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Akebono Brake Industry began constructing Ai-Village, a global training centre, at its Ai-City Headquarters in Hanyu.

Whether we believe the recession is over or not, staying competitive is an increasing challenge. There is near-universal agreement that part of the solution is excellent product, but recruiting the talented engineers needed to do this is increasingly difficult. Is it just a matter of supply and demand or are there deeper challenges? What are the solutions? To find out, we spoke to Chester Boothe of Jonathan Lee Recruitment, one of the automotive industry's leading HR resourcing specialists.

Happy New Year. And all that. Now, for those to whom it applies, the turkey and associated festivities are out of the way for another year, 'tis time to look back at 2012 sales and ahead at 2013.

Upbeat prospects for car-sharing were underlined this week when car hire giant Avis purchased Zipcar for almost $500m. The analysts at Frost & Sullivan have been following the burgeoning car-sharing sector and, in this article, put the latest deal in context.

The government of congestion-choked Chinese city Shanghai wants residents to buy more electric cars so will offer extra rebates and free licence plates to buyers.

News 4 Jan, 2013

Skoda has confirmed six new models for 2013, including the Octavia Estate

Mazda plans to spend a further US$150m on its Guanajuato, Mexico, plant, currently being built, to boost annual capacity from 140,000 to 230,000 by the end of fiscal 2016, the company said in a statement.

Official VFACTS data released on Friday (4 January) by Australia's Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) showed 1,112,032 new passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were delivered in 2012, setting a new record.

Italy's car market declined by almost a fifth in 2012 as new car demand reeled under the impact of economic recession, fiscal austerity and renewed political uncertainty.

Despite consumer and business uncertainties about the fiscal cliff, US light vehicle sales remained robust in December, pushing total deliveries for the year to 14,492,398, close to the upper end of most analyst predictions.

First Look: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet

Falling in line with the latest E-Class family.

Mercedes-Benz's makeover machine appears to be running at full-tilt, especially when it comes to its E-Class model range. Weeks after the German automaker unwrapped the 2014 E-Class sedan and wagon models, the company is now giving us a look at the updated 2014 E-Class coupe and cabriolet.

Photo Gallery: First Look: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: First Look: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet - Automobile Magazine

First Look: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Mazda said capacity at the plant it's building in Mexico that will also make cars for Toyota will be 21 percent larger than planned.

BMW sales surged 39 percent in December, powered by the 5-series car line, helping it top Mercedes-Benz in luxury-brand sales in the United States for the second consecutive year.

Fiat plans to boost its stake in Chrysler Group to 65 percent by exercising its option to purchase an additional 3.3 percent from the UAW's retiree health-care fund.

My father has been talking about getting a new Ford Escape for a few years now, even before the newly redesigned model was mentioned by the American automaker. He's had his eye on the Escape as a reliable and safe SUV. He liked the size, the masculine shape of it and the overall appeal of the out-going Ford Escape model.

Then he got to ride in the 2013 Ford Escape SE 4WD with me, and his opinion changed slightly.


Euro styling FTW
Here's the deal: If you parked a 2013 Ford Escape beside a 2008 model, you'd be hard-pressed to find any similarities, or think they were the same vehicle at all, really. The new model is lithe, modern, angled and uber Euro, whereas the previous gen is bulky, square and rather manly. Some may say they actually prefer the older styling; my father would be one such person.

However, I on the other hand absolutely love the new look of the 2013 Ford Escape. Taking on a traditional crossover shape, the new Escape has moved into a new class with its more compact size and look, with an exterior design aimed at attracting a younger, urban crowd. Bred from the European and Asian model, the Ford Kuga, the 2013 Ford Escape offers a look that conjures up thoughts of speed, agility and sophistication all at once.

Plenty of space and gadgets within
Inside, the sophistication and styling continues. While compact on the outside, the 2013 Ford Escape offers plenty of room within. With reclining rear seats, installing my son's car seat was perhaps one of the easiest installs I've done as of late. And the front passenger seat was barely affected by the baby seat behind it, with plenty of leg room leftover.

Where Ford has excelled over the past few years is in the gadget department, and the doodads on the 2013 Ford Escape are no exception. Unfortunately, my SE 4WD did not feature the fancy rear-tailgate sensor under the rear bumper, but it did offer up Ford's MyTouch system and touch locking system on the driver door. While I loathe using the voice commands with MyTouch, I do appreciate the system's intuitive layout for hands-on usage.

While the middle console and gauge cluster seem crowded and perhaps even a bit over-designed, the overall look of the interior space works because it is cohesive.

