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Acura used Sunday's AFC Championship game as a springboard for the refreshed ILX sedan's marketing campaign.

Acura is using Sunday's AFC Championship game as a springboard for the refreshed ILX sedan's marketing campaign.

The National Automobile Dealers Association 2015 convention is shaping up to mirror the industry's frothy sales, which last year hit their highest levels since 2006. NADA expects attendance during the four-day convention that kicks off on Jan.

BMW will get 50 percent more i8 plug-in hybrids -- 1,000-plus cars -- in the US this year than in 2014, but that still won't be enough to fill the order bank.

Michelle Christensen, exterior design project leader for the NSX, is the first woman to lead a design team working on a supercar.

As brick-and-mortar dealerships evolve, other operational changes might come, too, requiring alterations in franchise laws and automakers' policies, especially in urban areas.

From GMM

F1's governing body has suggested its tough new criteria for the awarding of super licences in 2016 may actually be flexible.

The FIA clamped down on the 2016 qualifying criteria for obtaining F1's mandatory credential due to the controversial debut this year of 17-year-old Max Verstappen.

But when the strict new criteria was outlined recently, it became clear that champions like Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen would not have been granted their grand prix debuts due to a lack of experience.

A driver like Williams tester Susie Wolff would also be excluded, and even the great Michael Schumacher's 2010 return for Mercedes would have been thwarted due to his lack of F1 experience in the three previous years.

But according to a report in Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, the FIA has now "admitted that despite the more stringent rules, possible exceptions will be granted".

The Paris federation reportedly singled out Schumacher's return as one obvious exception that would be theoretically presented to the World Motor Sport Council for "consideration" under the new rules.

Formula Renault 3.5 (Photo: WRI2)

It is believed Renault has also complained to the FIA that its top open-wheeler category, Formula Renault 3.5, has not been granted the status it deserves under the 2016 F1 super licence points system.

So, too, has the European open-wheeler series Auto GP, according to Russia's Championat.

"We deserve to be there," promoter Enzo Coloni is quoted as saying.

"We have powerful cars, similar to the Renault world series, so it would be fair to include us in the super licence points system.

"We have requested a clarification of the situation," he added, "with the support of the Italian federation of motor racing."

From GMM

Ferrari needed a sweeping change after a "disastrous" start to the new turbo V6 era.

That is the view of Sergio Marchionne, the Fiat-Chrysler chief who last year ousted the Maranello marque's long-time president and figurehead Luca di Montezemolo.

"Luca did a great job for 23 years," Marchionne is quoted by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, "but we (Ferrari) had a disastrous season last year and it was time for a change."

Indeed, the team is heading into 2015 in a vastly different state, as Marchionne warns that it may be late in the 20-race season when performance starts to improve.

Rory Byrne has workd with James Allison before (Photo: WRI2)

Nonetheless, new lead racer Sebastian Vettel and simulator driver Jean-Eric Vergne have now started work at Maranello, and more big changes may be just around the corner.

The well-connected Ferrari insider Leo Turrini claims that legendary Ferrari designer Rory Byrne - a mastermind of the Michael Schumacher era - could be set to work closely with technical boss James Allison in 2015.

"It is true that the brilliant South African never completely severed the umbilical cord," he wrote in his Quotidiano blog, "but that he is so close to the side of Allison now is a good sign."

From GMM

Alexander Rossi has admitted he is "really interested" in becoming the first American driver to race a Haas car in formula one.

Although Californian, the 23-year-old has risen through the European racing ranks over the past six years, including in Formula BMW, the Renault world series and finally GP2.

This year, he came tantalisingly close to his elusive F1 race debut, initially with a role at Caterham and then at Marussia where he almost replaced Max Chilton amid the British driver's sponsorship problems.

But he admitted last month that he has now returned to his native US to "concentrate my efforts on Indycar".

Rossi, however, has now told f1web.it: "In fact, I am analysing different options.

If Gene Haas is looking for an American driver, Alexander Rossi could be his guy (Photo: WRI2)

"In the long term I plan to be in formula one, but having worked for two years as a test driver, in 2015 I want to race."

After 2015, then, he said he wants to look again at F1 for 2016.

"As you know, in formula one there is always very few places available, but now even less due to the collapse of the small teams," he said.

Asked specifically about Haas, the new North Carolina entrant for 2016 headed by NASCAR team co-owner Gene Haas, Rossi answered: "I am really interested in the Haas team.

"I have the necessary knowledge, the experience, I understand formula one and I think for the promotion of the series in America they want a driver from the US."

News 16 Jan, 2015

Mitsubishi’s iconic Evo bows out with the Evoloution X Final Concept at Tokyo Auto Salon.

Mercedes-Benz has priced its flagship Mercedes-Maybach S600 at $190,275, including shipping. The ultra-luxury car is based on the S-class sedan that starts at $167,825, including shipping.

Toyota plans to drop its smallest model, the Scion iQ, after the car's size, price and fuel economy failed to attract US consumers.

News 16 Jan, 2015

This sporty Mazda CX-3 Racing concept could hint at a future hot CX-3 MPS model

Toyota kicked off its Super Bowl XLIX ad offensive today with an online video featuring good dads of the NFL, such as retired quarterback Kurt Warner and former all-pro linebacker LaVar Arrington.

News 16 Jan, 2015

Citroen boss tells us how spirit of Cactus will spread into all new Citroen models, including a larger SUV

Subaru expects US sales to climb 5 percent in 2015, for a seventh straight record year, pushing North America volume to within a hair of its 2020 target -- five years ahead of schedule.

Automotive News walked the floor of the 2015 Detroit auto show with Paul Snyder, a former Honda and Ford designer who is now chair of transportation design at the College for Creative Studies.

A 2015 Jeep Cherokee that erupted in flames two days after purchase has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate whether a defect exists in 50,415 of the SUVs.

With news salvers working on the 51,000t Hoegh Osaka carliner could tow the giant ship back into the Port of Southampton next week just-auto has a look at what we know so far - and what might happen.

Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Brazil voted to end a 10-day strike after the carmaker agreed to reverse the layoff of 800 employees and presented a new labor deal through 2019.