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Renault plans a joint venture to build cars in China with Dongfeng Motor, the country's second-largest automaker, a report said.

Automakers are embracing online video ads for millennials for an obvious reason: That's where young shoppers' eyeballs are; they're buyers who appreciate the offbeat and humorous.

The weak European market is slowing Kia's growth plans in the region. A target of 3 percent market share, originally set for 2013 and then delayed to 2015, has been postponed to 2016 or 2017.

Honda's Civic redo, Ford's people-mover version of the Transit Connect and a redesigned Subaru Forester will be among the attention-getters at the Los Angeles Auto Show that begins this week.

Having languished for decades in a crowded field of mass-market nameplates, Mazda will reposition itself as a more premium brand, Mazda Motor Corp. CEO Takashi Yamanouchi said.

Klaus Busse is tall and lanky with giant hands and an outsized smile. His standard attire is a light-gray windbreaker worn over a faded T-shirt and jeans.

Whenever Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne appears in public, TV crews jostle to beam his words around the globe. Amid the push and shove it's easy to miss the tall, curly-headed young man who often looks on from the sidelines. He's John Elkann.

Kasey Kahne, the latest addition to the Hendrick Motorsports' driver lineup will have Great Clips as a primary sponsor for three NASCAR Sprint Cup series races in 2013.


Great Clips was Kahne's co-primary sponsor in the Nov. 4 race at Texas Motor Speedway, marking the company's first-ever Sprint Cup sponsorship. In 2013, the Minneapolis-based company will be the No. 5 Chevrolet SS team's primary sponsor March 17 at Bristol, Tenn., July 28 at Indianapolis and Sept. 22 at Loudon, N.H.

Photo: Great Clips Racing

Kahne had the majority of his Sprint Cup races in 2012 sponsored by Farmer's Insurance.

“It's exciting to have Great Clips come on board the No. 5 for 2013,” Kahne said. “They've been with me for most of my career, supporting me as a driver and a team owner. It's always great to see a partner step up their program, and I'm looking forward to bringing them their first win in the Sprint Cup Series.”

“When you hear the people at Great Clips talk about their business, it's easy to understand why they're so successful,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “The focus on customer service, convenience, value, community and philanthropy is something NASCAR fans appreciate. It's a company that's been committed to our sport and seen a great return on investment over many years. We look forward to building on that at the Cup level.”

“Kasey Kahne has been such an important member of our Great Clips family since we first sponsored him nearly 10 years ago,” said Terri Miller, vice president of marketing for Great Clips. “To have the opportunity to work with Kasey in the Sprint Cup Series is a very proud moment for all of us. We could not ask for a better partner to take this step with than Hendrick Motorsports, a team that shares our company's values. At Great Clips, our tagline is ‘It's gonna be great,' and that's exactly how we feel about this relationship.”

Kahne, 32, has earned 14 career victories and 26 pole positions in Sprint Cup Series competition. In his first season with Hendrick Motorsports, the Enumclaw, Wash., native secured his third career Chase for the Sprint Cup berth and recorded two wins, four poles, 12 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s. He finished the 2012 campaign a career-best fourth in championship points.



Since 2003, the company has supported his Kahne's efforts as both a driver and car owner across multiple racing series.



Great Clips has utilized NASCAR as a marketing platform since 2000. Its relationships have included sponsorship of Turner Motorsports, which will continue in 2013 with Kahne running select events, and the recent Great Clips 200 race entitlement at Phoenix International Raceway.

Mazda Motor Corp. CEO Takashi Yamanouchi told Automotive News last week that the Japanese manufacturer wants to increase its U.S. sales to more than 400,000 units by the fiscal year that ends on March 31st, 2016. That would mean a 43% improvement from the current volume.

While the U.S. is Mazda's largest market, the small, cash-strapped company (which represents a mere 2% of the entire industry) has its work cut out for it.

The plan is to launch many new and more upscale products over the next few years, starting with the third-generation Mazda6 sedan in January. Similar to the new Mazda CX-5, which made its American debut last spring, these models will offer the full suite of SKYACTIV technologies -- representing 80% of Mazda's lineup by 2016.

Yamanouchi wants to achieve that 43% spike in U.S. sales with the same number of dealers. The goal is to boost their earnings so they will invest more in their stores.

Source: Automotive News

From GMM

Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's supporters were clinging to hope even after Sebastian Vettel sealed his third consecutive world championship on Sunday.

