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Mark Fields' biggest management shuffle since taking over as Ford CEO involves a job swap for two key deputies -- Jim Farley and Stephen Odell -- who bring very different strengths to their new roles.

Automotive News Europe needs your help to identify the Rising Stars in the European automotive industry. The award honors executives with a pan-European profile who have driven change, fostered innovation and made courageous decisions.

Chevrolet's blockbuster $559 million sponsorship agreement in 2012 with British soccer club Manchester United ultimately drew a red card for General Motors marketing czar Joel Ewanick.

A promotion between GM and Costco Wholesale Corp.'s auto-sales arm helped three GM trucks make the list of most-requested vehicles for dealership referrals among the warehouse club's members in October.

Sites such as TrueCar Inc., Edmunds.com, AutoTrader.com and Cars.com, provide millions of leads to dealers. Critics say they do so by building their own brands, too.

The Volkswagen Group plans to add a proving ground for autonomous driving to its test track in Ehra-Lessien in Lower Saxony, Germany, Automobilwoche, a sibling publication of Automotive News, has learned from company sources.

From nascar.com

The final four in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is set for next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway after four of the eight drivers remaining in contention during Sunday's Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway were eliminated.

Advancing to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship:

Denny Hamlin had to re-pit after he had a flat right-rear tire early in the race and fell back to 36th on the restart, but he rebounded for a fifth-place finish. With eighth-place and 10th-place finishes at Martinsville and Texas, respectively, it was enough for him to advance to the final round.

Joey Logano also experienced trouble on pit road at Phoenix when the gas can lodged in his car and led to a penalty. But Logano eventually got back into a good position and finished sixth. Logano finished fifth at Martinsville and 12th at Texas and his five wins this season are the most among the four championship contenders

Ryan Newman pushed Kyle Larson out of the way on the final lap at Phoenix to qualify for the championship. Newman has yet to win a race this year, but it hasn't mattered. His 11th-place finish at Phoenix follows up runs of third place and 15th place at Martinsville and Texas.

Kevin Harvick did the equivalent of hitting a walk-off home run with his win at Phoenix. He increases his total of most Cup wins among active drivers at Phoenix to six. Harvick managed to rebound from a 33rd-place finish at Martinsville earlier in the Eliminator Round.


Eliminated from contention:

Jeff Gordon finished second at Phoenix and tied with Harvick for fourth place in points, but because of Harvick's win at Phoenix, the No. 4 advanced to the championship round and the No. 24 did not.

Matt Kenseth finished third at Phoenix but fell just one point shy of advancing. He finished sixth at Martinsville, but a 25th-place showing at Texas put him just a little too far behind.

Brad Keselowski finished fourth at Phoenix, but ultimately couldn't make up for his 31st-place showing at Martinsville.

Carl Edwards couldn't make it to the championship round in his final run with Roush-Fenway Racing.

From GMM

New Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has reportedly expressed concerns about the Italian team's 2015 project.

Recently, Italy's specialist Autosprint claimed wind tunnel figures of the project codenamed '666' showed that the 2015 car may be no better than the F14 T.

Now, the authoritative daily La Gazzetta dello Sport claims Marchionne, who recently took over from Luca di Montezemolo, reacted with alarm to the first concrete numbers emerging from the 2015 project.

And "Is it this year's car or next year's?" he reportedly asked when he was shown sketches.

Ferrari F14 T. (Photo: WRi2)

The swords of Damocles have been falling all over Maranello in 2014, with Stefano Domenicali, Luca di Montezemolo, Luca Marmorini and now Fernando Alonso all departing.

There are claims chief designer Nikolas Tombazis could be the next, while a cloud has been over Pat Fry's job ever since James Allison assumed clear leadership in the technical realm.

When asked about the 2015 car rumours, Fry said in Brazil: "There's obviously a huge gap we need to catch up. I think things are progressing reasonably well."

And on the Tombazis rumour, a Ferrari spokesman told Spain's Marca sports daily: "Tombazis is chief designer at Ferrari today and there is nothing more to say."