While compact on the outside, the 2013 Ford Escape offers plenty of room within. (Photo: Olivier Croteau)

Car-like drive
I rather enjoyed driving the 2013 Ford Escape SE 4WD, and not because it was super fast and powerful, but because it was an easy, no-fuss vehicle to pilot. There was very little to “think” about. Visibility was good, seating was comfortable (once I figured out the headrest that was jacked forward), and handling is responsive. The Ford Escape drives like a car, something the older generation couldn't claim. For me, it's a bonus. For my father, not so much.

As a passenger he was quite disappointed with the feel of the 2013 Ford Escape. He said he wanted to feel higher up, wanted to feel like he was in a bigger vehicle and wanted to feel like he was in an SUV, not a car.

Equipped with Ford's 1.6L turbocharged EcoBoost engine, the 2013 Ford Escape pushes out 178 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. Decent numbers for such a small engine. And the performance was just that as well: decent. I wasn't blown away by the EcoBoost performance, but I wasn't disappointed either.

Where I did get a bit miffed was in the gas mileage. First off, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to change the reading from L/km to L/100km, as is the norm. After a week behind the wheel I managed to record an average of 8.7km/L. That seems like a great, low number; wow, 8.7km/L! However, once the conversion is done, I was greeted with a reading of 11.5L/100km. Not so impressive.

Ford recommends premium unleaded fuel in the 2013 Ford Escape models above the S FWD trim, however, regular is acceptable and what was in my tester for the week. (At over $1.60/L for premium my wallet begged me to be cheap for the week -- sorry, Ford). Whether or not that influenced my fuel mileage or not, I'll never really know.

Equipped with Ford's 1.6L turbocharged EcoBoost engine, the 2013 Ford Escape pushes out 178 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. (Photo: Olivier Croteau)

The bottom line
The new 2013 Ford Escape offers a well-designed, tech-loaded vehicle for the urbanite in need of a bit more room and the ability to head to the cottage on the weekend while still staying connected. With a base price (for the FWD auto) of $21,499 the Escape seems like an affordable CUV. If you want 4WD, the price jumps close to the $30k mark. If it's style and tech you're looking for in a vehicle, then the 2013 Ford Escape is definitely a vehicle you'll want to consider.

However, if you're like my father and want a larger SUV with a higher ride height and a more masculine appeal then you may want to look elsewhere.

From GMM

Mark Webber looks set to struggle to keep his Red Bull race seat beyond 2013.

Granted just a one-year contract for a seventh consecutive season at the team, the 36-year-old Australian is already on notice by Red Bull's tough Dr Helmut Marko.

Now, Austrian Marko has made clear Red Bull was not happy with Webber's driving at the 2012 Interlagos finale, when teammate Sebastian Vettel was fighting for the title against Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Indeed, Flavio Briatore - still involved with the management of Webber's career - said after Brazil: "The only one who helped Ferrari was Webber."

Marko confirms: "Mark was not optimally cooperative in Brazil."

Germany's Sport Bild reports that, while Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne are obvious candidates to succeed Webber, Dr Helmut Marko is also keen on Nico Hulkenberg.

Nico Hulkenberg. (Photo: WRi2)

German Hulkenberg, 25, has signed just a one-year deal with Sauber for 2013, and has also been linked with a potential 2014 move to Ferrari.

Dr Helmut Marko confirmed: "A few years ago he was on the list of candidates for our junior team, but Nico already had a main sponsor (Dekra) with which he didn't want to separate."

From GMM

Sauber will reveal its 2013 car, the C32, in the days before it makes its track debut at the start of winter testing.

Team founder Peter Sauber had already announced that the new Ferrari-powered single seater will run for the first time at Jerez on February 5.

The Swiss team on Thursday invited the media to an official launch event at its Hinwil headquarters, on 2 February.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber's new driver replacing Sergio Perez, has already had his seat fitted.

The German's teammate will be the Mexican rookie Esteban Gutierrez.

McLaren-bound Perez, who finished on the podium three times in 2012, is quoted by Swiss magazine Speed Week: "Sauber will be strong again, I am firmly convinced. The rules are fairly stable, the team has understood its car well, so why should they be worse than 2012? I even think there could be races they are capable of winning."

Sergio Perez continued: "Sauber has done a lot for me, so I want them to do well more than any other team -- with the exception of McLaren of course!"

Photo: Sauber F1 Team

In other pre-season testing news, Reuters correspondent Alan Baldwin wrote on Twitter that he believes Mercedes has booked the Jerez circuit for filming on the day before the first official test begins.

