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It's funny to think of any automobile as an upgrade from the 557-hp, $164,000 Mercedes-Benz CL600 coupe. That might be the best way to describe the

It's funny to think of any automobile as an upgrade from the 557-hp, $164,000 Mercedes-Benz CL600 coupe. That might be the best way to describe the

It's funny to think of any automobile as an upgrade from the 557-hp, $164,000 Mercedes-Benz CL600 coupe. That might be the best way to describe the

It's funny to think of any automobile as an upgrade from the 557-hp, $164,000 Mercedes-Benz CL600 coupe. That might be the best way to describe the

Daimler plans to build a new Mercedes factory in Brazil to benefit from growing demand for compact cars in the country, CEO Dieter Zetsche said.

GM is counting on a new V-6 engine built in a retooled New York plant to put the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra on the shopping lists of pickup buyers looking for fuel economy.

In the four years since General Motors emerged from bankruptcy, its bread-and-butter Chevrolet brand has cycled through four main advertising agencies, three promotional tag lines and a long string of marketing executives.

Steady sales and demand have Ford thinking its downward revision of the estimated fuel economy of its C-Max will have little impact on its hybrid-only nameplate.

Jaguar and Lexus are using the Frankfurt auto show to send a message to their German rivals: the premium compact SUV segment is about to get even more competitive.

Jaguar and Lexus are using the Frankfurt auto show to send a message to their German rivals: the premium compact SUV segment is about to get even more competitive.

Daimler plans to build a new Mercedes factory in Brazil to benefit from growing demand for compact cars in the country, CEO Dieter Zetsche said.

NASCAR's latest controversial finish review is not over yet.

“NASCAR is reviewing Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway per protocol and has no plans for further statement until that process is complete.”

Whether Clint Bowyer spun intentionally or not may be one of the items being reviewed by NASCAR officials although there will likely be a review of the final restart when eventual winner, Carl Edwards, got the best of a second-place restart on Paul Menard.

Bowyer's spin caused a caution which eventually helped his teammate, Martin Truex Jr. get a finish that locked him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Photo: Clint Bowyer

A number of former champion crew chiefs, including Ray Evernham who worked with Jeff Gordon, said on television the spin looked intentional. 

Country and Western music star, Blake Shelton tweeted “Y'all should follow @ClintBowyer!!! The definition of team player!!! #hero — Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) September 8, 2013”

When asked if the spin was intentional “Go ahead and get creative," Bowyer said. "But don't look too much into it."

In the case of Sunday races NASCAR usually issues its' findings on Tuesday, but, since it was a Saturday night race a statement might come as early as Monday.

On September 8th 2000, Katsuhiko Kawasoe, Mitsubishi General Manager, resigned after having acknowledged 3 weeks earlier that he had hidden, for over 20 years, more than 64,000 complaints regarding defective vehicles. There were no recalls emitted for these vehicles.

A huge scandal broke in Japan, and the manufacturer was obliged to recall over 700,00 vehicles, carrying a 512 million franc price tag at the time, or more than 120.5 million dollars. Administrative sanctions were brought upon Mitsubishi.

Source : lapresse.ca

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

From GMM

The Monza paddock began to disband late on Sunday amid the swirling rumour that Ross Brawn may be buying into the Williams team.

The story was mentioned by the British broadcaster Sky, in the wake of earlier news that Toto Wolff is moving to sell his 15 per cent share in the Grove based team.

Wolff and Brawn currently work together at Mercedes, who will supply V6 engines to Williams next year.

Brawn, team boss, has acknowledged he will eventually be replaced by Mercedes' new signing Paddy Lowe, so - if true - buying into Williams would breathe new life into his long career.

Ross Brawn, Toto Wolff (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Briton Brawn, 58, began his career in the 70s when Sir Frank Williams gave him a job as a machinist.

Later, in the mid 90s, he worked with great success at Benetton alongside Pat Symonds, who has just started work as Williams' new technical boss.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, however, reported on Saturday that Wolff in fact seems to be selling his 15 per cent team stake to a Russian interest.

And Sky acknowledged on Sunday that Williams advisor Alex Wurz, a former team driver, had vehemently denied the rumour.

Other reports said Wolff himself also denied he is selling his stake to Brawn.

From GMM

Rumours were swirling in the Monza paddock on Sunday, and the buzzword was 'Wednesday'.

The big talking point was whether Kimi Raikkonen in fact agreed a 2014 deal to rejoin Ferrari next year on the Wednesday of last week, or whether the Italian team will announce it formally on the coming Wednesday.

Perhaps both are true.  Perhaps neither.

Felipe Massa will be hoping the latter is true, but he admitted on Sunday that a cloud does hang over his formula one future.

"We're still discussing it," he said of his talks with Ferrari about next year.

"This race was important, not only for the contract with Ferrari but to show other teams what I'm able to do," Massa, who finished fourth on Sunday, told the BBC.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber C32 (Photo: Sauber F1 Team)

Another driver hoping Ferrari's 2014 deliberations involve him is Nico Hulkenberg, who had a sensational weekend at Monza for struggling Ferrari-powered Sauber -- qualifying third and finishing fifth.

