Roughly a decade after the United States, China is going gaga for SUVs. The mantra is more SUVs ASAP, as those vehicles -- including SUVs and crossovers -- rapidly supplant sedans as the most popular segment.
Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley believes the key this year for his team will be to develop the Mercedes-powered FW36 strategically.
The Grove based team showed a lot of potential during pre-season testing, but hasn't quite been able to match the expectations over the season's first four races.
Drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa are 7th and 11th respectively in the drivers' standings ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Smedley's job is to help the team develop as the season progresses.
"Part of what I need to do is make sure that we're attacking the right areas first," the 40-year-old Briton is quoted saying by Crash.net.
"That's the important and the clever bit about Formula One I think; you have to realize where the big wins are and what we can put off for a week or two, a month or two, even a year, and what we need to do in the next two days. That's part of what I'm here to do."
Felipe Massa, Rob Smedley (Photo: Williams)
Smedley also believes there is more to come from Massa, together with whom he worked closely at Ferrari between 2006 and 2013, before joining Williams.
"I know Felipe Massa very well - I know him inside out. He's a very, very good driver and he's been given the freedom of head-space here to do what he's paid to do, and he's delivering," Smedley told British magazine Autosport.
"I see Felipe now very relaxed, incredibly experienced, there's a maturity about him and he carries that very well."
Argentina's 16-year wait for a grand prix could be over soon.
That is the claim of local tourism minister Enrique Meyer, who promised during a MotoGP race at the Circuito Termas de Rio Hondo to upgrade the surrounding infrastructures in a bid to lure F1 back.
"F1 has visited Argentina many times in the past. But it left for economic reasons," Meyer is quoted saying by the medias.
"We think that our country deserves to host this kind of events.
"We will (therefore) invest to improve the roads the airports and the hotels in the area."
Argentina hosted 20 F1 races between 1953 and 1998, all in the Buenos Aires region, which is approximately 1,000 kilometres from the Circuito Termas de Rio Hondo where Meyer plans to welcome formula one again.
Sauber affiliated driver Simona de Silvestro completed the second day of first ever F1 test, this weekend in Italy.
The 25-year-old woman tasted F1 for the first time Saturday, turning 112 laps of the Fiorano test track, aboard a two-year-old Sauber C31, powered by a normally-aspirated Ferrari V8. She clocked a further 68 laps today.
"We continued today where we left off yesterday with the acclimatization programme for Simona," said test engineer Paul Russel. "Simona drove very well, had a good pace and was consistent. Overall these were two very positive days."
Simona de Silvestro, Sauber C31 (Photo: Twitter)
"A big thank you to the team who did a fabulous job explaining everything to me," added de Silvestro.
"I had a lot of questions, and I got all the answers from the engineers, who took the time to show me the data and discuss it with me in all detail. I'm already looking forward to my next opportunity to test the C31."
The former IndyCar driver will be back behind the wheel of the C31 for another test in two months, June 25-27, in Valencia, Spain.
Italian Stefano Domenicali was team boss of Ferrari's F1 team until two weeks ago. Now, he has been linked with Haas Formula, NASCAR owner Gene Haas' American F1 project.
"Never say never," Haas Formula general manager Joe Custer told Motorsport.com when, in the midst of engine talks with Ferrari, he was asked about Domenicali. "I personally think a lot of Stefano Domenicali."
Custer added, however, that the team's priority right now is to find a engine. He therefore hasn't had the time yet to speak with Domenicali.
"We haven't had any discussions(.) People like Stefano Domenicali are hard to find(.) Whether he's a fit or not, we haven't explored that yet."
Custer also said that engine talks with Mercedes and Ferrari have been slowed down by the current F1 season, which is keeping the teams busy.
Ferrari is busy trying to win races again (Photo: Ferrari)
"Like in any form of racing, (Ferrari is) in the middle of their season so you have to give people room to sort through issues - and they're going through that," added Custer, referring to the management changes in Maranello.
"And Mercedes is quite busy at this time, too.
"So we have to be patient and not try to force something through too quickly when all parties haven't had a chance to review all the opportunities involved and candidly, from our end, what all of our needs are."
How long Haas Formula takes to find an engine should determine whether the team starts competing in 2015 or 2016.
As car sales spread inland from China's crowded east coast cities and automakers such as VW, Ford and Nissan boost capacity in the west of the country, logistics companies are expanding to meet the demand.
The nation's largest used-vehicle retailer opened two used-car stores in March and plans to open 28 to 43 more by the end of February 2017. The fiscal year that ended Feb. 28 marked the first time the company's annual sales exceeded 500,000 vehicles.
Swiss-born racer Simona de Silvestro is the latest woman to get behind the wheel of an F1 car.
The 25-year-old completed a total of 112 laps of the Fiorano test track, Saturday, for a total of 336 kilometres behind the wheel of a Ferrari-powered Sauber C31.
The former IndyCar racer, who became a Sauber affiliated driver two months ago, is working towards obtaining her "superlicence".
"What impressed me most was the downforce of the car and the braking," she said.
"When I did my first lap the brakes were cold, but even then the decelaration was beyond what I had experienced before. The g-forces are significantly higher compared to what I was used to in IndyCar. Overall, I'm happy with my first day in a Formula One car."
Simona de Silvestro, Sauber C31 (Photo: Twitter)
"Simona did a very solid job today," added test engineer Paul Russell.
"It was immediately clear that she is an experienced driver. It was as good a start in a Formula One car as you could hope for, and you couldn't really ask for more today."
De Silvestro will be back on track tomorrow for more mileage.
It is unclear however what her future with the team might be, as Sauber already has two reserve drivers - Sergey Sirotkin and Giedo van der Garde - who are also pushing for race seats.
