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A severe slump in Russian car demand is making it harder for Skoda to meet its 2018 vehicle sales target. Skoda also must decide whether to reduce its investment budget for the country to protect overall profitability, a top executive said.

Drivers of new vehicles from Jaguar Land Rover soon will be able to get a restaurant tip using voice-recognition instead of opening an app on the dashboard.

Michelin will nearly double the proportion of budget tires in its global sales mix to as much as 30 percent to counter the huge rise in Chinese imports sold in Europe and the U.S., CEO Jean-Dominique Senard told Automotive News Europe.

The latest issue of the Automotive News Europe monthly e-magazine goes live on Monday, Dec. 1. This month's edition looks at how German premium automakers plan to profit from plug-in hybrids.

Hyundai Motor Group President Peter Schreyer gave Kia a fresh, familywide look after being hired from Volkswagen Group in 2006. Now he's doing the same for Hyundai, for which he took design responsibility in 2012.

Mexico's booming automobile industry is generating more export dollars than oil, building more cars than Brazil and giving a job to Esmeralda Velazquez. What it isn't doing is raising her living standards.

Mexico's relationship with German car production began nearly 50 years ago with output of VW's mass-market Beetle. Now it's becoming a place where luxury BMW, Audi and Mercedes cars roll out of billion-dollar factories.

Mercedes owners in China are likely successful and wealthy entrepreneurs, a brand study of eight major luxury carmakers found. China will probably overtake the U.S. as the biggest premium auto market in 2016, analysts predict.

A severe slump in Russian car demand is making it harder for Skoda to meet its 2018 vehicle sales target. Skoda also must decide whether to reduce its investment budget for the country to protect overall profitability, a top executive said.

Michelin will nearly double the proportion of budget tires in its global sales mix to as much as 30 percent to counter the huge rise in Chinese imports sold in Europe and the U.S., CEO Jean-Dominique Senard told Automotive News Europe.

Michelin will nearly double the proportion of budget tires in its global sales mix to as much as 30 percent to counter the huge rise in Chinese imports sold in Europe and the U.S., CEO Jean-Dominique Senard told Automotive News Europe.

From GMM

Red Bull's illegal front wing in Abu Dhabi may have been grounds for a race ban.

That is the claim of Andy Green, the technical boss of Force India, who thinks a team with a lower status in pitlane might have been punished very harshly by the governing FIA for a similar infraction.

After qualifying for the 2014 finale last Saturday, stewards disqualified both Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo when their wing was found to be overly flexible.

The Red Bull RB10-Renault in Abu Dhabi. (Photo: WRi2)

But Germany's Auto Motor und Sport claims it was not just the degree of flex that alarmed the FIA, but the fact that the wing was designed specifically to control the bending by way of a strip with built-in springs.

Designer Adrian Newey, however, insisted: "With other cars it was even worse -- Williams for example."

Williams denied its Abu Dhabi wings were illegal.

Sahara Force India's technical boss Green, meanwhile, suggested that Red Bull had been pinged in a case of clear rule-breaking.

"If this had happened to us, we would have been excluded like BAR in 2005 with its hidden fuel tanks. But Red Bull only had to start from the pitlane. It was a less severe penalty for illegal wings than Lotus had for Romain Grosjean's legal engine change," he added.

On Twitter during the Abu Dhabi weekend, Sahara Force India supremo Vijay Mallya described Red Bull as "cheats".

Scuderia Toro Rosso Friday announced that Carlos Sainz junior will join the team with immediate effect.

It means that Toro Rosso's driver line-up for the 2015 season is now established as Max Verstappen and Carlo Sainz.

The 20-year-old Spaniard took the standard route into motorsport, winning the Asia-Pacific KF3 karting title in 2008 and two years later he made his single-seater debut in Formula BMW, before moving up the ranks through Formula Renault 2.0, British Formula 3, then GP3 in 2013.

This year has seen Sainz become the youngest ever winner of the World Series by Renault 3.5 Championship.

Last week, Carlos drove in the Abu Dhabi test for Infiniti Red Bull Racing.

“I am really happy to have landed the drive with Scuderia Toro Rosso. Ever since I have been part of Red Bull's Young Driver Programme, this has been my aim and I want to thank Red Bull for putting their faith in me," Sainz declared.

