Autoweek in review: What you might have missed

In a nutshell, here's what happened this week:

--Two-time Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon died on Sunday after a 15-car crash at the Izod IndyCar Series' season-ending race in Las Vegas. He got caught up on lap 11, went airborne and slammed into the track's outside wall. Read the full story here.

Drivers Pippa Mann and J. R. Hildebrand were injured in the pileup but were released on Monday from a Las Vegas hospital after an overnight stay.

IndyCar canceled its end-of-season banquet scheduled for that night in Las Vegas. Dario Franchitti was declared the season champion--his third consecutive title for IndyCar, but said he has no plans to celebrate.

Wheldon's funeral will be held on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 10 a.m. Eastern at First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg, Fla. Wheldon's wife released a statement on Thursday inviting the public to attend.

Race-car maker Dallara will name the next-generation IndyCar chassis after Wheldon.

-- Mercedes-Benz sacked the head of its U.S. operation, Ernst Lieb, who held the job for five years. CFO Herbert Werner is now in charge of Mercedes-Benz USA.

-- Mercedes also recalled about 7,000 diesel vehicles from the 2011 and 2012 model years to fix a possible defect with the diesel filter that could cause it to leak fuel.

-- The DeLorean Motor Co., based in Texas, rolled out an electric version of the DeLorean DMC-12 gullwing sports car, which has a range of about 70 miles. Version two is already in the works.

-- Neiman Marcus is tucking a 2012 Ferrari FF into its annual Christmas Book. Ten FFs will be sold at $375,000 apiece. The deal includes a set of matching luggage and a session at the Ferrari Winter Driving School in Aspen, Colo.

-- Holden, the Australian unit of General Motors, has finished reviving its futuristic first concept car--the 1969 Holden Hurricane concept--after five years working on the project. The car featured groundbreaking technology in its day and now looks like a life-size Hot Wheels car.

-- Daimler AG will invest $350 million to produce a fifth Mercedes-Benz model at its factory in Vance, Ala., starting in 2015. Sources have said it's a coupelike version of the M-class SUV and likely will be called the MLC.

-- Saab owner Swedish Automobile has turned down a takeover offer from Youngman and Pang Da and asked the companies to honor the original agreement to take a combined stake of $338 million in the company.

By Michelle Koueiter