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Abbas Ahmadi's passion for cars like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution has made him a star in the automaker's retail network. His four Mitsubishi stores accounted for 3 percent of the automaker's total U.S. sales last year.

The spotlight will be on sports cars at the Paris auto show, with debuts of models such as the Mercedes-AMG GT, Mazda MX-5 Miata and Audi TT roadster.

French automakers will focus on ultra fuel-efficient concepts at the Paris auto show while their rivals showcase sporty cars such as the Mercedes-AMG GT, Jaguar XE and Mazda MX-5.

The executives chosen as 2014 Automotive News Europe Eurostars raced ahead of their rivals through hard work and timely decisions.

ZF's acquisition of TRW will put the German company in an elite group: Megasuppliers able to feed automakers' growing appetite for collision-avoidance technology.

Johan de Nysschen believes the people who work at Cadillac can't just make cars to rival BMW and Mercedes -- they need to think like those juggernaut brands, too.

Australia's Motoring.au reports that the next Porsche model to receive the plug-in hybrid treatment could be the Macan compact crossover, following in the footsteps of the Panamera S E-Hybrid and Cayenne S E-Hybrid with a supercharged V6 mated to an electric motor.

"Nothing has been decided for Macan. [But] If there is market demand or legal [emissions] requirements we are ready to react. We are starting with a top-down approach," Porsche spokesman Paul Ellis told Motoring.

The aforementioned Cayenne S E-Hybrid will be unveiled at the Paris Auto Show on October 2nd, a few weeks before its global media launch.

Source : motoring.com

Following several other automakers, Toyota is turning to aluminum to make its vehicles lighter. Next year, the 2016 Lexus RX 350 crossover will become the company's first model with an aluminum hood and liftgate, while in 2018 the popular Toyota Camry sedan will get an aluminum hood as well.

It appears the aluminum sheet will come from a joint venture between Kobe Steel and Toyota Tsusho Corp., a trading company affiliated with Toyota Motor Corp. Toyota will be among the venture's first customers, several sources confirmed.

Talks on site selection and final details for the joint venture are expected to conclude this month. The plant will be able to produce 100,000 tons of aluminum sheet annually.

"Toyota has plans to use aluminum on future vehicles for hood, closures and parts for lightweighting," said spokeswoman Jana Hartline. "Also, we will increase usage of mix metals and resin materials to enhance lightweighting efforts."

Source : autonews.com

From nascar.com

Out of the maelstrom that was New Hampshire Motor Speedway sped Joey Logano, who took control of Sunday's Sylvania 300 on a restart with 27 laps left and held on to win the second race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

But the crux of Sunday's race wasn't about Logano's fourth victory of the season and the second straight for Team Penske in the Chase. It wasn't about Logano winning for the seventh time in his career and punching his ticket into the second elimination round under NASCAR's new playoff format.

Start of the Sylvania 300. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

It wasn't about Sunoco rookie Kyle Larson posting his second straight top-three finish. Yes, Larson ran second, passing third-place finisher Kevin Harvick on a green-white-checkered flag restart that took the race three laps past its scheduled distance, but Larson was almost an afterthought amid the chaos that scrambled the Chase standings.

It wasn't about another strong run for Jamie McMurray, who finished fourth, or about a top-five for six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who came home fifth.

It wasn't about the crazy afternoon of polesitter Brad Keselowski, who ran back and forth through the field like a yo-yo, spun on lap 194 of a scheduled 300 and nevertheless had a chance to win the race at the end before falling back to seventh on the restart that took the race to overtime.

No, the crux of the race wasn't about the winner. It was about those who survived the crucible of pressure the Chase creates -- and those who didn't.

Joey Logano, winner of the Sylvania 300. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

It was about uncharacteristic mistakes on pit road. It was about the aggression and desperation on the track that left the cars of six of 16 Chase drivers in relative states of damage and disrepair, including Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Paul Menard, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin.

NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings':
• Brad Keselowski, 2097 points
• Joey Logano, 2096
• Kevin Harvick, 2090
• Jimmie Johnson, 2080
• Kyle Busch, 2077
Etc.

The Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team has explained that a broken wiring loom inside the steering column was to blame for Nico Rosberg's retirement at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Drama struck when Rosberg tried leaving the garage ahead of the start of the race as none of the controls on the steering wheel was working.

The team's software engineers tried to fix the problem on the starting grid but failed to succeed.

Rosberg started the race from the pit lane but immediately hit major problems.

"None of the steering wheel functions worked, so I had no hybrid power, no DRS," Rosberg explained.

"The gear paddles sort of worked which was strange, but they would always up shift two gears at a time, so I had no fourth or sixth gear. It was just all over the place, and that's why I was slow.

"My brake balance was completely in the wrong place and I couldn't brake properly because I couldn't change that, so everything was all over the place.,” Rosberg explained.

Nico Rosberg's car is pushed in the pit lane. (Photo: WRi2)

Monday, Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff explained the problem was traced back to the steering column, but there was no explanation for why it had happened.

"It looks like a broken loom in the steering column, which was within the duty cycle and not towards the end of its life cycle," Wolff explained.

"It just shut the whole thing down. The only thing that worked was the gear change and then the radio came back. There was no hybrid energy any more, so when we called him in we changed the steering wheel, and tried to get it going but it wouldn't,” Wolff continued.

Facing so many problems, the team decided to retire Rosberg's car from the race.

From GMM

Even with much of the F1 world on the long-haul return to Europe, the silly season continued to churn on Monday after the Singapore grand prix.

Fernando Alonso is still the main character, even though he is technically under contract to Ferrari for 2015 and beyond.

But there is high speculation either the frustrated Spaniard can trigger a performance-related exit clause, or that McLaren's new works partner Honda is prepared to spend millions to simply break Alonso's contract and sign him up for 2015.

Italy's respected La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday said Alonso has even now told Ferrari that he intends to leave.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

That would tie in perfectly with his claims that he might have news about his future in a couple of weeks, and rumours Honda's ideal backdrop for an announcement would be its very own Suzuka circuit ahead of the forthcoming Japanese grand prix.

McLaren, however, is denying its deliberations about whether or not to keep Jenson Button beyond 2014 are connected to rumours of a Suzuka announcement.

"Absolutely not," said team boss Eric Boullier when asked if a driver decision by McLaren might be expected in Japan.

"There are no plans to announce anything yet," he is quoted by Sky.

Curiously, the latest speculation from the McLaren camp is that Button is in fact set to get at least one more year at Woking.

Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

Eric Boullier is even hinting that a decision about McLaren's 2015 pairing is now made.

"More or less yes," he said. "More or less it is open and more or less it is decided. Please don't twist my arm," the Frenchman smiled.

Giving even more hints now is Button himself, after weeks of obviously worrying that McLaren's eventual decision could in fact end his F1 career.

Suddenly, the 34-year-old is sounding confident.

"I'm not worried in any way about that," he is quoted by the Guardian. "I'm pretty happy I'll be here next year, and I feel I'm doing a good job right now."

Button is also now talking openly about reuniting with his old employer Honda, who will be McLaren's works partner in 2015.

"I know Honda will be giving everything to be competitive from the word go," he said.

A total of 10,038 Toyota Tundra pickup trucks from 2014 are being recalled because the B-pillar upper trim may have been installed improperly and could interfere with the side curtain airbag in the event of a deployment.

Considering the increased risk of injury to the vehicle occupants,

Toyota dealers will inspect the installation condition and replace the trim if it is found not to be properly installed.

Source: Transport Canada

From GMM

McLaren has hit back at reports it is set to lose Johnnie Walker as a sponsor.

