Egypt’s president addresses his ruling party’s conference, amid speculation his son is being groomed to succeed him.

More: continued here

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Lotus

Do you remember back in 1996 when Michael Schumacher left Benetton for Ferrari? They didn’t just get Schumi; along with him came master strategist Ross Brawn and designer extraordinaire Rory Byrne. Together, the wonder team built the Scuderia back into a championship-winning powerhouse. Well, we have a feeling there are some people in Maranello who may be getting acquainted with the flip side of that particular coin.

Following the appointment of Dany Bahar – who left his position as Ferrari’s senior vice president of marketing – to the post of chief executive at one-time rival Lotus comes news that the British engineering firm has scored Claudio Berro as its new director of motorsport.

Although Berro hasn’t been at Maranello for a few years now, he’s a well-known personality in Italian motor racing. Not unlike his successor Jean Todt – recently elected president of the FIA – Berro started out as a co-driver for the Peugeot Talbot rally team before kicking off an impressive career as a team manager. Before going on direct the ill-fated Speedcar Series in the Middle East, Berro headed up racing operations for Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Abarth individually, and then the entire Fiat Group, managing the industrial empire’s F1, GT, touring car and rally teams.

Now at Lotus, Berro will be responsible for implementing the return to racing that Bahar recently outlined. However, his role with the Malaysia-based Lotus F1 team remains to be seen. Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Lotus]

Continue reading Lotus hires former Ferrari/Fiat racing chief Claudio Berro as new motorsport director

Lotus hires former Ferrari/Fiat racing chief Claudio Berro as new motorsport director originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

Popularity: 1% [?]

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Israeli-Palestinian peace talks must resume “as soon as possible”.

More: continued here

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Ford, UAW/Unions, Canada

Ford Motor Company and the leadership of the Canadian Auto Workers union have reached a tentative agreement after a marathon four-day wrap-up to negotiations. Union membership needs to approve the deal, which will guarantee a Great White North presence for Ford until at least 2012. Voting is underway this weekend, and if approved, the CAW will be responsible for building 10 percent of Ford’s North American production, down from the current 13 percent, which the union had been trying to hold on to.

Workers did agree to time off reductions, and pledged that new employees will have to pay into their pensions. Ford’s given its word that the company will build as many vehicles in Canada as it sells there, and the union deemed the pledge good enough to grant GM- and Chrysler-style concessions to Ford.

The Panther platform has been given its last rites; the St. Thomas Assembly plant is the only Ford location currently building the body-on-frame biggies, and that plant will close in September 2011. The 1,600 people in Ontario who build Town Cars and Grand Marquis are understandably unhappy about word that Ford intends to shutter the plant, but the Panther has cheated death more than once. This time, it may stick.

Better news for CAW members is that Ford’s Oakville assembly complex, also in Ontario, has the go-ahead to add a third shift when needed. Ford also says it will manufacture a new vehicle at Oakville, which currently builds the Edge, Flex, MKX, and MKT crossovers, but that will likely come after the current labor agreement expires.

[Source: CBC News, Photo: Ford/CC]

Ford and Canadian Auto Workers reportedly reach a deal originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

Popularity: 1% [?]

President Robert Mugabe has said he and Morgan Tsvangarai are still allies in Zimbabwe’s troubled coalition.

More: continued here

Popularity: 1% [?]

Somali pirates are demanding $7 million in ransom for a British sailing couple.

More: continued here

Popularity: 1% [?]

A good quality property portfolio spread across retail, offices and industrial assets is paying handsomely for the listed property unit trust, Fountainhead Property Trust, which posted a 8,1% rise in net distributions per unit to 52c for the year to September.

More: continued here

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Dodge

NASCAR’s rollout of its new Nationwide Series race car design has garnered buzz already with the introduction of the first-ever Mustang-branded stocker, and it got another shot in the arm yesterday at Talladega when Chrysler pulled the wraps off its brand-new Dodge Challenger Nationwide racer. We personally love the fact that the Challenger NNS car retains the same general front-end look as the production street car — partially restoring an element that’s been missing from stock cars for years now. The new Nationwide Mustang and Challenger will join their yet-to-be-unveiled counterparts from Chevy and Toyota (don’t hold your breath for a Nationwide Camaro) in four races on the 2010 Nationwide Series calendar: Daytona in July, then later dates at Michigan, Richmond, and Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The new car designs are expected to be fully adopted for the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. This process mimics the way NASCAR rolled out the Car of Tomorrow in the top-tier Sprint Cup series. Check out Dodge’s official press release after the jump, and have a closer look at the new Dodge Challenger Nationwide car in the gallery below. As soon as Chrysler PR uploads photos that show more than just the car’s front end (come on, guys…), we’ll update the gallery.

[Source: Dodge Motorsports]

Continue reading Dodge Challenger NASCAR Nationwide Series racer unveiled

Dodge Challenger NASCAR Nationwide Series racer unveiled originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here
Powered by SmartRSS

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Government/Legal, Toyota

James Norwood was hired on at Old Mill Toyota in Omaha, Nebraska in 2000, eventually working his way up to parts and service director. At the same time, Norwood reportedly sold over $548,000 in goods as a hard-working eBay business owner, praised by customers for being dedicated and a fast shipper. Norwood sounds a lot like a man living the American dream, except prosecutors in Omaha allege that the entrepreneur has been stealing parts from his day job to sell on eBay.

TheOmaha World-Herald reports that Norwood has officially been charged with theft, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Old Mill Toyota became suspicious of Norwood’s actions when a co-worker allegedly witnessed him creating fictitious parts tickets using other employees’ names and then later canceling them so the body shops weren’t charged. Prosecutors also claim that Norwood would help his co-workers unload the parts truck, creating a separate pile of items that were intended for auction.

Authorities later seized Norwood’s home and work computers and discovered the former parts and service director’s blossoming eBay business. Among the stolen items Norwood’s allegedly sold online were 798 bed extenders, 375 skid plates and 363 roof racks; parts that fetched $226,000. While authorities say Norwood’s eNay operation netted $548,000 in sales since 2000, it appears he is only being charged with the theft of $282,500 in merchandise reportedly stolen from Old Mill Toyota after he became the dealership’s parts and service director. Hat tip to Bob M

[Source: Omaha.com]

REPORT: Omaha Toyota dealer employee accused of selling $282,000 in parts on eBay originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

Popularity: 1% [?]

Brait SA held up well through a difficult operating environment and lifted its interim dividend to 89,77c per share from 89,45c a year earlier.

More: continued here

Popularity: 1% [?]