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Nissan cut its full-year net profit forecast by a fifth to $3.99 billion after it said it had lost share in China, its biggest single market, following anti-Japanese protests in the country. Net profit in the second quarter rose 7.

Nissan Motor Co. cut its full-year net profit forecast by a fifth to $3.99 billion after it said it had lost share in China, its biggest single market, following anti-Japanese protests in the country. Net profit in the second quarter rose 7.

BMW reported a 14 percent gain in third-quarter profit as growth in China helped offset a market downturn in Europe. Earnings before interest and taxes rose to 2 billion euros ($2.56 billion) from 1.

BMW Group reported a 14 percent gain in third-quarter profit as growth in China helped offset a market downturn in Europe. Earnings before interest and taxes rose to 2 billion euros ($2.56 billion) from 1.

A123 Systems, the bankrupt maker of electric-car batteries, won court approval to borrow $50 million from China's Wanxiang Group.

On Tuesday, Kevin Magnussen, son of former Formula 1 driver Jan Magnussen, set the best time of Day 1 at the final three-day young driver test at Abu Dhabi.

Kevin Magnussen spent the morning's session acclimatising to his first run in a McLaren F1 car.

Kevin Magnussen, McLaren MP4-27. (Photo: WRi2)

That meant a focus on a host of gradual set-up changes, firstly to introduce him to the behaviour of a grand prix car under different mechanical influences, but also to fine-tune the car's set-up to his personal preference. The team declared they were impressed with the Dane's progress and aptitude.

Red Bull Junior driver, António Félix da Costa, was at the wheel of the Red Bull RB8 and emerged second quickest.

Antonio Felix da Costa, Red Bull RB8. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

The Red Bull team split the allotted time between mechanical work in the morning and aero-mapping during the afternoon.

Gary Paffett undertook the afternoon's running at McLaren, undertaking a program primarily focused on evaluating a wide number of aerodynamic and suspension developments. He ranked third.

The team revealed that Paffett's workload also required a consistent baseline, meaning he drove without the benefit of DRS and quite below the limit in order to eliminate unwanted variables.

Fourth overall was Robin Frinjs, the newly crowned 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 World Series champion.

Robin Frijns, Sauber C31. (Photo: Sauber F1 Team)

Frinjs started the day with hard tires and did some aero work in the morning before actually working on his lap time. Towards the end of the day, the Sauber team gave his a taste of different tire compounds and went with a set of medium and a set of soft.

Nicolas Prost was fifth in the Lotus-Renault. The son of Alain Prost completed a full engineering and aerodynamic programme. Pressure logging and aerodynamic testing were performed in the morning, while evaluation of rear drum configuration and further aerodynamic testing were done in the afternoon.

Nicolas Prost, Lotus E20. (Photo: Lotus F1 Team)

Luiz Razia was at the wheel of the Toro Rosso STR7, chassis No. 3, last raced in the Italian Grand Prix, back in September. He was sixth quickest, followed by Giedo van der Garde in the Caterham-Renault.

Young driver test, Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi, Day 1:

Pos Driver Constructor Best time* Laps
1 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1m42.651s 40
2 Antonio Felix da Costa Red Bull Racing 1m42.717s 79
3 Gary Paffett McLaren 1m43.407s 44
4 Robin Frijns Sauber 1m43.775s 78
5 Nicolas Prost Lotus-Renault 1m44.194s 55
6 Luiz Razia Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m44.691s 67
7 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1m45.936s 57
*Unofficial timing

Looks familiar? Nicolas Prost in the Lotus E20. (Photo: Lotus F1 Team)

Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian businessman and owner of AirAsia airlines, will soon leave his position of team principal of the Caterham Formula 1 Team.

Fernandes, who created his F1 team for the 2010 World Championship (under the Team Lotus name) told British motorsport publication Autosport that he will step down at the end of this season to concentrate on the road car business.

Last year, Fernandes purchased Caterham, a small British sports car manufacturer, and has recently signed an agreement with the Renault group to produce the new Alpine road cars.

Fernandes has always said that his days as F1 team boss were numbered, as he wanted to more experienced people than him to run the team.

“On the racing side we have come to the conclusion that it is better if someone else takes over the team principal role to move forward,” Fernandes said in a joint interview with Autosport's sister publication Autocar.

The Malaysian did not say who his successor will be, but he indicated it would be someone already involved in F1.

Sebastian Montoya, the 7-year-old son of NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya and wife Connie has started his motorsport career racing karts in Florida.

Young Sebastian started karting at the tender age of 4, away from the media to avoid putting any excessive pressure on his small shoulders.

This year, Sebastian entered some real races, competing in the Rotax Micro Max Challenge held at the Homestead-Miami circuit near Miami, Florida.