The Mirror's Byron Young reported from Singapore on Sunday that, with Bernie Ecclestone securing the whisky brand as a new F1 sponsor, Johnnie Walker will now depart the beleaguered British grandee.

But McLaren has told us the report in the major British tabloid was incorrect, as "Johnnie Walker remains an important and valued sponsor of McLaren".

A team spokesman said the newspaper simply got the story "wrong".

"Yes, Johnnie Walker will be one of the sponsor logos on our 2015 car," he confirmed.

Kevin Magnussen, McLaren. (Photo: WRi2)

The McLaren spokesman also moved to clear up some confusion about the condition of Kevin Magnussen after Sunday's highly physical Singapore grand prix.

Reports claimed the Danish rookie had been treated for burns and dehydration in the medical centre after his McLaren overheated and his on-board drinking water boiled, but Magnussen insisted on Twitter: "That's a bit exaggerated. I was just hot and sweaty!"

But the McLaren spokesman said Magnussen, 21, was indeed treated for "nasty burns" and then tried to "make light of it" on Twitter as he is a "tough Viking boy!"

It is believed Toro Rosso's 20-year-old Daniil Kvyat was also dehydrated after his drink bottle failed in Singapore, while world champion Sebastian Vettel was suffering "severe stomach cramps" whilst spraying champagne on the podium.

Germany's RTL television said the Red Bull driver cancelled some of his media commitments after the race as he suffered from the effects of dehydration.

Just before he left the reporters, SID news agency quoted him as explaining the feeling of being passed for the lead by the winning Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

"Imagine driving a Fiat Panda and behind you is a Porsche 911," he said.

From GMM

McLaren has pointed the finger at Red Bull for allegedly breaching the FIA's new clampdown on radio communications.

Although the governing body intended to immediately impose a comprehensive ban on 'performance'-related messages, the compromise reached ahead of track action in Singapore ultimately outlawed only driver coaching-style calls.

But it remained a fear that teams would still work a way around not being allowed to advise the drivers how to get the most from their cars by issuing 'coded' radio calls.

Admitting how difficult it will be to police, the FIA's own Charlie Whiting revealed that when a radio call like, for instance, 'oil transfer' is made, it could mean one pre-arranged thing when given in turn 1, and another in turn 10.

"Yes I agree with you," he told reporters in Singapore. "It won't be straightforward."

Indeed, the first controversy is already emerging, the day after the first grand prix under the new regime took place.

The two Red Bull at Singapore. (Photo: WRi2)

McLaren boss Eric Boullier revealed that the British team suspects Red Bull may have breached the clampdown with multiple messages made to Daniel Ricciardo on Sunday.

"It (the clampdown) just made us more busy to listen to the others to make sure they aren't doing anything like Red Bull did twice on Ricciardo," said the Frenchman.

"I think it was coded and it is up to the FIA to investigate, it is not for me to say."

Boullier alleged that Red Bull may have given Ricciardo instructions about how to drive his car faster by pretending the message was for a technical reason.

"They said "avoiding exit kerbs may help the problem with the car", so it was a strange message," he said. "Once would have been okay, but two or three times you can doubt what kind of car problem he has."

According to Marketwatch.com, which is citing Goldman Sachs analysts who visited Tesla's Fremont assembly plant in California last week, the electric car maker could seize the opportunity to unveil a pre-production version of its upcoming Model X crossover at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit early next year.

The Tesla Model X will be available with all-wheel drive for a “superior driving experience”, the report said.

Look for more information in the weeks leading up to the NAIAS.

Source : marketwatch.com

Photo: Tesla

Andretti Autosport's new Bettle ralycross racer made its debut last weekend in the Los Angeles' round of the Global Rallycross Championship.

American ace Tanner Foust drove the Beetle in the event.

His teammate, former Toro Rosso Formula 1 driver Scott Speed captured victory Saturday and finished 6th Sunday, driving a VW Polo.

