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The Opel Monza concept provides a glimpse into the future of Buick and Opel design, says General Motors global design chief Ed Welburn.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says his company is much better prepared for deeper ties with Renault-Nissan because of the failed merger of Daimler and Chrysler.

VW denied that the company may miss its profit goals because of slower growth and higher-than-expected costs for the ramp up of its MQB architecture.

Infiniti's Q30 entry-level luxury compact concept is the first step toward adding five vehicles that will give the brand a suitable lineup for global markets by 2020.

Mercedes-Benz has added a host of new technological and comfort features to the S class to help its flagship remain the world's top-selling luxury sedan.

Mercedes-Benz has added a host of new technological and comfort features to the S class to help its flagship remain the world's top-selling luxury sedan.

The Opel Monza concept provides a glimpse the future of Buick and Opel design, says General Motors global design chief Ed Welburn.

VW denied that the company may miss its profit goals because of slower growth and higher-than-expected costs for the ramp up of its MQB architecture.

Infiniti's Q30 entry-level luxury compact concept is the first step toward adding five vehicles that will give the brand a suitable lineup for global markets by 2020.

Sergio Marchionne has hired Ron Bloom, a former auto advisor to President Obama, to advise Fiat Group on buying the rest of Chrysler, a source said.

Former F1 driver Alain Prost won his 28th Grand Prix on September 20th, 1987, in Portugal. Racing for McLaren-TAG, he surpassed the win total set by Jackie Stewart in 1973.

The prolific Prost won 51 races and four world championships during his entire career, which ended after the Australian Grand Prix on November 7th, 1993 (he finished second behind Ayrton Senna). He last won a Grand Prix on July 25th of that year in Germany.

Michael Schumacher eclipsed Prost on September 2nd, 2001 when he notched his 52nd victory at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Source: Wikipedia

Alain Prost and Ayrton (Photo: WRI2)

From GMM

Friday practice sessions could be extended from 90 to 120 minutes next year in a bid to help young drivers gain formula one mileage.

That is the claim of Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, revealing that the proposal authored by team bosses and F1 race director Charlie Whiting will be put to the forthcoming meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

The extended session would be to give extra preparatory and running time for teams, with race drivers and test drivers eligible to drive the same car during a single session.

The 'test drivers' eligible to drive in the extended first practice session will have to have an international A license, and have contested no more than two grands prix recently.

Photo: Marussia F1 Team

So far, the proposed change has drawn a mixed response.

"For us, it would take an hour to convert the car from one driver to another," said Williams' team manager Dickie Stanford.

But Sahara Force India's Andy Stevenson insisted: "At Monza, it took us ten minutes to get the car ready for Paul di Resta after James Calado drove it."

Auto Motor und Sport said the top teams are unlikely to field young drivers, but for outfits like Caterham and Marussia it would be "a welcome source of income".

From GMM

Friday practice sessions could be extended from 90 to 120 minutes next year in a bid to help young drivers gain formula one mileage.

That is the claim of Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, revealing that the proposal authored by team bosses and F1 race director Charlie Whiting will be put to the forthcoming meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

The extended session would be to give extra preparatory and running time for teams, with race drivers and test drivers eligible to drive the same car during a single session.

The 'test drivers' eligible to drive in the extended first practice session will have to have an international A license, and have contested no more than two grands prix recently.

Photo: Marussia F1 Team

So far, the proposed change has drawn a mixed response.

"For us, it would take an hour to convert the car from one driver to another," said Williams' team manager Dickie Stanford.

But Sahara Force India's Andy Stevenson insisted: "At Monza, it took us ten minutes to get the car ready for Paul di Resta after James Calado drove it."

Auto Motor und Sport said the top teams are unlikely to field young drivers, but for outfits like Caterham and Marussia it would be "a welcome source of income".

Venturi Automobiles recently hosted the world premiere of the VBB3, the world's most powerful electric car with a rating of 3,000 hp, at the Wendover airfield in Utah. The Monaco-based automaker invited Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene for the unveiling.

The third-generation VBB3 required two years of development and is the result of an extensive collaboration started in 2009 between Venturi Automobiles and Ohio State University.

The company hopes that the VBB3 will be able to reach speeds of 600 km/h as early as next year. It has held the world record for electric cars since 2010 with a speed of 495 km/h.

