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Montezemolo steps down, Marchionne steps up as chairman of Ferrari

If the history of an automaker is divided up by the mandate of its leadership, then this is surely the end of an era for Ferrari. After repeatedly locking horns with Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne over a variety of issues, longtime Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo has announced his resignation.
Montezemolo has a long history with both Fiat and Ferrari. He started his career at the former before moving over to the latter in 1973 (only a few years Fiat took over half of Ferrari), starting out as Enzo Ferrari's assistant. He was appointed head of the Scuderia the following year, driving the team to success and subsequently taking over all of the Fiat group's racing activities. After the Prancing Horse marque struggled in the wake of its founder's death in 1988, Montezemolo was appointed to take it over in '91 and has been at the helm ever since.
Following Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli's passing in 2003, both Montezemolo and Marchionne were named to the Fiat board. A year later, after the passing of Gianni's younger brother Umberto, Montezemolo was named chairman of the Fiat Group (to be succeeded six years later by Agnelli heir John Elkann) and Marchionne its chief executive.

Even Ferrari swept up in latest Takata recall expansion

The scope of Takata's deadly airbag problems continues to widen. Eight manufacturers announced recalls Friday that affect more than 12 million vehicles, according to documents filed with federal regulators. The automakers include Honda, which is recalling 4.5 million units, Fiat Chrysler with 4.3 million, Toyota with 1.65 million, and Subaru, which is recalling almost 400,000. Some of these cars include the Saab 9-2x and Pontiac Vibe that Toyota and Subaru made for General Motors. Mazda will recall 730,000 vehicles and Nissan has 400,000 affected units. The smallest numbers were posted by Mitsubishi, with 38,000 Lancers manufactured from 2006 to 2007, and as a noteworthy high-end manufacturer, Ferrari is calling back 2,800 vehicles. These are all US-market cars. Beyond America, the Japanese Transport Ministry has announced seven million additional vehicles will be recalled, which means 19.6 million vehicles across the globe are affected by recalls announced. The defects have been traced to an insufficiently manufactured airbag inflator, which lacks a drying agent that would prevent the inflators from deteriorating over time. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, which have become unstable and are prone to exploding and showering vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal shrapnel. A private equity firm, KKR & Co., has been named in a possible buyout of the struggling Takata. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Recalls Ferrari Honda Mazda Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Subaru Toyota Saab Safety

Ferrari Speciale and Porsche GT3 make the trip to Le Mans

Call it a pilgrimage. Call it a right of passage. The bottom line is that every racing fan should make the trip to Le Mans at some point. All the better if you can do it in style, as Evo has for this latest video. Instead of taking any old car through the Chunnel and along the French countryside to the famous Circuit de la Sarthe, Evo made the trip in the Ferrari 458 Speciale and Porsche 911 GT3. Both are more extreme versions of the already capable sports cars. They're still naturally aspirated, drive the rear wheels through seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions, and both won top honors in Evo's car of the year awards upon their release. And we could hardly imagine better vehicles for the journey. Along the way, the convoy-of-two stopped by the side of the old Rouen-Les-Essarts circuit. Back in the 1950s and 60s it was regarded as one of Europe's finest street circuits, hosting the French Grand Prix five times. It was closed down and paved over in the decades that followed, and is today part of a public thoroughfare – but you can still drive around it and see some of the relics of its former self peering through. Related Video: News Source: Evo via YouTube Ferrari Porsche Supercars Videos viral video porsche 911 gt3 evo circuit de la sarthe