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Just in time for cheap gasoline, automakers will show high-performance cars at next week's Detroit auto show. But pickups and hybrids will get their share of attention.

From press release

A record 95-car on the grid for this week's tenth anniversary edition Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai, January 8-10.

Within a decade, the Hankook 24H DUBAI is not only acknowledged as the first major endurance race of the new calendar year for GTs, touring cars and 24H Specials, but has also become firmly established as one of the classic 24-hour races.

The tenth anniversary edition marks the start of a new era as the 2015 Hankook 24H DUBAI also serves as the season opener of the 2015 24H SERIES powered by Hankook, with full FIA International Series status for the first time. A record 95 cars with over 400 drivers will be on the grid for this week's race.

The main contenders for overall honours are most likely to come from the A6 class, the playing field for GT3 cars. Here, last year's Dubai race winners, Stadler Motorsport, are aiming at repeating their success, but the Swiss Porsche team will be facing strong opposition, among others from Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon, that won the Dubai race in 2012 and 2013 with its Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.

In total, there will be twelve Mercedes-Benz gullwing race cars on the grid. AMG Customer Sports pool drivers Thomas Jäger, Bernd Schneider and Lance David Arnold will be racing, just like Jeroen Bleekemolen, the most successful driver in history of the Dubai race.

Other classes
The SP2 class includes MARC Focus V8 and GC Automobile silhouette cars, a Maserati Gran Turismo and an Audi R8. The SP3 class is dominated by GT4 cars, including six Ginetta G50s.

The CUP1 class for BMW M235i Cup cars will be competing in Dubai for the first time with an expected total of six cars. BMW is also the preferred brand in the A5 touring car class with five entries.

The A3T class includes SEAT Leon Supercopa cars plus a Volkswagen and a BMW while the A2 class has a variety of touring cars with Honda, MINI, Peugeot, Renault, SEAT, Toyota and Volkswagen each represented by one or more teams.

From GMM

As ever in formula one, the future is always just around the next bend.

On Tuesday, at Bernie Ecclestone's behest, representatives of the four engine manufacturers - Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari and newcomer Honda - will get together in Geneva.

The F1 supremo wants them to talk about a new beginning for F1 in 2016, having briefed them to consider a new, more powerful, cheaper and louder engine formula.

According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, Ecclestone also wants more aggressive-looking cars that are more difficult to drive and exciting to watch.

But Niki Lauda, team chairman at new world champions Mercedes, urges against haste.

"Something sensible can really only be done if we give ourselves until 2017," he argues.

"And Honda would not have built this new engine for one season only. You need some stability, otherwise everything is insanely expensive," Niki Lauda added.

Before 2016 dawns, however, the 2015 world championship will be run and won, and at present it is not even clear how many cars will be on the grid.

Marussia and Caterham, for instance, are under administration, and Caterham is not committing even to the opening test at Jerez in 27 days time.

"Talks with interested parties continue," joint administrator Henry Shinners told the BBC on Monday, "but if a buyer is not found before the test, we will not put up the money to go."

Veteran Verizon IndyCar Series' driver Marco Andretti will make his FIA Formula E Championship debut on Jan. 10 in Argentina in the No. 28 Andretti Autosport-prepared car.

Formula E is the FIA spec series for electric single-seaters.

“Having never been in the car, it's a bit of an unfamiliar situation for me but the team's pace looks solid enough for a great result," said Andretti, whose last seat time in a race car was the Verizon IndyCar Series 2014 season finale in August at Auto Club Speedway. "I like unknown situations; I'm up for the task.”

The third-generation racer will be the only American competing on the 12-turn circuit at Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires.

Former Toro Rosso F1 driver Jean-Eric Vergne will pilot the No. 27 car for the team, which is fifth in the championship standings through three rounds.

Marco Andretti replaces Franck Montagny at Andretti Autosport after the French racing driver was suspended from competition after testing positive for cocaine use.

From GMM

Sahara Force India has set a firm date for the launch of its 2015 car, the Mercedes-powered VJM08.

After finishing the 2014 season a career-high sixth in the constructors' championship, the Silverstone based team renewed with its major backer America Movil.

It means the Sergio Perez-linked Telmex, Telcel and Claro branding will also appear on the 2015 car, just as they also will at Ferrari, where Mexican Esteban Gutierrez has become the fabled Maranello team's new reserve driver.

