2003 Mercedes Supercharged Cl 55 Amg Low Miles! Super Rare! No Reserve Clean Car on 2040-cars

Auto blog

One year since accident, most of Schumacher's sponsors still on board

It's been almost exactly a year now since Michael Schumacher suffered massive head trauma in a catastrophic skiing accident in Switzerland, and while details on his recovery have remained few and far between, we're sure his progress has been anything but easy. Meanwhile his sponsors have faced a difficult decision of their own: to continue supporting him financially despite getting nothing tangible in return, or cancel their contracts and suffer the blow to their public image as a result. According to Schumacher's longtime manager Sabine Kehm in speaking to news outlets like Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, most of the imperiled former F1 driver's personal sponsors have remained by his side. The encouraging news updates on what we reported back in August, that Mercedes-Benz and German investment firm Deutsche Vermogensberatung AG were sticking with the champ through the hard times. Other sponsors, including helmet manufacturer Schuberth and watchmaker Audemars Piguet, are also believed to still be on board. Not all of Schumi's sponsors have stuck around, though. German bottled water brand Rosbacher reportedly broke off its contract with Schumacher back in July. And more recent reports confirm that Gaydoul Group fashion labels Navyboot and Jet Set canceled their sponsorship deal earlier this month. These and other contracts made Schumacher one of the world's highest paid sports figures and the first billionaire athlete in the world. Even in retirement, he was still making more than most active F1 drivers. While we don't know just how much he's pulling in during his recovery, here's hoping that his continued sponsors can find a way to make their support worthwhile – and that the champ makes a full recovery in the near future.

Mercedes sues Ferrari-bound F1 engineer for stealing secrets

Mercedes is suing one of its Formula One engineers, one Benjamin Hoyle, claiming he was planning to take sensitive data to a competitor. An experienced powertrain engineer, Hoyle came to Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains in 2012 with previous experience at Prodrive and Cosworth. One of four team leaders at the company, Hoyle headed up the performance application department until he notified his employers of his intention not to seek renewal of his contract that expires at the end of this year. Once they found out that Hoyle was switching to Ferrari, the higher-ups at Mercedes reassigned him to other, less sensitive duties, however Hoyle was reportedly discovered accessing race reports and other sensitive data relating to the performance of the team's engines. In response, Mercedes has filed suit against Hoyle, claiming that he "and potentially Ferrari have gained an unlawful advantage." The German automaker is seeking the return of all documents and the payment of its legal fees. It also seeks to prevent Hoyle from working for another F1 team throughout next season. Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains is the Daimler's F1 engine division. Based in Brixworth, UK, it was founded back in 1983 together with Ilmor before Mercedes bought it outright. Aside from the company's own works team, the outfit this year powered Williams, Lotus, and Force India, and previously worked with McLaren as well as Sauber. This is not the first time that a case of industrial espionage has emerged in F1. A similar controversy erupted in 2007 surrounding engineers Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan. The highly publicized incident became known as "Spygate" or "Stepneygate" and involved the illegal sharing of secrets between Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Martin Meissner/AP Government/Legal Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports Ferrari Mercedes-Benz F1 industrial espionage

Subaru ice driving and Mercedes-AMG G 63 | Autoblog Podcast #571

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Green Editor John Beltz Snyder. They kick things off by talking about the cars they've been driving: the 2019 Mercedes-AMG G63 and Autoblog's long-term Kia Stinger. Then they discuss hooning the Subaru BRZ, WRX and WRX STI on ice at the Subaru Winter Experience. Then they talk news, specifically Amazon investing $700 million in EV startup Rivian, and Maserati finally launching the Alfieri. Finally they help spend a listener's money on a new, green car. Autoblog Podcast #571 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Driving the 2019 Mercedes-AMG G63 Long-term Kia Stinger update Subaru Winter Experience Amazon invests in Rivian Maserati Alfieri on its way Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: