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According to the latest analysis from JATO Dynamics, the overall European new car market continues to fall in 2012 but at a slower rate.

Pictures 28 Nov, 2012

Some of the latest new car models from Detroit automakers received mixed reviews from Consumer Reports and have failed to win a recommendation from the popular U.S. shopping guide.

Fiat shares have tumbled because investors fear the Italian carmaker will need to raise fresh cash to finance CEO Sergio Marchionne's plans to combine with Chrysler Group LLC.

Italian supplier Magneti Marelli plans to build its second exhaust systems plant in China.

GKN Powder Metallurgy, a unit of UK-based supplier GKN PLC, is building a plant in Yizheng in east China's Jiangsu province to produce small parts for engines, transmissions and chassis.

French car orders rose more than expected in October, helped by demand for models such as Renault's new Clio and Citroen's DS line of near-premium cars.

Automotive supplier, Plastal Industri, says former Saab business development executive director, Martin Larsson, is to start as CEO on 1 January next year.

National Electric Vehicle Sweden, the new owner of Saab, may speed up the brand's relaunch by offering a gasoline-powered 9-3 in 2013 rather than re-starting the brand in 2014 with an EV, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

Automakers are boosting advertising in Europe as they seek to get the attention of consumers amid the worst sales slump to grip the region in nearly two decades.

Nissan aims to pass Toyota as the top-selling Asian brand in Europe by 2016. Colin Dodge, who heads Nissan's European operations, is sticking to this goal despite the region's economic slump.

The new 2014 Ford Fiesta, which is set to go on sale next year, will be the first vehicle available with a 1.0L EcoBoost engine and reportedly the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid car in North America.

Projected to deliver 123 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque, this small engine can already be found in more than 520,000 Ford units around the globe, a number that keeps growing and growing.

In Europe, where diesel engines are kings, the 1.0L EcoBoost now accounts for about 30% of sales in the Focus. It's also available with the B-Max, C-Max, and soon with the all-new Mondeo (Fusion's twin).

Although pricing has yet to be revealed, expect the same level of popularity in North America.

Photo: Ford

From ROC

The 2012 Race Of Champions will feature the most successful drivers in the history of Le Mans and the World Touring Car Championship as Tom Kristensen and Andy Priaulx have joined the roll call of legends heading to Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium on December 14-16.

Denmark's Kristensen is acknowledged as the finest endurance racer in motor sport history. He has a record eight victories in the Le Mans 24-Hour race, plus a record six wins at the Sebring 12-Hour race and an American Le Mans Series title.

Priaulx is the World Touring Car Championship's most successful driver with three titles plus another in its previous guise as the European Touring Car Championship. The long-time BMW regular switched to the DTM series this year.

Tom Kristensen (on the left) and Andy Priaulx. (Photo: Race of Champions)

The Race Of Champions, which is being staged for the 25th consecutive year in 2012, brings together the world's greatest drivers from motor sport's main disciplines - including Formula 1, world rally, touring cars, Le Mans, MotoGP, Indycar and the X-Games - and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.

Drivers confirmed for the 2012 Race Of Champions so far:

Michael SCHUMACHER, seven-time Formula 1 World Champion
Sebastian VETTEL, Formula 1 World Champion 2011, 2010
Jorge LORENZO, MotoGP World Champion 2012, 2010
Mick DOOHAN, five-time 500cc MotoGP World Champion
Ryan HUNTER-REAY, IndyCar Series Champion 2012
Jamie WHINCUP, V8 Supercar Champion 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008
David COULTHARD, 13-time Formula 1 grand prix winner
Tom KRISTENSEN, eight-time Le Mans 24-Hour race winner
Andy PRIAULX, three-time World Touring Car Champion

As the most versatile of the four Prius models, the 2013 Toyota Prius v is a fuel-efficient wagon that provides more passenger and cargo room for active Canadian families.

''Toyota listened to Canadian families, who loved the Prius but wanted an option with even more versatility for their on-the-go lifestyles,” said Tony Wearing, Senior Managing Director at Toyota Canada Inc.

The 2013 Toyota Prius v offers 50% more interior space than the original Prius, and comfortably sits five adults. Under the hood is a 1.8L four-cylinder engine mated to a high-torque electric motor and high-capacity storage battery for a net output of 134 horsepower and combined fuel consumption of 4.5L/100 km.

