Brembo is closing 3 factories in Italy and shifting production to Poland. Brembo said it would keep 3 plants near Bergamo to focus on research and development and braking systems. Only one of its 4 disc plants will stay open, with the rest moving to Poland. Brembo, which makes brakes for street cars, Harley Davidson bikes and Ferrari race cars, did not say how much it would save by shutting the Italian factories.

China's vehicle production is set to grow by 20 % this year to a record 6 million plus vehicles, replacing Germany as the world's No. 3 producer. Germany produced 5.5 million vehicles in 2004, the No. 3 producer behind the United States and Japan. Foreign auto makers have poured billions of dollars in the booming Communist nation to start manufacturing facilities to cater to the growing demand.

DaimlerChrysler has not ruled out finding a strategic partner for its loss-making Smart range of compact cars. "We are open to everything. The only thing that is clear is that we will not shut Smart," Eckhard Cordes said in a published interview. "Closing Smart would be economically foolish. That would only trigger high costs and destroy a brand that we have just built up with great success and which has enormous potential," he said.

DaimlerChrysler is stopping production of its Vaneo van due to slack demand, according to a German newspaper. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that the model never reached its originally planned annual sales target of 50,000 cars. The paper said production at the company's factory in Berlin would run until the end of the summer.

Dubai has bought a $1 billion stake in DaimlerChrysler AG, making the Persian Gulf emirate the 3rd-largest shareholder in the world's biggest maker of luxury cars. Persian Gulf oil producers such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reaped a windfall in revenue last year from record crude oil prices, boosting their funds that invest in overseas companies.

Fiat has split the Maserati marque from the Ferrari racing unit to link it more closely to its sporty but underperforming Alfa Romeo. The move is seen as the first step in a long-awaited listing of Ferrari, whose results are being held back by losses and high investment costs at Maserati. Under this deal, Alfa Romeo and Maserati could establish a close technical and commercial collaboration especially in big international markets.

Ford has signed the first agreement between a car maker and the UK scrap industry to take back old cars free of charge at the end of their lives. Ford is setting up a network of centers with a subsidiary of the UK Shredders consortium, including 11 scrap yards, to take junk cars from the start of 2007. From that year the disposal of all ELVs (end-of-life vehicles) -- regardless of when they were first registered -- will become the responsibility of the car maker.

Germany’s car market is expected to stagnate this year, Germany's VDA auto industry association has said, so reversing earlier optimism of slight growth in 2005 after a weak start to sales in January. "We see the German market volume under current conditions at roughly the amount of the previous year -- excluding an overheated December (2004) -- in other words roughly 3.25 million vehicles," said VDA President Bernd Gottschalk.

MAN says it does not plan to enter the U.S. truck market despite its cooperation with U.S. company Navistar. "We are not planning to enter the U.S. market with our commercial vehicles," stated CEO Hakan Samuelsson.

Maserati CEO Martin Leach is expected to leave Fiat group within the next few days. He would be the third Fiat group top executive ousted by CEO Sergio Marchionne in 3 weeks. He has ousted IVECO CEO Jose Maria Alapont, replacing him with Paolo Monferino, CEO of farm equipment maker CNH. On Feb. 17, Marchionne fired Fiat Auto CEO Herbert Demel. Leach could soon end a short and much troubled relation with the Fiat group.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) will supply 30,000 sport utility vehicles (SUVs) a year to France's PSA Peugeot Citroen starting in 2007, to be sold mainly in the European market. The SUVs will be built in Japan. MMC, which is 21% by DaimlerChrysler AG, signed a similar original equipment manufacturer (OEM) pact with Nissan Motor Co last month to supply passenger minicars in Japan.

Navistar International Corp plans to enter the market for heavy-duty diesel truck engines in fall 2007. The new 11- to 13-liter range engine, to be developed by Navistar's International Truck and Engine Corp unit and German industrial group MAN AG, will carry the International name. Navistar currently puts diesel engines in its heavy-duty, or Class 8 trucks, that are made by Caterpillar Inc and Cummins Inc.

Porsche Engineering Group has made 2 prototype electric golf carts loosely based on the Porsche Cayenne SUV. The 2-seat vehicles were commissioned by Hans-Peter Porsche, grandson of company founder Ferdinand Porsche. The golf carts have the Porsche logo on the front end and resemble the SUV; even the headlights are identical to the big version.

Proton of Malaysia has abandoned plans to buy a stake in Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, and will instead focus on developing another Italian motorcycle company it controls. Last year Proton paid euro 70 million for a 57.75 % stake in Italian company MV Agusta SpA, which makes MV Augusta, Cagiva and Husqvarna motorcycles.

