Audi has sold its high-performance engine unit Cosworth Technology Ltd to Germany's Mahle Gmbh which is one of the world's top 30 automotive suppliers, makes pistons, engine components and filter systems. Based in England, Cosworth Technology develops, manufactures and assembles engines and employs 970 staff at 3 UK plants and 1 in the USA.

BMW AG, says sales in the U.S. rose 22 % in December and annual car sales beat rival Volkswagen for the second time since 1949. BMW, based in Munich, is gaining U.S. sales as buyers switch to models that cost $35,000 or more and fewer people are attracted by VW™s cheaper cars and aren't attracted to more expensive models such as the Phaeton. VW has started offering a year's free insurance to buyers of some models in some states to help sales.

Caterham Cars has been sold by the founding Nearn family to a management buy-in team, backed by Corven Ventures, for about £5m. The team is led by Ansar Ali, who left his job as general manager of Lotus Cars to run the business, which sells more than 500 cars a year and has a turnover in excess of £15m. Employing 70 people, the company makes 4 variants of the Caterham 7, itself based on the Lotus Seven.

DaimlerChrysler hast bought a 49% stake in auto tuning company AMG and has stopped development of a new super sports car with partner McLaren. AMG, based near Stuttgart, builds tuned and customized models of Mercedes cars. A spokesman also confirmed that DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes luxury car unit had decided not to go ahead with a project to develop a sportscar codenamed "P8" with the British Formula 1 outfit McLaren.

DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi Motors are likely to settle on compensation of around $500 million over the German firm's damages claims. In June, Daimler asked MMC for compensation over scandals at truck maker Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., saying the value of its holding in Fuso had dropped following a series of cover-ups of defects and recalls. The two companies are expected to reach a final settlement as early as this month.

Fiat will pull through its current difficulties, says Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne. But he declined to comment on a key meeting with partner General Motors that could decide part of Fiat's future. "I'm ever optimistic. Fiat will pull through," Marchionne told reporters on the margins of a conference. Key to Fiat's future is how it resolves a heated dispute with GM as to whether an option allowing Fiat to sell its 90 percent of loss-making car unit Fiat Auto to GM is still valid.

Fisker Coachbuild is the name of a new luxury car company that has been formed in Southern California, USA. The objective of Fisker Coachbuild is to combine beautiful design with existing world-class engineering. The focus will be on designing and manufacturing exclusive high-end sports cars,, the first of which will be unveiled towards the end of this year.

FSO is being investigated by the European Commission over suspected illegal state aid that Poland wants to grant the ailing car maker. The European Union says the Polish government plans to give Fabryka Samochodow Osobowych SA (FSO), some 135 million euros ($176.4 million) in aid could be incompatible with EU competition rules.

Goodyear has developed commercial tyre technology that repairs tyre punctures when they occur, greatly reducing vehicle downtime and service calls. Its DuraSeal technology features a "built-in sealant" that allows truck drivers to continue operating after a tyre is punctured. The technology allows the tyre to remain in service until it is re-treaded. Good year claims its new tyres last up to 6 times longer than conventional medium truck tyres before removal for repair.

Hyundai has raised its 2005 sales target by 14% to 2.58 million vehicles, targeting overseas markets as part of its ambition to become one of the world's top 5 auto makers. Hyundai Motor, which controls half its domestic market, is aiming to lift its sales, combined with those of affiliate Kia Motors Corp, into the global top five by 2010. Local media has reported Hyundai and Kia were aiming to raise 2005 auto sales by some 9% to a combined 3.6 million vehicles from an estimated 3.3 million unit sales this year.

LTI Vehicles, the Coventry based manufacturer of purpose built London taxis, has started the new year with an order from the USA for 100 TXII vehicles. LTI said that Americans love the British black taxi for its ˜recognisibility™, durability and iconic status. This order is from Massachusetts-based London Taxis of North America, an independent importer. The taxis will be used in Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas and San Francisco, joining about 300 already in use.

Mitsubishi Motors says it is in tie-up talks with French auto maker PSA Peugeot Citroen, but analysts say that won't be enough to boost the troubled Japanese car manufacturer's business. Mitsubishi Motors (MMC), reeling from financial problems and a scandal over its cover-ups of defects, said it was studying the possibility of partnerships with the French maker and others to revitalise its business as soon as possible.

