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NEW YORK (AP) -- Ford Motor says sales in China by the company and its local partners jumped 84 percent in the first quarter, fueled by higher demand for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The jump highlights China's key role in driving demand for global automakers, while sales remain weak elsewhere.

The Figo is different. Ford squeezed the car into a tiny frame -- 3.8 meters (12.5 feet) by 1.7 meters (5.5 feet) -- to ease its passage through the tide of bullock carts, angry taxis, handcarts, motorbikes and cows that clog city roads. And they used easy-to-replace components, like bumpers, to handle the unavoidable dents and dings. "The Figo team went to great lengths to ensure that key components are easily and affordably replaced," Boneham said. The car also has extra durable lubricating and cooling systems, to deal with India's extreme heat and torrential rains. But its most Indian feature...

Auto Safety: As a Toyota Prius with a stuck accelerator races down a California freeway, no one mourns the victims of the fuel economy standards imposed by Congress. Forced into smaller cars, thousands have died. We can barely imagine the panic felt by James Sikes, 61, as his Toyota Prius accelerated uncontrollably while he drove down Interstate 8 in San Diego County. We can imagine the continuation of the grandstanding by the owners of "government motors" as they further browbeat a competitor of government-run GM and Chrysler. We do not minimize the safety issues here that need to be addressed,...

By | Published: Between you and me, Toyota really messed this one up. The company long known for its meticulous quality and, by extension, its meticulous customer care drove completely off the rails in recent years, churning out ever larger production batches, ever faster, even as quality control declined inversely. That led to the recall of more than 8 million vehicles across a slew of Toyota brands. The company did this — and this is where the customer care part gets really murky — only after the failure of what appears to be a Machiavellian effort to silence its customers’...

Tormenting citizens.

Toyota USA says it is evaluating brake problems with the 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid, but no decision has been made about a recall. Company spokesman Brian Lyons says it's too soon to talk about a recall. He says the automaker is cooperating fully with a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probe into the brake troubles. The government is investigating reports that antilock brakes can fail momentarily on some 2010 Prius models in slippery conditions or on rough roads. The company says it made a change in the 2010 braking system last month to correct cars in production. The company has...

Toyota is the latest Japanese corporate icon making headlines for all the wrong reasons. News of the automaker's massive vehicle recalls over faulty gas pedals in the U.S. came just days after Japan Airlines, a once proud flag carrier, filed for bankruptcy, saddled with billions in debt. Sony has lost its lead in consumer gadgets to the likes of Apple Inc. and has suffered its own quality mishaps. Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker, is recalling 646,000 cars worldwide because of a faulty window switch. Taken together, Japan Inc.'s stellar reputation for quality has taken a hit — just as China...

"DETROIT, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N), swept the 2010 North American Car and Truck Awards at the Detroit auto show on Monday, marking only the third time in the 17-year history of the award that a single automaker has claimed both titles. A panel of about 50 U.S. and Canadian automotive journalists named the Ford Fusion Hybrid the car of the year and the Ford Transit Connect the truck of the year.

Note: The following text is a quote: Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMonday, November 23, 2009 Arrests Made in Case Involving Conspiracy to Procure Weapons, Including Anti-Aircraft Missiles Arrests were made today in a case involving a conspiracy to procure weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles. A criminal complaint, unsealed today, charged Dani Nemr Tarraf with conspiring to acquire anti-aircraft missiles (FIM-92 Stingers) and conspiring to possess machine guns (approximately 10,000 Colt M4 Carbines). In addition, Tarraf and other defendants — including Douri Nemr Tarraf, Hassan Mohamad Komeiha, and Hussein Ali Asfour — were charged with conspiring to...

Motorists should be forced to pay to drive on the busiest roads to slash greenhouse gas emissions, the Government's climate change watchdog says today. The Climate Change Committee, led by former CBI chief Lord Turner, wants ministers to introduce compulsory road pricing to prevent global warming. Under the controversial scheme, cars would be fitted with electronic tags and tracked either by satellite or roadside beacon. Charges would rise at times of peak congestion to around £1.50 a mile. In a report to MPs, the advisers called for a carbon revolution - with thousands of wind turbines, nuclear power stations...

WASHINGTON — With 2010 models arriving in auto dealer showrooms, the Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers that buying a new car, light truck, motor home or motorcycle could qualify them for a special deduction for state and local sales and excise taxes on their 2009 tax returns. Purchases made before Jan. 1, 2010, qualify for this deduction under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. The deduction is limited to sales and excise taxes and similar fees paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price of a new vehicle. The deduction is reduced for joint filers with modified...