On the possibility of joining Ferrari, the German said: "It's definitely something I wouldn't deny which I'm definitely interested in -- it's a no-brainer.

"(But) I can only influence it (Ferrari's decision) by performing very well, and obviously the timing (of Monza) is not the worst," he smiled.

Model: 2010 to 2013 Kia Forte

Vehicle Type: Sedan, Coupe or 5-Door

The Verdict: A healthy used model that's free of transmission issues should prove an affordable way to access a sporty, well-equipped and high-value motoring experience. The most commonly reported issues with the Kia Forte should be easily identified on a test drive, if present.

Photo: Justin Pritchard

What Owners Like: Owner-stated likes include styling -- both inside and out -- a great list of standard features, decent fuel economy, and a nice steering feel. Braking performance, especially on the Koup model, is also noted, as is performance. Forte 5 owners typically comment positively on a good price-to-space ratio and appreciate the model's flexible, ready-for-anything utility.

What Owners Dislike: On used Kia Forte models with a manual transmission, many owners complain of a fake, vague and “delayed” feeling to the electronic throttle. Other complaints include a “cheap” feeling to some interior trim and limited headroom for taller drivers. Finally, some owners complain of squeaks and rattles as the vehicle ages.

Photo: Justin Pritchard

Continue reading 2010-2013 Kia Forte Pre-Owned

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) cruised to his six win of the season, as the rain some had hoped for in Monza never showed up. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) just kept his title chances alive by splitting the two Red Bull drivers on the podium.

Only at the start, when he had to fend off attacks from Mark Webber (Red Bull) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) was Vettel's lead in danger. As the triple world champion pulled away, Alonso was making his way up to second place, for which he had to settle.

He failed to take advantage of Vettel's gearbox problems, but benefitted from Webber's similar issues to keep the Australian behind.

Massa ended his anonymous race in fourth, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), who by keeping Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) behind him showed his third place starting position of Saturday was not down to luck.

Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) bagged a satisfying seventh place for his team, compensating for his teammate Jean-Éric Vergne's engine failure. Despite starting only 13th aboard the long-wheelbase Lotus E21 and being hit by Paul di Resta (Force India) at the start, Romain Grosjean rallied to a point finish, in eighth.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) overcame his messy performance of Saturday and radio issues to beat his former teammate Jenson Button (McLaren) to ninth.

The relationship between Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) and Sergio Perez (McLaren) took another blow, as the pair collided at the start. They recovered to 11th and 12th respectively.

Race results* - Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 53 laps
2 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 5"4
3 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 6"3
4 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 9"3
5 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 10"3
6 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 10"9
7 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 32"3
8 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 33"1
9 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 33"5
10 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4-28-Mercedes) - 38"3
11 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 38"6
12 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4-28-Mercedes) - 39"7
13 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 40"8
14 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 49"0
15 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 56"8
16 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1 lap
17 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap
18 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap
20 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap

Fastest lap of the race: 1'25"849 by Lewis Hamilton

Retirements
Lap 38 - Jean-Eric Vergne
Lap 1 - Paul Di Resta

Drivers' standings
1. Vettel 222; 2. Alonso 169; 3. Hamilton 141; 4. Raikkonen 134; 5. Webber 130; 6. Rosberg 104; 7. Massa 79; 8. Grosjean 57; 9. Button 48; 10. Di Resta 36; 11. Sutil 25; 12. Perez 18; 13. Ricciardo 18; 14. Hulkenberg 17; 15. Vergne 13; 16. Maldonado 1.

Constructors' standings
1. Red Bull-Renault 352; 2. Ferrari 248; 3. Mercedes 245; 4. Lotus-Renault 191; 5. McLaren-Mercedes 66; 6. Force India-Mercedes 61; 7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 31; 8. Sauber-Ferrari 17; 9. Williams-Renault 1.

*Unofficial scoring

Carl Edwards won the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night, after a restart with three laps to go beating Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.

Only the cause of that restart, a caution when Clint Bowyer spun, sent tongues wagging at the three-quarter mile oval and on Twitter.

The race, which sets up the final field of 26 for the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup, was a relatively tame affair with Ryan Newman leading Edwards with a few laps remaining.

Then Bowyer spun and drivers dived into the pits for final service. Edwards came out second and Paul Menard first. Newman had a slow stop. According to Edwards, Menard had a problem.

“I knew he was going to be at a big advantage with grip -- big disadvantage with grip.  He took off.  I waited until he went to go,” Edwards said. “As we were going, his car actually touched my door.  I think it surprised him a little bit or something.  He turned a little bit.  I heard his engine speed up.  He spun the tires.”

Edwards grabbed the lead and went on to his second victory of the year.

Photo: Roush Fenway Racing

“That's my pit crew that won this race for us, just awesome job by them,” said Edwards in Victory Lane. He added “we're going to win the championship. That's our mission.”