“I have had a very successful season in World Series by Renault this year and now I am looking forward to taking the step up to Formula 1. I tested for a day with Toro Rosso last year and I liked the atmosphere in the team. In the next few months I will be working hard on my preparation, ready to get in the cockpit in Jerez for the first test of next year. It will be nice to make my “official” debut as a Formula 1 driver in my home country!”

“With Carlos Sainz joining Max Verstappen in our driver line-up next year, we continue the Toro Rosso tradition of providing youngsters from the Red Bull Junior Driver Programme with their first steps in Formula 1,” Toro Rosso' director, Franzk Tost declared.

“I have watched Carlos progress through the junior categories, always improving as he moved higher up the ladder, culminating in a well-deserved win in this year's World Series. However, I also remember the day's testing he did with us at Silverstone in 2013 in the STR8. He really surprised me and his engineers that day, with his mature approach and his speed.”

From GMM

David Coulthard says he was blown away by the performance of this year's title-winning Mercedes turbo V6 engine.

Recently at Silverstone, the former McLaren and Red Bull driver tried this year's controversial 'power unit' technology for the first time with a turn at the wheel of the 2014 Williams.

The BBC commentator told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport: "The power and torque of the engine is incredible.

"You hit the gas on the straight and start changing gear every 50 metres," said the 43-year-old, who contested almost 250 grands prix through the sport's fabled V10 and V8 eras.

"The world starts flying past you so fast that you feel like you're in Star Wars," Coulthard enthused.

"Only the downforce is a bit disappointing," he added. "We had more in my last year in formula one in 2008."

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

The youngest man to win the drivers' crown in Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Carlos Sainz Jr, drove the Red Bull-Renault RB10 earlier this week during the final in-season test at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.

The son of former FIA World Rally Champion, Carlos Sainz is a member of the Red Bull Young driver programme.

As a prize for winning the Formula Renault title, the young Spaniard was invited to driver the RB10.

And which was the greater celebration of that championship? His private celebration of the title, or the post-season Formula 1 test?

“It's difficult to judge,” Sainz Jr told the FIA.com website.

“There are more emotions going on when you win a title like [Formula Renault] 3.5, but I've probably enjoyed the whole day here more. The RB10 is one of the best cars out there on track, so to be able to drive it - to do more than 100 laps in it - is simply amazing.”

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

Sainz was uniquely positioned to comment on the changes in downforce that resulted from the 2014 regulation changes - having driven the RB9 during the Silverstone test in 2013, Sainz Jr had not been behind the wheel of a Red Bull F1 car since, until he took to the track in Abu Dhabi.

With the memory of that experience, how did the RB10 feel at the end of its development curve, when the team had reclaimed as much of that lost downforce as possible over the course of the 2014 season?

“Obviously there was a big change [between the RB9 and RB10]; I could feel it particularly on power, on the exit of corners, in the torque,” Sainz Jr explained.

“I was surprised by it, as already last year's car had a good amount of power. Apart from that, everyone was speaking a lot about the car not having much downforce, but I thought the car felt great, actually. For me the car feels really, really good. It was a pleasure to drive it.”

Having spent more than a year away from an F1 cockpit - a year in which everything from the power delivery to the braking has changed - how does a driver adjust to unfamiliar machinery?

“I took my time [at the start of the day] to build up my confidence,” he explained. “Obviously there was a long day ahead, so I took my time and little by little I upped the pace. I had no issues at all, I didn't make any big mistakes, and I'm happy with that.”

Monday of next week, Red Bull should announce that Sainz Jr becomes a race driver at Toro Rosso F1 for 2015.

Williams Martini Racing drivers Felipe Massa, Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Nasr and Susie Wolff compared Williams' cars from three eras of Formula 1.

They drive three iconic Williams F1 cars on Silverstone's Grand Prix circuit.

The first car is the FW08C, Keke Rosberg's car from 1983, powered by a Ford Cosworth DFV V8 engine.

The second car is the FW18, Damon Hill's 1996 championship-winning car, powered by a V10 Renault engine.

The third car is the current FW36-Mercedes, sampled by the four drivers.

According to the rumours, Ferrari new recruit Sebastian Vettel will be spending the next few days in Maranello.

Several Italian web sites claim that Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will be at the factory Friday to meet their new boss, Maurizio Arrivabene.

The two drivers will also meet with Ferrari's technical director, James Allison to talk about the 2015 F1 car.

Following that, it is said that Vettel will visit the racing department, meet the staff and spend some time in the team's driving simulator.

As part of a filming day, the former Red Bull driver should also take the wheel of two-year old, V8-powered Ferrari F1 car, the F2012, for a few laps around the Fiorano circuit in Maranello.

Fernando Alonso aboard the Ferrari F2012. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Marco Mattiacci has broken his silence to suggest Sebastian Vettel was his "parting gift" to Ferrari.

After just seven months in the job, the Italian has been replaced as Ferrari team boss by the Marlboro executive Maurizio Arrivabene.

"My best wishes to him are sincere," said Mattiacci, as he spoke for the first time since his ousting to the well-known Ferrari insider Leo Turrini.

"He (Arrivabene) is a very competent person and I am sure the fans - and I include myself - will get the results they expect."

Sebastian Vettel with Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

On his Quotidiano blog, however, Leo Turunni said the 43-year-old did not want to talk about the details of his departure from Maranello.

"No. And neither do I intend to talk about it in the future," he insisted.

But Marco Mattiacci denied that his short F1 adventure had been an unpleasant one.

"No, you're wrong," he said. "It was a period I lived with enthusiasm, in the midst of passionate employees.

"I do not feel like a failure. I feel like someone who has worked for Ferrari for 15 years, not seven months. And this is a great privilege in life. I am one of the few people lucky enough to have worked in the service of a special company, and no one can take that away from me."

Told, however, that the story did not end well for him, Marco Mattiacci insisted: "You know the motto -- what does not kill you makes you stronger."

As for what his personal achievements have been at Ferrari, he answered: "I am convinced that a series of small steps will pay off over time.

"I have seen pictures of Vettel in the Ferrari box for testing in Abu Dhabi and I can say I am happy to have brought him to Maranello where he already brings a new energy, a fresh enthusiasm," said Mattiacci.

Asked if Vettel wearing red is Mattiacci's parting gift to Ferrari, he said: "If you write that, I will not be sorry."

From press release

Double world champion Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso is the star driver who lined up to contest the Dubai Kartdrome 24 Hours, the final round of the 2014 Endurance Challenge driven by Mini.

The Spaniard entered a team under the name of Puntonas with himself, his Ferrari engineer Andrea Stella and McLaren test driver Stoffel Vandoorne all taking to the track where they came up against the UAE's best leisure kart drivers, along with a host of international teams.

Fernando Alonso with the Puntonas team before the start of the Dubai Kartdrome 24 Hours. (Photo: Dubai Autodrome)

The Puntonas drivers had very little track time, relative to their rivals, nevertheless Vandoorne qualified 14th, and then he managed to make his way into the top six within the first hour of the race.

At the sharp end, setting the pace throughout qualifying and the early stages of the race were championship contenders Batelco and CG Racing Pro, the Bahrain team with Alban Varutti on duty starting from pole with CG Racing Pro's David Terrien, starting from fifth, chasing hard and within the first half hour they were up to second.

Le Mans style start of the Dubai Kartdrome 24 Hours. (Photo: Dubai Autodrome)

Forza Union Russia were best of the formidable international contingent, qualifying seventh and making their way to third and leading the Nations Cup early on, followed by Dubai-5 made up of all Emirati drivers.

CG Racing 1 were the early pace setters in the Corporate Category, with Lukoil Racing Team keeping them in their sights.

The first hour set the stage for what will be a titanic tussle across the field with the three titles - Pro Category, Corporate Category and Nations Cup - to be decided in this race, the final of the four rounds series.

The 29-strong field was flagged off at 12 noon on Friday at the Kartdrome, and the chequered flag will bring proceedings to an end at 12 noon on Saturday, local time.

Batelco driver Alban Varutti leads the field on the opening lap of the Dubai Kartdrome 24 Hours. (Photo: Dubai Autodrome)

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel's press office has denied claims the German driver reached mind-numbing speeds on the public roads of Abu Dhabi last week.

A video is doing the rounds on Youtube apparently depicting Vettel, who is switching from Red Bull to Ferrari next year, reaching a top speed of 350kph on an Abu Dhabi highway at the wheel of a F12 Berlinetta.

Bild newspaper said the claims have been repeated by Matthias Malmedie, a motoring presenter for the German broadcaster RTL2.

But Vettel's press office rejected the claims, insisting the driver of the car was "explicitly not" the quadruple world champion.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. (Photo: Ferrari)