Sahara Force India will reportedly herald its continuing Mexican link by launching the new car at the Soumaya museum in Mexico City on January 21.

"I wish to thank Telmex, Telcel and Claro for their support in making this event possible," said team boss Vijay Mallya.

Sahara Force India, VJM07-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

At least two top teams will enter the 2015 season with fundamentally different colour schemes, it has emerged.

Spain's El Mundo Deportivo reports that new reigning champions Mercedes intend to switch from silver to a striking mirror-like chrome paint-job this year.

The report said the special chrome paint for the 2015 livery is called 'Kromo', and will also be supplied to wheel supplier OZ for the title-defending W06 raced by world champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The same Spanish sports newspaper reports that with Mercedes stepping up its iconic silver look, Woking based McLaren is tipped for a complete livery U-turn in 2015.

McLaren turned silver in 1997, at the height of its works collaboration with Mercedes, but now the famous British team is kicking off its new era with Honda.

Mercedes W05 vs McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

El Mundo Deportivo reported: "Honda does not want (McLaren) to continue with silver because it is a colour immediately associated with Mercedes and the 'Silver Arrows'.

"There are rumours the (2015) car could be orange, McLaren's traditional colour, for testing. But it could also be white, in a double-tribute: to Honda and also because McLaren's first F1 car was that colour" in 1966.

"The final choice could depend largely on whether McLaren has a major sponsor in 2015 or not," the report added.

Williams Formula 1 team announced Monday an updated Race Operations structure to further bolster the engineering department ahead of the 2015 FIA F1 season.

Andrew Murdoch, previously Race Engineer to Felipe Massa, has been promoted to Senior Performance Engineer.

Murdoch will lead the Performance Group at the factory, developing new techniques and processes within the engineering team to ensure continual performance improvements are brought to both cars throughout the season. He will also remain part of the trackside team with a focus on Valtteri Bottas' car on event.

Photo: Williams Martini Racing

The team is further strengthened by the appointment of Dave Robson, who has joined to take on the role of Race Engineer to Massa and will work under Head of Vehicle Performance Rob Smedley. Robson joins from McLaren, where he had been working with Jenson Button since 2010, most recently as his Race Engineer. Jonathan Eddolls continues as Race Engineer to Bottas.

As part of this process, veteran Carl Gaden has been promoted to Senior Car Systems Engineer.

Gaden joined Williams in 1988 and has spent the last 22 years as Chief Mechanic on the Race Team. With his vast hands-on experience working across the cars, he will now increase the capabilities of the team within this area focusing on ensuring systems continue to be reliable.

Mark Pattinson, previously Number 1 Mechanic to Massa, will step up to take on the role of Chief Mechanic.

From GMM

Carlos Sainz insists his famous name alone did not power his 20-year-old son all the way to formula one.

Carlos Sainz jr, the new reigning Formula Renault 3.5 champion, will make his debut for Toro Rosso in 2015, having emerged as the cream of Red Bull's famous driver development programme.

Nonetheless, a famous surname was also a help, Sainz's father and namesake, the Spanish rallying legend, admitted to the sports daily Marca.

"There have been times when the surname has benefited him," he admitted ahead of the famous Dakar rally, in which Sainz snr will race a Red Bull-sponsored Peugeot.

"But at the end, you don't get to formula one because of a surname, even less on a team such as the Red Bull junior team."

Carlos Sainz Sr aboard the Peugeot 2008 DKR. (Photo: RedBull.com)

Carlos Sainz, 52, said his son comes to F1 at a "very young" age, but nonetheless "prepared and having won one of the preceding championships to formula one with very good results".

"I sincerely believe that he arrives ready to do a good job," he insisted. "He has an exceptional talent, more than people think, and I hope he can prove it."

Sainz said he will be merely a "spectator" of F1 in 2015, admitting he cannot given his son much advice because "he knows more than I do!"

Carlos Sainz Jr, Red Bull RB10-Renault, in Abu Dhabi. (Photo: WRi2)

Reigning Dakar winner Nani Roma's start to the 2015 race turned into a disaster.

