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For five years, Chrysler Group has been slowly building its once-tattered relations with suppliers. Then, in about three minutes last week, CEO Sergio Marchionne called that hard-won trust into question.

Mercedes-Benz USA expects its GLA compact crossover to be in short supply when the vehicle debuts in September because of the segment's growing popularity.

Full-sized pickup sales are rebounding nicely, thanks to the booming oil industry.

Following shareholder approval of the proposed merger of Fiat and Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne now faces an uncertain few months as he waits to find out if he has to postpone the tie-up because too many shareholders want to be bought out.

Korean automakers may threaten the global dominance of automakers such as Volkswagen and Toyota, but they are losing ground at home to foreign brands -- especially premium automakers such as BMW and Mercedes.

It sounds like a long shot, but BMW is taking a keen interest in an X3-derived pickup unveiled at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars last week by engineering graduate students from a U.S. university.

In the flap over how General Motors and Ford Motor Co. calculate the maximum payload ratings of their pickups, GM blinked. GM said on Friday that it no longer will omit the weight of some parts to boost the maximum payload ratings of their pickups.

GM's contrarian move to re-enter the compact pickup segment this fall with the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon comes at an opportune time, an Automotive News review of more than a decade's worth of data suggests.

Acura's new TLX sedan takes on the high-wire act of replacing both the TL and TSX in the brand's lineup. But the ad campaign for it largely plays it safe, with heavy buys on TV, live sports, online video and other digital ad media.

An extension of Honda's marketing department in the United States keeps a close watch on the activities of dealers who participate in the brand's dealer marketing allowance program and cracks down on any who violate strict rules on what dealers can...

It can be a struggle for newcomers and unknowns to win business in an industry where suppliers are consolidating into a few, ever-larger corporations with global factory footprints.

A decade ago, automakers were a tough sell when Turn 10 Studios approached them about including their vehicles in the first "Forza Motorsport" game. Now, it's the automakers that are knocking on Turn 10's door.

Hyundai is rolling out a global dealership design initiative aimed at creating a unified look at its stores worldwide before the end of the decade.

Korean automakers may threaten the global dominance of automakers such as Volkswagen and Toyota, but they are fast losing ground at home to foreign brands -- especially premium automakers such as BMW and Mercedes.

Korean automakers may threaten the global dominance of automakers such as Volkswagen and Toyota, but they are losing ground at home to foreign brands -- especially premium automakers such as BMW and Mercedes.

A one-of-a-kind BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will be auctioned off on Saturday, August 16th, during the famous Pebble Beach event.

The production version of this plug-in hybrid sports car will arrive in the U.S. this fall, making the winning bidder one of the first people in North America to own a copy.

The 2014 BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition features BMW Individual Frozen Grey Metallic exterior paint. The unique interior boasts Dalbergia Brown leather upholstery, which is tanned using dye derived from plant extracts. The upholstery is accented with stitching in BMW i Blue, and “BMW i8” logos are embossed into the front headrests.

The words “Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Edition” are laser-etched into the door sills and a plaque on the rear parcel shelf contains the signatures of senior BMW executives who played key roles in the development of the i8.

The all-wheel drive BMW i8 combines an electric motor driving the front wheels with a 1.5L TwinPower Turbo 3-cylinder gasoline engine driving the rear wheels. It is capable of driving on pure electric power at speeds of up to 120 km/h for approximately 32 kilometres. Zero-100 km/h sprints take approximately 4.2 seconds, while top speed is rated at 250 km/h.

Source: BMW

Photo: BMW

Former World Rally Champion, Petter Solberg took a sensational lights-to-flag victory in Trois-Rivieres to become the first driver to win a round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship held outside of Europe.

Former World Rally Champion, Petter Solberg (Citroen) took a sensational lights-to-flag victory in Trois-Rivieres to become the first driver to win a round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship held outside of Europe.

Volkswagen Marklund Motorsport's Anton Marklund and Team Peugeot-Hansen's Timur Timerzyanov finished second and third respectively, both drivers securing podium spots for the first time this season.

