Auto News 5

Schaeffler has unveiled revenue for the first nine months of this year up 4.2% to EUR8.4bn (US$10.9bn), with EBIT margin of 13.6% and free cash flow of EUR92m.

Johnson Matthey has posted half year sales excluding precious metals (sales) 1% ahead at GBP1.3bn (US$2.08bn), with underlying profit before tax down 6% at GBP191m and flat underlying earnings per share.

Ford is cutting a shift at the Romanian factory that builds the B-Max model just weeks after launching the small minivan. The automaker will also offer buyouts to some hourly workers.

Ford is cutting a shift at the Romanian factory that builds the B-Max model just weeks after launching the small minivan. The automaker will also offer buyouts to some hourly workers.

The Winged Warrior is back. Dodge is resurrecting one of its most famous namesand#8212;Daytonaand#8212;as an option package on the Hemi-powered

New vehicle sales in Thailand rose by 233% to 142,839 units in October, compared with 42,834 units in the same month last year - when the market was severely affected by severe floods across large parts of the country.

Renault plans a joint venture to build cars in China with Dongfeng Motor, the country's second-largest automaker, a report said.

The weak European market is slowing Kia's growth plans in the region. A target of 3 percent market share, originally set for 2013 and then delayed to 2015, has been postponed to 2016 or 2017.

Whenever Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne appears in public, TV crews jostle to beam his words around the globe. Amid the push and shove it's easy to miss the tall, curly-headed young man who often looks on from the sidelines. He's John Elkann.

Honda's Civic redo, Ford's people-mover version of the Transit Connect and a redesigned Subaru Forester will be among the attention-getters at the Los Angeles Auto Show that begins this week.

Having languished for decades in a crowded field of mass-market nameplates, Mazda will reposition itself as a more premium brand, Mazda Motor Corp. CEO Takashi Yamanouchi said.

Klaus Busse is tall and lanky with giant hands and an outsized smile. His standard attire is a light-gray windbreaker worn over a faded T-shirt and jeans.

Automakers are embracing online video ads for millennials for an obvious reason: That's where young shoppers' eyeballs are; they're buyers who appreciate the offbeat and humorous.

Kasey Kahne, the latest addition to the Hendrick Motorsports' driver lineup will have Great Clips as a primary sponsor for three NASCAR Sprint Cup series races in 2013.


Great Clips was Kahne's co-primary sponsor in the Nov. 4 race at Texas Motor Speedway, marking the company's first-ever Sprint Cup sponsorship. In 2013, the Minneapolis-based company will be the No. 5 Chevrolet SS team's primary sponsor March 17 at Bristol, Tenn., July 28 at Indianapolis and Sept. 22 at Loudon, N.H.

Photo: Great Clips Racing

Kahne had the majority of his Sprint Cup races in 2012 sponsored by Farmer's Insurance.

“It's exciting to have Great Clips come on board the No. 5 for 2013,” Kahne said. “They've been with me for most of my career, supporting me as a driver and a team owner. It's always great to see a partner step up their program, and I'm looking forward to bringing them their first win in the Sprint Cup Series.”

“When you hear the people at Great Clips talk about their business, it's easy to understand why they're so successful,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “The focus on customer service, convenience, value, community and philanthropy is something NASCAR fans appreciate. It's a company that's been committed to our sport and seen a great return on investment over many years. We look forward to building on that at the Cup level.”

“Kasey Kahne has been such an important member of our Great Clips family since we first sponsored him nearly 10 years ago,” said Terri Miller, vice president of marketing for Great Clips. “To have the opportunity to work with Kasey in the Sprint Cup Series is a very proud moment for all of us. We could not ask for a better partner to take this step with than Hendrick Motorsports, a team that shares our company's values. At Great Clips, our tagline is ‘It's gonna be great,' and that's exactly how we feel about this relationship.”

Kahne, 32, has earned 14 career victories and 26 pole positions in Sprint Cup Series competition. In his first season with Hendrick Motorsports, the Enumclaw, Wash., native secured his third career Chase for the Sprint Cup berth and recorded two wins, four poles, 12 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s. He finished the 2012 campaign a career-best fourth in championship points.



Since 2003, the company has supported his Kahne's efforts as both a driver and car owner across multiple racing series.



Great Clips has utilized NASCAR as a marketing platform since 2000. Its relationships have included sponsorship of Turner Motorsports, which will continue in 2013 with Kahne running select events, and the recent Great Clips 200 race entitlement at Phoenix International Raceway.

Mazda Motor Corp. CEO Takashi Yamanouchi told Automotive News last week that the Japanese manufacturer wants to increase its U.S. sales to more than 400,000 units by the fiscal year that ends on March 31st, 2016. That would mean a 43% improvement from the current volume.

While the U.S. is Mazda's largest market, the small, cash-strapped company (which represents a mere 2% of the entire industry) has its work cut out for it.

The plan is to launch many new and more upscale products over the next few years, starting with the third-generation Mazda6 sedan in January. Similar to the new Mazda CX-5, which made its American debut last spring, these models will offer the full suite of SKYACTIV technologies -- representing 80% of Mazda's lineup by 2016.

