• McLaren vs Renault industrial espionage case deepens
• Prodrive confirms that it will not enter F1 in 2008
• Aston Martin Racing appoints new MD
• BMW developing diesel WTCC engine
• Honorary doctorate for Honda F1 engineer
• ACEA: Commercial vehicle manufacturers support EC’s proposed Euro VI standards
• Jeff Rooker opens the UK's first bioethanol plant
• cfc solutions cuts fleet CO2 emissions by 27%

• EU regulatory compliancefrom 2005-2012 costs €5,000/unit

• BMW Motorsport director calls for rethink on spec F1 ECU
• Ecclestone criticises Silverstone (again…)
• IRL team owner to address AFV conference
• Citroen Sport director retiring
• Toyota Supra hybrid wins Race Engine of the Year award
• CAP launches Environmental Fleet Manager software
• EEMS announces call for 2008 research projects
• Daimler is overall winner of 2007 Michelin Challenge Bibendum
• Volvo Ghent truck plant becomes carbon-neutral

• ACEA rejects accusations made by green pressure group
• EU finance ministers fail to agree on applying EU-wide CO2-based car taxation

• U.S. court orders NHTSA to draft tougher CAFE rules
• Shanghai Challenge Bibendum featured Venturi Eclectic with solar & wind battery charging
• Mark Deans appointed Motorsport Director, Ford of Europe

A report in the UK’s Times newspaper suggests that the industrial espionage case involving the Woking UK based McLaren Mercedes Formula One team and the Enstone UK based Renault Formula One team could be “as bad or even worse” than the recent case involving McLaren and Ferrari.

The Times story says that a leaked briefing memo from McLaren claims that the Renault F1 team had more than 780 individual drawings, allegedly stolen from McLaren, on their computers and that this data amounted to “the entire technical blueprint of the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars”.

The memo also names a group of seven senior figures in the Renault design and technical team including the chief designer, the head of research and development, the head of mechanical design, the head of transmission design and the head of vehicle performance, who McLaren allege discussed the McLaren technical information.

In September the McLaren team was fined $100m (£47.5m) and forfeited their points in the 2007 F1 Constructors World Championship points after the were found guilty of being in possession confidential information on the Ferrari team’s 2007 car.

Representatives of the Renault F1 team have been summoned to appear before a hearing of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on December 6.

Dave Richards the CEO of the Banbury, UK based motorsport and automotive development company Prodrive has confirmed that the company will not take up its planned entries in the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Prodrive had intended to use 2008 specification cars supplied by the Woking, UK based McLaren-Mercedes F1 team.

In an interview with the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport Richards said, "There was a dispute about our eligibility. In addition, the new Concorde agreement has been repeatedly delayed. We asked the FIA to be able to start mid-way through the season: our request was rejected.

"So for 2008 there is not a realistic chance of there being a Prodrive formula one team.

Richards says that the Prodrive F1 team will make its debut in 2009 subject to approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

He said, “We must wait for the new Concorde. Only then can we fully assess our options. Our ambition is still to be in formula one. But there was the risk of legal procedures because we wanted to use a customer car. As a result, our entire business plan was put into doubt.

"So we have chosen to re-group instead of simply race ahead blindly."

Robin Brundle has been appointed as the new managing director of Aston Martin Racing, the competition arm of the UK slow volume sportscar manufacturer which is operated by the Banbury, UK based motorsport and automotive development company Prodrive.

Brundle will oversee all commercial and operational aspects of Aston Martin racing’s global motorsport activities, including its customer team sales and support operations, working with George Howard-Chappell who continues in his role of race team principal and technical director.

Brundle was previously managing director of a multi-franchise vehicle retail business, John Brundle Motors Limited, for 23 years until the business was sold earlier this year.

According to German media reports Munich, Germany based BMW Motorsport is working on the development of a turbocharged diesel engine for the FIA World Touring Car Championship following the recent success of Spanish manufacturer SEAT with its Leon TDi model.

