Auto News 5

Ford is launching 16 new vehicles in North America this year, which Ford says is the busiest and most ambitious launch schedule in its history.

Europe's vehicle production footprint is undergoing big changes as automakers race to right-size their operations. Automotive News Europe's interactive assembly plant map is the go-to resource to help stay on top of all of the changes.

Jaguar Land Rover will become the second customer after Fiat Chrysler for Schaeffler's fuel-saving UniAir electrohydraulic variable valve lift system, sources told Automotive News Europe.

Ford is launching 16 new vehicles in North America this year, which Ford says is the busiest and most ambitious launch schedule in its history.

Volkswagen plans a lineup of Beetle-themed vehicles, including a new version of the iconic Microbus, according to European press reports.

Jaguar Land Rover will become the second customer after Fiat Chrysler for Schaeffler's fuel-saving UniAir electrohydraulic variable valve lift system, sources told Automotive News Europe.

The use of big data to target customers online and cut marketing costs was a hot topic at the Digital Dealer Conference and Exhibition this month. Several presenters noted a looming regulatory crackdown aimed at protecting consumer privacy.

As General Motors tries to revitalize the images of Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac, executives might want to take a page from the playbook of their lowest-profile brand: GMC.

Dealership service managers say traditional schools are turning out a generation of auto mechanics whose skills aren't keeping pace with the cars they're assigned to fix.

Johnson Controls Inc. isn't ready to write off the auto industry's much-maligned interiors segment.

Google's self-driving car has never driven in the snow and gets puzzled by parking lots. Yet so much progress has been made in this 5-year experiment that the technology is ready to move out of tricked-out test vehicles and into real-world cars.

A bullish Carlos Ghosn, emboldened by bumper profits and booming sales in North America, vowed a continuous offensive until Nissan Motor Corp. achieves 10 percent market share in the United States.

Ford Motor Co.'s new global design boss, Moray Callum, has begun to reshape his senior leadership team with an emphasis on product versatility and global experience, particularly in Asia.

When General Motors rolls out an embedded high-speed Internet connection across most of its lineup beginning next month, there will be a range of subscription options available for everyone from hard-core tech geeks to the technologically curious.

Parts makers can no longer simply run an extra shift to keep pace with expanding North American vehicle production; they have to build or expand factories.

GM's acknowledgement of its ignition switch defect raises questions about whether the flaw could have played a role in any unexplained crash involving its recalled vehicles.

From GMM

F1's dominant championship leader Lewis Hamilton will try to play "mind games", according to former teammate Jenson Button.

Amid the dominance of their Mercedes car, Briton Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, has beaten current teammate Nico Rosberg on the last four outings in Malaysia, Bahrain, China and Spain.

The major German newspaper Bild fears Rosberg is "too nice" to regain the upper hand now.

"Both are equally fast; equally good. But is Nico Rosberg too nice for the title?" wondered correspondent Helmut Uhl.

Indeed, Hamilton's previous teammate Button recalls that Hamilton reverted to "mind games" to gain the upper hand when they were paired at McLaren until 2012.

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, McLaren, in 2011. (Photo: WRi2)

And with Mercedes now so dominant in 2014, "I am sure there will - if there aren't already - be mind games going on," Button said.

"There were a few things he played on me. It would work on some drivers, whereas others it just makes them stronger because they laugh it off.

"Nico is intelligent to know if Lewis is playing mind games or not, which in some ways could help Nico or harm him. He might just end up getting fed up with it."

At the end of the day, however, Button said form and confidence are the most important elements in a driver's armoury, and Hamilton is currently on top of his game.

"Lewis is full of confidence at the moment and he is a fierce competitor when he is like that, even when he is not having a good day," he told the Daily Mail.

But Button said that, given Mercedes' utter dominance this year, the battle between Hamilton and Rosberg will be an important factor in 2014 to keep interest levels high.

"The thing is, because they (Mercedes) are going to walk away with it - I know we are only five races in, but they have such a big lead - they're not going to favour just one driver," he said.

"They will let their drivers race because they need to keep the show going, and we need them to keep the show going and let both drivers race," Button added.

From GMM

F1 will continue to push for louder engines, according to disgruntled Australian grand prix chief Ron Walker.

Last week in Barcelona, Mercedes tried a trumpet-shaped exhaust attachment designed to turn up the volume of this year's turbo V6s.

The unanimous conclusion was that F1's first try at loudening the sport's aural spectacle did not work, and many were relieved that artificially tweaking the new and highly-sophisticated engines had not proved so simple.

F1, however, will not stop here, Walker insists.

In Barcelona, the Australian led a rare meeting of almost every single promoter on the entire F1 calendar, and "Everybody agreed", he has now told Fairfax Media.

2014 Australian Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

Until now, the subjects discussed at the meeting had not been confirmed, but "We're all concerned about the noise level," Walker now reveals.

"We can't wait until next year. Something has to be done soon," he insisted.

"Everybody agreed. We're all in the entertainment business. The people in the stands don't understand the new regulations. They want aggression, they want a gladiatorial contest," said Ron Walker.

"My customers don't care about only using 100 kilograms of fuel in a race. Ticket sales are hard to get these days because the sports market is so competitive."

But according to quadruple world champion Alain Prost, the mixed messages coming out of formula one at the moment is a bigger problem for the sport.

Frenchman Prost is now involved in the brand new Formula E series, where the entirely battery-powered single seaters are almost completely silent.

Prost thinks F1's move to modern, hybrid engines is "fantastic", but the mixed messages are drowning out the good news.

