Auto News 5

America's United Auto Workers' (UAW) Reuther Caucus has recommended current secretary-treasurer, Dennis Williams, as its next president to replace incumbent, Bob King, who is retiring after being on the board for 25 years.

Kia Motors has announced that an all-electric version of the Kia Soul will go on sale across the world in 2014.

We finally found our way back home from SEMA, drained the sand out of the camera and came across a few more cool cars. Davey G. Johnson already

Through a mystifying series of events, we have driven one of the rarest cars in America. This is the only car of its kind here. To put it in perspective, there are three times as many

Good morning. Here's some stuff from SEMA that fell through the cracks. It's a big show.

The EcoTrek Ford F-350 was built to travel around the world, not just as an off-road showpiece.

AGC is to spend about US$60m on a laminated automotive glass factory in Mexico which is scheduled to start operations at the beginning of 2016.

Europe's leading independent dealer groups have turned their focus to selling more used cars and making more money from aftersales to survive the region's new-car sales slump.

Chevrolet's latest "That's American Ingenuity" spot touting the Sonic's integration of Apple's Siri voice-activated software is the newest auto brand video to go viral.

President Akio Toyoda says Toyota is finally ready to go on the offensive again after being hobbled in recent years by the global financial meltdown, vehicle recalls and Japan's earthquake.

Japan's automakers will go futuristic and local at the Tokyo auto show, combining the far-out concept cars the show has been famous for alongside the Japan-only 660cc minicars -- some of which are delightfully sporty -- that represent a third of the...

Dongfeng is being very cautious about a proposal to buy a stake in its joint-venture partner, PSA -- and rightly so. PSA would like to have Dongfeng's money, but won't be so happy to share technology.

With help from Faurecia, the new C4 Picasso is the first Citroen model that meets Euro 6 emission standards for diesel cars.

From GMM

The Nurburgring has moved one step closer to a saviour, as a potential buyer for the fabled German circuit emerged.

The well-connected Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper (FAZ) said the automobile club ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club) has submitted a non-binding offer.

ADAC, usually linked only to Germany's other F1 host Hockenheim, stepped in this year amid the Nurburgring's financial troubles to host the 2013 race.

The FAZ newspaper estimated the value of the venue, including the fabled Nordschleife loop, at EUR 100 million.

"With the non-binding offer," confirmed ADAC spokesman Lars Soutschka, "we hope to gain access to the numbers and then we will decide how to proceed."

Aerial view of the Nurburgring.

From GMM

Fellow Finn Mika Salo has nominated Heikki Kovalainen as the ideal replacement at Lotus for his surgery-bound countryman Kimi Raikkonen.

The conventional wisdom is that Lotus will simply promote its reserve driver, 2012 GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi, into Raikkonen's seat for the remaining two grands prix of the season.

Italian Valsecchi, however, is a rookie, but Enstone based Lotus is locked in a lucrative and - given its financial problems - crucial battle for points and prize money in the constructors' world championship's upper places.

"I have thought about this for a while," former F1 driver Mika Salo told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3, "and I think getting Heikki would be a smart idea."

Heikki Kovalainen. (Photo: WRi2)

The highly-rated Kovalainen is desperate to break back into F1 after losing his Caterham seat at the end of last season.

He is also better prepared than Valsecchi, given his appearance for Caterham on several Friday mornings in 2013.

"Valsecchi will hardly be able to do anything on a completely new track to him," Salo said, "but Heikki has raced in Austin.

"Caterham also has a Renault engine. Heikki has been waiting for something like this, and if I was a team boss, I would take him rather than Valsecchi. That's nothing against Valsecchi, but simply about Lotus needing to score points," added Salo.

Arguably the neater solution for Lotus would be to use the Raikkonen situation to put together its permanent 2014 driver lineup ahead of time.

Nico Hulkenberg is in the running for the seat next year, and he might be able to pull out of his Sauber contract, after the Swiss team was late in paying him earlier this year.

A Sauber spokesperson told Speed Week: "Nico will do the last two races for us, just as he did the other 17."

Hulkenberg's manager Werner Heinz would not comment specifically on the Raikkonen situation, but DPA news agency quotes him as saying: "We are still in talks with several teams, including Lotus."

The other known candidate to replace Raikkonen next year is the strongly PDVSA-backed Pastor Maldonado, who will not be racing for Williams in 2014.

"There are four possible candidates," Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez told the German newspaper Die Welt. "These include Nico Hulkenberg and Pastor Maldonado, and I won't say anything about the other two."

Undoubtedly, if Lotus' 'Quantum' investment deal finally collapses, Maldonado's Venezuelan backing will surely make him the favourite for the 2014 drive.

But Gerard Lopez insists that it is wrong to write off the 28-year-old as a mere 'pay-driver'.

"Don't forget," he said, "Maldonado has won a grand prix. He doesn't have to hide anything.