The FIA’s current engine technical regulations for the WTCC are thought to favour diesel engined cars. Since the SEAT Leon TDi was introduced into WTCC in July it has won three races. Factory team driver Yvan Muller was in contention for the drivers championship until last weekend’s final round in Macau, as was SEAT in the manufacturers championship.

Jock Clear, a senior race engineer with the Brackley, UK based Honda Racing Formula One team, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by his former university.

Clear who acts as Rubens Barrichello's race engineer at Honda Racing previously guided Jacques Villeneuve to the world driver’s championship in 1997 when working with the Grove, UK based Williams F1 team. He was given the title Doctor of Engineering by Scotland's Heriot-Watt university from which he graduated with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering in 1987.

The European commercial vehicle industry aims to reduce NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions by a further 80% and particulate matter by 50% compared to the current Euro IV air pollution control standards for trucks in the EU, supporting the most stringent scenario put forward by the Commission in preparation of new ‘Euro VI’ standards.

“We are global technology leaders and want to make a long-term commitment to protecting the environment. Our efforts will reduce emission levels from trucks to the most ambitious level possible and result in a substantial contribution to further improving air quality”, said Aad L. Goudriaan, chairman of the commercial vehicles board of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), addressing the industry’s 4th annual Commercial Vehicle Conference this week.

Noxious emissions from commercial vehicles have already decreased substantially over the past decade. The most advanced trucks now on the market produce 75% less NOx and 94% less particulate matter than Euro I trucks in the early 1990s. Particulate matter emissions from the total truck fleet in the EU15 are 40% lower than a decade ago despite a 50% increase in miles driven The new Euro VI levels proposed by the industry will reduce NOx and particulate matter emissions by 95 and 98% respectively, compared to the levels at the time of Euro I.

“We are now seeking harmonisation of standards worldwide”, Goudriaan added. “The new, highly ambitious emission levels proposed by the industry should enable the EU and the US to align future pollution control standards, paving the way for harmonised standards around the globe.”

The EC has agreed with the ACEA during the CARS 21 discussions that harmonisation of technical standards is essential for the vehicle manufacturers to stay competitive. The EU first introduced air pollution control or ‘Euro’ standards in 1991.

Food and Farming Minister Jeff Rooker yesterday opened the UK's first bioethanol plant, run by British Sugar in Wissington, Norfolk alongside the world's largest beet sugar factory. The 70 million litres of bioethanol produced annually are produced from 110,000 tonnes of locally grown sugar beet. The sugar factory's combined heat and power plant also provides energy for the bioethanol plant ensuring that bioethanol produced delivers 60% lifecycle carbon savings compared with petrol.

In March 2008, the Government will introduce the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) which states that 5% of all fuel to be sold on forecourts must be from renewable sources by 2010. The new plant at Wissington will contribute directly to reaching this target.

Jonathan Nash, Managing Director of Saab Great Britain, said at the opening: "Saab, as the only volume car manufacturer to offer an environmentally-friendly engine choice across its entire range, welcomes this exciting new initiative. Bioethanol has an important part to play in reducing CO2 emissions from road transport and it is great to see British Sugar sourcing crops locally and maximising efficiency across their facility - it's clear that they are at the forefront of sustainable bioethanol production in the UK."

The Wissington plant’s opening comes shortly before the EU is to issue regulations concerning the environmental credentials of EU- and import-derived biofuels contributing to the EU’s 10% 2020 renewable fuels obligation. Planet Ark reports that Ewout Deurwaarder, an official from the EC’s energy directorate, yesterday suggested that biofuels would have to demonstrate a saving of at least 10% in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil-derived fuels. Other criteria are likely to include avoiding growing biofuel crops on land that naturally stores carbon, and where they would reduce biodiversity.

- Draft EU legislation on climate change and renewable energy is due to be presented on 23rd January 2008, in the form of a ‘Strategic Energy Technology Plan’. European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs said yesterday, “EU energy research is often under-funded, dispersed and badly coordinated. If the opportunity facing the EU is to be seized, actions to develop new energy technologies, lower their costs and bring them to the market must be better organised and carried out more efficiently.”