Arguably one of the most impressive drives of the event was that of Canadian Patrick Carpentier who made his RX debut in the event, reaching the final in his VW Polo.

His fellow countryman Jacques Villeneuve was less fortunate. A heavy landing wreaked havoc with the fuel tank on his Peugeot 208 Supercar and forced the French-Canadian to retire.

Here are out Top 10 photos of the spectacular event.

Photo: Philippe Champoux

Photo: Philippe Champoux

Photo: Philippe Champoux

Photo: Philippe Champoux

Photo: Philippe Champoux

Continue reading GP3R: Top 10 photos of the World Rallycross event!

From wrc.com

Double world champion Marcus Grönholm has joined Volkswagen Motorsport as a test driver to assist with the further development of its Polo R WRC.

The Finn's role is likely to include work on the 2015 car, which will make its WRC debut at Rallye Monte-Carlo next January, but which could be seen at non-championship events later this season.

Grönholm drove the Polo R for the first time during a gravel test at Fontjoncouse in southern France earlier this month and will join the team at selected future tests.

Marcus Grönholm (Photo: wrc.com)

Grönholm, 46, said: “I am really looking forward to testing and having the chance to work on the further development of what is currently the best rally car out there - the Polo R WRC.”

Team director Jost Capito said of the appointment: “Marcus is one of the most successful and talented rally drivers around, and will support us with the further development of the Polo R WRC. Thanks to his in-depth understanding of technical aspects and his analytical skills, he will be able to provide our engineers with valuable input.”

After becoming a works driver relatively late in life, Grönholm won the drivers' title at Peugeot in 2000 and 2002. He then worked with Capito at Ford where they won back-to-back manufacturers' world titles in 2006 and 2007.

He is second in the all-time WRC winners' list with 30 victories from 152 starts.

Sheriff Philip Povero met the journalists Sunday, and said there were no criminal charges pending against Tony Stewart “at this time”.

Saturday night, NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, Tony Stewart was involved in a racing incident that took place at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in Ontario County near Watkins Glen, N.Y.

The sprint car driven by Stewart struck and killed a fellow sprint car driver who was standing outside of his vehicle.

"Right now, we're less than 16 hours into this investigation and it continues to be ongoing,” said Sheriff Povero.

“There are no criminal charges pending at this time and I would follow that up by saying that as we have reviewed the investigation to this point with the Ontario County District Attorney," he added.

"I want to make it very clear that as we speak at this time, there is no evidence in hand or no facts that would support a criminal charge or support criminal intent on the part of anybody."

Povero also added that as the investigation continues, his department is soliciting amateur videos that can be used to further his investigation and is calling assistance from the public to come forth with such footage.

"With the media present, I would ask for some assistance from the public that if there are persons hearing or seeing this message that had recorded a video of this crash or had first-hand knowledge of this crash, our investigators would like to reach out to you, retrieve this data and conduct interviews to obtain relevant information,” he concluded.

After giving a sneak peek of the exterior and posting a sketch of the interior, Kia today released the first official pictures of its all-new, third-generation Sorento. The vehicle will make its global debut in Korea later this month and appear at the Paris Auto Show in October.

Photo: Kia

Kia says the Sorento's sleeker look is enhanced by an increase in length (+95 mm to 4,780 mm) and a 15mm reduction in height (down to 1,685 mm), while the 80mm longer wheelbase (now 2,780 mm) ensures more passenger space in all three rows of seats.

Photo: Kia

In terms of styling, “understated” is the word you're looking for, even though some design elements were borrowed from the Cross GT concept that premiered in Chicago last year. Notice the larger, more upright Tiger Nose grille, the long, swept-back headlamps, the lower roofline, and the higher beltline emphasizing the more muscular, rounded shoulders.

Photo: Kia

“While we have retained the name based on the tremendous success of the current model, the all-new Sorento has been completely redesigned and re-engineered, and promises to surprise customers with its thoroughly updated styling, a host of new convenience and safety technologies, as well as enhanced space, driving comfort and handling response,” said Soon-Nam Lee, Vice President of Overseas Marketing, Kia Motors Corp.

Source: Kia