Auto News 5

From GMM

Caterham has announced it will have its 2014 car ready for the start of official 2014 testing.

Lotus, fourth in 2013 but struggling with financial problems, said earlier this week it will not be at Jerez for the first four-day test, which will feature all-new cars and turbo V6 engines for the first time.

But the other teams are all expected to be in southern Spain, with Jerez one of only three four-day tests scheduled before March's Melbourne season opener.

Caterham CT03. (Photo: WRi2)

Adrian Sutil has indicated Sauber, having also struggled financially in 2013, will be at all three tests at Jerez and Bahrain, and backmarker Caterham said on Wednesday it will also have its 2014 car ready to run.

"We'll be at all three tests," the team announced on Twitter, "and we'll unveil the 2014 car on the morning of day one (of the first test), 28 January."

However, Caterham - having fielded Giedo van der Garde and Charles Pic in 2013 - is yet to announce its race drivers for the new season.

"Knew we'd forgotten something!" Caterham joked when asked by one of its 160,000 followers if it was "not bothering" about signing drivers for 2014.

The 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit will feature the world premiere of the Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion Concept. This fuel-efficient midsize sedan boasts an all-new version of the 1.4L EA211 TSI engine with direct injection and turbocharging.

It also offers Active Cylinder Management (ACT), making it the world's first inline four-cylinder engine with cylinder deactivation technology. Additional fuel savings come from the Passat BlueMotion Concept's stop/start system.

The striking Reef Blue Metallic colour to be shown in Detroit will eventually be introduced on other Passat models, too. Meanwhile, the interior presents two-tone seats that carry blue dividing lines between the darker and lighter leather surfaces.

Photo: Volkswagen

From GMM

Team boss Eric Boullier on Thursday played down Lotus' decision to sit out the opening test of the 2014 pre-season.

The Enstone based team finished last season a competitive fourth, but also grappling publicly with financial matters.

So the admission this week that Lotus will not be at Jerez, where most other teams will run their all-new V6-powered 2014 cars for the first time, raised renewed alarm bells about Lotus' financial health and competitiveness going forwards.

But Frenchman Boullier said other teams will also be joining Lotus on the sidelines.

"You will see, we will not be the only team not being in Jerez," he told the BBC. "I know this for a fact already."

Lotus E21. (Photo: WRi2)

In the team announcement earlier this week, technical boss Nick Chester said Lotus' decision was because Jerez in late January "isn't ideal for our build and development programme".

But Eric Boullier admitted the E22 will simply "not be ready on time".

"We will be ready shortly after that," he insisted, "and in some ways, it is not bad because we will have time to watch what the others are doing and nobody will be able to watch what we are doing."

However, he also said he has "concerns" about missing the initial four-day test, which will only be followed by eight days of running in Bahrain prior to Melbourne.

"So we have to focus on doing things a little bit differently to make sure we do not lose too much," added Eric Boullier.

Canada's largest private-sector union plans to hold an organization vote for about 7,000 workers at two Toyota assembly plants in Ontario early this year.

Departing General Motors CEO Dan Akerson says he believes the appointment of Mary Barra as his successor instantly transformed the image of GM into that of a more progressive company.

The United States House of Representatives has taken a step toward enabling automobile dealers to bypass a law requiring them to provide emissions certification on cars and light trucks, a rule that auto dealers say adds burdensome red tape to the...

Mexican auto production and exports rose last year to record highs on strong demand from the United States and Canada

AutoNation said CFO Mike Short has left the company effective Tuesday. AutoNation's treasurer, Cheryl Scully, has been named interim CFO, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

David Strickland, the outgoing administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will join Venable LLP, a Washington corporate law firm, as a partner by the end of January, the firm said today.

Nissan said today it will only slightly increase the prices for its electric Leaf for 2014, adding $180 to the sticker price of each of its three trim levels.

Diversified auto supplier Federal-Mogul has agreed to acquire Honeywell's automotive and industrial brake friction business for about $155 million.

The madness of Arizona in January is almost upon us, with seven auction houses readying thousands of cars for auctions that will begin next week.

While performance heads are anxiously awaiting the North American debut of the hot-heat Mk VII Golf R at the

Two years ago, Lexus brought the very forward-looking LF-LC concept to the Detroit auto show.

Ford, poised to boost its quarterly dividend for the second time in two years, may push it to 12 cents a share for an annual payout of at least $34 million to the automaker's family members.

Federal-Mogul says its European subsidiaries have entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire certain business assets of the Honeywell automotive and industrial brake friction operation, including two recently established manufacturing facilities in China and Romania.

Ahead of an unveiling at the Detroit auto show, Volkswagen AG today released details on a Passat-based concept that VW says gets a best-in-class 42 mpg on the highway, giving a hint of how VW plans to meet tightening fuel-economy standards in the...

Pictures of the upcoming 2015 Subaru WRX STI leaked online at Zero 2 Turbo on Wednesday.

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