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As the UAW faces what many observers say will be the most difficult contract talks with the Detroit automakers in decades in 2015, its new president said more open communication with union members and the public will help at the bargaining table.

Nissan believes the sizeable rear-seat space of its new Pulsar compact hatchback will be car's biggest selling point.

A new Mitsubishi compact based on a Renault-Nissan platform could be sold in Europe, Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko said. The automaker's current compact for Europe, the Lancer, has been a disappointment.

Reports that Takata executives suppressed information about a potentially deadly airbag defect as far back as a decade ago mark a turning point in the case.

Toyota is testing technology to be used in the Prius in its high-performance TS040 Hybrid Le Mans racer.

J de Vera's auto industry resume is as free-form and hard to read as a graffiti wall in urban L.A.

Reports that Takata executives suppressed information about a potentially deadly airbag defect as far back as a decade ago mark a turning point in the case.

Local hero Felipe Massa finished the Brazilian Grand Prix in third place, despite a penalty.

The result could have been very different for the crowd favourite, who overcame not one but two pitstop incidents.

Stopping for the first time, Massa was caught speeding in the pitlane by the officials and had to serve a five-second penalty for it.

Stopping for the second time, the Brazilian pulled into McLaren's stall before eventually finding his way to the Williams crew.

(Photo: WRI2)

"It was not an easy race but what a fantastic result for me, for my family, and for the team to finish on the podium in front of my home fans," said Massa.

"In the first stop I incurred a stop-and-go penalty after speeding in the pit lane after I hit the limiter twice by mistake, and in the second I stopped in the wrong box. We're not normally next to McLaren and in the light their overalls looked the same colour as ours so this caught me out.

"In the end these issues were not enough to take away my podium because we had a good aggressive strategy and a really good car."

From GMM

Nico Rosberg secured a trophy after qualifying on pole for Sunday's Brazilian grand prix.

But it's not the one he really wants. That one was packed into a box last week by outgoing world champion Sebastian Vettel and sent back to the FIA.

The next name engraved on it will be either Rosberg's, or championship leader and favourite Lewis Hamilton, his teammate at Mercedes.

German Rosberg is 24 points behind with only Sunday's race and then the double-points bonanza in Abu Dhabi left to run.

Told he now has 'nothing to lose' in his chase to catch Hamilton before the chequer, Rosberg insisted at Interlagos: "I wouldn't call the title 'nothing to lose'!"

It is why he is not overly fussed at having secured F1's inaugural pole position trophy, awarded to the driver who completes a season with the most qualifying triumphs.

In 2014, with his impressive tenth pole of the year secured in Brazil, the winner is Rosberg.

He secured the prize in style with the fastest ever qualifying lap of Interlagos, thanks to a new asphalt and the fact the new turbo engines are not affected by Sao Paulo's high altitude.

"In this moment it means nothing to me," Rosberg said coolly on Saturday. "Maybe in ten years I will look back on it (the pole trophy), but right now my focus is somewhere else."

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05 (Photo: WRI2)

He is referring to the big trophy Vettel just sent back in a box.

In truth, however, the biggest pressure now is probably on Hamilton, who is tantalisingly close to wrapping up his second career drivers' title.

Told that he needs to win the last two races of 2014 to win from 24 points down, Rosberg insisted: "Not true."

The meticulous 29-year-old is right, as even if he does win in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, a pair of second places will be enough for Hamilton.

So another hope for Rosberg is mechanical trouble for his British rival.

"I don't like to talk about it," Rosberg was quoted earlier in Brazil by Spain's El Confidencial, "but I don't want Lewis' engine to break."

He then joked: "I would prefer that mine breaks here in Brazil and his in Abu Dhabi!"

With controversial double points on offer, that scenario would in fact probably hand Rosberg the title.

He admitted: "I know that for me to win (the title), something has to happen. It's not just in my hands. But in this sport, so much can happen.

"I need Lewis' help to win the title," Rosberg acknowledged to Bild newspaper. "I need to chase him until he makes mistakes."