From press release

Green Savoree Racing Promotions has signed a partnership agreement with Andersen Promotions that will see the complete Mazda Road to Indy series compete at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Honda Indy Toronto and Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio for the next two years.

Comprised of Indy Lights, Pro Mazda Championship and the USF2000 Championship, the ladder system provides a training platform for the next generation of Verizon IndyCar Series stars.

“The Mazda Road to Indy is a great developmental series that offers a spectacular glimpse into the future of INDYCAR racing,” said Kim Green, Owner, Chairman and CEO of Green Savoree Racing Promotions.

“We've been long-time supporters of the program and appreciate all of Dan's hard work and investment in the series. We're delighted to welcome them to our racing events.”

In 2015, Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will host the season-opener for the Mazda Road to Indy, which takes place March 27-29. The three series will then visit Honda Indy Toronto, the only Canadian stop on the series calendar, June 12-14, and will head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Honda Indy 200 weekend from July 31-August 2.

“We are very excited to partner with Green Savoree to secure these premier events on our schedules,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “These are doubleheader races for all three series with Mid-Ohio being a tripleheader for USF2000, so they are key rounds in the championships in addition to being fantastic events with tremendous fan support.”

From GMM

With only the 'Abu Double' showdown to run, Nico Rosberg nibbled back into title rival Lewis Hamilton's now 17-point lead with victory in Brazil.

"Obviously I had a big mistake in the mid part of the race," said championship leader and favourite Hamilton, referring to his spin.

German Rosberg, however, who started from pole, insisted that he always felt in control of the Briton on Sunday afternoon.

Still, he looked slightly glum on the podium. "No, I am happy. Very happy," Nico Rosberg insisted.

But he also acknowledged that, having failed to stop Hamilton's winning streak a week ago in Austin, the world championship is no longer under his control.

That's because if he wins again in Abu Dhabi, and Hamilton finishes second yet again, the controversial 'double points' outcome will hand the title to the Briton.

Rosberg, then, is rooting for Williams' on-form Felipe Massa, who finished third in Brazil. If he splits the Mercedes on the podium in Abu Dhabi, Rosberg's title is back in his charge.

"He's the man," Rosberg grinned, pointing to Massa. "I need some Felipe Massa help."

Later, he explained: "Lewis must not finish second in Abu Dhabi. He has to finish no higher than P3.

"I need to motivate Felipe to relax well before Abu Dhabi and have a stunning weekend to finish second!" Rosberg smiled.

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and Felipe Massa (Williams). (Photo: WRi2)

Hamilton, however, indicated that although he always pushes to win races, he knows how to tackle the decisive race of the 2014 season.

"The situation is quite different to my first title in 2008, but I know how to win," he is quoted by the German newspaper Bild.

"For sure I don't need to risk as much as before, so if I find myself in a situation where there is a lot of risk, hopefully my experience will come into it."

There are only four days left to the #RefuelCaterhamF1 found raising campaign to power the team's return to racing in Abu Dhabi for the finale of the 2014 season.

Caterham F1 Team is giving both fans and sponsors a unique opportunity to be the driving force behind the team by crowdfunding its return to the grid in exchange for once in a lifetime rewards.

You can help Caterham F1's return to the grid by pledging from just £10. In exchange for your support will receive exclusive rewards, including items such as a Caterham leather car holder, a sling bag, a wheel nut, a suspension wishbone, an exhaust manifold, a carbon engine cover, and even your company's logo on the car.

With four days to go, the team has raised £1,102,581 ($1,749,644) through 2,845 backers, which represents 46% of the target set at £2,350,000 ($3,729,400).

From GMM

As plans for three-car and customer teams emerge, F1 may in fact have a full grid for 2015.

It was reported from Brazil on Sunday that Red Bull and Ferrari may already have agreed to add another car to their garages next year, to plug the holes left by Caterham, Marussia and possibly others.

But a Red Bull spokesperson insisted: "Our preference would be a full grid of two-car teams."

