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The latest issue of the Automotive News Europe monthly e-magazine is ready for you to view. This edition looks at Europe's 2013 winners and losers in terms of sales.

Carlos Ghosn says the Renault-Nissan Alliance he heads will roll out two shared vehicle platforms, each of which will underpin more than 3 million vehicles, by 2016 as part of a cost-cutting plan.

Michael Horn is new enough to his U.S. assignment that he's still looking for a permanent home in suburban Washington for his family.

The tightly packed rows of vehicles at Marshall Goldman Motor Sales are unlike what you'd find at practically any other used-car store.

Ford used a color-coded body-in-white cutaway of the next F-150 pickup to make a serious point to dealers at the NADA convention: The economics of an aluminum truck #8211; both the repair costs for the customer and the body shop operations for the...

Strong demand for Ram pickups has Chrysler Group executives looking at breaking their vows and building an auto plant in North America.

The CEO of Ally Financial says his company won't cave to federal pressure and lead the lending industry's switch from dealer reserve to flat flees.

AutoNation Inc. could add as much as $2 billion in annual revenue through acquisitions in 2014 -- but CEO Mike Jackson isn't setting that as a target.

For a glimpse of Chevrolet's future advertising direction, flip on the TV pretty much any time during the 17-day Winter Olympics starting Friday, when Chevy will dominate coverage with 11 new commercials broadcast more than 400 times.

Though they waited three years to see the much-anticipated 2015 aluminum F-150, it didn't take Ford dealers Randall Reed and Jim Seavitt long to decide to invest in gearing up their body shops to repair it.

Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to ask federal regulators to excuse a fire-safety lapse in its vehicle seat-heater system.

German car manufacturer, Audi has released its lineups for the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Five World Champions and Le Mans winners plus a former Formula 1 driver will be racing the Audi R18 e-tron quattros in this year's World Endurance Championship (WEC) and at Le Mans.

Former F1 driver, Lucas di Grassi, who has been competing for Audi since 2012 and finished at Spa and Le Mans in third place last year, has been promoted to the role of a regular driver and replaces Allan McNish, who has ended his career as a race driver.

Tom Kristensen, Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Loïc Duval. (Photo: Audi Motorsport)

Driver lineups:

Spa 6 Hours and Le Mans 24 Hours
Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen
Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer
Filipe Albuquerque/Marco Bonanomi/Oliver Jarvis *

All other races of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)
Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen
Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer

In the 6-hour race at Spa and at the season's pinnacle event at Le Mans, Audi will be fielding an additional R18 e-tron quattro. This car will be driven by the previous DTM driver Filipe Albuquerque as well as by Marco Bonanomi and Oliver Jarvis.

*subject to confirmation by the Selection Committee of the ACO and the FIA.

From GMM

Lotus and Marussia have ended doubts about their official participation in the 2014 championship.

When the governing FIA released the 2014 entry list last month, the two teams' entries were listed as "subject to confirmation".

It subsequently emerged that the teams - competitive but financially struggling Lotus, and the small-budget backmarker Marussia - had been late in paying the higher FIA entry fees.

But France's Auto Hebdo, and other international reports, now insist both teams "have paid" the fees to the Paris federation and are entitled to race in 2014.

Other reports said the FIA has confirmed the news.

The Marussia MR03 at Jerez. (Photo: Marussia F1 Team)

From GMM

Mercedes AMG has emerged as the early 2014 favorite in the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship.

Amid world champions Red Bull Racing and Renault's crisis, it is obvious that works engine-chassis makers Mercedes and Ferrari have their noses in front on the basis of the opening test at Jerez.

And of that pair, Mercedes out-lapped Ferrari to the tune of almost 300 kilometres - a race distance - over the four days in southern Spain.

Nico Rosberg even did a full Grand Prix simulation, complete with pit stops, while others were grappling simply to run their radically-new cars.

"There was an element of psychology in the (Mercedes) game," respected Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Michael Schmidt wrote.

"They wanted to demonstrate strength at a time when the great enemy Red Bull was on the floor," he mused.

Officially, Mercedes has played down any suggestion it is the early title favourite.

"For me it's too early to say who is quick," Sauber driver Adrian Sutil agreed.

