Jay Penske risked his whole Indianapolis 500 race program on finding two new engines before qualifying began.

The risk paid off for his team — and race organizers.

A deal made Thursday in Indy will give Penske’s two drivers, Sebastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge, the dominant Chevrolet engines for the rest of the season and was a big step toward making sure the Indy 500 will start with its traditional 33-car field.

Penske did it by ending his contentious relationship with Lotus, including dropping a $ 4.6 million lawsuit against the engine manufacturer. He was released from his contract with Lotus and got approval from IndyCar officials to make the switch.

After a week of negotiating, it’s all done.

“It was nice to see them push it out of the pit box and we all cheered when he was pulling out,” Legge said after Bourdais shook down her car early Thursday. “It was definitely a step in the right direction.”

Penske did not provide additional details about the agreement.

He said C…………… continues on Tbo.com

By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM

Industry leadership took a bearish turn Thursday as two of the most resilient defensive groups unraveled in heavy trade.

Auto parts retailers and dollar store chains dropped after earnings reports from Dollar Tree (DLTR) and Advance Auto Parts (AAP).

Advance Auto swooned 17% after missing Q1 earnings forecasts. Management said a mild winter led to fewer major repairs for cars, and warned of “constrained” results in the current quarter. Shares of other auto parts leaders, including O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY) and AutoZone (continues on Investor’s Business Daily

It goes on sale in the US first and arrives in the UK this autumn. No prices yet, but expect to be paying at least £25,000 including the Government’s £5,000 subsidy. The driveline has been developed by Magna International and it includes a 23kWh, liquid-cooled, LG Chem-supplied lithium-ion battery pack, which gives a range of about 100 miles. The battery systems, inverter and cooling adds about 440lb to the all-up weight of a petrol-engined Focus and Mark Lucas, a Ford engineer working on the project, says that the cost of the battery installation is about a third that of the entire car.

It takes a few seconds for the systems check and the all clear light to illuminate on the dash. Then just pull the transmission lever through to Drive and the car creeps away without any throttle like a conventional automatic. Like most electric cars, the initial acceleration is startling as the electric motor delivers its maximum 245lb ft of torque virtually from a standstill. It falters away above 50mph, however, as the torque slopes off, although the 90mph top speed is…………… continues on Telegraph.co.uk

Petty Theft: On May 15, 2012 at 08:46 a.m. a resident from the 100 block of Bluebird Court reported the theft of her Coach purse which contained a matching Coach wallet and a bracelet. Total value approximately $ 800. The victim believes the purse was in a Trader Joes bag she forgot on the driveway of her home the night before. She didn’t realize her mistake until she arrived at work in Oakland this morning.

Spousal Battery:  On May 16, 2012 at 2:26 a.m. Officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of Crepe Myrtle for an alleged assault. The victim called to report that her husband, a 41-year-old resident punched her in the mouth. Upon arrival Officers located the husband walking from the residence. After the victim was interviewed, her husband was placed under arrest on suspicion of spousal battery and transported to Martinez Detention Facility without incident.

Lost Property: On May 16, 2012, at 8:53 a.m. an Officer was dispatched to HPD for a lobby detail. A resident from the 100 block of Cardinal reported th…………… continues on Patch.com

The new-generation, 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera has the familiar, sexy shape of its forebears. But it’s tastefully redone with a wider front track, a body that’s a bit longer and lighter, a holistically designed interior and modern touches like light-emitting diode tail lamps.

Of course, there’s more power, too — up to 400 horses and 325 foot-pounds of torque from the up-level, naturally aspirated six cy…………… continues on San Jose Mercury News

E15 fuel can wreck your engine, according to new data presented by auto industry trade groups.

The government has approved the use of a blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline, but that was premature, because testing wasn’t finished, according to Auto Alliance and Global Automakers, Washington, D.C., trade groups that represent most car companies.