The only thing Jenson Button can be sure of regarding is future, is that he will be doing something "exciting" next year.

It is understood the 2007 world champion will have to leave McLaren at the end of the current season to make room for Fernando Alonso. But until Alonso's pending departure from Ferrari is confirmed, Button cannot be sure.

So far, the Brit has also been linked to a move to endurance racing.

"One thing is for sure," he is quoted as saying by Formula1.com.

"Whatever I do, it will be exciting. I want to win races and fight for the championship. If I am not able to do that I'd rather be somewhere else, with a new challenge. Whether that is in motorsport or in triathlon or in another sport, I don't know.

Jenson Button, McLaren MP4-29 (Photo: WRI2)

"I've been here now for 15 years and it maybe takes someone to ask you whether you will be here next year for you to open your eyes. And that I have done! So whatever happens happens."

This season, of course, only two drivers have been able to consistently fight for victory: Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The two men are still locked in their season-long battle for the title, which they are now taking to Abu Dhabi.

For the sake of the sport, Button only hopes "the guy who does the best job of the circuits" wins.

"I hope (the title fight) does not come down to reliability issues. That is always the scary thing," he said.

"Lewis is in the lead right now. He's done a very good job. If he loses it's hopefully because Nico has done a better job and not because of other issues."

Adapted from GMM

With progress also having stalled over the small teams' touted 'fighting fund', Toto Wolff emerged from a big team bosses meeting at Interlagos on Saturday with little news.

"Nothing was agreed on anything," he told reporters.

"The situation is unchanged on everything, the money side, engine side."

As ever, there is always more to it in formula one.

For now, Mercedes' lack of agreement simply means nothing will change for 2015, as warned by Wolff as he departed the Interlagos meeting.

But more serious games are at play.

It emerges that while unanimity is required for 2015, a simple majority vote is enough for a year later -- and Mercedes, Renault and incoming supplier Honda obviously have the numbers on their side.

"Nothing was agreed on anything," says Toto Wolff (Photo: WRI2)

"Mercedes' opponents are threatening that engine development will be completely opened up (in 2016)," Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports.

An insider declared: "Then there will be war."

With Caterham and Marussia already gone, and struggling Lotus, Force India and Sauber now complaining loudly about costs, opening up engine development would be a major move for F1.

"The fact is that with the new (V6) engine, which from a technology perspective is a great thing, the costs were passed on to all the teams," Lotus' Gerard Lopez argues.

He says Lotus alone spent up to $60 million on buying a Renault engine in 2014 and developing the complex systems around it.

"If we unfreeze the engines now, which is the next topic that is coming up ... at the end of the day not taking decisions has had an immediate impact on the sport in the last couple of weeks with two teams disappearing," Lopez warned.

From press release

Nico Rosberg reduced Lewis Hamilton's lead in the drivers' championship to 17 points with one race to go before the end of the season, Sunday, by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Rosberg, who started from pole, led throughout the race without any mistake, despite Hamilton's pressure, to score his fifth win of the season.

Hamilton, on the other hand, made a mistake during his second stint. He spun while trying to catch Rosberg. The Brit was able to carry one, but lost around seven seconds.

His run of consecutive victories therefore ended at five, while Rosberg celebrated his first win since the German Grand Prix back in July.

(Photo: WRI2)

"I had to learn from Austin, which was a big disappointment, and I think I achieved that," said Rosberg after crossing the finish line.

"I was able to control the pace a bit better and didn't let Lewis come too close. He drove really well and was always right there pushing me.

"When he spun I had a bit of time to relax and was able to save some life in the tyres for the end of the stint. That worked out perfectly and it was a great day with another one-two for the team."

(Photo: WRI2)

Even though Rosberg reduced Hamilton's lead, winning the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi will not be enough to clinch the title if Hamilton finishes second again.

"I'm still believing 100% that I can make it but, of course, I will need some help from Felipe (Massa) or Valtteri (Bottas) or Lewis himself," the German admitted.

