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The No. 8 Toyota TS040 Hybrid LMP1 won the World Endurance Championship 6-hour race at Silverstone this past weekend by using a very special Michelin tire.

The N.8 Toyota ran on a set of Michelin's hybrid racing tire: a slick, which can run in damp conditions.

Pit stop of the No. 8 Toyota TS040 (Photo: WRI2)

This unique tire allows drivers to continue running on ‘slicks' in wet or damp conditions - even if the track features dry portions - instead of having to switch to a ‘intermediate', patterned tire.

This tire is made of a very soft rubber compound that allows the car to run on a damp track. Such a very sticky slick tire is massively quicker than an intermediate tire in these tricky conditions.

Once there too much standing water on the tarmac, the cars have to switch to treaded wet tires.

During Sunday's race, the No. 8 Toyota pitted immediately when the rain started to fall for a set of hybrid tires. That move proved to be right and provided them with the edge over their rivals.

Daimler can expand production at its Beijing plant to 350,000 vehicles a year if demand calls for it, said Rene Reif, the head of manufacturing at Beijing Benz Automotive. By the end of 2014, output in Beijing will be about 140,000 cars.

The Volkswagen NMC (New Midsize Coupe) concept makes official the carmaker's plans for a style-led sedan to challenge the Mercedes-Benz CLA.

When Alan Mulally was named Ford CEO n 2006 after 37 years at Boeing, plenty of industry veterans had the same question: What does a plane guy know about the car business?

The World Car of the Year awards were announced last Thursday at the New York auto show. Porsche, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all took top honors in different classes. It seems 'ze Germans know what makes judges tick.

Ford plans to name Mark Fields its next CEO, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the pending announcement.

Ford plans to name Mark Fields its next chief executive and disclose when CEO Alan Mulally will retire from the company, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the pending announcement.

Ford plans to name Mark Fields its next CEO, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the pending announcement.

Old Jeeps are great. Simple, solid, battle-tested, they look even better with a little bit of dirt and rust around the edges.

Don Chalmers, an auto dealer who represented New Mexico on the board of the National Automobile Dealers Association and was chairman of NADA's government relations committee, died Sunday.

Volkswagen notified the

Mazda is recalling 109,000 Tribute compact SUVs in the United States to address potential rusting frame parts in cold-weather states where road salt is heavily used in the winter.

Fuel cell maker Plug Power said today it had agreed to form a joint venture with South Korea's Hyundai Hysco, a steel supplier to Hyundai Motor, to develop and sell hydrogen fuel cells in Asia.

Lamborghini used the Beijing auto show to display some its Ad Personam wares on the

U.S. safety regulators have opened an investigation of electric-vehicle chargers made by German supplier Robert Bosch LLC after a driver of a 2013 Nissan Leaf reported one emitted smoke while charging.

China has become and important market for a number of American automakers, and even though

Bugatti unveiled the fifth car in its six-part Les Légendes de Bugatti series at the 2014 Beijing auto show.

DIGITAL EDITOR ANDREW STOY: If a mid/large German luxury sedan with a 42-mpg highway rating doesn't open your eyes, perhaps the fact that there's no electric motor/hybrid action under the hood will.

Lincoln has pulled the covers off its new MKX crossover concept, which is set for a global debut at the upcoming

The UAW said today it is withdrawing its objection claiming undue outside political interference in a February vote it lost among workers at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee.