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BMW expects China to pass US as its top market in 2013

When you combine two billion citizens, 100 cities with more than a million inhabitants and an economy that's as unrestrained as Jim Cramer on an Adderall binge, China's explosive auto industry growth shouldn't be a huge surprise. Audi already lists the communist country as its largest market, while Mercedes-Benz is expecting it to be there in the next few years. Now, according to a report from Automotive News, BMW is expecting the People's Republic to overtake the United States in sales by the end of 2013.
We already discovered the extent that BMW is going to in establishing a dedicated Chinese stronghold, when we explored BMW's Shanghai-based DesignWorks studio ahead of April's Shanghai Motor Show. And while we argued that DesignWorks Shanghai hasn't really borne fruit, it isn't due to a lack of sales.
BMW China has seen a 16-percent jump in year-over-year sales, lead by a 28-percent gain in 5 Series sales. Part of BMW's growth strategy comes from an ever-expanding dealership network. Remember those 100 cities we mentioned with over one million people? According to Karsten Engel, CEO of BMW's Chinese operations, those 100-million-plus city dwellers don't have access to a premium dealership.

Mercedes details plans for move to Georgia

Automakers are getting restless in America, moving their headquarters from one location to another. Toyota is shifting its US operations to Dallas, Porsche is moving to a new headquarters across town, Cadillac is relocating from Detroit to New York, but lately the news has been about Mercedes. The German automaker has run its US operations out of its current facility in Montvale, NJ for decades, but now it's preparing to relocate to a new facility in Atlanta. And it has just announced further details of the move. The company is building a new facility at the corner of Abernathy and Barfield in Sandy Springs outside of Atlanta. That's right near where the Georgia 400 meets Interstate 285 near Hartsfield-Jackson airport, giving Mercedes access to an existing infrastructure of hotels, restaurants and of course transportation routes. The facility will take up a 12-acre plot of land and is earmarked for completion in early 2018. Lest you think MBUSA will stay put in Montvale in the meantime, though, it won't. The company is actually going to relocate twice, moving in the meantime to a temporary, 186,000-square-foot facility at the Perimeter Center in Dunwoody, GA. That move will kick off in July. The move detailed earlier this week at a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol with Governor Nathan Deal will see Mercedes hiring hundreds of new employees in Atlanta. Even after it moves down south, though, the company will keep certain functions in New Jersey, both in Montvale and in Robbinsville where it has its parts distribution center. MERCEDES-BENZ USA ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF NEW CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS IN ATLANTA MBUSA to occupy interim office space in Central Perimeter before opening new, state-of-the-art facility in 2018 February 03, 2015 - ATLANTA -- At a press conference today at the Georgia State Capitol, Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) announced the permanent and interim locations for its new corporate headquarters in Atlanta. Company President and CEO Stephen Cannon made the announcement with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. MBUSA, which is currently headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey, will construct a new, state-of-the-art headquarters facility on a greenfield site located at the corner of Abernathy and Barfield roads in Sandy Springs, expected to be completed in early 2018.

The 2016 Spanish Grand Prix flipped all the scripts

The Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit and the Hungaroring fly the flag for processional races, yet Spain's Circuit de Catalunya is arguably as bad. Before this weekend, the pole-sitter won the race 19 times out of the last 25 years. The front row of the grid produced 23 winners in the past 25 years. The racing gods edited that script this year, when a first-lap crash and two mid-race strategy changes kept things open until the end of the 66-lap race. It started when Mercedes-AMG Petronas teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took each other out on Lap 1. After Rosberg passed pole-sitter Hamilton into Turn 1, Rosberg's car slowed through Turn 3, somehow in the wrong mode. Hamilton closed in on Rosberg so quickly that once the Brit ducked inside for the pass, he couldn't back out. Rosberg, however, closed the door so suddenly that Hamilton had no choice but to drive onto the grass. When Hamilton spun, he collected Rosberg and both Mercedes' ended up in the gravel trap. The stewards deemed it a racing incident. The crash put Red Bull teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in the lead, followed by Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz and the Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Both Ferraris cleared Sainz by Lap 10, leaving 56 laps for them to haul in the Red Bulls. Ferrari loosely followed Red Bull's pit strategies. Ricciardo pitted on Laps 11 and 28, Vettel pitted on Laps 15 and 37. Verstappen pitted on Laps 12 and 35, Raikkonen pitted on Laps 13 and 36. Pirelli predicted a three-stop race as the fastest and that the medium tire could only go about 23 laps. Verstappen and Raikkonen didn't get those memos. So while Ricciardo and Vettel came in for third stops the Dutchman and the Finn stayed out, with Verstappen ahead of Raikkonen at the front of the race as of Lap 43. That's when Verstappen – 18 years and 227 days old – proved how good a driver he is, lapping perfectly as second-place Raikkonen closed the gap to a little more than half a second. The Finn still couldn't get past the Dutchman down the pit straight even with the help of DRS, nor under braking at the only real passing opportunity into Turn 1. At the end of Lap 66 Verstappen crossed the line ahead of Raikkonen, a victorious end to Verstappen's first race weekend after being promoted to Red Bull. Further back, Vettel and Ricciardo fought for scraps, the German staying ahead to finish third.