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On December 20th, 1928, the first international mail shipment using a dog sled left Lewiston, Maine; it arrived in Montreal on January 14th, 1929.

The 8' long, 200lb mushing sled was pulled by 6 blackhead Eskimo dogs, and averaged a speed of about 14 km/h.

A total of 385 letters were put in government-stamped, cancelled envelopes for this non-official trip. The sled returned to Lewiston on February 2nd after travelling 970 kilometres -- only 10% of which were covered in snow.

Source : trivia-library.com

Laser headlights will come standard on the upcoming BMW i8 -- a world's first on a production car. This technology is also featured on the Audi R18 e-tron quattro concept that will take part in the World Endurance Championship.

Laser lighting offers a range of 600 metres versus 300 metres with current LED headlights. Moreover, it helps further reduce energy consumption.

Source : techno-car.fr

For the fifth consecutive year, OnStar is partnering with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to offer the “Track Santa” program.

From 7 a.m. on December 24th until 5 a.m. on December 25th, anyone with an active OnStar subscription can request a “Santa Update,” which an OnStar advisor will provide based on NORAD information.

“Our advisors really get into the holiday spirit when responding to these calls,” said Terry Inch, OnStar chief operating officer. “They put on their Santa hats and elf ears and wholeheartedly take advantage of the opportunity to spread such joy to the children.”

“The advisors are nothing but amazing when we call,” said OnStar subscriber Bethany Auth. “The kids constantly want to push the button, so we call in a few times to give everyone in the family a chance to ask the advisor about Santa. When my oldest son hears the update from the advisor, he goes right away to find the location on a map.”

From GMM

Luca di Montezemolo, one of the most powerful figures in formula one, thinks the highly-controversial new 'double points' rule might live a short life.

Reaction to the plan for double points in Abu Dhabi next year, to keep the championship alive throughout the season, has been generally negative.

And Montezemolo, the Ferrari president with an unique veto over key F1 decisions, warned: "I'm not a fan of the double points.

"It's too artificial," he is quoted by Germany's Sport Bild. "I would not be surprised if the rule is soon abolished."

Luca di Montezemolo and Bernie Ecclestone. (Photo: WRi2)

In a wide-ranging and fascinating interview, Montezemolo also tipped Fernando Alonso to live out his full Ferrari contract, despite McLaren's obvious interest.

McLaren supremo Ron Dennis this week insisted "never say never" when contemplating bringing the Spaniard back to Woking.

But Montezemolo said: "I will not argue with my friend Ron, although it would be good for the press -- Fernando has a contract until 2016. My only concern is giving him a better car."

However, he did have to "tweak" the ear of the obviously frustrated Alonso this year. Montezemolo urged the 32-year-old to take a leaf out of Michael Schumacher's book.

"It is important that you not only win together, but also lose together," he said. "Michael knew how to do that between 1996 and 1999. Fernando knows that he drives not for himself, but for Ferrari, even if I can understand his frustration at times."

Some believe it was Alonso's attitude in 2013 that triggered the decision - against the Spaniard's wishes - to sign world champion Kimi Raikkonen to be his new teammate.

But, fascinatingly, Montezemolo suggested the Finn is in fact the number 2.

"He knows that he is in the second half of his career," he said, referring to Raikkonen. "But he is especially strong in the race, and is able to take points from Fernando's opponents."

For the moment, then, Montezemolo ruled out making a move to sign F1's driver of the moment.

"Sebastian Vettel is very fast, focused, wants to win," the Italian said. "I like his attitude: no manager, no politics. But although I have a lot of problems, a number 1 driver is not among them. In two years time we can talk about it again."

Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. (Photo: WRi2)

Finally, Montezemolo revealed that he has been approached by an American group, keen to acquire a Ferrari 'customer car' and race in formula one.

At present, the rules would not allow it.

"It's true," Montezemolo said. "We were contacted, and if the rules allowed it, we would like to sell them a car. It is extremely difficult for a new team to build a competitive car out of nowhere, so I would like to help."

Ferrari introduced the 059/3, the new V6 turbo engine unit, which will sit into the Ferrari, Marussia and Sauber cars next year.

"Being able to build the engine and chassis together is definitely a nice advantage," Ferrari's new technical director James Allison said on Thursday, as the Italian team's new V6 'power unit" was launched at Maranello.

"Other teams cannot do the same and this year, like never before, installing the new power unit in the car's chassis will be a complex operation," he added.

Allison is referring to the contrast between teams like Ferrari and Mercedes, who are both chassis and engine manufacturers, and 'customer' outfits like his former employer Lotus, who simply buy an engine from Renault.

"I've got direct experience of that from my time at Lotus: it's true the engine supplier tries to meet your demands, but it's never the same thing as happens here, where there is a historical culture relating to a common task of defining and developing the design of the new car," he said.

3D launch of the new Ferrari engine. Ferrari says the sound is real.

