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From GMM

Pirelli is pushing for an early decision as to whether it will remain F1's official tyre supplier beyond 2013.

The Italian marque's initial three-year tenure finishes at the end of next season.

"The deadline is June next year," motor sport director Paul Hembery is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace, "but we want to know the decision as soon as possible. If we need to find a different job for 300, 400 people, we need to know this in advance."

Photo: Pirelli

Yes, you should probably buy a brand new Hyundai Santa Fe. As these lines are written, the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe received a few awards, and I suspect there are many more to come.

Despite certain ongoing issues, the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe remains a top content, styling and performance contender in the sub-$40k price range. Where some manufacturers are busy convincing consumers to purchase their goods, Hyundai has only to point to its sales numbers -- and accolades.


The 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe covers all bases from affordable to fully loaded affordability and delivers it all smartly. At $35,299, the tested 2.0T SE has equipment similar or better than many luxury cars that cost twice as much. What to fix? The seats could use a little more padding in specific areas, and I'd investigate the source of various rattles.

Santa Fe 3.0
The Hyundai Santa Fe has always been a popular product. The first generation lacked styling (avoiding the word “ugly”) whereas the 2nd, introduced in 2006 as a 2007 model-year, really hit home. From there, Hyundai could only go up.

The 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport merges dynamic lines and a muscular physique that makes potential buyers take a second look. Even in its most basic trim, the Santa Fe physically outclasses the vast majority of its most direct competitors.

In fact, with little effort, the new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport immerses itself amongst all of its rivals and emerges as one of the very few that deserves a double take. The new 2013 Ford Escape may be the only other compact crossover that deserves some neck-craning. Bravo Hyundai.

Design meets functionality
Onboard the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe, the rave reviews continue. Other than the aforementioned front seats which some found fine, I was unable to come up with constructive criticism. Upon reflection, I would have liked a little more reach from the steering column.

The remainder of all controls and accessories in the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe are clear, large and ergonomically set up. What's more, the multiple panes of various plastics masterfully come together. Storage bins are as numerous as they are capacious. The same goes for the large trunk and its multiple hidden, under-floor stowage areas.

Of the niceties found within, the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport includes Bluetooth, heated front seats, and a tilt and telescopic steering wheel with audio and cruise controls. The tested SE further adds the likes of a heated steering wheel and rear seats, leather, rear-view camera, and a panoramic sunroof. Take that $80k+ luxury utility vehicles.

All controls and accessories in the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe are clear, large and ergonomically set up. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre)

No more V6
Although the previous 3.5L unit performed admirably well, Hyundai has decided to go in a different direction for the Santa Fe. In fact, they're following the example they actually set forth by supplying only 4-cylinder engines with the new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe.

With 264 hp and 269 lb-ft of power on tap, this crossover is actually quite quick. Off the line, transmission and throttle reaction time hamper progress slightly. However, once underway, the 2.0T and adjoining 6-speed autobox transform the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe into “something like a phenomenon”... LL Cool J's song on Satellite radio. Sorry. I meant to say, a rocket. The 80-120 km/h sprint flies by in 5.5 seconds, meaning that passing rigs on the highway is child's play.

Alternatively, the standard 190 hp 2.4L 4-cylinder engine is a very viable substitute to saving on the entry-level price. As well, on paper, the 2.4L should improve on the 2.0T's less than stellar fuel numbers. The twin-scroll turbocharged GDI motor is rated at 11.0L/100km city and 8.4L/100km highway; however, I could manage no better than 12 combined. The 2.4L should show a 5-10% improvement.

With 264 hp and 269 lb-ft of power on tap, this crossover is actually quite quick. (Photo: Hyundai)

The road conquered
Keeping the boost on the road is a fully independent suspension calibrated to near perfection for this type of vehicle. The ride in the 2013 Hyunda Santa Fe is cautiously sporty; in other words, it provides plenty of comforting pothole-absorbing wheel travel without sacrificing confident handling.

Shod with P235/55R19 Continental CrossContact tires on appropriately sized wheels, the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport hangs onto every corner with un-CUV-like grip. In fact, I can think of only a handful of like-minded CUVs that can hold the road as well (the Volkswagen Tiguan being one of them).

Likewise, the Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS) does a fine job of keeping the driver in complete control. Steering assistance is adjustable through a wheel-mounted button that switches through three modes. Although all modes have equal worth, depending on the driving circumstances, for 90% of owners once the comfort/normal/sport setting has been selected, they'll forget they can change it.

