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From GMM

New team boss Christijan Albers is not denying Caterham will axe the 2014 car's unseemly nose.

We reported last month that the distinctive solution at the front of this year's green-liveried car could be the popular victim of a development push by the team's new management.

In the wake of the unsuccessful Tony Fernandes era, Caterham is currently last in the constructors' standings, but new management headed by Albers and Colin Kolles have targeted rising above tenth place and securing about $20 million in official prize money.

Christijan Albers (left) is not denying Caterham will axe the 2014 car's unseemly nose (Photo: WRi2)

We reported in July that the team's mysterious new Swiss-Middle Eastern owners have approved a timely development push, involving sending a 60% car model into the state-of-the-art Toyota TMG wind tunnel in Cologne.

Speed Week now claims that the curious 'double nose' could have been replaced by an all-new solution when the season resumes in Belgium next week.

Italy's Omnicorse tips that the new Caterham nose will resemble the solution at the front of the impressive 2014 Williams.

Asked about the nose reports, Dutchman Albers said: "We will see at Spa-Francorchamps."

The reports also said the under-developed Caterham is set to be updated with reduced weight, a new floor, front and rear wings, sidepods and engine cover.

Caterham CT05 (Photo: Rene Fagnan)

From GMM

Luca di Montezemolo has dismissed "unfounded gossip" about Fernando Alonso's future at Ferrari.

The Italian marque's president was responding to what he described as typical "summer" speculation that the Spaniard could be looking to end his contract early and switch to another team.

At the same time, there have been rumours that Alonso, already reportedly the highest paid driver in F1, is demanding a huge pay-rise from Ferrari.

"We know that the summer heat always produces silly stories," Montezemolo said, adding that the latest rumours are "senseless".

Alonso seemed to back the comments, insisting that driving for Ferrari "has a more intense feeling than doing it with any other team. That's what always makes it so appealing."

Fernando Alonso's patience with Ferrari seems to be running out (Photo: WRi2)

On the other hand, having not won a single grand prix since last May, the Spaniard said the most important thing in F1 "is to win.

"You feel them (wins) all very intensely, but I think the win is much more important than the way in which it is obtained," Alonso added.

Meanwhile, Montezemolo also dismissed suggestions struggling Kimi Raikkonen could be ousted, insisting Ferrari is "lucky to have two great champions".

He said Maranello is working hard behind the scenes to make "in-depth changes" following a disappointing first half-season in the new turbo era.

Founder Enzo Ferrari's only living son, Piero Ferrari, said his late father would be "happy" with how the team is reacting to the current situation, as there are "no reactions that can be seen as emotional".

"Instead there is a careful and meticulous analysis of what must change prior to decisions being taken," Ferrari added.

From GMM

Frenchman Eric Boullier has admitted McLaren Formula 1 team is looking to eventually "refresh" its driver line-up.

Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen only debuted this year, but Mexican Sergio Perez was also only a single season into his McLaren career when he was ousted at the end of 2013.

It is rumoured strongly that, ahead of the start of its works Honda partnership, Woking based McLaren is seeking a top driver to spearhead the project, such as former team racers Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton, or four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

"I can only do my best and hope that is good enough," said Magnussen.

"Anyone at McLaren should feel that you have to deliver to your best to deserve to be there and that goes for me and Jenson as well."

It is believed that if McLaren does oust a current driver to make way for a newcomer, it would be the 2009 world champion Jenson Button, 34, who is out of contract.

McLaren supremo Ron Dennis made waves recently when he urged Button to "try harder".

Jenson Button, McLaren MP4-29 (Photo: WRi2)

"Jenson knows the important thing is to score as many points as he can," team boss Boullier is quoted by Britain's Mirror newspaper.

"He doesn't have to prove anything as he is a world champion and has won many races for McLaren.

"We need to be realistic as well, because in one, two, three years we may need to refresh our driver line-up and obviously we will be seeking the best drivers at that moment in time," he added.

For his part, Button - the second-oldest driver in F1 but even more experienced than Kimi Raikkonen - insists he intends to stay on the grid for a sixteenth consecutive season in 2015.

"Right now, my interest is to race in F1," he said.

"In F1 the emotions are all over the place -- it is highs, it is lows.  I have lived my life like that for a long time and I want to continue my life like that.

"I am young and fast and enjoy what I do for a living, and I don't want that to change," added Button.

A market research by TNS Infratest shows that sales of aftermarket parts, tires, rims and accessories have never been stronger online, reaching well over US$6 billion last year.

"Online buyers of car parts set great store by attractively priced offers and favourable terms of delivery, but the issue of security and data protection during online purchasing is central in their choice of an online shop," says Michael Plotegher, Senior Director at TNS Infratest. "The majority of online buyers always compare several offers before they opt for a particular online shop, so search engines are used intensively. Market success therefore requires very good search engine marketing and a persuasive differentiation of your online offer against the competition."

According to the experts at TNS Infratest, over half of online private buyers prefer to use the Internet to buy auto parts today, with some even making their purchases exclusively online. For 60% of tire purchases online this is already the case.