A respected German journalist has denied rumours Michael Schumacher has woken up from his coma.
The reports late on Friday suggested the seven time world champion, already confirmed to be having "moments of consciousness and awakening", had woken up and recognised his wife.
The reports said the great 45-year-old's manager Sabine Kehm had confirmed the news to German television RTL.
"Sorry, but those rumours from Spain are apparently not true," Nicola Pohl, a respected correspondent for the major German daily Bild, said.
"Kehm just texted me (saying) she hadn't confirmed anything to RTL," she added.
Sebastian Vettel will definitely be at the wheel of a new 'Suzie' for the start of the European season.
Earlier this week, we reported that Red Bull was looking into whether an underlying fault with his 2014 car was contributing to the reigning world champion's struggle to keep up with teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
So when a new version of the RB10 is built by the Milton-Keynes team, "Vettel will get it," Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko said.
Marko has now told Germany's Auto Bild that Vettel's new 2014 chassis will be ready for the first European race, at Barcelona mid next month.
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB10 (Photo: WRi2)
"It's already been decided," he said.
"In Barcelona, Sebastian will have a new chassis, because sometimes even a small hairline crack can have large consequences," Marko explained.
He said Vettel has run into this sort of trouble before, and overcome it.
"In 2012, Sebastian had problems compared with Mark Webber, but after a chassis change suddenly everything was much better and when he regained his confidence, he was almost unbeatable and won the title," added Marko.
Vettel always gives his F1 cars a female name, and for the 2014 season, Adrian Newey's V6-powered RB10 is called 'Suzie'.
2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire series rookie of the year, Alex Guénette, has announced a five-race schedule in Canada's top stock-car championship, which includes one event a Mosport and three stops in Québec.
In 2014, Guénette is switching teams to race with King Autosport, Martin Roy's Beloeil-based operation. With him, arrives stock-car veteran Mario Gosselin, who will help prepare the cars.
Gosselin also works on Guénette's US program in the ARCA and Camping World Truck series, from his shop in Florida.
Alex Guénette (Photo: Facebook)
"I am very happy to return to the NASCAR Canadian Tire series with the experience I gained last year," said the 18-year-old.
"(I) feel very comfortable with Martin (Roy), Mario (Gosselin) and the whole team both in the shop and at the track. We have already worked together and achieved excellent results together in NASCAR trucks last year and in Late Model racing in the US over the last three years.
"Mario is interviewing several experienced crew chiefs for me and I know we will run well in every race. We are shooting for nothing less than victories."
Alex Guénette's 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire schedule:
May 17, 18 - Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Bowmanvile, ON)
June 14 - Autodrome Chaudière (Vallée-Jonction, QC)
July 5, 6 - ICAR (Mirabel, QC)
August 9, 10 - GP3R (Trois-Rivières, QC)
The new rules introduced this season in F1 have been tough on McLaren's Kevin Magnussen, the 21-year-old rookie's father, Jan, thinks.
Jan Magnussen, himself a former McLaren driver, is currently a factory driver for Corvette in the United SportsCar Championship (USCC). His career highlights include four class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 40-year-old Dane has also entered 25 grands prix between the 1995 and 1998 season, with a best finish of sixth at the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix.
Jan Magnussen, Corvette C7.R (Photo: janmagnussen.dk)
"So far he's had a real strong debut," Magnussen Sr told IMSA.com, reflecting on his son's first few races in F1.
"He had a podium finish in his very first race (a second-place finish in Australia), which is very unusual.
"There are lots of rule changes in F1. Everybody's on a really steep learning curve with all the technology, but also it's tough on Kevin, because he's new to F1."
Asked if he would like to race sports car with his son one day, Magnussen answered: "Hopefully, (Kevin) will have a really long career in Formula One.
"But if he ever does do sports cars, hopefully I will be retired by then."
Norwegian rally driver Mads Ostberg has been Volkswagen Motorsport's most consistent opposition this season, despite the Citroen DS3 WRC not suiting his natural driving style.
Ostberg spent three season behind the wheel of the Ford Fiesta RS WRC before joining Citroen at the end of last season.
So far in 2014, the 26-year-old has finished twice on the podium and four times in the top 10, in four rallies with the DS3. This means he is third, behind VW Motorsport drivers Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala, in the overall standings.
But the 67-rally veteran says there is more to come from him, as he learns to adapt his style to the characteristics of his car.
"(Earlier) I tried to make the car (DS3 WRC) suit me by continuing to drive it a bit more sideways like I did with the Fiesta," he told WRC.com.
"But I understood that was not quite so easy and that the theory behind the Citroen is totally different.
"You are driving much more on the front of the car and with more understeer. The car is much more stable and braking all the way into the corner gives the right pressure on the front wheels to be able to turn the car.
"It's a special way of driving and for me, it's improving all the time. It's making me faster and faster."
GM has doubled the size of its South Korean design center to take on a host of new tasks, from full-scale modeling to 3-D printing, as the carmaker aims to fortify its global hub for small-car development, design and manufacturing.
Fiat has taken another step toward fully integrating its wholly owned subsidiary Chrysler Group by merging its global information technology platforms under one IBM banner.
UAW Vice President Joe Ashton has been nominated to become the first representative from the union to join General Motors' board of directors, the company said in its proxy statement filed today.
PSA Peugeot Citroen owners voted to support a 3 billion-euro ($4.2 billion) capital increase to boost funding at Europe's second-largest carmaker, which has been unprofitable for the last two years.
With the current economy the last thing you need is for your vehicle to break down. Whether your driving a reliable car or a busted up van, insurance you can rely on is a must.
The latest auto news, reviews, prices, product and vehicle releases. 
