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Dave Schoch, Ford Motor Co.'s recently appointed Asia Pacific chief, shrugs off critics who say the automaker is a latecomer to China.

American Honda's plant in Greensburg, Ind., built just 91 units of the Acura ILX entry-luxury sedan that debuted last summer. So does Honda have an out-and-out flop on its hands?

A year ago Toyota Motor Corp. executives in Japan questioned whether their U.S. factories could meet the exacting standards required to build Lexus vehicles. Now 50,000 units of the Lexus ES will be built in Kentucky starting in 2015.

The rise of foreign automakers in North America gained huge momentum during the dark days of the recession, accelerating the decline of Detroit 3 dominance.

General Motors is overhauling its parts program, incentivizing dealerships to beef up their inventory for more same-day repairs and to buy more of those parts directly from the factory.

Japanese and Korean automakers accounted for nearly half of all retail sales in 2012, bouncing back after inventory shortages caused by Japan's 2011 earthquake were resolved.

More than half of Americans have smartphones in their pockets or purses, and mobile devices have taken on a major role in the car-buying process, especially in the critical later stages.

In his 25th year as editor or editorial director of Automotive News, Peter Brown says he can now state with conviction that in the automotive industry, about every three years, everything you know is wrong.

Porsche has debuted a revamped version of its Panamera coupe at the Shanghai auto show where it sought to outshine Maserati's all-new Ghibli as both carmakers seek to attract customers in a luxury China market that is predicted to keep growing...

With sales slowing and government debt a growing crisis, the European auto industry is in for a rough ride over the next few years.

The head of Renault's entry-level models, Arnaud Deboeuf, will share insights on how Dacia has thrived during Europe's debt crisis at the 16th Automotive News Europe Congress on June 12 in Paris.

The European auto industry is in for a rough ride over the next few years. What are the solutions? Which companies will emerge as winners? The 16th Automotive News Europe Congress will explore answers to those questions on June 12 in Paris.

From Infiniti

Three-time Formula 1 World Champion, Sebastian Vettel Monday became the first F1 driver to experience the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

(Photo: Infiniti)

Vettel was joined by former F1 driver, David Coulthard in driving part of the track, which is still under construction.

Once complete, the 3.7-mile Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, scene of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, will be the third longest circuit on the F1 calendar behind Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Silverstone in Britain.

(Photo: Infiniti)

Russia's inaugural Grand Prix race is scheduled for 2014, after the Winter Olympics. The circuit's integration into Olympic Park infrastructure is the key feature of the Russian venue.

Sochi Formula 1 circuit in figures:
Circuit length: 5,854m
Maximum speed: 320 km/h
Circuit width: 13-15 m
Number of turns: 18
Total area of the circuit construction site and its infrastructure: 36 ha
Developer and operator of the circuit is OJSC "Center "OMEGA"
Designer of the circuit: Tilke GmbH & Co.KG

The all-new Volkswagen iBeetle, which made its global debut at Auto Shanghai 2013 during the weekend, will go on sale in early 2014 as a Coupe and Cabriolet. It's the German automaker's first vehicle in which the iPhone becomes an integrative component, replacing many conventional functions of the dashboard.

As soon as the iPhone connects to the data network of the iBeetle via the docking station and a specially developed app, the latter supplies a main menu with functions such as Spotify (media streaming), Reader (text message reading), Trainer (comparing driving times, distances and fuel economy numbers for different routes), and Postcard (sharing the current location of the iBeetle to friends).

Obviously, the iPhone can also be used to navigate, make phone calls via a hands-free unit, listen to music from the media library via the audio system's amplifier and loudspeakers, and much more.

Photo: Volkswagen

Photo: Volkswagen

Honda raised eyebrows at Auto Shanghai 2013 with the introduction of “Concept M,” a multi-purpose vehicle that will enter production next year for the Chinese market.

This prototype is said to “offer the attributes of a passenger car while adding new value through the realization of a comfortable and spacious cabin space made possible by Honda's packaging technologies, and the fun of driving.”

Concept M (Photo: Honda)

Also on display at Auto Shanghai 2013 is the new Honda CRIDER midsize sedan, inspired from last year's “Concept C.” Mainly developed for China, the CRIDER is expected to go on sale in June.

CRIDER (Photo: Honda)

Finally, the Honda JADE, based on “Concept S,” is a compact hatchback designed to match the tastes of Chinese customers born in 1980s who are energetic and known for pursuing their dreams. It will hit the Chinese market this fall before launching in other countries.

JADE (Photo: Honda)

Visitors at Auto Shanghai 2013 got to see the world premiere of the all-new 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid. Also making their debut were long-wheelbase Executive versions of the Panamera S and Panamera 4S.

The 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid is a plug-in hybrid model whose electric drive system produces 95 horsepower -- more than double the output of the previous motor. The new lithium-ion battery has increased capacity and can fully charge in approximately 2.5 hours when connected to a 240V power source. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 5.5 seconds, while top speed is rated at 270 km/h.

Look for the 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid to arrive in Canadian showrooms this fall with a base MSRP of $113,300.

As for the Executive versions of the Panamera S and Panamera 4S, their 15 centimetres of additional wheelbase result in more legroom in the back. The new 3.0L twin-turbo V6 engine under the hood is not only more potent than the old V8 (420 hp vs. 400 hp), but also more fuel-efficient.

Photo: Porsche

From GMM

He ultimately finished second, but Kimi Raikkonen was almost not well enough to contest Sunday's Bahrain grand prix.

Finnish sources MTV3 and Turun Sanomat report that the Lotus driver was late for the pre-race driver parade because he was suffering from an allergic reaction.

