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Automotive News Europe salutes the winners of the 2013 Rising Stars awards. Every day until June 12 one of the 18 winners will be featured. Today's Rising Star is Marc Girard, head of interior design at BMW.

McLaren forecasts that sales in Asia will more than double this year on demand from China as the carmaker prepares to open its first four dealerships in the market.

On the heels of our Top 10 Mustangs, we give you our Top 10 Camaros. Now, the Camaro kinda owes its existence to the Ford, but in less time than it takes to hit 100 km/h in a 2013 ZL1, the Camaro created its own world.

The Chevrolet Camaro saw the light of day as a 1967 model alongside its then twin, the Pontiac Firebird. The Camaro's future was laid before it the moment the media began buzzing. The Camaro was going to be raced, modified and adored.

Over the years, as with the Mustang, numerous versions and special editions of this car were created.

Here is our top 10 list of our favourite Camaros of all time:

1967 Yenko Camaro

Photo: Tracy / Flickr

Don Yenko of Yenko Chevrolet was a man who made the Camaro truly competitive against the likes of the Plymouth Barracuda and Ford Mustang in the late ‘60s. One of his tricks consisted in dropping a Corvette 427ci V8 on Camaro hoods, something GM would not do...

Continue reading Top 10 Camaros

From GMM

F1 teams will still have to agree to the introduction of altered tires at Silverstone late next month.

Pirelli announced in a statement on Wednesday that teams will try the changes in Friday practice in Montreal next weekend, "in order to provide some testing time before any new range of tyres is introduced".

"Following feedback from the teams and drivers, the new specification of tire is then set to be introduced from the British grand prix," added Pirelli.

But a Pirelli spokesperson clarified that, following the Canada trial, teams will still have to agree.

"(The Canada test) gives everyone a chance to test them and hopefully all agree," she said.

Photo: Pirelli

From GMM

German-language publication Speed Week has named Ford as a potential candidate to return to formula one after the new V6 rules debut in 2014.

Honda, having pulled out at the end of 2008, has already announced its return with McLaren in 2015, but Toyota and BMW have denied speculation they are also tempted by the sport's incoming, automobile industry-relevant engine rules.

Speed Week, however, is now mentioning Ford.

Ford bought Sir Jackie Stewart's team in 1999, rebranding it Jaguar Racing, but pulling out of F1 at the end of 2004.

The Milton Keynes based team was subsequently sold to current champions Red Bull.

Open Road Auto Group, the 36th-largest dealership group in the United States last year, opened two side-by-side dealerships in 2012 on Manhattan's fashionable 11th Avenue strip.

The group established both a Volkswagen and Audi dealer with a considerable investment of $135 million. In order to survive and make money, the group has added a feature that is proving irresistible to new and old customers: free valet parking.

As we all know, finding parking in Manhattan is like finding four-leaf clover. This service has proven key in the dealerships' success. In fact, some customers have “abused” of the service but employees carry on with a smile.

This is but one example of dealerships and makes striving to make the ownership experience as good as possible. Concierge services are becoming common and not only for luxury brands.

Source: Automotive News

The Williams F1 team and Mercedes-Benz have announced a “long term” engine deal that is expected to run for three years.

The deal is to start in 2014, and will see Mercedes supply the 1.6 litre turbo charged power unit and its energy recovery systems to the team, although Williams will still make its own transmission.

Photo: WRi2

Team principal, Sir Frank Williams said: “I'm delighted to announce our new association with Mercedes-Benz for the 2014 Formula One season and beyond.

“Mercedes-Benz has been one of the sport's most successful engine suppliers and we believe that they will have an extremely competitive engine package.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Renault for their continued hard work since we renewed our engine partnership at the beginning of the 2012 season.

“We have enjoyed a strong relationship that has resulted in much success over the years, including powering us to winning ways once again last year at the Spanish Grand Prix.”

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Deputy team principal, Claire Williams, added that the decision to switch to Mercedes power was made in order for Williams to reach its long-term goals, and will allow the team to focus on its 2014 challenger given the early nature of the deal.

