Auto News 5

As a decision looms over GM's controversial plan to sell its Hummer unit to a little-known Chinese firm, the two Chinese regulators in charge of approving the deal seem to be on opposite sides of the road. Full story...

Steven Rattner will leave as head of the U.S. autos task force, which oversaw bankruptcies at General Motors and Chrysler Group, at a time when a probe into how the private equity firm he co-founded gained New York pension business has intensified. Full story...

The European Union plans to finalize a $100 billion trade pact with South Korea by the end of the year, the prime minister of EU president Sweden said on Monday. The plan is unpopular with European automakers. Full story...

SB LiMotive, an electric vehicle battery joint venture between Germany's Robert Bosch GmbH and South Korea's Samsung SDI is acquiring U.S. battery maker Cobasys, Samsung SDI said on Tuesday. Full story...

Steven Rattner will leave as head of the U.S. autos task force, which oversaw bankruptcies at General Motors and Chrysler Group, at a time when a probe into how the private equity firm he co-founded gained New York pension business has intensified. Full story...

Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments plans more joint ventures with Daimler AG, the investment firm said on Monday after purchasing a 4 percent stake in electric car maker Tesla Motors from Daimler. Full story...

SB LiMotive, an electric vehicle battery joint venture between Germany's Robert Bosch GmbH and South Korea's Samsung SDI is acquiring U.S. battery maker Cobasys, Samsung SDI said on Tuesday. Full story...

Toyota plans to produce a gasoline-electric version of its Auris hatchback at its British factory around 2012, in what would mark its first locally produced hybrid car in Europe, an industry daily said. Full story...

Stuttgart. Robby Naish, 24-time world champion and wind-surfing legend extraordinaire, visited Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG in Stuttgart and Weissach. In a tour through the Porsche museum, he was shown the "No. 1" Porsche 356 and heard the story of the Swabian sports car manufacturer. Full story...

At the upcoming 36th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races, held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on August 14-16, the sound of the initial stirrings of over 450 race cars will be complimented by the exquisite growl of the newest, most daring and most advanced vehicle Porsche has produced to date, the 2010 Porsche Panamera gran turismo. Full story...

According to Fernando Alonso and his boss Flavio Briatore, major step forward thanks to an aerodynamic overhaul means the R29 is a potential podium contender for the eight remaining races of 2009. Full story...

Kia Motors has today released the first pictures of new cee'd, revealing a much improved and updated look including the new 'family face' of the brand. Full story...

According to Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso's technical upgrades in Hungary in two weeks could amount to nearly a full second per lap in gained time. Full story...

Shell today opened its second hydrogen filling station in the greater New York City area, providing improved access to hydrogen for drivers of fuel cell Chevrolet Equinoxes participating in Project Driveway. Full story...

Crossover SUVs are becoming a bit like bellybuttons: they're all a bit different, largely similar, and just about everyone's got one. This is one of the hottest vehicle genre going-- but it's also one of the hardest to make an impression upon. Full story...

Boucherville, Quebec -- You know the T-Rex, that striking three-wheeler created by Quebec's Daniel Campagna in the early 1990s? Well, it's now enjoying a new lease on life. To mark the occasion, newly-formed Campagna Motors brought together investors, suppliers and friends last Friday along with members of the T-Rex Club on Saturday and shouted to the world that their product is absolutely not on the endangered species list. Full story...

This comprehensive environmental commitment over the entire lifecycle of the S 400 HYBRID - from production to the operating phase and eventual recycling/disposal - has now been recognized by the independent examiners from the technical inspection authority TÜV Süd with the grant of the sought-after environmental certificate. Full story...

Former Formula World Champion Jacques Villeneuve will compete in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal late August. The news was confirmed by the organisers of the race. Full story...

Andretti Green Racing's Danica Patrick is in the final year of her contract and she never made any secrets that NASCAR could be one of her options for the future and those rumours are bound to gain momentum following her visit at the Stewart-Haas shop. Full story...

Jolyon Nash has been appointed as successor to Graeme Grieve in the position of Director of Sales and Marketing for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Full story...