"He gets it 3 or 4 times a year," the 2007 world champion's trainer Mark Arnall admitted. "We have no idea where it came from just before the race, but it affects mainly his skin, and not so much his eyes."

Arnall said Raikkonen was treated with antihistamines.

Lotus engineer Alan Permane said: "Considering he (Raikkonen) was suffering before he started the race, it was a very impressive performance indeed."

Photo: WRi2

From GMM

Fernando Alonso would have fought for victory in Bahrain, according to veteran former driver Rubens Barrichello.

Before the race began, Mercedes' Niki Lauda was asked to name the likely winner.

"Fernando Alonso," he answered, despite the fact Mercedes' own Nico Rosberg was starting from pole. "We have to be realistic," the Austrian legend added.

The Spaniard's charge, however, was thwarted by a failing DRS rear wing flap, which had to be manually closed by Ferrari's mechanics during a pitstop.

It then flipped open again, forcing yet another pitstop and ruining his victory chances.

Photo: Ferrari

"If Alonso had not had the problem with the DRS, I'm sure he would have fought with (Sebastian) Vettel for the victory," Barrichello, in Bahrain as a co-commentator for Brazilian television Globo, said.

Earlier in the weekend, the Brazilian had watched the action from the middle of the Sakhir layout, and named the Ferrari as among the very best cars in 2013.

"It is a wealth of data that leads me to say that Alonso would have fought with Vettel," the 40-year-old insisted.

"The Ferrari is a great car, even with the DRS open, when Alonso lost just a second per lap," added Barrichello.

Despite Matt Kenseth's dominance at Kansas Speedway he had to deal with a determined Kasey Kahne to notch his second win of the year for his new team Joe Gibbs Racing.

The key was Kenseth's Toyota beat Kahne's Chevy off of pit road after the day's final caution.

"When it was in front, we knew it was really fast," said Kenseth, who also won in Kansas last fall for Roush Fenway Racing. “If we could get (off pit road) first, we'd be tough to beat."

Photo: NASCAR

Oddly enough he likened the 400 mile race to child game. “ It was kind of like musical chairs," Kenseth said. "You had to be out front when the music stopped. Our car was very fast in clean air. It was reasonable in dirty air, but it wasn't quite good enough to catch all them guys and pass 'em (in traffic).

"Thankfully, I had a couple of really crazy-good restarts for some reason and made up some ground and got us back in position."

"We were very close at the end, battling with Matt," Kahne said. Then he added that the finish reminded him of a race earlier this year. "Felt like Vegas all over again, just kind of felt like really similar to that in how I could catch him but couldn't really do anything once I got close. It made my car a little bit looser. So I tried a few things there, and he kind of blocked those spots and went those directions and gained the speed that I (had), and then we were even again.

"It was tough, but we still had a great race."

With a third-place finish, Johnson opened a 37-point lead in the Cup standings over second-place Kahne, who gained five spots. Johnson is 38 points ahead of Keselowski in third.

“Well, it's hard to believe we've got a huge gap like that in the points already,” said the five-time NASCAR champion. “We've been off to a great year and even had some trouble at Bristol and didn't finish as well as we did there and 37 points up on everybody is pretty awesome.”

Talking about the race in Kansas Johnson added “last two days we've had a comfortable race car, but just didn't have the speed in it for qualifying and for the fast lap time that you would see in practice sessions, the first lap out. But our car was comfortable over the long haul and we just kind of waited and hoped that the comfortable balance that I felt in the race car would be there come race time, and it was.”

Crash Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. (Caption: NASCAR)

Keselowski drove a car with something like battle damage to sixth place and that felt like a pretty good finish to the 2012 Sprint Cup Champion. “Yeah.  Usually, you're not happy unless you win, but a day where you can fight through adversity like we did today and get a solid finish, that kind of is a win, yes,” he said. And, referring to the stiff penalty imposed on the team by NASCAR for a technical rules violation he added.  “Yeah, it's been a long week, but we're not giving up.” 

Penske Racing has appealed those penalties on both Keselowski's and Joey Logano's cars, crew and driver's points. No date has been set for that appeal.

Polesitter Carlos Munoz led from start to finish to finally win the Indy Lights round in Long Beach with only half the cars being able to cross the finish line.

Five of the 10-car field were out of commission before the end of the first 11 laps, among those three that were involved in an accident at the start of the race.

The accident started when previous points leader Jack Hawksworth squeezed Andretti's Zach Veach into the wall at the start, pitching both cars back across the track where they collected the unfortunate Peter Dempsey.

Carlos Munoz, Andretti Autosport. (Photo: IndyCar)

After the restart, Juan Pablo Garcia tried to move on and close the gap with Munoz but he lost his car and his hopes when he made a mistake in turn 1 and spun on lap 11, only to take his own teammate at Team Moore Mikael Grenier out of the race.

Munoz maintained his lead during the restart and drove off for a comfortable win, finishing two seconds ahead of Gabby Chaves who himself was followed by Sage Karam.

Results - 41 laps:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Carlos Munoz Andretti 1h00m04.9293s
2. Gabby Chaves Schmidt + 2.2190s
3. Sage Karam Schmidt + 18.1043s
4. Jorge Goncalvez Belardi + 21.0389s
5. Matthew di Leo MDL/Dragffy + 1 lap

Retirements:
Juan Pablo Garcia Moore 11 laps
Mikael Grenier Moore 11 laps
Jack Hawksworth Schmidt 0 laps
Zach Veach Andretti 0 laps
Peter Dempsey Belardi 0 laps