Replay footage from the Brazilian title showdown appeared to depict Red Bull's Vettel passing Kamui Kobayashi under yellow flags during the Interlagos race.

However, the apparent infraction was not investigated by the stewards during the race, raising suspicions the officials had not noticed.

So it became a post-race point of intrigue, given that if Vettel was subsequently demoted from sixth to eighth place, Alonso would have won the championship by a point.

"The yellow flag, (there's) not any news," the Spaniard told reporters after the podium ceremony.

Fernando Alonso said race winner Jenson Button had told him about the possibility Vettel had passed illegally.

Podium 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

"There was some kind of hope when he told me there is some yellow flag problem but then I think it was not true," he admitted.

Indeed, it was Ferrari's technical boss Pat Fry who clarified that the waving flag was actually coloured yellow and red, which is a warning to drivers about treacherous track conditions.

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The press office of Pirelli, the official tire supplier of Formula 1, produced some interesting statistics about the 2012 which concluded on Sunday with the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Total number of tires provided for the season:
Race tires: 31,800 of which 22,500 dry tires and 9,300 wet tires plus an additional 6,600 for the tests (not including development tires)

Percentage of tire type produced:
(for race tires only): supersoft: 6 % / soft: 25 % / medium: 21 % / hard: 17 % / intermediate: 18 % / wet: 11 % / 2 % development tires

Total numbers of tires used: Dry tires: 21,400; wet tires: 2,100

Number of tires recycled during 2012: All, i.e. 31,800 race tires plus 6,600 test tires

Average life span of a dry compound this season: 180 km

Average life span of a wet compound this season: 140 km

Photo: Pirelli

Most laps run on Pirelli tires: Hard - Kobayashi (798); Medium - Senna (869); Soft - Ricciardo (1,012); Supersoft - Raikkonen (237); Intermediate - Alonso (145); Wet - Kobayashi (104)

Distance covered by Pirelli's Renault R30 test car in 2012: 7,012 kms

Total number of pit stops for the year: 957 (of which 14 were a Drive Through and 2 a stop&go penalty)

Total average number of stops per race: 47.9, i.e. 1.9 per driver

Most pit stops in a race: 76 (Malaysia)

Least pit stops in a race: 24 (United States)

Fastest pit stop time: 2.31s (McLaren / Jenson Button at the German Grand Prix)

Photo: Pirelli

Number of overtaking manoeuvres in 2012: 994 (not including Brazil)

Most overtaking manoeuvres in a dry race: 90 at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix

Most overtaking manoeuvres in a wet race: 76 at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix

Least overtaking manoeuvres in a dry race: 12 at the Monaco Grand Prix

From GMM

Renault is open to supplying more formula one teams with engines.

That is the news, after the French carmaker's president Carlos Ghosn made a visit at the weekend to the Brazilian grand prix.

Currently, Renault supplies engines to four teams: Red Bull, Lotus, Williams and Caterham.

But there have been reports the other Red Bull-owned team, Toro Rosso, will switch from Ferrari to Renault power for the new turbo V6 rules in 2014.

"During a small media round he (Ghosn) confirmed that Renault will equip more teams with engines," the journalist Mathias Brunner wrote in a Speed Week report from Interlagos.

The Renault engine aboard the Williams. (Photo: WRi2)

With Craig Pollock's 2014 'Pure' engine foray now regarded as defunct, it is expected that HRT and Marussia supplier Cosworth will bow out of F1 along with the V8 rules at the end of next year.

"(For) 2014 we've got, as far as I know, only three manufacturers (Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes) committed to the sport," McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said in Brazil.

But there remain rumours Honda, having pulled out of the sport at the end of 2008 amid the global financial crisis, is interested in the 2014 rules.

"But there's no concrete signs they're doing anything at the moment," said Ross Brawn, who was Honda's team principal. "I gather, as a company, they're improving after some difficult years and I think there are lots of engineers there who would love to get involved."

From GMM

After sealing his third consecutive drivers' title on Sunday, Sebastian Vettel bemoaned the "dirty tricks" his rivals deployed to try to stop him.

"A lot of people tried to play dirty tricks," the German said in a television interview immediately after the Brazilian grand prix.

Reporters furrowed their brows, wondering what Red Bull's 25-year-old German was referring to: Ferrari's deliberate gearbox penalty in Austin, perhaps, or Felipe Massa's blocking tactics at Interlagos?

