VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Ford Motor Co's (F.N) new chief executive, Mark Fields, is giving the automaker's long-moribund Lincoln brand what his predecessor Alan Mulally never could: a little love and a lot of cash.

BMW (BMWG.DE) has hired Ferrari's former chief engineer as it seeks to strengthen its technical prowess amid intensifying competition with rival German luxury carmakers Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

German luxury carmaker BMW is teaming up with Chinese internet giant Baidu to start highly automated driving trials in Beijing and Shanghai.

The safety recall in parts of the United States of millions of vehicles with potentially defective air bags made by Japan's Takata Corp (7312.T) may expand to include General Motors Co (GM.N), according to documents filed this week with U.S. regulators.

Car sales in Europe rose 1.8 percent in August with volume makers Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), Ford (F.N) and Opel (GM.N) benefiting from improved demand in Spain, Portugal and Ireland, while premium makers lost ground due to a drop in sales in Germany.

As it strives to energize its Cadillac brand that once led the U.S. luxury auto market, General Motors Co said on Friday it will begin production of a new "top-end, high-technology car" by the end of 2015.

An Acura RLX sedan demonstrated an unusual way to tow another car this week: the vehicles were not physically attached. The second car drove itself, following instructions beamed over by the first in a feat of technology that indicates a new stage in automation is happening faster than many expected.

Premium car maker Audi expects to sell more than 1.7 million cars in 2014 even as sales momentum in some emerging markets slows, Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said.

U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors (TSLA.O) said on Friday that it would partner with China's No.2 mobile carrier China Unicom (0762.HK) to build charging outlets across the country to push sales in the world's biggest auto market.

Lear Corp, a maker of auto seats and electrical power systems, said it would buy automotive leather supplier Eagle Ottawa LLC for $850 million to strengthen its core seating business and boost its luxury seats portfolio.

Berlin-based PR executive Herbert Franz should be a soft target for German luxury automakers - his last car was a BMW (BMWG.DE) X3 - but he can't wait to leave them behind.

Munich, Germany-based app crowdtesting startup Testbirds picked up €2.1 million in its Series A funding round led by Seventure Partners for its expansion across Europe.

Salzburg, Austria-based automotive retail software provider Incadea PLC raised around £11.5 million (€14 million) through issuance of ordinary shares to partially fund the acquisition of Germany-based firm RC Real Business Solutions GmbH (RCRBS).

The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class has cameras that can read road signs and sensors to judge distance to the car in front, but is not yet able to make full use of the hardware.

Volkswagen AG's Audi division said today in a statement that it is aiming to challenge major automobile players in terms of global sales by pouring in €22 billion or $30.3 billion in auto model and technology development through 2018.