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This is the year of the IS for Lexus at the

Visteon Corporation has raised its equity stake in its Russian joint venture, Visteon Avtopribor Electronics, from 49 percent to 68.77 percent.

Nissan's Europe boss, Trevor Mann, has been promoted to chief performance officer of the automaker as part of a sweeping management overhaul executed by CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Dow Automotive Systems is a provider of polyurethanes, elastomers, films, fluids, adhesives, emissions solutions and acoustic-management materials to the global transportation industry. That includes supply to OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers for automotive applications in interior, exterior, under-the-hood, body-in-white structural, acoustic and thermal management, and powertrain. Here, Matthew Beecham talked with Eugenio Toccalino, Director of Strategic Marketing, Dow Automotive Systems.

Nissan, in a wide-ranging management shuffle, has appointed Jose Munoz its new chief of North America. He replaces Colin Dodge, who will be assigned to special projects and report directly to CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Over the years, car designers occasionally have tried to capture some of the charm and practical benefits of athletic shoes in cheeky auto show concept cars. Now one of those concepts is headed for production.

Ford executives are excited that the automaker's global regions of Europe, Africa, South America and Asia Pacific posted a combined quarterly profit for the first time since the second quarter of 2011.

Auto sales increased 10 percent in the United States during October as the Detroit 3 gained market share while other major automakers fell short of projections.

As head of global product development before retiring in 2007, Richard Parry-Jones became known as Ford's alchemist of vehicle dynamics. He was a rally-car driver in his spare time, and pushed hard to make all Fords a blast to drive.

The latest issue of the Automotive News Europe monthly e-magazine looks at a battle between Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz that goes beyond unit sales.

Lookers became the latest UK car dealer to forecast better-than-expected 2013 profits on the back of resurgent car sales in its home market.

DETROIT -- A consummate gearhead who was once a race engineer for Mario Andretti and Nigel Mansell, Hau Thai-Tang made a name for himself as chief engineer of the 2005 Ford Mustang.

Understanding the supplier business is child's play compared with trying to grasp the meaning of one of Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte's bizarre paintings.

A shutdown of the federal government hurt showroom traffic at many dealers in the first half of October, but auto sales are expected to be up at least 12 percent from a year ago for the month overall, according to analyst forecasts.

Furniture Row Racing and Martin Truex Jr confirmed one of the most obvious rumors of this year when the announced a multi-year deal for the Truex.

“Really proud I could pick myself up, dust myself off. Not everyone was so lucky. You always have something to prove in Cup,” said Truex referring to his roller coaster year. “I'm ready.”

Truex, who currently drives for Michael Waltrip Racing, was having one of the best years in his career when he broke a 218-race winless drought (at Sonoma), a multi-year contract with sponsor, NAPA, and made the NASCAR Chase on points - initially - after Richmond.

Then NASCAR officials ruled that teammate, Brian Vickers manipulated the outcome of the race by an unnecessarily long pit stop. That changed the final points and Vickers was out of the Chase. A few weeks later NAPA officials said that they would end their NASCAR involvement at the end of the year depriving Truex of a sponsor - and a job.

"I was terrified. It was like getting punched in the face," said Truex adding “"As unlucky as I got at Richmond, I got just as lucky when this deal turned up."

Meanwhile, over at Furniture Row Racing they needed a driver after Kurt Busch accepted a ride with Stewart-Haas Racing. They had a brief interview with Juan Pablo Montoya, but, the Colombian driver went back to IndyCar joining Penske Racing in 2014.

When Truex walked into the media center in Texas on Friday morning with the Furniture Row general manager, Joe Garone, no one was surprised.

“We couldn't be happier to have landed one of the top drivers in NASCAR,” said Garone. “Martin's talents - both on and off the track -- have been well documented and everyone at Furniture Row Racing feels that he is an excellent fit to continue the success that we have enjoyed this season."

MWR issued the following “Michael Waltrip Racing congratulates Martin on his announcement today. We are very happy to see him in a competitive ride next year and appreciate the professionalism everyone showed throughout this entire process.”

Garone also mentioned that Truex's current over-wall pit crew (not necessarily including his crew chief) will be joining Truex at FRR.

Brendon Hartley has been evaluated at the wheel of the brand new Porsche LMP1 race car this week in Monza, with the possibility to join the German team next season.

The young New Zealander is now in line for a works seat with Porsche for its return in endurance racing next season in the World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard, Neel Jani and Mark Webber have already been confirmed as Porsche drivers for 2014. Hartley and Marc Lieb are set to get the two remaining places for next year.

The 23-year-old made his racing debut in single seaters before moving to endurance racing. He set strong performances this season in Rolex Grand-Am, where he clinched one victory, driving a Starworks Motorsports' Riley Ford.

He also competed in several rounds of the World Endurance Championship, Le Mans 24 Hours and European Le Mans Series in a Murphy Prototypes' Oreca 03-Nissan LMP2.

