America
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The Big Three Detroit carmakers are struggling right now, but their plans for the future are still bright, or at least optimistic - perhaps all the more so thanks to the focusing nature of the current crisis. As part of the Blue Oval's future, the Fiesta small car will finally be making its way back to the U.S. as a 2011 model in early 2010, as confirmed by Ford today. The new Fiesta is already off to a very strong start in Europe and the UK. “In the UK, the Fiesta’s market share for November was the highest since January 1998 for the nameplate, and the new Fiesta attracted 1,000...
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Honda may delay U.S. diesels due to fuel costs
Honda and Acura have been contemplating bringing diesel engines to the U.S. for some time, but in late October word broke that the engines had been delayed. At the time the reason had been thought to be trouble with 50-state emissions certification, but now the company has revealed the real issue...
Ralph Hanson -
Saab's next-gen 9-5 could be designed in the U.S.
General Motors has traditionally designed many of its compact and mid-size cars at its Opel operations in Russelsheim, Germany. Now, however, the company may be looking to shift some of that duty to its U.S. offices, the better to design a car that will suit both U.S. and European tastes. Primary...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
New NHTSA study recommends 4.5% yearly increase in fuel economy
Fuel economy requirements and their corollary emissions laws are becoming the central focus of modern car development as governments around the world set higher standards. The U.S. has the NHTSA working on new CAFE standards, and a study announced today reveals that the recommended path will...
Jeremy Weber -
Volkswagen gearing up for new U.S. sales push
The downturn in vehicle sales around the world is affecting nearly every carmaker in some way or another, but not equally in each market. Volkswagen, for example, has been on a four-year downturn in the U.S., with 2008 merely marking a particularly rough spot. But the company is working to turn...
Nelson Ireson -
Small cars still too small for U.S.?
The floor dropped out of the market for SUVs and pickups this year, and Americans were supposedly replacing them with small cars. But what's small in America isn't what's small in the rest of the world, and truly small cars appear to continue to get short shrift. The latest evidence of this fact is...
Nelson Ireson