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Formula One racecars have changed a lot over the years, and you can tell that much just by looking at them. Engines have moved to the back, cylinder counts have changed, tires have gotten wider, centers of gravity lowered to within an inch of the ground, aerodynamics have dictated the form, sponsor liveries have replaced national racing colors... All this in gradual increments until we get to the jet fighters on wheels that we know today.

This may not be the first animated video we've seen showing just how the changes have occurred, and we still really dig the last one. But this minute-and-a-half clip – released to promote this year's Brazilian Grand Prix and portraying the cars magically changing on a kid's scale racetrack – is no less fun to watch, taking us from the days of From the days of Fangio and Nuvolari through Clark, Piquet, Senna, Schumacher and Vettel. Check it out for yourself below.

If you were driving in the rain on a two-lane highway, caught a tire on the edge of the pavement and flipped your car, what would you do? Let out a yelp, maybe a scream? We would too, but somehow this woman found herself in a barrel roll and remained totally silent; completely composed. After the crash, the woman is fully conscious - even slightly perturbed judging by the look on her face. We're just glad she wasn't seriously injured (and we hope nobody else was, either).

Let's try and learn something from this. First, it's a good idea to try to keep both hands on the wheel in a crash, if for no other reason than to prevent them from poking out the side window. Second, keep the interior of your car clean. The woman is lucky none of the stuff in her back seat flew to the front and injured her. Finally, drive very carefully on wet roads, especially if you live in a dry area that doesn't see much rain; the first rain of the season can make oil-covered roads very slick.

Check out the video below to see the barrel roll and how calmly the woman handles it.

Automakers and their executives rarely like to divulge information regarding future goings on, but the board of directors at Ford sound like they're getting a little antsy about chief executive officer Alan Mulally and his plans for 2014.

According to Reuters, as news of Mulally's possible departure to Microsoft continues to swirl, Ford's board is looking to push the affable executive to make a decision about his future sooner rather than later. Apparently, the board is growing concerned that this will-he/won't-he drama may end up distracting the media from covering Ford's other big news events next year – items like the debut of key all-new products like the Mustang and F-150.

So far, the picture for Mulally's eventual successor remains fuzzy, but it's understood that the leading candidate remains the company's chief operating officer, Mark Fields. Just recently, we heard that Mulally will stay until the end of 2014, but a few months ago, Ford seemed open to the idea of him stepping down earlier than that.

Based on the turnaround Mulally has spearheaded at the automaker, we don't imagine Ford's board is particularly anxious to get rid of him, but it does sound like they'd like to firm up their plans sooner rather than later.

As the market for new vehicles continues to improve and crossover and pickup sales have caught fire, it's perhaps no surprise that the sales of all-wheel-drive (and four-wheel-drive) vehicles are also on the rise. Using data provided by Polk, The Detroit News points out that nearly one-third (31.3 percent) of all new vehicles sold this year through September were equipped with either all- or four-wheel drive. This is up from slightly more than a quarter (26.3 percent) during the same nine-month span of 2008.

While the article suggests that buyers are opting for AWD in search of safer vehicles, it also points to increased popularity among brands offering many AWD vehicles (like Subaru and Audi) as a factor in the equation. Of course, there's also the simple fact that more and more vehicles are being offered today with all-wheel drive. This larger number includes, of course, America's ever-increasing crossover pool, but the trend is also due to luxury sedans like the Buick LaCrosse and Jaguar XF, both of which are newly available with all-wheel drive.

Subaru offers all of its models – except the BRZ – with standard AWD, and its sales are up 28.3 so far this year, while the article also reports that 88 percent of Audi's vehicles sold in 2012 were equipped with its Quattro system. This trend figures to continue, too, as more automakers are introducing additional CUVs with the availability of all-wheel drive.

One of the more interesting aspects to this data, though, is revealed in a graph that shows that as car sales slid during the recession, the percentage of all-wheel-drive vehicles sold grew rapidly. This, despite there usually being a cost premium associated with such technology. From 2008 through 2011, sales of AWD vehicles increased by more than 4 percent during years that the industry as a whole was shrinking.

There's a fight brewing in the aftermath of General Motors' announcement that Holden, its Australian subsidiary, will soon cease building vehicles. With the end of production for dedicated Australian models coming in 2017, Holden will be limited to selling imported, rebadged models from other GM brands (likely Chevy), a conundrum that is evidently leaving some execs wondering if it wouldn't just make more sense to shelve the Australian marque altogether and replace it with Bowtie branding.

The story, from News Corp Australia, details the battle between executives from Holden and their counterparts in Detroit, with the former led by departing boss Mike Devereux. "Holden is one of the most valuable brands in Australia. We are committed to the brand for the long term. The brand is going to be a part of the fabric of this country for a very long time," he assured News Corp Australia. But there is the acknowledgment that keeping Holden around won't be easy: "There will now be the biggest fight ever to save the Holden brand from being shelved," NCA was told by a Holden employee. "Now that (Holden) won't be making cars and there won't be anything unique about the vehicles, the debate is going to come up again and it will be hard to win."

