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Dutch supercar maker Spyker says it will form two joint ventures with China's Zhejiang Youngman to produce

GM is recalling about 45,000 2012 Chevrolet Sonics to check for and correct faulty windshield washers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday in an official government filing.

Hertz Global Holdings, led by former Tenneco Automotive chief Mark Frissora, struck a deal to buy Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group for about $2.6 billion in cash and secure its place as the second-largest player in the United States market.

Dutch supercar maker Spyker says it will form two joint ventures with China's Youngman to produce Saab-based vehicles and a luxury SUV under the terms of a framework agreement that will give Youngman a 29.9 percent share in Spyker.

Dutch supercar maker Spyker says it will form two joint ventures with China's Youngman to produce Saab-based vehicles and a luxury SUV under the terms of a framework agreement that will give Youngman a 29.9 percent share in Spyker.

Porsche has lifted the veil on the fifth-generation 911 Carrera 4

Renault is close to making an announcement relating to the launch of high-end models, French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said in an interview.

First Look: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and Carrera 4 S

Porsche adds all-wheel-drive to its newest 911.

Even though driving purists generally prefer rear-wheel drive, Porsche recognizes that plenty of its customers like the added winter and wet-weather grip provided by four driven wheels. In fact, the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 and Carrera 4 S accounted for over a third of all previous-generation Porsche 911 sales. So it's only logical that Porsche is now expanding the appeal of its new, 991-generation sports car with a quartet of all-wheel-drive models called Carrera 4 and Carrera 4 S, offered both as coupes and cabriolets.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and 4 S First Look - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and 4 S First Look - Automobile Magazine

First Look: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and Carrera 4 S | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

First Look: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and Carrera 4 S

Porsche adds all-wheel-drive to its newest 911.

Even though driving purists generally prefer rear-wheel drive, Porsche recognizes that plenty of its customers like the added winter and wet-weather grip provided by four driven wheels. In fact, the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 and Carrera 4 S accounted for over a third of all previous-generation Porsche 911 sales. So it's only logical that Porsche is now expanding the appeal of its new, 991-generation sports car with a quartet of all-wheel-drive models called Carrera 4 and Carrera 4 S, offered both as coupes and cabriolets.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and 4 S First Look - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and 4 S First Look - Automobile Magazine

First Look: 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and Carrera 4 S | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Japanese brands vary widely in their plans for the next three model years. Nissan is barreling ahead in its quest to crack the top ranks of U.S. sales leaders. Mazda will focus on its volume products. Other brands have less going on.

When John Lambert learned in 2007 that he would have to double the size of his Claremont, N.H., Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealership, the scrounging began. Lambert figures he shaved $80,000, or about 10 percent, off the cost of his $800,000 renovation.

The all-but-empty product pipelines at Mitsubishi and Suzuki may provide the answer to a frequently asked question: Do the two struggling Japanese small fry -- once tough competitors in this country -- have a future in the United States? Mitsubishi...

Unfazed by Consumer Reports' latest scathing criticisms of the MyFord Touch system, Jim Farley, Ford Motor Co.'s global marketing chief, said the company will not shy away from its commitment to industry-leading technology.

Hyundai hopes its redesigned 2013 Santa Fe crossover will address the brand's biggest weakness -- appealing to buyers with families. The Santa Fe redesign is also an opportunity to boost U.S.

Early this month, dealer Scott Pitman watched in dismay as Google deleted 400 of his customer reviews over two days. Google left his Suzuki of Wichita dealership with just nine reviews -- all negative.

The used-car market's wild ride of the last two years or so has calmed down. But there are still plenty of signs that the market has not yet returned to the predictable patterns that prevailed prior to the recession.

As it approaches its 20th anniversary, used-car giant CarMax Inc. has developed a next-generation store and has its eyes on entering "50 to 100" smaller markets, a top executive says. The CarMax test store opened in February in Chattanooga.

The European auto market won't return to pre-crisis levels until the end of the decade, according to a study. Western Europe will see demand for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles fall by about 1 million next year to 13.5 million.

Despite nine wins in 10 Rallye Deutschland, Daniel Elena, who has been co-driving for one Sébastien since 1997, says rallying is "never easy".

This year alone, the Citroën pairing accounts for seven wins out of nine rallies. Have the eighth-time world champions found a way to make world rallying dull?

Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena at the start of the Rallye Deutschland (Photo: WRC)

"It's never finished," Elena reminds everyone in an interview published on WRC.com.

"I remember in 2009 everybody said in the middle of the season it's easy for Sebastien to take another title. But then we had a crash, another crash and a disqualification so it's never finished."

But was Loeb's dominant and most recent win at the Rallye Deutschland easy?

Daniel Elena and Sébastien Loeb at the end of the Rallye Deutschland (Photo: WRC)

"This race for the outside view is easy for us but it's never easy," answers 39-year-old Elena.

"It's never easy because you see last year we had the puncture in Panzerplatte and lost the lead. It's possible to miss one or two braking points and go straight and if you look yesterday in Panzerplatte so many WRC cars crashed."

"If you want to be second, follow me" (Photo: Daniel Elena/Facebook)

Than why does it look so easy?

"Because Sebastien drives with a brain and we did everything absolutely right. There is a lot of experience in the car and in the team."

From GMM

Ferrari, whose Fernando Alonso is leading the world championship, is also the team with the fastest pit crew so far in 2012.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport has found that the Italian squad's tyre-changing crew is on average a touch under two tenths faster than reigning champions Red Bull per pitstop.

Photo: Ferrari

It is a remarkable turnaround for Maranello based Ferrari, who were reportedly in the pitstop "midfield" in the same mid-season ranking a year ago.

In 2011, Mercedes' was the fastest pit crew, but now the Brackley based squad is just fourth, more than three tenths slower than Ferrari and also behind Force India.

McLaren, whose 2012 crew is now orchestrated by Williams' former technical director Sam Michael, have the outright record for the fastest individual stop of 2012.

But, overall, the British team is behind Toro Rosso in sixth place, on average more than seven tenths slower than the Ferrari crew.

And, indicating that smaller budgets even slow teams down in the pits, Caterham's pitstops are on average 1.75 seconds slower than Red Bull, while Marussia (2.28s) and HRT (3.28) bring up the rear.