Groups representing small-engine manufacturers and power-equipment makers also have said that alcohol-blend fuels are bad for the engines in boats, chain saws, lawn mowers, generators and the like.

A statement today from the two auto groups cites “new results from a two-year study on engine durability” done for the Coordinating Research Council (CRC). The study for CRC was done by FEV, which the groups describe as “a longtime consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”

The statement from Auto Alliance and Global Automakers says:

The CRC study r…………… continues on USA TODAY

Shanghai, China :

Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) has hosted a grand opening and groundbreaking ceremony for Corning (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Corning’s wholly owned automotive substrate facility in Shanghai, China. The event celebrated the completion of a $ 125 million expansion and the beginning of a previously announced third capacity build-out. Members of the Chinese government, customers, and employees attended the ceremony.

Corning (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. was established in 1999 to provide advanced emissions control substrate technologies and engineering services to automotive customers in China and Asia. The facility began manufacturing IT News Online

DETROIT (Talk Radio 1270) A brand-new business is taking off in metro Detroit and its success is a double-edged sword: The Cat-Clamp keeps your valuable catalytic converter safe from thieves.

But it also means thieves are targeting your catalytic converter, the emission control device riding on a vehicle’s undercarriage. Has it come to this? Apparently it has.

“For whatever reason, we have seen a rise of these thefts in the metro Detroit area,” said Jim Dusa, CEO of Cat-Clamp in Toledo, Ohio, who visited Charlie Langton’s 1270 Talk Radio show to discuss his invention.

Dusa said it takes a thief about “15 seconds” to cut the converter away from a vehicle — and some recyclers will pay hundreds of dollars for them because they contain precious metals. It costs upwards of $ 300 to replace a missing converter.

The Detroit News reported Dearborn police arrested two people last month who allegedly stole more than 100 catalytic converters in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties. More thieves appear to be operating in Grosse Pointe, St. Clair…………… continues on CBS Local

* March replacement battery shipments surge 25 pct mo/mo

* OEM shipments climb over 10 pct mo/mo

NEW YORK May 14 (Reuters) – North American shipments of replacement automotive batteries jumped 24.79 percent in March from February and rose nearly 3 percent from March 2011, a U.S. industry group said on Monday.

Battery Council International reported that shipments surged to 9,515,512 units in March from 7,625,187 units in February and 9,269,738 in March 2011.

For the year through March, replacement battery shipments fell 6.05 percent to 25,436,032 units from 27,073,087 a year earlier.

North American shipments of original equipment, or OEM, automotive batteries rose 10.12 percent to 1,708,389 units in March from 1…………… continues on Reuters

Today, a few stocks are down on high volume:

• Advance Auto Parts (AAP) is seeing its price fall on above-normal volume today, as 1.1 million shares have moved, or 1.5 times its average daily volume. The stock price had dipped 5% to $ 83.98. Shares are down $ 6.69 (-7.4%) from a price of $ 90.67 on May 7, 2012. The stock is trading 5.6% above its 200-day moving average.

• InterOil Corporation (IOC) is trading down on a volume of 1.4 million, or 2.3 times its normal daily volume. The stock price has slipped 8.5% to $ 52.69. The stock has lost momentum over the last three months, losing $ 13.64 (-20.6%) from $ 66.33 on February 15, 2012. The stock has moved down across its 50-day moving average of $ 56.29 today.

• Ancestry.com (ACOM) is trading down on above-normal volume today, seeing a price drop on a volume of 2.9 million, or 4.1 times its average daily…………… continues on Fox Business

Related

O’Reilly Auto Parts is building a store on South Eastern Boulevard at Russell Street, near downtown Fayetteville.

Construction began last week on a 7,500-square-foot store, said Andrew Fallis of the development company Swain & Associates of Wilmington. A building permit lists the value of the construction at $ 675,000.

O’Reilly has five others stores in Cumberland County, and several in the Cape Fear region. The first Fayetteville store opened in mid-2008.

