U.S. auto sales in June are expected to rise as much as 8 percent and reach their strongest monthly pace since before the recession. Most analysts expect a sales pace in June of between 15.5 million and 15.
Reports indicate Citroën is trying to lure Robert Kubica into its new World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) programme.
Kubica, a two-time winner this season with Citroën in the WRC 2 rally championship, is on the road to returning to F1. But at the moment, is not fit enough to drive a single-seater.
At the start of the season, the Pole turned down a offer from Mercedes to compete in the German DTM series in order to concentrate on his rally bid, but Citroën still thinks Kubica would be a good fit to its WTCC foray.
"If he was interested, we would certainly like to bring Kubica to at least one round next year," Yves Matton, the boss of Citroën Racing, is quoted saying by the GPupdate.net website.
British magazine Autosport event reported Citroën believes it could obtain special permission to let Kubica race with paddle shift, as he is doing in rally to accommodate his injured arm.
"We have a waiver to use paddle shift in WRC 2, if he does come to one event in touring cars, we will also ask for a waiver."
McLaren has finally written off the 2013 season, turning the vast bulk of the great Woking based team's resources towards a fresh start for 2014.
In the opening seven races of the season, McLaren has put every effort into solving the problems of the uncompetitive MP4-28, but the latest package of improvements at Silverstone failed to provide a major step forwards.
"Frankly," team boss Martin Whitmarsh said on Saturday, "we are putting a lot of resource and effort on next year's programme, a lot earlier than usual."
He came close to admitting the basic design of the 2013 car is simply flawed.
"We're throwing quite a lot of different ideas at the car but frankly we're not making that progress," he is quoted by British newspapers.
"We are at a point where we have to ensure we are in a competitive situation next year."
However, a major difficulty for McLaren is that if the fundamental issues of 2013 are not understood, the team may repeat those mistakes in 2014.
Whitmarsh said: "We are still going to do everything we can to understand this car and make it better.
"We'll be pushing hard but I think we have to be realistic in terms of where our priorities are."
McLaren's endless struggles in 2013 had also raised questions about lead driver Jenson Button's loyalty, particularly with a Red Bull seat opening up for 2014.
But the 2009 world champion is vowing to stay put.
"You cannot look at this year and think 'It's time to get out'. That is not right. Jumping from team to team is not the right way to go in racing," said Button.
"This team will win a championship over the next few years and I want to be here for that," he added.
An intermittent, but persistent, rain forced NASCAR to postpone its' 400 mile Sprint Cup race, at Kentucky Speedway until Sunday at 1PM EDT.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the pole at a record speed as eight drivers broke the track record set by Jimmie Johnson last year.
Friday night's Nationwide Series race, won by 2012 Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski, was cut short due to rain also.
This was the first postponement of a Sprint Cup race, due to weather, since last year's Daytona 500.
Series officials had hoped to get the race underway by postponing the start and using jet dryers. Only the weather wouldn't cooperate.
“We knew it would be touch-and-go and from early in the morning we were tracking the weather,” NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp told the Associated Press. “We dispatched the driers and they stayed out ahead of it, but the weather cells never did move out of the area and they looked like they would linger.
“It's a 90-minute to two-hour window with the best of conditions, and once it reached around 9 p.m. and it was still raining and in the forecast, we made the decision we thought was best.”
The Verdict: The MDX appears largely free of the frustrating electronic problems present elsewhere in the used premium crossover scene. For the most part, only minor electronic problems were reported -- and fairly infrequently. If service records, a pre-purchase inspection and the timing-belt condition check out, it's a model that can be bought with confidence.
Photo: Justin Pritchard
Price: Pricing for a used Acura MDX starts in the mid to high teens for an earlier model with some mileage, and climbs into the high 40s for a newer, low-mileage unit. Shoppers should find plenty of selection in the $25,000 to $40,000 range.
