McLaren has put up a job posting for a Senior Engineer for Powertrain Hybrid Technology on its official website, which may offer a few clues as to where the automaker may be heading in the near future for its road cars. As far as rumors go, this one seems pretty solid. According to an unnamed spokesperson quoted by Autocar:

It (hybrid technology) is something we want as a forward-thinking, technology-driven company. We have been considering it for future projects. All the advert means is that we are looking for a senior engineer in powertrain hybrid technology. Read into it what you will.

One possibility is that McLaren will attempt to adapt the KERS system from its Formula 1 race cars for street use. It's widely agreed upon that McLaren's KERS implementation is the best in F1 and both BMW and Ferrari are also thought to be working on KERS for future road cars.

Within the next few years, McLaren is expected to introduce a couple of new supercars, including a replacement for the current SLR, codenamed P11, and a successor to the famed F1 supercar from the mid '90s that's currently known as the P12.



[Source: McLaren via Autocar]

Typically F1 drivers come up through the formula racing ladder. But for every rule there's an exception, and that exception seems to be creeping up for Ferrari, who are facing a potential change-up in drivers that involves not just numerous racing classes but varied disciplines of motorsports.

First up is Kimi Raikkonen, the team's 2007 world champion who's been trying his hand at rallying. The Finnish driver has contested local-level rallies with limited success, but remains undeterred in entering the World Rally Championship stage in Finland next month. The event will be the first top-level rally for Raikkonen, and also the first professional rally on agravel surface following previous outings on ice, snow and asphalt. Given his level of performance lately in F1, if Kimi finds his footing in rally, he could make the switch.

If Kimi were to jump ship from F1, there's no lack of talent out for Ferrari, but the Scuderia could reach into a different talent pool and bring Valentino Rossi on board. The multiple MotoGP champion has tested for Ferrari on several occasions to considerable effect, and could be ripe for a switch from two wheels to four. But even if Kimi stays in F1, Rossi could find himself with an open door just the same as reports indicate that the terms of the new arrangement between the FIA and FOTA could make way for teams to field a third car in F1 in the near future.

[Source: Autosport and F1-Live]

It's the end of an era for open-wheel racing in America as Indy chief Tony George has stepped down from his post. The long-time president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, George was widely seen as the impetus for the 1996 split in Indy racing that created the Indy Racing League (IRL) and the rival Champ Car series (formerly known as CART), but he was also instrumental in fostering the merger of the two championships into the new IndyCar Series over which he's presided.

During his nearly two-decade tenure as the head of the famous race track, George also brought NASCAR, Formula One and MotoGP to the speedway for the first time, vastly expanding the calendar of events at the iconic venue. However, elements within the Hulman-George company that controls the business were concerned with the amount of resources their chief executive put into the reintegrated IndyCar Series and recently asked him to reorganize the company, but Tony evidently decided to step down instead. He'll be focusing his energies on the Vision Racing team which he fields in the series, while the job he vacates will be split into two: CFO Jeffrey G Belskus will take the reins at the speedway, while chief legal counsel W Curtis Brighton will oversee the operation of the series.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty]

They're called owner "give-ups," and their rise is a sign of the tough economic times. Despondent over being financially strapped and unable to cover car payments, vehicle owners are ditching, sinking, or torching their vehicles and reporting the loss to collect insurance payoffs. According to authorities, most of the titleholders aren't seasoned criminals. In fact, many of the false claims are filed by first-time offenders -- people who normally wouldn't steal a piece of candy from a store. However, the desperate owners see insurance companies as "rich and fat," says James Quiggle, a spokesman for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. Many think the insurance companies won't miss a few dollars.

Well, of course they will. Owner "give-up" cases result in felony charges of insurance fraud, making false statements to police and insurance providers, and arson if the car was burned. A better solution for cash-strapped owners, say experts, is to attempt to renegotiate payments, sell the car, or trade it in for a less expensive model. While you generally won't come out ahead, those transactions are legal and they'll keep you out of the slammer.

[Source: Detroit News | Image Source: Mark Dadswell/Getty]

After slipping into receivership this past January, Ssangyong Motor Company's problems have only escalated. A court-ordered restructuring of the Korean automaker earlier this year left 976 employees without work. The displaced workers organized an armed sit-in on the Korean automaker on May 21 that has now turned violent.

According to Ward's Auto, Roughly 4,000 non-union workers and management had been back in the company's Pyongtaek, South Korea, SUV plant attempting to get the assembly line back into operation. After less than 36 hours in the facility, more than 900 pipe and firebomb-wielding strikers surrounded the area and demanded they vacate under increasing threats. As the workers left, they were attacked by striking union workers poised outside (many noted that the national police service had withdrawn their riot squad on Saturday night leaving the 4,000 employees unprotected). All told, more than 70 non-union workers were badly hurt and many of those were hospitalized.

Although the company has offered jobs with affiliated companies, or promised future work to dismissed employees, the union immediately rejected the offer and has demanded to negotiate directly with the Korean government. The future doesn't look good. With no plans for the non-union employees to return and a viable restructuring plan unlikely, the Korean courts are scheduled to make a ruling by Sept. 15 whether to allow Ssangyong Motor Co. to keep operating or to liquidate its assets.