Bernie Ecclestone also said nothing is certain regarding third cars, and that could be because Marussia and Caterham - albeit absent in Austin and Brazil - could arise from the ashes.

The F1 supremo has been fiercely critical of Caterham's crowdfunding scheme, but the fact is that in mere days, and with the rest of this week still to go, the team's administrators have already raised almost half of the $3.7m they need to race in Abu Dhabi.

Ecclestone smirked on Sunday: "If they go to Abu Dhabi, will they have enough money to get back home?"

The other team absent and in administration is Marussia, now called Manor, and it was confirmed during the Interlagos weekend that the outfit has now ceased trading and made its staff redundant.

Still, president Graeme Lowdon is not giving up.

He told Britain's Sky: "I don't feel like there's no way back. We're very competitive people and we'll keep fighting until there's absolutely no chance at all."

Bernie Ecclestone confirmed in Brazil that if the absent teams do not return for the Abu Dhabi finale, they will be locked out of F1 for 2015 and beyond.

Both, therefore, are aiming for an imminent comeback.

Reports suggest Marussia's administrators are in talks with "serious" potential investors, and a group tasked with leading the talks said: "The team is fully open for investment negotiations and are ready to race in Abu Dhabi provided we find investors for a relatively small injection of funds."

So for the moment, with two weeks until 2014 closes Abu Dhabi, the sport is still clinging to a full grid.

"We hope all the teams will be there (in Abu Dhabi) and (we) support a full grid of two-car teams," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

"We want a healthy grid, healthy racing and competitive racing."

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, however, reports that just as Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz is looking to cut funding to his second team Toro Rosso, the Faenza outfit could be able to lose its major sponsor Cepsa to the Real Madrid football team.

The first photos of the new Ricciardo Kart were released Monday, one day after Daniel Ricciardo contested the Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

"Ricciardo Kart" is a new line of karts, which covers the whole range of categories, from Mini-kart, to Rotax as well as the CIK-FIA classes (KFJ, KF, KZ).

It will be designed, manufactured and distributed globally by BIREL ART, the new player in international karting, born from the merger of the Birel Group and ART Grand Prix.

Ricciardo Kart (Photo: Birel ART)

Ricciardo Kart (Photo: Birel ART)

Ricciardo Kart (Photo: Birel ART)

Adapted from GMM

Toto Wolff wants the final Grand Prix to be fair and clean.

The highly controversial 'double points' situation threatens to eat up Hamilton's big lead with something like a mechanical breakdown.

Even the architect of the scheme, Bernie Ecclestone, admitted in Brazil that he never envisaged his double points plan "would come to this sort of situation".

Lewis Hamilton departed Brazil with the message that the system is "unfair".

Mercedes' Toto Wolff is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport: "If it (reliability) wipes one of them (Hamilton or Rosberg) out, it will put a big shadow over the championship.

"Nobody likes the double points. We should talk about it and maybe get rid of it for next year," the team chief added.

"Every part on the cars in Abu Dhabi will be double checked. We will use all low-mileage parts," Wolff promised.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG, in Brazil. (Photo: WRi2)

Toto Wolff also admitted he remains worried Hamilton and Rosberg will collide in Abu Dhabi, even though the venom appears to have disappeared from their relationship in the past weeks.

Toto Wolff disputes that.

It has emerged that Hamilton did not attend a team dinner on Saturday night while Rosberg did, but Wolff insists that both drivers still have full access to one another's technical information.

"The atmosphere in the team is intense," he revealed. "They didn't talk to each other here (in Brazil) but that's ok. The championship is in the decisive phase now and in the team we can really feel that."

From GMM

Mercedes has warned it will quit Formula 1 if moves to revive the old V8 era are successful.

Amid the debate about costs driving small teams out of F1, and the separate argument about an engine development 'unfreeze', Bernie Ecclestone showed his hand by reiterating he is staunchly opposed to the new V6s.

"We need to change the regulations," the F1 chief executive told Sky television a week ago. "We're going to try to get rid of these (V6) engines.

"They don't do anything for anybody. They're not F1," he insisted.