Source: TNS Infratest

While a number of automakers have begun developing autonomous vehicles and even testing them on the road, a new survey of U.K. drivers by SmartWitness reveals that nearly two thirds are against government plans to allow driverless cars on British roads by January 2015.

What's more, 88% call for forward-facing cameras to be installed so that they can't be held responsible in the event of a collision.

“Two thirds of motorists said that the Government was premature in allowing driverless cars on U.K. roads and that more tests were needed to ensure the safety of the new technology,” SmartWitness Managing Director Simon Marsh said.

U.K. Business Secretary Vince Cable announced the move last month for a £10 million trial (approx. $18 million) for driverless cars to go ahead in three cities and on certain roads such as highways and in specific lanes.

Companies that are developing autonomous vehicles, including Volvo, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Honda and even Google, insist they'll be equipped with a manual over-ride, allowing the “driver” to take control if necessary.

Yet, according to SmartWitness, 69% of motorists would not want to buy a driverless car and 42.6% would refuse to go on a journey in a one.

Do you trust autonomous car technology? We'd love to get your opinion!

Source: SmartWitness

Autonomous cars (Photo: Ford)

Fuel-cell vehicles are slowly but surely gaining ground in the quest to find sustainable mobility solutions, but the average consumer doesn't know how they work.

Hyundai, which developed the Tucson FCEV, came up with this animated infographic to show how hydrogen is transformed into electricity within the fuel cell and how it all safely comes together to move the vehicle.

Source : hyundailikesunday.com

In an interview he gave to ESPN, Venezuelan Formula 1 driver Pastor Maldonado said he does not regret having moved from Williams to Lotus.

This seems to be a bit difficult to understand since Maldonado suffered a series of technical woes since the start of the season with Lotus, and has failed to score a single championship point.

In the meantime, team Williams lies fourth in the constructors' championship (just behind Ferrari), having finished on the podium three times so far this season.

"I'm feeling better," Maldonado declared.

"I was not feeling really bad at Williams. I felt good, especially in my first two years when I won and also when I first started with Rubens [Barrichello] as a teammate,” he said.

"But last year I felt like it was the time to discover something else for myself. We were not getting progression in terms of development, but for sure I knew that this year would not be a repeat of 2013 [for Williams] because they got the Mercedes engine and they have a good car. The extra power is helping them quite a lot in my opinion,” he explained.

Pastor Maldonado, Lotus (Photop: Lotus F1 Team)

How come Lotus has had so many problems this season?

“At Lotus, in the past, they used to have some of the best cars in F1, always really clean and good. This year maybe the package is not working together, but it's not that the car is really bad because our numbers are quite good in terms of downforce and efficiency. Now maybe the biggest problem is the lack of power and the big difference between engines,” he explained.

Lotus' technical director Nick Chester gave more insights in an interview posted on Formula1.com.

“We were hurt at the start of the year because of the car being late - plus we had pretty poor reliability, so in Melbourne we were in pretty bad shape.,” Chertser explained.

“Over the first four races to Barcelona we then improved very heavily, in quite a few areas really. Not really just on the chassis side but also the power unit - the mapping got a lot better and we had quite a lot more power by Barcelona, where the car was performing pretty well. We haven't been happy with where we have been in the races that followed. In Monaco we expected the car to perform quite well and it didn't - we struggled with some of the low-speed corners - and then at places like Montreal and Spielberg, we struggled with the power-sensitivity of those tracks,” he said.

The rising number of subprime auto loans doesn't represent a disaster waiting to happen, akin to the mountain of subprime mortgages that went bad and set off the Great Recession, Moody's says.

In an automotive era when vehicle lightweighting is all the rage and vehicle manufacturers such as JLR and Ford launching all-aluminium versions of mainstays of their product ranges it seems incongruous that diesel engine pistons are bucking this trend by increasingly moving to steel from aluminium.

Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp. (HVCC) has celebrated the opening of its first manufacturing facility in South America.

Ford today demonstrated its 'seamless sliding rear window' feature developed by Canadian supplier Magna International for the new 2015 Ford F-150 pickups.

An accelerating model momentum that includes product renewal and proliferation of the portfolio into an increasing number of new sub-segments has been and continues to be the key driver of the strong earnings growth at the BMW Group.

American Honda is consolidating its digital marketing business for both the Honda and Acura brands with a team drawn from Razorfish and siblings at Publicis Groupe.

Manheim, the largest auto auction company in the United States, has expanded its global operations into South America with the acquisition of Brazilian auction company CarBizz.

General Motors is investing $174 million in a new stamping line at its Grand River assembly plant in Lansing, Mich.

General Motors says it will start construction of a US$174m stamping facility that will create or retain around 145 jobs.

Chrysler Group today unveiled its second car that will be powered by its 707-hp supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat engine, a 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.

Muscle cars abound at the annual Woodward Dream Cruise outside Detroit -- and this year is no exception.

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