"We would not put someone in our car who has just got their driver's licence, no matter their means," Gerard Lopez added.

BMW has uploaded a video of the all-new 2014 MINI Cooper to tease fans before its debut on November 18th -- which also happens to be the birthday of Sir Alec Issigonis, who designed the original Mini.

The 2014 MINI Cooper will be unveiled at separate events in Oxford, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Shanghai.

From GMM

Williams has admitted Rob Smedley could be the next big name to join the beleaguered British team.

As it announced that Felipe Massa is joining the team from Ferrari for 2014, deputy team boss Claire Williams said "a number of announcements" will also shortly follow.

We reported in September that Massa's well-known race engineer Rob Smedley - who has shared a close, almost fatherly relationship with the Brazilian driver - is linked with a move to Williams.

It is believed 39-year-old Briton Smedley has since signed a contract.

Rob Smedley. (Photo: Ferrari)

When asked about that speculation, Claire Williams told the BBC: "We have some great talent in Williams but we need to make sure we have all the talent we need to perform right at the top.

"So I'm hoping that before the end of the season or maybe slightly after we'll be making some more announcements in a similar vein to this one (Massa)."

It has been rumoured that, if Smedley does switch from Ferrari, he would not necessarily remain Massa's race engineer, but may take on a greater role of responsibility.

"If Rob Smedley was to join our team," Williams said, "it has to be on his terms, and he has to be given a role he wants to do and that may or may not be Felipe's race engineer.

"Felipe is grown-up enough to join a team without bringing his race engineer with him," she added.

From GMM

Gerard Lopez, the head of Lotus' team owner Genii, might be among the cynics after news broke that Kimi Raikkonen will sit out the rest of the season.

The Finnish driver and his management say Raikkonen must undergo back surgery to end a run of worsening pain and ensure he is ready to return fighting fit for the start of his Ferrari return in 2014.

The cynics, however, might wonder if the timing of the surgery is related to Raikkonen's pay dispute with the financially-struggling Lotus outfit.

The timing is also interesting, given the fact Ferrari is locked in a battle with Lotus in the lucrative constructors' world championship with just two races to go.

"Primarily this is about Raikkonen's health, and I wish him a speedy recovery," Lopez told the German newspaper Die Welt.

"But the operation comes at a very unfortunate and unsuitable time for Lotus. And I also know what sport we are in," he added, in an obvious reference to the sceptics' doubts.

Kimi Raikkonen and Gerard Lopez, Lotus, discussing with Mika Salo. (Photo: WRi2)

Lopez's frustration is perhaps understandable, given that despite Lotus having one of the very fastest cars on the grid, every headline is focused on the team's money problems.

"Again and again I read these negative headlines," he said, "while no one seems to care that we decided to save a company and about 500 employees.

"Of course we know that formula one is not a charitable organisation, but there are huge differences in how the teams are financially supported by formula one.

"It is not about the other (top) teams managing to get more investment, but the fact that they simply get more money," argued Lopez.

"And not because they are better, but because they are apparently more important. We begin our 100 metre race at the 200 metre point," he added, "and still we make it to the podium."

From GMM

The heat of the 2014 'silly season' is now squarely on McLaren, amid rumours the British team has decided to replace Sergio Perez with rookie Kevin Magnussen.

From a commercial point of view, the shift of focus on the driver side would be interesting -- it was believed Mexican Perez's arrival at Woking would precede by a year his backer, Telmex, succeeding Vodafone as the title sponsor.

Indeed, an announcement of Vodafone's unnamed successor had already been scheduled by McLaren for December 2.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

Coming a week after this month's Brazil season finale, many thought that date had been chosen so as not to interfere with the currently Telmex-backed Sauber's racing season.

But, suddenly, that date may no longer be relevant, according to McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh.

When asked about the December 2 announcement by reporters this week, he said: "There will be some new sponsors, but I think probably - and I don't know because I haven't talked to our PR function - there will be more of a fanfare at the car launch rather than an announcement on December 2."

McLaren's 2014 car will likely be revealed shortly before winter testing in January.

"My own view is that (by announcing on December 2) we would be taking away from what I hope will be an exciting car launch next year, but we will see," said Whitmarsh.

The outgoing Subaru Tribeca will be replaced with a new seven-passenger crossover, although there could be a fairly long hiatus between the two.

"I've received very strong requests from U.S. dealers for a multipassenger, seven-seat vehicle, and we are planning to introduce it to the U.S. market," said Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, president of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (which owns Subaru), to Automotive News.

Tribeca 2014. (Photo: Subaru)

No release date has been set. However, Subaru has confirmed this new vehicle won't be ready at the time the Tribeca bows out in early 2014. 

Rumour has it that Subaru may use the Japanese-spec Exiga as a basis.

Exiga 2012. (Photo: Subaru)