UK fleet management software supplier cfc solutions says it has cut the carbon footprint of its own car fleet by 27% in the last 12 months, although its fleet of 22 cars has increased by three. Measures taken include reducing the number of face-to-face training and presentation sessions in favour of Webex online video conferencing, more car-sharing when staff are undertaking similar routes at similar times, and better journey planning.

The reduction has been measured using cfc's own CO2 Report Generator, a new feature added earlier this year to the company's FleetPlus fleet management software. Using manufacturer CO2 figures for each vehicle, the software calculates the carbon footprint figures based on information recorded about journeys and vehicle use. The tool can be set up to suggest where alternative forms of transport such as the train or other public transport may result in a lower carbon output than using a company vehicle for a specific journey.

Reuters’ report yesterday on its own recent Reuters Auto Summit featured a director from Standard & Poors, Maria Bissinger, quoting the German VDA motor industry association’s estimate that meeting a 120 g/km CO2 limit by 2012 would cost about €3,000 per car, on top of about €2,000 per car spent since 2005 on conforming to EU parts design deregulation, air conditioning rules, initial CO2 limits and pedestrian protection regulations.

Mario Theissen, the director of BMW Motorsport in Munich which owns the Hinwil, Switzerland based BMW Sauber Formula One team, has called on the FIA to rethink its technical regulations requiring the use if a standard issue electronic control unit (ECU) on F1 engines starting in 2008.

Theissen expressed concerns that the standard ECU would not only not be cost effective but could also limit the effectiveness of environmentally friendly technologies such as kinetic energy recovery systems which are due to be introduced in F1 in 2009.

Theissen said, "We have voiced various objections to the introduction of standard electronics. The process of converting cars, engines, gearboxes and, indeed, test rigs has generated considerable extra costs.

"And there is an even more important argument against the standard ECU going forward. Nowadays not just the car as a whole, but every single technical system is equipped with complex control electronics tailored specifically to the function of that particular system.

"The electronics represent the nerve centre, without which the system would only be capable of limited functionality or would not be able to function at all.

“Our aim is to make F1 a pioneer in drive technology for the series-produced road cars of the future. Looking further ahead, a system is under development which regenerates energy under braking, stores that energy and, when the driver accelerates, puts it back on tap alongside the power from the combustion engine.

“Highly sensitive control electronics are required to coordinate these processes efficiently and ensure driving safety under all circumstances, so tailored electronics are essential if we really want to develop the potential of this system, for example."

Formula One impresario Bernie Ecclestone has again criticised the UK’s Silverstone race circuit which stages the Formula One British Grand Prix and also described the money being spent on bringing the Olympic Games to London in 2012 as ‘wasted’.

Speaking at the launch of the official DVD review of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship Ecclestone said, "Britain is supposed to be the heart of Formula One racing and our circuit is bottom of the list.

"With a tiny percentage of what the government are wasting on the Olympics, they could support Silverstone."

Ecclestone also expressed his dismay that London’s successful bid to stage the Olympic Games was at the expense of a planned F1 Grand Prix on the streets of the UK capital.

He said, "Things were sorted out very nicely in London. Mayor Ken Livingstone was very helpful and we laid a plan out of what we could do.

"It would have happened, it was just a question of where the money was going to come from. It would cost a small amount compared to what they're spending on the Olympics. If they look at it from a pure business point of view, all the revenue it would bring in, I just don't understand why it isn't happening."

Bobby Rahal, co-owner of the Rahal-Letterman Racing team which competes in the US based Indy Racing League, is to deliver a keynote address at the 14th annual Alternative Fuels & Vehicles conference which takes place in Las Vegas, USA on May 13, 2008.

The conference featuring 125 exhibitors is organised by the AFVi which is an education provider and information link between the alternative fuels and vehicles industry and public/private fleet industry.

The Rahal-Letterman IRL team is sponsored in part by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), a nonprofit alliance of ethanol industry leaders which aims to grow consumer demand for ethanol energy through targeted marketing and public relations.

