Auto News 5

Jaguar Land Rover's proposal to build a Chinese plant with partner Chery has won approval from China's Ministry of Environmental Protection, according to the ministry.

BMW has ended talks with General Motors to cooperate on fuel cells to power future vehicles, with the world's largest maker of luxury autos poised to expand its partnership with Toyota.

Ford is to shutter its Santa Rosa plant in the Philippines at the end of 2012. Some 250 people will be affected by the move. The facility builds the Escape SUV.

BMW has ended talks with General Motors to cooperate on fuel-cell technology to power future vehicles, as the world's largest maker of premium cars gears up to expand its partnership with Japan's Toyota.

Dacia has announced the Duster crossover will start at £8,995, with four-wheel-drive versions costing £10,995

The Government has delayed the planned three pence per litre fuel duty hike until January 2013

Italian design house showcases its vision of a Ferrari V8-powered Fiat 500

We get exclusive access to the stylish new Hyundai Santa Fe, ahead of its launch later this year

The ninth-generation Honda Civic that debuted for the 2012 model year is more evolutionary than revolutionary.

Our reader was told repairs to his Audi’s entertainment system wouldn’t be covered by warranty because he’d used a homemade CD

The successor to the Bugatti Veyron could be a hybrid, Auto Express has learned

Ford will debut its inflatable rear seatbelt in Europe on the all-new Mondeo next year. Ford's inflatable rear seatbelt is designed to reduce head, neck and chest injuries for rear-seat passengers, often children and older passengers who can be more vulnerable to such injuries.

Daimler's investment vehicle has cut its shareholding in Tesla Motors after shifting 40 percent of its stake to an Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund.

Opel dismissed as speculation a report that it will build Peugeot and Citroen midsized cars at its Ruesselsheim, Germany, factory.

Daimler's investment vehicle has cut its shareholding in Tesla Motors after shifting 40 percent of its stake to an Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund.

Renault plans to sell more than 50 percent of its vehicles outside Europe by next year, from the current 48 percent, chief operating officer Carlos Tavares said.

Opel dismissed as speculation a report that it will build Peugeot and Citroen midsized cars at its Ruesselsheim, Germany, factory.

From GMM

German prosecutors on Wednesday appeared likely to press ahead with a corruption case against Bernie Ecclestone.

Until now, the F1 chief executive has been implicated in the Gerhard Gribkowsky scandal but only as the subject of an investigation into the money he paid to the jailed banker.

Bernie Ecclestone, 81, has also appeared as a witness in the trial to give evidence protected by immunity, but on Wednesday it sounded likely he will be separately charged and pursued by the Munich prosecutors.

As prosecutor Christoph Rodler wrapped up Gribkowsky's trial on Wednesday, he described Ecclestone as an "accomplice".

He said the diminutive Briton's explanation of the $44 million payments to Gribkowsky was a "nebulous story", arguing Ecclestone was "not the victim of an extortion but the accomplice in an act of bribery".

According to the Financial Times, Rodler said Ecclestone had an "existential interest" in paying the money to Gribkowsky because his "life's work" was at risk.

Bernie Ecclestone has not yet been charged.


UPDATE:

Gerhard Gribkowsky was sentenced to eight and a half years in jail for crimes including bribery, for the $44 million received from Ecclestone.

The guilty verdict could have serious implications for F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

From GMM

F1's bribery scandal could cost the sport the involvement of German carmaker Mercedes.

Mercedes, with its own Brackley based works team and also a major engine supplier, is watching the Gerhard Gribkowsky affair with particular attention, according to the business newspaper Handelsblatt.

The report said the affair, and particularly the implication of F1's chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, would have "serious consequences" with regards to Mercedes' involvement in the sport.

Senior Daimler officials are reportedly very concerned that, in the event the corruption is proved, Mercedes' continuing involvement would be disallowed due to the Stuttgart marque's strict anti-corruption statutes.

Namely, Daimler "does not tolerate the immoral or corrupt practices of its employees or its business partners", the statutes read.

Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team

Laurenz Schmitt, a corporate lawyer for Linklaters in Munich, confirmed that "Ecclestone's bribery payments would fall under this company guideline".

Another legal expert agrees that "If Ecclestone is charged with bribery, Daimler would have to withdraw from F1".

A Mercedes spokesperson told Bild newspaper: "We welcome the evaluation of the recent allegations in formula one and now await the clarification of the authorities."

DPA news agency said closing arguments in the Gribkowsky trial are being given now.

The founder of the Williams Formula 1 team, Frank Williams recently turned 70. His team recently endured some pretty tough times, but the 2012 season - marked by the return of Renault power - has proved altogether different.

Frank Williams created Williams Grand Prix Engineering and entered the first FW-badged car in 1975. Thimgs were very different back then, especially the amount of money needed to contest a full season.

“In the old days the price of running in F1 was probably one tenth or at most 15 percent of what it is now. It is very expensive to be in F1,” said Williams in an interview posted on Formula1.com.

“The manufacturers have taken over - correct? So if you wish to participate you have to find the money. A little bit of this and a little bit of that - money that is honest. You have to make a budget that gives you the chance to truly compete and not just participate. And it might happen that you take on a driver who brings along some money. There is no shame in that whatsoever,” he added.

Alan Jones drivinig the Williams FW06 in the streets of Long Beach. (Photo: LAT/Williams)

Williams also paid tribute to Adam Parr who has worked at rebuilding the team. “Adam Parr - to his credit - played a significant role in his all too short time with the team. I am very sad that he left as he is a terribly clever man who took on two or three key people, like Mike Coughlan for instance, and some key people in engineering, and that makes all the difference. We do see that,” Frank Williams said.

Williams does not agree that some sort of Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA) whould be reintroduced in F1.

“There are 12 teams and each operates in different circumstances. We have several manufacturer teams. One of them is Ferrari, who seem to have a great deal of money and who are in effect subsidized. But that is fine - they are Ferrari. They are the core of F1 and that is how it should be. That is fine with me,” he said.

“However, I am against any kind of interference. I don't want any third-party interference with one's business, to have people sneaking around wanting to check this and that. It's just like waiting for the taxman every day. Williams is not pleading for more restrictions. But I have said many times that we have to control driver costs,” Williams explained.

Frank Williams and his daughter Claire. (Photo: WRI2)

Frank Williams launched another another attack on Ferrari and its immense financial resources... “F1 is very expensive. To keep a team running is always a struggle - finding sponsors, finding funds - for almost every team except probably Ferrari, but they have Marlboro in something that is called subliminal advertising in marketing terms. And even if the FIA say you can't do it, they can't prove it. (smiles),” he declared.

But Frank Williams says he's a real racer in heart, and he's ready to fight for the good of his team.

“I love speed, I love noise, I love competition and if I wasn't still a fan I wouldn't be here,” he added.