(Photo: WRI2)

Race results* - Brazilian Grand Prix (round 18 of 19)
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 71 laps 1.30'02"555
2 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1"457
3 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 41"031
4 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 48"658
5 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 51"420
6 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'01"906
7 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'03"730
8 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'03"934
9 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'10"085
10 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1 lap
11 - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1 lap
12 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1 lap
13 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1 lap
14 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1 lap
15 - Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1 lap
16 - Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1 lap

Fastest lap of the race: 1'15"203 by Nico Rosberg

Retirements
Romain Grosjean
Daniel Ricciardo

Drivers' championship
1.Hamilton 334; 2.Rosberg 317; 3.Ricciardo 214; 4.Vettel 159; 5.Alonso 157; 6.Bottas 156; 7.Button 106; 8.Massa 98; 9.Hulkenberg 80; 10.Magnussen 55; 11.Raikkonen 53; 12.Perez 47; 13.Vergne 22; 14.Grosjean, Kvyat 8; 16.Bianchi, Maldonado 2.

Constructors' championship
1.Mercedes 651; 2.Red Bull-Renault 373; 3.Williams-Mercedes 254; 4.Ferrari 210; 5.McLaren-Mercedes 161; 6.Force India-Mercedes 127; 7.Toro Rosso-Renault 30; 8. Lotus-Renault 10; 9.Marussia-Ferrari 2

*Unofficial results

Nissan expanded a recall of cars and SUVs in high-humidity regions suspected of having defective airbag inflators that can shoot metal shrapnel at passengers.

Honda's Accord, the best-selling car to individual U.S. consumers in the first half of this year, is being investigated by the U.S. after regulators received 24 complaints about power-steering failure in 2013 models.

Chevy's swift response in converting an awkward World Series award presentation from a punch line to a marketing coup became a case study on the real-time power of social media to seize a moment.

Nissan's steady U.S. sales gains are putting the squeeze on its North American production capacity. The company will hire 1,000 more workers at a Mississippi plant to reach production goals by the end of 2017, bringing the work force to 7,000.

Mercedes-Benz has launched a product specialist program for dealerships and aims to train 1,600 employees through the program by the end of next year.

From NASCAR.com

Needing an 11th-place finish or better in Sunday's Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 to secure one of four positions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' title race, Denny Hamlin took a giant step toward that goal with a pole-winning effort on Friday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Hamlin covered the one-mile distance in 25.332 seconds (142.113 mph) to win his third Coors Light pole award of the season, his second at Phoenix and the 20th of his career.

The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota edged fellow Chase driver Brad Keselowski (142.079 mph) by .006 seconds for the top starting spot in the final race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup's Eliminator Round.

With one of the best pit crews in the Sprint Cup garage, Hamlin will choose pit stall No. 1, closest to the exit from pit road and a considerable advantage at Phoenix.

Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

But even with the top starting spot and the best pit box, Hamlin doesn't think he'll be able to coast to the final race.

"I think the competition is just too close and tight to think that you're just going to coast to an 11th-place finish," Hamlin said.

"Nowadays, the difference between 11th and third and 20th is not that much, so you've got to go all-out on every single lap and fight for every position on restarts.

"So, really, from my standpoint, there is no backing into this thing and coasting our way to Homestead. We have to go out there and perform at a high level, or else we're not going to make it.

"There are too many cars that are too good for us to think that we're just going to ride around and take our spot."

From GMM

Fernando Alonso remains the big player as the F1 driver 'silly season' reaches its climax for another year.

Further down the grid, the field of 2015 is now beginning to shape up. Lotus is set to keep Romain Grosjean, and Jean-Eric Vergne is getting one more year at Toro Rosso.

At Force India, a minor spat is taking place over some details of Sergio Perez's contract, with the Mexican saying he wants "a couple of changes" for 2015.

Team owner Vijay Mallya, however, is sticking to their prior agreement.

"I have a two year contract with Sergio Perez," he told reporters in Brazil. "We had an option that was signed as part of his original contract, we have exercised the option."

Spaniard Alonso, surely splitting from Ferrari, is the big domino now teetering on the brink of falling over. When he does, it will almost certainly end veteran Jenson Button's long F1 career.

