Auto News 5

Blue Drive, Hyundai's eco-initiative, will move into high gear at the 2009 IAA in Frankfurt. The company has created a special Blue Drive Zone where it will exhibit a wide array of its new eco-friendly technologies and products demonstrating its commitment to lowering emissions and improving the fuel economy of its vehicles. Full story...

From the outside it looks just like a more than 20 year-old Mercedes 190, tens of thousands of well-preserved examples of which can still be seen on Germany's roads. Full story...

Cologne, - The new Ford C-MAX takes its design cues from the stunning iosis MAX concept car unveiled at this year's Geneva Motor Show, and brings new levels of style and desirability to the compact multi-activity vehicle (MAV) market. Full story...

Dany T. Bahar has been appointed as the new CEO of Group Lotus effective 1st October 2009, replacing Michael J. Kimberley, who retired in July. Full story...

With the opening of the BMW Welt on 17 October 2007, BMW established a new architectural milestone in Munich and at the same time created a venue for dialogue and unforgettable experiences. A truly multi-functional building, the BMW Welt offers a wide range of programmes and encounters. With around two million visitors annually, it is one of the most popular attractions in Munich. Full story...

A Mercedes spokesman has refused to confirm reports the German manufacturer is set to buy into the Brawn team. Full story...

Force India on Monday morning announced that 28-year-old reserve driver Tonio Liuzzi will as expected replace the Ferrari-bound Giancarlo Fisichella from this weekend's Italian grand prix. Full story...

Nico Rosberg is a driver on the market for 2010 but he says he has not had any negotiations with formula one's three new teams. Full story...

Sir Frank Williams has set tongues wagging by being a guest of Mercedes-Benz at the Brands Hatch round of the DTM series last weekend. Full story...

The inaugural Abu Dhabi grand prix day/night race, set to close the 2009 world championship, will be close to a Sunday sellout, according to Richard Cregan. Full story...

Felipe Massa's personal doctor has played down suggestions the Brazilian may not be able to make a swift return to formula one due to the risk of repeat injuries. Full story...

A spokesman for McLaren insists the team's relationship with engine and equity partner Mercedes-Benz is not set to end. Full story...

Kasey Kahne roared back into victory lane at Atlanta on Sunday evening. More importantly he bounced back into contention for NASCAR's Chase to the Sprint Cup beating Kevin Harvick in an 11-lap shootout. Full story...

(TORONTO) - Toyota is committed to continuous improvement and in bringing cutting edge innovation to society, spending over $1 million an hour in global R&D efforts. Toyota's extensive in-house safety research boasts the Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Japan, one of the world's largest experimental facilities in creating situations close to that of actual driving scenarios, and the recently opened Toyota Technical Center's (TTC) new R&D facility in York Township, Michigan. This new campus handles TTC's product planning and engineering design operations, and serves as TMC's first collision-safety testing facility outside Japan. Full story...

Hybrid-powered vehicles are most commonly associated with owners seeking to reduce their automotive-related impact on Mother Earth while saving a few bucks at the pump; all laudable attributes. Lexus is now extending those virtues to the executive-class purchaser in the form of their technologically extraordinary LS 600h L. Full story...

Dreieich, Germany - Power and wildness stand for the successful Tiguan. The Volkswagen Accessories products for this model also reflect these characteristics. Volkswagen Accessories now offers the practical and visually enhancing underride guard set for the front and rear ends of the series Tiguan. An underride guard variant is also available for those who have already selected aerodynamics products or the R-Line for their Tiguan. Full story...

A case in point: The Taurus' predecessor, the Ford Five Hundred, was judged by automotive critics as a solid, capable vehicle. Its shortcoming was a lack of head-snapping curb appeal. Full story...

The boss of multiple champion Sebastien Loeb's world rally team has said he will not prevent the 35-year-old from making his formula one debut later this year. Full story...

If winner Fernando Alonso is disqualified from the 2008 Singapore grand prix, Nico Rosberg will retrospectively record his first formula one victory. To the Berliner Zeitung newspaper in Germany, the Williams driver - who like Alonso also benefitted from the safety car shake-up prompted by Nelson Piquet's crash and finished second - revealed that "there were rumours" about the incident at the time. Full story...

It's Felipe Massa's seat, Michael Schumacher was Ferrari's first choice to replace the injured Brazilian, Luca Badoer got the initial nod, and now Giancarlo Fisichella will complete 2009 in car number 3. But Valentino Rossi, perpetually at the centre of 'will he, won't he' speculation in F1 circles, claims he could have been the occupant of the F60 racer. Full story...