Now on sale across Canada, the 2013 Toyota Prius v comes with an interesting list of standard features as well as three options packages. Pricing goes as follows:

• Prius v: $27,425
• Prius v Luxury: $30,410
• Prius v Touring: $33,445
• Prius v Touring + Technology: $37,120

Photo: Toyota

Elliott Sadler will join Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series according to an announcement made by the team.

Sadler finished second in NASCAR's Triple-A series in 2011 for Kevin Harvick, Inc. repeated that performance this year at Richard Childress Racing.

The driver who is also a Sprint Cup veteran will have primary sponsorship on the #11 Toyota Camry for next year from OneMain Financial.

In a statement expressing his sponsor's close relationship was is noted that “the 2013 season will mark OneMain Financial's 10th season as a sponsor in NASCAR and they remain committed to the sport and the connections it enables them to make with their customers and employees. Over the last two seasons, the OneMain Racing program with driver Elliott Sadler has recorded 4 wins, 9 poles, 27 top-fives and 48 top-10 finishes in 68 starts.”

He was voted the Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver in 2011 and earned nine victories, 46 top-five and 85 top-10 finishes. In 2010 Sadler became the 21st driver to score a NASCAR-style hat trick with wins a in each three of NASCAR's top series.

“OneMain Financial has been a flagship sponsor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series since 2005. I consider myself very fortunate to have shared in much of their success on and off the track. We've won poles and races together and hope to continue our winning tradition in 2013. Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota have been a dominant combination in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and I'm elated to have an opportunity to join forces with them as well,” said Elliott Sadler.

“We're excited about the partnership with OneMain Financial and having Elliott Sadler join our team in 2013,” said J.D. Gibbs, President of Joe Gibbs Racing. “OneMain Financial has been a tremendous supporter of our sport and has developed a successful program that engages both their customers and employees. Elliott is obviously a great talent and his experience will be an asset to our entire Nationwide Series program.”

The final and decisive round of the 2012 Formula 1 season will take place Sunday at Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo. The Grand Prix of Brazil will also mark Michael Schumacher's 307th and final F1 race.

It all started back in August 1991 when the young German had a golden opportinity to contest his maiden Grand Prix, taking the wheel of a Jordan 191-Ford at Spa-Francorchamps.

"Interlagos is the right place to round off my career because so much of the fascination of F1 is rooted there. I always enjoy the enthusiasm of the fans,” said Michael Schumacher in a Mercedes AMG press release.

“It's also the circuit that brings back my memories of Ayrton (Senna). My departure from F1 will probably be less emotional for me this time than in 2006, when we were still fighting for the championship and everything was much more intense. This time round, I will be able to pay more attention to my farewell and hopefully savour it too. I have had fantastic years in F1 and a lot of support from fans around the world, and I wish to particularly thank them for that,” he added.

Michael Schumacher in Austin. (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

“With the last race of the season in Brazil also bringing Michael's second and final retirement from F1, it will be an emotional weekend for everyone in the team,” Ross Brawn, technical director and long time friend said.

“We have both greatly enjoyed and benefitted from working with Michael over the past three years, and I would like to pay tribute to his enduring commitment, passion and team spirit. Having worked with Michael for the majority of the 21 seasons of his career, I feel that he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, F1 drivers of all time, and we wish him the very best with his future plans,” Brawn declared.

The image of newly crowned Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski toasting an adoring crowd with an oversized glass of beer will be etched in the minds of NASCAR fans.

He brings an impression of youth and a little bit of the common man missing for the past seven years in stock car racing.

Although he's not the youngest champ at 28 years old; he's 13-years younger than Tony Stewart last year's titlist and eight years younger than five-time champ Jimmie Johnson.

Due to his penchant for Tweeting Keselowski appeals to a younger hipper segment of fans which had been lacking previously.

Ironically, all the hoopla around NASCAR premier-league title wasn't on his radar scope.

In just three years he vaulted from being the junior member of Penske Racing to a team leader.

Brad Keselowski, 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. (Photo: NASCAR)

“I never dreamed of, at a young age, of being a Sprint Cup champion,” Keselowski said on SpeedTV. “I thought I would be doing well just to be a guy who's winning races in the Truck Series. That was as big as my goals were. But obviously, as different opportunities came up, I had the opportunity to drive for James Finch (one car team called Phoenix Racing) when they raced at Talladega, with Rick Hendrick and so forth; I started to think that big. But it's amazing how those things change. I'm living beyond what I could have ever asked for in life, and I feel very, very fortunate.”

