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The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show are 16 & 17 April. The debuts list will be continuously updated as OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show are 16 & 17 April. The debuts list will be continuously updated as OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show are 16 & 17 April. The debuts list will be continuously updated as OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show are 16 & 17 April. The debuts list will be continuously updated as OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show are 16 & 17 April. The debuts list is being continuously updated as OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show were 16 & 17 April.

The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show are 16 & 17 April. The debuts list will be continuously updated as OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show are 16 & 17 April. The debuts list will be continuously updated as OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

Hyundai Motor America has announced a vehicle global premiere for April 2014's New York International Auto Show. The debuts list will be continuously updated as other OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show are 16 & 17 April. The debuts list will be continuously updated as OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

The media preview days for the 2014 New York International Auto Show are 16 & 17 April. The debuts list will be continuously updated as OEMs announce concepts and production vehicles.

Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann says his automaker and sister brand Chevrolet need to do a better job differentiating from one another in Europe.

Germany's car dealers are taking small but important steps to protect the environment with services that include providing customers with eco-friendly loaner bikes.

At both the state and federal level, Tesla Motors is running a risk Microsoft faced in the 1990s, when it found itself in the midst of a government antitrust action without an experienced advocacy team to shepherd it through the system and build...

From GMM

A fire this week was not the first incident at Brixworth, as Mercedes develops its turbo V6 engine for 2014.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that the fire brigade was called to the German manufacturer's Northamptonshire headquarters on Monday evening after an F1 engine caught fire on a test bench.

Mercedes said there was no significant damage, and that the fire department was only summoned as a precaution.

But Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Michael Schmidt said that the development of the Mercedes turbo has been troublesome, with other incidents having also occurred recently.

Mercedes Brixworth's factory. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

From GMM

Norbert Haug, the former Mercedes competition boss, has bad news for the hopeful German marque.

To now be headed by Paddy Lowe, Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda, Mercedes is bullish about its 2014 hopes, having finished second in 2013 to the runaway champion team, Red Bull.

"For everyone and for me the target is to win the world championship, both championships," driver Lewis Hamilton told the British broadcaster Sky after last weekend's 2013 finale in Brazil.

"If we don't do it naturally there will be some disappointment but we're not even going to put that negative energy out there," he added.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Norbert Haug, however, has filled that Mercedes-sponsored void of negativity.

"I don't think Sebastian Vettel's dominance can be broken yet," the 61-year-old, who was replaced by Wolff ahead of the 2013 season, told German radio Sport1.

"He understands these modern cars perfectly and we've hardly ever seen dominance like it, even by Michael Schumacher.

"I also don't think Red Bull is going to be much less competitive after the coming winter, even with the biggest technological revolution (in F1) in 25 years," added Haug.

However, Haug does think Mercedes can be a contender for the 2014 title.

"With Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, the team is very well placed. Moreover, we began to think about the new generation of engine some five years ago. I believe that Mercedes can fight for the world championship," said Norbert Haug.

The first-ever motor car race in the U.S. took place on November 28th, 1895 -- which happened to be Thanksgiving Day. Due to poor weather conditions, only 6 of 89 contestants lined up on the starting grid.

Sponsored by the Chicago Times-Herald, the race covered 50 miles (about 80 kilometres) from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois, and back. The winner was Frank Duryea, who had designed his car with the help of his brother, after a 10-hour ordeal that reportedly included 8'' of snow.

The event aimed to promote the emerging American auto industry, and the Duryea brothers considered it a success: In the following year, they sold 13 of their eponymous Motor Wagons, more than any other car maker in the country.

Source: History

While all eyes are on Tesla after three of its Model S electric sedan caught fire in recent months, a similar problem is also affecting the Ford Escape.

Ford is currently recalling nearly 140,000 Escapes (MY 2013) equipped with 1.6L engines in the U.S. -- and 161,333 worldwide -- due to a cylinder head that can crack and leak oil when overheated.

Ford Escape 2013. (Photo: Ford)

Another recall affects 11,821 Escapes (MY 2013), 9,469 of which are in the U.S. In this case, a fuel leak could result in a fire inside the engine bay. No such incident is said to have occurred so far, however.

In total, about 30 fires have been reported in North America in connection with the recalls, including a few that happened before the vehicles made it to customers.



The Escape now has had seven separate recalls in the U.S., including five for fires.

Note that Transport Canada has yet to announce any fire-related recall on the Ford Escape.

From GMM

Fernando Alonso has been banned from talking about Ferrari via his personal Twitter account.

The Spaniard had his ear "tweaked" by team president Luca di Montezemolo earlier this year, after making a series of disparaging remarks about the development of Ferrari's 2013 car.

"We will prohibit him from Twitter," Montezemolo reportedly said during his interview with Italian television Rai Uno this week.

"Although Alonso, like anyone else, can write on Twitter what he wants, everything concerning Ferrari will be communicated by Ferrari," he added.

Fernando Alonso's Twitter page.

From GMM

F1 could be set to shed yet another team from the back of the grid ahead of the 2014 season.

Twelve teams contested last year's world championship, but struggling HRT succumbed at the end of the year.

Now, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, the sport could be reduced to just 10 teams and twenty cars ahead of the 2014 season.

Respected correspondent Michael Schmidt said backmarker Marussia could merge with the financially struggling but far more established midfielder Sauber.

Photo: Sauber F1 Team

"(Marussia team owner) Andrei Cheglakov is apparently fed up with digging so deep into his own pockets only to be at the back of the field," said Schmidt.

"But he wants to stay in formula one. First, he wanted to buy Toto Wolff's Williams shares," the German correspondent added.

"Bernie Ecclestone is said to have endorsed the deal, but Claire Williams rejected it because they want to remain independent. Now, the Russians apparently have Sauber in their sights," said Schmidt.

Meanwhile, RTL Nederland has reported that Marcel Boekhoorn, a Dutch businessman and billionaire, could be interested in buying into Sahara Force India.

Fascinatingly, Boekhoorn is Caterham driver Giedo van der Garde's father-in-law.