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Toyota outsold rivals GM and VW Group last year, regaining the global sales lead after losing it in 2011. Sales at Toyota, including deliveries from subsidiaries Hino Motors and Daihatsu, rose 23 percent to a record 9.

Toyota outsold rivals GM and VW Group last year, regaining the global sales lead after losing it in 2011. Sales at Toyota, including deliveries from subsidiaries Hino Motors and Daihatsu, rose 23 percent to a record 9.

Ford will post fourth-quarter results on Tuesday with the figures likely to show the lowest operating profit of the year. But those figures mask optimism coming from an unlikely place: Europe.

Ford will post fourth-quarter results on Tuesday with the figures likely to show the lowest operating profit of the year. But those figures mask optimism coming from an unlikely place: Europe.

A Philippine native, Eminiano Reodica Jr. went from working as a showroom attendant at General Motors headquarters in Detroit to owning the country's third-largest car dealership. Then the empire crumbled -- and Reodica vanished.

The 2013 Super Bowl next week will be super for automotive advertisers. As of late last week, eight auto industry players had confirmed plans to air 11 commercials during the big game for a total cost of an estimated $60 million.

Most prospective Malibu buyers at Castle Chevrolet in suburban Chicago quickly decide that they don't want to pay nearly $3,000 more for the Eco mild-hybrid version.

There is an intense, behind-the-scenes race to find what automakers see as the cure to clunky infotainment systems: natural language.

General Motors is suing a Davenport, Iowa, Chevrolet dealership to stop what the automaker calls a "widespread fraudulent and unlawful" scheme to falsely report retail new-vehicle sales.

Hyundai is trying to bring the venerable written CSI survey into the age of the cloud, Twitter and Facebook. The brand has devised a new method, using e-mail and three-day turnarounds, to change the way it determines customer satisfaction.

Auto show concept vehicles are sort of like presidential inaugural addresses: They outline a broad, shining vision of the future, but they're short on the details of how that vision will be executed.

People and businesses in northeastern Oregon opened their arms to 38 tourists who survived when the charter bus they were on last month skidded off an icy Interstate and into a ravine, killing nine passengers.

Despite economic uncertainty and restructuring in their home markets, European automakers and suppliers delivered the best shareholder return in their industry segments last year.

With more new products coming, sales per dealership at U.S. Porsche stores should jump 30 percent during the next three years, says Michael Bartsch, COO of Porsche Cars North America.

Auto show concept vehicles are sort of like presidential inaugural addresses: They outline a broad, shining vision of the future, but they're short on the details of how that vision will be executed.

Opel AG, the European unit that has been a drag on General Motors' profits, is getting a new boss from Volkswagen AG and new platforms from PSA Peugeot Citroen.

From GMM

Now back in retirement, Michael Schumacher will return to his karting roots in 2013.

In the days after the seven time world champion's last grand prix late last year, we reported that the 44-year-old had signed up to be a test driver for the Italian kart maker Tony Kart this year.

Spain's El Mundo Deportivo newspaper reports that the great German will in fact be racing in 2013.

Preparing for his new race seat in the KZ category, Schumacher was testing his Tony Kart at the Lonato circuit in Italy last week and - reportedly - his laptimes were "very good".

Michael Schumacher, Tony Kart. (Photos: Angelo Scaroni/South Garda Karting)

Meanwhile, the Kolner Express newspaper reports that - with Hermann Tilke on board as designer - Schumacher has commissioned a new world championship-standard karting circuit near Cologne.

"We will build the best track in Europe," Gerhard Noack is quoted as saying.

Tilke confirmed: "The plans are ready."

From GMM

Ferrari will hide the 'step' in the nose of its 2013 car, it has emerged.

The FIA has allowed teams to install a "structurally irrelevant" laminate over the unseemly step for this year's cars, following the public's reaction to the dubious aesthetics of the 2012 field.

The 'modesty panel', however, is not mandatory, even though Valtteri Bottas revealed earlier this month that Williams will take advantage of the new rule for its 2013 car.

Ferrari F2012 with the step nose. (Photo: WRi2)

Now, a few days before the 2013 Ferrari appears officially, Spain's Marca reports that the latest Maranello-built creation also has a smooth nose section.

"Visually, there is no step on the nose, but the nose remains high to allow the airflow under the car," wrote correspondent Marco Canseco.

He added that the 2013 Ferrari's front and rear wings "may not be shown in detail" at the forthcoming car launch, "to avoid giving clues to its rivals".

The Marca report also said the new Ferrari will have smaller sidepods, front pull-rod suspension as per the 2012 car, and a Red Bull-style Coanda exhaust layout.

Sometimes, you've got to roll with the punches. On our selected test day, Mother Nature was fully intent on releasing and demonstrating the power of her pent up winter fury. By 9 a.m., not only were we under nearly 20 cm of snow, but we were an hour behind schedule and still missing two players.

Tough conditions - not uncommon in Canada and a large portion of the United States. (photo: Sébastien D'Amour)

However, as they say; the show must go on. Our plan for the day differed little from our usual exercises. Sadly, our late start and blustery wintery conditions made progress slow and arduous, and so our strategy had to be modified.

Time might have been an issue, however, the cars were not. All equipped with winter tires, we set off on our way, albeit at much reduced speeds.

On this day, we once again discovered a company of cars that all had a number of strong points going for them and very few negatives on which to harp. Even in these tough conditions -- not uncommon in Canada and a large portion of the United States -- certain cars stood out, while at least one slipped behind.

Once more, the newest players took the bar and pushed ever closer to perfection. Our previous favourite car, the Kia Optima, is the one that felt the brunt brought on by the latest in styling and technology. As you will see though, all-new need not mean all-good, but that simply proves the point that competition is fierce.

There are two side-notes to this comparison test: The first is the marked absence of one 2013 Ford Fusion which, because of an ongoing recall campaign and a believed shortage of parts, could not make it on test day. We were upset to learn that the new Fusion was to be left out as we know it would have done very well.

The other note pertains to tires of the winter persuasion. Three out of the five vehicles were shod with Michelin's new X-Ice Xi3 tires. Last winter, Matt evaluated these new tires and was thoroughly impressed with their performance.

Continue reading 2013 Midsize sedan comparison test

From GMM

Carlos Sainz Jr, now the cream of Red Bull's driver development programme, is excited about 2013.

Spain's El Confidential reports that the 18-year-old Spaniard - the son of the famous former world rally champion - has been signed by Christian Horner and Mark Webber's GP3 team.

Sainz jr is also sponsored by Cepsa, the Spanish oil company and sponsor of Red Bull's second formula one team Toro Rosso.

Last year, he raced in the British and European F3 categories.

Carlos Sainz Jr. (Photo: Red Bull Racing)

"I am seeking more consistency," said Sainz jr, "because GP3 is a very serious thing, with laptimes only six seconds behind formula one.

"Christian Horner has the ultimate responsibility, so I'll be even more linked to Red Bull," he added, revealing that he is moving to live in Milton Keynes.

"It's a whole new experience and I really want to get started."