“I am proud of sharing with the Prince Sovereign and the Princess the launch of this new sporty, technological, and environmental challenge. It is truly thrilling to work on such a project to help tomorrow's mobility to progress,” said Gildo Pallanca Pastor, President of Venturi Automobiles.

September is usually when teams in major racing series start looking at the next season, which often leads to new contracts for drivers, shocking transfers, and a number of big disappointments.

This year is no different. Talks are now picking up at a blistering pace after a particularly quiet summer at the rumour mill -- aside from the one that sent Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.

When that rumour began floating around, many of our Facebook friends criticized us for reporting hearsay. “Kimi will not return to Ferrari. He has yet to swallow his exit from the team in 2009” sums up the various comments.

As it turned out, delayed payments by Lotus and several key departures within the technical department led the taciturn Finn to pack his bags and hit the road to Maranello, with full intent to compete directly with Fernando Alonso in 2014.

Sure, Ferrari prematurely terminated his contract four years ago to make room for the more talented Spaniard and the millions of dollars from Santander Bank, but Räikkönen is not one to hold a grudge against people.

Other notable exits include Mark Webber leaving Formula 1 to become Porsche's official endurance driver including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Felipe Massa was ousted by Ferrari in favour of Räikkönen. After a severe crash at the Hungaroring and the difficult years that followed, the Brazilian was no longer able to push his teammate to surpass himself.

Lastly, we learned that former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya is kissing Ganassi Racing and NASCAR's Sprint Cup goodbye to join Roger Penske and his IndyCar team.

Montoya was originally hired by Chip Ganassi, and supported by series executives to boost interest among Latin-American fans. However, his 7-year stint in NASCAR will not exactly go down in history: just two wins, none of which took place on an oval speedway. A big bummer.

So, the controversial Colombian goes back to IndyCar where he will face none other than Ganassi. Will Montoya duplicate his past success and find a way to win the Indy 500 for a second time? That will definitely be one of the stories to watch in 2014.

Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen (Photo: WRI2)

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series' championship battle will come to an end this weekend with two rivals, D.J. Kennington and Scott Steckly battling it out at Kawartha Speedway in the Pinty's 250.

Kennington comes to the Ontario speedway with a lead of only five points over Steckly which opens up several possibilities for each to claim the prize.

Scott Steckly. (Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Not to be ignored, though, is Jason Hathaway, winner of the last three series' events. Sitting in third with 22 points behind Kennington, Hathaway will need some cooperation from the drivers ahead of him to notch his first series crown.

Both Kennington (2010 and 2012) and Steckly (2008 and 2011) are already double-crown winners and they are vying to become the first three-time title winner in the series that debuted in 2007.

Jason Hathaway. (Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Hathaway, who earned his first series victory at Kawartha in 2008, has to notch a top-four finish on Saturday to entertain any title hopes, but anything less than a victory makes the task taller. Even with a win, he needs Kennington to finish 19th or worse and Steckly would need to come home in 15th-place or worse.

In any case, it's the closest battle for the crown in the seven-year history of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series regardless of the points' structure that changed a year ago.

DJ Kennington. (Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

The Pinty's 250 will be presented Saturday Sept. 21st at 5 p.m. ET with qualifications at 3 p.m.ET.

Point standings (top 10):
1 D.J. Kennington 430 points
2 Scott Steckly 425
3 Jason Hathaway 408
4 L.P. Dumoulin 395
5 J.R. Fitzpatrick 391
6 Martin Roy 390
7 Jason White 343
8 Alex Guenette* 341
9 Noel Dowler 340
10 Ron Beauchamp, Jr. 338

Johnnie Walker, the world's number one Blended Scotch Whisky brand, has teamed up with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Sergio Perez and two-time world drivers' champion Mika Häkkinen to launch a global free ride home program called “Join the Pact.”
Of course, the main goal is to fight drunk driving. Johnnie Walker aims to gather one million pledges to never drink and drive by inviting consumers around the world to use the hashtag #ImNOTdriving on social media.

To honour these commitments, Johnnie Walker will give away one million kilometres of safe rides home globally -- equivalent to travelling around the world's equator 25 times. The program begins in Singapore this week as part of the events surrounding the F1 Grand Prix. Mika Häkkinen has even agreed to serve as a private chauffeur.

Gavin Pike, Global Brand Director at Johnnie Walker, said: “Our partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has given us a strong platform from which to talk about responsible drinking. We are reinforcing our commitment to this cause through one of our most ambitious responsible drinking campaigns to date, and I encourage race fans everywhere to Join the Pact by pledging their personal commitment to not drink and drive by using #ImNOTdriving this weekend.”

