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Like it or not, when it comes to brass tacks, motorsports is a business. To keep racing, the teams need to make money, and, generally speaking, the winnings from a victory arent going to cover the expenses. The reality is that teams need sponsorship to survive. For decades, much of that funding in the top rungs came from tobacco advertising (like the Winston Cup or Michael Schumachers Marlboro-sponsored Ferrari). But today, thats illegal in most places, and energy drink companies have so far been happy to fill the void. An intriguing editorial on Asphalt and Rubber warns teams not to get too used to this recent stream of funding, though, because the same fate could befall these caffeinated drinks in the future as did cigarettes in the past.

The article focuses specifically on MotoGP. In that series, Red Bull (which also operates two separate Formula 1 teams) and Monster Energy are the title sponsors of 5 of the 18 races, plus several riders and teams. They arent alone, though. Other energy drink companies are providing sponsorship, as well. The issue is that the sugary beverages are facing bans to people under 18 in several European countries and are already prohibited to young folks in Lithuania. If an outright ban actually happens, it might make all of this expensive racing sponsorship far less attractive to the companies because they wouldnt have nearly as many people to advertise to.

While the story pays definite attention to Europe, it does cite the American Medical Association as also lobbying to ban energy drinks for minors in the US. Its an interesting take on a motorsports situation that is rarely considered. If youre a fan of racing, especially on bikes, the editorial is definitely worth a read.

If you find yourself in the theater to watch Transformers: Age of Extinction, pay special attention to the scenes set in China between mouthfuls of popcorn because you just might be seeing some of those vehicles on roads in the US in the not-too-distant future. Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd. (GAC) has several of its Trumpchi brand of vehicles in the new action film, and it claims that its trying to bring them to American consumers as soon as next year.

GAC wants its first model here to be the Trumpchi GS5 SUV (pictured above). In China, its offered with either a 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated four-cylinder with 145 horsepower and 138 pound-feet or a 1.8-liter turbocharged four with 174 horsepower and 175 lb-ft. ​Buyers can choose from automatic and manual gearboxes, each with five speeds, and front- or all-wheel drive.

"We want to start exporting to the U.S. as quickly as possible and I am confident that they will find our Trumpchi cars competitive," said Trumpchi boss Wu Song to Automotive News China. The company was chosen to appear in the fourth Transformers movie after director Michael Bay spotted the companys E-Jet plug-in hybrid and wanted to put it in the film, Song said.

While its great to be ambitious, lets be honest. Breaking into the US market isnt an easy task. Just look at the valiant effort that Mahindra put up in its attempt to sell vehicles here. Theres little doubt that a Chinese automaker will eventually sell its cars in the US, but the chances that it happens as early as next year are knife-edge slim.