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The new Navigator's role is to reclaim a piece of a segment Lincoln pioneered in the 1990s and then ceded to the Cadillac Escalade.

ZF Friedrichshafen is nearing a sale of its steering business as part of its proposed acquisition of TRW Automotive to resolve expected antitrust issues, a German newspaper reported.

From WRC.com

Sebastien Ogier gambled on the right tires going into the afternoon stages in Australia.

Betting against the weather forecast, Ogier went with a dry condition set up on his Polo R WRC and was rewarded.

He was able to wipe off the 4.1 second lead his VW teammate Jari-Matti Latvala, who went for a wet set up, had built up over the morning stages.

Sébastien Ogier, VW Polo R WRC (Photo: WRI2)

"It was all about tire choice this afternoon," admitted Ogier.

"The meteo was very unsure and there was a risk of thunderstorms, but finally it stayed dry. We had to use one soft tire but Jari-Matti had to use two so it was even harder for him.

"The car moved a little bit and oversteered in right corners but you have to keep that in mind and be a bit cautious," he added.

Six stages remain before the end of Rally Australia. Ogier leads Latvala by 11.8 seconds.

The F1 world championship has left Europe and is now entering its final flyaway phase, and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is looking forward to the next grand prix.

Hamilton bounced back from a series of misfortunes, last week-end in Monza, leading his teammate Nico Rosberg to a 1-2 finish. Now that the momentum has swung back his way, the Brit is not at all worried by his 22-point deficit in the chase for the drivers' title.

"I'm still well and truly in the hunt for the championship and that is something that gives me huge motivation for the final six races," he says.

"(Singapore) is a great place to begin the final flyaway phase of the season. The city is buzzing and the track is mega. It's a street circuit and I love street circuits."

Lewis Hamilton, Singapore, 2013 (Photo: WRI2)

Of course, the night race in Singapore is a popular event not just with Hamilton, but throughout the paddock.

"Singapore is a race that I'm sure the whole paddock looks forward to," points out Mercedes' technical boss Paddy Lowe.

"It's a glamorous event with a fantastic atmosphere - to the extent that standing on the starting grid under the thousands of spotlights feels much like being on stage, waiting for the theatre to begin.

"The circuit itself could not stand as more of a contrast to Monza, with a lot of low-speed corner content."

From press release

Tristan DeGrand, of Eureka, MO set the pace today for the annual Al Craighead Formula 1600 CanAm Cup on a cold and wet Canadian Tire Motorsport Park track.

DeGrand posted a best lap of 1:53.409 and will share the front row with his closest rival in the Championship, Chase Pelletier, who put up a 1:53.505. Zacharie Robichon will roll off 3rd with a time of 1:54.649

Tristan DeGrand (Photo: Toyo Tires F1600 Series)

The “B” Class grid will be led to the line by Stephen Adams who's lap of 2:00.726 was slightly quicker than Graham Lobban's 2:01.759. Points leader Connor Wagland sits comfortably in 3rd with a 2:07.523.

The session was stopped short following a red flag for a crash involving Reid Arnold. He suffered substantial damage but his crew is attempting to have the car prepared in time for the mid-afternoon start. Arnold is leading the Rookie of the Year battle.

From press release

Brazilian race car driver Lucas di Grassi snatched the win for the first ever race of the new all-electric Formula E championship.

All he had to do was pick up the pieces after Nicolas Prost and Nick Heidfeld crashed in the very last corner while fighting for the lead in Beijing.

Heidfeld walked away unscathed from a nasty looking incident after contact with Prost left him unable to control the car and flipped into the tire barrier.

Lucas di Grassi (Photo: Formula E)

"I thought it was going to be a very big crash," said Heidfeld.

"Once I hit the kerb it felt like I was in the air forever. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact and then I thought ‘Oh that was lucky!' I have a small pain in my calf but apart from that I'm perfectly fine."

Andretti driver Franck Montagny finished runner-up nearly three seconds adrift of Di Grassi.

Daniel Abt crossed the line in third place, but received a penalty for exceeding the battery consumption. Katherine Legge and Jaime Alguersuari were also penalized for being over the limit.

So it was Virgin Racing's Sam Bird who claimed the final place on the podium.


FIA Formula E Championship - Drivers' Standings
1. Lucas di Grassi - 25
2. Franck Montagny - 18
3. Sam Bird - 15
4. Charles Pic - 12
5. Karun Chandhok - 10
6. Jerome d'Ambrosio - 8
7. Oriol Servia - 6
8. Nelson Piquer Jr - 4
9. Nicolas Prost - 3
10. Stephane Sarrazin - 2
11. Takuma Sato - 2
12. Daniel Abt - 1
13. Jaime Alguersuari - 0
14. Nick Heidfeld - 0
15. Michela Cerruti - 0
16. Katherine Legge - 0
17. Ho-Pin Tung - 0
18. Takuma Sato - 0
19. Sebastien Buemi - 0
20. Jarno Trulli - 0

From press release

The German superbike championship (SUPERBIKE*IDM) is a guest at this weekend's Lausitzring DTM event, and as a result, spectators in Germany will be able to watch car and motorcycle action in a joint event for the first time in 25 years.

The Lausitzring is particularly suited for the get-together: with its huge run-off areas and numerous track lay-outs, only few modifications have to be made here.

Photo: DTM.com

For instance, riders will not be using Turn 3, the third corner of the tri-oval, because the long high-speed corner would have been a problem.