Maybe the incessant and destabilising rumours of Vettel's switch to Ferrari, or suggestions Red Bull only wins because its car is illegal or the team refuses to stick to budget restraints?

"People tried everything, inside the lines and outside the lines, to beat us," he insisted.

Sebastian Vettel refused to be much more specific than that.

"Sorry but I think I've mentioned everything I have to mention," he said.

"I think it's clear but it's not for us to rate ... we have to focus on what we have, what is in our hands and getting excited about what others are doing -- what's the point?" added Vettel.

Sixth in Brazil, Sebastian Vettel clinched a third world championship title in a row. (Photo: WR2i)

He admitted, however, that given Red Bull's on and off-track struggles in 2012, victory in the end was particularly sweet.

"It is always important that you are happy with what you see in the mirror," said Vettel. "There is no point in being a fake or trying to cheat. I have made mistakes like everyone else, but the way I was brought up, I was told to be honest."

Vettel's defeated title adversary Fernando Alonso did not congratulate Vettel in his official post-race statement, but he insisted he did not feel beaten in Brazil.

"The championship was not lost here," France's RMC Sport quotes him saying.

"I lost the championship earlier, like when Grosjean went over my head (at Spa). There are many situations of the season that make me think about these 3 points, but that's sport. Even though I finished second, I have never had so much respect and affection from the people in the paddock. It is the first time that not only the fans, drivers, old drivers and even the teams have all told me that we did the best championship," said Alonso.

His countryman, former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari, agrees.

"The result in Brazil underlined that he (Alonso) is the world champion in terms of what he deserves," he told Mundo Deportivo newspaper. "Sixth place for Brazil meant Vettel finished his third consecutive title in points and engineering talent."

Subaru Team Canada's Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell capped off a difficult 2012 season on a high, winning the Rally of the Tall Pines, sixth and final stop on the Canadian Rally Championship (CRC).

Richard and Ockwell overcame two flat tires and a fire to beat reigning and repeat champions Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard.

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell (Photo: Peter MacDonald)

Having already won four rallies this season, the Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team had the championship secured even before coming to Bancroft, ON, for the presentation of the Tall Pines.

Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard (Photo: Peter MacDonald)

They were in contention for a fifth win this season, but saw their lead evaporate when the rear suspension of their Mitsubishi EVO X collapsed.

Ugo Desgreniers and Erik Kirby completed the podium.

Ugo Desgreniers and Erik Kirby (Photo: Peter MacDonald)

Rally of the Tall Pines Final Results
1.Pat Richard - Alan Ockwell - one hour, 46 minutes, 18.4 seconds
2.Antoine L'Estage - Nathalie Richard - 1:50:56.1
3.Ugo Desgreniers - Erik Kirby - 1:52:39.1
4.Ryan Huber - John Vanos - 1:56:24.5
5.Alexandre R. Ouellette - Nicholas R. Ouellette - 1:59:04.3
6.Maxime Labrie - Robert Labrie - 1:59:32.9
7.Hardy Schmidtke - John Hall - 1:59:51.7
8.Jeremy Norris - Frank Sprongl - 2:01:34.8
9.Michelle Laframboise - Dean Hopkins - 2:03:14.7
10.Mason Moyle - Craig Drew - 2:05:31.1

Lexus has earned two ALG Residual Value awards for 2013, one for the LS 460 in the Premium Executive Car segment, and another for the GS 350 in the Premium Full-Size Car segment.

''We are proud of the GS 350 and LS 460 for winning their segments in ALG's 2013 Residual Value Awards,'' said Brian Smith, vice president of marketing at Lexus. ''Both vehicles were redesigned for 2013, and these awards recognize the major improvements made to both of them in dramatic styling, dynamic driving performance and all-new multimedia systems. Top residual values are important to luxury owners, and these awards demonstrate, once again, how Lexus strives to create an amazing ownership experience for our customers.''

ALG honours vehicles that are predicted to retain the highest percentage of their original price after three years.

2013 Lexus GS 350 (Photo: Lexus)

2013 Lexus LS 460 (Photo: Lexus)

In mainstream cars and trucks, more and more manufacturers are offering leather seating surfaces, or leather upholstery.

In the vast majority of cases, it is not real leather, but what is called leatherette or simulated leather. You also have vinyl. What's the difference?

