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World Car Awards finalists snub American-branded vehicles — except for Bronco

The list of World Car Awards has been whittled down to 10 finalists, but only one American brand — Ford — appears among the remaining nine carmakers for this yearÂ’s top award. The Bronco is there, and it also is balloted as a finalist in the design category. The other categories are performance car, urban car, electric vehicle and luxury model. Each category has five finalists except World Car, which has 10. One brand conspicuous by its absence in any category: Tesla. The winner in each is scheduled to be crowned March 27 at the New York International Auto Show in Manhattan. This year marks the 20th year of the World Car Awards and the partnership with the New York show. The selection process involves 100-plus automotive journalists from 29 countries who vote, as they review and test-drive the eligible vehicles for the 2024 awards. Their journey is captured virtually on World Car TV. If youÂ’re counting, the brands that appear most on the six finals lists are Mercedes-Benz (four times), BMW (also four), Hyundai (three), and Volvo (three). HereÂ’s the full listing. A video clip showing all of them is here: World Car -BYD Seal / Atto 4 -Ford Bronco -Hyundai Kona / Kona Electric -Hyundai Santa Fe -Kia EV9 -Mazda CX-90 -Subaru Crosstrek -Toyota Prius -Volkswagen ID.7 -Volvo EX30 World Car Design of the Year Ford Bronco Ferrari Purosangue Toyota Prius Volvo EX30 Zeekr X 2024 World Electric Vehicle BMW i5 Kia EV9 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV Volkswagen ID.7 Volvo EX30 2024 World Luxury Car - BMW 5 Series / i5 - Lexus LM - Mercedes-Benz CLE - Mercedes-Benz E-Class - Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV 2024 World Urban Car  - Abarth 500e - BYD Dolphin - Lexus LBX - Suzuki Fronx - Volvo EX30 2024 World Performance Car - BMW M2 - BMW XM - Ferrari Purosangue - Hyundai Ioniq 5 N - Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid

Race Recap: 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix a thrilling wet mess

Three Free Practice sessions left us thinking Lewis Hamilton looked good to claim another victory for Mercedes AMG Petronas and close up the Driver's World Championship race, but the first qualifying session for the 2014 Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix threw out that script. A fuel leak in Q3 set Hamilton's car aflame and he never set a time. His chassis damaged beyond repair, the team built him a new one and he started from pit lane. That same session also claimed Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen, when a bad call about whether to go out again dropped him down to 17th and out for the day.
Without a real challenge, that put Hamilton's teammate-slash-nemesis Nico Rosberg on pole in the other Mercedes, followed by a resurgent Sebastian Vettel in the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Valtteri Bottas in the first Williams and Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull. Fernando Alonso waved the scarlet in fifth for Ferrari but figured he could be in third place by the end of the first lap. Felipe Massa put the second Williams in sixth, followed by Jenson Button in the first McLaren, Jean-Eric Vergne getting up to eighth for Toro Rosso, Nico Hülkenberg in ninth for Force India and Kevin Magnussen in the second McLaren.
When rain poured on the 4.381-kilometer Hungaroring before the race, every script up and down the field got rewritten, and they would continue come in for revision almost every one of the 70 laps.

Lewis Hamilton scores a record 80th pole in Japan, Vettel ninth

SUZUKA, Japan (Reuters) - Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton seized a record-extending 80th pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, timing his sole flying lap to perfection while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel managed only ninth. The Mercedes driver, in dominant form all weekend at the Suzuka circuit, pumped in a one minute 27.760 second lap on the super-soft tires while it was still only just spitting with rain. Vettel and Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who went out on intermediate tires in the final part of qualifying with the track still dry, lost time coming back in to fit the super-soft tires. The German then made another mistake on his first flying lap and was unable to get another one in as the intermittent drizzle turned into a full-blown shower that drenched the track. Meanwhile, Hamilton – who along with team mate Valtteri Bottas had gone out straight away on the super-soft tires to beat the rain – was lighting up the timing screens. "The team have done an amazing job this weekend, and the call that we made for Q3 was probably the most difficult," said the Briton, joined by Bottas on the front row after the Finn completed a second successive Mercedes front row lockout. "It's so difficult when the pressure is on to make the right call but that's the big difference between us this year and that's why we're the best and the team deserve it," added Hamilton. Vettel trails his fellow four-times champion by 50 points in the standings with just four races left after Japan. His hopes are fading fast and he needs a huge stroke of luck now to reignite his challenge. "Obviously it's not the position we deserve to be in," said the 31-year-old. "I think we have better speed than ninth but we'll start there and see how it goes. "Anything can happen tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day." RICCIARDO FUMES Vettel's misfortune allowed 21-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen to qualify third for Red Bull. "We have a bigger chance now to be on the podium," said Verstappen, doubting that he would need to worry too much about the others' title battle: "Is it still a battle? I'm not sure," he said. While the Dutchman celebrated, teammate Daniel Ricciardo was left hoarse with anger after a power unit problem sidelined him during the second phase of qualifying before he had set a time. The Australian, as a consequence, is set to start 15th. "I just can't catch a break," said Ricciardo, who is leaving Red Bull for Renault at the end of the year.