Mystery still surrounds F1 Caterham

Mystery appears to continue to surround the future of F1 racing team Caterham. As the month of October closes, employees appear not to have been paid, and those with mortgages have  been forced to seek alternative employment

Employees who have tried to respond to company emails informing them of cancellation of flights to the US and Brazil have been thwarted – no replies have been forthcoming and they have been left in the dark. Some 200 employees have been affected by the lock-out.

Mazda heading for record profits?

Mazda Motor Corporation appears on course for another record year after reporting an exceptional first half.

The carmaker posted sales revenue of ¥1.45 trillion (€10.5 billion) between April and September, up 16 per cent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.

Mercedes-AMG teams with MV Agusta

Motorcycles must be the “in thing”. Within days of Ricardo buying UK private enterprise motorcycle specialist Vepro Ltd, Mercedes-AMG has teamed with MV Agusta.

Daimler AG’s sports-car and performance brand has announced it has signed a long-term agreement on a long-term partnership with MV Agusta, including area of marketing and sales.

UK engine output to rise by one-third

Revenue generated by engine manufacturing in the UK is expected to increase by up to £2.5 billion in two years, increasing turnover by nearly a third (31%).

“Flawless” standards for JLR’s Ingenium engines

As readers know, JaguarLandRover’s (JLR) Engine Manufacturing Centre (EMC) will be home to the ‘Ingenium’ engine family, which will power a new generation of JLR products designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK. The company says flawless standards will be adopted in the plant that is "future proof".

Production begins with the 2-litre diesel engine in the Jaguar XE. JLR is transforming its business and brands through a programme of sustainable, strategic investments, it claims.

Disco Sport set for Brazil in 2016

JaguarLandRover (JLR) will build the Discovery Sport at its new local manufacturing facility in Brazil. Job 1 will be in 2016.

JLR is making a total investment of R$750million in the new facility in Itatiaia in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Discovery sport will be one of several models built on site.

Nothing is secret

Nothing is secret. Eventually, everything has to spill out for the world to see. Even 144 years later, secrets can still emerge from darkness into bright sunlight. Truth has no hiding place.

Ricardo revs up its motorcycle business

Ricardo plc is forming a new motorcycle-focused business following the acquisition of Leicester-based UK consultancy Vepro Ltd in a bid to make it a global activity.

The formation of the new motorcycles business aims to build on the strengths of the company’s extensive existing in-house motorcycle engineering team, based at the company’s Schwäbisch Gmünd Technical Centre in southern Germany.

Kuga gets powerful 2-litre diesel

The latest Ford Kuga is now available with a 2-litre TDCi Duratorq four-cylinder diesel engine giving 180PS and 400Nm of torque.

According to Ford, the Kuga now has a significant range of upgrades that include the sports utility vehicle’s most powerful diesel powertrain to date.

Most vehicles in 2050 will need to be electric

By 2050, most vehicles will need to be electrically propelled, with a battery to store energy or an on-board hydrogen fuel cell to generate electricity, if emission targets set by governments are to be met. 

That is the conclusion of a team responsible for penning Towards Sustainable Road Transport published by Elsevier. 

Ex Rover bosses to receive £1m hand-out

The demise of MG Rover refuses to go away. Five former MG Rover bosses are in line for around £1 million each from the proceeds of the collapsed MG Rover car factory – years after 6,500 redundant workers were deprived of a single penny, according to newspapers reports.

The following is a report taken from the UK's Birmingham Mail of 25 October 2014.

New materials win awards for Daimler

Mercedes-Benz, part of Daimler AG, has won two awards for the development of new materials in two different applications: pistons and struts.

Mercedes-Benz is claiming between 2 and 4 per cent improved fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions from its passenger-car diesel engines resulting from "new" pistons. These are, according to Mercedes-Benz, the first engines worldwide to be equipped with "innovative" steel pistons in conjunction with a lightweight aluminium cylinder block.

Production of Mazda2 begins in Mexico

Mazda Motor Corporation today announced that production of the all-new Mazda2 has begun at Mazda de Mexico Vehicle Operation (MMVO), the company's new plant in Mexico.

Additionally, MMVO's engine machining plant, under construction since last year, has been completed and the plant began operating on October 21, 2014.

JLR to make 130,000 cars a year in China by 2016

By 2016, JaguarLandRover (JLR) expects its new facility in China to be building three JLR models with total production capacity of 130,000 units a year.

Those vehicles will be manufactured in highly-automated press shops - including cutting-edge aluminium and steel technologies - along with a steel body shop comprising 306 ABB robots, an energy-efficient paint shop and an ergonomically-friendly final assembly line.  

Daimler sells stake in Tesla Motors

Daimler has reorganized its cooperation with Tesla Motors Inc.; terminated the share-price hedge it initiated in 2013 and sold its four per cent stake in Tesla.

Daimler adds that cooperation between the partners on the automotive projects is unaffected and, while development work for the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive is completed, “the partnership with Tesla remains in place”.