Australian Grand Prix (2014): RESULT

The 2014 Australian Grand Prix gets underway It’s all new cars for the first Grand Prix of the 2014 F1 season in Melbourne, but the expectation was that Mercedes would dominate, with Lewis Hamilton sitting on pole and Nico Rosberg sitting third, separated by Red Bull’s new boy, Daniel Ricciardo. In fact, because of engine problems, Hamilton was sidelined from the start and down to fourth by the first corner, with Rosberg making the most of his team mate’s woes and storming through to take the lead, a lead he kept until the end for a dominant win in Melbourne. Behind Hamilton, home boy Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull managed to make the 2014 Red Bull car look immensely promising to take second place, a welcome boost for the troubled Red Bull team, even if world champion Sebastian Vettel suffered the same fate as Hamilton, retiring with engine problems.

More than 5,000 fines issued for lane hogging and tailgating

Dan Chung | Newscom | RTR Following MSN Cars’ exclusive freedom of information investigation into lane hogging, it has emerged that more than 5,000 drivers have been stopped under new careless driving laws since 16 August 2013. A series of freedom of information requests by Auto Express revealed that 1,454 people have been issued with on-the-spot fines for careless driving – which includes lane hogging and tailgating – in Scotland alone.Police authorities turning a blind eye to lane hoggersFixed Penalty Notice driving offences explained   Thames Valley police the biggest issuer of fines for lane hogging Although many areas won’t provide specific information on exactly why drivers have been stopped (usually just classing it as driving without due care and attention or inconsiderate driving), out of those that did Thames Valley issued the most fines for lane hogging – prosecuting 48 drivers for this offence since August last year. This compares with 84 undertaking offences and 46 tailgaters.

GM to build eight-speed transmission in Toledo

General Motors is directing $204 million of a $2 billion investment in its U.S. plants toward building an eight-speed automatic transmission in Toledo. Automakers are turning to transmissions with more gears to meet more stringent fuel-economy regulations.