But "I think the Mercedes package looks quite strong," he told Britain's Sky. "They do a lot of laps and I have a feeling they are in the front right now."

Others with Mercedes power are also happy. Sir Frank Williams' team moved from the Renault camp over the winter, and after grandees Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, lapped more than any other rival at Jerez with the new FW36.

"Frank Williams went to the Mercedes motor home on Thursday night to personally thank Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff," Schmidt revealed.

Sutil, however - having moved from Mercedes engines at Force India to Ferrari-powered Sauber over the winter - said Ferrari is also in good shape after Jerez.

Ferrari is also happy with its new red works chassis, the F14 T. The famous Maranello marque has struggled with its wind tunnel data in recent years, but a complete overhaul is now bearing fruit.

"The technical parameters of the F14 T, as well as the aerodynamic validation we saw on track, match our expectations and provide a solid starting point, which we must now exploit as much as possible," said team boss Stefano Domenicali.

From GMM

The unseemly nose designs up and down the 2014 pitlane have been declared legal by the FIA.

We reported last week that a row over the radical noses was shaping up, with one camp of teams pointing the finger at the other, and the governing FIA unhappy with both.

But despite the questions about the safety and legality of the solutions that were also near-universally declared 'ugly', Germany's Sport Bild cited FIA sources in reporting that the governing body has shelved the issue for 2014.

"The FIA intends to clarify the rules for 2015," the report added.

Much has been said about the various 'gentleman's appendage' solutions seen throughout the pitlane, with perhaps the least attractive being the shovel-like Caterham.

The team's new 2014 driver, F1 returnee Kamui Kobayashi, however, said: "It may not look very good but it feels good, especially because as the driver I cannot see the nose!"

Caterham CT05. (Photo: WRi2)

Finnish driver Esapekka Lappi captured victory at the Rally Liepaja in Latvia this past weekend, and Russian top model Inessa Tushkanova attracted a lot of attention as she captured the Ladies' Cup.

Esapekka Lappi, Skoda Fabia S2000 (Photo: ERC)

Driving a Skoda Fabia S2000, Esapekka Lappi won the event and now shares the top of the European Rally Championship standings with former F1 driver, Robert Kubica.

Kubica won the opening round of the ERC - the Jännerrallye in Austria early January - but did not contest the Rally Liepaja.

Inessa Tushkanova with Jean-Pierre Nicholas (left) and ERC boss. (Photo: ERC)

Driving a Gazprom-sponsored Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, Inessa Tushkanova and co-driver Sergei Larens, finished the rally in 28th position overall.

The top model drove extremely carefully on the slippery, icy roads, but she reached the finish and captured the Ladies' Cup. The other top female competitor, Bulgarian Ekatirena Stratieva, retired from the event.

Inessa Tushkanova, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (Photo: ERC)

From GMM

According to one cruel joke in the Jerez paddock last week, the Red Bull RB10 has a cryptic, phonetic meaning -- 'Red Bull Are Bea-ten'.

It follows a disastrous opening test for the reigning four-time world champions, where even the late-to-arrive backmarker Marussia actually collected more mileage.

Italy's Autosprint published a table of mileage after the first winter test of the pre-season, and it makes worrying reading for the Milton Keynes team.

Graphic: Autosprint

Direct rivals like Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, however, spent no time gloating over the Red Bull crisis.

"There are always some problems that are public, or less obvious, sometimes more, sometimes less," he told Spanish reporters at Jerez.

"Only in Australia are there the first points; this is the first test," Fernando Alonso insisted.

Williams' Felipe Massa, however, admitted that if he was in Sebastian Vettel or Daniel Ricciardo's racing boots, "I would be worried".

"At least they are having some problems this time and are not two seconds faster than the others, as they were in some places last year," the Brazilian is quoted by Totalrace.

Photo: WRi2

Indeed, in a worrying sign of the severity of the problem, Renault's deputy managing director Rob White admitted the cause is "not straightforward" or even fully understood.

"There isn't a single component or system that has caused particular trouble," he admitted.

"The next stage is to identify the root causes for the problems we experienced, to develop the solutions to strengthen our validation process so we can be more confident to tackle Bahrain in a more normal way," he said in a media statement.

