BERLIN – Earlier this month, Volkswagen threw a party in New York's Museum of Modern Art to mark a breakthrough year in the U.S. and the highest annual sales in the country since 2002.
The ... Jan. 23, 2012 06:01 European CT

DETROIT -- You wouldn't expect a run-of-the-mill auto review from a blog named sexliesandbacon.com. And Melysa Schmitt doesn't give you one. Her headline: "Why I Want to make Sweet Sweet Love to You Inside the 2013 ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.23

ISTANBUL -- Turkish automaker Tofas, a joint venture between conglomerate Koc Holding and Italy's Fiat, plans to produce a car wholly made in Turkey, the Turkish parent company's chairman Mustafa Koc said.
Jan. 19, 2012 13:44 European CT

DETROIT -- As automakers rolled out new vehicles during the Detroit auto show it was clear that the glitzy introductions of electric-vehicle concepts at past shows have given way to a more prosaic -- but realistic -- emphasis on high- ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

So this is what an auto show looks like in an industry climbing back on its feet. People talk product. Design, not the downturn, is the hot topic. The Detroit auto show was not the kind of gloom-fest that has ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Acura expects a whopping 46 percent jump in sales this year, powered by a string of new cars that begins with two entry-luxury vehicles arriving this spring. The ILX sedan and RDX crossover will be in showrooms in March. ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Lincoln sales have shrunk to less than half of their peak, making it almost a boutique brand rather than a major player in the luxury segment. Ford Motor Co. marketing boss Jim Farley sees that as an opportunity.
12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

The top executive at AutoNation Inc., the nation's largest car dealership group, likes the 2013 Ford Fusion, unveiled last week at the Detroit auto show, very much indeed. AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson called the Fusion "the best mid- ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Among her numerous interests, Katrina Jefferson blogs for a women's fashion and fitness Web site called fabfitfun.com. The site has more than 100,000 mostly women subscribers ranging in age from 18 to 45, Jefferson says. ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. is adding seven manufacturing plants around the world, including four in Asia, says John Fleming, executive vice president of global manufacturing. That includes two assembly plants in China and one each ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Mazda Motor Corp. aims to emphasize diesel drivetrains over hybrids as part of a plan to help it stand out from rivals. "We think it's a good differentiator," Jim O'Sullivan, CEO of Mazda North American Operations, said ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- BMW's Mini brand will add three models by the end of the decade, said Kay Segler, Mini's global boss. Segler would not disclose details about the models but said they will likely use an all-new BMW Group front-wheel- ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Subaru aims to generate 20 percent of its U.S. sales from Sun Belt states in the next two years, up from just 15 percent now, as it chases a fourth straight year of record sales. The brand also is racing to improve ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Nissan will add more than 200 U.S. engineers in the next two years to help it keep pace with a growing list of U.S. vehicle programs. Nissan will add 150 engineers at its suburban Detroit r&d office this year and 50 ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Nissan Motor Co. is moving forward with its compact electric cargo van, the e-NV200, revealing it as a concept vehicle at the Detroit auto show. But Nissan is still determining who will use the van and how to market it ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Mercedes will add a diesel engine to the freshened 2013 GLK crossover due this fall, making it the sixth diesel model in its lineup, said Steve Cannon, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA. Mercedes already offers a six-cylinder 3.0- ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Honda is betting that buyers of the redesigned 2013 Accord will embrace the car's new continuously variable transmission, even though CVT technology is being refined. The CVT will be the only automatic transmission ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Smart USA launched a $99-a-month lease offer last week in an effort to boost sales of the microcar brand. Prior lease rates were $159 to $169 a month. The 36-month, $99 lease requires the same $999 down payment as the ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

Look closely into the eyes of vehicles at the show, and it is clear that headlamps have crossed the line into modern art. Those old circular metal housings with little round bulbs? Please. Lamp fixtures nowadays are so ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

Concept vehicles at the Detroit auto show range from whimsical design exercises to advance peeks at production vehicles. Here's a sampling. PHOTOGRAPHS BY JIM FRENAK
... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

In more genteel times, automakers referred to rivals in speeches as "our noble competitors," or some other saccharine term -- just before plunging in a very subtle knife. Or, at worst, an exec might cast aspersions by alluding to ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

No wonder Kia likes basketball. It made hay, in the public relations way, last year when Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers wowed the crowd in the slam-dunk contest at the NBA all-star game by leaping over a Kia ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT -- Steve Cannon, the new CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, doesn't expect Lexus to recover its U.S. luxury crown in 2012. And he expects to hold on to Lexus buyers who moved to Mercedes. Mercedes' conquest rate of Lexus buyers is ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

DETROIT --- Cadillac's new premium rear-wheel-drive vehicle platform can be used for nonpremium General Motors brands, too. The vehicle platform, called Alpha, was developed for the 2013 Cadillac ATS. The ATS is a compact sedan ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.16

NEW YORK -- "Someday, I dream of buying a Hyundai."
You're unlikely to hear that statement if you eavesdrop on an automotive focus group, unless it's composed of people who are still driving Yugos. ... 8:21 am U.S. ET | Jan.14

WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) -- As Toyota Motor Corp. promotes new in-car technology letting drivers make restaurant reservations on OpenTable.com and use Bing to search the Internet, regulators are still seeking to discourage mobile-phone use. ... 11:45 am U.S. ET | Jan.13

DETROIT -- Lots of grand visions are floating about the Detroit auto show. Deep thinkers are pondering post-oil personal transportation. A few gutsy leaders are ponying up some serious money to finance their visions.
2:32 pm U.S. ET | Jan.12

