Steven Diver - Autoblog

Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella had about as perfect a race weekend

This weekend's Formula One season opener in Melbourne, Australia just got a whole lot more interesting. Minardi, F1's perennial backmarkers, have gained special dispensation from eight of the nine other F1 teams to run their 2004 challenger for the first few races of 2005. This dispensation was given as late rule changes were made for the 2005 season, and Minardi has F1's lowest budget, making them unable to begin the production of their 2005 car until rules had been set. Makes perfect se

In a study of the six top-selling automakers in the United States by the

Rumors have been rampant the last few weeks that Sauber would be ending it's engine partnership with Ferrari after the 2005 season. However, the big question was, who would be supplying the Swiss team with engines from 2006 onward. Peter Sauber has long been rumored to be courting Volkswagen for a supply of engines, which would likely carry an Audi badge, to bring the German manufacturer to compete with rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW on motorsports grandest stage. But today, BMW.WilliamsF1

Lexus is denying claims that the Cabir worm poses a threat to

GM's $2 billion payoff to Fiat, to effectively end whatever relationship they might have

The final race seat on the 2005 Formula One grid was filled by Red Bull Racing when they confirmed that Austrian Christian Klien will partner David Coulthard on the grid at Melbourne. Tonio Liuzzi, the reigning F3000 champion and contender for the second seat at Red Bull Racing, will fulfill Red Bull's third driver testing duties. The decision to race Klien will be reviewed throughout the season, with Liuz

For the first time ever, Arizona will invoke the state's "stupid motorist law." The law,

It was almost a year ago that Ford unveiled it's Shelby Cobra Concept car at the 2004 Detriot Auto Show. Two months prior to the unveiling, MotorTrend writer Matt Stone was chauffered around California's Irwindale Speedway in the experimental Shelby Cobra Concept by the legend behind the original Cobra, Carrol Shelby. After his ride, Shelby and Ford's global design chief J Mays promised next time, he would drive. Well, that promise of piloting the Shelby Cobra Concept recently came to fru

A year ago, we didn't know if there was going to be a Champ Car World Series, as IRL founder Tony George battled Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe in court for the ownership of the series. Kalkhoven and Forsythe won out, and the series stuggled through a tough 2004 season, with some odd rules such as mandatory pit-stop windows with forced tire changes, designed to improve the racing. In reality, it limited the strategic creativity teams could employ to try winning races, as everyone was

It seems as though MINIUSA has stepped up it's battle against counterfeit MINI Coopers, with a new website, counterfeitmini.org. The site, run by the Counter Counterfeit Commisson, in cooperation with MINI and international law enforcement, is dedicated to ending the victimization associated with purchasing a counterfeit MINI Cooper. Of course, this is all in good fun, and is another creative advertising ploy from M

As long as their has been memorabilia, especially sports memorabilia, there have been attempts to sell fraudulent items. As we all know, eBay has made it easier for frauds to pass off their fake goods as the real deal, so it is even more important for a potential buyer to do their research to make sure they are going to get what they bit on. But you know, sometimes a fraudulent seller should do some research themselves. Take the picture at right for example,

What may very well be the last Jordan F1 car, the EJ15, broke cover today at Silverstone. Rookie Tiago Monteiro completed some installation laps in preparation for the car's first proper test later this week which will also involve Indian rookie Narain Karthikeyan. The look of the EJ15 is very similar to that of it predecessor, and still sports that instantly recognizable Jordan yellow. The only instantly notable differences on the EJ15 is the front wing height, and very sexy rear wing sh

Red Bull Racing's 2005 Formula One contender broke cover at Jerez, Spain late last week. The RB1 was piloted by a very scruffy looking David Coulthard in it's initial rundown, and the official first test will commence later this week with Christian Klien and Tonio Luzzi joining Coulthard. The RB1 shares many design queues with its Jaguar predecessor, but of course loses that sexy British Racing Green livery that Jaguar was known for, and gains Red Bull colors. With rumors of morale being

The the delight of PETA members everywhere, Mercedes-Benz has agreed to offer "leather-free" versions of its vehicles. The move was made to pacify the German chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which claims thousands of cows are slaughtered each year for leather automobile seats and interiors, and were threatening protests at MB's Stuttgart headquarters. Mercedes say they are prepared to make vehicles without leather on demand (reading between the lines: Nobody will ac

Before I'm raked over the coals, let me preface this post with a statement: this doesn't look real, but rather a semi-skillful Photoshop job. In fact the lines of look rather like that of a cross between a Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5. And the 2007 date? Something would have popped onto the radar by now. But none the less, it's always interesting to see (and read) the reaction to images and rumors like this, especially when a marque that inspires as much emotion as Ferrari is involved. The

According to AutoWeek, Audi is messing with success with their new A4. Sorry, but what a dumb statement. If success was never tinkered with, we would still be driving Model T's. You've probably heard in your history classes, that it was a fairly successful automobile. But love it or hate it, the new look of Audi is bold, and at least it looks good from side profile and rear views. And the addition of 30 horsepower in the new turbocharged 2.0-litre engine,

In a move that will shock nobody who follows Formula One, it appears as thought Eddie Jordan has agreed to a deal to sell his struggling F1 outfit to the Midland Group. The Jordan team will run the 2005 season as Jordan-Toyota, and Eddie Jordan will remain involved, but will become Midland F1 at the end of 2005. Over the past 14-years, Eddie Jordan, has been a very colorful figure in the F1 paddock, bringing a brighter, more casual, more entertaining element to the often tight and stuffy