Other motoring stories in brief
Tata secures finance for possible deal
Tata has signed a deal to receive a $3 billion (about €1.9 billion) bridging loan from Citigroup and JPMorgan to help finance a potential purchase of luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover, a source familiar with the deal said yesterday.
India's Tata Motors, faced with rising borrowing costs, is keen to close a deal.
Tata also needs capital to help pay for the manufacture of Nano, the world's cheapest car, launching later this year.
"It's just a matter of time. . . Tata will obviously want to do the deal so they can account for it this fiscal," said PriceWaterhouseCooper's partner Abdul Majeed, referring to the close of Tata's 2007/08 financial year. "Clearly, because of the liquidity crunch, a deal now will be more expensive than they'd initially planned for."
New look for Mercedes M-Class
Mercedes has given its M-Class SUV a facelift, with the revised model being unveiled later this week at the New York Motor Show.
It features a redesigned bumper, headlamps and more dominant radiator grille while inside has been freshened up too, with higher-quality materials coupled with a new two-tone colour scheme and new four-spoke multifunction steering wheel. The facelifted M-Class is expected to arrive in Ireland in time for January sales in 2009.
F1 team Toro Rosso put up for sale
Italian-based Formula One team Toro Rosso have been put up for sale, joint owner Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed.
Mateschitz and fellow shareholder Gerhard Berger are thought to want to find a new buyer by the end of next season. Mateschitz, the man behind the Red Bull F1 team, has claimed he cannot continue operating the junior team from when the use of customer engines will be outlawed from the start of 2010 under the new Concord Agreement.