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Red Bull has followed Toyota in declaring that it will not enter next year's world championship under the current regulations. Toyota's team president John Howett made the threat this weekend in Barcelona, as other teams including Ferrari and BMW also openly baulk at the governance of the sport by Max Mosley and his plans for voluntary budget caps. "Conditions at the moment are not so, that we would enter a team for next year," Red Bull team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, at the Spanish grand prix this weekend, said in an interview that will be published by Austria's Salzburger Nachrichten...
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Chrysler begins new ad campaign to show off future modelsChrysler's recent announcement revealing its new global alliance with Italian auto giant Fiat now means that the company has to hurry to re-establish itself in the market. In order to do this, Chrysler will be unveiling a new advertising campaign to show off future models and get people interested...
James Martinez -
Schedoni unveils new carbon-fiber briefcaseAs an expensive and hard to manufacture material, carbon-fiber is usually found in high-end applications such as supercars and airplanes but now an Italian company is offering up some carbon-fiber briefcases that should prevent any limp-wristed execs from straining themselves too much. The new...
Jeremy Weber -
As GM rebuilds itself, it will build more cars overseasIt's an old story, one that's been told with increasing regularity since the end of World War II. Jobs are moving overseas. Today, it's General Motors that will be shifting more of its production elsewhere as part of its restructuring plan. Lower wages, lower production costs, cheaper plant...
Ralph Hanson -
Lorinser dresses up the Mercedes Benz GLKSome people change clothes twice a day to stay fresh and sharp-looking. Those that can afford it change cars almost as often. It's that sort of world that Lorinser's GLK is designed to step into - one where appearance takes precedence over performance. And the 2010 Mercedes Benz GLK is one of the...
Alex Kaufmann -
FIA kills 'winner takes all' scoring system for 2010 - againNow you see it, now you don't. The controversial 'winner takes all' scoring system has now been erased from the 2010 sporting regulations. After the recent World Motor Sport Council meeting, the FIA published the rules for next year, and Article 6.1 of the sporting regulations said the drivers...
Kenneth Hall -
The alliance between Fiat and Chrysler still has just been finalized and with the government’s deadline for restructuring falling at the end of this month dealers understandably are nervous. Add a looming bankruptcy to the mix and stress levels for most dealers will likely be going through the roof. To settle tensions a little and offer some hope, Chrysler recently showed off several of its planned models at a special dealer presentation. Among the new models was the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2011 Chrysler 300 sedan, as well as a compact sports sedan based on Fiat’s C-Evo...
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Toyota forecasts $8.6 billion annual loss, posts $6.9 billion loss for last quarterToyota, often considered the industry leader when it comes to earning profits, has forecast an annual loss of $8.6 billion for the financial year ending March 2010, as it weathers one of the worst sales slumps in decades. As this is a forecast the final figure could easily change, however, the...
Jeremy Weber -
Artisan dials up 600hp from Camaro SS with new twin-turbo kitHot on the heels of the 800hp (597kW) tuned Camaro from Lingenfelter comes another hotted up version of the rejuvenated muscle car that's set to do battle on the black top this June. The latest tuned Camaro is based on the range-topping SS and picks up a pair of GTK350 turbochargers for an...
Jeremy Weber -
Video: Lamborghini Super Trofeo hits the track at MonzaLate last November, Lamborghini announced a new racing series called the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo, is set to commence in May 2009, and described as the world’s fastest one-make series. In February the company revealed it had taken the cars to the race track at Adria for testing, and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Report: GM wants 30% stake in possible joint Opel-Fiat companyThe landscape of the automotive industry is changing, and before things are done, the changes may be massive. Already Fiat and Chrysler are forging an alliance, and Fiat is also going after part of Opel. Now a source says General Motors wants a piece of any merged Fiat-Opel operation that might...
Ralph Hanson -
Mini celebrates 50 years of production at UK's Oxford plantTomorrow, May 8, 2009, marks 50 years to the day since the first Mini rolled off the production line at Plant Oxford, formerly known as Cowley. It's been a long and winding road for the British icon, but the Mini has made it through half a century of nearly continuous production despite passing...
