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Fernando Alonso expects to retire after McLaren-Honda

When Fernando Alonso was three years old, his father gave him a model of a McLaren-Honda grand prix car. That's where his path to Formula One started, and it's where he wants his career to end as well. Speaking with Autosport, the two-time world champion indicated that he intends to retire after he's done at McLaren, rather than switch to another team. Of course, he didn't indicate just when that would be, but as far as he's concerned, the road ends in Woking. The highly rated and immensely successful Spanish driver has been on the grid for fourteen years now. He started out with Minardi (precursor to Toro Rosso) in 2001, then spent four seasons with Renault, where he scored back-to-back world titles. He then switched to McLaren for one year, where he won four races, then back to Renault for another three where he and the team fell off their form. Fernando subsequently switched to Ferrari where he spent the last five seasons, thrice finishing second in the world championship but never quite managing to clinch an elusive third title. This year he's back at McLaren but has had a bumpy start. After crashing during a pre-season test session, he sat out the season opener, and failed to finish the second round in Malaysia. He's now in Shanghai preparing for this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. Like this writer, he'll be turning 34 in July, making him the fourth oldest driver on the grid this year. So he's still got a good few years in him, and will likely want to see the troubled rekindling of the McLaren-Honda partnership through to winning form. But while nobody can tell what the future will bring, it looks like any other team that hopes to lure the champ away could end up disappointed.

Honda City Adventure off-road scooter concept shown at EICMA

Set aside the cars and trucks for a minute and you'll see that Honda still builds a huge variety of machinery: everything from power equipment to jets to robots – and a whole lot more in between. But what's caught our attention today is a motorcycle... of sorts. Headlining the Japanese company's lineup at the EICMA motorcycle show this week is the City Adventure concept. Though little in the way of details were released, the vehicle seeks to blend the go-anywhere capability of an endurance off-road motorcycle with the convenience and versatility of an urban scooter. That means chunky off-road tires, disc brakes, shielded handlebars, and a movable windscreen, among other elements. The result is a concept for now, but Honda says it foreshadows "a new development direction for adventure-focused machines." If reception is positive enough, Honda might put something like this into production. While the City Adventure concept is surely the most unusual of the motorcycles Honda brought to the Milanese expo this year, it's not the only one. Alongside it, the company is showcasing the new CRF1000L Africa Twin adventure bike, a range of new 500cc bikes, a trio of 750cc New Concept bikes with dual-clutch transmissions, a revised version of the Integra maxi scooter, and new colors for a host of other models as well. Scope out the full details in the press release below. New City Adventure concept revealed alongside CRF1000L Africa Twin and six heavily revised mid-sized machines - City Adventure concept indicates a new development direction for adventure-focussed machines - European show debut for CRF1000L Africa Twin - Range of rider-focussed upgrades for A2 licence-friendly CB500F, CB500X and CBR500R - Revised looks and added practicality for NC750X, NC750S and Integra - New functionality for unique Dual Clutch Transmission technology - New paint options for VFR1200X Crosstourer,, CB650F, CBR650F, CBR300R and SH125i Honda today reveals its full 2016 motorcycle line up at the EICMA show in Milan, comprising six mid-sized capacity machines with a range of significant updates, and the return of one of motorcycling's most illustrious names in the form of the CRF1000L Africa Twin. With an eye to the future, Honda has also revealed its new City Adventure concept machine, offering a unique new interpretation of the idea of adventure on two wheels.

Kayaba, Sumitomo to pay millions for price-fixing in US

Kayaba Industry Co, which does business in the US as suspension parts maker KYB, and Sumitomo Electric Industries are facing payments in the millions to settle price-fixing cases about the components that they make. As part of the Department of Justice's ongoing crackdown of price fixing in the auto industry, KYB agreed to pay $62 million and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to set the cost of shock absorbers from the mid '90s through 2012. The company allegedly worked with co-conspirators to keep the cost of the parts high, and those components then made it into vehicles from Honda, Kawasaki, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota. "Any collusive agreement among competitors to restrict price competition undercuts our free enterprise system and violates the law," said Carter M. Stewart, US Attorney of the Southern District of Ohio, in the DoJ's announcement. Over the past few years, the DoJ has brought cases against 37 parts suppliers and 55 executives, leading to over $2.6 billion in fines. The investigations haven't always been so successful – some of the Japanese execs fled from the US to avoid prosecution. Critics allege that price fixing is simply how business is done. According to Automotive News, Sumitomo Electric Industries is also facing a $50 million settlement in a civil lawsuit that's related to price fixing of parts like wiring harnesses and heater control panels. The plaintiffs include owners and dealers that purchased vehicles with these parts. The company asserts that the violations are from before 2010, and it now has different process in place to avoid further violations. KYB Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $62 Million Criminal Fine for Fixing Price of Shock Absorbers Kayaba Industry Co. Ltd., dba KYB Corporation (KYB) has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $62 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix the price of shock absorbers installed in cars and motorcycles sold to U.S. consumers. According to charges filed today, KYB conspired from the mid-1990s until 2012 to fix the prices of shock absorbers sold to Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (manufacturer of Subaru vehicles), Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Nissan Motor Company Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Company, including their subsidiaries in the United States.