Team-BHP - Interesting International Websites and Links On Automobiles!

VW has reported record profits in 2011. It has announced the biggest ever "success bonus" for its employees during the festival season now.
Details here:
VW workers set for record success bonus - The Local
A Manager of Mercedes Benz has been arrested in a town in Alabama, USA for not possessing proper immigration documents.He was released later. The state laws are the most draconian in the entire country. Mercedes Benz employs 22,000 people in its plant in this state and the plant has been in production since 1993.
More on this link:
Mercedes exec arrested under Alabama immigration law - The Local

Here are some significant collaborations between the giants:
Toyota has an agreement with Ford, US for hybrid technology (August 2011)
BMW has a tie-up with PSA Peugeot Citreon of France to jointly develop hybrid systems for sub compacts (late 2010)
And now Toyota is inching towards a joint partnership with BMW for sharing its hybrid technology in exchange for around 2000 cc diesels from BMW to power the Toyotas in Europe.The report says that 60 % of the cars sold in Europe are diesel powered and that is a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
More on this link:
Toyota discusses green car alliance with BMW - The Local

The Pope while using his Pope Mobile in Germany during his recent visit in September 2011, was not using seat belts.That had become a big issue and it was suggested that he be fined for violating traffic rules.The issue is now given a decent burial thanks to the relaxation of traffic rules for Pope Benedict.
More on this link:
Pope escapes German seat belt fine - The Local

(1) The diesel and petrol prices are giving some jitters to the Germans.Diesel is priced just a few cents below petrol.Their worries are illustrated here on this link:

Princely petrol pump prices miff motorists - The Local

(2) As we all know, Princess Diana during her lifetime was committed to charity. Now 14 years after she is no more, she continues to do charity. The first Rolls Royce she used after marriage in the US, a 1979 Silver Shadow ( I feel it is not a Wraith as reported in the link- comments welcome) and the last one she used by her again in the US, a 1996 model Rolls Silver Spur III are on display at the Volo Auto Museum in the US. The proceeds will be donated for charity.
More here:

http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/news/ho...27&rid=3396341

The Ukrainian law says any car stolen elsewhere and brought to Ukraine can be seized and will eventually become the Govt's property.
A stolen 2009 Mercedes GL 420 worth about €75,000, was intercepted at Ukraine and seized by the authorities. And the SUV was originally leased by Mercedes to an owner in Germany when it was stolen.
The seized Mercedes became government property and is now the official vehicle of the Ukrainian Justice Minister.
More on this link:
Ukrainian minister driving stolen Mercedes - The Local

We thought such incidents do not take place in the developed world. But they do. Just look at the 146 tonne crane that fell from a truck disrupting the traffic near Hamburg in Germany.The traffic was sparse and only one van fell victim. No one was injured too! What if this incident had happened in a dense traffic?
More details on the link:
Truck drops 146-tonne crane on road - The Local
Four pictures of the mishap on this link below:
146 tonne crane falls off lorry - The Local

The German car makers are predicting robust 2012 sales and are banking on their US sale figures. They say of the five cars sold in the world one is German. The US car buyers keep a car for an average 10-11 years and want newer rides after that.Their interest in German cars has grown and 2012 is expected to be a record sale year despite the weak economic undercurrents !
More here:
Carmakers ready for record year - The Local

The Polish Ambassador in Germany has said that too many German cars are being stolen and are entering into Poland and are eventually offered for sale. German police statistics has reported a 250-500 % rise in German car thefts as compared to 2007 in the towns bordering Poland.
More on this link:

Polish ambassador: too easy to nick German cars - The Local

Nearly 30 automobiles were involved in a crash that took place yesterday, near Cloppenburg, Northern Germany. Thirteen people were injured. It all happened as the sun was too low and visibility was affected. To compound to the woes, the roads were slippery due to wet weather.
More on this link:
30 vehicles ensnared in mass crash - The Local

The Welsh government has targeted smokers in cars especially with children as occupants and passive smokers. It is considering a ban on smoking in confined spaces primarily aimed at second hand smoke that affects tiny tots.The effects include sudden infant death syndrome and asthma! Toxicity levels of chemicals in cars even with open windows is proven and high. A quote from the newsitem I like is "Once you've got a rule there it's easy for mum to tell dad to stop smoking in the car or for granny to tell granddad and so on."
More here on this link:
BBC News - Welsh government targets smoking in cars when children present

From the fact file:
-Smoking in cars is banned in Mauritius whether or not children are present
-Nine out of the 10 provinces in Canada and six states in Australia have banned smoking in cars

Another piece of interesting news is that Mitsubishi Motors is closing down its only plant in Western Europe at Born, Netherlands, that has been producing cars since 1991 (it was a Volvo-Dutch government venture till 2001 and then bought over by Mitsubishi) - 20 years OK, but bowled in the 21st year. This plant made the Colt and Outlander.sales have fallen to below 50,000 units and they contemplate imports from thailand and Japan henceforth.
More on this link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16903582
The fact is that here in India, the HM-Mitsubishi venture is also facing rough weather .