VW Beetle (Photo: VW of America)

Andretti Autosport and Volkswagen of America produced this 544-bhp GRC Volkswagen Beetle.

Tanner showed that it was quick straight out of the box, setting the best time in one of the qualifying heats.

“We gained a lot of experience and we were quite competitive. I look forward to the next race held Saturday in Seattle”, said Foust.

In the same way that shoppers visit Hyundai dealers to try out the Korean automaker's latest product offerings, Canadian automotive media frequently test-drive the brand's latest models to review and highlight their character, their strengths and their weaknesses to help Canadians make more informed decisions when it's time for a new ride.

In addition to media road tests, Hyundai has been carrying out what's known as Hyundai Fun Day for the past few years -- bringing their new products together at a central location to showcase the latest technologies and engineering advances with a number of activities, while highlighting the latest and most popular Hyundai models.

This year's program took place at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP), a facility surrounded by beautiful country roads and equipped with numerous racetracks, an auto-cross course, and an off-road course. This year, Hyundai demonstrated numerous car and crossover models, including the Santa Fe, all-new Genesis and all-new Sonata on the road, on the track, and in a challenging off-road setting that likely exceeds the severity in which an owner would choose to operate their machine.

Photo: Justin Pritchard

A test drive of the all-new Sonata Sport 2.0T started the day. Notable was the powertrain; a 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that's down some 29 horsepower compared to last year's model while still offering pleasing performance rich with low-end torque and responsiveness, and complete with a pleasing growl from the engine bay when called upon. This sporty Sonata variant is set off with quad-pipe exhausts, some unique paint colour choices reflected in the interior's accent piping and stitching, and a great new cabin atmosphere that's more dynamic, fresh and techy-looking than the outgoing model.

As it is with the all-new Genesis, the new Sonata is keen to show off the capabilities of Hyundai's design team, and displays more uniqueness and character than the previous car. Further, thanks to an extremely rigid frame structure built of a whopping 51% high-strength steel made by Hyundai's in-house steel manufacturing facility, the ride feels solid, dense and robust -- with comfort and noise levels on par with a premium vehicle.

The all-new Genesis pulls off a similar experience. Using the same high-strength steel to the tune of 53% in its construction, engineers were able to create a body structure with more torsional rigidity than a BMW 5-Series. This rigidity benefits noise levels, handling, ride quality and more. The result is a ride that's truly world-class, with a carefully honed and creamy-smooth feel on most surfaces. The latest hazard-detection and driver support technologies are all on board, and the new cabin that showcases a more daring and upscale look than the former car should stand shoulder to shoulder with luxury cars that command far higher price tags.

Photo: Justin Pritchard

High-strength steel also helps the Hyundai crossover model range deliver durability and capability in an off-road setting. In a Santa Fe XL, I positioned the vehicle to tackle a carefully designed set of moguls that would see only three wheels touching the ground at any given time. Even in this extreme maneuver, which heavily twists the vehicle's frame, there was no audible creaking from the body structure, and more impressively, no creaking from the giant panoramic sunroof overhead, which amounts to a large structural opening. The Santa Fe is one of the only vehicles in its segment built on an exclusive crossover platform, rather than one adapted from a car platform, and it shows. The model also boasts the latest hill descent control and other traction management systems, helping further a confident and relaxing drive over even extremely rough surfaces and heavy grades.

The 2015 Genesis Coupe, available this year solely with V6 power, puts a high-stiffness frame to use in yet another way: for precise handling. Driving one of the new R-Spec V6 models around CTMP's Driver Development Track, Canada's most powerful sub-$30,000 car demonstrated precise and predictable reactions to steering inputs and weight transfer, thanks in no small part to the extremely rigid sub-structures to which the specially calibrated R-Spec suspension system is bolted. This, as well as Brembo brakes, a limited slip differential, and a delightfully snort-y V6 engine with 348 horsepower help support budget-minded track-day enthusiasts of all skill levels.