What Owners Like: Most MDX owners agree that their machines blend comfort and fun-to-drive dynamics nicely, and comment positively on the stereo, functional interior, and overall performance. Smooth powertrain performance and all-weather confidence round out the package.
What Owners Dislike: Complaints include poor rearward visibility and higher-than-expected levels of wind noise at speed. Finally, Bluetooth and USB connectivity aren't standard in the Acura MDX, which offends some multimedia connectivity buffs.
The new CO2 emissions standards set to come into effect in 2020 across Europe don't make everyone happy. Germany is doing its darnedest to block E.U. members from passing the bill.
Earlier this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the current president of the European Council, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, to remove the issue from the agenda of today's meeting -- which he did, angering countries like France, Italy and Denmark in the process.
The agreement calls for automakers to reduce their fleet-wide CO2 emissions from 130 grams to 95 grams per kilometre by 2020.
Super credits, allocated to those who build highly efficient vehicles such as hybrids and EVs, have been implemented in an effort to accommodate reluctant members like Germany. But the country, which has a number of luxury automakers that produce a fair share of gas guzzlers, still does not want any part of it.
If Germany has its way, the consequences could be felt globally as other manufacturers might want to reject the new standards, not only in Europe, but also in North America.
Mercedes' Nico Rosberg has taken victory from Red Bull's Mark Webber in an epic British Grand Prix, which was littered with tyre failures, two safety cars and Sebastian Vettel's late retirement whilst leading the race.
Vettel inherited the lead from pole-sitter Hamilton, after the Mercedes driver made a great start. However, the 2008 title winner suffered a tyre blow out on lap 9 whilst on the Wellington straight.
The Red Bull then took the lead, and appeared to be on target for victory until his RB9 ground to a halt on the 42nd lap.
This once again prompted a lead change and promoted Rosberg to top spot, which saw him take the win by a mere 0.765 seconds from Webber.
Despite finishing within a whisker of his third British Grand Prix victory, Webber had a difficult start to the race after having made contact with Lotus' Romain Grosjean , which dropped him from fourth on the grid to 15th.
The Australian also had to change the nose of his Red Bull during his second stop.
Despite his tyre problem, Hamilton put in a stunning recovery drive to finish fourth, after taking advantage of Kimi Raikkonen's, who earlier in the race, questioned the team's strategy to keep him out for so long on worn tyres.
Felipe Massa, another victim of a Pirelli blowout, finished sixth after suffering a tyre failure after having made a good start to jump from 11th to fifth on the first lap.
The Ferrari's let go whilst attacking Adrian Sutil's Force India after the battling pair left The Loop section of the track.
The left rear tyre on Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso also exploded, with the young Frenchman doing well to keep control after the Pirelli let go on the Hangar Straight.
As a result, the incident destroyed the rear of the Toro Rosso, and forced him to retire from the race.
However, team-mate Daniel Ricciardo fared well to finish eighth after qualifying sixth.
McLaren had a difficult weekend, with both cars failing to score points despite Jenson Button appearing to be on course to do so in the final stages of the race.
The 2009 world champion was shunted down from 10th to 13th, and Sergio Perez suffered yet another tyre failure after the second safety car period which came as a result of Vettel's stricken Red Bull.
Furthermore, the tyre-blow on Perez's car almost ended in contact with Alonso, after the Ferrari was forced to take evasive action to avoid the debris.
Race results - British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 52 laps 1.32'59"456
2 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 0"765
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 7"124
4 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 7"756
5 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 11"257
6 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F158) - 14"573
7 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 16"335
8 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 16"543
9 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 17"943
10 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 19"709
11 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 21"135
12 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 25"094
13 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 25"900
14 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 26"200
15 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 31"600
16 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 36"000
17 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'07"600
18 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'07"700
19 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1 lap
Fastest lap of the race: 1'33"401 (Mark Webber)
Retirements
Lap 46 - Sergio Perez
Lap 41 - Sebastian Vettel
Lap 35 - Jean Eric Vergne
Fernando Alonso has expressed alarm at the situation at Ferrari, despite finishing third at Silverstone.