“The announcement of this partnership is exciting news for Williams.

“Securing the right engine supply partnership is a key milestone in the implementation of our strategy for long term success.

“We are also pleased to conclude this agreement early in the season and we very much look forward to working with Mercedes in developing our 2014 car.”

Since BMW parted ways with Williams, the tie-up with Mercedes will be the team's fourth engine supplier in nine seasons, as the Grove squad has used Cosworth, Toyota and Renault power since 2006.

You might not want to look too closely at every inch of your brand new Fiat 500L as random obscene messages may offend you.

The president of Independent Trade Unions at the Fiat Automobiles Serbia factory confirmed that, yes, quite a few of the brand new Fiat 500Ls that rolled out of the Serbian factory left with angry messages etched on them somewhere as a form of protest by factory workers.

As a form of revolt, several Fiat workers took to vandalizing the new 500Ls with obscene messages directed at factory owners to protest low wages and the inability to take smoking breaks. Using screwdrivers, they carved their messages onto the new vehicles.

Source: www.worldcarfans.com

Photo: Fiat

Mike Conway will get another shot at an IndyCar race this year, having been confirmed as the driver of Dale Coyne Racing's second entry at this weekend's Detroit double-header.

Conway will be back to team-up once again with fellow countryman Justin Wilson, who was his team-mate at Dreyer & Reinbold in 2010.

Justin Wilson, Dale Coyne Racing. (Photo: Dale Coyne Racing)

The Briton replaces Ana Beatriz, who was on a five-race deal. Team owner Dale Coyne has not ruled out retaining Conway for future road and street events that do not clash with his WEC commitments, and also said that it is considering other drivers to fill the seat in the remaining races.

Candidates include Stefan Wilson, who tested with Coyne earlier in the year, and Oriol Servia, who is now available following Panther DRR's withdrawal from the championship after last weekend's Indy 500.

Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo allegedly called Lotus' Romain Grosjean “an idiot” after the Frenchman ran into the back of the Australian in last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

Grosjean hit Ricciardo on the 61st lap of the race, which saw the Toro Rosso retire from 13th place, and Grosjean awarded a 10-place grid penalty for the next race in Canada.

Caption: FOM

On his official Toro Rosso blog, Ricciardo praised the strength of the team's STR8 chassis and said it will be fit to race for the next round.

However, he also revealed he called Grosjean “an idiot” in the stewards' room after the incident.

"Sometimes when things like this happen, you want to blow off steam but by that point I really couldn't be bothered shouting and screaming at Grosjean.

It was a disappointing end to a deeply unsatisfying weekend and I didn't want to waste the energy yelling 'screw you, what the hell were you thinking?' I just said 'you're an idiot', and that was it.”

The accident was Grosjean's third of the weekend, after he managed to shunt heavily in qualifying and Saturday morning's free practice session.

Conversely, Ricciardo's teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne, had an encouraging weekend in Monaco by finishing eighth.

From GMM

Lewis Hamilton's main problem as he grapples to get up to speed with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg is the W04 car's brakes, it has emerged.

Beaten to pole position by Rosberg on the last three outings, Hamilton departed Monaco last Sunday - having watched the sister car stroll to victory - vowing to get his "s--- together".

Lewis Hamilton in Monaco. (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

He is quoted by France's L'Equipe as admitting that the biggest difference between his new Mercedes and his McLarens of past seasons are the brakes.

"At McLaren, I had 100 per cent confidence in the car, and I'm working to regain that confidence," said the 2008 world champion.

"The setup and the brakes are very different to what I was used to. It's an overall feeling that's hard to explain. It's not a problem of concentration, it's just confidence in the car," added Lewis Hamilton.

BMW driver and DTM reigning champion, Bruno Spengler, currently second in the DTM point standings, spoke to Auto123.com before the third round of the season to be presented at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.

Spengler finished 5th at the opening round of the season in Hockenheim, then second at Brands Hatch two weeks ago. The Canadian now stands just one point behind championship leader, Mike Rockenfeller (Audi), winner at Brands Hatch.

