Ferrari F10’s dominant performance in Valencia last week might not be the marketing fuss most of its rivals were expecting. According to some recent reports in Italy and France, it seems the secret in the car’s impressive level of performance is the way its V8 engine is mounted.
According to France’s Auto Hebdo and Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Ferrari designers fitted the V8 powerplant in a 3.5 degree angle. If you’re wondering what that means, know that the idea was … (read more)
LG Chem, which is currently the biggest battery maker in South Korea, will provide hybrid-car batteries to Changan Automobile starting the second half of this year. Citing an official statement issued by the South Korean company, LG Chem and Changan Auto also signed a partnership for the development of hybrid and electric car batteries, but specific terms of the deals are yet to be disclosed.
Though it seems that the recession crippled the auto industry and everything related to it, that is not an universal truth. There are still some companies out there that managed to grow in these difficult economy.
The upcoming Congressional hearing on the huge Toyota recall has prompted the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) to issue a statement in which it warns congress to base the hearing on facts and not on listening to all the "unsubstantiated rhetoric" on the subject.
Each year, the Daytona Beach Community Foundation holds a drawing for the Official Bike Week Motorcycle. The 69th Annual Daytona Bike Week is offering a chance to win a one-off, custom built motorcycle and eight runner up prizes, all worth $200 or more. There are only 4,500 tickets printed and it takes $50 to enter the drawing. 
For the first time during the Speedweeks and following what NASCAR calls the program’s most exciting preseason to date, the lineup for the current season Drive for Diversity Class was announced last night, with 11 minority and female drivers now getting ready to relocate to Charlotte and enter academy-style development under a single team ownership structure. 
President Obama said a few days ago that the United States are committed to becoming energy independent. The president also said that the first step of achieving this goal was by promoting the production and use of biofuels.
Automotive enthusiasts in North America have been crying for the complete Audi RS line-up, but the company’s U.S. and Canadian arms have been adamant, as the companies consider that the demand for these cars is not enough to justify the effort.
Nissan will sell the Juke in the United States, with the first public appearance to be made at the 2010 New York Auto Show in April. Sales will begin shortly after that, egmcartech.com noted today citing an official Nissan statement.
With Campos Grand Prix’ and US F1’s financial problems out in the open throughout the worldwide media, it has now emerged that several drivers are back in the market for a race seat in the 2010 Formula One championship.
It’s not easy being the president of Toyota Motor Co. these days, as the Japanese manufacturer is currently experiencing some serious problems with its public image. Since it has announced the accelerator pedal related recall, the car manufacturer had to take another hit with the Prius breaking issues. Needless to say, these two worldwide recalls have had a serious impact on Toyota’s image. 
The growing demand for Bentleys worldwide made the British luxury car manufacturer consider opening a new dealership outside the company’s traditional markets. The luxury brand will therefore soon be represented in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with the official opening in Suyunbai Street 100, scheduled for mid 2010.
The recent reports regarding Campos Grand Prix’ financial problems ahead of the opening round of the 2010 Formula One Championship, in Bahrain, did nothing but to boost Stefan Grand Prix’ chances of replacing the Spanish organization in the 2010 entry list. The Serbian outfit already sent a couple of containers with racing equipment to Bahrain, meaning they plan to be there for the first round of the new season.
French manufacturer Renault is currently studying possibilities to set up a new plant in Algeria that would be responsible for the production of several models, including Dacia’s Logan and Sandero and its very own Symbol. According to a report by Le Monde, Renault would hold a 49 percent stake in the new joint venture while state-owned SNVI will take the remaining 51 percent share in order to comply with local regulations.
The Renault-Nissan continues to prepare the arrival of its all electric vehicle called Leaf, by forming a zero-emission partnership with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The alliance has the role to promote the development of electric-vehicle charging network and policies to support widespread adoptions of electric cars.
The smallest vehicle in Audi’s line-up just broke cover today, following several months of teasers and countless videos showing the work which went into the project. Built by Audi to be the embodiment of both premium and sport car, all neatly wrapped into a small compact package, the A1 will be priced at around 16,000 euros and will become available this summer. 
2010 title contenders Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso have both signed important sponsorship deals ahead of the new Formula One season. As each of those two have switched teams after the 2009 season – Alonso moving to Ferrari and Schuey leaving the Scuderia for a racing spot at Mercedes – new sponsorship deals were needed in order to ensure a brand new start in their career.
Spyker, who’s 99 percent the new Saab owner, will produce the new Aileron model in Coventry in a plant run by its supplier CPP Manufacturing. The site, which previously hosted production of some Jaguar and Peugeot models, will produce up to five cars a week in one shift, Reuters reported quoting a Spyker statement.
Nissan will continue to promote its GT-R sportscar in 2010 by taking part in two of the world’s premier racing championship, according to the plan presented by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. (NISMO).
Thanks to a recent partnership with Interush, iRacing.com will expand its online motorsport simulations gaming program into some of the world’s fastest growing gaming markets, namely Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Through this agreement, there will be websites and gaming content in the Japanese and Chinese languages.