Genuine leather, obviously, is made from cowhide. Its porous texture allows it to breathe and adjusts to body temperature. It gets softer over time, and in luxury cars, the smell of leather is an important factor. On the other hand, it wears more quickly than leatherette or vinyl, it costs more to produce and if it's not treated with a protective finish, it will stain and absorb odours more quickly.

Leatherette, or simulated leather, is a synthetic texture made with vinyl, but with a softer feel to match leather as closely as possible. It's cheaper to produce than leather and easier to keep clean, and more durable. However, it's generally colder in winter and hotter in summer than the real stuff.

Luxury brands will say that owners and environmentalists want them to offer an alternative to genuine leather so they wouldn't slay as many cattle -- as if cows were sent to the slaughterhouse only to dress up car cockpits.

Vinyl is the ultimate low-cost texture for seating surfaces. It wears down much less quickly than leather and is the easiest texture to keep clean. However, it stays hard, has a tendency to crack and doesn't breathe, so on hot days we get all sweaty on them.

While vinyl seating surfaces have become pretty obsolete in passenger cars, some manufacturers will use vinyl on the lower portion or backsides of their leather seats to keep costs down. In most cases it's not readily apparent, in others it's obvious.

Leatherette, or simulated leather, is a synthetic texture made with vinyl, but with a softer feel to match leather as closely as possible. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

The problem is that a lot of manufacturers call their seat upholstery leather when it's in fact leatherette. It couldn't be more obvious in certain vehicles, including the 2013 Chevrolet Spark I'm currently driving, which has polka dot motifs on the optional “leather” seats.

Frankly, when I analyze the pros and cons, the best compromise in mainstream vehicles is actually leatherette for its combination of durability, appearance and comfort. So why are manufacturers ashamed of calling it “simulated” leather? They shouldn't be.

Auto123.com Racing is happy and proud to launch its fourth and final Facebook contest -- just in time for Christmas!

Enter our contest on Facebook and you'll have a chance to win a fantastic prize: a pair of driving gloves signed by Lotus F1 Team driver, and recent winner of the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, Kimi Raikkonen!

Kimi Räikkönen (Photo: Lotus F1 Team)

Raikkonen, who raced for F1 teams Sauber, McLaren and Ferrari between 2001 and 2009, has made a return to Grand Prix racing this season, running for the Lotus F1 Team.

Raikkonen signed one of his pairs of OMP Lotus driving gloves during the weekend of the Singapore Grand Prix.


We at Auto123.com are happy to offer these signed gloves to the winner of our contest. They would make a perfect gift for the ultimate F1 fan!

Enter now by clicking here to visit our Facebook page.

Mazda will debut several vehicles in North America at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show.

''It's definitely an exciting time for the Zoom-Zoom brand,'' said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO of Mazda North American Operations. ''The long awaited, redesigned 2014 Mazda6 will naturally receive much interest, but let's not take away from our strong SUV lineup in the CX-5 and CX-9, which are segment leaders in their own right.''

The 2014 CX-5 will be available with an upgraded Technology Package on GT models, while the face-lifted 2013 CX-9 (already on sale) offers Mazda's next-generation audio and infotainment system with a 5.8'' touchscreen display.

Mazda will also use the L.A. Auto Show to unveil its new 2.2L turbocharged SKYACTIV-D engine, which runs on clean diesel, as well as the all-new competition race car that will take part in the 2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel has claimed his third consecutive world title -- making him the youngest-ever triple world champion -- after a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix, while McLaren-Mercedes's Jenson Button took his third win of the season.

The young German stopped four times en route to a sixth place finish, having lost time with a spin and sustained damage following contact with Bruno Senna's Williams on the opening lap.

Photos: WRi2

The race started in ambient temperatures of 19 degrees with light drizzle, but the rain intensified during the first 10 laps. Button, who claimed an early lead from second on the grid, stayed out on the medium tires while the rain fell.

When the safety car came out for 10 laps, Button pitted on lap 23 for hard tires while the track still remained damp as the rain eased off. In the closing stages of the race, the rain returned with a vengeance, meaning that it was no longer possible to stay out on the slicks.

On lap 57 Button made his second and final stop onto intermediate tires without losing the lead. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari arrived home in second place followed by his teammate, Felipe Massa.

Vettel crossed the line in sixth place with a damaged car, scoring enough points to clinch his third world title.