In Austria, Spengler give it all again and will aim for victory. He's never won in Austria. He was unlucky last year when e was forced to retire after a collision with Jamie Green's Mercedes.

Spielberg - a fun track
“For sure, it can be only be better than last year, where I left Spielberg with no points,” Spengler told Auto123.com.

“The circuit is quite fun, with ups and downs, and also long straights, which is good for overtaking ».

“The DRS will be more important here than it was at Brands Hatch, where it was difficult to use due to the short straights. Last year, there was already a lot of overtaking, and I think there will probably be even more show on the track Sunday.”

“Since we have very little data from the DRS and the Option tires on this track, it is very difficult to predict how those two elements will influence the issue of race. Maybe we can expect the Option tires to cover a few more laps than at Brands Hatch, where they degraded quite fast, but it is difficult to know. We will learn a lot over this week end,” Spengler told us.

Renault Sport F1's president said that losing the Williams team to Mercedes-Benz is not a bad thing after all.

In a press release published by Renault, Jean-Michel Jalinier said the company really enjoyed working with Frank Williams' for the past two years, highlighted by Pastor Maldonado's victory in Spain last year.

Photo: WRi2

However, Jalinier also added that losing Williams was not such a big deal, as supplying five teams next year with the new 1.6-litre, V6 turbo power unit would have been a real challenge.

“We have stated on numerous occasions that we would supply up to five teams if there was a requirement to do so, but this would not make sense economically or be ideal for our resources,” said Jalinier.

“Three, or up to four, teams is the ideal for us so the departure of Williams normalizes the situation and makes things much clearer from our side. We will announce the next team within a matter of days, and then confirm the final stage before the end of June. We remain incredibly motivated about the challenge of the 2014 engines”, he added.

With Thursday morning's announcement of Williams F1 Team joining the ranks of Mercedes-Benz, we are a better picture of the 2014 grid.

New 1.6-litre, V6 turbo hybrid engines will be produced by three manufacturers: Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes-Benz.

Renault
• Red Bull Racing
• Toro Rosso
• Caterham (tbc*)

Mercedes
• Mercedes AMG
• McLaren
• Sahara Force India
• Williams

Ferrari
• Ferrari
• Sauber (tbc)
• Marussia (tbc)

* To be confirmed

Caterham should remain with Renault as the two companies are joining forces to design and build new sports cars, reviving the famous Alpine badge.

Lotus F1 Team remains the big question mark. The British team probably wants to stay with Renault, but it is known that the French V6 engine will be the most expensive unit of the three. Next year's budget will dictate if Lotus will remain in Renault' camp or switch to Mercedes (unlikely) or Ferrari (more likely).

Let's not forget that McLaren will switch to Honda power in 2015, leaving Mercedes.

Photo: WRi2

From GMM

Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves has slammed formula one for being "all politics".

"F1? It's a bunch of politics," he told Forbes magazine. "It's all politics. Every sport has politics, but it's so bad. Who you know, who you contact -- that's what it's all about."

"They don't care if you are good. They don't care if you are a great person. It feels like Hollywood business. But that's exactly what it is," said the Brazilian.

Bernie Ecclestone and Paul Hembery. (Photo: Pirelli)

The 38-year-old Indycar driver said that, of F1's 24 current drivers, he also respects five.

"I think Alonso, Felipe Massa is a friend of mine, Schumacher. Schumacher is not racing anymore, but ... I think Lou..eh, no. I would say Sebastian Vettel. Even Mark Webber. He is a good driver," he said.

"That's it. The rest of it is just prima donna drivers and spoiled kids."

Helio Castroneves insists his opinion about F1 is not because he was never given a chance to succeed at the pinnacle of motor sport.

"I did get a chance," he said, "but I respect much more what Roger (Penske) did to me. Loyalty and what an incredible team that I wouldn't even think about changing."