Bowyer's spin helped Martin Truex Jr. into a wild card berth in the NASCAR's playoff called the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

And Bowyer denied spinning on purpose, but, Dale Earnhardt Jr. who in a following car smiled sheepishly when asked what he saw and said "he just spun out. It was the craziest thing I ever saw."

Kurt Busch did the improbable, taking the single-car Furniture Row Racing into the Chase. “It's been a great ride of trying to persevere and going up against the odds when certain things are against you that are out of your control...” he said.

Jimmie Johnson, the five-time champion, who had led the points for most of the year prior to Richmond, had the fourth bad finish in the last four races. This time, due to a tire problem, he finished 40th.  In the past four weeks his best finish was 28th.

Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Champion, led a race high 142 laps but fell back in the field for the caution brought out by Johnson's tire problem and ended up 17th (16th in the points) with no victories. Therefore he doesn't make the Chase and a chance to defend his title.

The last defending Champ who failed to make the Chase was Tony Stewart in 2006.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase standings*
1. Matt Kenseth, 2,015
2. Jimmie Johnson, 2,012
3. Kyle Busch, 2,012
4. Kevin Harvick, 2,006
5. Carl Edwards, 2,006
6. Joey Logano, 2,003
7. Greg Biffle, 2,003
8. Clint Bowyer, 2,000
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2,000
10. Kurt Busch, 2,000
11. Kasey Kahne, 2,000
12. Martin Truex Jr. 2,000

*Every driver received 2000 points and every driver who finished in the top-ten received three bonus points for victories.

From Grand-Am.com

MONTEREY, Calif.  (Sept. 7, 2013) - Richard Westbrook hopes Spirit of Daytona's success at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will help turn around what has been a disappointing season for the team.

On Saturday, the defending winner captured his second consecutive TOTAL Pole Award at the 2.238-mile circuit in qualifying for Sunday's Continental Tire Sports Car Festival powered by Mazda.

Westbrook lapped the 2.238-mile road course in 1 minute, 21.557 seconds (98.787 mph) to give the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com/Go-Pro Corvette DP its first pole of the season, edging out Max Angelelli in the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP by a mere 0.021 seconds.

“I like this place,” Westbrook said after winning his fourth career pole - and second in two attempts at Mazda Raceway.

“It was not easy for us here last year, but the competition is so much stronger this year, you really have to work to get an advantage. We're not happy with the way this season has gone; it's been really tough for everyone. I'm proud of the way the team has bounced back. Tomorrow is very important for us.”

Westbrook's co-driver is Ricky Taylor, whose younger brother Jordan Taylor is teamed with Angelelli on the all-Corvette DP front row.

Richard Westbrook, Corvette DP (Photo: Grand-Am.com)

Dane Cameron qualified third in the No. 42 Team Sahlen BMW/Riley co-driven by Wayne Nonnamaker. He will be joined on the second row by Indy 500 winners Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon in the No. 02 Cessna BMW/Riley.

The top 10 contenders for the DP championship are separated by only five points with two races remaining, led by Angelelli and Jordan Taylor.

Other contenders include Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa, who start fifth in the No. 5 Action Express Corvette DP; defending champions Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, starting seventh in the No. 01 Telcel/TELMEX BMW/Riley; Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, starting eight in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Corvette DP; and Ryan Dalziel and Alex Popow, starting ninth in the No. 2 Starworks Motorsport/Soloson BMW/Riley.

In qualifying for the production-based GT class, John Edwards captured his third pole of the season with a lap of 1:27.529 seconds (92.05 mph) in the No. 57 Stevenson Auto Group Camaro. Edwards edged out road course veteran Boris Said, who will start from the outside of the front row in the No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette.

“We've got a really good car on (new) sticker tires,” Edwards said. “Our goal for tomorrow is to get better on older tires.”

From GMM

Jean Todt has indicated Pirelli is staying put as F1's official tire supplier.

Although the Italian marque has inked contracts beyond its 2013 tender with all the teams and Bernie Ecclestone, rumours have indicated FIA president Todt actually wants the French marque Michelin to return next year.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone at Monza made his feelings very clear, revealing that Pirelli's new contracts are in fact for a longer-than-expected six year period.

And the 82-year-old said he would not support Michelin's desire to return to F1 and supply tires with an 18-inch low profile.

"It would look like a bicycle tire on a formula one car," Ecclestone told the British broadcaster Sky, "so I'm very much against that."

And it seems Frenchman Todt is also now ready to accept that Pirelli is staying.

"I understand that (the teams) want to stay with Pirelli," he is quoted by the Telegraph on a visit to Monza for the Italian grand prix.

"I will go with the consensus.  I am reading that I want Michelin because I am French, but I never read that (as Ferrari boss) I was the only one of the top teams to stay with Bridgestone when Michelin came into the sport.

"I was still French then," Todt smiled.

So he told Reuters that the matter of F1's tire situation beyond 2013 will probably not be put up for grabs after all.

"If everybody says we are very happy, then what is the point going to a tender?" said Todt.