Engine Block Casting# 3737739 1958 Corvette on 2040-parts.com

News watch October 2012: today's industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hou Wednesday 31 October 2012• It's emerged GM's European 2012 earnings are down nearly half a billion dollars in Europe, where it now expects to lose $1.5bn to $1.8bn before interest and taxes for the full year (DetNews)• Ford has posted a third-quarter net profit of $1.63bn (£101bn) - almost matching its eventual profit total for the entire year 2011. Despite painful losses in Europe (Ford expects to lose $1bn in Europe alone this year) a resurgent North American market has buoyed Fords sales even higher than previous forecasts (Automotive News Europe)• Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has weighed in against Republican presedential nominee Mitt Romney, who argued that a move towards Chinese production would harm American jobs.

Fiat Abarth 500 Competizione Limited Edition surfaces

The Fiat 500 Abarth Competizione has been created for the Dutch market But now comes news that Fiat is launching a limited Edition 500 Abarth in the land of clogs and windmills – Holland. The Abarth 500 Competizione features a one-off exterior with a black roof, black ‘Abarth’ graphics on the doors and 17″ alloy wheels in black. Fiat are also throwing in climate, SatNav, upgraded sound system and leather.

Mercedes try to 'bring the noise' back to F1

MERCEDES trialled a device aimed at amplifying and improving the much-maligned sound made by the 2014 marque Formula One cars on the second day of testing in Barcelona. With new V6 engines forming part of an overhaul in F1 regulations, widespread criticism of the dulcet tones has continued from the opening race of the season in Australia. With F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone amongst those to question the enjoyment of listening to the new engines, the teams decided to look into ways of making it a more pleasurable experience.