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Renault's entry-level range of vehicles is enjoying success as customers hit by the economic crisis turn to low-cost cars.

A123 Systems, the electric-car battery maker that filed for bankruptcy this week, had promising chemistry and marquee customers.

Toyota's expanded Prius hybrid lineup has surged past the Honda Accord and Civic, and Toyota Camry, to become the best-selling vehicle line this year in California, the biggest United States auto market.

At Kia's car factory in Zilina in Slovakia, which lies in the heart of middle Europe, there is no sign of the crisis gripping the region's auto industry.

GAZ Group, the Russian automaker that nearly ruined itself with a costly foray into passenger cars, is back from near collapse.

Electrohydraulic braking, a technology developed to meet the needs of hybrid-powered vehicles, is poised for wider use in conventional cars and trucks.

From GMM

Michael Schumacher has admitted his former protege and friend Sebastian Vettel might accept the "new challenge" of a Ferrari cockpit.

Felipe Massa's new contract for just 2013 has only intensified speculation that the Ferrari door for Red Bull's double world champion is wide open.

Some think the 25-year-old German has signed some sort of 2014 'option'.

Schumacher is quoted in Berlin by DPA news agency: "Seb speaks in high tones about Ferrari, but I don't know what the future holds."

Ferrari stand. (Photo: Pirelli)

Michael Schumacher, returning to retirement at the end of the year, is Ferrari's most famous and successful driver, having won five consecutive championships with the Italian marque.

Also as a two-time champion with a different team, Schumacher agreed to join the then-struggling Ferrari as a 26-year-old in 1996.

Referring to the Vettel rumours, Schumacher added: "At some point, it may be that he is looking for a new challenge too."

Second in the point standings, Canadian Bruno Spengler Friday set the fastest time in the first free practice session of the final and decisive race of the DTM.

The weather was perfect today in Hockenheim with a bright sun and a temperature of 20 degrees.

Spengler in his BMW M3 DTM did two very long runs before going out in the last moments of the session on a set of new Hankook tires to set the fastest time of the day in 1m34.971.

Bruno Spengler, BMW. (Photo: René Fagnan)

Spengler is second in the standings, just three points behind Mercedes top man Gary Paffett. The Briton also did long runs, byt only managed to set the 16th fastest time in 1m36.649.

The other title contender, Jamie Green of Mercedes, third in points, set the 17th time of the day.

Gary Paffett, Mercedes. (Photo: René Fagnan)

Spengler' teammate at BMW, reigning DTM champion Martin Tomczyk ended up second fastest in 1m35.776, eight tenths of a second slower than the Canadian.

Third was Mike Rockenfeller of the Audi squad, followed by Mattias Ekstrom (Audi), Augusto Farfus (BMW) and Dirk Werner (BMW).

American Joey Hand was 12th in his BMW. David Coulthard, running his last DTM race, was 13th today and fastest Mercedes runner. The other Canadian entered, Robert Wickens, set the 15th time in his Mercedes.

Auto123.com will provide a live description of the qualifying session tomorrow.

Tiago Monteiro is aiming for a position in the top 10 this weekend, for the race debuts of the new works Honda Civic WTCC in Suzuka.

Honda, that will enter WTCC with a full program in 2013 with Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro, will run the last three rounds of the 2012 season in Suzuka, Shanghai and Macao with a Civic driven by Monteiro.

Tiago Monteiro, Honda Civic, in Suzuka. (Photo: FIA WTCC)

The Portuguese driver was confident and was determinated to work with method ahead of Suzuka, "We must not lose sight of our goal for this first appointment: we need to gain experience and test several technical solutions that could be beneficial for the 2013 season. We need real information. Getting a good result is not our goal, but in our true spirit, the top 10 should be a reachable target."

From GMM

Two tenths of a second could ensure Fernando Alonso is able to win the 2012 world championship.

"We need to find at least two tenths," Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Although Alonso's fastest race lap in Korea last time out was four tenths off the fastest Red Bull, Felipe Massa was just two tenths adrift the ultimate pace in the sister F2012.

