Auto News 5

An initial group of 86 dealers - drawn from existing Fiat and Maserati brand dealers have been awarded Alfa Romeo franchises in the US and Canada as the brand prepares to re-enter North America.

Toyota says it is recalling around 650,000 vehicles in Japan because of potentially defective airbags supplied by Takata. The move expands a previous recall of airbags from the supplier.

Japanese airbag maker Takata's quality problems deepened today after Toyota recalled 650,000 more vehicles in Japan, and the supplier cautioned further fixes may be needed.

The value of annual car exports from the UK has doubled from GBP12bn in 2004 to GBP24.8bn in 2013.

News 11 Jun, 2014

London's black cab community has today protested against the Uber app. But what exactly is it?

A new generation of Nissan's long-running mid-sized pick-up has been revealed at an event in Thailand. The NP300 Navara will be rolled out in multiple markets from later in 2014.

News 11 Jun, 2014

Fresh images and details on Mercedes’ new 911 rival revealed

Pictures See all 5 pictures 11 Jun, 2014

Odds are you are a gamer. More than half of all Americans (59 percent) play video games, doing their part to sustain this $22 billion global industry. A full 20 percent of those games are car- or racing-related.

-- If you've ever seen a TVR Sagaris and thought, "Man, this is the one chance I can ever have in my lifetime where I can look like a frugal John Travolta," then a British shed-based outfit called "

Porsche and Italian vermouth brands go hand-in-hand, as we all know. To many the Martini andamp; Rossi Distilleria Nazionale di Spirito di Vino isn't so much known for its fortified wine as it is enlivening the liveries of

News 11 Jun, 2014

VW teases new eight-generation Passat ahead of an official reveal early next month - on sale later this year

News 11 Jun, 2014

Calling all hot hatch fans! Proof arrives that Ford will build a new Focus RS

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne wants his recently merged nine-brand automaker to more than double vehicle sales and operating profit by 2018, but financial analysts doubt there will be enough cash available to fund volume growth at eight of the...

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne wants his recently merged nine-brand automaker to more than double vehicle sales and operating profit, but analysts doubt there will be enough cash to fund volume growth.

BMW's second-generation X6 will be slightly longer than the current model. The new version of the crossover goes on sale in December in Europe and the United States.

Nissan will launch the all-electric e-NV200 van this month, persisting with the technology despite a much slower market acceptance than it expected.

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne wants his recently merged nine-brand automaker to more than double vehicle sales and operating profit, but analysts doubt there will be enough cash to fund volume growth.

From GMM

Flavio Briatore admits he is worried about the health of his former champion, Michael Schumacher.

In the mid 90s, as the boss and number 1 driver of the Benetton team, the pair won their first world championships hand-in-hand.

Almost twenty years later, the now 45-year-old Schumacher has been lying comatose in a French hospital bed for more than 160 consecutive days.

Last week, former F1 doctor Gary Hartstein revealed he is gravely concerned that the Schumacher family has been entirely silent about the great German's condition for several weeks now.

"I'm quite afraid, and virtually certain, we will never have any good news about Michael," he said.

Italian Briatore, speaking to Italian Radio24, admitted he shares Hartstein's fears.

"There is no news because the family is very closed," he said. "They are not communicating. But surely no news in this case is not good news," added Briatore.

Michael Schumacher et Flavio Briatore, Benetton 1994. (Photo: WRi2)

In the past few days, German television RTL aired a special programme about Schumacher and his new battle to recover from his horror skiing fall.

German tennis legend Boris Becker said during the programme: "We cannot imagine what Corinna and the children have been going through since the accident.

"They have built a protective wall around him. It's been very quiet but this is the only way to cure him," he added.

German medical journalist Christoph Specht also said it is premature to say Schumacher is now fighting a losing battle.

"Comas are not all the same," he said. "There are always pleasant surprises in which patients wake up after many years."

From GMM

Famous British sailor Sir Ben Ainslie has admitted Adrian Newey could play a key role in his America's Cup yachting project.

Newey, the highest paid and most highly regarded engineer in formula one, is already making headlines after it emerged he is stepping back at Red Bull in order to get involved in other technology projects.

Increasingly frustrated with F1's ever-tightening regulations, he has admitted his interest in top yacht design in the past, and has often been linked with Ainslie.

On Tuesday, Ainslie's $130 million British challenge for the 2017 America's Cup was launched.

He was quoted by the Guardian: "I've had a couple of really good chats with Adrian. He's keen on racing in the America's Cup, it's great for us.

"He clearly has a lot of commitments still with formula one and it really depends how he can fit something in and being involved in the team," said Ben Ainslie.

Ben Ainslie in action. (Photo: BenAinslie.com)

Ainslie's Newey link could tie in with the newly-revealed Red Bull 'Advanced Technologies Centre', reportedly devised to keep Newey out of the clutches of rival F1 teams.

"It (yacht design) is all about aerodynamics and hydraulics so we've already started discussions with the motor sport teams in the formula one world," Ainslie said.

He confirmed that Newey is "keen to help" a British team win the America's Cup.

"There has been a lot of talk about Adrian joining the team and I have met with Adrian a number of times," Ainslie told BBC radio.

Meanwhile, with Newey sailing into other areas of design, Red Bull boss Christian Horner played down suggestions Sebastian Vettel's commitment to the F1 team may also be waning.

After four title successes, the German has struggled with a less competitive Red Bull in 2014, and Newey's plans may be yet another blow.

Indeed, when asked about Newey's plans away from F1, Sebastian Vettel said last weekend: "I'm looking short-term, if you ask me about the future right now."

But Christian Horner insisted to the Mirror newspaper that he has "no doubt" Vettel, 26, will be driving a Red Bull "for many years to come".