Nonetheless, the long impasse persists for now, with Alonso facing off against Ferrari over who terminated what, and who will either receive or forfeit millions in severance.

Until it is settled, Sebastian Vettel's 2015 deal to replace him in red cannot even be mentioned.

"Be patient," Red Bull's outgoing world champion said at Interlagos. "One thing is for sure -- I will not be spending my time at the beach next year."

Even Alonso, although treading very carefully whilst under contract to Ferrari and not even ruling out staying, is now hinting openly that his days with the Maranello team are numbered.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F14-T (Photo: WRI2)

"Look at my former teammate Felipe Massa," he is quoted by Spanish publications as having said at a Santander event late on Friday in Brazil.

"He (Massa) spent years at Ferrari but this year (with Williams) was on the podium and pole position. So there is life after Ferrari," Alonso declared.

It is an open secret that Alonso is deep in negotiations about joining McLaren-Honda for 2015. Spain's AS daily claims he has agreed the "largest contract in the history of formula one".

The newspaper is referring to money, not contract length. Indeed, it is the details of the two-year deal that are now the subject of intricate talks.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports from Brazil that one sticking point has been Ron Dennis' alleged insecurity at Woking as a shareholder alongside Mansour Ojjeh and the Bahrainis.

"His partners are looking for a new boss," claimed correspondent Michael Schmidt. "The rumour mill is mentioning Christian Horner, Gerhard Berger and Ross Brawn."

Schmidt said that, because of the uncertainty, Alonso wants to sign his contract not with McLaren but with its new works engine supplier Honda.

But team boss Eric Boullier insists the negotiations are being handled by McLaren.

"The official competitor on the FIA entry list is McLaren, so McLaren is the contracting party for the drivers -- nobody else," he told British television Sky.

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has joined those who are heavily critical of Caterham's plea for fans' money to get the struggling team back on track.

In administration and missing in Austin and Brazil, the outfit has launched a crowdfunding scheme to raise the almost $4 million it says it needs to make it to this year's Abu Dhabi finale.

It is a last roll of the dice for the beleaguered Tony Fernandes-founded outfit, with F1 chief executive Ecclestone warning on Saturday that if Caterham doesn't race in Abu Dhabi, the team will lose its place on the 2015 grid.

"Yes, absolutely," he told reporters at Interlagos.

"If I sit in a poker game and I can't afford to be there with the other people, I get killed and have to leave," the 84-year-old Briton added.

Red Bull's Christian Horner has already slammed Caterham's public appeal for money, even though the backmarker team has already raised a surprising $800,000 -- more than 20 per cent of the funds it needs for Abu Dhabi.

But GPDA president Alex Wurz agrees with Horner.

"Since I've been in formula one, and that's a few years, it has always been extremely tight with the teams at the back end," the Austrian is quoted by German broadcaster Sky.

"Some teams spend more than they have. They knew the economic conditions, they voluntarily signed up for F1 and they didn't manage their money properly.

"For teams like this, I do not have so much compassion," Wurz admitted.

Bernie Ecclestone is against Caterham's crowdfunding idea (Photo: WRI2)

Ecclestone, meanwhile, returned to his now familiar "begging bowl" theme to reject Caterham's crowdfunding plea.

A couple of weeks ago, when bailiffs were seizing Caterham's assets and advertising them for sale on Twitter, Ecclestone had said: "I think it's better they go.

"I don't want people going around with begging bowls."

Now, as Caterham puts its hand out to its fans, he said of the crowdfunding project: "I think it's a disaster.

"We don't want begging bowls. If people can't afford to be in formula one they have to find something else to do."

Ecclestone also had bad news for angry privateers Lotus, Force India and Sauber on Saturday, as he was asked for an update on behind the scenes talks about a so-called $160 million 'fighting fund'.

Asked if the sport's owner CVC is prepared to release the money, he told Britain's Sky: "We're not allowed to.

"The only way that that could ever happen is if the (other) teams agree to share their money. They are getting nearly a billion, so maybe they can chip a few quid in between them," added Ecclestone.