The 84-year-old Briton most certainly has some allies. Some of them are fans who miss the normally-aspirated V8 scream, and many race promoters.

Mercedes's domination
Mercedes has been utterly dominant so far this season and rival engine suppliers Renault and Ferrari are desperate for the rules to be relaxed so they can catch up.

Mercedes, having mastered the start of the new turbo era, is understandably reluctant.

"We were slowed down for five years running with aerodynamic restrictions," said Dr Helmut Marko, of F1's formerly dominant force Red Bull.

"All we're asking of Mercedes is that they give us the chance to get closer," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Mercedes has offered a slight compromise, but not all of what Renault and Ferrari are demanding.

Now, Ferrari, Renault and perhaps even Honda are threatening that if Mercedes continues to refuse, they will push through a total opening up of engine development for 2016 with the power of their majority vote.

The two Mercedes drivers. (Photo: WRi2)

Increasing costs
That will send costs through the roof and almost certainly drive more teams out of business.

The golden solution to that might be to go down Ecclestone's road of reviving the cheaper and fan-pleasing V8 engines.

"No one likes to take a step backwards," Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said, "but sometimes you have to realise when something has gone wrong."

Indeed, struggling small teams like Lotus, Sauber and Force India would be much happier with an old, V8-style engine bill.

"None of us wanted the new engines," said Lotus owner Gerard Lopez, speaking for the struggling trio. "They were forced upon us."

He indicated he would not be opposed to another engine type being introduced, particularly if it was much cheaper.

"If I told Pastor or Romain that next year they're pedalling their car, they're not going to be particularly excited. But it would be way cheaper for us and I might actually make money," Lopez smiled.

Honda, however, is only returning to F1 next year because of the new, modern and more road-relevant engine formula.

And Niki Lauda, Mercedes' team chairman, warned that bringing back the V8s would have other drastic consequences.

"If V8 comes back, Mercedes will be gone,” Niki Lauda said.

German car manufacturer Porsche has confirmed its LMP1 driver line-up for the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season.

Porsche has opted to remain with all six of its current full-season drivers for next year's program.

The team will run an all-new Porsche 919 Hybrid.

It is therefore now official that McLaren Formula 1 driver Jenson Button will not be part of the Porsche squadron in 2015.

Porsche will rely on Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, Brendon Hartley, Marc Lieb and Mark Webber next year.

No word has been given on the potential of a third car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is known to be under consideration, and one of the primary reasons for Porsche recently testing the majority of its factory GT drivers in its LMP1 Hybrid 919 car.

The end of the 2014 Formula 1 season is just around the corner, and McLaren is believed to be ready to run a development McLaren-Honda car in Abu Dhabi.

Two test days are also scheduled for November 25 and 26 at Abu Dhabi after the final Grand Prix of the year.

McLaren and Honda engineers have confirmed that they were thinking about running a development car made of an MP4-29 chassis mated to a Honda V6 power unit.

“We are still taking about it. We have to take a decision about now”, McLaren's director of racing, Eric Boullier, told Auto123.com.

“We have two groups of engineers working in two different projects. One is working on the 2015 car, and the other is working on the development car. This car is designed to validate the processes for Honda, which is something fairly major,” Boullier explained.

Sky Sports F1 reveals Monday that not only are McLaren is preparing to run the car in Friday's practice sessions at Abu Dhabi next week, but they will also be trialling new aerodynamic designs as they try to steal a march on their rivals ahead of next year's campaign.

From GMM

Christian Horner has criticised Mercedes for continuing to block moves for an engine development 'unfreeze' for 2015.

He is the boss of Red Bull, the dominant world champions of the past four years whose run of success was stopped by the German team this season.

In Brazil, Red Bull mathematically secured second place in the constructors' world championship, with Horner arguing that it is the best possible outcome given the superiority of the Mercedes 'power unit'.

Red Bull's works supplier Renault and Ferrari are arguing vociferously that significant changes to the homologation or 'engine freeze' rules should be put in place in order to give Mercedes' rivals a chance beyond 2014.