In the Fall Championship, Sebastian scored 354 points to rank 8th. The youngster drove a Birel chassis powered by a spec Rotax 125cc engine fitted with the famous No. 42 his father sports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

Sebastian Montoya. (Photo: Twitter Juan Pablo Montoya)

The motorsport bug runs in the familty: Juan Pablo's father, Pablo, was a racer himself. Juan Pablo's younger brother, Federico, also raced karts and competed in the 2004 ADAC Formula BMW series, without too much success. Oh, Federico was also a teammate of a certain Sebastian Vettel at Mücke Motorsport that same year...

Unable to maintain profitability due to the currency exchange rate and low sales volumes, among other things, American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC) announced that it will stop distributing automobiles in the U.S.

ASMC has sold only 26,000 cars in 2011.

Mind you, the company will keep selling Suzuki motorcycles, ATVs and marine products.

Current Suzuki car dealers will smoothly transition into a network of authorized service and parts dealers to allow ASMC to fully honour all warranties.

The fate of the automaker's Canadian operations has yet to be determined, but don't expect showrooms to close anytime soon.

Photo: Matthieu Lambert

On November 24th, a convoy of MINI cars will leave BMW Group headquarters in Munich and drive all the way to Rovaniemi, located at the Arctic Circle, to bring Santa Claus Christmas letters written by children and adults from all over the world.

At the same time, MINI will try to set a Guinness record for the longest wishlist to Santa Claus.

The convoy will travel more than 3,000 kilometres and pass through a number of beautiful European cities such as Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Upon arriving in Rovaniemi, they will join the new MINI Paceman, the latest addition to the MINI family, as well as Rauno Aaltonen, the winner of the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally.

Looks like the magic of Christmas is working again...

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Volvo is testing a new system with C30 Electric cars that is reportedly six times faster than today's on-board devices.

This 22 kW fast-charger provides a full charge in only 90 minutes. Plugging into an ordinary household outlet gives a charging time of 8-10 hours, depending on the available current.

"We know that short recharging times and extensive operating range are a necessity for potential electric car consumers. The fast-charging unit helps cure what is known as range anxiety since the car can be more easily recharged during the day,'' says Lennart Stegland, Vice President, Electric Propulsion Systems, Volvo Car Corporation. ''And even if you don't have enough time for a 1.5-hour charge, plugging in for just 30 minutes will give you enough power for another 80 kilometres of driving."

Photo: Volvo

Maserati fans will soon be able to marvel at the redesigned 2013 Quattroporte, which will make its world debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this January.

The company plans to increase global sales to 50,000 units by 2015 with the help of three new models including the Quattroporte.

At 5.1 metres, the latter is bigger than its predecessor (5.05 m) yet still offers seating for four. Rear-seat legroom has been increased, and the dashboard sports a new look.

Available powertrains for the 2013 Maserati Quattroporte remain unspecified for now, so we'll have to wait until the NAIAS to find out.

Photo: Maserati

Almost 35 years to the day, Eddie Cheever Jr will have a chance at testing a Formula One Ferrari like his father did after being invited alongside Riccardo Agostini, the recently crowned Italian Formula 3 champion.

Eddie Cheever Jr. tested in GP2 last week, at Barcelona, with Scuderia Coloni. (Photo: GP2 Series)

Eddie Cheever Sr. was the same age as his son when he first tested for the Scuderia Ferrari back in 1977.

Ironically, it was Canadian Gilles Villeneuve who ended up securing the full-time position for the 1978 Formula 1 season as a teammate of Carlos Reutemann.

Nevertheless, Cheever got his chance first by driving a Theodore TR1 in Argentina in 1978, the first of the 143 grands prix he entered.

After driving for Ligier, Tyrell, Renault, Alfa Romeo and Arrows in F1, Cheever went back to the Unites States where he drove in the CART series for Chip Ganassi Racing.

A few years later, Cheever created his own team, with the financial backing of Red Bull and went on to win the 1998 Indianapolis 500. He retired as a driver in 2002.

In an effort to bring peace of mind to its customers following today's announcement in the U.S., the Japanese automaker has just released a statement to reiterate how it's ''business as usual'' for Suzuki in Canada.

"Suzuki Canada, including its automotive division, remains fully open for business in Canada and will be honouring all customer commitments," said Bill Porter, senior vice president of sales and marketing.

"Suzuki Canada has no current plans to discontinue automobile sales in Canada nor are we contemplating any form of court-supervised restructuring as they have done in the United States," he added.

That also means Suzuki won't be laying off workers and closing dealerships north of the border, at least not in the foreseeable future.

From GMM

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko has pointed some criticism at Mark Webber, after the Australian bowed out of mathematical contention for the 2012 title with a messy race in Abu Dhabi.

Webber made a bad start on Sunday, losing key places, until he clashed with Pastor Maldonado.

But as he pushed to recover from that spin, his second clash was with Ferrari's Felipe Massa, before he crashed heavily as Sergio Perez, Romain Grosjean and Paul di Resta fought for position.

"You can't have more errors than that in one race," Red Bull's driver manager Marko is quoted by Bild newspaper. "That was not a good day for him. The start was no good, and the accidents were not good. It's too bad, because it affects us in the constructors' championship."

