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Watch a pro drifter drive the Nissan Skyline with his feet

You can't let a few setbacks dissuade you from trying to achieve your goals, and that's as true in motorsports as anywhere else in life. If you want an inspiring example of someone who isn't letting adversity stand in his way, just check out professional drifter Bartosz Ostalowski. He doesn't have arms but still competes with one foot on the wheel. It would be amazing to see someone drift a car using just a foot in any setting. However, the fact that Ostalowski is able to do that during competitions makes the feat even more impressive. To make drifting possible, his car is a custom modified R34 Nissan Skyline with an automatic transmission and a LS V8 from General Motors for power. If you watch the video above, and somehow don't believe what Ostalowski does is possible, the clip shows another example of him at work. This one cuts between interior and exterior views of the same run. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

The next steps automakers could take after sales drop again in April

DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers on Tuesday posted declines in U.S. new vehicle sales for April in a sign the long boom cycle that lifted the American auto industry to record sales last year is losing steam, sending carmaker stocks down. The drop in sales versus April 2016 came on the heels of a disappointing March, which automakers had shrugged off as just a bad month. But two straight weak months has heightened Wall Street worries the cyclical industry is on a downward swing after a nearly uninterrupted boom since the Great Recession's end in 2010. Auto sales were a drag on U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product, with the economy growing at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent according to an advance estimate published by the Commerce Department last Friday. Excluding the auto sector the GDP growth rate would have been 1.2 percent. Industry consultant Autodata put the industry's seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales at 16.88 million units for April, below the average of 17.2 million units predicted by analysts polled by Reuters. General Motors Co shares fell 2.9 percent while Ford Motor Co slid 4.3 percent and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's U.S.-traded shares tumbled 4.2 percent. The U.S. auto industry faces multiple challenges. Sales are slipping and vehicle inventory levels have risen even as carmakers have hiked discounts to lure customers. A flood of used vehicles from the boom cycle are increasingly competing with new cars. The question for automakers: How much and for how long to curtail production this summer, which will result in worker layoffs? To bring down stocks of unsold vehicles, the Detroit automakers need to cut production, and offer more discounts without creating "an incentives war," said Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for AlixPartners in Southfield, Michigan. "We see multiple weeks (of production) being taken out on the car side," he said, "and some softness on the truck side." Rival automakers will be watching each other to see if one is cutting prices to gain market share from another, he said, instead of just clearing inventory. INVESTORS DIGEST BAD NEWS Just last week GM reported a record first-quarter profit, but that had almost zero impact on the automaker's stock. The iconic carmaker, whose own interest was once conflated with that of America's, has slipped behind luxury carmaker Tesla Inc in terms of valuation.

Recharge Wrap-up: Video shows Tesla robots at work, Ghosn disappointed by China's EV market

A video from The Wall Street Journal shows Tesla's new assembly robots at work. The hulking bots are each named after X-Men superhero characters to give them a sense of familiarity and make them less intimidating to the humans working alongside them. Their monikers also reflect their superhuman levels of strength. The naming of the robots appears to have had the intended effect, as human employees refer to the automated machines as colleagues, and are happy to have the help moving the heavy cars around the factory floor. The robots were added as part of an upgrade and expansion to Tesla's factory in Fremont, CA last year. See the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says that China should offer more incentives to improve disappointing EV sales. Nissan sells its Leaf EV in China as the e30 under its Venucia brand. The company didn't disclose sales figures, but Ghosn is disappointed that EVs aren't "taking off" in China like they are in other markets. Until the market improves for the e30, Ghosn says Nissan probably won't introduce other EVs to China. "The main challenge today is really to encourage, put more incentives, in order for the consumer to buy in," says Ghosn. "Before adding more cars and bringing more technology, we just need to make sure we can sell the technology we already put into the ground." Read more at Automotive News. Total in France will convert its La Mede petroleum refinery to produce biodiesel. Total will stop producing petroleum at the refinery by the end of 2016, then spend $216 million to convert it into the country's first biorefinery. Improved fuel economy and energy efficiency have helped reduce demand for petroleum products in Europe by 15 percent since 2008. Total's response to "the crisis in the European refining industry" is "to innovate and adapt to meet shifting demand trends," according to Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne. "The central focus of Total's plan for our French refining business is to realign our operations and products to changing markets." Read more at Domestic Fuel, or in the press release below. Total's French Refining Roadmap: Upgrade Donges and Transform La Mede April 16, 2015 Paris – Total today presented its French refining roadmap to employee representatives. The plan is designed to give each Total's refining site in France the means to resist in a volatile environment and perform profitably.