His MINI broke down just ten kilometres into the opening competitive section and had to wait for his assistance truck to arrive and make repairs. His car broke down yet again further along the stage, having to be towed home by his support team.

In all, Roma lost some 7 hours and 25 minutes to the leaders and sits a distant last at the bottom of the leaderboard, ending his hopes for a third Dakar crown.

Nani Roma's MINI at the first stage. (Photo: Dakar.com)

Meanwhile, his teammates Nasser Al-Attiyah and Orlando Terranova cruised to a one-two finish over a minute ahead of the rest of the field.

However, Al-Attiyah was given a two-minute penalty to speeding.

That handed the event lead to Terranova, with American driver Robby Gordon elevated to second overall and South Africa's Giniel de Villiers third in his Toyota, while under a minute separated the first five cars.

Peugeot managed a pair of top ten stage finishes, former World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz the best of their fleet of 2008 DKR buggies with eighth place.

RESULTS - Stage 1, 2015 Dakar Rally
1. Orlando Terranova (ARG)  MINI  1h13m12s
2. Robby Gordon (USA)  Gordini  +42s
3. Giniel De Villiers (RSA)  Toyota  +50s
4. Krzysztof Holowczyc (POL)  MINI  +54s
5. Emiliano Spataro (AUG)  Renault  +56s

Business journalist Christian Sylt revealed in an article published by Forbes that Marussia Formula 1 team lost quite a bit of money in a failed attempt to participate in the final race of 2014 in Abu Dhabi.

Sylt based his article on recently released company financial documents.

Late last year, Marussia F1 Team - operated by Manor Grand Prix Racing (MGPR) - ceased trading and missed the United States and Brazilian Grands Prix.

The small team however intended to compete in the final race of the season in hopes to race in 2015.

The team, cars and equipment were reportedly on their way to the UK airport for the flight to Abu Dhabi when it was forced to turn back.

Official documents from Marussia's administrators FRP Advisory, dated December 18th, reveal that, in fact, the brakes were put on the team's revival when a key investor withdrew support.

“On Tuesday 18 November 2014, I received a commitment by a prospective investor to inject sufficient cash into MGPR to enable the team to race in Abu Dhabi,” says Geoff Rowley, one of the joint administrators at FRP.

“To enable this to happen, the race team had to be reformed and arrangements made to travel to the race. A significant amount of work was carried out over a 24-hour period by both MGPR's staff and the joint administrators. However, ultimately the prospective investors were not able to provide sufficient funds. The prospective investor agreed to pay the costs of the staff (and ancillary costs) in this period, although at the date of this report, these total £29,443 [$45,129] and remain unpaid.”

Last week British newspaper the Daily Telegraph revealed that Marussia owes $48.1 million to more than 200 unsecured trade creditors.

We were extremely sorry to hear of the passing of former Formula 1 driver, Frenchman Jean Pierre Beltoise.

The winner of the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix sadly died when on holiday near Dakar, Senegal.

His brother-in-law was another famous former F1 driver, François Cevert.

Beltoise began his racing career on two wheel, racing motorcycles.

He then switched to sports car and endurance racing. His career almost ended with a huge crash in the 12 Hours of Reims sports car race, in which he lost the usage of his left arm, which was permanently blocked at a 90-degree angle.

Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Matra MS11, Grand Prix de France 1968 at Rouen (Photo: WRI2)

Despite his handicap, Beltoise contested 86 Grands Prix between 1966 and 1974, winning on the streets of Monaco for BRM under heavy rain in 1972.

In 1975, he was involved in a controversy when Guy Ligier choose Jacques Laffite and not him to drive his new Formula 1 car.

His racing career over, Beltoise became heavily involved in promoting road safety.

He leaved his wife Jacqueline and his two sons, Anthony and Julien, and friend in deep sorrow.

From GMM

Delaying a start-of-season engine 'freeze' may be nowhere near enough for Mercedes' rivals to catch up in 2015.

Although the rule 'loophole' championed by Ferrari and Renault will now allow them to develop their turbo V6 engines beyond February 28, it will also apply to Mercedes, F1's dominant champions of 2014.

"We're not going to give up. But given the size of our deficit, as well as the fact that Mercedes are going to develop as well, significantly reducing the gap in 2015 is going to be difficult," Christian Horner, boss of the Renault works team Red Bull, is quoted by Russia's f1news.ru.