The unnamed employee might be right. As Holden, the brand is unable to take advantage of the marketing and ad dollars allocated to Chevy on a global basis. There's also concern from GM that shuttering production in Australia has caused irreparable damage to the Holden name. "There is no emotion in this. It will all come down to money. If General Motors thinks sales will go down because the Holden brand is on the nose, then they will switch it to Chevrolet," an insider told NCA.

What's your opinion on all this? Certainly, the financial aspect of replacing Holden with Chevy makes sense, but closing brands is a dicey business, particularly in the court of public opinion. Have your say in Comments – should Holden stay or go?

We had plenty of nice things to say about the sleek, new Hyundai Genesis Sedan when we drove the Korean domestic market version late last month. And while we're still waiting to find out just when the new rear-driver will arrive in the US market, Hyundai's home-market operations have released a series of videos on the new sedan.

Now, unfortunately, all the videos are in Korean. While we haven't the foggiest idea of what they're actually saying, the eight videos in the series give a great look at the new Genesis Sedan in motion, as well as showing off some of the development process behind the newest member of the Hyundai family.

We've embedded all eight videos below for your viewing pleasure. Have a look below.

In terms of being a major newsmaker, the last seven days have probably been the biggest for General Motors since its 2009 bankruptcy. Aside from announcing that Mary Barra will be succeeding Dan Akerson as its CEO next year, the automaker also appears to be streamlining its global operations by pulling Chevrolet from Europe in 2016 and winding down its Holden manufacturing operations in Australia by the end of 2017. Now, as was originally speculated about in October, GM has confirmed that it is selling off its seven-percent stake in PSA Peugeot Citroën.

Despite this announcement, the two automakers will continue to move forward on elements of the alliance launched just 22 months ago, including shared vehicle platforms. According to PSA, these vehicles include a new subcompact MPV and a compact crossover both riding on existing PSA platforms, as well as an all-new subcompact commercial vehicle. Plans for a shared B-segment platform and a new small-displacement gasoline engine have been scrapped, however. In addition to these plans, GM and PSA are still hoping to benefit from synergies like joint purchasing and shared production, but the expected savings from these synergies has been reduced from $2 billion by 2017 to $1.2 billion by 2018.

GM is not discussing how much it expects to get from the sale of its 28.84 million shares of PSA, but The Detroit News indicates that the GM spent $400 million on the alliance 22 months ago.

In other sell-off news, GM has confirmed it has just parted with its its 8.5-percent common equity stake in Ally Financial. The sale, which included proceeds of about $0.9 billion, is expected to net GM about $0.5 billion which will be logged on its fourth-quarter balance sheet as a special item. The stock sale does not mean that Ally and GM are no longer on speaking terms, however, with CFO Dan Ammann saying, "Ally continues to play an important role in financing our dealers and customers in the United States."

Scroll down to read press releases on both GM divestitures.

It's been almost 13 years since Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was killed during the 2001 Daytona 500, but the famed No. 3 will be making its return to the sport at that very track next month with NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie Austin Dillon behind the wheel. We first heard reports of this back in August, but Richard Childress Racing has made the news official this week.

There is no doubt the No. 3 will bring some extra attention to Dillon next season, but ESPN reports that team owner Richard Childress, and Dillon's grandfather, said that he's received overwhelmingly positive feedback from series fans this year. That report also indicated that the neither of the two paint schemes planned for 2014 (with major sponsorships coming from Dow and Cheerios) will have any resemblance to Earnhardt's trademark black, red and white GM Goodwrench design.

With Kevin Harvick – Earnhardt Sr.'s successor – leaving RCR at the end of this past season, Dillon was named as his replacement in the three-car team, which will transition the Chevrolet SS racecar from Harvick's No. 29 back to The Intimidator's number. Dillon is no stranger to the No. 3 in NASCAR, as he has raced and won titles with this number in the Nationwide and Truck series.

What do you think of RCR's resurrection of Earnardt's No. 3? Let us know in our poll and/or Comments.

Mercedes-Benz designers had the unique challenge of creating a bespoke new car for the recently released Gran Turismo 6, but the automaker took that challenge a step further by creating a full-scale showcar, a concept it debuted at last month's LA Auto Show. The long, low and wide AMG Vision GT is obviously a car not meant for this world (unless, of course, you're J&S World Wide Holdings), but Mercedes has released a video showing how it brought the video game special to life.

We would have to imagine that vehicle designers already have one of the coolest jobs in the automotive industry, but the guys behind the Mercedes AMG Vision GT seemed to have a little extra fun with this assignment. Rather than having to worry about practicality or safety, these designers instead had to focus on how the car looked when viewed through all of the game's perspectives. Yes, this actually required them to play video games on the job. Poor guys!

The video, which is posted below, shows some of the other prospective designs for this car and even some in-game action, but the best part is perhaps listening to the virtual exhaust note that was also created specifically for this car.

Autonomous cars may still be in their infancy, but more and more big names in the auto industry are diving in head first. Nissan is already making strides with a semi-autonomous Leaf EV and General Motors is planning to offer semi-autonomous tech by 2020. And then there's Google, doing its thing with a fleet of Toyota Prius. Now, Ford is showing off its latest automated effort, a driverless Fusion Hybrid.