From GMM

Australian grand prix boss Ron Walker has promised to step down if Bernie Ecclestone is no longer in charge of formula one.

Embroiled in the ever-deepening Gerhard Gribkowsky corruption scandal, Ecclestone warned last week that his demise could cost the sport several key races.

"A few (race promoters) said to me, 'if you're not there, we're not there'. That's what the danger is," F1 chief executive Ecclestone said.

Ron Walker, the chief of the Melbourne race promoter Australian Grand Prix Corporation and a long-time Ecclestone ally, is the first to put his hand up.

Bernie Ecclestone's birthday party in India. (Photo: WRi2)

"When Bernie retires, then I will retire as well; and a number of other longstanding promoters that have been friends of Bernie's will do also," he told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, published in Autoweek.

Walker clarified that the promoter exodus would not mean those countries necessarily lose their grands prix.

But he added: "When Bernie goes, formula one will change. You won't recognise the sport after Bernie goes because he has done it in his own way as unique as he can."

2012 Bentley Continental GT

There's simply no learning curve to driving the Conti GT; you just put your foot on the brake, slide the gear lever into Drive, and go.

During the weekend I had the Continental GT, I used it as a grocery getter, to haul myself and two friends to a Rufus Wainwright concert at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, to take the visiting father of one of our young Web editors for a triple-digit ride, and as my chariot to a dinner party. The hostess of the dinner expressed her belief that the Continental might be challenging to drive. "Oh, no," I replied. "It's as easy to drive as a Buick." And, indeed, it is, although I've never driven a Buick powered by a twelve-cylinder engine producing 567 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. There's simply no learning curve to driving the Conti GT; you just put your foot on the brake, slide the gear lever into Drive, and go. This is one reason, I imagine, it has been so popular. Ferraris and Lamborghinis can be off-putting to a lot of people because of their perceived complexity. The only thing that might be off-putting about driving the Continental is the knowledge that it costs as much as a modest house. I say, just think Buick, and you'll be fine.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Bentley Continental GT - Editor's Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Bentley Continental GT - Editor's Notebook - Automobile Magazine

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Teen driving habits are heavily influenced by those of their parents, according to

While most of us are focusing on the LA Auto Show happening later this week, Toyota Motorsport GmbH is quietly revealing the TMG Sports 650 concept at the Essen Motor Show in Germany.

Vile Gossip: Generation of Heroes

Racing's goddess, Miss Linda Vaughn

As our popular series "A Generation of Heroes" comes to a close in this issue with the portraits and profiles of Jackie Stewart, Richard Petty, Stirling Moss, and Mario Andretti, I'm missing someone we were never able to catch, the one "great" who could spin a fine tale about all seventeen guys we've written about. It wasn't for lack of us trying to get her; Linda Vaughn -- Miss Hurst Golden Shifter for forty years -- went to Indy as she has for the past forty-nine years but didn't surface for her photo call.

Photo Gallery: Vile Gossip: Generation of Heroes - Automobile Magazine

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General Motors is launching an electric version of its

An awful lot of enthusiasts love sports cars and super cars, but there are just as many truck lovers out there. For them we offer, once again, one of our favorite

The 2013 Mini John Cooper Works GP is nearly as ferocious as the track-ready

Teaching your teen good driving habits can be an endless, nerve-wracking pain in the driver's seat. Even with insurance or internet-supplied GPS units, you can't tell if your child is doing 50 mph on the road or 50 mph in a parking lot.

The redesigned

General Motors says it is in "advanced" discussions with Punch International and ZF Friedrichshafen, which are seeking to acquire the US automaker's transmission plant in Strasbourg.

Luxury electric car company Fisker Automotive has named General Motors' former chief marketing officer Joel Ewanick as its new chief commercial officer.

Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant is currently on tickover and operating at around 65% capacity. But that is about to change, as Martyn Cray, the plant's director, tells Tony Lewis.

A tax trap is closing in on the UK government as the rising efficiency of today's new cars threatens to starve the Treasury of tax revenue, according to analysts at CAP Automotive.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAKE LINGEMAN: These John Cooper Works Mini vehicles are very fun, but for almost $40k, all that fun comes at a price.

Opel says it has more than doubled its Ampera fleet customer base in the space of just six months, from around 700 in March to almost 2,000 in October across Europe - an increase of more than 180%.

Fisker Automotive has hired ousted General Motors' global marketing boss