facebook page.

"The day went perfect except for one small off because of a wheel/tire issue (had to put the car in a ditch to save it). Zero damage though, minus the tire. Gotta say, it was a good day!"

From press release

Formula E has today released previously unseen footage of its pre-season race simulation at Donington Park involving all 10 teams and 20 drivers.

The race simulation was one of two undertaken during July and August as part of preparations for the season opener in Beijing last month.

Organizers have chosen today to release the footage as it coincides with the original date for the Putrajaya ePrix (Round 2) before the race was moved to its new date of November 22.

The race simulation, which included a full standing start and car change pitstops, marked the first time the 10 teams ran all four of their fully-electric Spark-Renault SRT_01E cars, with the day following the same timetable as all one-day Formula E events.



Benoit Dupont, Formula E Sporting Manager, said: "Although only an event simulation, it was still a fantastic sight to see all 20 Formula E cars accelerating towards the first corner for the very first time.

"Both simulations were essential in checking all systems were working as they should, and with the gap in the calendar, today seemed the perfect time to release this previously unseen footage to fans as we head towards the Putrajaya ePrix."

Manufacturing problems with Takata airbags go beyond what the supplier has disclosed to federal safety regulators about why the devices are at risk of exploding with dangerous force, according to internal company documents reviewed by Reuters.

Volkswagen said it is recalling more than 1.1 million cars in North America and China to correct a potential problem with rear suspension parts.

Renault, a latecomer to China, could sell up to 800,000 vehicles annually in the country, CEO Carlos Ghosn said. Renault has a 4 percent market share globally and it is a "reasonable" objective to reproduce this in China, Ghosn said.

It's always assumed that Bob Lutz got his job as GM's product czar in 2001, coming out of retirement at age 69, because of the spectacular failure of the Pontiac Aztek.

Fifteen years after taking over Nissan's global design leadership, Shiro Nakamura has come full circle. Nissan will launch its third-generation Murano crossover late this year.

The EPA is preparing to tighten its oversight of fuel economy testing and reporting this year in an effort to align the ratings on vehicles' stickers more closely with their real-world capability.

UAW and political leaders plan to gather Monday in a community-wide effort to keep Jeep Wrangler production in its original home of Toledo, Ohio.

From GMM

Las Vegas could be the next new F1 destination, Bernie Ecclestone has revealed.

"Vegas say they are ready to go and it would be on The Strip for sure," the F1 chief executive told business journalist Christian Sylt, in the Independent.

Perhaps the world's most famous resort city renowned for gambling and nightlife, Las Vegas hosted two unpopular F1 races in 1981 and 1982, in the car park of the Caesars Palace hotel.

Nelson Piquet, Brabham BT 49 C-Cosworth. Caesars Palace Hotel (Photo: WRI2)

Sylt quoted a source as saying renowned F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke has already visited the city, located in the Mojave Desert, several times already.

"I knew that if he had gone along there must be something to it," said the source.

F1 already has one race in the United States, in Austin, and another amid the fabled New York skyline has also been touted.

From press release

For the first eight years of its existence, the Canadian Motorsports Expo (CME) was a standalone, racing-only show catering to motorsports fans and the industry.

The CME usually took place in early February, when Canadian winters can make it challenging for even the most hearty racers, exhibitors and enthusiasts to participate.

For 2015, the CME will once again take place at Toronto's International Centre, but with several exciting changes.

The Canadian Motorsports Expo Powered by Inside Track Motorsport News will return for a ninth year as an intact component of the new Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo.

The new show takes place March 13, 14 & 15, 2015 at the newly refurbished International Centre, across from Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

The 2014 edition of the CME filled 80,000 square feet. Motorama, which continues the almost four-decade tradition of the mid-March custom car and racing shows at the International Centre - will fill at least 250,000 square feet at the well known venue.

The Canadian Motorsports Expo at Motorama will offer all of the same features that racing fans appreciated about the former standalone CME, including displays by tracks, series, racing equipment manufacturers and dealers, collectibles vendors, and more.

It will also continue to celebrate Canadian racing with high-profile events like the Short Track Night of Champions, the Drag Racing Night of Champions, celebrity racer appearances and Q&As, autograph sessions, racing-themed forums, seminars and industry press conferences and announcements.

And by being part of a much larger show that appeals to a broader base of automotive enthusiasts, CME 2015 exhibitors and sponsors will be exposed to tens of thousands of potential new customers and fans, many of whom may not have attended a ‘racing only' show in the past.

Exhibitor and sponsorship package pricing for the new show remains at 2014 CME levels. And by being part of a bigger, unified show attracting significantly larger crowds, the show's promoters anticipate that the participation of the racing industry will be greater than ever before.

The response to the changes from the vast majority of the show's previous exhibitors and sponsors has been very positive.

“We are extremely excited about the Canadian Motorsports Expo being part of the inauguralMotorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo,” said co-promoter David Weber.

“The CME has always been very well supported by the industry and racing fans. It was a team effort to promote the sport in Canada and we thank everyone for that. But being able to move the show back a month to a time when the weather is better, schedules are set, and more racing vehicles are ready, will be greatly appreciated by the motorsports community.