Reports have indicated the Brazilian was at the wheel of a new exhaust layout that will be added to Alonso's red car in India next weekend.

Domenicali said the step needed by Ferrari to compete with Red Bull and track down Sebastian Vettel's 6-point lead is small.

"We do not need to reinvent our car," said the Italian.

The ultimate Ferrari F2012 version in Korea. (Photo: Pirelli)

Red Bull's advantage has looked significant at the last few races, but designer Adrian Newey is cautious.

"It is not certain that we will maintain this advantage over Ferrari," he is quoted by Italy's La Stampa.

"No team this year has dominated for more than two consecutive grands prix," added the Briton. "In Korea we were very concerned about the excessive consumption of tyres."

Fernando Alonso is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace: "Five races ago McLaren was the favourite to win everything else this year but in Korea they were almost out of the points. We are six points behind but there are still 100 in the game. We have a good chance of winning the championship."

Susie Wolff (Mercedes) announced that she will end her DTM career after the final race of the 2012 season this weekend.

The Scottish driver made her DTM debuts back in 2006 with Team Mücke Mercedes. She currently drives for Persson Motorsport Mercedes. Her best results were two 7th places in 2010.

Susie Wolff, Mercedes. (Photo: DTM)

This week, she had a test aboard a Williams Formula 1 car at Silverstone, and she is set to be involved again in the development program of the team in the future.

Bernie Ecclestone announces the inaugural New Jersey Grand Prix won't take place in 2013.

The F1 supremo says he has reached the limit in terms of waiting for the organizers to get things in order on their end.

Foundation work was due to begin in early autumn but the engineering permits are still to get required before any work can start.

Bernie Ecclestone tells Eurosport: "It is not going to happen next year."

The Briton adds: "If they came up with the contract with us and we were satisfied the question is could they carry out the work in six months? Winter in New York is not good. There's not a lot going on with New Jersey. They are still running around trying to get their finances sorted out. I think if suddenly they found the investors they would be okay. They are looking for investors."

Bernie Ecclestone added to the Press Association: "The reason is because they didn't quite know what they were doing. They got all the permissions together. Everything was done, that was all fine, but then they missed the boat a little on some financing that was coming in."

Ecclestone's decision frees up one place on the 2013 calendar, reports say he is already in discussions over a Mexican Grand Prix.

But Bernie Ecclestone denied suggestions Turkey or Mexico could replace New York on the 20-race 2013 calendar.

"No, no, no. It will be 19 races," he said.

Fans of the iconic American sports car can now circle January 13th, 2013 on their calendar. That's when the new seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette (C7) will make its debut at the NAIAS in Detroit.

GM has just released a teaser that shows the new Crossed Flags logo -- and nothing more. Still incorporating a pair of flags, one a racing checkered flag and other featuring the Chevrolet “bowtie” emblem along with a French fleur-de-lis, the logo has evolved to adopt a more technical, more angular and more swept appearance. It also shows greater depth, colour, and attention to detail.

Of course, you may remember that a video showing the front fascia of the new Corvette was leaked this summer.

Are you drooling yet?

Photo: Chevrolet

Nissan has announced a new crash-avoidance system called ''Autonomous Emergency Steering'' that applies automatic braking and automatic steering in situations where a collision is imminent.

When unexpected obstacles come in the way, such as a kid running into the street or an emergency braking manoeuvre by the vehicle ahead, Nissan's system initially responds by braking. If the driver cannot immediately steer to avoid said obstacles, the system takes over to automatically steer the vehicle.

Autonomous Emergency Steering uses a front-mounted radar and camera, two left and right rear radars, and five laser scanners attached around the vehicle.

Photo: Nissan

The first recall issued on the BMW 7 Series this week affects 2,087 units from 2004 to 2008 that are equipped with the Comfort Access option. If the driver depresses the start-stop button multiple times in rapid succession, the transmission could shift to Neutral (N) instead of Park (P). If the driver leaves the vehicle without engaging the parking brake, a sufficient slope could cause the vehicle to roll away, possibly leading to damage or injuries.

