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From GMM

More than 25 drivers with formula one experience will be on the grid at this weekend's 80th running of the fabled 24 hours Le Mans race.

Near the front, in the premier LMP1 prototype class, will be Allan McNish and Marc Gene, driving for Audi. Scot McNish raced in F1 with Toyota in 2002, while Gene drove for Minardi and is still a Ferrari test driver.

Toyota has since left F1 and for 2012 has entered Le Mans, and the Japanese marque's number 8 entry is a grand prix-superteam featuring Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri), Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) and one-off 1999 Minardi driver Stephane Sarrazin.

Another hybrid Toyota prototype will be raced this weekend by Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima.

Also in the premier prototype class will be the F1 veteran Nick Heidfeld, driving a Lola-Toyota.

His teammates are Neel Jani, a former third driver for Toro Rosso, and quadruple F1 world champion Alain Prost's son Nicolas.

Also driving in the LMP1 class this weekend are Franck Montagny (Super Aguri), Jean-Christophe Bouillon (Sauber/1995), Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso/2008-9), David Brabham (Simtek/1994) and Karun Chandhok (HRT/2010).

In the LMP2 class, former Ferrari and McLaren driver Stefan Johansson, now 55, will be driving a Lola-Nissan.

Also racing will be the Swiss Jean-Denis Deletraz (Pacific/1995) and Bas Leinders, a Belgian who was Minardi's Friday practice driver in 2004.

British veteran and highly respected F1 commentator Martin Brundle, meanwhile, is sharing a Zytek-Nissan with his son Alex, who this year is a regular in the support series GP3.

Also in the LMP2 class are Shinji Nakano (Minardi/1998) and Brendon Hartley, the 22-year-old New Zealander who was an official Red Bull reserve driver in 2009.

Driving a Ferrari 458 in the GT class is grand prix winner Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni. Italian Bruni, now 31, raced for Minardi in 2004.

Ferrari test driver Andrea Bertolini and Olivier Beretta (Larrousse/1994) share the other Ferrari-linked AF Corse entry, while Jan Magnussen (Stewart/1997-8) is driving a Corvette.

In another Corvette will be the former F1 safety car driver Oliver Gavin, while former Minardi driver Pedro Lamy is set to race a similar car.

2012 Hyundai Azera

The Azera is a comfortable, attractive, pleasant car.

When I saw photographs of the 2012 Azera, I wondered why Hyundai had grafted the face of a Klingon onto its full-size sedan, but when I was walking toward our Venetian Red Pearl tester in the parking garage, I came to a stop in surprise. What was this attractive sedan sitting in front of me? Surely, it wasn't the same angry-looking Azera I'd seen in photos. In pictures, the car's crisp, muscular character lines come across as bulbous; the glamorous LED full-width taillights look like something from the mid-1990s; and the grille -- which is elegant and understated in person -- looks like, well, a chrome Klingon forehead.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Hyundai Azera - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Hyundai Azera - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2012 Hyundai Azera | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

About 50,000 copies of the 2012 Honda Civic are being recalled because of a potential issue with the left driveshaft.

Under a hot Sicilian sun, I parked the little Fiat 500 on a patch of pure history.

The National Automobile Dealers Association, in a new report, says there was an increase of 66 U.S. dealerships during the first quarter of 2012 and said the figure could climb as the auto industry recovers from the downturn.

Navistar International will not be permitted to pay fines in order to sell heavy-duty diesel truck engines that fail to meet pollution standards, a federal appeals court ruled today.

European governments including France should reintroduce scrapping schemes or other market subsidies to boost flagging car demand, Renault's No. 2 executive said.

Also in this episode: Infiniti axes the G25, the

General Motors, which said this month it would shut down an assembly line at an Ontario plant, still wants to keep production in Canada, but union talks this summer will be tough, CEO Dan Akerson said today.

For those seeking a gift for the car buff on their lists this Father's Day, the new board game Carnology might be just the ticket.

Nissan and Renault expect "three to four more years of stagnation" in the European auto business, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of both companies, said today.

Renault and Nissan expect "three to four more years of stagnation" in the European auto business, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of both companies, said today.

Renault is becoming increasingly frustrated by the speed at which electric car chargers are being installed across France and plans to fund some of the missing infrastructure itself.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: With the completely redesigned Explorer on the market, the

General Motors chief executive Dan Akerson had said talks with Opel unions about the future of plants there were constructive but would not comment specifically on the future of Bochum.

The 2013 GMC Terrain Denali five-passenger SUV will have a base price of $35,350, including shipping charges.

New vehicle sales in the Philippines rebounded by close to 31% to 14,265 units in May, compared with 10,913 units a year earlier, according to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI).

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed limited details about its most affordable performance model to date, the A45 AMG.

New vehicle sales in Vietnam fell by 27% to 5,710 units in May, compared with 7,778 units a year earlier, according to the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association VAMA.

GM CEO Dan Akerson said Tuesday that the automaker is tackling its problems in Europe and its massive pension obligation as it seeks to revitalize its sagging share price.