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BMW CEO Nortbert Reithofer has transformed BMW's U.S. factory in Spartanburg into one of the world's largest SUV production hubs.

GMC is planning a broad advertising campaign next year, an effort by General Motors to raise the profile of its successful, under-the-radar truck brand.

The global head of Maserati wants the Italian luxury brand to add 20 dealerships in the United States by year end. Speaking to Automotive News at the Paris auto show, Harald Wester said the U.S.

From GMM

Wherever Fernando Alonso will go next year, sponsor Movistar will go with him.

That is the claim of Spain's Marca, who reports that Movistar, the major Spanish mobile operator, has decided to partner with Alonso's next F1 team.

"Talks with McLaren are underway," read the report.

"There are also negotiations afoot with Blackberry, the phone company that is with Mercedes and with which there is an obvious synergy. One (Movistar) sells the lines, the other (Blackberry) the handsets."

If Alonso cannot find a route into Mercedes for 2015, he is expected either to sign a one-year deal elsewhere, or simply sit out next year's championship.

"McLaren will not want to be the stopgap," said London's Times newspaper.

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

So while the talks go on, everybody else waits.

"It all depends on whether he (Alonso) goes to McLaren or whether he leaves formula one and returns later," said Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, who is leaving his own future open for now.

Also waiting is McLaren driver Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion.

He admitted in Russia: "My family find it really difficult to understand the situation I am in at this point, considering what I have done in the sport."

Another party whose next plans appear held up is Ferrari. There is speculation Hamilton may also be linked with the Maranello team.

"No, that's not true," the championship leader told Germany's Auto Bild in Russia.

Team boss Marco Mattiacci, meanwhile, said on Friday: "I don't have any update, any news, any announcement to be made."

From GMM

Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz insists he is "not disappointed" to be losing world champion Sebastian Vettel.

A week ago at Suzuka, the German - who was nurtured from boyhood to F1 stardom by the energy drink company - announced to Red Bull and the world that he is leaving the team.

It is expected he will switch to Ferrari for 2015.

But billionaire Mateschitz insisted to the German news agency DPA that, at the moment, Vettel and Red Bull Racing are not compatible.

Dietrich Mateschitz (Photo: WRI2)

"Given Red Bull's handicap with the current (Renault) power unit and Mercedes' dominance," he said, "you don't need a four-time world champion who at best can be 'best of the rest'."

And according to Mateschitz, the promise shown by Vettel's successor, 20-year-old Daniil Kvyat, is another reason Red Bull is happily letting its champion go.

"We considered it neither just nor necessary to intervene," he said, "particularly since this switch brings huge financial savings.

"I also believe that the forthcoming switches will contribute a lot to the excitement of the next formula one season," Mateschitz added.

From GMM

Rivals are piling pressure on Mercedes to agree to "unfreeze" engine development in formula one.

The German marque has utterly dominated the sport this year as the all-new turbo V6 era dawned.

So rivals, powered by struggling Ferrari and Renault, have argued that the strict limits on in-season development of the 'power units' should be relaxed.

For a rule change as soon as 2015, however, all teams would have to agree.

Christian Horner, boss of the works Renault team Red Bull, claimed in Russia on Friday that, in Singapore last month, Mercedes agreed to some 'unfreeze' measures.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05 (Photo: WRI2)

"One minute we agree something," he said, "then suddenly people can't remember what they've agreed and they change their mind, so we've got a bit going on at the moment."

Indeed, since Mercedes allegedly 'changed its mind', F1's influential 'strategy group' got together and the majority voted for the engine unfreeze to be sent to the F1 Commission for ratification.

"We'll see what the outcome of the commission vote is," said Horner.

"FIA are in support, FOM are in support, obviously the non-Mercedes teams are in support, so we'll see what that holds in approximately a month's time."

Horner admitted, however, that for the change to be voted through for 2015, every team will need to agree.

"I agree with Christian," said Marco Mattiacci, boss of F1's other engine supplier, Ferrari.