Referring to Interlagos, where Sebastian Vettel finished fifth behind four Mercedes-powered cars, Christian Horner said on Sunday: "We had no chance against the Mercedes engines."

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

In Brazil, talks between the engine makers broke down as Mercedes refused to agree to Renault and Ferrari's latest 'unfreeze' proposals.

"I doubt the engine freeze will even be extended until July now," said Horner.

"I understand Mercedes' position, but is it good for formula one when one team dominates and nobody can do anything about it?

"Yes, we also dominated, but it was a completely different situation. Everyone had the chance to develop their cars before each race, and much of what we did was immediately copied by our opponents," Horner argued.

From GMM

On track in Brazil, a thrilling and intense battle for the drivers' world championship that will now go down to the wire continued to play out.

But at Interlagos, the real drama was being fought furiously behind the scenes.

With Marussia and Caterham already gone, the next independent teams are arguing loudly for help.

Two newspaper reports have now quoted Sahara Force India's auditors as suggesting there is "no evidence" the holding company can sustain the team "as a going concern".

Sauber and Lotus have also joined the exasperated plea, even reportedly threatening boycott as recently as the US grand prix just over a week ago.

Then, Bernie Ecclestone sounded sympathetic to the claim that his income distribution system is skewed unfairly, and F1 owner CVC was said to be in talks with the small teams about a $160 million 'fighting fund'.

But F1 supremo Ecclestone changed his tune dramatically in Brazil on Sunday, calling the talks "a waste of time" and telling the sport's minnows to either get their affairs in order or race out of the paddock gates.

He even said touted talks with CVC's Donald Mackenzie next week are off.

"It's not their position to decide who I speak to," said Bernie Ecclestone.

Bob Fernley, the angry deputy boss at Sahara Force India, confirmed that any earlier talk of financial help has now ended.

"We were given a clear direction there is no money on the table," he said.

He suggests a "very clear agenda" is in play, with Ecclestone, CVC and the big teams in cahoots to replace the minnows with customer teams.

"Three cars (per team) will be the interim," said Fernley.

The Times reports that a high-level email has been distributed that shows Red Bull and Ferrari have agreed to add third cars to their garages next year.

A Red Bull spokesperson immediately denied that, but angry Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said: "They are trying to drive teams out because they don't suit them anymore."

Bernie Ecclestone surrounded by journalists at Interlagos, Brazil. (Photo: WRi2)

It appears the only concession Ecclestone is willing to make to the struggling teams is to advise them to follow the path expected to be taken by newcomer Haas in 2016 -- buy a full chassis from a big team and survive that way.

The 84-year-old Briton was even quoted as calling the complaining teams "idiots".

"You know what the teams said to me in that meeting? 'We are constructors,' they said. I told them they can't afford to be constructors," said Ecclestone.

"Maybe it's an idea to have another championship in addition to the constructors'," Ecclestone is quoted by Germany's Sport1.

He means one world championship for the 'constructors' - Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Williams - and another for the smaller teams who possibly run year-old customer cars and older engine specifications.

Lotus owner Gerard Lopez confirmed: "The fact is we are talking about third cars, dividing the series into two categories, so forth. At the same time no one is talking about finding a real solution to the problem. Everyone is just talking about crazy things."

He predicted third cars would be "the death" of the sport.

"Looking at the proposals which have been made, we have to believe there is some agenda here," Monisha Kaltenborn told reporters on Sunday. "The more these ideas are coming up, the more we three (teams) get the feeling that maybe some people don't want us to be around and maybe the sport is supposed to be changed in a very different way."

But Bernie Ecclestone insists that his plan is in fact the most sustainable way to run a small team in the sport's next era.

"You and I could start a team under those conditions for $30 million a year and for tenth in the championship you would get $48 million. What's the problem with that?" he said.

GM ordered a half-million new replacement ignition switches nearly two months before it told federal safety regulators about the safety issues which prompted a recall of millions of vehicles this year, The Wall Street Journal reported.