Perhaps even more worrying is that the FIA's deadline for initially 'freezing' the specification of the power unit - the end of February - is fast approaching.

Fernando Alonso, however, tipped Red Bull and Renault to be ready.

"If this (the events of Jerez) had happened in Australia, it would be more decisive," he is quoted by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But there is still two months, and Red Bull still has the time to do the kilometres that we (Ferrari) have done, and what Mercedes has done. I think more than ever this year, we will have to wait for the races to get an idea of where everybody is."

French car manufacturer, Peugeot will enter the 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship.

From Peugeot Sport

The popularity and excitement inherent in rallycross has seen the discipline grow tremendously in recent years, and the process has been given a further lift by the creation of the FIA World Rallycross Championship from 2014.

All the ingredients were consequently in place for Peugeot to join forces with one of the sport's leading teams, Hansen Motorsport.

Peugeot has been involved in national rallycross series over the years The introduction of a new World Rallycross Championship in 2014 will provide the discipline with a tremendous springboard to expand beyond its traditional European boundaries.

This in turn will permit a new generation of fans to discover the sport. Peugeot wanted to be a part of this process from the outset and, as a consequence, has joined forces with one of rallycross's most prominent operators, Hansen Motorsport.

The official name of the resulting team is Team Peugeot-Hansen and, in association with Peugeot's longstanding partner Total, it will compete with a 208 T16 silhouette version of the 208. The programme will cover all 12 rounds of the championship which is due to kick off in May.

The series will stage a round at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, August 7-8.

Swede Kenneth Hansen boasts one of the most successful records in rallycross history, both as a driver and as manager of his own operation. The decision to strike up a partnership with someone who figures among the discipline's elite was an especially straightforward one given that the series promises to be extremely fierce in light of the field that is taking shape.

Here are the photos of the Formula 1 turbo cars that will compete in the 2014 FIA F1 World Championship.

Note that the photo of the Lotus E22 is missing at this point. We will add it the coment the new Lotus will make its track debut.

Red Bull Racing
Chassis RB10
Engine: Renault
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Sebastian Vettel (race number 1; will carry No. 5 when not champion)
Daniel Ricciardo (race number 3)

Red Bull RB10. (Photo: Red Bull)

Ferrari
Chassis F14 T
Engine: Ferrari
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Fernando Alonso (race number 14)
Kimi Raikkonen (race number 7)

Ferrari F14 T. (Photo: WRi2)

Mercedes AMG
Chassis W05
Engine: Mercedes
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Lewis Hamilton (race number 44)
Nico Rosberg (race number 6)

Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2)

Lotus
Chassis E22
Engine: Renault
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Romain Grosjean (race number 8)
Pastor Maldonado (race number 13)

McLaren
Chassis  MP4-29
Engine: Mercedes
Web site
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Jenson Button (race number 22)
Kevin Magnussen (race number 20)

McLaren MP4-29. (Photo: WRi2)

Sauber
Chassis C33
Engine: Ferrari
Web site
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Adrian Sutil (race number 99)
Esteban Gutierrez (race number 21)

Sauber C33. (Photo: WRi2)

Sahara Force India
Chassis VJM07
Engine: Mercedes
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Nico Hulkenberg (race number 27)
Sergio Perez (race number 11)

Sahara Force India VJM07. (Photo: WRi2)

Williams
Chassis FW36
Engine: Mercedes
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Felipe Massa (race number 19)
Valtteri Bottas (race number 77)

Williams FW36. (Photo: WRi2)

Toro Rosso
Chassis STR9
Engine: Renault
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Jean-Eric Vergne (race number 25)
Daniil Kvyat (race number 26)

Toro Rosso STR9. (Photo: WRi2)

Caterham
Chassis CT05
Engine: Renault
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Kamui Kobayashi (race number 10)
Marcus Ericsson (race number 9)

Caterham CT05. (Photo: WRi2)

Marussia
Chassis MR03
Engine: Ferrari
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Jules Bianchi (race number 17)
Max Chilton (race number 4)

Marussia MR03. (Photo: WRi2)

I understand the allure and draw of hybrid vehicles. I swear I do. More fuel efficient, better for the environment, and all that jazz. However, it's rare that I walk away from a hybrid saying, “Wow, that's a fantastic car to drive! I had so much fun behind the wheel and can't wait to drive it again.” I might be a rarity, but I like to drive. Hybrids rarely give me that satisfaction.