Keselowski's father, Bob, was an ARCA series racer from the Detroit who along with brother, Brian Keselowski, gave him the start he needed to make his rather quick - in only 125 races fastest since it took 1993 champ, Jeff Gordon, 93-races- ascent to NASCAR's brightest prize.

He said it was both a help and a bit of a hindrance.

“I grew up with a family race team. When you're a part of a family, in anything you do, it's great in some ways and awful in other ways. The great parts are that you always have each other's backs. No matter what happens, you are always together; even when there are times (when) you don't want to be.

Then there's also the bad part, when sometimes you get really emotional and do things, say things and act ways that you wouldn't act around other people. What's hard for me to understand when I first got separated from my family's race team was how to be a part of that, and how to have the best of both worlds.

How to be with a group that has that respect for one and other, that you really struggle to have as a family, but also has that motivation to be behind you - you need both to be successful.”

Brad Keselowski celebrating his Sprint Cup title at Miami-Homestead Speedway. (Photo: NASCAR)

At first the move to Penske was an uphill challenge

“So I didn't understand teamwork, I didn't understand those things. The point I was trying to say after the race, and the story in general, is that to be a member of a great team, no one person is strong enough, fast enough, smart enough, but together you are.

For me, I didn't know that until I started to experience it. It's been like a drug for me, but you get a little of it and I want more for the team. I want more teamwork across the board because I know that we'll continue to be stronger as that happens. “

And his Sprint Cup rivals better start to worry as his said on Sunday night “the best is yet to come.”

The Formula 3 Euroseries will become the FIA F3 European Championship starting next season.

The new championship will feature ten events consisting in three races each.

It will be ran during DTM events (six rounds), WTCC events (two rounds) and one during a World endurance championship event at Silverstone.

The F3 cars in action durant the recent Grand Prix of Macau. (Photo: F3 Euroseries)

The last round is still to be announced, but it would likely be presented at Hockenheim during the DTM finale.

The F3 Euroseries championship suffered from a serious lack of entries this season, and the FIA wanted to give it a boost with a brand new format. Former F1 driver Grehard Berger mastermined the introduction of the new series.

2013 schedule:
March 23-24 : Monza, Italy (WTCC)
April 12-14 : Silverstone, GB (WEC)
May 4-5 : Hungaroring, Hungary (WTCC)
May 18-19 : Brands Hatch, GB (DTM)
June 1-2 : Spielberg, Austria (DTM)
July 7-8: Norisring, Germany (DTM)
July 20-21: Zandvoort, The Netherlands (DTM)
August 17-18 : Nürburgring, Germany (DTM)
September 14-15 : Oschersleben, Germany (DTM)
October : TBA

From GMM

As was rumoured before F1 arrived in Austin last week, the latest developments for Fernando Alonso's title-contending Ferrari did not work.

New pieces, including a new diffuser, were tried in a straight line at the Idiada facility in Spain, prior to the US grand prix.

It was rumoured immediately afterwards that the real-world data did not match up with what was produced in the wind tunnel.

Still, the new diffuser was fitted to Spaniard Alonso's F2012 in Austin, before he was roundly out-performed by teammate Felipe Massa all weekend.

"Yes, indeed, Felipe Massa had the old diffuser and it worked better," former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari told the Spanish sports daily AS.

Which diffuser will be used on the Ferrari in Brazil? (Photo: Pirelli)

And Brazilian Massa confirmed to Marca newspaper: "Everything was the same except the diffuser. I had it available, but I decided I'd be better with the old one. That was the only difference."

Fernando Alonso said "It's not always the case that the latest part is the best choice".

Driving a PH Sport's Citroën C4 WRC, Robert Kubica took victory win at rally di Como, Italy.

The Pole dominated the last event of the Italian tarmac rally trophy, being fastest in the first seven stages.

Despite suffering from some brake issues that cost him 40 seconds in the last stage, the former Formula 1 driver took the win, 30.9 seconds ahead of Felice Re, who driving a Citroen C4 WRC.



Kubica will face another challenge this weekend, as he will enter the Rallye du Var, last round of the French rally championship. He will drive the same Citroen C4 WRC that Sebastien Loeb drove in the World Rally Championship a few years ago.

Robert Kubica's future is still uncertain. The 27-year-old driver, who badly injured his right forearm in a rally crash in February 2011, could run a full racing program in 2013, in rally or inroad racing , although he admitted that he could not drive a single seater car in a near future.