Auto News 5

German publication Auto Bild wrote Thursday that Ron Dennis' future in charge of the McLaren team was in doubt, claiming that claims Dennis was coming under increasing pressure from the team's major Bahraini shareholders.

The report said Dennis has until the end of this month to find new investors.

"Auto Bild has learned that the favoured candidate as partner and team boss is the former McLaren driver Gerhard Berger," wrote the German magazine.

Berger, a former Grand Prix driver and co-owner of the Toro Rosso F1 team, denied the whole thing.

"I have nothing on the table. The situation is the same as it was in May, when you [correspondents of the Auto Bild] last visited my office in Monaco,” Berger told the magazine afterwards.

Berger, who drove for McLaren when Honda was its engine supplier, added a very interesting detail however: “But if I had a specific proposal, which would have involved the automaker, I would have thought".

Asked for a comment on the claim, a McLaren spokesman said: "This is complete and utter nonsense."

Lithia Motors said it completed the purchase of DCH Auto Group, one of the largest buy-sell deals between dealership groups in recent history.

VW Group premiered four plug-in hybrids in Paris. The VW Passat GTE and Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid production cars as well as the Lamborghini Asterion and XL Sport concepts are aimed at helping VW meet tougher CO2 targets.

A federal appeals court, in a case that can be traced back to 1983, rejected Ford's bid to recoup about $450 million of interest from the federal government on taxes overpaid by the automaker.

News 1 Oct, 2014

A new supermini-SUV from Kia could be on the way, to sit alongside the existing Soul

Volkswagen dropped a surprise on Wednesday by rolling out the XL Sport concept on the eve of press previews for the Paris auto show.

Mercedes-Benz's record September in the United States was enough to top the BMW brand in the luxury sales race, but BMW held a small lead for the first nine months of the year.

VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn warned European regulators that it would be 'fatal' to overburden the auto industry with a fresh round of more stringent emission targets before a market can even develop for green cars such as EVs and...

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn warned EU regulators that it would be "fatal" to overburden the auto industry with tougher CO2 emission targets before a market can develop for electric cars, plug-in hybrids and other fuel-efficient models.

Auto sales in Canada headed toward an all-time annual high after a number of automakers broke September sales records.

News 1 Oct, 2014

Thought the VW XL1 was bit too economy-focused? Here's a motorbike-engined version called the XL Sport

New-car registrations in Italy rose 3 percent in September, according to data published by the country's transport ministry. Full-year sales are seen rising to about 1.35 million, up from the 1.3 million units sold last year.

Would, I had been wondering, a dinky little range extender electric, otherwise known as BMW's new i3 REX, make a family car? Discuss.

GM expects its first profit in Europe in more than a decade in 2016. The automaker said $1.