Renault does not consider its stakes in truckmakers Scania of Sweden and Nissan Diesel of Japan as strategic holdings. Renault owns a 20 % stake in Ainax, an investment vehicle controlling Scania, plus 17.9% of Nissan Diesel which stems from its stems from its 44 % stake in Japanese carmaker Nissan. However, Renault's 20 % stake in Swedish truck maker Volvo is seen as a strategic interest by the firm, a Renault spokeswoman added.

Slovakia plans to offer incentives worth 54.5 million euros ($70.9 million) to a Ford venture that aims to build a new car parts factory in the east of the country. GETRAG Ford Transmissions, a joint venture between Ford Motor Co and German parts maker GETRAG, said in December it planned to invest 345 million euros in a new Slovak gearbox plant with an estimated annual turnover of up to 400 million euros.

Tata Group of India, and Stadco Ltd of the UK have signed up to a 50/50 joint venture which will see Stadco's strong and proven expertise in the European car industry allied to TACO's manufacturing automotive component strengths in the high skilled, but low cost Indian market. The JV, will be known as TACO STADCO Automotive, and will offer a low cost 'offshore' body systems design and development resource for global auto suppliers and OEMs.

Tower Automotive Inc, a large supplier of truck frames and body structures that has been struggling with a cash shortage, has filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors. Tower, which expects its restructuring to take up to 18 months, joined parts-casting companies Intermet Corp and privately held Citation Corp in bankruptcy. North America accounted for 71 % of Tower's 2003 sales of about $2.8 billion. Ford is Tower's largest North American customer.

Toyota and Subaru may cooperate in hybrid vehicles in another development that could establish Toyota's system as the de facto standard for the fuel-saving technology. Toyota, which has so far agreed a licensing deal with rival Nissan Motor Co to supply its hybrid system, has said it would welcome similar deals with other automakers because higher production volumes would help it reduce per-unit costs.

Volvo Trucks had a record year in 2004. Deliveries increased by 29 % to a record-beating 97,264 (75,312). There was considerable demand for heavy trucks on all the major markets in Europe, North and South America and Asia. ``I am delighted with last year's results, and we can see that the need for transport will continue to be strong in 2005. The forecasts for both Europe and North America indicate a positive trend over the coming year,'' says Staffan Jufors, President and CEO of Volvo Trucks.

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

A young woman in Istanbul, Turkey has been arrested after causing a fatal motorway pile-up by standing naked at her window.

Prague’s mayor Pavel Bem donned a disguise to find out if taxi drivers in the Czech Republic overcharge tourists. He got a bill 5x higher than normal.

A new law in the Philippines means that jaywalkers risk a slap with a wet blanket. Trucks will patrol Manila with poles attached to damp material.

A policeman in Bari, Italy had to abandon his vehicle on a beach. While clearing washed up toxic waste from the beach, the tide came in and flooded his patrol car.

Judges in Malawi have gone on strike demanding better cars. Instead of their regular 10-year old Toyota Corollas, they want a fleet of Mercedes or BMWs just like other country officials they meet.

Michigan driver Toby Young, clung to the roof of his car as thieves drove off with it. He even managed to call the police from his mobile phone. The robbers eventually pulled over and fled.

A gunman in Canada escaped with £57,000 from a bank by hailing a taxi, but he was chased by the cashier in another cab. However, the raider vanished in the Quebec traffic.

A judge in Québec, Canada has ordered alcoholic motorist Clive Nedham, 37, who has 18 drink-driving convictions, to move house – so he lives within walking distance of a bar.

Pilot Gilles Waterand landed a light plane on a busy motorway near Paris after running out of fuel. He called the French Automobile Association – then refueled his Cesna and took of again.

Police in Vancouver, Washington, had no trouble in arresting Cuitlahvac Renteria-Martinez when he stole an 18 wheel truck. The lorry had a global positioning system so police could easily follow the 26-year-old joyrider. When arrested he said he’d taken a swig of the driver’s coffee, only to find that it was the cup into which the driver spat the remains of his chewed tobacco.

A school bus driver with an exemplary record was ‘stunned’ to get a summons after a speed camera recorded him racing through a village at 81mph. However, Trevor martin produced tachograph records to show he was actually traveling at 29mph. Mr Martin, 43, of Ipswich,UK, was told no further action would be taken. The official explanation was that the speed camera in Earl Stonham, Suffolk, recorded vibrations on the bus.

Rather than the usual threat of a ticket, a sign outside a church in Lyon, France warns drivers: - “No parking – offenders will be baptized.”

Charles Bidwell, 42, has closed his petrol station in Jonesville, Kansas – after it was robbed 34 times in 14 years. “I’ve had enough,” he said.”Guys with guns are just too scary.”

Traffic cops in Holland spend 6 hours going round in circles looking for a stolen BMW in Amsterdam. The thief had thrown the car’s tracking system into the police station’s car park.