automotive industry

I t may have been one small step for Motor Trend magazine, but the selection of the 2010 car of the year certainly was one giant leap for Ford Motor Co. This week it was announced that the 2010 Ford Fusion won the Motor Trend car of the year award. It was the first time since 2003 that a Ford had manage to claim the coveted prize.  

The private Insurance Institute for Highway Safety here in the United States has released its list for what it considers the safest cars of 2010; 19 passenger cars and eight sport utility vehicles received top honors. Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen lead the pack. Fewer cars made the list this year, largely because the insurance group has added a new test to determine overall car safety.

Chrysler this year has four top safety picks   -Adrian Lund

 

US electric sports car maker Tesla Motors plans to go public soon, two sources familiar with the matter said, amid growing interest in green technology and battery-powered vehicles. An IPO filing from the six-year-old start-up, best known for its $109,000 all-electric Roadster, is expected any day, said one of the sources. The person did not give a specific time frame, although IPOs typically take several months.  

Dongfeng Motor Co. Ltd., the third-largest car and bus maker in China, has expressed interest to put up an assembly plant in the Philippines. Alfonso Uy, president of the Federation of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., told reporters yesterday that Dongfeng Motor's general manager relayed to him the company's interest to invest in bus and car assembly operations here. "Dongfeng is the top three bus and car maker in China and is owned by the Chinese government. It wants to int

Dongfeng is the top three bus and car maker in China and is owned by the Chinese government. It wants to introduce its buses and cars in the domestic market initially and put up an assembly plant here over the long term   -Alfonso Uy

 

Anybody who dismisses Hyundai's recent success as a cash-for-clunkers-fueled aberration is in for a rude surprise in 2010. Hyundai is virtually alone in selling more cars in recession-ravaged 2009 than in 2008. Driven by smart marketing and strong new vehicles, Hyundai's 2009 sales are up 4 percent versus this time last year.

They've made very substantial gains in styling and even bigger ones in quality and reliability   -Joe Phillippi

 

"Toyota's reaction is disingenuous," Rader told Motor Trend . "In January, all automakers were informed about the new requirement for a good rating in the rollover test. As has been the Institute's procedure with past Top Safety Pick announcements, automakers were invited early in the year to flag vehicles that they thought would do well in the Institute's new test. We offered to test these vehicles outside of our normal schedule, provided the automakers reimburse us for the cost of the vehicles. Ten autom  

Kris Meeke stamped his class all over the Rally of Scotland to take a 21-second lead into today's final leg. Already Intercontinental Challenge champion ahead of this weekend's last round, the Ulsterman swept to the top of the leaderboard on the opening spectator stages at Scone Palace on Thursday night and then built a solid advantage through wet, muddy, slippery Scottish forests yesterday. Much had been made of a potential "Battle of the Brits" with Guy Wilks and initially the two-times British cham  

The Armed Forces have spent the equivalent of four months filming stunts for Top Gear. Cue general outrage. "Are these stunts a good use of manpower?" asks Lib Dem defence spokesman Willie Rennie. Probably not.

Are these stunts a good use of manpower?   -Lib Dem

 

A brand new car hit storerooms around the country Friday and Consumer 10's Chuck Strickler had a sneek peak. The new Honda Crosstour is being made exclusively at Honda's East Liberty plant. A 1.9 million square-foot factory is already home to the Element and the CRV and is the site of the latest addition to the Honda lineup - the Crosstour.