Guy Frequelin will step down from his position director of Citroen Sport, the competition arm of the French volume car manufacture, at the end of 2007. Formerly a rally driver in his own right until he retired from competition in 1987, Frequelin has headed Citroen Sport since 1989 during which time it has enjoyed many successes including FIA World Rally Manufacturers Championship wins in 2003-04-05 and drivers championships in 2004-05-06. He will be replaced by Olivier Quesnel who is currently the managing director of the Hommel press group, although he previously worked at Peugeot Sport.

The powertrain of Toyota Supra HV-R which became first hybrid car ever to win a race at the Tokachi 24-Hour event in July, has won the Race Engine of The Year 2007 presented by the UK published magazine Race Engine Technology.

By entering hybrid systems into racing events, Toyota engineers anticipate discovering ways to make hybrid systems (more famously fitted to the Toyota Prius production car), more efficient and lighter. This year’s race car was based on the Supra GT used in Super GT races in Japan, modified and equipped with a special racing hybrid system.

A four-wheel energy regeneration and drive system was adopted which includes in-wheel motors in the front wheels in addition to one 150 kW rear-axle mounted electric motor. Thanks to this energy regeneration system with three motor/generators, the vehicle can more efficiently recover a greater amount of energy during rapid deceleration and braking from high speeds.

Since racing involves repeated acceleration and deceleration under full system performance, a quick-charging capacitor system was adopted instead of the usual rechargeable batteries.

The award was presented at the recent Professional Motorsport World Expo in Cologne, Germany.

A software application offering fleet operators transparency on their fleets’ carbon emissions and indicating the most carbon efficient vehicle choices has been launched by the UK automotive data provider CAP.

CAP Environmental Fleet Manager measures the environmental consequences of existing fleet policy and permits vehicle comparison, identifying the most carbon-efficient cars and car-derived vans. Alternatively, the tool can also be used to assist in determining carbon offset costs. All parameters are user-definable.

Originally designed to help contract hire and leasing operators to provide additional support for their customers, CAP Environmental Fleet Manager is also advocated as a customer-facing tool for car dealerships.

Environmentally Efficient MotorSport has given advance notice of the EEMS call for energy efficiciency projects for 2008. Priorities will be alternative powertrain applications, hybrid technologies, fuel flow based regulation and alternative fuels. Typically, £10,000 - £20,000 will be available for any specific project.

Those interested in applying for EEMS support should contact EEMS at .

Full details of the call will be posted on the EEMS website on 3rd December.

With a total of 23 distinctions, Daimler AG emerged as the most successful participant from this year's Michelin Challenge Bibendum sustainable mobility competition in Shanghai. Seven cars from the Mercedes- Benz and smart brands faced over 70 competitors in the categories of acceleration, maneuverability, noise pollution, local pollutants, fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions (‘tank-to-tyre’).

The Mercedes-Benz E 300 BLUETEC, which made its European debut only recently, finished in first place in the 170-km rally for production cars. Distinctions for the best design went to the smart fortwo cdi in the production car category as well as to the Mercedes-Benz F 600 in the prototype car category.

The distinctions won by Daimler vehicles were:

- Mercedes-Benz E 300 BLUETEC

Four distinctions overall (categories: acceleration, maneuverability and local pollutants, as well as winner in the production car rally)

- Mercedes-Benz E 200 NGT

Four distinctions overall (categories: acceleration, local pollutants, fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions)

- Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell

Three distinctions each for the two participating cars (categories: local pollutants, fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions)

- Mercedes-Benz F 600

Three distinctions overall (categories: local pollutants and CO2

emissions, as well as Design Award in the prototype car category)

- smart fortwo mhd (micro hybrid drive)

Two distinctions overall (categories: noise pollution and local pollutants)

- smart fortwo cdi, operating on synthetic BTL (SunDiesel biofuel)Four distinctions overall (categories: noise pollution, fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions, as well as Design Award in the production car category)

This year, the Challenge Bibendum was staged in Shanghai from November 14 until 17. Its more than 3,000 participants include manufacturers, suppliers, energy companies, private and institutional research and development operations as well as some 450 international journalists.