Partnering with the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and State Farm Insurance, the project is part of Ford's Blueprint for Mobility, the company's plan for transportation beyond 2025. "The Ford Fusion Hybrid automated vehicle represents a vital step toward our vision for the future of mobility," Chairman Bill Ford said. "We see a future of connected cars that communicate with each other and the world around them to make driving safer, ease traffic congestion and sustain the environment."

The automated Fusion features four LiDAR infrared sensors that scan the road 2.5 million times every second, using a principle similar to the echolocation used by dolphins or bats. Using the infrared light emitted by the LiDAR, the car can draw a picture of everything within 200 feet to create a map of its surroundings. According to Ford, the sensors are able to tell the difference between a paper bag and a small animal from a football field away.

Take a look down below for some of the exciting information on this autonomous project from Ford.

It's not every day that the FIA opens up applications to accept a new Formula One team on the grid. In fact the last time it did was in 2010, when 15 interested parties applied. The FIA ended up picking three: Virgin, Lotus and HRT. Virgin ended up taken over by Marussia, that Lotus team became what is now known as Caterham, and the Hispania Racing Team (whose 2011 chassis is pictured above, largely without sponsors) ended up dropping out. But now the FIA is reportedly opening it up to find a replacement for HRT and expand the grid back to 12 teams.

Potential new teams are invited to register a formal expression of interest with the FIA by January 3. Considering that's just three weeks away, insiders are speculating that the FIA could already have some applicants in mind. The new team would have to commit to be on the grid by 2015 and remain there through 2020. The regulations state that there can be as many as 13 teams on the grid, so if the FIA – which has sole discretion over which applicant(s) will be accepted – finds more than one suitable new entry, it could feasibly give both a shot at the big leagues.

The Gallardo was far and away Lamborghini's most successful model. Over the course of ten years, the Bolognese automaker sold some 14,000 of them. As the Gallardo has now reached the end of its production cycle, Lamborghini is hard at work developing its replacement, and these are the latest spy shots of the work in progress.

Now wearing swirly camouflage instead of the flat-black wrap spied on previous prototypes, this latest version is our best glimpse yet at the supercar expected to be called Cabrera. Despite the more disguising wrap, though, the contrast between bodywork and air vents is more evident – particularly between the side window and the rear wheel, where this prototype appears to be sporting a panel similar in appearance to the "side blade" on the Audi R8 (with whose replacement the Cabrera is expected to share much). However, this is more likely a bit of disguise to throw us off the scent. Don't be thrown by the headlamp treatment, either. It may look like a Photoshop product, but our photographers on the ground tell us these translucent screens are just another diversion – as if you couldn't tell this was a Lambo from a mile away.

As for technical details, we're still expecting a reworked version of the outgoing model's 5.2-liter V10 driving all four wheels, only retuned to the tune of 600 horsepower. A dual-clutch gearbox (similar to the excellent unit newly installed in the R8) is tipped to transmit the power instead of the six-speed manual or robotized gearboxes in the outgoing Gallardo or the rapid but unrefined ISR transmission in the Aventador. Expect weight to be trimmed thanks to Lamborghini's further experimentation with carbon fiber production techniques, helping the Cabrera do better than hold its own with newer, fresher competition like the Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren 12C.

After setting a world land speed record in a 50,000-horsepower jet car, we're bringing The List hosts Jessi Combs and Patrick McIntyre back down to Earth with a to-do item more accessible for the common enthusiast: drive the Tail of the Dragon.

If you're not yet in the know, the Tail of the Dragon is an 11-mile stretch of US Route 129 that straddles Tennessee and North Carolina. This windy, forested route runs in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains and is known for one thing: curves, and lots of them.

The bulk of its estimated 318 turns are located in The Volunteer State, and the good ones are given names like Crud Corner, Hog Pen Bend and The Whip. Many a motorist and motorcyclist have overestimated their driving abilities here and paid a tax in body panels and pride, and the police now have such a presence that tickets are a rite of passage.

Still, the Dragon comes up in any conversation about the very best driving roads in the US (dozens of you have written in and suggested we tackle it), so it's off to Tennessee we go to cross another major item off The List.

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Where the current roadgoing Ferrari coupe with its rear-mounted V8 can go beyond this Speciale edition, I don't know. The 458 Italia and Spider already hold a very dear place in the hearts of anyone who has driven them on a sunny day over great roads or tracks, and I was pretty sure nothing could beat the heady sensory combo presented in the 458 Spider when I first drove it back in 2011. I may have to change my opinion now.

Companies like Ferrari are in the enviable position of sprinkling performance dust on their already-great base cars, all just to make them a skosh better and grab us again by the loins for one more model year. Some perspective: in 2002, the legendary Enzo set its personal best around Ferrari's 1.9-mile track at Fiorano, pulling a 1:24.9. This 458 Speciale with four fewer cylinders and more weight beats it with a time of 1:23.5, and not once during my laps did I feel as though I might die if my slightest judgment behind the wheel was less than on the money.