The second recall on the BMW 7 Series affects 416 units from 2004 to 2007 that are equipped with the Comfort Access option. The doors may not latch correctly and could open while the car is underway.

In both cases, BMW Canada dealers will reprogram the Central Gateway Control Module with updated software.

Source: Transports Canada

Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) was forced to retirement after he went off in ES3 in rally Italia on Friday morning.

The Frenchman was leading the event after the two first special stages ran on Thursday, but he hit a rock at the exit of a curve in the very first special stage on Friday, damaging his steering, and was forced to retire.

Photo: WRC

Mikko Hirvonen (Citroen) and Petter Solberg (Ford) inherited the lead, both drivers still in the wait for their first victory this season.

Thierry Neuville (Citroen) also crashed out in the ES3. His car ended on the roof, but the belgian driver and his codriver Nicolas Gilsoul were able to get the car back on his four wheels but lost several minutes in the incident.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) approved a new technical standard for plug-in electric vehicles that will cut charging times from eight hours to just 20 minutes.

The standard is called ''Combo'' because it combines Level 2 (AC) and Level 3 (DC) charging. It was developed in cooperation with more than 190 automakers, utilities and equipment builders.

In 2013, GM will introduce the Chevrolet Spark EV that will feature the fast-charging system.

Ford said that it supports the new standard as well.

Meanwhile, Tesla, Mitsubishi and Nissan use a rival system known as ''CHAdeMO.''

Source: Automotive News

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

From GMM

Martin Brundle is tipping the furore surrounding Romain Grosjean's antics to calm down in the coming weeks.

In Korea recently, the Frenchman was notably cautious on track, amid suggestions he faced multiple race bans if he got himself into yet more trouble.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus. (Photo: WRi2)

Romain Grosjean has been involved in several incidents near the start of races so far this year, and was banned at Monza.

But former McLaren driver and British commentator Brundle backed the 26-year-old, insisting: "You can make a fast driver more cautious, but you can't make a cautious driver faster.

"Romain just needs a few races under his belt without incident, then the criticism will subside," he is quoted by the German-language Speed Week.

From GMM

Ferrari has defended its decision to keep Felipe Massa at the famous team beyond 2012.

Earlier this year, it seemed certain the Maranello outfit would replace the struggling Brazilian for 2013, with Nico Hulkenberg, Paul di Resta and Sergio Perez among the touted candidates.

But Felipe Massa, 31, has enjoyed a surge of form in recent grands prix, securing at least an eighth consecutive season at Ferrari next year.

The decision has been criticised in some quarters.

Felipe Massa in a good pace in Korea. (Photo: Ferrari)

But a news item at Ferrari's official website insists Massa was not chosen because of a "lack of alternatives", or because Fernando Alonso wanted his current teammate to stay.

"Ferrari alone chooses its drivers," the report reads.

"Many knocked on the doors of Maranello, some were considered, but in the end ... there is no one better than Felipe to deliver the speed, talent and capacity to work for the good of the team," it added.

Ferrari also insisted the fact "harmony reigns within the team" at present was another factor.

Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia have contacted Rally Italia's director in order to ask safety changes on the Sardinian stages.

Both men sent an e-mail to the organizers after they spotted dangerous places during the recce, especially with open-ended barriers at some points of a new special stage that has been added this year.

In June, a crash in a similar barrier cost the life of Gareth Roberts, Craig Breen's co-driver aboard a Peugeot 207 S2000, during the Targa Florio, an IRC round presented in Sicilia. In 2011, Robert Kubica was seriously injured in similar circumstances during a local rally in Italy.

"I noted the places where they are very dangerous and for three point, it was very bad, so this is why I made the email to them," said Ingrassia. "We have spoken about this with huge importance since some very bad accidents in the last 15 months. This is the black point of the moment and I was really upset and angry that nothing has been done on a new stage like this."

Event director announced that changes will be made on those particular points.

The first day of the rally Italia Sardinia, which consisted in two runs of the same special stage, was dominated by both Citroen driver, who took each one stage victory. Sebastien Loeb remained in first position ahead of team mate Mikko Hirvonen. Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford) lost time when he damaged a front wheel following a contact with a rock.