"Now today we have the majority of the votes to move ahead on the idea to unfreeze the engine. Let's see what's going to happen during the F1 Commission," he added.

From GMM

Romain Grosjean has denied that Lotus' new Mercedes engine deal makes it less likely he will stay with the Enstone team beyond 2014.

On the face of it, the struggling team's switch from an underpowered Renault 'power unit' is good news for Lotus' frustrated drivers.

"It will help Lotus," Grosjean agreed at Sochi.

"I am sure that next year the team will be more competitive. The option of (staying with) Lotus has become quite attractive."

But tucked away in Lotus' press release about the Mercedes deal was the detail that the team will be using Petronas oils and fuels next year.

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E22 (Photo: WRI2)

Currently, Grosjean is closely aligned with the Renault-linked French oil company Total.

"They (Total) understand the situation," the Frenchman insisted. "There are negotiations.

"Our relationship with Total is much closer than just a sponsor. We have been together and we want to continue.

"If the car is not running on Total fuel, that does not mean the company will stop supporting me," Grosjean explained.

From GMM

Jean-Eric Vergne is back in the running to keep his seat at Toro Rosso in 2015.

In August, the Faenza based team said the Frenchman would leave at the end of this season as it replaces him with teenage sensation Max Verstappen.

But Verstappen's scheduled 2015 teammate, Daniil Kvyat, has since been called up by Red Bull's main team in the wake of Sebastian Vettel's shock news at Suzuka a week ago.

Immediately, it was said that the latest cream of the energy drink company's junior programme, Carlos Sainz jr, was the favourite to complete Toro Rosso's revised 2015 lineup.

Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso STR9 (Photo: WRI2)

But that would mean Toro Rosso enters the new season with a driver lineup whose combined age of an unprecedented 37, with a dubious tally of zero combined career grands prix.

Asked at Sochi if Sainz is still the frontrunner, team boss Franz Tost said: "There are also other drivers.

"We have Jean-Eric Vergne, who is an experienced driver.

"We have Carlos Sainz jr who is currently leading the 3.5 Renault championship, then we have Pierre Gasly (and) we have (Alex) Lynn.

"Fortunately Red Bull has a lot of very fast, highly skilled drivers in the driver pool and within the next weeks, Red Bull will decide who will get this seat," Tost added.

From GMM

At least four major publications believe there are "growing concerns" about the health condition of seriously injured F1 driver Jules Bianchi.

At present, the only official news is that the Frenchman suffered a 'diffuse axonal injury' in his Suzuka crash last Sunday, and now lies in a Japanese hospital in a 'critical but stable' condition.

But the British newspapers the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Times have all now expressed 'growing' fears about Bianchi's condition, particularly after the Marussia driver's siblings and best friend jetted into Japan to be with his parents at his bedside.

"The FIA does not want to give information about Bianchi's health," said the major German daily Bild.

"Bild's information is that his condition is said to have deteriorated."

Jean-Eric Vergne, Bianchi's closest friend on the F1 grid, said at Sochi that the 25-year-old is currently "between life and death" in Japan.

From GMM

The next Russian grand prix could be a night race.

According to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, new F1 venue Sochi Autodrom's contract with Bernie Ecclestone is for at least seven years.

On Sunday for the inaugural race, the start-time is at 3pm local.

But next year it could be much later.

"We want to start at dusk and finish in the dark," the newspaper quoted boss Richard Cregan as saying.

"The infrastructure for the lighting is already present, we are now waiting for the green light," he added.

Bernie Ecclestone is said to have already basically agreed to the proposal.

Land Rover Canada is recalling 2,942 LR4, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport from 2014 because a fault in the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) could impair the vehicle's ability to determine the location of the individual tire pressure monitoring sensors. This would render the system inactive, displaying a "TPMS system fault" message on the instrument cluster.

An inoperative TPMS could allow underinflated tires to go unnoticed by the driver, which could affect vehicle stability and increase the risk of a crash.

Land Rover dealers will therefore update vehicle software.