The redesigned 2013 Ford Fusion sedan, the 2013 Dodge Dart, the Acura NSX concept and the open-air 2013 Porsche 911 cabriolet have been singled out by the editors of Autoweek magazine as

DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- It's a sign of the times when Cadillac is staking its comeback on a compact car that boasts fuel economy approaching 40 mpg.
Cadillac's ATS sedan is one example of how ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.11

DETROIT -- General Motors Co., already targeting BMW with a new compact car, is considering a small sport-utility vehicle to compete against the German automaker's X3.
"We're looking at options there, ... 6:34 pm U.S. ET | Jan.10

DETROIT -- Toyota Motor Corp. will expand its hybrid vehicle lineup with the subcompact Prius C hatchback that will go on sale in March.
Toyota says the Prius C will get 53 mpg in the city, which it ... 10:11 am U.S. ET | Jan.10 | UPDATED: 1/10/12 12:18 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- Lincoln introduced a new MKZ concept car today that serves as a vision for the next generation of vehicles at Ford Motor Co.'s luxury brand.
Ford knows a lot is riding on the concept ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.10 | UPDATED: 1/10/12 9:55 am ET

DETROIT -- Honda Motor Co. today unveiled an Accord Coupe Concept that foreshadows the styling of the production car set to arrive this year against stiffening competition.
The concept, shown at the ... 9:45 am U.S. ET | Jan.10

DETROIT -- Volvo Car Corp. plans to adopt its new four-cylinder engine family in a majority of its models starting next year, said CEO Stefan Jacoby.
The engines will vary in horsepower -- ranging ... 4:26 pm U.S. ET | Jan.10

DETROIT -- Is it the next Prius? Well, sort of.
Toyota Motor Corp. claims its NS4 concept unveiled here represents a dedicated plug-in hybrid "separate from the Prius family," but as a mid-sized ... 9:00 am U.S. ET | Jan.10 | UPDATED: 1/10/12 10:03 a.m. ET

DETROIT -- General Motors today unveiled a compact Buick crossover that executives say will carve out a new market niche: the small luxury crossover.
The Encore is Buick's fourth brand-new entry in ... 6:00 am U.S. ET | Jan.10

DETROIT -- The redesigned 2013 Honda Accord will have a continuously variable transmission as its only automatic transmission offered when combined with a four-cylinder engine.
The introduction of ... 9:30 am U.S. ET | Jan.10

Shelby American is marking its 50th anniversary with limited numbers of a special-edition car. Only 50 white copies and 50 black copies of the car will be available.
Shelby American, a Las Vegas ... 11:01 am U.S. ET | Jan.10

DETROIT -- Japan's Ferrari-fighter is back and this time Honda Motor Co. plans to engineer and build the sports car in the United States.
Honda said today the all-new Acura NSX will go on sale in the ... 3:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan.9 | UPDATED: 1/9/12 3:41 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- Chrysler Group LLC may drop the Dodge Avenger within three years as it readies a redesign of the better-selling Chrysler 200 sedan built on the same platform, a Chrysler executive said on Monday.
8:59 pm U.S. ET | Jan.9

DETROIT -- Scion is counting on a throwback sports car, the Toyota sub-brand's fifth nameplate, to kick sales into a higher gear, says Vice President Jack Hollis.
The Scion FR-S is a low-slung, 2,700- ... 8:32 pm U.S. ET | Jan.9

DETROIT -- Chrysler unveiled a surprise concept Monday at the Detroit auto show, a futuristic design study called the 700C.
You read that correctly, the 700C.
6:07 pm U.S. ET | Jan.9 | UPDATED: 1/9/12 6:41 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- American Honda's Acura division will launch a new entry-luxury sport sedan and a redesigned RDX crossover this spring as part of an ambitious effort to revive its luxury image.
The ILX ... 3:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan.9 | UPDATED: 1/9/12 4:08 pm ET

 
DETROIT – Fiat is considering exporting to Europe two China-built compact cars based on the new Dodge Dart, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Automotive News ... Jan. 9, 2012 15:00 European CT

DETROIT -- The redesigned GMC Sierra pickup may be repositioned as General Motors' premium pickup.
GM is rethinking pricing and equipment levels for both the redesigned Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado. ... 8:37 pm U.S. ET | Jan.9

DETROIT -- Lexus unveiled its LF-LC sports coupe concept at the Detroit auto show, a 2+2 performance hybrid that may fill the gap left by the retired Lexus SC.
The design takes heavy styling cues ... 9:10 am U.S. ET | Jan.9 | UPDATED: 1/9/12 7:56 pm ET

DETROIT -- The man who put the face on Chrysler Group's new compact sedan says the 2013 Dodge Dart is infused "with a little Charger-ness," but designed to look fast and efficient at the same time.
10:28 am U.S. ET | Jan.9

DETROIT -- After a minute-long countdown and roller-coaster screen simulation, the 2012 Mini Roadster rolled out for its worldwide debut at the Detroit auto show today.
"The Roadster was designed ... 3:50 pm U.S. ET | Jan.9

DETROIT -- Hyundai flexed some muscle by debuting a 201-hp Veloster Turbo and a more powerful Genesis Coupe, both 2013 models, at the Detroit auto show today.
With the turbo, Hyundai says the ... 3:15 pm U.S. ET | Jan.9

DETROIT -- BMW Group will launch a media blitz to promote its redesigned 3 series due in stores next month.
The media campaign will have a strong TV element, but BMW will put more emphasis on digital ... 2:02 pm U.S. ET | Jan.9