From GMM

Rodolfo Gonzalez, Marussia's reserve and occasional Friday practice driver in 2013, has revealed he has been offered a role as Pirelli's F1 tester.

Like his countryman Pastor Maldonado, Gonzalez is sponsored by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA.

But he told the El Universal newspaper: "I have received an attractive offer to be Pirelli test driver in the coming season.

"First there are other options that I would like to explore, so fortunately, I can make a decision about the offer in February or March, as I really want to stay in formula one," Gonzalez added.

"I think in two years I will accept the offers to race in categories such as in the US and Europe, but at the moment I prefer to wait and stay."

Rodolfo Gonzalez. (Photo: WRi2)

Rodolfo Gonzalez has a low profile in the F1 paddock, with most observers believing his sponsor dollars talk louder than his talent.

He confirmed that sponsorship is crucial to the fate of all F1 drivers, with the exception of the very top teams.

Marussia team boss John Booth, however, insisted: "He has nothing to prove. Perhaps he is lacking a little bit of consistency, but he is a formula one driver and he knows what he's doing."

"He has helped us a lot," added John Booth.

From GMM

A month ahead of official pre-season testing for 2014, Charles Pic has admitted his future remains far from certain.

It has been rumoured in recent days and weeks that, ahead of the new season, the Lagardere-backed Frenchman's sponsorship haul might not be as strong as that of his 2013 teammate Giedo van der Garde.

At the same time, there have been rumours Caterham might be considering a new driver to replace 23-year-old Pic, such as the Swedish rookie Marcus Ericsson.

And Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper reports that Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi, who has been looking to return to the grid after losing his Sauber seat at the end of last year, was spotted at Caterham's UK factory this week.

Charles Pic admitted his future is not secure.

Charles Pic. (Photo: Caterham F1 Team)

"Given the nature of the driver market at the end of the season," he told France's Auto Hebdo, "I knew that the decision would not be taken quickly.

"Small teams in particular wait for the decisions of their more competitive rivals," added Pic.

"For me it would be logical to stay at Caterham, but you can never be sure about anything in formula one. The contract with Caterham is my first priority, but there are other options. Honestly, at the end of the season, we saw that the main problem was not the drivers, but the financial situation," he revealed.

Charles Pic is surely referring to the fact that, while he struggled alongside Dutchman van der Garde in the closing stages of 2013, Caterham was already working hard on its all-new project for next year.

"The main problem was that we had to do the season with last year's car," he said, "and we were the only team in this situation."

In an identical car, however, Van der Garde had got the upper hand by the last few races.

"This was his debut season, so it seems logical that he made progress. But prior to India, I was regularly in front of him, and with a significant advantage. In the last three races Giedo had more success than me, but that was because I had a lot of mechanical problems," he argues.

Charles Pic said he feels he performed well enough in 2013 to deserve to keep the seat, but there are other factors in play, and "mainly financial" ones.

"I'm optimistic," he insisted, "because myself and the team need stability."

Mazda has given a new lease on life to its rotary engine in the form of a Mazda2 hatchback reconfigured as an extended-range hybrid. The prototype runs as an electric vehicle, with an electric motor powering the wheels.

When hearing the term and#8220;luxury vehicle,and#8221; it's safe to say your mind doesn't automatically jump to phrases like and#8220;fuel-efficientand#8221; or and#8220;environmentally friendly.

Dealertrack Technologies, a leading provider of financial services software to auto dealers, has agreed to purchase digital-marketing giant Dealer.com for about $1 billion.

TI Automotive, the auto fuel-systems company owned by several hedge funds, is nearing a deal to sell itself to Bain Capital Partners for as much as $2 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Ohio new-car dealers aren't giving up in their fight with Tesla.

Mercedes-Benz will build a long-wheelbase version of its new C-class sedan for China, as part of ambitious plans to roll out production of its biggest selling model across four continents in six months.

Shares in Martinrea International, Canada's third-largest auto parts maker by market value, slumped after it warned one of its factories had misreported net income over eight years and said earnings would be lower than forecast.

Archie Lewis relaxes in his recliner at the open entrance to his warehouse in Moriarty, N.M., on old Route 66. He has been collecting for 60 years.

A fire department in Southern California said a garage fire may have been caused by an overheated charging system in a Tesla

Fisker Automotive, the bankrupt electric-car maker, won't use a shuttered GM plant it bought in Delaware even if its new owner resumes production, Delaware Senator Tom Carper said today.

News 19 Dec, 2013

Lexus has revealed the second in a series of teaser images for the BMW M4-rivalling RC-F coupe

Ken Block's alter ego Mental Block is back for Snowkhana 2: the ultimate festive course. The stop-action, Christmas-themed clip features Mental Block in a mini Fiesta hoon vehicle, playing with a box full of Christmas toys.

Airstream 2 Go recently announced their rates and promotional programs for winter 2014, running from Nov. 22, 2013, through March 14, 2014. Travelers can rent the well-known Airstream trailers for 25 percent off.