Volvo Trucks’ plant in Ghent, Belgium is the first vehicle assembly plant in the world that is completely free from carbon dioxide (CO2), the company has reported. “Our ambition is to make all our plants CO2-free plants and Ghent is the first,” says Volvo CEO Leif Johansson. “It is not an easy undertaking, but we are prepared to try different alternatives to achieve our goal for CO2-free production in our plants.”

In 2005 the Volvo Group committed to transforming the Volvo Trucks plant in Tuve, Sweden into a CO2-free vehicle plant and work is currently in progress on the completion of the local planning and an application for environmental permits has been prepared. The Volvo Trucks plant in Umeå is also undergoing transformation to become CO2-free.

Three wind turbines on the Ghent site will cover half of the plant’s electricity requirements. The remaining electricity supply is certified renewable energy supplied by Electrabel. A new pellet-fired biomass plant supplies 70% of the plant’s heating requirements and energy for the combustion process is provided by solar cells on the roof. The remaining 30% is provided by an oil-fired boiler that was converted to burn bio oil. The Ghent plant has an annual production of 35,000 trucks, and 2,500 employees.

EU economy and finance ministers’ policy debate last week on a European Commission proposal for a directive on passenger car related taxation ended without any measures being adopted, but the Council of Europe says a fresh meeting will be held on 4th December in the hope of securing the unanimous agreement required.

(www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ecofin/97098.pdf)

The European car industry association has rejected the accusations made by the environmental pressure group T&E, that the automotive sector does not do enough to reduce CO2 emissions from cars.

The ACEA says its members fully support reducing CO2 emissions to help combating climate change and are making tremendous efforts in terms of research and marketing. The fact that they produce very different cars matches an economic reality. They all cater different consumer needs and tastes, responding to a complex set of market demands. However, the ACEA says only recently has fuel efficiency become an increasingly important factor for car buyers.

Reducing CO2 emissions from road transport is a complex challenge and the car industry cannot do it on its own. It is the responsibility of all relevant parties involved to take action: the automotive industry by further improving technology; the fuel industry by developing and introducing alternative fuels; policymakers by implementing harmonised taxation measures to influence consumer demand, and by adjusting infrastructure to ensure traffic flow; and car drivers by using their cars in the most ecological way.

The ACEA says the European Commission has announced that it wants to safeguard the diversity of the industry and the affordability of cars in the forthcoming legislative framework for limiting cars’ tailpipe CO2. “This promise is essential,” says the ACEA: “Only a competitive industry can continue to invest and innovate to further reduce CO2 emissions in a way affordable to consumers.”

Diversity and affordability were also key elements when drafting the current voluntary commitment of the car industry, which was signed in 1998. This commitment contained an industry average CO2 reduction target as opposed to individual targets per manufacturer. The industry's progress under the commitment should be assessed on an industry aggregate basis. Individual companies may show different results per year, depending on model changes and car production cycles.

The ACEA claims the industry’s progress is significant, but has been hampered by counter-productive effects of EU regulations and market developments. The gross reduction of CO2 emissions by means of vehicle technology has been 22% or 38 grammes of CO2 per kilometre, but was brought back to a net reduction of 13% because of the effects of regulations and market demand. The 1998 Commitment states that these factors should be taken into account when assessing the 1998 Commitment results, but so far this has not been done.

Last week’s Michelin-sponsored Challenge Bibendum environmental car event in Shanghai featured among around 80 entrants the Venturi Eclectic, a three-seater buggy-type battery-electric car featuring a roof clad in 2.5 m2 of solar panels and a small wind turbine to supplement plug-in battery recharges. A day of exposure to sunlight can provide power for up to 7km of travel.Fitted with liquid-cooled NiMH batteries, the Eclectic promises a range of up to 30 miles at 30mph.

The vehicle is the brainchild of the Monaco-based Venturi, which is owned by entrepreneur and former competition driver Gildo Pallanca. Before he acquired the firm in 2001, it was a specialist sports-racing car manufacturer based in the Loire region of France.

