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U.S. issues new tariff threat, this time against British-built cars

WASHINGTON — Britain is the United States' closest ally but their long friendship may be sorely tested as the two countries try to forge a new trade agreement after Britain's exit from the European Union. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday in London that he was optimistic that a bilateral deal with Britain could be reached as soon as this year. But Mnuchin gave up no ground after a second meeting with his UK counterpart, Sajid Javid. Javid has insisted that Britain will proceed with a unilateral digital services tax, despite a U.S. threat to levy retaliatory tariffs on British-made autos. Mnuchin told reporters after Saturday's meeting that such taxes would discriminate against big U.S. tech companies like Alphabet Inc's Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. The UK Treasury declined to comment on the private meeting. The divide highlights the challenges ahead as the Trump administration seeks a new bilateral agreement with Britain, part of a broader push to rebalance relations with nearly all its major trading partners. The stakes are high — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pegged the trade deal with United States as a way to ease the pain of breaking with Europe, Britain's largest trade partner. U.S. President Donald Trump, has promised a "massive" trade deal to support Brexit, the product of a populist movement similar to his "America First" agenda. The goodwill and special relationship the two countries have enjoyed for decades may not count for much, experts say. "Trump is not going to be doing Johnson any favors," said Amanda Sloat, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington. "He's not going to give him a trade deal without major concessions." Even before the digital tax issue arose, the Trump administration threatened to tax foreign car imports, which could hit British-made Jaguar, Land Rover, Mini, and Honda Civic hatchback cars. Stiff U.S. trade demands include increased access for U.S. farm goods, concessions that will be difficult for Britain's entrenched natural food culture to swallow. The United States also wants Britain to change the way its National Health Service prices drugs and allow in more U.S. pharmaceuticals, which could prove politically unpopular for Johnson's government. Washington's demand that London block Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd for national security reasons could also cloud talks.

McLaren Sports Series plays in snow ahead of New York debut

For a relatively small automaker – in terms of output, at least – McLaren sure has had a lot of new product to showcase lately. And in typical style, it's not showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon. After presenting both the 675LT and the P1 GTR in Geneva, Woking is gearing up to unveil the new Sports Series at the New York Auto Show next month. But before it does, the British racing team turned supercar constructor has released this teaser video for its upcoming "entry level" range. Captured playing in the snow, this McLaren Sports Series prototype is still wearing heavy camouflage, but already shows early promise. Joining the Super Series (which includes the 650S and 675LT) and Ultimate Series (P1 and P1 GTR), the new Sports Series will be based on similar architecture – with a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 nestled in the middle of a carbon-fiber chassis – but with less power and a (relatively) more accessible price tag to go after the likes of the Porsche 911 GT3 and new Audi R8. We're looking forward to seeing the finished product in the flesh next week at the Javitz Center in Manhattan. News Source: McLaren via YouTube New York Auto Show McLaren Coupe Supercars 2015 ny auto show mclaren sports series

McLaren 650S successor will get twin-turbo V8 hybrid

The trickledown theory is central to an automaker's justification of auto racing. It's the idea that stuff developed in competition informs how production cars are built or what features are included. It's why today you can get performance cars with carbon fiber bodies and carbon-ceramic brakes – and thanks to Formula 1 and endurance racing, it's why you'll soon be able to buy high-performance hybrids. McLaren is all about the trickledown theory. The energy recovery system that started in the company's F1 cars inspired the hybrid drivetrain in the P1 hypercar. And now, the British company has confirmed that a similar setup will grace the replacement for the 650S and 675LT. Code-named the P14, Car and Driver reports an updated 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 will be the centerpiece, but a focus will be on reducing the weight of batteries and electric motors. In fact, McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt said shedding weight is central to all of the company's hybrid pursuits. "The P1 had 375 pounds of [batteries/motors] if you added it up; I think that today we're within a 70- to 110-pound weight penalty for hybrid," Flewitt told C/D. "I want to eliminate that, get it to zero – and then really hack off my engineers by saying we want to make it even lighter than a conventional powertrain would be. But that's in the future, it's something we're constantly driving." Just because the next mid-range supercar from McLaren will get bits of P1, don't expect this kind of hybrid technology to filter into the company's more affordable offerings. Part of the reason McLaren is making this move with the successor to the 650S/675LT is because it will much faster, and in turn allow the company to create an even greater separation between its so-called Sports and Super Series cars. Still, McLaren is making some very good decisions for drivers. Moving such an advanced piece of technology downmarket and focusing on cutting weight out of said tech is proof positive that the trickledown theory of motorsports works. Expect to see this new McLaren hybrid at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. Related Video: