Auto News 5

Renault's newly launched 2009 R29 car still has not passed two of the mandatory FIA crash tests, team boss Flavio Briatore admitted on Monday. Full story...

Thirty-eight-year-old Scott Riggs will join the newly formed Tommy Baldwin Racing team for this year's NASCAR Sprint Cup. Full story...

The BMW Sauber F1 Team raised the curtain on its 2009 season in Formula One in Valencia this morning. Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld unveiled the new BMW Sauber F1.09 shortly after nine o'clock. Full story...

While there are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding the future of the Kawasaki MotoGP program, the company has completed the unexpected Eastern Creek test debut of its 2009 ZX-RR motorcycle with development riders Olivier Jacque and Tamaki Serizawa. Full story...

Chrysler, Cerberus and Fiat announced early this morning that they have signed a non-binding term sheet that aims to establish a global strategic alliance. The alliance comes as part of Chrysler's viability plan and would give the American manufacturer access to competitive, fuel-efficient platforms and powertrains. Additionally, both automakers would be able to access one another's distribution capabilities, manufacturing capabilities and supplier base. Full story...

Following the merger of Richard Petty Enterprises and Gillett Everham Motorsports the new team will be called from now on as Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), capitalizing on the seven-time champion's marketability. Full story...

Driving race cars is no longer a blast reserved to males. In fact, driving cars to their limits attracts more and more young females from around the globe. Full story...

Reynolds and Reynolds Co. is trying a second time to overturn an arbitration panel's award to a Connecticut Ford dealership that refused to buy a new computer server to run updated Reynolds software. On Thursday, Jan. Full story...

The SLR McLaren supercar has been quite a canvass for tuners--and even Mercedes itself. And though the end is near for the SLR, it won’t fade quietly into car history. Full story...

Chrysler LLC has named John Kett vice president for Asia operations. Kett replaces Asia veteran Phil Murtaugh, who left the company last month. Full story...

A 2000 Buick Custom Blackhawk fetched $475,000, and the first-built Corvette 2006 ZO6 took in more than $100,000 as General Motors peddled part of its history last week. Full story...

U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, owner of automaker Chrysler LLC, may cut nearly 10 percent of its worldwide staff, Financial News said citing people familiar with the situation. Full story...

North American auto suppliers might soon be merger or acquisition targets of a Chinese automotive supplier looking to gain a stronger footprint in the U.S. auto industry at bargain-basement prices. Full story...

Although the glitz was dialed way down during the press days of this year's Detroit auto show, the optimism about the future of electric plug-in cars was everywhere. Automakers from Ford to China's BYD unveiled their EV cars at the show last week. Full story...

The auto-marketing watchword in 2009: Do more with less. With few exceptions, executives at the Detroit auto show last week said they are dialing down marketing spending, partly to match the slowdown in sales. Full story...

British team is the latest to unveil its F1 challenger for 2009. Full story...

Toyota Motor Sales is to recall about 214,500 Lexus vehicles sold in the United States. Full story...

Mazda Motor Corporation has announced more adjustments to production in Japan for February and March. Full story...

Last week's announcement that Honda would halt production at its English plant in Swindon for the months of April and May has been met "with dismay" by Unite, the key automaking union in the country. Full story...

Checker Motors Corp., the auto-parts maker that once produced the Checker taxi cab, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while another Michigan supplier closed its doors. Checker sought court protection Friday, Jan. 16, in U.S. Full story...