Yamanouchi wants to achieve that 43% spike in U.S. sales with the same number of dealers. The goal is to boost their earnings so they will invest more in their stores.

Source: Automotive News

A German worker has found a way to save time by turning his car into a mobile office -- literally. It's not the safest way to drive or work...

You would think that the patrol officers who caught him would agree, but the man only received a ticket for speeding since they couldn't prove that he was using his electronic devices while driving.

As the use of cell phones behind the wheel is the target of a growing number of safety campaigns, what should we make of this guy?

Source: Caradisiac

Lexus has earned two ALG Residual Value awards for 2013, one for the LS 460 in the Premium Executive Car segment, and another for the GS 350 in the Premium Full-Size Car segment.

''We are proud of the GS 350 and LS 460 for winning their segments in ALG's 2013 Residual Value Awards,'' said Brian Smith, vice president of marketing at Lexus. ''Both vehicles were redesigned for 2013, and these awards recognize the major improvements made to both of them in dramatic styling, dynamic driving performance and all-new multimedia systems. Top residual values are important to luxury owners, and these awards demonstrate, once again, how Lexus strives to create an amazing ownership experience for our customers.''

ALG honours vehicles that are predicted to retain the highest percentage of their original price after three years.

2013 Lexus GS 350 (Photo: Lexus)

2013 Lexus LS 460 (Photo: Lexus)

Mazda will debut several vehicles in North America at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show.

''It's definitely an exciting time for the Zoom-Zoom brand,'' said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO of Mazda North American Operations. ''The long awaited, redesigned 2014 Mazda6 will naturally receive much interest, but let's not take away from our strong SUV lineup in the CX-5 and CX-9, which are segment leaders in their own right.''

The 2014 CX-5 will be available with an upgraded Technology Package on GT models, while the face-lifted 2013 CX-9 (already on sale) offers Mazda's next-generation audio and infotainment system with a 5.8'' touchscreen display.

Mazda will also use the L.A. Auto Show to unveil its new 2.2L turbocharged SKYACTIV-D engine, which runs on clean diesel, as well as the all-new competition race car that will take part in the 2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

From GMM

Renault is open to supplying more formula one teams with engines.

That is the news, after the French carmaker's president Carlos Ghosn made a visit at the weekend to the Brazilian grand prix.

Currently, Renault supplies engines to four teams: Red Bull, Lotus, Williams and Caterham.

But there have been reports the other Red Bull-owned team, Toro Rosso, will switch from Ferrari to Renault power for the new turbo V6 rules in 2014.

"During a small media round he (Ghosn) confirmed that Renault will equip more teams with engines," the journalist Mathias Brunner wrote in a Speed Week report from Interlagos.

The Renault engine aboard the Williams. (Photo: WRi2)

With Craig Pollock's 2014 'Pure' engine foray now regarded as defunct, it is expected that HRT and Marussia supplier Cosworth will bow out of F1 along with the V8 rules at the end of next year.

"(For) 2014 we've got, as far as I know, only three manufacturers (Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes) committed to the sport," McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said in Brazil.

But there remain rumours Honda, having pulled out of the sport at the end of 2008 amid the global financial crisis, is interested in the 2014 rules.

"But there's no concrete signs they're doing anything at the moment," said Ross Brawn, who was Honda's team principal. "I gather, as a company, they're improving after some difficult years and I think there are lots of engineers there who would love to get involved."

Subaru Team Canada's Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell capped off a difficult 2012 season on a high, winning the Rally of the Tall Pines, sixth and final stop on the Canadian Rally Championship (CRC).

Richard and Ockwell overcame two flat tires and a fire to beat reigning and repeat champions Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard.

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell (Photo: Peter MacDonald)

Having already won four rallies this season, the Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team had the championship secured even before coming to Bancroft, ON, for the presentation of the Tall Pines.

Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard (Photo: Peter MacDonald)

They were in contention for a fifth win this season, but saw their lead evaporate when the rear suspension of their Mitsubishi EVO X collapsed.

Ugo Desgreniers and Erik Kirby completed the podium.

Ugo Desgreniers and Erik Kirby (Photo: Peter MacDonald)

Rally of the Tall Pines Final Results
1.Pat Richard - Alan Ockwell - one hour, 46 minutes, 18.4 seconds
2.Antoine L'Estage - Nathalie Richard - 1:50:56.1
3.Ugo Desgreniers - Erik Kirby - 1:52:39.1
4.Ryan Huber - John Vanos - 1:56:24.5
5.Alexandre R. Ouellette - Nicholas R. Ouellette - 1:59:04.3
6.Maxime Labrie - Robert Labrie - 1:59:32.9
7.Hardy Schmidtke - John Hall - 1:59:51.7
8.Jeremy Norris - Frank Sprongl - 2:01:34.8
9.Michelle Laframboise - Dean Hopkins - 2:03:14.7
10.Mason Moyle - Craig Drew - 2:05:31.1