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Chevy took some time this week to say happy birthday to its archrival, the Ford Mustang. The bowtie brand said that "healthy competition" between the

Plaintiffs' lawyers are seeking to draw Continental Automotive Systems, the maker of airbag systems in recalled General Motors vehicles, into litigation over an ignition-switch defect that has been linked to 13 deaths.

Plaintiffs' lawyers are seeking to draw Continental Automotive Systems US, the maker of airbag systems in recalled General Motors vehicles, into litigation over an ignition-switch defect that has been linked to 13 deaths.

Volkswagen is planning a major World Cup advertising push that will go head-to-head against official automotive sponsor Hyundai.

Sometimes a very ordinary car becomes something special, maybe even loved, but that's not always enough to keep it out of the jaws of the crusher. This is the story of a

Ever wanted to buy 43 Land Rover Defender 110s? Of course you have. Think of the possibilities. Start your own UN peacekeeping mission.

Honda has released images of the upcoming HR-V compact SUV, known globally as the Honda Vezel.

If you love taking horse-drawn carriage rides in New York City, you best hurry -- they might be replaced with new horseless carriages by next year.

Renault is using Formula One to promote its brand in China ahead of the French automaker opening its first car factory in the world's biggest auto market.

Volkswagen is planning a major World Cup advertising push that will go head-to-head against official automotive sponsor Hyundai.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and Renault will soon become forces to be reckoned with in China. PSA is racing to introduce new products while Renault prepares to start local production.

Nissan expects its new compact hatchback will help it reach its 5 percent European market share target. The hatchback will fill a market niche that Nissan quit when it stopped European sales of the Almera eight years ago.

From GMM

Honda's F1 boss on Friday said the Japanese marque will not supply any customer teams when it returns to the sport next year.

Speaking in Shanghai ahead of the Chinese grand prix, Yasuhisa Arai confirmed that Honda - having pulled out of F1 at the end of 2008 - was enticed back to the grid for 2015 mainly due to the new 'green' regulations.

"The new regulation encourages each power unit supplier to pursue the ultimate combustion efficiency and high pressure direct injections, and many, many new technologies," he said.

Arai said that technology can then be applied on the mass production side for road cars: "That's the reason why (Honda is returning)," he told reporters.

So far, Honda has only said it will be McLaren's works supplier in 2015.

McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

But Mercedes equips its own works team as well as three customers, Ferrari has the same model and two customers, while four F1 teams are powered by Renault.

"For year 2015, McLaren is our only customer," said Arai. "I don't think about the future, because we want to concentrate on next season."

He hinted, however, that it would make financial sense to begin selling the turbo V6 units to customer teams at a later date.

"Of course we want to have good results next season," said Arai, "(as if to say) 'Please choose our power unit for next season'.

"If teams want to use our engine or power unit, we can deliver after year 2016, but right now there are no plans," he added.

Arai said Honda's European F1 headquarters, at Milton Keynes in the UK, will be ready by June.

Kevin Harvick is 22nd in the NASCAR Sprint Cup points standings, after eight races, and he's not worried, why?

He's overcoming a feast or famine start consisting of four finishes of 36th or worse.

On the other two wins he's a virtual lock on a Chase berth (under the new rules) and can only solidify his points standing as the year goes on.

In fact it's his best start, going into the Easter off-week since 2011 when he also won two events, in the first eight races, driving for Richard Childress Racing.

After 13 Cup seasons with RCR that's a short period of adjustment in anyone's playbook.

Coincidentally, Matt Kenseth (who left a long term relationship with Jack Roush to go to Joe Gibbs Racing last year) won two races in his first eight with a new team and ranked ninth.

And that knowing that his relationship with crew chief, Rodney Childers, is growing stronger puts Harvick is a good frame of mind.

Kevin Harvick, winner in Darlington. (Photo: NASCAR)

"I think for me it's the potential, just seeing what's forward," Harvick said.

"I think you look at all the guys, and I've got to know them all pretty well now, so it's a lot of fun to  everybody has put the energy into work hard to be a team, and he pushes a lot of that.  I feel like we have a great relationship, but I feel like all the guys on the team have a great relationship not only with him or myself but also with each other, and that's important.

"I think as we go through time, there's still a lot of growing pains that we have to work through as far as structure and things at StewartHaas Racing and in general, just as you look at the four teams and how they flow and who does what and how things work. 

"There's a lot of things that still need to be worked on, but even on a good team.  If you're sitting on your hands, you're getting ready to get passed because this is a competitive garage, and there's a lot of competitive people that push things to the point where they get themselves into victory lane."

You can bet the Childers aren't resting on his laurels.

"Like he (Harvick) said, we've got a lot to learn and a lot to get better at, but like I said at Phoenix, I thought the day I walked in there it was going to be June or July before we could win a race, and we're sitting here now, and without mechanical issues we could have won two or three races, maybe four races, maybe five races. We've had good cars every week."