The one-acre site on South Eastern Boulevard had been a car lot recently. Fallis said he is working on other possible O’Reilly sites but wouldn’t offer any details.

O’Reilly operates 3,740 stores and 23 distribution in 39 states. Its total sales were $ 5.8 billion in 2011.

Swain & Associates also owns Cape Fear Plaza at 330 N. Eastern Blvd., where a Roses closed last fall. The developer is looking for new tenants in that shopping center.

The company’s…………… continues on Fayetteville Observer

While they don’t revamp Rolls-Royces as frequently as, say, Renaults, the almost 10-year life of the Phantom is still something of a landmark. Yet longevity is exactly what owners requested. “Our customers don’t want a new car coming to market too often,” Rolls-Royce told us.

So will they be upset by this updated Phantom? It would be difficult to think so; put old and new together and you’d struggle to spot the differences. The main changes are a new ZF eight-speed auto box and rear differential, revised sat-nav, a 360-degree-view camera system, Harman Kardon stereo and some of the most subtle coachwork changes ever seen on a new model.

Under the body there is some strengthening for the aluminium spaceframe chassis, but even the most noticeable change – the adoption of rectangular LED headlamps – is pretty subtle.

So is it much ado about nothing? Not really, as the old six-speed transmission was an Achilles’ heel; it failed to make the most of the 6.75-litre V12 and could be a bit jerky, too.

The…………… continues on AutoExpress

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign often reminds me of home. Perhaps it’s because of the issues that keep leading the presumptive GOP nominee back to Michigan — a place that isn’t just our shared home state, but also a must-win in the general election. But unfortunately for Mitt, getting some hometown love is proving to be a tough task.

Romney already was on shaky ground in the state. Despite his efforts, a well-organized campaign machine that has out-raised President Obama in the state and the fact that his dad was governor here in the 1960s, the latest Detroit News poll shows Obama with a slight lead. Even Romney’s Michigan primary victory was a real squeaker as he edged out Rick Santorum by only 3 percentage points.

And though allegations that Romney bullied classmates at the toney Cranbrook School in suburban Detroit dominated the news cycle in the state this week, that is not his biggest concern here……………. continues on Boston Herald

May 11, 2012|Reuters

An auto parts manufacturer announced Friday that it will invest $ 19 million to expand and equip the former MKM Machine Tool Co. facility in Jeffersonville, Ind., adding up to 350 jobs by 2015.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, who attended the announcement by officials at Advanced Metal Technologies of Indiana, hailed the development as a sign that companies are picking up on the advantages of doing business in the Hoosier state. He said the region “is rapidly becoming one of our most requested sites.”

Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore noted that the average job at Advanced Metals pays about $ 21 an hour. And with “a $ 19 million investment. That’s big,” Moore said after a press briefing held on the factory floor.

The state has offered job training incentives of up to $ 200,000 to boost skills of the workforce and new hires, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

Advanced Metal, a subsidiary of Whitesell Group of Muscle Shoals, Ala., bought MKM Machine Tool in December and has hired 106 of its employees. The company, which manufactures automotive air ba…………… continues on The Courier-Journal

The NASCAR Bojangles’ Southern 500 is scheduled for May 12, 2012, at the Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Greg Biffle won the pole for the race with 180.257 miles per hour. Scott Riggs, Michael McDowell, Stephen Leicht and Mike Bliss have been disqualified.

Bojangles’ Southern 500 Schedule for May 12

6:30 p.m. EST

The race begins, and fans can watch on Fox.

The following drivers have qualified for the Bojangles’ Southern 500:

1. Car No. 16, Greg Biffle (Ford, 3M and O’Reilly Auto Parts, 180.257 miles per hour)

2. Car No. 48, Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet, Lowe’s, 179.566 miles per hour)

3. Car No. 5, Kasey Kahne (Chevrolet, Farmers Insurance…………… continues on Yahoo! Sports