But the cleaning of the track will be the biggest challenge. Before every superbike session, the rubber deposited by the race cars on the track has to be cleaned off.

However, rain is forecast for the entire weekend, which makes cleaning significantly easier as this reduces the amount of rubber left on the track by the cars.

From press release

Audi driver Mattias Ekström seems determined not to let Marco Wittmann clinched the DTM title just yet.

Wittmann could indeed win the championship this week-end at the Lausitzring, where he qualified seventh with two races remaining this season. But between him and his goal, stands title rival Ekström, second on the grid.

Marco Wittmann, BMW M4 DTM (Photo: DTM.com)

"I reckon that conditions were difficult for all of us today," commented Wittmann, who needs to finish fourth or higher to seal the championship.

"In practice, we only had very little time for finding the right set-up, which turned qualifying into something of a lottery."

"I will only congratulate Marco when everything is settled," added Ekström.

Mattias Ekström (Photo: DTM.com)

Mercedes' Pascal Wehrlein, the youngest driver in the DTM field at just 19, claimed his first pole position and will lead the field Sunday.

Canadians Robert Wickens and Bruno Spengler are 12th and 17th respectively.

Pascal Wehrlein, Mercedes C-Coupe (Photo: DTM.com)

Qualifying results* - Lausitzring (round 8 of 10)
1.Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1'17"547 - Q3
2.Mattias Ekstrom (Audi RS5) - Abt - 1'17"604 - Q3
3.Jamie Green (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 1'17"715 - Q3
4.Timo Scheider (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 1'17"761 - Q3
5.Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1'17"779 - Q3
6.Miguel Molina (Audi RS5) - Abt - 1'17"786 - Q3
7.Marco Wittmann (BMW M4) - RMG - 1'18"143 - Q3
8.Gary Paffett (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1'18"291 - Q3
9.Timo Glock (BMW M4) - MTEK - 1'18"141 - Q2
10.Mike Rockenfeller (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 1'18"150 - Q2
11.Christian Vietoris (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1'18"202 - Q2
12.Robert Wickens (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1'18"250 - Q2
13.Edoardo Mortara (Audi RS5) - Abt - 1'18"299 - Q2
14.Vitaly Petrov (Mercedes C-Coupe) - Mucke - 1'18"314 - Q2
15.Augusto Farfus (BMW M4) - RBM - 1'18"343 - Q2
16.Maxime Martin (BMW M4) - RMG - 1'18"375 - Q2
17.Bruno Spengler (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 1'18"416 - Q2
18.Adrien Tambay (Audi RS5) - Abt - 1'18"467 - Q2
19.Antonio Felix Da Costa (BMW M4) - MTEK - 1'18"491 - Q2
20.Nico Muller (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 1'18"591 - Q2
21.Martin Tomczyk (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 1'18"629 - Q2
22.Paul Di Resta (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1'18"699 - Q2
23.Joey Hand (BMW M4) - RBM - no time
*Unofficial results

From NASCAR.com

Persistent rain and cold weather that inhibited track drying at Chicagoland Speedway forced cancellation of Friday's scheduled time trials for Sunday's MyAFibStory.com 400, the first race in the 2014 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

With the field ordered according to top speeds in Friday's opening Sprint Cup practice session, Chase drivers Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards will start from the top three positions, respectively.

Kyle Busch (Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Busch recorded a top average speed of 191.442 mph on his 21st and final practice lap in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, more than two miles-per-hour faster than Joey Logano's 2013 track qualifying record of 189.414 mph.

"I think today was a little bit better practice session for myself and the 20 (Kenseth)," Busch said. "I talked to Matt, and he felt a little more positive about things. Matt jumped up there to the top of the board early, and we were able to do so late...

"It's a good representation of where we feel like we want to be and where we should be, but, again, it's early -- first practice, and not everybody at the end of that practice was in qualifying trim, making qualifying runs... There, later in practice, speeds certainly got quicker."

The Treasury started a second trading plan to cut its stake in Ally Financial. After completing its first plan, it now holds 66.2 million shares of Ally's common stock, a statement said on Friday. That's 13.

Two California men, one a former salesman at a Los Angeles Ford dealership, were charged with rolling back odometers, the Justice Department said today.

Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo's last public act at the helm of the supercar maker will be the unveiling of a limited-edition model destined for the U.S. market only. Ferrari will build 10 units, priced at about 2.

Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo's last public act at the helm of the supercar maker will be the unveiling of a limited-edition model destined for the U.S. market only. Ferrari will build 10 units, priced at about 2.

Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo's last public act at the helm of the Italian supercar maker will be the unveiling of a limited-edition model destined for the U.S. market only.

Car dealers are sitting on a gold mine: their idle inventories. The tool to turn that goldmine into gold is the smartphone.

Ferrari booked a record half year trading profit up 5.2% to EUR185m on revenues of EUR1,348.6m (+14.5%).

Toyota has apparently distanced itself from comments made earlier by Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk that future collaboration between the two automakers cannot be ruled out.

Critics of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are taking another run at curbing the bureau's regulatory tactics of issuing industry 'guidance' and entering into consent orders with individual auto lenders.

Porsche Automobil Holding bought a 10 percent stake in Washington-based traffic information provider Inrix for $55 million, its first move to expand its assets beyond a controlling stake in Volkswagen.

Porsche Automobil Holding bought a 10 percent stake in U.S. traffic information provider Inrix for $55 million, its first move to expand its assets beyond a controlling stake in Volkswagen.