"Wonder who will be first in the car," said Baldwin, contemplating Mercedes' 2013 lineup of Lewis Hamilton alongside Nico Rosberg.

Designed by Lotus founder, Colin Chapman, along with Maurice Philippe, the Ford Cosworth-powered Lotus 72 was the longest lasting model in F1, having been raced by Team Lotus for six consecutive seasons.

Nowadays, an F1 model is raced during a single year only before it is replaced by a new one. The Lotus 72 was raced from 1970 to 1975, inclusively. It contested 74 Grands Prix, and took a total of 149 race starts.

Jochen Rindt. (Photo: WRi2)

The Lotus 72 won three World's Constructor's Championships and two Driver's Championships and is the only F1 car to have won 20 Grand Prix races in the hands of Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson. Austrian Rindt and Brazilian Fittipaldi became World Champions at its wheel.

The “Black Beauty” featured several innovative solutions such as its “wedge” shape profile, a low unsprung weight, side radiators, variable rate torsion bar springs and inboard front brakes.

Nine chassis in six different configurations (from A to F) were produced in Lotus' headquarters in Ketterinham Hall, Hethel, UK. The monocoque was built from sheets of aluminium and magnesium that were glued and riveted together around steel internal bulkheads.

Ronnie Peterson. (Photo: WRi2)

Front suspension was made of torsion bars operated by links to the upper unequal length double wishbones. At the rear, upper and lower reversed wishbones activated the torsion bars.

Interestingly, the 72 was originally designed with an anti-dive and anti-squat suspension. However, in this form, the car had major handling problems and changes were quickly made to make it more driveable.

The car was powered by a Cosworth Ford DFV V8 engine of 2,993 cc that produced 450 bhp at 10,000 rpm. The engine was mated to a Hewland FG400, 5-speed H-pattern gearbox.

Emerson Fittipaldi. (Photo: WRi2)

The Lotus 72 was specifically designed to work with Firestone's light construction, soft tires. In this configuration, the 72 was very difficult to beat. However, Goodyear replaced Firestone as tire supplier in 1973, and their tires were less suited to the particular weight balance of the 72. The result was that the Lotus became increasingly harder to set up, forcing the engineers to produce updated suspension components on a constant basis.

The 72 contested its last official Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, October 10, 1975 with “Super Swede” Ronnie Peterson taking 5th place, and Brian Henton finishing 12th.

Kia and Hyundai will both integrate Google Maps into their respective telematics platform. The former will include Google Maps and Google Places in its UVO eServices system starting with the new 2014 Kia Sorento, helping users acquire driving directions and locate Points of Interest (POIs) in a seamless and organic manner.

Other models in the Kia lineup will eventually follow suit.

While Hyundai has yet to specify the models that will receive Google Maps as part of its Blue Link system, the company will take advantage of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 10th to provide more details.

2013 Dakar rally will start on Saturday from Lima, Peru, for two weeks of tough racing to Santiago, Chile.

For the first time since its arrival in South America back in 2009, the Dakar will feature a « straight » road, replacing the loop Buenos Aires-Buenos Aires that was the basic of the event those last years. The drivers and riders will drive to south after the start in Peru, crossing the Andes moutains in one direction to reach Argentinia, then in another direction to go back to Chile for an arrival in Santiago on 20 january.

Photo: Dakar.com

Winner of last year's race, Stéphane Peterhansel, who won the event ten times (six times on motorbike, four times driving a car), is again the main favorite. The frenchman will be the number one driver of the MINI team X-Raid, which will also run Juan Roma, Leonid Novitskiy and Krysztof Holowczyc. The german team seems to have no rival on this year's race, but Robby Gordon will be ready to fight for victory, driving his Hummer. The NASCAR driver is looking for a revenge, after he was excluded from last year's race for technical irregularity.

Two former Dakar winners will be at the start, as Nasser Al Attiyah and Carlos Sainz will join forces driving both a buggy. The cars were developed in California by Nasser Al Attiyah and his technical staff, with the backing of the Qatar. Their former Volkswagen team mate Giniel de Villiers, who also won the Dakar in 2009, will enter the race driving a Pick Up Hilux Toyota 4x4.

About 450 vehicules, including cars, motorbikes and trucks will start from Lima on Saturday. Three canadians will be present, as car driver David Bensadoun will enter his second Dakar driving a Desert Warrior 4x4, and Patrick Beaulé and Don Hatton will both ride a KTM on the event.