"If you believe the rumours," Horner added, "there is a risk that not only will the gap not be reduced, but it could even get bigger."

Indeed, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that Mercedes' engine division at Brixworth has uncovered a further 50 horse power boost for 2015 over and above the German marque's dominant 'power unit' of last season.

Mercedes V6 turbo hybrid engine. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

Williams' test driver, Susie Wolff has revealed she will drive Williams' new 2015 Mercedes-powered car, the FW37, at the Barcelona test in mid-February.

The 32-year-old Scot, née Stoddard, drove during Friday practice at the British and German Grands Prix in 2014.

“With 6 weeks until my first test in the @WilliamsRacing #FW37 its full focus on fitness & preparation,” Susie Wolff tweeted from her official account.

Susie Wolff is expected to take the wheel of the FW37 during the second winter test.

The first test will take place at Jerez from February 1, with the two other Barcelona tests to be held February 19-22, and Feb. 26-March 1st.

Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas remain the team's race drivers for this year.

Susie Wolff aboard the Williams FW36. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Less than a month before official winter testing begins, the future of the ailing backmarkers Marussia and Caterham remains unclear.

Marussia's administrators have auctioned team equipment, and the factory at Banbury could even be sold to the new American team for 2016, Haas.

That is to pay back a long list of creditors, with Forbes journalist Christian Sylt saying even staff are still owed more than $72,000 in pay.

But administrator Geoff Rowley insists there "continues to be dialogue with a number of parties who are considering making an investment into the company".

To date, however, Rowley admitted that "no satisfactory offer or strategy has been offered to presently allow racing to continue". Sylt concluded that it is "unlikely" Marussia's redundant staff will be returning to work.

Meanwhile, Caterham's administrators have in the past days and weeks sounded more bullish about the future of the Leafield based team.

But the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat reports that a significant percentage of the team staff have in fact already moved on, for example to jobs at Williams and Lotus, who are also both based in Oxfordshire.

Sauber C33-Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

Finally, Switzerland's Blick reports that Sauber is also fighting for survival, helped by the three drivers for 2015 who are bringing a collective $50 million to Hinwil for 2015.

Paying racers Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr are joined by the new reserve and Ferrari junior Raffaele Marciello, who correspondent Roger Benoit said is accompanying a $10 million subsidy for Sauber's 2015 engine deal.

Roger Benoit wrote: "Actually, Ferrari had also planned to promote Jules Bianchi from Marussia to Sauber for 2015."

GM will introduce a service this year that gives OnStar subscribers feedback on their driving habits, potentially allowing responsible drivers to qualify for discounted insurance.

France's floundering economy pushed car sales 7 percent lower in December, while Spanish sales jumped by 21 percent, helped by a subsidy scheme. Sales rose 2 percent in Italy.

France's floundering economy pushed car sales 7 percent lower in December, while Spanish sales jumped by 21 percent, helped by a subsidy scheme. Sales rose 2 percent in Italy.

Car designers and actors have at least one thing in common: The lead roles tend to become harder to land with age.

The 707-hp Hellcat-powered Challenger and Charger had auto reviewers scrambling to outdo each other last year in their lusty appreciation of what one website called Dodge's "rolling middle finger to common sense."

From WRC

The 2015 season will start in a few days and that promises to be an absolute belter.

Timing revolution on WRC with the split times no more available in the cars during the stage sessions.

In recent years, thanks to improvements in mobile data and timing systems, WRC drivers have been able to monitor their rivals' speed during a live stage via a stream of data messages sent from their team. By receiving splits, which were taken from the official timing system, drivers could speed up or ease off if necessary - modifying their strategy on the go.

It was a handy tool, and far superior to the old system that involved team personnel lurking on the roadside with stopwatches and pit boards. But from 2015 the drivers will have to do without it.

Photo: WRC

At its meeting in December, the FIA World Motor Sport Council decided that ‘from 2015, the transmission of performance data or information to or from a competing car, not in relation with safety, is forbidden during special stages to help promote greater competition.'



So, although the live split times will continue to be available to teams the drivers will have to rely on their intuition alone to judge their speed. And that's going to make the familiar Sunday driver quote “I'm just keeping an eye on the pace of the guy behind” a thing of the past.

And that's great news.