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From GMM

Singapore has inked a new contract to remain on the formula one calendar.

There had been some doubt the race organisers would agree Bernie Ecclestone's sanctioning fee demands for a new deal beyond this weekend's highly popular night race.

But the F1 chief executive said at the official announcement on Saturday: "We are here for another five years".

Ecclestone admitted the negotiations had been "difficult", because everyone in the entire sport "without exception likes being here".

Tourism minister S Iswaran said Singapore has indeed managed to reduce the financial impact of the event by agreeing a "revised" fee.

"We eventually got there," agreed Ecclestone.

From GMM

Mercedes parent Daimler has reportedly decided to stay in formula one beyond 2012.

In Singapore this weekend, rumours swirled in the paddock that the Stuttgart manufacturer is on the verge of pulling the plug.

That, combined with the dithering over the 2012 Concorde Agreement, could explain the long delay in Lewis Hamilton's decision about whether to join the so-called 'Silver Arrows' in 2013.

German sources had reported that Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche has ordered cost cuts of more than a billion euros in the Mercedes road car division.

That ramped up fears that the F1 programme would also get the axe.

Responding to the rumours, Norbert Haug said in Singapore: "I believe we have already established the right balance with regards to the costs (of competing in F1).

"I say that our budget is reasonable while our results are not good enough," he is quoted by DPA news agency.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport now reports that Daimler has decided to definitely keep the Mercedes brand in formula one, meaning the new Concorde could be signed as early as next week.

From GMM

Romain Grosjean's new coach has confirmed he is working with the Lotus driver.

Back on track after his Monza ban, the French driver arrived in Singapore this week with Benoit Campargue, a former Judo champion who coaches France's heavyweight champion Teddy Riner.

Campargue told Le Figaro in Singapore that, while he has been working with Grosjean since March, this is his first grand prix alongside the 26-year-old, who served a one-race ban at Monza recently.

He said they are working on devising better routines for the Lotus driver.

"The important thing is to find the right balance in a natural way," said Campargue.

He told L'Equipe: "I am very pleased with his recovery (since the ban).  I see someone serene and relaxed and at the same time concentrated.

"I must also thank Lotus, who prove that F1 is not always closed."

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was quickest of the qualifying session ahead of the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix.

The Briton will be joined on the front row for the start of the race by Williams' Pastor Maldonado.

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), only took third, despite dominating all three free practice sessions this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton's McLaren teammate Jenson Button took fourth, ahead of championship leader Fernando Alonso (Ferrari). A surprising Paul di Resta (Force India) sits in sixth position.

Mark Webber (Red Bull) currently holds on to seventh, but could be thrown a few spots back for getting in the way of Timo Glock (Marussia) during Q1.

Romain Grosjean (Lotus), in eighth, was the slowest driver to set a time in Q3. Mercedes' Michael Schumacher (9th) and Nico Rosberg (10th) opted to save their tires.

Only few drivers managed to stay out of the barriers for the duration of the session : Hamilton, Grosjean, Bruno Senna (Williams) had the most memorable moments with the wall.

Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (Sauber) were the biggest name to fail to make it into Q3.



Qualifying results* - Singapore Grand Prix
1.Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'46"362 - Q3
2.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'46"804 - Q3
3.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'46"905 - Q3
4.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'46"939 - Q3
5.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 1'47"216 - Q3
6.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'47"241 - Q3
7.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'47"475 - Q3
8.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'47"788 - Q3
9.Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - no time - Q3
10.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - no time - Q3
11.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'47"975 - Q2
12.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'48"261 - Q2
13.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1'48"344 - Q2
14.Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'48"505 - Q2
15.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'48"774 - Q2
16.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'48"849 - Q2
17.Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - no time - Q2
18.Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'49"933 - Q1
19.Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'50"846 - Q1
20.Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'51"137 - Q1
21.Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'51"370 - Q1
22.Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'51"762 - Q1
23.Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'52"372 - Q1
24.Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'53"355 - Q1

*Unofficial results

The Treasury expects General Motors' stock price to rise in the future, offering the government a better chance to cut its losses in the automaker, people familiar with Treasury's thinking said.

Chrysler Group and the Canadian Auto Workers had constructive talks on a new contract on Friday, the head of the union said, but remained apart with the automaker complaining the union's template deal was too expensive.

2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SV

The Altima V-6 certainly provides very eager throttle response and lots of power.

The Altima V-6 certainly provides very eager throttle response and lots of power. There's a bit of torque steer, that tug at the front wheels under hard acceleration, but it's not bothersome. I was merging onto a freeway in the Altima and the merge lane traffic didn't have much of anywhere to go due to heavy traffic in adjoining lanes, so I was in one of those situations where I either needed to brake hard and dawdle, waiting for traffic to clear, or else gun it. Naturally, I chose to gun it, and the Altima's V-6 responded without hesitation, propelling the car from 55 to 80 mph easily and sounding pretty good while it did so. Nissan, which committed to continuously variable transmissions years ago, has come a long way in its CVT engineering. I didn't even remember that the Altima had a CVT until the second day I drove it.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SV - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SV - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SV | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

David Yurman knows style. Besides watches, he and his company design men's and women's jewelry and all other sorts of gifts for the well-heeled. Yurman is also one of us. He's had a passion for muscle cars since he was a boy.

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