Sadly, the Pathfinder fell into that same hybrid soul-draining category. However, despite that I still quite liked the vehicle as a whole. In terms of ride comfort, space, and design the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid SV is a winner in my books.


What is the Nissan Pathfinder?
For starters, the Pathfinder has been around since the mid-‘80s. And for anyone who thinks the JUKE's clever rear hidden door handles are newfangled, they'd best look back to 1990 at the first gen Pathfinders where Nissan first introduced this feature to give the illusion of two doors only.

Available first as a body-on-frame structure, the second generation switched to the unibody configuration, which is what the latest (and now fourth generation) has done, as well.

2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid Platinum Premium Price and Specs
Starting a good $10k over the price of a base non-hybrid Pathfinder, the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid SV comes in at $39,248 before any extras. Springing for the Platinum Premium edition (which garners a dual panoramic moonroof and a tri-zone entertainment system) means you're starting just under $50k.

Regardless of trim level, you'll be piloting a 2.5L 4-cylinder supercharged engine along with a 15kW electric motor good for 250 horsepower. Nissan claims the Pathfinder Hybrid will turn in numbers in the 7L/100km range, but I only managed to get that number in the mid-11s. Perhaps the cold weather had a great deal to do with it... Controlling the Pathfinder Hybrid's power is a next-generation XTRONIC CVT.

Regardless of trim level, you'll be piloting a 2.5L 4-cylinder supercharged engine along with a 15kW electric motor good for 250 horsepower. (Photo: Nissan)

Driving the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid Platinum Premium
So, no, this wasn't a super-exciting week of driving. However, it wasn't so horrible that I wanted to pour hot coffee in my lap simply to spice things up. While I am no fan of CVTs, Nissan does make a good one and the Pathfinder Hybrid's transmission was smooth and responsive when I wanted it to be with the engine playing nicely if asked.

If nothing else, the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid is extremely comfortable. Long trips or short hauls, this is a great ride. Front or back seats, there's plenty of space; and with the Platinum Premium addition I had the luxury of rear entertainment screens to keep my 2-year-old happy if he got too unruly.

Did I “use” the hyrbrid-ness of the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid? Kind of. The vehicle ran on battery power in most stop-and-go traffic situations, and for a few seconds when first turned on, but otherwise I was on gas all the time. And after having a supercharged V6 Range Rover Sport the week before spitting out fuel consumption numbers just 1L above the Pathfinder Hyrbid, I can't say I was too impressed.

While I am no fan of CVTs, Nissan does make a good one and the Pathfinder Hybrid's transmission was smooth and responsive when I wanted it to be with the engine playing nicely if asked. (Photo: Nissan)

Inside and Out of the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid Platinum Premium
The newly updated exterior of the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder is quite handsome. The more bulbous exterior look carried over from the Murano suits the Pathfinder and gives it a much softer look without dumbing it down.

New LED taillights add a touch of modern, and 18” aluminum-alloy wheels ensure this SUV also looks stylish in all the right ways to attract younger buyers.

Inside, the positive design cues continue. The simplistic layout of the centre stack is a pleasant change from the norm of button overload. While it might trick you into thinking it's useful, the 4.2” Advanced Drive-Assist Display in the driver gauges is anything but helpful and kind of distracting. I usually kept it on the foot-pedal energy graphic, just for fun.

The most poorly designed part of the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid's interior? The steering wheel. I can't tell you how many times I changed the channel or activated something with the toggle switches on each side. They stick out too much and are poorly placed if you drive with proper hand placement.

Space is not an issue in the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, although I was a little shocked that my son was able to kick the front passenger seat when a person was seated comfortably there. He's only 2 years old and his legs are not that long...

Inside, the positive design cues continue. The simplistic layout of the centre stack is a pleasant change from the norm of button overload. (Photo: Nissan)

Comparing the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid
Having just driven the brand new 2014 Toyota Highlander (in both hybrid and regular versions), I'd say this is its steepest competition. While they are extremely similar, I feel like the Toyota moves ahead slightly if only in terms of design and relevance.