I didn't even touch the speed key, which unlocks the Bugatti Veyron's full top-speed potential. For our entire journey, it remained in the pocket of PHR, short for Pierre-Henri Raphanel, Bugatti's official test driver, minder, and former F1 racer. There

A funny thing happened on the way to the checkered flag at the 2003 24 Hours of LeMans: A Corvette C5R didn't win. Given the fact that the all-American heart throb already had two GTS class victories in a row

French market regulator AMF has cleared EADS' major shareholders - including Daimler - of charges of insider trading.

Russia's biggest truck maker, Kamaz, has said it will suspend production for the entire month of August due to falling demand for trucks, the company has said in a statement.

BorgWarner reported a net loss of US$35.9m for the second quarter of 2009, compared with a $87.5m profit in Q2 2008.

Toyota assembly affiliate Kanto Auto Works will restore a night shift at its Iwate prefecture plant from around mid-August to boost production of the small Belta sedan (Yaris in US and Australia; Vios in Asia), Kanto officials said.

US bankruptcy judge Robert Drain today is expected to rule that Delphi can sell its assets to a group of lenders and emerge from Chapter 11 protection after almost four years.

Roger Penske, founder and head of the second largest US dealer group, hopes to close his bid to buy Saturn from General Motors by the end of September but has not yet found a replacement source of new vehicles.

The second round of General Motors' executive reshuffle, announced today, will see the head of Holden in Australia moving back to Detroit to head global product development.

Renault Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata has reportedly said the situation in the Russian automobile industry is 'just terrible'.

Dongfeng Motor has launch its first in-house-developed sedan, the medium-size Fengshen S30, though it does have a 1.6-litre Peugeot petrol engine.

Nissan plans to suspend production at its plant in St Petersburg in early August for the summer vacation period.

Mitsubishi Motors has announced an operating loss of JPY29.6bn (US$312.7m; EUR221.4m) for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, JPY39.5bn down from the operating profit of JPY9.9bn in April to June last year.

Valeo has forecast worldwide car production down 17% this year instead of the 20% it had earlier predicted.

Ford affiliate Mazda Motor booked an operating loss of JPY28.0bn (US$295.8m; EUR209.5m), down from a JPY56.3bn profit last year, for the first quarter of financial year 2010.

Japanese production of cars, trucks and buses in the first half of this year fell 45.2% year on year while exports plunged 59.1%.

Although the Iranian autos industry is well protected from external trade, it will not escape the downturn of the global economy, according to research by Business Monitor International (BMI).

Tyre and autoparts maker Continental reported a net loss of EUR457.1m in the first half of 2009 compared with a EUR361.1m profit for the same period last year.

BMW is expected to report (on August 4) reduced profit and sales for the second quarter as it grapples with much lower sales in the US market and continued tough times in Europe where its product range leaves it poorly

Sales may be down about a fifth but Toyota and General Motors remained the world's top two automakers in the first half.