Photo: Wikipedia

From GMM

F1 drivers have given the thumbs-up to the corner that has replaced the notorious 'Singapore sling' chicane.

We reported a month ago that, following constant criticism and crashes, the slow and unusual chicane with high and harsh kerbs has been replaced by a simple left-hander at turn 10.

"I think it will be good," Mercedes' Nico Rosberg told Brazil's Totalrace, after seeing the new solution during his track walk on Thursday.

"I can't say if it is safer or not, because the speed has been increased, but I think they've done a great job," he added.

Sahara Force India's Adrian Sutil admits he will miss the old chicane.

"I usually like a lot of fast corners, but I liked the chicane. It's now a fast corner which should be in third gear," said the German. "I think it's a very fluid circuit now, for a street circuit."

Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, jumping on the kerbs in 2011. (Photo: Pirelli)

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso commented: "I think it's better now. The chicane was a bit dangerous. If everything went smoothly there, no problems, but if you had problems you could take off on the kerbs. I think we have improved the safety a little bit.

"The lap will be a second faster, but it will be as fun and challenging as it was before," he added.

September is usually when teams in major racing series start looking at the next season, which often leads to new contracts for drivers, shocking transfers, and a number of big disappointments.

This year is no different. Talks are now picking up at a blistering pace after a particularly quiet summer at the rumour mill -- aside from the one that sent Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari.

When that rumour began floating around, many of our Facebook friends criticized us for reporting hearsay. “Kimi will not return to Ferrari. He has yet to swallow his exit from the team in 2009” sums up the various comments.

As it turned out, delayed payments by Lotus and several key departures within the technical department led the taciturn Finn to pack his bags and hit the road to Maranello, with full intent to compete directly with Fernando Alonso in 2014.

Sure, Ferrari prematurely terminated his contract four years ago to make room for the more talented Spaniard and the millions of dollars from Santander Bank, but Räikkönen is not one to hold a grudge against people.

Other notable exits include Mark Webber leaving Formula 1 to become Porsche's official endurance driver including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Felipe Massa was ousted by Ferrari in favour of Räikkönen. After a severe crash at the Hungaroring and the difficult years that followed, the Brazilian was no longer able to push his teammate to surpass himself.

Lastly, we learned that former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya is kissing Ganassi Racing and NASCAR's Sprint Cup goodbye to join Roger Penske and his IndyCar team.

Montoya was originally hired by Chip Ganassi, and supported by series executives to boost interest among Latin-American fans. However, his 7-year stint in NASCAR will not exactly go down in history: just two wins, none of which took place on an oval speedway. A big bummer.

So, the controversial Colombian goes back to IndyCar where he will face none other than Ganassi. Will Montoya duplicate his past success and find a way to win the Indy 500 for a second time? That will definitely be one of the stories to watch in 2014.

Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen (Photo: WRI2)

From GMM

Romain Grosjean has admitted he is looking forward to being the 'number 1' at Lotus next year.

With Kimi Raikkonen heading to Ferrari, the Enstone based team will almost certainly keep the improving Frenchman Grosjean on board for 2014, when continuity will be important for the huge change of regulations.

"If I become world champion then I need to be number 1," Grosjean told the British broadcaster Sky.

"Every time I've been team leader, whether it be in Formula 3 or GP2, it's a good situation. But you have to create it," he admitted.

Interestingly, one of the favourites to replace Raikkonen is Nico Hulkenberg, who was one of Grosjean's teammates at the ASM team in Formula 3 in 2007.

Romain Grosjean, ASM, Dallara-Mercedes, 2007. (Photo: Formula 3 Euro Series)

For the record, Romain Grosjean was the champion, with Nico Hulkenberg third.

"I came fresh from the A1 series and had a few problems in the first half of the season," Hulkenberg told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"The second half was much better and I even won the Formula 3 Masters," he added. Grosjean had started this race from pole.

Nico Hulkenberg said of Romain Grosjean: "We were not the best of friends."

Romain Grosjean explained: "We were two young drivers who were trying to go to formula one, so we clashed a few times during the season. But I don't think there would be any problems (in 2014)."

Nico Hulkenberg, ASM, Dallara-Mercedes, 2007. (Photo: Formula 3 Euro Series)