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Red Bull F1 denied access to Honda engines

There are four engine manufacturers in Formula 1: Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Renault. Infiniti Red Bull Racing ended its marriage to Renault, got to the altar with Mercedes and then Mercedes backed out, couldn't even agree on a pre-nup with Ferrari, and Honda flat-out said, "No." At the moment that has left the four-time World Champions without an engine for next year, owner Dieter Mateschitz threatening to take his two teams and four cars out of the sport, and F1 honcho Bernie Ecclestone threatening to sue Mateschitz if he does. The Japanese company had turned down the idea because after a first year with some poor performances and a few public sour notes, it wants to get McLaren's cars running properly before it expands its operation. Now it seems some behind-the-scenes action of late has opened up channels between Red Bull and Honda, and the two are at least talking. Honda, though, still says such a deal is highly unlikely at best, and Red Bull says it will have something to say when something is done. It appears that McLaren chief Ron Dennis, however, has vetoed the idea. Ecclestone says Honda made a deal with the FIA that would allow Honda to supply two teams in its second year, but Honda gave Dennis veto rights over who the second team would be. For the same reason that Mercedes backed out and Ferrari only wanted to sell Red Bull year-old engines, Ecclestone says Dennis might view Red Bull as a competitor and doesn't want to risk two more cars getting in front of his own. If that's the case and Red Bull is going to remain in the sport, it might need to hit the flower shop and book a trip to Renault headquarters. Soon. Related Video:

Trucks, SUVs drive U.S. October new vehicle sales

DETROIT — Major automakers posted mixed U.S. new vehicle sales in October on Wednesday, though America's love affair with high-margin pickup trucks and SUVs remained in full bloom as larger, pricier vehicles fared better than passenger cars. Auto industry publication WardsAuto put the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for light vehicle sales in October at a robust level of 18 million units. But after a long boom cycle, carmakers are still ill-prepared for the slight decline in sales anticipated for full-year 2017 and have taken too few steps to trim production, said Doug Mehl, a partner in consultancy A.T. Kearney's automotive practice. "When you make a new vehicle, you have volume assumptions tagged to it, and who wants to be the guy who says, 'I'm going to make less of this really cool model'?" Mehl said. "But eventually the market is the reality, and it's going to force companies one way or other here." General Motors GM reported a sales drop of 2.2 percent for the month, with consumer sales down 6.6 percent. But sales of high-margin pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossovers all rose. GM also cut its inventory of unsold vehicles — a source of concern for the market — slightly. The automaker has worked to reduce its volume of excess inventory, including through significant production shutdowns in the third quarter. GM had said its inventory would rise in October. "We are heading into the fourth quarter with good momentum, thanks to a strong U.S. economy and very strong pickup and crossover sales," said Kurt McNeil, GM vice president for U.S. sales operations. GM slightly reduced consumer discounts as a percentage of average transaction prices to 13.5 percent, from 13.7 percent in the third quarter. Industry experts believe consumer discounts above 10 percent of the average transaction price are unhealthy as they erode resale values and are unsustainable in the long term. Consultants J.D. Power and LMC said last week that based on preliminary October sales numbers, discounts have exceeded 10 percent in 15 of the past 16 months. Ford The U.S. auto industry posted record sales of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016. New sales received a strong boost in September as consumers replaced vehicles damaged in southeast Texas by Hurricane Harvey the previous month. Full-year 2017 sales are expected to be slightly lower than 2016.

Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance completes Japan car industry consolidation

Makoto Uchida (left), president and CEO of Nissan, and Toshihiro Mibe, director, president and representative executive officer of Honda, at a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday. (Getty)   Japan’s carmakers are putting the finishing touches on a combine-and-compete strategy for an automotive age defined by batteries and software, with three manufacturers joining forces to complement a separate Toyota Motor Corp.-led coalition. Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. agreed this week to build upon a preliminary deal first reached in March, offering more details of how they plan to work together and also adding Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to the mix. While the companies havenÂ’t yet discussed a capital alliance, forming one is a possibility, Honda Chief Executive Officer Toshihiro Mibe said. The partnership will span joint work on software development, batteries and other electric-vehicle components, as well as EV charging and energy services, the three companies said. Their cozying up to one another follows Toyota acquiring stakes in Subaru Corp., Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp., and helping them navigate a fraught era for legacy car companies. Whereas Toyota has tied up with its domestic peers from a position of strength — itÂ’s been the worldÂ’s best-selling automaker for four years running — Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi each are much smaller players on the global stage. Their coming together is seen as a move by JapanÂ’s government to fortify its auto industry in the wake of China having emerged as the worldÂ’s new No. 1 car exporter. “This is coordinated by the government to build a competitive automaking industry,” said James Hong, analyst at Macquarie Securities Korea Ltd., adding that most automakers in Japan are too small to be able to invest in EVs individually. “It feels like a politically driven alliance.” While the US has had the Big Three — General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler, now owned by Stellantis NV — and Germany similarly has a trio in Volkswagen Group, BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz, Japan has a much bigger crop of carmakers manufacturing vehicles across the globe. Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi combined sold about 4 million vehicles globally in the first six months of the year, well shy of the 5.2 million that Toyota sold on its own. While the three touted the potential for generating synergies from working together, executives also acknowledged theyÂ’ll have to overcome contrasts with their compatriots.