Archive

BY JONATHAN THOMSON
RESEARCHERS at DaimlerChrysler are developing an automatic driving correction system that they like to call a “predictive powertrain;” DC claims the technology could reduce engine fuel consumption by as much as 10 per cent.

The German carmaker is planning to install “a range of sensors” into vehicles that can examine a driver’s individual style as well as road and traffic conditions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has threatened Italy with legal action at the European Court of Justice over obstacles that Italian law creates for the parallel imports of cars from other European Union (EU) Member States. The Commission claims that Italy is breaking EU fair trading laws that stop national governments from unfairly protecting their own local companies against foreign EU businesses.…

BY MARK ROWE
SINGAPORE, said to be the world’s most expensive place to buy a car, has scrapped legal requirements for would-be buyers to hand over a 30 per cent down payment on purchases. Instead of having to pay up-front fees of at least US$11,000, in future they will be able to pay for the whole car on credit.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has cleared the joint acquisition of the Italian company VM Motori by the US-based Penske Group and DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany. VM Motori, a subsidiary of Detroit Diesel Corporation of the US, designs, manufactures and sells light and medium-duty diesel engines for the motor industry and for certain other industries.…

BY JONATHAN THOMSON
DAIMLERCHRYSLER is developing new ways of creating computer models that will allow its designers to optimise airflow through vehicle ventilation and climate control systems.

Researchers at the company’s laboratory for acoustics and climate control told just-auto.com that ventilation channels normally “snake their way around many corners” on the way from the engine to the interior, creating high resistance to the airflow.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
VEHICLE manufacturers will be required to introduce new bumper and bonnet designs to reduce the risk of serious injury in collisions with pedestrians and cyclists, the European Commission announced yesterday (Thursday 20 – 2), dashing manufacturers’ hopes that a voluntary deal would suffice.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending US$5.4 million to the Maritime Port Authority of St Petersburg to fund the construction of a maritime navigation safety system in the main Russian sector of the Baltic Sea, where a future surge in tanker traffic is anticipated.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MOVES are being made by the European Parliament’s transport committee to preserve the right of national governments to strictly control who provides port pilotage in the European Union. A proposed directive that includes the liberalisation of these services is currently being debated in Brussels.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ROMANIA’S Ministry of Public Works, Transports and Housing has launched a seaworthiness review of all Romanian flagged ships, which it hopes will allow it to provisionally close its European Union accession negotiations regarding transport policy. The inquiry was sparked by the Prestige disaster off Spain and the resulting release of a blacklist by the European Commission of ships that had visited European Union ports with safety defects.…

BY ALEX SMAILES, in Port of Spain, Trinidad
BRITISH cruise ships are planning to return to Trinidad after pulling out due to a report of planned terrorist attacks against UK nationals from Islamic groups on the island. The two companies – P&O cruises and Princess Cruises – made the decision after information from the British Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO).…