"Right now the (F1) cars have the same power (as before) but are using 30 to 40 per cent less fuel, which is amazing, so big," he said.

"But the fans perhaps do not care too much, so there is a little bit of confusion and young people aren't following and aren't interested," Prost explained. "With Formula E it is much more interesting, and with the organisers we are all in the same boat."

From GMM

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed he is trying to lure departed chief Ross Brawn back into the team's F1 garage.

Ross Brawn, 59, stepped down at the end of last year but, during his first year of retirement, he has already been linked with a return to Ferrari, having even visited the fabled Italian team's base recently.

Toto Wolff has now told the Telegraph that Briton Brawn can take some of the credit for Mercedes' current dominance of F1, insisting he still would have a valuable contribution to make.

Austrian Wolff said it was Brawn who "realised" what Mercedes needed to do in order to succeed in the wake of Mercedes' 2010 takeover.

"Ross Brawn realised in 2012 that it was not getting any better - he started to recruit and to add some of the people to the organisation in key areas," he said.

Mercedes celebrate a fourth 1-2 finish of the season, at the Spanish Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

Toto Wolff also hailed Brawn's input in other key areas.

"If there is a heated situation on a race weekend, I am trying to imagine what Ross would have done. If needed, I give him a call, but I can well see us missing Ross's calmness and experience in the heat of races, or in the heat of the championship. Ross has a considerable part in the success of this year. It's a big shame he's not here," said Toto Wolff.

"I'm speaking with Ross regularly, and we are trying to get him to one of the next races to have a look at the team. He was so important in building the base, and setting in place some of the structures, and we would like him to be part of the team and see what's happening this year. He's going to come eventually -- he's promised to," Toto Wolff added.

Verizon IndyCar Series team owner/driver Ed Carpenter claimed pole position for a second Indy 500 in a row.

He was the final qualifier May 18 in the Fast Nine Shootout on the 2.5-mile oval. He recorded a four-lap average of 231.067 mph in the No. 20 car to bump Canadian James Hinchcliffe from the top spot on the speed chart.

His four-lap average was the fastest since 2003, when Castroneves won the pole (231.725 mph) and was the race runner-up.

Hinchcliffe, who eight days earlier suffered a concussion in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and was cleared to drive May 15, registered a fast lap of 231.618 mph on his first lap in the session and averaged 230.839 mph in the No. 27 car.

A few days after his crash, James Hinchcliffe gets a nice second place on the Indy 500 grid. (Photo: LAT for IndyCar)

Team Penske's Will Power (230.697 average) will start on the outside of Row 1 -- his second front-row start.

Helos Castroneves, seeking his fourth Indy 500 victory, recorded the fastest qualifying lap of the two days (231.671) in the Fast Nine Shootout in the No. 3 Team Penske car. Simon Pagenaud (230.614) and Marco Andretti (230.544), who qualified third last year, will join Castroneves on Row 2.

Carlos Munoz, who started and finished second last year as a rookie, qualified on the inside of Row 3 (230.146) in the No. 34 Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM car. Josef Newgarden, in his third season with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, qualified eighth (229.893) and JR Hildebrand (228.726), the 2011 race runner-up as a rookie and the first qualifier in this session, qualified ninth.

Canadian Alex Tagliani will start the race from 24th in the Sarah Fisher Hartman Dallara-Honda while former Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve will start 27th in the Schmidit Peterson Motorsports Dallara-Honda.

Ed Carpenter will start from the pole position at the Indy 500. (Photo: LAT for IndyCar)

2014 Indy 500 starting grid:
1. Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter - Chevrolet)
2. James Hinchcliffe (Andretti Autosport - Honda)
3. Will Power (Team Penske - Chevrolet)
4. Helio Castroneves (Team Penske - Chevrolet)
5. Simon Pagenaud (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports - Honda)
6. Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport - Honda)
7. Carlos Munoz (Andretti Autosport - Honda)
8. Josef Newgarden (Sarah Fisher Hartman - Honda)
9. JR Hildebrand (Ed Carpenter - Chevrolet)
10. Juan-Pablo Montoya (Team Penske - Chevrolet)
11. Scott Dixon (Team Ganassi - Chevrolet)
12. Kurt Busch (Andretti Autosport - Honda)
13. Jack Hawksworth (Bryan Herta Autosport - Honda)
14. Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne Racing - Honda)
15. Mikhail Aleshin (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports - Honda)
16. Tony Kanaan (Team Ganassi - Chevrolet)
17. Sebastien Bourdais (KV Racing - Chevrolet)
18. Oriol Servia (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing - Honda)
19. Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport - Honda)
20. Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing - Honda)
21. Carlos Huertas (Dale Coyne Racing - Honda)
22. Pippa Mann (Dale Coyne Racing - Honda)
23.Takuma Sato (AJ Foyt - Honda)
24. Alex Tagliani (Sarah Fisher Hartman - Honda)
25. Townsend Bell (KV Racing - Chevrolet)
26. Charlie Kimball (Team Ganassi - Chevrolet)
27. Jacques Villeneuve (Schmidit Peterson Motorsports - Honda)
28. James Davison (KV Racing - Chevrolet)
29. Martin Plowman (AJ Foyt - Honda)
30. Ryan Briscoe (Team Ganassi - Chevrolet)
31. Sage Karam (Ganassi with D&R Racing - Chevrolet)
32. Sebastian Saavedra (KV Racing - Chevrolet)
33. Buddy Lazier (Lazier Partners - Chevrolet)