Bugatti has shown off its new Veyron 16.4 supercar. The 16-cylinder engine built from twin banks of Volkswagen W8 engines, has made its first on-the-track-and-running appearance at Laguna Seca Raceway. The Veyron 16.4 has four turbochargers, and develops 1,001 horsepower at 6,000 RPM. No price or production information has been made available.

Cadillac is considering building a mid-sized car in Europe to compete in the heart of the market against its German competitors. Cadillac's director of global brand development John Howell says the model would be smaller than the CTS sedan, and about the same size as the BMW 3 series and the Mercedes C class and it could arrive in 2 to 3 years..

Cadillac wants 75 fewer dealerships in the top 50 U.S. Markets, today the brand has about 500 dealers and by slimming that total to 425, the remaining dealerships will be stronger financially and better able to deliver high-quality service to customers. Having fewer but stronger dealerships is one part of Cadillac's long-term plan to compete with the top global luxury brands, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes.

China will soon unveil a policy to give local auto makers an edge over foreign companies, which could disrupt outsiders' plans to grab a slice of the booming market. One of the policy's key aims would be to ensure Chinese auto makers control half the market by 2010. And the government is also likely to encourage consolidation -- an idea first mooted years ago -- in a fragmented sector with 120 auto makers.

DaimlerChrysler has agreed to purchase up to 120,000 Volkswagen diesel engines a year for its Chrysler and Mitsubishi branded cars. From 2005 VW will supply it's 140 bhp 2.0 Litre turbodiesel - as used in the Audi A3 and VW Touran. Earlier plans to use the Mercedes 2.2 Litre diesel were scrapped due to high cost and lack of production capacity.

DaimlerChrysler has been ordered by the U.S. District Court of Delaware to pay 4 institutional investors $300 mn. The plaintiffs argued that Daimler-Benz AG's 1998 acquisition of the Chrysler Corp. was a take-over, not a merger as the company contends. As such, Chrysler shareholders were entitled to additional payment. Meanwhile Kirk Kerkorian, one of the largest investors in the company, is suing on the same grounds for billions of dollars. His suit is scheduled to go to trial on Dec. 1.

Ford has re-hired Carroll Shelby. After a 33-year absence, the motor racing icon has rejoined to help the automaker add some zest to its model line. Shelby, 80, will help Ford develop high-performance models. Meanwhile, Ford of Europe president and chief operating officer, Martin Leach, has elected to leave the company to pursue new opportunities.

Ford is recalling more than 1.68 million sport-utility vehicles, including the Explorer, built during 1998-2002, to fix speed-control cables and seat-frame bolts. A driver-seat bolt may fracture, causing the seat to recline unexpectedly, Ford said in a statement. A second recall includes 499,988 of the same vehicles from model years 1999 to 2001. On those vehicles, speed-control cables may wear out early and fail to disengage.

General Motors may start to assemble its Hummer H2 SUV at Russia's Avtotor factory.

"The cars should be assembled in our Kaliningrad plant, where we already assemble BMWs and KIAs," says Avtotor's press secretary Pavel Leshakov. The Hummer H2 is a cheaper and more refined version of GM's Hummer, based on the military Humvee.

Hindustan is persevering with the almost ancient Ambassador and has just released a new version, which the company hopes will boost sales in the coming months. The latest evolution is called the Ambassador Grand and it comes powered by Isuzu petrol or diesel engines. The new model features power steering, power brakes and remote shift gear, new grille, transparent headlamps, body coloured bumpers besides the new Hindustan Motors logo.

LDV, the van maker, plans to ship a factory from Poland to Coventry, UK to produce a new range of vehicles - possibly 50,000 units within 4 years. The ambitious plan involving 6,250 tonnes of equipment purchased from Daewoo receivers, is to use 245 trucks and 18 low-loaders to transport the equipment over a 2 month period.

Mercedes-Benz will be the world's first car manufacturer to offer the combination of EU 4 exhaust emission standard and diesel particulate filter for its diesel passenger cars. The combination will initially be available from October 2003, for the C-Class and E-Class models initially with 4-cylinder CDI engines. To date, 85 % of C-Class and about 50% of all E-Class diesel customers have opted for the 200 and 220 CDI engines.

More than 1000 new vehicles and parts, which were moving down production lines when the power went out at more than 50 North American car plants due to quality concerns raised when the process stopped in midstream. Cars and trucks were left half-painted, in some cases soaking in chemicals, robotic welding arms left some joints only partially joined, engines being sculpted by precision laser tools were left incomplete and many parts were simply dropped on the floor when the vacuum-powered suction arms that lift and move them lost their hold.

Scania spokesman Hans-Ake Danielsson says that his company was emphatically against any forced tie-ups with rival firms, and that if such a take-over succeeded, its entire top management team would leave. Volvo must sell its stake in domestic rival Scania by early next year for regulatory reasons, and speculation about a merger between Scania - the world's most profitable truck maker - and MAN, of Germany, has been rife for many months.

Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) are being targeted by vandals in the USA. On Aug 22nd fire destroyed dozens of SUVs and a warehouse at a dealership in Los Angeles, and vehicles were spray-painted with slogans such as "Fat, Lazy Americans." The police and FBI said there could be links to the radical activist group Earth Liberation Front. The group says its mission is to protect the environment.

TRW Automotive will launch its new occupant weight-sensing system for the 2004 model year. The system measures the occupant's seating weight and uses this information to determine the appropriate air bag deployment, ranging from a full deployment for larger adults to no deployment for infants, small children and some small stature adults.

Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge (VWN), VW's commercial vehicles division, is aiming to totally renew its model range by 2006. VW Chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder talks of the necessity of having a wide range of commercial vehicles. One option for VW could be a joint venture with MAN or more involvement with Scania.

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

Brenda Shepherd, 24, and Barry Hooper, 26, got married in Perth, Australia, 3 months after first meeting when their cars crashed into each other.

A trainee policeman in Sydney, Australia got into trouble after giving a vehicle a parking ticket. The vehicle in question was a coach belonging to his own police force which was being used to take witnesses to court.

A Dubliner arrested for drink-driving was later charged with vandalism after removing his false arm and damaging a police cell with it.

An 85-year old Los Angeles man crashed while waiting to take his driving test. Told to move his car, instead of reversing it he accidentally drove forward through a glass fronted shop window.

Police stopped an 11-year old boy driving a lorry in Bonn, Germany. His father, who was in the passenger seat, told officers that he was giving his son a 'holiday treat'.

Micheal Ball, 46, took his socks off during a long, hot drive in his Jaguar from London to Manchester, England. He later admitted himself to hospital with frost-bitten toes since his car's air-conditioning was set too high.

A banned driver in Bari, Italy fled after policemen saw him driving his car. The police lost sight of him but recognized his dog which was waiting patiently outside the driver's home. So the police simply waited with the dog and arrested him as he returned.

An insurance company in Zurich, Switzerland is sending out aromatherapy lotion with its breakdown trucks - to help motorists keep calm.

A driver stopped by police after racing through a roadblock in Marseilles, France said he was being chased by Aliens. He was tested for drugs.

A traffic warden in Berlin, Germany has won $45,000 in damages after a motorist ripped up the ticket she had issued, spat in her face an called her a 'fat cow'.

Linda Potter of Houston, USA was so excited when she passed her driving test at the third attempt, she had a heart attack in the test centre and died immediately.