And while the rest of us are waiting for the Jimmie Johnson Express to leave the station it appears that Kevin Harvick and his Stewart-Haas operation have just the right ticket.

The new Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci thought the F1 job was a joke.

The Italian attends his first Grand Prix as a team principal in China this week-end.

"I live in New York and I received a call at 5.58 on Friday morning. The chairman, Luc di Montezemolo, was on the phone and he told me, 'this is my idea'," explains Marco Mattiacci in Autosport.

"I told him that April Fool's had been about 15 days earlier. But then, after the second or third minute of discussions, I understood that it was serious. And I understood that as there was already a ticket ready to go from New York to Milan after three hours. I arrived Saturday morning in Maranello at the Fiorano track," adds the Ferrari team principal.

Before travelling to Shanghai, Marco Mattiacci only spent two days with Stefano Domenicali to get up to speed with the position.

"Stefano is a great person. He is a friend of mine. On Saturday we spent a few hours, and Monday we spent the entire day together. Stefano is a person who I have the utmost respect as a human being and secondly as a professional, so it was natural to discuss the roles," reveals the Italian.

Marco Mattiacci with Kimi Raikkonen in Shanghai. (Photo: WRi2)

A lot of people underlined that Mattiacci was wearing sunglasses in Shanghai, while the weather was gloomy during the two sessions.

"If you do in less than four days almost 40 hours of flights, and you don't sleep in the last four days, then probably you need sunglasses," Marco Mattiacci commented.

From GMM

Mercedes' rivals look closer to the pace this weekend in China.

Back-to-back winner Lewis Hamilton was the fastest overall in Shanghai practice, but Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was only a tenth behind.

On Friday morning, the Spaniard was even fastest of all.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport wondered if the red car was putting in "show rounds" to ease the pressure on the new dark glasses-wearing boss, Marco Mattiacci.

But the Italian team does appear to have taken a clear step forward since Bahrain, with correspondent Michael Schmidt revealing Ferrari is using not only a new rear wing in China, but also an engine upgrade and new Shell fuel.

"The competition has moved closer to us," confirmed Mercedes' Paddy Lowe.

Closer, but not quite close enough, as confirmed by Red Bull's Christian Horner. "We are closer," he agreed, "but we can not challenge them on a dry track. In the rain, we have a chance."

If it does stay dry, the main event at the front of the field could be yet another ding-dong battle between Hamilton and his fiesty teammate, Nico Rosberg.

The German is desperate to prevent Hamilton from gaining the psychological "edge", as referred to by the Briton and 2008 world champion on Thursday.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05 and Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F14 T in China. (Photo: WRi2)

Once friends, the pressure of their seemingly inevitable battle for the 2014 title is beginning to tell.

Asked if he had "any contact" - a phone call, an email, a text message - with Hamilton since finishing second to his teammate in Bahrain two weeks ago, Rosberg insisted: "No, nothing."

During their wheel-to-wheel battle, Rosberg had radioed the pits, describing Hamilton's driving as "not on".

Nico Rosberg played that down on Thursday but admitted the pair would need to get together for a clear-the-air session.

On Friday, Rosberg said: "Yes, we sat down and went through everything. It's all behind us and flat-out ahead."

But when asked about that debrief, Hamilton shook his head and answered "No" when asked if it had taken place.

Rosberg confirmed that the rivalry is becoming "tense", and team boss Lowe said he will work hard to keep it in check as the races roll on in 2014.

"We've already seen signs (of the tension)," he told the Guardian, "because they've got a winning car and they both want to win. I think it will require careful management through the year."

As promised a few days ago, Ford brought a new 2015 Mustang to the observation deck of the Empire State Building in New York to celebrate the muscle car's 50th anniversary.

Photo: Ford

The company pulled off the same feat a half-century ago when the Mustang made its original debut.

Since no crane could elevate the car to the top of the building, engineers had to cut it into three sections, use the elevators, and then put it back together. Bravo!

Photo: Ford

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has denied rumours he will strike a plea deal with Munich prosecutors to stay out of jail and in charge of F1.

The sport's chief executive faces up to a ten-year custodial sentence if found guilty at the end of a trial that begins in Germany next week.

But rumours in Shanghai suggest the 83-year-old actually intends to strike a mid-trial deal with prosecutors whereby he pleads guilty but stays out of jail in order to remain in charge of formula one.

Asked about the plea bargain rumours, Ecclestone insisted in the Telegraph: "No, not at all. I'm going into this trial to prove my innocence of what I'm being charged with."

Donald Mackenzie, the F1 boss at the sport's commercial rights owners CVC, has said that if Ecclestone is found guilty of a criminal offence, he will be sacked.