Indeed, Red Bull could have wrapped up the teams' title in Abu Dhabi simply by scoring more points than Ferrari or McLaren.

Mark Webber watching the end of the race at Abu Dhabi. (Photo: Twitter)

From GMM

Kimi Raikkonen's triumph in Abu Dhabi was important for more than just giving the Finn and Lotus the winning feeling.

Turun Sanomat newspaper reveals that boss Eric Boullier is so new to winning as a constructor in F1 that he had no idea what to do before mounting the podium for the team's trophy.

"I was a little lost with the protocol, but fortunately Fernando Alonso was helping and advising what I had to do," smiled the Frenchman.

2012 Abu Dhabi podium. (Photo: WRi2)

But as well as learning the winning procedures, Boullier admitted Raikkonen's breakthrough was timely amid reports team owners Genii are in talks with potential investors.

"We believe that we show the world that we are serious and can deliver and that's going to help some of these commercial discussions," he is quoted by Reuters.

And Raikkonen, while apparently failing to show his boss the ropes as they climbed the podium, said he hopes his win can help Lotus to stability and more success.

"We have had hard times lately," said the Finn. "I mean they've been working very hard the whole year but with the hard times there's a bit unknown in the whole situation.

"For the people who run the team, who own the team, for everybody, hopefully it gives a bit more support and hope that things will turn around and be even better than it's been this year," he added.

Several medias got overly exited when the small HRT Formula 1 team called for a press conference in Shanghai Thuesday afternoon.

Several news agencies predicted that Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua would get a full-time ride at HRT alongside Pedro de la Rosa, replacing Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan.

The truth is that China paid tribute to Ma Qing Hua at the International Tennis Centre in Shanghai after becoming the first ever Chinese Formula 1 driver and achieving this historic milestone for Chinese motorsport.

Many Chinese authorities and HRT Formula 1 Team Business Director, David Mancebo were present to honour the Chinese driver. Hua received a nice present, but no full-time ride with the team, yet.

Ma Qing Hua. (Photo: HRT F1 Team)

GT3 cars will have the opportunity to join the GTC category in European Le Mans Series' next season.

In order to prevent too small fields, the ELMS' organizers had created this year a new category called GTC, which includes cars like the Ferrari F430 Challenge or the Porsche Carrera Cup.

However, the GTC class did not experience the success expected.

Photo: Blancpain Endurance Series

From 2013, the GTC class will allow GT3 spec cars, such as the GTs that currently compete in the GT World Championship, the Blancpain Endurance Series or the GT Open international.

Next season, the ELMS championship will stage five rounds : the opening race in Silverstone as a support race for the WEC, the second race in Imola with the French GT Championship, and the remaining three rounds as part of the World Series by Renault.

From GMM

Christian Horner has admitted "human error" led to Sebastian Vettel having to start Sunday's Abu Dhabi grand prix from the back of the field.

After qualifying third in Abu Dhabi, the championship leader was asked by his Red Bull engineer to "stop the car" on the track, apparently with a technical problem.

But when the scrutineers tried to extract the mandatory 1-litre fuel sample from the RB8, the pot fell a few hundred millilitres short, resulting in the German's disqualification.

Sebastian Vettel stopped after qualifying at Abu Dhabi. (Photo: WRi2)

He started the race from the pitlane, Vettel only rescuing his title lead by charging through the field to third.

So what happened at the end of qualifying?

"To be honest, we have no clear answer but I suspect that it was human error," team boss Horner is quoted by Germany's Sport1.

"Renault gave us a clear statement that we should stop the car. Because we feared that it could be something that damages the engine, we followed their instructions," he added.

"We had to explain to the stewards why we stopped the car, they accepted our argument, but then we had to give the one litre sample."

Horner said Renault has not been able to explain why too little fuel was put into the RB8.

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has named Magny Cours as the likely venue for a 2013 French grand prix.

Quadruple world champion Alain Prost was in Abu Dhabi last weekend for talks with the F1 chief executive about Paul Ricard's race bid, and potential investors.

But Ecclestone is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport: "If we go to France (next year), it will be Magny Cours."

The country has been missing from the F1 calendar since Magny Cours, located in rural France some 250 kilometres from Paris, last hosted the sport in 2008.

With three French drivers now on the grid, Ecclestone and France are contemplating the race's revival, after the 2013 calendar shrank from 20 to 19 races due to the problems in New Jersey.

Paul Ricard was until now considered the obvious favourite, partly due to the Le Castellet venue's links to Ecclestone.

But Ecclestone insisted Paul Ricard is not owned by him but is merely part of his family trust called Bambino, which is "nothing to do with me".

"If we go to France, it will be Magny Cours," he added.

The 82-year-old Briton goes so far as to admit a potential date is lined up -- 23 June, the week before Silverstone.

"That would make sense, wouldn't it?" said Ecclestone.

New Jersey was set to take place next June 16, the week after Canada, but the race's delay has now caused a theoretical three-week gap between Canada and Britain.