The Spaniard slashed Sebastian Vettel's lead in the championship to just 21 points in doing so, but is worried by the slump his team is going through.
Alonso initially pointed the finger at Pirelli, as he was quoted by Brazil's Totalrace as suggesting the compounds "are not appropriate for F1".
He also told German broadcaster Sky: "We know the hardest tyres favour one team, and we know they are not ideal for us and Lotus.
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (Photo: WRi2)
"But the fact is that others are working better than us."
He therefore admitted Ferrari's flaws.
"We have to improve," he said.
"We started the year with two cars on the front row and now we're getting into dangerous territory, struggling to get into Q3.
"We have not developed well enough in the past two months; the new parts have not been what we had hoped for," Alonso is quoted by international reports.
Sauber has allayed fears a financial crisis could see the Swiss team exit formula one before the 2013 season is out.
A constant presence in F1 since 1993, the Hinwil based squad lost its works BMW backing at the end of 2009 and ever since has been among the sport's struggling privateers.
This year, Sauber unveiled an uncompetitive Ferrari-powered C32, but promised to develop and improve it.
"For financial reasons, development of the car has stopped," revealed authoritative Swiss correspondent for the Blick newspaper, Roger Benoit.
There are rumours bills are going unpaid, and chief designer Matt Morris has already fled to McLaren.
Told by Benoit that in February she promised the C32 would look very different by mid-season, team boss Monisha Kaltenborn revealed the reason for the lack of development.
"We have been in negotiation for some time with a potential partner," she said.
Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber C32 (Photo: Sauber)
"The whole thing is taking more time than we thought it would, but we are on track."
It is rumoured that potential partner is Gazprom, the Russian natural gas giant that was a Minardi sponsor some years ago.
Gazprom recently became a sponsor of Sauber's English football club partner, Chelsea.
Asked by Benoit if she can guarantee Sauber will still be on the grid come the season finale in November, Kaltenborn answered: "We have been asked that question since 2010.
"We are currently going through a difficult phase, but we will continue in 2013 to the end."
F1's intense heat on Pirelli only got hotter on Sunday, as the British grand prix took place amid shards of exploding tire rubber.
Lewis Hamilton, just one of four drivers who had spectacular rear failures during the Silverstone race, was comfortably leading when he had his problem.
"They need to do something," Hamilton told British broadcaster Sky.
"It's unacceptable," said, on the BBC, the Mercedes driver, whose teammate Nico Rosberg - who won - also had a partial tire failure just as a safety car period began.
On-board footage from Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso's cars showed how the big chunks of flying tire debris could have hurt a driver.
McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale, whose driver Sergio Perez had one of the exploding failures, insisted: "We have to make sure our drivers are safe."
Jenson Button agreed: "The cars behind get hit by rubber that has metal in it. It's obvious it's got to change. It's very scary."
Recently, Pirelli wanted to make a fundamental change to the tire construction - replacing an internal steel band with a kevlar one - to stop delaminations, but teams like Lotus blocked the move.
F1's official supplier instead had to tackle the issue by deploying a new kind of glue to bind the tread.
Pirelli's Paul Hembery refused to immediately comment pending an investigation, despite the international media relentlessly bombarding him with questions.
"Sorry," he told them. "When we have the answers, we'll let you know."
Sam Bird clinched his third win of the season at Silverstone, ahead of Stéphane Richelmi and Tom Dillmann.
Marcus Ericsson started on pole, but had a contact with Felipe Nasr at the start, which allowed Sam Bird to move into the lead, ahead of championship leader Stefano Coletti.
Coletti was eventually overtaken by Stéphane Richelmi in the last part of the race, and under pressure from Tom Dillmann and Fabio Leimer in the last laps.