Company Announces Plan For Baldwin (Mobile) Car Plant Bringing 6,000 Jobs Friday, September 25, 2009 By GEORGE R. ALTMAN MONTGOMERY — Hybrid Kinetic Motors plans a $1.5 billion car plant,employing nearly 6,000 workers, in Baldwin County within three to five years, company and state officials said Thursday. But state leaders said much work needs to be done — particularly fundraising by HK Motors — before the hybrid car plant can be built, and it is far from certain that the project will be completed. "We're waiting now to make sure that we have all the pieces in place, so we...

WASHINGTON (AP) - It's revived business at car dealerships, taken gas-guzzlers off the road and given a badly needed boost to struggling auto factories. By many measures, the government's Cash for Clunkers program has been a success. Yet as it winds down, there is another lasting image: the hasty planning and troubled execution that nearly derailed the program early on and, lately, has led some frustrated dealers to drop out amid long waits for the government money.

Conservation: The Chevy Volt is said to be able to get 230 miles per gallon. That's if it's continually plugged into a fragile and overburdened power grid. Where will you be when the lights go out? Since most U.S. electricity generation is not carbon-free, the Congressional Research Service agrees. The "widespread adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles through 2030 may have only a small effect on, and might actually increase, carbon emissions," it observes. "If you are using coal-fired power plants and half the country's electricity comes from coal powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas emitter for another?"...

Hyundai Motor America said Wednesday it would begin selling its premier luxury sedan in the U.S. late next year, based on the success the South Korean company has had with its other models in the states. Hyundai is bringing the Equus to U.S., piggybacking on the positive response it received from the Genesis sedan, which received the North American Car of the Year award earlier this year. U.S. sales of the Genesis soared 225.5 percent in July, helping Hyundai post an overall sales increase of 19.5 percent. The Equus competes with Lexus, BMW and Mercedes in South Korea.(continued)

Not everyone is content with blending in. Some style their hair into a Mohawk, others adorn themselves with elaborate tattoos, and even more dress in all sorts of wacky clothing that most of us would consider wearing only on Halloween, all in an effort to be unique. And some people's desire to be distinctive doesn't stop there. While a nondescript sedan or sport-utility vehicle does the trick for many, there's a small cadre of Americans that isn't content with a car that looks like a car. They follow another path in terms of the rides they drive. The following (all...

Most of us are familiar with the general details of this Clunker program. The auto dealerships in our area are rolling out a lot of advertising to bring people in their showrooms starting tomorrow. Likely, many in the rest of the country are doing the same.If there are Freepers who are auto dealers or otherwise familiar with the program, their comments would be especially welcome.My situation is this: I can't afford a new car but I have an eligible automobile (less than 25 years old, driveable, continuiously registered and insured for the last year and an EPA rating of less...

Sara was late for work. The alarm clock didn't alarm, the kids were unusually slow getting ready for school, and nothing went right. She finally got to her car -- a brand new 2020 Chevy Adventure. She touched the finger-print secured start button. Nothing. It wouldn't start. She touched it again. Nothing. Furious, she banged the steering wheel with her fist. Then she noticed the paper hanging from the receipt printer on the dash. "Your designated visa account rejected your Road Use Tax in the amount of $87.32 for the month of June, 2020. You must insert a valid account...

American motorists afraid that repairing the family car might break their budget are increasingly turning to Christian repair garages that offer honesty and charity as well as mechanical expertise. Christian Brothers Automotive, founded in Texas in the early 1980s, has just opened its 59th franchise in the recession-hit suburbs of St Louis, Missouri as part of its plans to have 120 outlets across the United States. Most are currently based in the South’s Bible Belt but the company is now expanding north. Nearly 80 per cent of Americans describe themselves as Christians so the company’s philosophy of ministering to its...

The ultra-budget Tata Nano is being hailed by many as the biggest leap forward since the Model T Ford. So, if they're right, it's more important than the Beetle. More important than the Mini. More important than man's conquest of the moon. And amazingly, more important too than the invention of Sky+. I don't think they are right though. Because the only thing that makes it stand out is the low, low price. Brilliant. But I could make a cheap car if I built it in a factory made from wattle and mud, paid the workers in rice and motivated...