Helio Castroneves, Penske Racing. (Photo: LAT/IndyCar)

CUVs remain an important part of most car manufacturers' lineups. As money-makers, CUVs need to be appealing, read desirable. In fourteen years of BMW X5, 1.3 million units have been spoken for. It's a winner.

The 2014 BMW X5 marks the arrival of the 3rd generation and it promises to be better at everything than ever. The vehicle's new shell once again blends sportiness, elegance all with a calculated dose of modern BMW styling cues. The drive is expected to be nothing short of dynamic.

This new X5 marks the first time that it will be offered with RWD and it will be known as the sDrive35i. We doubt it will be made available in Canada therefore our entry level X5 will be the xDrive35i. Both will utilize the turbocharged 3.0L I-6. The xDrive50i will make use of the 4.4L TwinPower Turbo V8.

Photo: BMW

World Touring Car champion, Briton Robert Huff was extremely lucky not to been injured in a major road car crash that happened in Great Britain.

Huff -- the reigning WTCC champion - completely wrecked his Chevrolet Camaro in a most frightening head-on collision.

The WTCC competitor was driving on London Road, in Cambridge when a BMW in the opposite lane suddenly slowed down behind a broken down Peugeot 206.

A driver in a VW Golf that was behind the BMW failed to see the stationary vehicles and went straight into both the BMW and Peugeot. The impact then launched the cars directly into the path of Huff's front-end.

Emergency services had to cut two people free from the wreckage with one passenger suffering a punctured lung and broken ribs. Huff escaped miraculously unscathed.

Talking to Autosport, Huff said that the driver of the Golf was later found to be over the limit.

He added that he was shaken but lucky to be alive.

Photo: RobHuff.com

From GMM

Mercedes director and team co-owner Toto Wolff is refusing to say he is worried about potential penalties as a result of the secret Pirelli tire test.

Although Jenson Button said he senses a "slapped wrist" might be the outcome, Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko likened the affair to 'spygate', where McLaren was excluded from the constructors' championship in 2007 and fined $100m.

"I think it's not up to us to talk about sanctions or to express concerns," Wolff told DPA news agency.

"It will be a controlled process, and we respect the authority of the FIA. Everything is run very professionally and transparently, and so I have great confidence in the process," he added.

Photo: WRi2

Red Bull and Ferrari were the only teams to formally protest the Mercedes test, but it is believed most other rival bosses have a similar view.

"They all say 'We're behind you'," said a cynical Christian Horner. "Just four miles back."

But Eric Boullier, boss of the Lotus team, said he is concerned that notwithstanding Pirelli's contract with the FIA, Mercedes broke the sporting regulations.

"There is a sporting regulation in place, there is even a testing agreement in place between the teams," he is quoted by the Sun newspaper.

Marussia's Graeme Lowdon agreed: "My understanding is we're not allowed to test in season and from what I understand, that was an in-season test. I'm sure it will be investigated with the vigour required."

Mika Salo, a former Ferrari and Sauber driver and an occasional FIA steward, thinks teams are angry because of the 'secret' nature of the Barcelona test.

"Paul Hembery did hours of press conferences on Thursday and Friday and he didn't mention the test -- actually he complained that developing tires is so difficult for Pirelli because there is no testing," Salo told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

"He forgot to mention that he had just done three days with Mercedes."

Gerhard Berger thinks both Pirelli and Mercedes are to blame.

"I would not excuse Pirelli," he told Servus TV. "But if Pirelli has failed to clarify something, it is up to Mercedes to really make sure it was clarified."

There is now speculation the 'secret test' affair could cost Pirelli its place in formula one.

Red Bull's Christian Horner is quoted by EFE news agency: "They are a competent company. Yes, they have pushed the boundaries with its products a little, but the problem is not Pirelli, but the way all of this has happened, the lack of transparency."

Ford, which helped spur the SUV boom of the 1990s, is rolling out smaller SUVs to more markets worldwide, betting that growth of recent years will continue.

Fiat is in talks for as much as $10 billion in financing from a pool of banks to buy the Chrysler Group stake it doesn't own and refinance the two automakers' debt, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Wednesday.