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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.

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.

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.

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.

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

On paper, Sebastian Vettel is the overwhelming favourite to seal his third consecutive drivers' crown this weekend in Brazil.

His 13-point lead over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso means he can steer his ultra-competitive Red Bull to just fourth place at Interlagos and still set off for his winter slumber with the title.

"But Alonso still must win," Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko is quoted by Speed Week. "He must take the risk. That's the important thing."

But it's not quite as simple as that. First, there is the pressure of the season finale, with Alonso a hardened, never-say-die samurai-loving competitor.

And Marko acknowledged that Brazil is often a "crazy race", even without the forecast high probability of rain.

But the Austrian insisted: "The only question mark is reliability. So no, I'm not relaxed."

Dr Helmut Marko is undoubtedly referring to Red Bull's recurring alternator failures in 2012, the latest of which struck Mark Webber's car in Austin.

Sebastian Vettel had to retire in Monza, in Italy, due to an alternator failure. (Photo: WRi2)

It was believed Renault offered Red Bull a brand new specification of the Magneti Marelli unit for the US grand prix, but in fact the reigning champions opted for the tried-and-tested previous version.

Spain's Mundo Deportivo newspaper said Red Bull will definitely use the brand new specification for the Sao Paulo finale.

"We are ready with the new one," Renault's Remi Taffin is quoted by Brazil's Globo Esporte. "Generally we feel more comfortable with something we have known for a long time, but we have tested the new design and so there's no need to be worried."

IndyCar series' regular Tony Kanaan is currently contesting the last rounds of the Copa Caixa Brazilian V8 stock cars series in his native Brazil.

Kanaan drives the No. 100 Peugeot entered by Bassani Racing.

In Round 11 of the Copa Caixa held at Brasilia, Kanaan qualified 30th (out of 32) but managed to cross the line in 19th place.

Here's a cool in-board video of a lap of the Brasilia circuit in Tony's Peugeot.

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

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 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 current-generation Chevrolet Impala seems frozen in time; it was redesigned for the 2006 model year, and has received few changes since then. It still sells well, if you consider fleet sales such as police and rental cars.


The totally redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Impala will be on sale in early 2013, and will undoubtedly seek to please a greater number of private owners, with swoopy new sheetmetal in a sophisticated new interior design.

New engines
Only one engine is currently offered in the Impala, but the 2014 model will boast three powertrain options. The most potent one will be a 3.6L V6 developing 303 hp and 264 lb-ft of torque, while a 2.5L inline-4 with 195 hp and 184 lb-ft will also be available. The third engine is GM's eAssist (read: mild hybrid) powertrain which consists of a 2.4L engine, an electric motor and a small battery pack, good for a combined total of 182 hp. All engines will be paired to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

As with the current generation, the front-wheel drive 2014 Chevrolet Impala will also benefit from a four-wheel independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes; however, the steering will be electrically assisted, while 18”, 19” and 20” wheel sizes will be offered (versus 16 to 18 inches on the 2013 model).

Same footprint
The new Impala is fractionally bigger than the current-generation car; wheelbase and overall length grow by about an inch, while all other exterior dimensions are virtually identical. Same story inside, as the 2014 version will be a smudge roomier in passenger and trunk space.

However, the Impala's redesign marks the disappearance of an available front bench seat, as the 2013 model is the last car on our market to offer one.

The new Impala is fractionally bigger than the current-generation car. (Photo: Chevrolet)

Shapely body
To better rival more modern full-size sedans such as the Ford Taurus and the Dodge Charger, the 2014 Chevrolet Impala sheds its conservative styling for a much more noticeable look. Highlights will include deeply sculpted doors, muscular front and rear fascias, a slim greenhouse and a sloping roofline that give the car a hatchback-like silhouette.

The industrial look of the current Impala's cockpit will make way for a shapelier appearance and available two-tone colour schemes. The 2014 Impala will also get some new tech-gadgets such as a multimedia system with an 8” touchscreen and Chevrolet MyLink as well as Bluetooth streaming audio. With the help of sound-deadening materials and active noise cancellation on certain models, GM claims the big Chevy will be very quiet inside.

Of course, modern-day safety features will also be offered. In addition to 10 standard airbags and OnStar, the 2014 Chevrolet Impala will be available with adaptive cruise control, forward collision alert, blind-spot and lane-departure warnings as well as collision mitigation braking.

Since the Caprice PPV will not be sold in Canada, we should expect a police pack version of the Impala to eventually appear.

The 2014 Chevrolet Impala will be assembled in GM's Hamtramck, Michigan plant alongside the Volt.

GM claims the big Chevy will be very quiet inside. (Photo: Chevrolet)

The first session of the new year will be held at the Jerez de la Frontera road circuit in Southern Spain, February 5-8, 2013.

The other two sessions will be staged at Circuit de Catalunya located again in Spain, this time up North in the country.

The second test will happen February 19-22, and the third and final one is scheduled for February 28 to March 3.

The 2013 F1 season will kick off in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix, March 14-17.

The 12 days of tests will be used to set up the 2013 F1 cars and come to grips with the new Pirelli tires.

Photo: WRi2