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Le Mans 2014 in pictures

This weekend (14-15 June) sees the start of the 82nd running of the Le Mans 24-hour race, one of the most gruelling and prestigious events on the sportscar calendar. It's also something of a pilgrimage for tens of thousands of Brits, and we'll be joining them to bring you the full flavour of what amounts to a heady mix of summer festival and motor race. Click the image above to join us on our Le Mans road trip

The scramble for scarce tires

North American automakers are struggling with a nagging shortage of tires, caused in part by tire plant closings and rising demand for low-volume specialty tires. Automakers are paying much higher prices -- double-digit percentage increases from a year ago -- as tire makers gain pricing power. "We have been bombarded from every side for additional tires, and we can't keep up," said David O'Donnell, Continental Tire's vice president of original equipment in the Americas.

GM closes UK Advanced Design Studio

CDN has learnt that General Motors is closing its UK Advanced Design Studio as part of its ongoing restructuring program. Clay Dean, GM's executive director of advanced global design and Cadillac's brand director, arrived at the studio on 4 August to announce the closure to staff. The UK studio, which opened in 1999, was predominantly involved in the creation of Cadillac concept cars and was originally planned to be a short-term confidential operation as the smallest of GM's design studios.