Coletti went wide at the first corner, and Dillmann moved up to third, while Leimer had a contact with Coletti, who was forced to retire.
Silverstone - Race 1:
1 - Sam Bird - Russian Time - 29 laps in 51'32"250
2 - Stephane Richelmi - Dams - 2"427
3 - Tom Dillmann - Russian Time - 12"052
4 - Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering - 13"888
5 - Jon Lancaster - Himler - 14"782
6 - Jolyon Palmer - Carlin - 18"762
7 - Rio Haryanto - Addax - 19"734
8 - Julian Leal - Racing Engineering - 20"365
Etc.
Red Bull has asked the FIA if it can follow Mercedes' lead and conduct a 1000 kilometre tire test with Pirelli, using its 2013 car.
The world champion team has been heavily critical of the Mercedes test, which resulted in the German team being banned from the forthcoming young drivers test.
But the FIA has since clarified that, so long as Pirelli and F1 teams follow the right processes, tire tests like that are actually allowed.
So Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio, writing for O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, reports from Silverstone that Christian Horner has asked the governing body if it can be the next team in line for a Mercedes and Ferrari-style test.
"Horner is convinced," said Oricchio, "that the 1000 kilometres of testing that Hamilton and Rosberg did in Barcelona had a direct effect on Mercedes' rapid development in the last few races."
Speed Week is reporting similarly.
"Red Bull has sent a detailed letter to race director Charlie Whiting to clarify the question: 'under what circumstances can we also go testing?'" that report said.
Because of the 'test-gate' scandal, in which Red Bull has been vocally critical of Mercedes, a palpable tension between the two teams now exists.
Mercedes' Toto Wolff insists that some quotes about Red Bull in the German media last week were taken out of context, but according to Bild newspaper he had agreed with Pirelli to sit down for a 'peace summit' at Silverstone.
Red Bull's Christian Horner, however, refused to attend.
"That was not a good idea," Horner is quoted as saying. "The tribunal is over and we want to look forward from now on."
Wolff responded: "It's a shame Christian declined (to attend). I would have liked to talk about the tribunal, maybe clear up some things and get closer together once again."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a potential braking issue with Honda Odyssey minivans that could cause them to brake without the driver touching the brake pedal.
A robot Toyota co-developed will have the first human-robot conversation in space as part of a project to make machines that can interact with and assist people living alone.
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn was appointed chairman of the board of directors at AvtoVAZ, strengthening the alliance's control over Russia's biggest automaker.
Next year's V6 engines will be more powerful than the V8s of 2013, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
Previously, it was thought not only that next year's energy recovery-bolstered turbo V6s would be quieter than the normally-aspirated V8s, but also obviously slower.
Not so, at least on the latter detail, according to correspondent Michael Schmidt.
Currently, the V8 KERS-boosted 2.4 litre V8s pack about 800 horsepower, with about 350 newton-metres of torque.
The engine makers Renault, Mercedes and Ferrari are understandably holding their cards close to their chests, but Schmidt reports that Pirelli is expecting cars with full boost next year to be propelled in qualifying by up to 900 horse power.
Photo: Renault F1 Sport
And torque is set to increase dramatically, to 600 newton-metres.
Pirelli's Paul Hembery said: "At the moment we don't know exactly what to expect.
"But the numbers we are hearing are enormous. We will have to have wider rear tyres, but how wide is something we will have to decide in consultation with the teams."
However, heavily-degrading tyres will not dominate F1 next year. Hembery said that for "the first year of the new formula, we will be conservative".
The teams got a first taste of the experimental hard compound on Friday.
Lotus has been told to bring a modified front suspension layout to next weekend's German grand prix.
The FIA told the Enstone based team at Silverstone on Saturday that the current layout does not comply with the rules, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports.
That is because the regulations allow a maximum of three suspension elements, but a McLaren-commissioned photo at Silverstone has revealed that Lotus' 2013 layout has an obscured fourth.
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