The Eclectic was featured in an innovations review in Time magazine (19 November), besides a battery-electric hub motor-driven two-seater designed for urban and airport parking systems to stack like supermarket trolleys, from MIT’s Media Lab; a ‘Trek Lime’ bicycle with automatic three-speed transmission; steam-injected petrol engines in prototype from a retired U.S. racing driver called Bruce Crower (www.crower.com); and the French company MDI’s compressed air car, which is being developed by Tata Motors.

- PSA Peugeot Citroën entered the Peugeot 307 Hybride HDi – a vehicle that emits 74g/km of CO2 thanks to the use of B30 fuel (30% biodiesel/diesel) – at this month’s Challenge Bibendum.

(www.venturi.fr)

Ford of Europe says it is strengthening its commitment to both Motorsport and performance vehicles with the creation of two separate leadership roles. Mark Deans is appointed to the newly-created position of Motorsport Director, and Jost Capito becomes Vehicle Line Director for Ford Performance Vehicles, within Ford of Europe's product development team.

Mark Deans will work alongside Malcolm Wilson, BP-Ford Team Director and owner of M-Sport, Ford's partner for its main motorsport activity, the FIA World Rally Championship. In addition to the WRC, Deans will be also responsible for developing other motorsport activities such as Formula Ford, through extended advertising, sales promotion, sponsorship and merchandising programmes. He will report to Stephen Odell, Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service, and to Ian Slater, Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for Ford of Europe.

Deans was manager of Ford’s European motorsport programmes between 1985 and 1989, based at Boreham, the company's former rallying HQ.

A federal appeals court rejected the U.S. National Highway Transport Safety Administration’s corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) rules for 2008-2011 model years on 15 November, a week after California announced that it was suing the Environmental Protection Agency for not granting a waiver from federal regulations for its tailpipe CO2 reducing state legislation.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favour of California, 10 other states, two U.S. city authorities and four environmental groups whose suit alleged that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had failed to address why ‘light trucks’ – pickups and SUVs – should be granted higher maximum fuel consumption limits than passenger cars, and that the NHTSA did not adequately didn't assess vehicular greenhouse gas emissions. ‘Trucks’ were originally given separate status from cars decades ago when pickups were predominantly used by farmers, but they now account for over half the U.S. light vehicle market.

The CAFE standards now rejected by the court, introduced in March 2006, required light trucks weighing less than 8,500 lbs (some large U.S.-market SUVs and pickups weigh more) to achieve 23.5 mpg by 2010, up from 22.5 mpg in 2008. Passenger cars were required to meet a 27.5 mpg average, and some light trucks a target of 28.4 mpg. The rules, which brought over-8,500 lb SUVs into the mpg net from 2011, were expected by the then U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to save the country 10.7bn gallons of fuel.

As a federal agency, the NHTSA has not officially responded to the court’s verdict, but is currently seeking new and updated information regarding vehicle manufacturers’ future product plans, “To aid in implementing the President’s plan for reforming and increasing corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and further increasing the already reformed light truck standards for model year 2010- 2017 passenger cars and in anticipation of setting standards for MY 2012-2017 light trucks”. The U.S. Justice Department is reported to be reviewing the court’s decision.

The court ordered new fuel economy rules to be drawn up without delay, but Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers CEO Dave McCurdy, representing GM, Ford and Chrysler, said in a release: "Announced more than 19 months ago the MY 2008-2011 light truck fuel economy rule represented the largest fuel economy increase in the history of the CAFE program. It has become the basis for product planning through 2011. Any further changes to the program would only delay the progress that manufacturers have made towards increasing fleet wide fuel economy.”

- GM’s Chevrolet Tahoe eight-seater SUV which goes on sale next year won Green Car Journal’s ‘Green Car of the Year’ award on 15 November at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It will be GM’s first vehicle to deploy the hybrid powertrain jointly developed with BMW and Daimler. The vehicle achieves 21 mpg (urban) and 22 mpg (highway), representing a 30% improvement over the gasoline-only Tahoe, and equaling the U.S. Toyota Camry’s urban cycle fuel consumption.