Lotus' Romain Grosjean set the pace during Friday morning's first free practice session, but newly crowned 2013 champion Sebastian Vettel put his Red Bull RB9 on top of the charts in the afternoon in Abu Dhabi.

Third place finisher in India a week ago, Grosjean clocked the fastest time in an opening session, setting a time of 1m44.241 in the closing stages to edge out Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton by 0.192s.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (Photo: Red Bull)

Vettel finished the 90-minute session in third place with a 1m44.499 ahead of his Red Bull Racing teammate Mark Webber, with the second respective Mercedes and Lotus cars of Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen completing the top six.

Ferrari experienced some problems on the slippery Yas Marina circuit with Fernando Alonso down in 12th and Felipe Massa 17th. In fact, numerous drivers had small moments where they inadvertently cut chicanes or ran briefly off the road.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus (Photo: WRI2)

However, it was a slightly different story in the second free practice session.

Red Bull Racing set their seventh P2 one-two of the season as Vettel set the fastest time of the day with a 1m41.335, beating Webber by 0.155 second.

Hamilton led the chase in his Mercedes to set the third fastest time ahead of last year's surprise winner, Kimi Raikkonen in a Lotus.

Yas Marina circuit (Photo: WRI2)

Both Lotuses proved to be quick in race trim and on medium Pirelli tires and they could provide Red Bull's sternest challenge this weekend.

Rosberg was fifth fastest in his Mercedes ahead of Sergio Pérez and Jenson Button of McLaren (the team trying low-drag rear wings), Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg in his Sauber and Massa.

Fastest in FP1, Grosjean was only 12th quickest. His E21-Renault suffered brake problems and then a vibration.

Felipe Massa, Ferrari (Photo: WRI2)

Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina circuit, Friday 1st practice session*
1 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'44"241 - 21 laps
2 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'44"433 - 23
3 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'44"499 - 18
4 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'44"712 - 20
5 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'44"741 - 24
6 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'44"929 - 23
7 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'45"040 - 20
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'45"099 - 20
9 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'45"150 - 24
10 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'45"331 - 20
11 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'45"378 - 23
12 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'45"440 - 18
13 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'45"823 - 22
14 - James Calado (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'45"924 - 20
15 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'46"068 - 18
16 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'46"114 - 22
17 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'46"124 - 18
18 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'46"126 - 21
19 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'47"600 - 22
20 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'47"670 - 22
21 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'47"723 - 23
22 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'49"565 - 22

Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina circuit, Friday 2nd practice session*
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'41"335 - 34 laps
2 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'41"490 - 32
3 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'41"690 - 37
4 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'41"726 - 42
5 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'41"758 - 41
6 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'42"006 - 36
7 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'42"010 - 31
8 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'42"171 - 31
9 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'42"324 - 41
10 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'42"440 - 36
11 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'42"509 - 39
12 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'42"607 - 18
13 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'42"806 - 27
14 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'42"952 - 36
15 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'42"998 - 27
16 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'43"152 - 29
17 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'42"271 - 36
18 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'43"565 - 36
19 - Giedo Van Der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'44"138 - 35
20 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'44"459 - 35
21 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'44"525 - 38
22 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'44"565 - 27
*Unofficial timing

Next week, the 2013 SEMA Show will kick off at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada. Starting on Tuesday, Auto123.com will be on hand covering all the new model launches, and bringing you lots of pics and videos.

We'll also have a number of surprises in store for you throughout the week. You can follow our journalists and photographers on Instagram to get a taste of what's coming to Auto123.com.

This year, the SEMA Show will have the most exhibitors (over 2,500) in its 47-year history. They will occupy more than one million square feet of floor, and welcome nearly 130,000 industry folks from November 5th to 8th.

Stay tuned!

Photo: SEMA Show

The Mackinac Bridge, which connects the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the state of Michigan, opened on November 1st, 1957.

Standing 8.038 kilometres long overall and 61 metres above the water, the Mackinac Bridge was the world's longest suspension bridge at the time. It's currently third behind the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge (Japan) and the Taizhou Bridge (China).

Feeling seasick? The Mackinac Bridge Authority has a Drivers Assistance Program that provides drivers for those uncomfortable with driving across the bridge.

Source : wikipedia.org

Mackinac bridge (Photo: Wikipedia)

The all-new 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid is now on sale at Canadian dealers with a base MSRP of $29,590, while the high-end Touring model starts at $35,690.

Equipped with the new Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) two-motor hybrid system, the 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid boasts an exceptional NRC fuel economy rating of 3.7L/100km in the city and 4.0L/100km on the highway.

Standard features include:

• LED Daytime Running Lights;
• Smart Entry;
• Honda Lane Watch and Rearview camera;
• 10-way power driver's seat;
• Heated front seats;
• 17'' alloy wheels.

The top-of-the-line 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring adds premium features including leather seating, heated rear seats, driver's seat position memory, 360-watt premium audio, HDD navigation, and LED headlights, among others.

Source : CNW

Photo: Honda