But, citing a "CVC source", Telegraph correspondent Daniel Johnson has reported from the scene of the Chinese grand prix that a plea bargain "would throw up a different set of circumstances".

Bernie Ecclestone responded: "You should ask Donald.

"What can I say? I can't speak for him," the Briton is quoted by the Guardian newspaper.

From GMM

Pastor Maldonado has hit out at the new 'penalty points' system that could see him having to serve a race ban later in 2014.

After just the opening three grands prix of the season, the Venezuelan already has three 'demerit points' against his F1 super license.

Jules Bianchi, meanwhile, has four.

"I'm not sure if anyone will reach the full 12 but after three races, having four, then he should reach it very soon," Adrian Sutil said in China.

The most serious incident involving Lotus' Maldonado this year was in Bahrain, where contact with Esteban Gutierrez caused the Mexican to roll over.

But he also made a fundamental - and bizarre - mistake in Shanghai practice, when he took his eyes off the track and simply drove off it in a corner.

Pastor Maldonado, Lotus E22-Renault, in Bahrain. (Photo: WRi2)

"I think it's a good system. It puts some conscience on ourselves to not do wrong moves and to respect each other and to race in a fair way," Esteban Gutierrez, referring to penalty points, said in Shanghai.

Pastor Maldonado, however, insists the Bahrain crash was simply "a normal race contact", and so he is critical of the new penalty system.

"We need to avoid the incident but at the same time (with penalty points) you cannot race," he told reporters on Thursday.

"We are racers and we are always risking. If you are competing, you need to take chances. So maybe they need to be slightly more flexible. That's my opinion."

Gutierrez is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace as suggesting the biggest problem with Maldonado is that he does not seem to be learning from his mistakes.

"It is pointless to discuss the television images, because they are clear," he said. "That's the problem: it seems that Pastor is not recognising his mistakes, he sees things only from his side and I don't think that's right."

Maldonado, however, insisted the Bahrain rollover made the "light knock" appear more dramatic due to the new mandatory low noses on the cars this year.

"With the new noses, when we touched, the car took off. So for the spectator it was quite shocking," he is quoted by Brazil's Globo.

"I think the punishment was related to the magnitude of what we saw, not the contact itself," Pastor Maldonado added.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was the quickest on Friday on FP2, but Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) set the pace in the morning session on FP1.

Odd situation for Ferrari in the first session, while Fernando Alonso edged out Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) for the best time, Kimi Raikkonen failed to record a time, stuck with mechanical problems in the garage.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F14 T. (Photo: WRi2)

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) was third, ahead of Jenson Button (McLaren) and Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India) fifth.

Regarding the reserve drivers, Felipe Nasr was on track for Williams (13th) and Giedo Van der Garde (14th) was aboard the Sauber.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

For the second session, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) overcame his suspension problem from FP1 and set the fastest time in the afternoon.

Fernando Alonso remains in front with his Ferrari, second, ahead of Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), followed by the two Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E22-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

With no time in the morning, Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) finishes seven and Romain Grosjean gives Lotus an encouragement with a ninth position.

To be noticed, the crash of Pastor Maldonado as he came into the pits, he damaged his Lotus and was unable to complete the practice session.

Marco Mattiacci, Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

Free Practice 1 - Results*
1 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1.39.783 - 20 laps
2 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1.40.181 - 16
3 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1.40.772 - 23
4 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes) - 1.40.970 - 23
5 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1.41.175 - 16
6 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes) - 1.41.366 - 20
7 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1.41.505 - 26
8 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1.41.560 - 9
9 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1.41.629 - 19
10 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1.41.699 - 14
11 - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1.41.977 - 23
12 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1.42.090 - 24
13 - Felipe Nasr (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1.42.265 - 13
14 - Giedo Van der Garde (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1.42.615 - 16
15 - Sergio Perez (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1.42.733 - 13
16 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1.43.731 - 22
17 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1.44.038 - 16
18 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1.44.162 - 17
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1.44.270 - 7
20 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1.44.782 - 20
21 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1.44.835 - 22
22 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - No time - 1

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2)

Free Practice 2 - Results*
1 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1.38.315 - 25 laps
2 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1.38.456 - 28
3 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1.38.726 - 30
4 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1.38.811 - 30
5 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1.39.015 - 31
6 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1.39.118 - 25
7 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1.39.283 - 25
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes) - 1.39.491 - 29
9 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1.39.537 - 36
10 - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1.39.648 - 26
11 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1.39.736 - 30
12 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes) - 1.39.744 - 29
13 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1.39.759 - 28
14 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1.39.830 - 25
15 - Sergio Perez (Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1.40.124 - 32
16 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1.40.359 - 32
17 - Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1.40.395 - 30
18 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1.40.455 - 12
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1.42.327 - 27
20 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1.43.473 - 30
21 - Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1.43.530 - 32
22 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1.43.679 - 32

*Unofficial timings