Kenneth Hall -
Everyone is watching with bated breath as General Motors teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, wondering if Chrysler's 'surgical' run through the courts isn't a practice session for GM's own. The latest victims of GM's preparations for a smaller, lighter future appear to be the 2010 Chevrolet Impala SS and 2010 Cobalt SS Sedan. Neither will be built. The information, revealed through GM's online ordering guide and caught by the fans at GM Inside News, shows no order codes for either the Impala SS or Cobalt SS Sedan for the 2010 model year. The Cobalt SS Coupe is still available, however. With...
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GM builds one-off Hero Edition Corvette ZR-1 for Kids Wish Network fundraiserThere is no shortage of special-edition Corvettes out there, factory-produced or aftermarket. In fact, General Motors itself has released several custom kits in the past few months. But the Hero Edition Corvette ZR1, built to benefit the Kids Wish Network, is the only one of its kind. Based on the...
Ralph Hanson -
UK speed camera chief banned for speeding at over 100mphA special kind of justice was meted out in Britain on Wednesday, when Tom Riall, CEO of Serco - a speed camera supplier - was busted for driving more than 30mph (48km/h) above the speed limit. A court heard his case, fined him $450 and banned him from the road for six months. It might seem like a...
Kenneth Hall -
Opel planning electric city car based on Trixx conceptDespite its financial woes on the back of General Motors’ money troubles, Opel is still working on developing its own new models and technologies, including what could prove to be the European division’s first all-electric vehicle. While it’s long been anticipated that Opel would...
Kenneth Hall -
Renault unveils the Kangoo be bop ZE electric demonstratorThe Internet is awash with electric vehicle demonstration vehicles, but few have as much oddball spark as the new Kangoo be bop ZE. Based around the standard be bop, but with zero emissions (hence the ZE) capabilities, the car is to be used as a test vehicle to show off what its EV platform can do...
Ralph Hanson -
GM CEO Henderson says Corvette is safe despite restructuringWhen General Motors disbanded its High Performance Vehicles unit in February, a ripple of fear shot through the automotive press over the future of the Corvette. GM was quick to quell the concerns, however, and today GM's CEO Fritz Henderson has again spoken directly on Corvette's secure future...
Nelson Ireson -
As the second model developed under Ford’s new global design strategy (the first being the new Fiesta), the next-generation Ford Focus will be manufactured at Blue Oval plants at all corners of the globe. In addition to its regular haunts in Europe, the Focus will be manufactured in Australia and China and today Ford has confirmed that it will be produced in the U.S. by next year. Ford will spend around $550 million to transform its former Michigan SUV plant to produce the car, and in 2011 the site will start churning out an all-electric version. The particular plant formerly was...
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Chrysler-bound Fiat and Alfa vehicles revealed in court papersWith the news that Chrysler and Fiat have finally managed to forge an alliance settling in and Chrysler's bankruptcy proceedings underway, the documents attendant to that process are beginning to reveal key details of the two company's plans. Today the models destined for U.S. sale via the...
Ralph Hanson -
Ford comes out on top of Honda in latest initial quality surveyFor the past several years, Ford has been steadily raising its initial quality rankings, saving tons of money in warranty repairs along the way. This time around, the company has finally surpassed perennial top contender Honda in the 2009 Global Quality Research System (GQRS) rankings. Last year...
Ralph Hanson -
Study: teens kill virtual pedestrians when texting while drivingWe all know someone who's fused to their cell phone, texting, talking, twittering and incessantly updating their calendars - even when behind the wheel. The problem is rampant among teens, and a new study confirms the obvious: it's dangerous to text behind the wheel. It's equally dangerous to use...
Nelson Ireson -
Modern day Volvo P1800 envisaged by Koenigsegg engineerKoenigsegg and Volvo may be worlds apart in terms of the cars they build, but the two companies do have one thing in common - engineer and petrol head Mattias Vöx. The Koenigsegg engineer shares a love for both marques, and his work with the Swedish supercar company has allowed him to take on some...
Jeremy Weber -
IIHS awards Lincoln MKZ with Top Safety PickThe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently updated its testing regime to better reflect the outcomes of real-world accidents, namely to simulate the result of an accident between different sized vehicles. This saw ratings for many small cars revised downwards and reinforced the age...
Ralph Hanson