Photo: Justin Pritchard

There's an underlying theme, here: Hyundai says their current line-wide goal is to advance new products on the driving dynamics front, in no small part with the help of extreme-strength steel frames like those beneath the skin of the Genesis and Sonata. The frame is one of the least-glamorous parts of a new car, as it can't be seen, though shoppers can expect to feel the benefits of Hyundai's latest frame structure design when they stop in for a test-drive of a current model -- or the slew of yet-to-be-announced new and updated models that'll be rolling out in the coming 1 to 2 years.

You may have noticed that the Caterham Formula 1 car have lost all the logos of the companies that were linked to the former owner of the team, Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes.

Fernandes, also the owner of AirAsia, enjoys (very) a strong partnership with several companies that are involved in the aviation business.

After Fernandez sold his team, decals of Airbus Group, GE, Safran, Tune Group and Naza were all peeled off the Caterham trucks and cars.

Since Monza, the green cars only carry logos of Renault, Dell, Pirelli, CNN, Truphone and Silanna, an Australian company that develops semiconductor processes.

Caterham CT05-Renault (Photo: Caterham)

From GMM

As was uttered by a paddock dweller in Singapore this weekend, "There's no smoke without fire".

He was referring to the 'Fernando Alonso situation', as the Spaniard's future continues to be the subject of high speculation in formula one circles.

In Singapore, Alonso expressed what appeared to be genuine anger during his media round with foreign-language reporters on Thursday, threatening to reveal the identity of the source of the latest rumours emerging from Italy.

The implication was that the leak was from within the walls of Maranello itself, amid speculation McLaren-Honda has not given up its quest to secure the highly-paid, highly-coveted and undoubtedly frustrated Ferrari driver.

On Sunday, yet more 'smoke' from the Alonso camp continued to rise, after Niki Lauda said that "Without Fernando Alonso, Ferrari would be nowhere".

Alonso seemed to do little to dispel that impression when he remarked after finishing fourth in Singapore that "The other Ferrari is 45 seconds behind me".

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, at the arrival of the Singapore Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

Then came some curious comments not only from Alonso, but also the Ferrari team boss Marco Mattiacci.

Mattiacci has said on a couple of occasions in the past days that Ferrari will be fielding an unchanged driver lineup in 2015.

When asked the question yet again under Singapore's artificial late-night light, he answered on Sunday: "Fernando will continue. For the moment -- yes."

And when also musing Alonso's future, the Italian newspaper La Stampa quoted the Spanish driver as revealing that "There is an ongoing discussion" taking place behind closed doors.

From formula1.com

The Sochi Autodrom circuit, venue for the inaugural 2014 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix, was officially opened on Saturday, with a host of leading figures in Russian government and motorsport attending the event.

A spectacular demonstration of racing machinery was the main event, with Vitaly Petrov - the first Russian to compete in Formula 1 racing - joined by 2013 German Formula 3 runner-up Artem Markelov and a number of other stars in the Russian racing world.

Artem Markelov (Photo: Sochi Autodrom)

Russian Premier Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Dmitry Kozak, deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, also visited the new 5.853-kilometre circuit, which is due to host the 16th round of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship on 10-12 October.

"I am glad to report that the first ever Formula 1 race track in Russia has now officially opened and very soon our country will host the inaugural 2014 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix at this amazing venue," said race promoter Sergey Vorobyev.

"I would like to take this opportunity to invite all guests to enjoy the incredible atmosphere of a Formula 1 race weekend and more importantly to come and support our own Russian F1 driver: Daniil Kvyat, in whose honour we have renamed the T4 tribune. So, please come to support this talented young driver and spend an excellent autumn weekend with us - F1 style!"

Alexander Tkachev and Richard Cregan (Photo: Sochi Autodrom)

The opening of the Sochi Autodrom - which features 18 corners and winds through the Sochi Olympic park - formed part of the XIII International Investment Forum 'Sochi - 2014'.