Mitsubishi has sold its stake in top Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd for 384 million ringgit ($101 million), ending an equity tie-up that had lasted two decades. The sale of its 7.93% was to Malaysia's state investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd. Speculation about the future of Mitsubishi's stake resurfaced in October when Proton struck a deal to assemble Volkswagen AG cars in Malaysia for sale in Southeast Asia.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which has been seeking partnerships to bail itself out of its deep financial woes, plans to supply minicars to Nissan Motor Co. Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors will supply 36,000 minicars a year to Nissan starting in the first half of fiscal 2005, which begins April 1. Both Nissan and Mitsubishi had said they were talking about a possible tie-up, and the agreement was not a surprise. Nissan, which does not make its own minicars, now gets minicars from Suzuki Motor Corp.

Oshkosh Truck Corporation, a leading manufacturer of specialty trucks and truck bodies has teamed with Rockwell Collins to develop Oshkosh's second-generation, self-navigating robotic TerraMax(TM) vehicle to compete in the Pentagon-sponsored $2-million 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. The completely autonomous TerraMax vehicle will attempt to traverse a rugged, 175-mile off-road course in the Mojave Desert, scheduled for Oct 8, 2005. Based on sensor data, TerraMax must make its own decisions on route planning, obstacle avoidance and speed, without the aid of any human intervention once en route.

PSA Peugeot Citroën and Panhard have called their respective works councils to meeting to consult on the sale of Panhard to Auverland. Together, Panhard and Auverland would be Europe's leading manufacturer of military vehicles in the less than 10 tons class. Panhard designs and manufactures light armored vehicles (VLTT P4) which are widely used by the French armed forces and have been sold to 45 foreign armies around the world.

Scania has broadened its range of buses with a new double-decker tailored to suit the needs of the UK market. The smooth and friendly exterior styling provides added prestige for operators. ``We have great hopes that the OmniCity double-decker will take a sizeable chunk of the double-decker market, which currently amounts to 1,100 units per year,'' says Hans Hansson, MD of Scania Omni., Scania's subsidiary for the design and manufacture of complete buses.

Toyota is planning to design a car adaptable to biological fuels - particularly the Philippines™ coconut methyl ester (CME), if only to promote environmental sustainability compliance to the Kyoto Protocol. Toyota is awaiting the Department of Energy™s studies on CME which will prove its non-adversarial effect on fuel tanks based on oxidation studies and other factors that will enable Toyota to provide a 3 year warranty to its customers for biofuel-compatible cars.

On the lighter side .... some strange but true stories.

A man in Sacramento California has been charged with stealing tyres after his initial attempt to pay for them with marijuana - instead of cash – failed.

Carpet supplier Alan Johnson, 37, of Eire has traded in his usual delivery van for a hearse. He is now able to carry 4-metre long carpet rolls around the streets of Dublin.

Motorist Henry Lahmann, 24, of Stuttgart, Germany was so angry when a policeman with a camera caught him exceeding the speed limit that he stopped and beat the officer up. He has been jailed for 2 years and banned from driving for 3.

Police in Mardel Plata, Agentina, face the sack after shooting their own squad car. They are accused of faking robbery call-outs to get promotion.

In Japan crematoriums on Wheels are providing pet funerals in Tokyo. For $500, the mobile service visits bereaved owners to conduct the ceremony.

A Gatso camera in Lillie, France, caught a motorist jumping a red light – and it emerged that the 56-year-olf had been driving for 41 years with no licence.

Motorists in Erwin, Tenessee have been warned to take care of ice on the roads, after three of the town’s gritting trucks were put out of action. The lorries were on their way to get salt for the roads when they all collided with a tractor because of the slippery conditions.

An armed robber who got lost after holding up a petrol station returned to the same garage to ask for directions. The 22-year-old man sped of in a car and was chased by police through the streets of Vancouver, Washington State. He managed to shake off the police but lost his way through the back streets. So he pulled into a garage, failing to notice that it was the one he’d just robbed. Staff at the garage alerted police and the robber was promptly arrested.

Drink drivers in Marshall Country, Oklahoma, not only have to pay a fine and are banned from driving, they also have to place an advert in the local newspaper saying they are sorry.

Newlyweds Gauther and Michel Villars returned from their honeymoon to find that their front garden had become a garage forecourt. Prankster friends in Reims had had even added fake petrol pumps.

An 80-year old driver had a narrow escape when he made a wrong turn and drove down on to an airport runway in Bodoe. The pilot of a plane carrying 50 passengers had to accelerate to avoid the lost motorist.

Lorry driver Ling Yin-Hun, 56, died at the wheel of his truck from carbon monoxide poisoning after he breathed in cars’ exhaust fumes while stuck in a Hong Kong traffic jam for more than 3 hours.