Source: Transport Canada

From GMM

Unprecedented security at a grand prix will accompany Russian president Vladimir Putin's visit to the inaugural race on Sunday.

F1's regular television broadcasters have been told that when Putin's security personnel scramble radio frequencies to prevent potential bombs being triggered, live video images and microphones will possibly go dead temporarily.

And the Daily Mail also claims that "radar guarding" against airborne threats could cause television interference, while TV crews have been told not to film Putin or the visiting king of Bahrain too closely.

Amid the controversial Ukraine conflict, security is also noticeably high in other areas at the new Sochi Autodrom, including the presence of armed guards and airport-style checks.

Sochi Autodrom (Photo: WRI2)

The German newspaper Bild has more details.

It claims then when Putin is scheduled to visit the building opposite the grandstand, windows will be obscured to thwart any potential assassins.

The report also said the F1 teams' and FIA's radio systems will be affected by the anti-bomb frequency scramble, which could last up to 15 minutes.

And Bild said that security will be so tight when Putin is on the grid that regular 'grid walking' broadcasters may be unable to complete their normal duties.

From press release

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton seemed unfazed by the challenges of the new Sochi Autodrom, and secured yet another pole position ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg.

Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosbeg (Photo: WRI2)

The smooth surface of the brand new track made getting the tires up into temperature more difficult. But Hamilton adapted well.

Finn Valtteri Bottas was doing even better after sector one and two on his last flying lap. But he made a mistake in the last corner and had to settle for third.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05 (Photo: WRI2)

"It's an amazing feeling to come to this beautiful place and to race on this track," said Hamilton of Sochi.

"I crossed the line and I was just hoping I got it; when they tell you, it's the biggest relief - a great feeling. The corners are mostly medium and high speed where you need a lot of downforce, so tomorrow should be a challenge."

Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso STR9 (Photo: WRI2)

Unusually, Mercedes made its drivers do as many as five timed laps to take advantage of the improving track conditions.

"New tarmac such as this has a layer of tar on top of it, which gets worn down with time but initially makes it very hard to work the tire enough to get temperature into it," explains Paddy Lowe.

"This is the phenomenon we have encountered this weekend and also saw in Austria earlier this year. As a result, the tire performance was improving lap by lap."

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

Qualifying results* - Russian Grand Prix (round 16 of 19)
1.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1'38"513 - Q3
2.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1'38"713 - Q3
3.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'38"920 - Q3
4.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'39"121 - Q3
5.Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'39"277 - Q3
6.Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'39"635 - Q3
7.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'39"709 - Q3
8.Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'39"771 - Q3
9.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'40"020 - Q3
10.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'40"052 - Q2
11.Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'39"629 - Q3 **
12.Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'40"163 - Q2
13.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'40"536 - Q2
14.Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'40"894 - Q2
15.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'41"397 - Q2
16.Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'42"648 - Q1
17.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'40"058 - Q2 **
18.Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'43"064 - Q1
19.Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'43"166 - Q1
20.Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'43"649 - Q1
21.Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'43"205 - Q1 **

* Unofficial results
** 5-place grid penalty

The next six years will be boom times for suppliers with the right technology.

A truck driver in Michigan filed a charge of coercion against the UAW for keeping her from exercising her right to quit the union and stop paying dues, according to the National Right to Work Foundation.

In September, overall used-vehicle prices fell for the fifth month in a row, but prices of used pickups rose sharply. It's all part of a healthy overall market, said Tom Webb, chief economist at auction giant Manheim.

New light-vehicle sales will top 16 million units annually in the United States at least until 2018 but won't reach the heights some forecasters -- and automakers -- are anticipating, predicted Steven Szakaly, chief economist of the National...

New vehicle sales in Vietnam increased by almost 53% to 12,940 units in September, from 8,466 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association.

Sales by Nissan Motor's Chinese joint venture fell 20% year on year to about 93,700 vehicles in China in September.

Nissan has appointed Hyundai's European chief Allan Rushforth as corporate vice president for global sales based at its Yokohama headquarters and reporting to chief planning officer Philippe Klein.