[Source: Ward's Auto]

India's Tata Motors has reported a net loss of $520 million (25.05 billion rupees) for the fiscal year ending in March of 2009. Over the same period one year earlier, Tata managed to earn 21.68 billion rupees in profit. What gives? Naturally, the global economic meltdown didn't do the automaker any favors, but the main problem can be sourced back to the poor performance of Jaguar and Land Rover, which the Indian automaker purchased from Ford last year with the help of a $3 billion bridge loan.

The fact that Jaguar Land Rover accounted for $504 million of that $520 million total loss means that more job cuts and plant shutdowns are in store for the ailing British duo. Says Tata Vice Chairman Ravi Kant:

We have sent people on sabbatical, gone for cheaper low-cost country sourcing and tight control in cash flows, and are assisting JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) for a major belt tightening.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Tata was in search of some £1 billion ($1.5B) in cash and underwriting help to pump into the JLR operations.



[Source: Reuters]

Following weeks of speculation, General Motors finally made its decision official this afternoon. Its new small cars will be built in Michigan with final assembly taking place at the Lake Orion plant with stampings coming from the nearby Pontiac Metal Center. As a result of the decision, 1,400 jobs will be preserved in hard-hit Michigan.

The Lake Orion factory was due to be idled in September, when production of the Pontiac G6 ends there. Instead it will be re-tooled to build a new small car that has not yet been announced. The plant will be specified as a B/C plant, meaning it will have flexibility to build both B and C segment cars. The first will be a B car, which will replace the Aveo and may be called the Viva. The plant will also be able to build C cars like the new Cruze and possibly a Buick version of the Opel Astra. The Viva would be a B-segment car similar in size to the new Ford Fiesta. Powertrain components will also be sourced from GM's North American operations although no specifics have been announced yet. GM emphasized that this is the first car of this size to be built in the United States from any major automaker.




[Source: General Motors]

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the Formula One waters, Max Mosley goes and sends a nasty-gram to Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) chairman and Ferrari head honcho Luca di Montezemolo threatening to back out of his promise to step down from his throne as leader of the FIA if he doesn't get a full apology ASAP.

It seems that Mosley is none too pleased by the way that FOTA have portrayed the events leading to the agreement between the teams and the FIA to run the 2010 Formula 1 season as previously scheduled. Says Mosley:

If you wish the agreement we made to have any chance of survival, you and FOTA must immediately rectify your actions. You must correct the false statements which have been made and make no further such statements. You yourself must issue a suitable correction and apology at your press conference this afternoon... [G]iven your and FOTA's deliberate attempt to mislead the media, I now consider my options open. At least until October, I am president of the FIA with the full authority of that office.

There's plenty more where that came from. Click past the break to read Max Mosey's letter to Luca di Montezemolo in its entirety.

[Source: Axis of Oversteer | Photo: makeroadssafe CC 2.0]

Shortly after Tesla Motors co-founder Martin Eberhard filed a lawsuit against Tesla Motors and its Chairman, Product Architect and CEO Elon Musk, the Silicon Valley automaker had this to say:

This lawsuit is a fictionalized, inaccurate account of Tesla's early years -- it's twisted and wrong, and we welcome the opportunity to set the record straight. Incidentally, Tesla will also be filing counterclaims and in the process present an accurate account of the company's history.

The first bit of record-resetting has shown up on the official Tesla blog. Not surprisingly, Elon Musk has lots to say in regards to the early years of the Roadster's development, and he seeks to offer his side of the story, along with a number of emails to back up his claims.

What does Musk say? Well, his initial response is a long, informative and interesting read. Here are some choice lines:

• The facts are that when I requested through AC Propulsion to meet Eberhard, he had no technology of his own, he did not have a prototype car and he owned no intellectual property relating to electric cars.
• At the time [early 2004], "Tesla Motors, Inc." consisted of Eberhard, Tarpenning and Wright, plus an unfunded business plan and they were looking for an initial round of funding to create a more advanced prototype than the AC Propulsion Tzero. While there was a basic corporation in place, Tesla hadn't even registered or obtained the trademark to its name and had no formal offices or assets.

Make the jump for more.


[Source: Elon Musk / Tesla Motors]

Now that Saturn is tentatively going to Roger Penske, Stephen Girsky has got some free time on his hands. Girsky, who was one of Rick Wagoner's advisors for a brief time and recently helped GM select Penske as a buyer for Saturn, has been around the automotive block analyzing the industry for Morgan Stanley as well as working at Centerbridge Partners in recent years. His tenure with Centerbridge Partners was during the time that this equity concern was trying to snatch Chrysler from the clutches of Daimler.

It has been announced that Girsky will get a seat on the board of the new General Motors to represent the UAW, whom Girsky helped with the dead-end GM/Chrysler deal last fall. Having at least one person upstairs at the RenCen who actually keeps an eye on the car business is a good thing, even if Girsky has professed his admiration for the way Ford does things in the past. OEM Supplier Dana Corporation also pays Girsky over $100,000 per year to sit on that company's board. The GM board seat comes in exchange for the concessions that retirees have made in an attempt to keep the wounded, lumbering mammoth that is General Motors from fossilization.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]